FEST FIC: Draco, Draco – Let Down Your Golden Hair! (1/2) - Harry/Draco

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Title: Draco, Draco – Let Down Your Golden Hair!
Author:  icyaurora8 
Prompt: Prompt #30 - Rapunzel
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione (in passing), past Harry/Ginny
Summary: Harry finds his job as an Auror quite boring, at least until his boss assigns him the task of tracking down a missing woman and her son. Unfortunately, things are a bit more complicated than Harry anticipates, especially when he finds out that the woman disappeared from a Ministry safe-house and that her son, a true “damsel in distress,” is Draco Malfoy.
Rating: Mature/R
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Universe and all related characters, along with the story of Rapunzel, do not belong to me.
Warning(s): Mature language, male/male relationships, sexual content.
Word Count: 31,288
Author's Notes: Somehow, this story ended up 25,000 words longer than I expected! Thanks so much to my lovely betas, M and R, who not only gave me great advice, but were able to get through everything on time so close to the deadline! As for the story, I’m hoping that it follows the requests fairly well, though it kind of took on a life of its own :)


Draco, Draco – Let Down Your Golden Hair!


<<<<< Tuesday >>>>>

So far, Harry’s day had been a hellish nightmare. Earlier that morning, he had been twenty minutes late to work because his alarm had not gone off. Because he was the Boy Who Lived, no one even bothered to reprimand him, but it didn’t change the fact that he was upset with himself for being late - he didn’t want to be treated any differently than the other witches and wizards in the Auror Department.

His first case of the day had also been a bad experience. It had started as a routine house call. For nearly three weeks, he had been trying to track down the culprit who had been selling nefariously-spelled items to unsuspecting customers. In this case, the man had sold the family a silver serving platter that only grew teeth and tried to bite everyone that touched it AFTER they arrived home. It was one of multiple similar cases, and each time the item spelled became a little more dangerous. Because of the vicious nature of the “pranks,” the last couple cases had been passed to the Auror Department, just in case it was a Dark wizard behind the deeds. He needed the plate for evidence and magical signature tracing – for the chance that the person who spelled the plate could be recognized, but in the process of bagging it, the stupid thing chomped down on Harry's left pinky and ring fingers.

As soon as he dropped the platter off at the office for processing, he’d had to go straight to St. Mungo’s to get his finger patched up because a simple healing spell just didn’t seem to work on the bite. On top of that, he’d gotten blood all over his only clean Auror robe, and now he’d have to do laundry as soon as he got home.

Harry's patience was already gone for the day, and he still had close to four more hours of work to put in. It was at times like this that Harry almost wished he had taken Kingsley’s offer for a desk job, though the reasoning behind that was that it would be easier for Harry to be more productive if he wasn’t constantly under public scrutiny out in the field. As it was, he was sure to have another case or two yet this afternoon, and chances were, they would be nothing exciting.

It was now nearly five months after the defeat of Voldemort, and it was close to a month since the last Death Eater had finally been arrested. That also happened to be the last time that Harry felt he had been on a true Auror case. Since that day, all of Harry's cases consisted mostly of house calls and information gathering, and occasionally picking up a witch or wizard for illegal potions dealing.

Despite the fact his job had turned out to be rather boring, Harry was looking forward to the Wizengamot finishing up the last of the trials, and by the look of things, in another two weeks each person who had been arrested in association with Voldemort would be properly tried, tagged, and jailed. Maybe then he would take the desk job, because today had made him decide that he definitely felt no urge to continue putting himself through this type of hell for the next twenty-or-thirty odd years.

Harry was just now walking back from St. Mungo’s, and he tried to ignore his growling stomach. Instead of taking a lunch break to eat, he had used the time to get his finger mended. He didn’t want to have to stay at work any longer than needed, and Kingsley was a stickler for making sure everyone worked the proper amount of hours. Plus, it also made paperwork much easier for Kingsley to complete when his employees weren’t working overtime, which often happened in the Auror Department when certain cases gained leads or had stakeouts.

Harry didn’t even get to his desk though, because as soon as he stepped off the lift he was accosted by the secretary of the Auror Department. She was a pretty blonde, tall with long legs, but for the life of him, Harry couldn’t remember her name. That was just as well, since he wasn’t looking to date anyone at the moment anyway. He sighed and ran the fingers of his uninjured hand through his messy, dark hair, trying to sweep the dangling strands off his forehead and out of his eyes. The one that had been bitten still felt a little weak and he was still experiencing stinging twinges of pain in his fingers.

“Yes?” he asked wearily, wanting her to quickly say whatever it was that she needed. He just wanted to sit down.

She smiled slightly at him, trying to look coy, or so it seemed to Harry. “Shacklebolt said he wanted to see you in his office as soon as possible. He said the matter was urgent, and you were to report to him as soon as you got back.”

H sighed again and waved her off as he turned to walk down the isle of desks towards Kingsley’s office. It was behind a dark, wooden door at the end of the hallway, fitting of the Head of the Auror Department, but the man still insisted that everyone call him Kingsley or Shacklebolt instead of some official-sounding title. Harry thought that Kingsley was a little off, because who wouldn’t want to be called Captain Shacklebolt? It sounded much more interesting, and Harry laughed quietly to himself as he mentally picked out Kingsley’s Christmas present: a small model pirate ship.

Harry barely knocked before pushing the door open. Kingsley only got mad when people wasted time by standing outside his door, especially if they had been summoned.

“Ah, Harry,” Kingsley said, his voice sounding weary despite the smile on his face. “It’s good to see you, and I’m glad you came right away. It seems we have a small problem.”

Harry closed the door and shuffled over to the large blue armchair opposite Kingsley and his desk, flopping into it as he nodded his head for his boss to continue.

“A few months ago, not long after You-Know-Who was defeated—” Harry had to roll his eyes at the name people used even after Voldemort was dead, “we discovered that some concerned citizens wanted to take matters into their own hands.”

Harry looked blankly at Kingsley; he hadn’t heard anything about this, but it was possible he just hadn’t been paying attention with everything that had happened right after the end of the war. With all the reporters constantly dogging his tracks, he didn’t even read the paper anymore for fear of the next new gossip column with details of his private life splashed across the page.

Kingsley started to explain. “Certain individuals were being attacked in their homes and on the streets. Mostly, people that were friends or relatives of known Death Eaters, but typically not Voldemort sympathizers themselves,” and Harry heard as Kingsley stumbled over the V-word. “In a few cases, neighbors of known Death Eaters were attacked, even though most of the neighbors kept no contact with the accused. The Ministry decided to step forward and offer protection to the individuals who wanted it, at least for the duration of the trials.”

Kingsley leaned forward towards Harry, continuing with, “After the trials have ended, all relevant information concerning these wrongly-attacked individuals will be made public so that every witch and wizard will know that these attacks were made on false grounds, or if the people attacked were involved, they have been properly tried. The Auror Department will also be making an announcement that any person caught using magic against or otherwise attempting to harm one of these protected men and women will now be arrested and charged accordingly.”

Harry sat up a bit straighter as he listened. This sounded much more interesting than any of his most recent cases, but something didn’t quite make sense. “Wait, why can’t they be arrested now? After all, if they are threatening an innocent person, the Auror Department has every right to charge them.”

Kingsley nodded. “Yes, I agree, but it’s not that simple. There are too many people fighting this. There are even a few wizards who work here at the Ministry that we think have been involved in these attacks. Unfortunately, they claim that anyone associated with the Death Eaters, whether it be casual contact or a family member, must certainly be a Voldemort sympathizer. They want every single person that could be one wiped out of the community.” The look on Kingsley’s face was one of pure disappointment.

“That’s why we’ve offered protection, until we can prove that their names are cleared. There will be no confusion or excuses if an individual is attacked after that, and we will not hesitate to arrest the attackers. If they happen to work at the Ministry, we will also strip them from their positions.”

“As they should be,” Harry said. Even now, there were still people out there trying to cause trouble, as if the Wizarding World didn’t have enough to recover from at the moment. “So, how does this involve me?” he asked.

“Well, two days ago, a witch who was in a safe-house—under our protection—disappeared. We need you to find her as soon as possible,” Kingsley told Harry.

“Where do I start, sir?”

“You might want to begin by questioning her son. That will prove to be a bit difficult though, since he is also under protection, though not by the Ministry.” Kingsley clenched his jaw, obviously a bit upset that the situation was not under his control.

Harry cocked his head to the side. Kingsley’s last sentence made absolutely no sense.

The man across from him rubbed his chin briefly before leaning forward and crossing his hands on the giant, black wooden desk in front of him. “His mother had arranged for him to be protected, in her own way, because she feared that people would retaliate against him. Unfortunately, his mother also holds the only key to the door where he is being kept. There’s a window that allows communication, but the situation is a bit more complicated than that. You will have to talk to the owner of the property for more information, because I don’t know all the details.”

“Alright. Where does he live?” Harry asked.

“She,” Kingsley corrected. “It’s her property, so you will have to talk to her to find out all the details.”

Harry watched as Kingsley took a piece of parchment from the top of his desk and handed it to him. With his injured hand, he grasped it clumsily and quickly scanned the top of the parchment. “Luna Lovegood? I didn’t know she was keeping anyone under protection.”

Kingsley smiled slightly. “That was exactly the point. We don’t want these people to be easily found do we? Besides, it was the mother’s arrangement, not ours.”

Harry nodded distractedly as he continued to read the paper. When his eyes reached the word “Malfoy,” he paused and reread the line just to be sure. “You’ve got to be kidding me? Right? You can’t really be sending me after Narcissa Malfoy!”

Kingsley let out a displeased groan. “Just do your job, Harry. You have a knack for finding people, and I trust you more than anyone else. Despite the fact that she is a Malfoy, Narcissa is a smart woman. She would not have left our safe-house unless she had good reason, and I’m not comfortable sending any other Auror after her, at least based on moral integrity. I already told you, we know of at least a few wizards in the Ministry who would love to get their hands on her, and even though you may not like her, I know you will act justly.”

Harry wanted to protest, but he knew his job, and he also knew that what Kingsley said was not to be taken lightly. He couldn’t very well disappoint the man who had pulled so many strings to make sure that he was accepted into the Auror Department (and without the three years additional training), the man who had laid his life on the line so many times to protect Harry. It was also a great excuse to get out of his currently-boring cases.

“I’ll leave right away. Do you know where Luna is staying right now?” he asked Kingsley. Luna was a good friend, but her flitting personality lent itself to a state of unrest if she stayed in one place too long. She had somehow come into a large sum of money (Harry was hesitant to ask how, for fear of putting her on a conversation that would last for four hours, but he thought it was from some Magical Beast research she had done that actually turned out to be true), and since the end of the war, she had been buying up little plots of property all over the United Kingdom so she could stay near her research. Most housed no more than a small cabin, but that was all she needed when she was spending most of her days, and nights, out on the surrounding land. Harry looked to Kingsley for the answer.

“Yes, she’s actually in Ottery St. Catchpole right now, visiting her father. She should be there until tomorrow, though I would suggest talking to her sooner rather than later. It’s less than two weeks until the end of the trials, and I fear that the witches and wizards trying to get their retribution from the Death Eaters will only become more desperate as the time for action comes to a close.”

Harry stood up from the comfortable armchair. “I’ll leave right away, sir.”

“Thank you, Harry, and good luck.” Kingsley reached over the desk to perform a quick handshake. As Harry turned to walk out the door, he heard Kingsley say, “Oh, and you do not need to return to the office until this matter is resolved. We have more than enough Aurors here to take care of the current cases. This situation is much more pressing, so use any resource you deem necessary, though try to give out as little information to others as possible. We don’t want this to blow up in our faces, and we want as few people as possible to know that Narcissa Malfoy is missing. Come back in twenty-four hours and I should have a completed file available for you with what we’ve done so far.”

Harry waved goodbye and the next second he was out the door. In one sense, he was upset that he was going to have to deal with the Malfoys, especially after having steered clear of them since the last day of the war, but on the other hand, he was glad that he was actually going to have an interesting mission, and that he had every department of the Ministry available at his disposal, should he need them—an occurrence that usually took weeks of paperwork.

<<<<<>>>>>

Harry took a moment to stop by his flat to change his clothes before heading to see Luna. He didn’t think she would appreciate seeing the blood on his robe, and he wanted to wear something more comfortable. After changing into a pair of dark trousers and a long-sleeved t-shirt, he took a moment to sit down on his red sofa (a reminder of the Gryffindor tower at school) to finish reading the parchment Kingsley had given him.

Harry saw that Narcissa Malfoy had been under the Ministry’s protection for over a month, though her statement claimed that Draco had been under Luna’s protection, in a sense, for close to three months. The paper stated that there had been two different attacks at Malfoy Manor. The first one had only included a few well-placed blasting curses which had destroyed three family statues on the grounds and made some dents on the walls of the house, all visible in the pictures attached to the file, but the second attack was much worse. One of the vigilantes had managed to get inside the house in the middle of the night, setting fire to part of the East wing, and a single house elf had died trying to put it out to protect his family. After the first attack, Narcissa safely removed her son from any possible harm, but it wasn’t until the second attack that she contacted the Ministry to ask for help.

The parchment also noted that Narcissa and Draco were both set to stand trial in just over a week’s time, though Harry was sure that neither of them would be convicted. He had planned to testify for them, even going as far as already bottling the proper memories for use with a Pensieve during the trial. He could not do the same for Lucius Malfoy, but that man’s mistakes were his own. Narcissa had only been trying to protect her son, and Draco trying to protect his family, though he would have failed had a certain person had not stepped in to help.

That was also one of the reasons he felt he needed to testify. He owed Severus Snape more than he could repay, and Narcissa and Draco Malfoy had been important to the man. Since he couldn’t do anything directly for Snape, he could at least help out those that the man had cared so much about.

It would be very problematic if Narcissa and Draco were not present at their trials; in fact, it would quite effectively make them appear guilty. It would be even worse if Harry could not find Narcissa, because without her key, Draco wouldn’t be able to make it to the trial, even though he was available. It would be condemning them both, and no matter whom the situation involved, Harry did not want to see that happen. Any sort of uproar at this time could make the vigilantes act out again.

He stood up and shoved his wand into a special wand pocket in his jeans, folding up the parchment into a small square as he walked towards a short stack of books on the desk in the far corner. He took a book of poetry from the pile—a gift from Hermione for his birthday (she claimed it would help to broaden his horizons and teach him culture)—opened it and placed the folded parchment between the pages. He knew it wasn’t a “good” hiding place, but he was more concerned with one of his friends coming over and not being able to resist reading it. Kingsley didn’t want anyone to know about the situation that didn’t have to, but Harry didn’t want to toss the paper either because it contained a great deal of information that could come in handy later.

After stashing the sheet, Harry walked to the old brick fireplace that he used for nothing but Flooing. After lighting a quick fire and tossing a handful of Floo Powder towards the grate, he stepped into the fire and shouted out his destination.

<<<<<>>>>>

Harry stepped out of the fire into the eclectically decorated office of Luna’s father. No one was in the room, but the lamps were burning, so he hollered down the hallway to let them know he was visiting. He could have Apparated so that he could use the front door, but St. Mungo’s had suggested no Apparation for twenty-four hours, considering the amount of potions he had ingested earlier to help mend his fingers.

Harry listened for footsteps in the hallway, but when he heard none, he wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want to wander around the Lovegood house without permission because it felt like trespassing, but he really needed to talk to Luna this afternoon. He shouted again, hoping that someone would hear him. If all else failed, he figured he could send his Patronus to find Luna and tell her he was there.

A few minutes later and just as Harry was getting ready to summon his Patronus, he could hear light footsteps muffled on the other side of the old oak door in the far wall. It swung open and Harry saw Luna’s head pop through the frame.

“Hey Harry!” She smiled and walked over to give him a hug. When she was done, she asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m actually here on Auror business today, Luna. It seems we have a bit of a discussion ahead of us. Do you have some place private we could talk?”

Luna wrapped a strand of her long blonde hair around her finger, deep in thought. “Right here will be fine, Harry. My father is taking a nap, so he will be occupied for a few hours. Were you waiting here long?”

Harry tilted his head to the side in question. “Only a few minutes. But I yelled a few times. I figured I might have to send my Patronus to find you.”

“Oh, I’m very sorry,” she apologized. “My father is such a silly man. He keeps a muffling charm on this office so that you can’t hear anything unless you are standing right outside the door. I didn’t hear you yelling. I was actually just coming in here to grab an inkwell. I spilt the other one I was using while writing down some research.” Luna grinned at Harry.

“Well, at least we don’t have to worry about putting a silencing charm on the room.”

Luna smiled. “Would you like something to drink? I just made dandelion tea.”

Harry shook his head. He wasn’t much a fan of any other tea than the regular kind. He took a seat in an odd, square-looking armchair near the fireplace, and Luna copied his actions on a sofa nearby, curling her feet up under her body.

“What did you need, Harry?” she asked.

Harry cleared his throat. “Actually, I just learned that you are protecting Draco Malfoy. I need to speak with him as soon as possible.”

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “You will be his first visitor, besides me of course! I’m sure he will be thrilled.”

Harry paused. He would have figured that his mother would have at least visited, but then again, she also ended up going to a safe-house. “Where do you have him staying?”

“Well, when Mrs. Malfoy came to me for help, it was originally just because she knew I traveled often. I’m always going someplace different, especially since I love meeting new people…” Luna trailed off, obviously thinking about someone she had met, but seconds later she shook her head as if to clear it.

“Anyway, she asked if I could show her all the places I’d been, though that would have been much too traveling to do in one afternoon. I offered to show her my scrapbook instead. At first, she thought I didn’t care about her issue because I wanted to show her my photos. She got really angry for a moment, and actually got up to leave. I could hardly explain quickly enough.”

Harry had no problem understanding that, because once his friend got on a roll, there was no stopping the random comments that came out of her mouth instead of the story she had begun with.

“I had to open up my scrapbook and show her how I take a picture of each place I visit, which I do just so I will remember exactly where I was. Most of the places are random, but when she realized that some of the pictures were of pieces of property I own, she let me finish showing her the book.” Luna tapped her chin, thinking about what happened next in her story. “One picture in particular caught her interest, and when she asked about it, it was fairly easy to figure out what she wanted to do with it. I offered to let her use it for Draco's protection, provided that she let me visit the Malfoy grounds.”

Harry raised an eyebrow in response to the random jump in story, an action that Luna took to mean to continue. “The Malfoy grounds have a lot of rare plant and animal species that don’t live anywhere else in the United Kingdom. Sometimes I get really tired when I travel too much—” Harry thought that most people did, “so it’s much more convenient for me to travel there than to make a trip halfway across the planet.”

Harry nodded absentmindedly. “Let me get this straight. She chose one of your houses to safeguard Draco?”

Luna grinned. “Well, it is not really a house. More like a tower.”

Harry held back a slight scoff of surprise. “You have a tower?”

“It is quite magnificent, too. It is an old lookout tower near some ruins in western England, close to Wales.” Luna sighed in contentment. “Most people have forgotten about it, though I believe it’s because it sits on magical land. Muggles tend to get nervous when they are near places that feel different, so the price for the property was quite cheap.” Luna brushed her hair behind her shoulders, tilting her head towards Harry as he started to speak.

“Can I please see the picture of the tower?”

She nodded. “I’ll be right back, Harry.” With that, Luna skipped out of the room, presumably to find her scrapbook. When she returned, she was holding a large purple album that was covered in dried flowers and what looked thick grass ropes, the earthy style very fitting of Luna’s personality. She quickly flipped the book open, turning pages rapidly until she came to the picture she was looking for. Holding the book out for Harry to see, she said, “This is it. I’ve actually renovated the inside, so it looks much better now than it does in the picture. Quite homey,” she trailed off again in a contented voice.

As Harry studied the somewhat blurry photo, he watched as ominous-looking trees swayed in the wind around the dark stone tower. It was definitely old and did not look inviting by any means. Harry could understand why Muggles avoided this area.

Tapping the picture, Harry asked, “Can you take me here? I really do need to speak with Draco, and I need to do it sooner rather than later.”

“Of course, Harry!” Luna agreed immediately, probably just because she never minded doing favors for Harry. “Do you mind me asking what it’s about?”

“As I understand it, his mother has disappeared, with the only key to the tower, and they both have to stand trial next week.” When he realized that that situation didn’t sound that serious, he elaborated further. “There are several people searching for the Malfoys that could do some serious harm, and Kingsley is very worried that someone is looking for them.” Harry wasn’t sure if everything he just said was the absolute truth, but it was close enough.

Luna’s eyes blinked rapidly, their countenance moving from dreamy to concerned, and with the most serious expression Harry had ever seen on her face, Luna took the scrapbook from his hands and placed it gently on the floor next to the sofa. She then grabbed his hand and helped to pull him up off the chair. “Let’s go. There’s no time to waste,” she told him.

<<<<<>>>>> 

 

Since he wasn’t supposed to Apparate, Harry let Luna Side-Along him, though it probably wasn’t much better to let her do it.  Harry had to steady himself when they arrived, and he was glad that Luna’s arm was around his waist.  “So, this is it?” he asked as he stared at the massive tower in front of them.

 

“Mmhmm.  I wish you could see the inside, but…” she trailed off.

 

“That’s okay.  Maybe next time.”  Harry shuddered at the thought of going up into the tower.  It was nothing like the towers had been at Hogwarts, and despite the fact that Luna said she had remodeled it, it still didn’t look inviting.

 

“If the only door up into the tower is locked, how can I speak with him?”

 

“That’s easy enough.  You just have to fly a broom up to the window.  Unfortunately, you can’t get very close, maybe fifteen feet, because of the spell his mother put on the tower.”

 

“Wait, you didn’t tell me anything about a spell.”  This was a new development, and Harry was not happy about it.

 

“Yes, Mrs. Malfoy put a dampening spell around the outside of the tower so that nothing magical can pass through it.  Brooms included.”

 

Harry's jaw dropped open.  So this was what Kingsley had meant when he said the circumstances were a bit odd.  “So how do you even get to the door?  After all, wizards are magic at the core, so we can’t even take the door down by force.”

 

“Blood magic, I think,” Luna told Harry about the door.  “Only she can walk through the protection spell to use the key.”

 

That was a fabulous addition to the situation, Harry thought.  He hated dealing with blood magic.  “And how do you get food to him?” he asked. 

 

“His mother brought a magical cupboard with her to put in the tower.  It supplies Draco with fresh food, water, and clothing each day.  I had a loo installed in the tower before, so he is not without the regular comforts of home.”

 

Except human contact, Harry thought and he couldn’t hold back a grimace.  He studied the tower closely, looking for possible ways to get inside.  The small, open-shuttered window was too far up for a ladder to do any good, and since Luna said the spell rejected all magical items, altering one to be taller wouldn’t help.  There was no way to levitate anything up into the tower, much less levitating Malfoy down out of it.  Harry couldn’t even get close on a broom, because of the spell.

 

It really seemed that Narcissa had thought of everything to keep her son safe.  Except, perhaps, the unending boredom.

 

“What does he do up there?” Harry asked his friend.

 

“He brought along quite a few trunks, and when I asked him about them, he just mumbled something about ‘books.’ I think he figured he would be doing a lot of reading.” 

 

That was definitely not how Harry would want to spend three months.  He couldn’t even get through the small book of poetry Hermione had gotten him.  “I should probably go speak to him.”

 

Luna nodded.  “I have a broom on the far side of the tower.  I’ll show it to you.”

 

Harry followed Luna around the base of the dark stone tower, watching her pick her way through the brush to find an old flying broom.  It looked worse for wear than some of the school brooms at Hogwarts had been. 

 

“Thank you, Luna, I really appreciate all of your help.”

 

“Oh, it’s no problem at all Harry.  I have a couple specimens to collect while I am here, so why don’t you go talk to Draco and I’ll wait for you when I’m done.”  Without another word, Harry watched as Luna walked off into the woods surrounding the tower.

 

Harry mounted the broom, wishing for his own sturdy broom instead.  He kicked off, flying up quickly and relishing the feel of the freedom.  It had been far too long since he had been on a broom.

 

He circled the tower towards the side with the window, testing the ward-like spell to see how close he could get to the tower without causing the broom to ricochet outward.  The first time he hit it, he almost lost his balance as the spell shoved him forcefully away from the stone.

 

He took the incline slowly upwards, testing the entire length of the wall below the window to look for weaknesses.  He even tried a few spells of his own, just to see if he could get through the protection, but nothing worked.  Finally, he was hovering a few feet below the base of the window.  He stopped for a moment, collecting his thoughts before he had to make a confrontation he would rather not do at all.

 

He flew up the last few feet, briefly taking note that he was at least six or seven stories above the ground.  Hovering window level, but about fifteen feet away, he shouted out to Malfoy.

 

The image that greeted him was not what he expected though.  Instead of an immaculately clad and well-groomed Malfoy, he was greeted by a sour-looking face with a week-old, light-blond beard, and a body wearing what looked to be a low-cut, pale blue ball gown trimmed in silver thread, at least from the waist up. 

 

“What the hell, Potter?”

 

Harry just gaped.  There obviously had to be a reasonable explanation for why Draco Malfoy was dressed like a woman.  It was his turn to say something, but his mind was blank.

 

“I asked, Potter, what are you doing here?  Have you come to get me out?”  Just the look on his face told Harry how little Draco wanted to see him here, even if he was the one who would spring him from his prison.

 

Harry shook his head, trying to find his words.  “Um, no, not exactly.”

 

Malfoy looked even more exasperated at this information.  “Well then, what are you doing here?”

 

This was exactly the type of greeting Harry had expected.  Also, Harry desperately wanted to ask about the outfit, but he realized that his job was more important.  “This is not really the way I wanted to tell you, but it’s our only choice.”  Harry plowed on again, not pausing.  “I came to let you know that your mother is missing.  I need you to help me find her.”

 

Malfoy immediately disappeared from the frame of the window, but Harry could hear cursing and then something crash against the wall.  A moment later, Malfoy was back, though looking less composed than before, with his ear-length hair quite messy.  “You’re telling me that my mother, the only one with a key to get me out of this god-forsaken hellhole that I’m supposed to live in, is missing?”

 

Harry nodded, quite sure that anything he said right now would be thrown back in his face.

 

“Well, what the heck are you doing here?!” Malfoy yelled.

 

Harry sighed.  This was going to be painful, and repetitive.  “That’s what I just told you.  I need your help to find her.  The Ministry has very little information on where she could have gone, but you… you’re her son.  I’m hoping you know a few places that I can check out.  Places that she may have gone to hide.”

 

With a small smirk, Malfoy started to talk.  “You’re the Auror.  Aren’t you supposed to figure that out?”

 

Harry gritted his teeth together, keeping his mouth shut while he waited for Malfoy to answer.

 

“You could try our villa in France, or the one in Italy.  Or maybe our cabin in the Alps, though she is not fond of cold weather.  I rather enjoy the skiing.”

 

“Malfoy, be serious.  The Ministry has already checked any family homes.  It’s the other places that we are looking for.”

 

This time Malfoy was the one who sighed.  “I don’t know, Potter.  I would have to think about it.  Even if I think of something, I’m not sure I would have a name for the place.  And I can’t show you where they are, at least not when I’m stuck in here.”

 

“Yeah, well start thinking quickly.  If I don’t find your mother in the next week, and get you out of here, then you might as well stay.  Once you miss your trial, you’re as good as guilty anyway, at least in the eyes of the public.”  Harry's statement seemed to hit home, at least by the amount of fear that appeared in Malfoy's eyes.

 

“Can you come back tomorrow?” the blond asked.

 

Harry nodded.  “Yeah, I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon.  I have a few things I want to check up on first.”  Harry readied himself to fly down, but not before he remembered his earlier question.  “Oh, and Malfoy?  Why are you wearing a dress?”

 

Even from this distance, Harry could see the blush rising in the pale man’s cheeks.  It made him smile, just a bit, at the embarrassment the other man must be feeling.  It was a slight payback for Malfoy's harsh words and glares earlier.

 

“It was an accident.”

 

Harry tried to stifle a laugh.  It always seemed that situations like this were an “accident.”  “So what exactly did you do?”

 

Malfoy huffed.  “I was cold.  I tried to transfigure my shirt into a jumper.  Unfortunately, I was leaning on the window sill at the time that I tried.  I didn’t know that the stupid spell on the tower would fling my wand away just because I wasn’t completely inside, screwing up my entire transfiguration in the process.  Now, I don’t have a wand, and I’m stuck in these clothes until the cupboard brings me new clothes tomorrow.”

 

Harry couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped.  Despite the fact that he was helping on this case, he still got some pleasure out of the fact that Draco Malfoy, prick-extraordinaire, was stuck in a dress.  Of course, he also tried to ignore the urge to look at the pale expanse of skin of Malfoy's upper chest as the dress bared all. “I’ll find your wand, but I have no way to get it back to you.”

 

“That’s fine.  Just keep it safe please.”  The next phrase was softer, and Harry had to lean forward slightly to hear it.  “And Potter?  Please find my mother.” 

 

To some, that request might sound like a desperate man’s hope to get out of lockup, but to Harry, he could also hear the worry about his family evident in Malfoy’s voice.   Harry flew away from the window, ready to meet Luna for the trip back home.

 

<<<<<>>>>> 

 

Harry was able to locate Draco's wand rather easily, using a quick Accio to pull it from the brush at the base of nearby tree.  As soon as his fingers curled around the slender piece of wood, it immediately reminded Harry of another wand he currently had in his possession that did not belong to him.  He would make sure that both wands were returned to their rightful owner:  Draco Malfoy. 

 

Now that Harry thought about it, he wasn’t sure why he still had Malfoy's wand in the first place.  He could have just as easily owled it back to the other man, but he never got around to removing it from his old Hogwarts chest in the corner of his bedroom.  He had no use for it, but for some reason he had held on to it.  Maybe it was a reminder of his years at school, of which Draco had obviously played a large part.  As soon as Harry arrived at his flat, he placed Draco's new wand with his old one, safely wrapped in a piece of soft fabric.

 

Harry had questioned Luna for a few more minutes before he had taken his leave – she had kindly Side-Along’ed him back to her father’s house so he could Floo home – and he promised that he would keep her updated on the situation.  It was already evening, and he felt it would be pointless to go back to the Ministry this late because no one would be in the archives for research.

 

Harry flopped down onto his couch, toeing his shoes off.  He figured it would be best for him to get a good night’s rest and start early in the morning.  He wanted to talk to Kingsley again, just to make sure he had a comprehensive list of all the Malfoy properties that had already been checked, along with any evidence that might have been found.  If he had any further questions, he could then talk to the investigators who had carried out the searches.

 

He also wanted to do a little research on his own.  He knew that there were unlisted Malfoy properties – ones that had been purchased under different names – and he wasn’t sure whether the Ministry would have searched them.  He only knew about them because Hermione had come across them during her research for the horcruxes.  They had never visited any of the properties though, just as Voldemort and his supporters hadn’t.  Harry had a feeling that Lucius Malfoy had kept at least a few secrets from the Dark Lord.

 

Thinking about Hermione reminded Harry that he needed to go to Diagon Alley.  Ron and Hermione were to be married the next month – in November – and he had yet to get them a present.  He pulled himself up off the couch; it wasn’t late enough in the evening for the shops to be closed, and he actually had the spare time to do a bit of shopping.

 

There was no place for him to Floo in this late, so he decided that he would just have to Apparate.  It had been half a day since he had been to St. Mungo’s, and he didn’t feel the least bit woozy anymore from the potions.  Pulling out his wand before he could change his mind, he shoved his feet back into his trainers and left his flat.

 

When he landed in front of Gringott’s Bank, swaying unsteadily with nothing to grasp for balance, he decided that maybe St. Mungo’s had been right when they said no Apparation for twenty-four hours.  It took him a moment to find his balance, and once he did, he quickly set off down the street, ignoring the slight headache that had started to form behind his eyes. 

 

Over the next half hour, Harry stopped in half a dozen shops, but nothing was catching his interest.  He wanted to buy something that both Ron and Hermione could appreciate, something that they would be able to use often.  He also wanted to buy them something they could use on their honeymoon, on which they were planning to travel the mainland, hitting some of the best magical communities in France, Spain, and Germany. 

 

The only thing that he considered buying was a magical camera, but the contraption was too complicated-looking, not to mention quite large and heavy.  He didn’t want to give his best friends a gift that would be a burden to carry around.  Just as he was getting ready to leave the store, he realized that he had the perfect idea for a gift.

 

Harry left Diagon Alley as quickly as he could, using the Leaky Cauldron to step over to Muggle London.  Harry made his way to the nearest electronics store, knowing that he had been on the right track with the camera, just made by the wrong type of people.

 

It took him less than fifteen minutes to talk to a sales clerk and pick out what type of video camcorder he wanted to buy his friends.  The young man suggested one that was ideal for long periods of recording, had extended battery life, and was small and compact so that it could easily be carried around on their excursions.

 

 He also made sure to pick up a large box of tapes so that Ron and Hermione would have plenty of space to record their trip, and a carrying case for convenience.  Usually, Harry would not have bought his friends something like this, at least not for a wedding gift, but since Hermione was raised as a Muggle, they already had a computer in their flat and Ron had taken to it like a fish in water.  Each month that passed showed Ron to have developed more and more of an interest in Muggle electronics, just like his father, and Harry knew that the redhead would have been thrilled at the idea of how a camcorder worked, much less owning one. 

 

Feeling drained after his shopping, but happy that he had accomplished what he set out to do, he walked back to the Leaky.  Once inside, he let the man behind the bar know that he was going to Floo out, paid him a single coin for the powder, and left.

 

Once home again, Harry put Ron and Hermione's present in his closet, just to make sure that neither of his friends would discover it before their wedding.  He changed out of his clothes, throwing on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, and then headed into the kitchen to make a quick dinner.  Not even an hour later, Harry was curled up in his bed, sound asleep.

 

<<<<< Wednesday >>>>>

 

Harry woke up the next morning at the sound of his alarm, but he didn’t rush himself getting out of bed because he knew he didn’t have to be into the office at any specific time.  No one would be in the archives before 8:00am anyway, and Kingsley wouldn’t be in until shortly after that. 

 

By the time Harry had showered, dressed, and eaten breakfast, it was a quarter after eight.  He had taken a few moments while eating to jot down some ideas about where Narcissa Malfoy could have gone, and what could have possibly happened if someone had managed to kidnap her.  It really didn’t feel like Narcissa had been taken by someone though, and Harry thought that Kingsley felt the same way.  If she had been, there would be many more people than just Harry working on this case.  Besides, Harry knew that while Ministry protection wasn’t foolproof, it was as close to impossible to crack as it could get, especially since many of the safe-houses were using modified forms of blood magic – something which could not be tricked in any way.  Ruling out kidnapping because of that, the only other option was for the person to voluntarily leave.   

 

Harry went straight to Kingsley’s office as soon as he arrived at the Ministry.  He wanted to catch the man first thing this morning, mostly so that his research time later wouldn’t be spent uselessly going back over information he would receive in the file.

 

His boss was able to give him a small folder that contained the six properties that two investigators had visited in the past few days.  He quickly scanned the information, but it seemed that the only property that looked like it had been recently inhabited was the house in France.  The only problem with that was that the house was also used as a summer vacation home by distant family members who lived in France.

 

Harry would have to check with the family, along with talking to any and all house elves that either stayed permanently at the properties or moved between them to confirm the stories, but he had a gut feeling that Narcissa wouldn’t be visiting any of these properties in the near future. 

 

He made his way down to the archives, trying to remember the names Hermione had come across in her research the previous year.  He also knew that he could go through all the individual holdings for the family businesses to find them like they had the last time, but that would take much longer.  If he could even find a few of the places he remembered talking about the previous year, then let Draco Malfoy fill in the rest, he would have a decent head start on where to look. 

 

The next three hours were spent hunched over a worn wooden table, yellowed parchments scattered all over the top.  Harry was making notes on his own sheets of crisp paper, underlining facts that he thought might be important, and occasionally making ink drops on the paper when his quill hovered for too long while thinking. 

 

He ended up finding four additional properties, at least on the three different names that he could remember, and he took as many notes about these places as he could find.  One name— L.N. Mason—had two pieces of property, and both happened to be located in the United Kingdom:  one in Scotland and one in Ireland.  One of the other names had a piece located in the southern part of England, in Somerset, and then the final name had another small piece of land on the eastern border of France. 

 

Feeling fairly accomplished that he had a good start on where to look, which would hopefully only be made easier once Malfoy talked to him this afternoon, he gathered up his materials and stacked all the Ministry files into two piles.  He then grabbed his belongings and walked towards the front of the archives.  He needed to let the person on duty know that he was finished so that they could reshelf the files in their proper places.  Other employees of the Ministry weren’t allowed to put the files back for fear that one could be misplaced.

 

Harry shrunk his own paperwork and shoved it into his pocket as he walked towards the Apparation area of the Ministry lobby.  He planned on going to see Draco Malfoy straight away. 

 

<<<<<>>>>> 

 

As soon as Harry called out “Lunar Tower” (Harry had to give it to Luna for being so creative, because the tower was quite dark and it was a decent play on her name), he landed in the woods near the base.  He didn’t have to walk far to find the broom propped against a tree – they hadn’t bothered to hide it the day before because Luna knew he would be coming back – and it took him less than a handful of seconds to mount it and kick off.

 

When Harry reached the window, or at least window-height but fifteen feet away, he didn’t even have to call for Malfoy because he was already waiting there.  This time, he was thankfully dressed in a lightweight, long sleeved t-shirt instead of that horrid ball gown that he had been sporting the day before.  Before he could even stop his mind from wandering, the image of Malfoy's exposed chest flashed into his head, and he missed the first few words that the blond spoke to him.

 

“Oh, sorry, Malfoy.  What did you just say?”  Harry asked.

 

“I have a list for you.  It’s of every place that I can remember, but some of them I’ve never even been to, just seen on my family’s account papers.”

 

Harry was glad that Malfoy had actually made a list.  “You will probably have to read them out loud for me.  I have no way to get the paper from you, so I’ll just have to try to write them down.  I can add yours to the four properties that I found this morning.”

 

Malfoy raised a thinly arched blond eyebrow at this, and Harry had to hold back a smirk.  For some reason, he liked the fact that he had managed to surprise the other man, especially when Malfoy had always thought him useless during their school years.

 

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out his tiny stack of folded parchment, then grabbed his wand to enlarge the pieces.  Almost as soon as he started the spell, a gust of wind rushed past his body and swept half the parchments from his fingers, and he watched helplessly as the pieces started floating gently towards the ground.  “I’ll be right back,” he told Malfoy as he took off as quickly as the old broom would allow, snatching up the parchments out of the air.

 

Thirty seconds later, he had gathered the four falling scraps of paper, but it also resulted in a few paper cuts and the knowledge that it was going to be quite difficult to write while flying.  Hovering back near the window, he shouted, “I don’t think this is going to work.”

 

Malfoy snorted, quickly covering his mouth as the sound escaped.  “Such a genius, stating the obvious.”  It was a mocking statement, but for some reason, it didn’t sound negative to Harry, but rather almost amused.  “Hold on,” Malfoy told him before walking away from the window.

 

A minute later, Malfoy still hadn’t come back, and Harry was starting to get impatient.  Just as he was about to yell to the blond, the man reappeared in the window, now holding a book with a bright green ribbon around it.  “Here,” he said. 

 

Harry cocked his head to the side, not sure what Malfoy meant.  It wasn’t like he could fly up to the window for the book, and that was a more pointless effort than it would have been to get the list.  “What do you want me to do with that?”

 

“Catch,” was all that Malfoy said as he tossed the book out the window towards Harry's hovering body.  Immediately, Harry's seeker reflexes kicked in and he dived towards the book which was now rapidly falling towards the earth.  Seconds later, he reached out and caught the ribbon that was tied around the book in a cross.  Once steady, he flew back up to window-height.

 

“Bravo,” Malfoy congratulated him as he saw the book in Harry's hand.

 

Harry wasn’t sure whether the compliment was sarcastic or not, so he took it at face-value instead.  He was still confused as to why Malfoy had tossed him the book and asked about it again. 

 

“I put the list in the book.  I just tied it with the ribbon so that it would stay closed when I threw it.  I didn’t want the paper to float out.” 

 

Harry looked down at the book and realized that there was a corner of parchment sticking out past the rest of the pages, and he wondered why they hadn’t thought of that first.  He also noticed the title of the book, “Slytherins Bent On World Domination,” and had to hold back a laugh.  “I take it you’ve read this one?” he asked.

 

Malfoy shrugged nonchalantly.  “A few times.  It is actually quite interesting.  It talks about the rise and fall of all the Slytherin leaders that have tried to take over the world.  Some of their ideas were very good,” and Harry had to scoff at that, “but the rest of them I can’t believe they even attempted.  For the amount of intelligence these people possessed, they all acted quite foolishly.” 

 

Harry couldn’t disagree with that.  “Well, since it’s obviously a favorite, I’ll get it back to you as soon as I can.”

 

“Oh, no need.  I have another copy.” 

 

Harry did laugh this time.  It was just like Malfoy to have two copies of a book like that.  “I should probably go.  I want to be able to use the archives at the Ministry again if I need to, and if I need any portkeys made for the places on the list, I need to have the requests in before the end of the day so they will be ready in the morning.”

 

Malfoy nodded.  “Will you be back tomorrow?” he asked.

 

“Probably.  It’s hard to find information about some of your property, and you’re the only one I can question about it.”  Harry shrunk the book and shoved it into his pocket with the rest of his notes. 

 

“I’ll see you then,” Malfoy told him. 

 

Harry waved and turned to go, but before he could make himself fly away, he couldn’t help saying, “You know, I quite missed the dress today.”

 

“Screw you, Potter,” Malfoy said, his voice sounding dangerous, but a hint of a smile on his face. 

 

For some reason, thinking of Malfoy in the dress made Harry remember a fairy tale he heard as a child, one about a beautiful princess locked in a tower.  The only way the prince could reach her was to climb her long, golden hair.  “Hey, Malfoy?  Have you ever heard of Rapunzel?”

 

Malfoy's face was confused for a moment.  “You mean the children’s story about that bimbo of a princess who lets the prince climb her hair?”

 

“Yes,” Harry nodded. 

 

It only took a second, but Malfoy realized exactly where Harry was going with his train of thought.  “My hair is too short to be a convenient organic rope.  Idiot.”  Even though the comment was condescending, Malfoy was smiling while he said it.

 

Harry laughed.  “Well, it would match your dress.”  He turned around and flew away before he could hear anything Malfoy had to say in response.  He wasn’t sure what possessed him to say it, but he realized that it was true, and for the rest of the day, he couldn’t get those images out of his head.

<<<<< Thursday >>>>>

 

By the next morning, Harry had made quite a bit of progress.  It was six days until Draco and Narcissa Malfoy were to stand trial, but Harry was feeling more confident that he would be able to find the lady of the family by that time.  Even if for some reason (personal or otherwise) she couldn’t be back for the trial, as long as Harry was able to get the key from her to release Draco, he thought the public would be better off seeing Draco freed of charges than if it were only Narcissa.  He was part of the youth of the Wizarding world, and if they condemned him, the population might as well condemn the rest of the children who graduated during Voldemort’s reign. 

 

Malfoy's list had noted nine properties, five additional to what Harry had found.  Of the five new ones, four of them were overseas, leaving only one on the island, in Ireland.  That single property was also under the same name—Mason—as the other two Harry had found on the island, and for some reason that struck a chord with Harry.  It was odd that in all the research Harry had done on the properties, he had not come across this last piece of land at all, especially given the fact that he had found two other properties owned by the same name. 

 

That made him think that either this land was purposely hidden for a reason, or it was a new purchase.  Either explanation would be a sufficient reason for why it would be a good place for Narcissa Malfoy to escape to, and Harry couldn’t fathom that Draco's mother would want to leave for the mainland so suddenly, especially with her trial coming up and her own son in danger.

 

Harry's trip to the archives at the Ministry proved uneventful.  He could not find any information on the small piece of Irish property, and he concluded that he would have to go back to talk to Malfoy to find out anything more. 

 

It was much cooler out today than it had been earlier in the week; England was finally starting to show its true fall weather which had been absent at the beginning of the month.  Harry dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a dark green jumper, one that Hermione said brought out the color of his eyes.  It was one he usually wore on dates, or at least the whole two dates he’d had since the fall of Voldemort.  He wasn’t sure why he was even bothering to look nice, especially since he was working, but for some reason Harry felt like he had to impress Malfoy.   

 

Plus, it never hurt to look professional when you were searching for someone’s lost mother.  Harry didn’t think even he would have much confidence in a person that showed up in a ragged shirt and ripped jeans. 

 

It was only nine in the morning, but Harry decided to get a head start on the day and Apparate to see Draco Malfoy first thing.  He had put in a request for three portkeys to be made the previous night, but the only one he felt would probably pay off was the one to the Irish coast. 

 

Minutes after Apparating to the tower, Harry pulled the old broom level with window, the shutters closed for once, and shouted for Malfoy.  It was much earlier than Harry had met with the man on the previous two days, but he hoped that he would be up.

 

Five minutes and fifteen shouts later, the blond finally showed up at the window and threw the shutters open, naked from the waist up (or at least Harry hoped he was wearing pants under where the window sill cut off his view).  “I didn’t wake you up did I?” Harry asked, but he already knew the answer. 

 

Malfoy rubbed a hand over his sleepy eyes.  “What the heck do you want?”

 

Harry almost forgot the question he wanted to ask because he was distracted with comparing the images in his head of Draco Malfoy in a ball gown and Draco Malfoy (possibly) naked.  He stuttered a few times before saying “I need to know about the Mason property on the Irish coast.  I can’t find anything on it, even in the archives.”  He forced himself to concentrate on his task. 

 

Immediately, the blond perked up, the tired look leaving his face as he focused.  “My father just bought it this past February.  He didn’t even tell my mother about it.  She found out when he was sent back to Azkaban and all the family properties had to be transferred over from his name.”

Harry waited for Malfoy to continue, hoping that the next bit of information would be vital to his investigation.

 

“I think he was saving it in case he could somehow escape Voldemort; it was someplace to hide our whole family.  I’m sure it was only meant to be a temporary fix, until other arrangements were made.”

 

Harry thought for a moment before he spoke.  “I honestly think that this piece is our best bet so far.  The thing that concerns me is that I’m not sure why she ran.  She was in our safe-house, and there was no way that anyone could have gotten to her.  She made herself more vulnerable by leaving, and we can’t figure out why she would do that.”

 

Malfoy nodded in agreement.  “My mother is an intelligent woman.  She never does anything without thoroughly thinking through the benefits and consequences.  If she left me behind, especially in this damn tower, she must have had a great reason.”

 

At least he was being optimistic about it, Harry decided.  “Well, I’m planning on going to check out that piece of property today, plus two others.  Is there anything else you can tell me about the Mason properties?” Harry asked.

 

“No, unfortunately.  I honestly don’t know anything about it other than seeing it listed on the parchment.  I’ve never been there, and I’m not even sure exactly where it is.”

 

Harry sighed.  “I suppose I will find out soon enough.  I should be going; I want to get all these places knocked off the list today, especially if I have to start fresh tomorrow.”

 

“That’s a good idea.”  Draco paused and looked at Harry, an expression on his face that the brunet had never seen before.  “Be careful, Potter.  I can’t even tell you what to expect, and knowing my mother, that house will not be without its own protections.”

 

Stunned at Malfoy's advice, Harry wasn’t sure what to say.  Trying to hold a blush back because of the other man’s concern, he finally settled on, “I’ll bring backup.”

 

“Good.  And on that note, I’m going back to bed.”  With that, it was Malfoy this time who walked away from the conversation, leaving Harry alone to fly back to the ground.

 

<<<<<>>>>> 

 

Harry stopped by the Ministry as soon as he was done talking to Malfoy.  He wanted to get Kingsley’s opinion on whom to take for backup, along with picking up the portkeys that the Ministry had made for him. 

 

“Hey, Kingsley,” Harry said as soon as he closed Shacklebolt’s office door.  “I need you to recommend someone for backup on this case.”

 

Kingsley shoved one stack of parchment aside on his desk, pulling another of equal size in front of him to replace the empty spot.  “Why don’t you take Deckard?  He investigated four of the six original properties, so he’s already informed about the case.” 

 

That sounded fine to Harry.  He had never worked exclusively with Jerry Deckard, but in the few cases where they had been assigned to the same group, he had always gotten along with him.  He was a quiet man in his late thirties, and though he didn’t speak much, he had a knack for noticing small details others missed.

 

“Can you ask him to meet me in the lobby in a half hour?  I have to go pick up some portkeys.  I want to follow up on a few leads today, but I need to make a Floo call before, also.”

 

Kingsley agreed and Harry left his office.  He walked to the far end of the Auror department, intent on using one of the empty conference rooms that had a Floo.  As soon as he closed the door behind himself, he pulled out his wand to start a fire in the fireplace and called out the name for the Malfoy villa in France that had been recently used.

 

Thankfully, a house elf answered, and Harry only had to ask a few questions to realize that no, Narcissa Malfoy had not been there recently and that the last Malfoy visitors had been two distant cousins who had vacationed there almost three months ago.

 

Satisfied that he hadn’t been wrong about this, he closed the connection and walked down to the portkey office.  It took nearly twenty minutes of waiting in line and signing multiple papers to pick up the three portkeys for the day’s travel.

 

Deckard was already waiting for him when he reached the lobby, which made Harry happy that he wasn’t going to have to waste any more time.  The three pieces of property that Harry wanted to visit today were all Mason property, but only two plots had houses:  the Scottish plot and the coastal Irish plot where Harry thought Narcissa might be.  The final piece of property was also in Ireland, but there was nothing but a small barn on the land, and Harry thought it unlikely that a woman as cultured as Narcissa Malfoy would be living in a rundown barn that hadn’t been refurbished in nearly fifty years.

 

<<<<<>>>>> 

 

Their first stop was the Scottish property because it was the furthest away.  Just as Harry had predicted, the house hadn’t been touched in years.  There was not even a permanent house-elf; cleaning was only done before the family would be coming to holiday. 

 

The second piece of property, the one with only the barn, was equally disappointing.  The plot was large and very beautiful, full of rolling hills and meadows, but not a single wizard signature could be traced on the property more recently than four years previous.  The Malfoy family instead rented out the land to the local Muggle farmers who wanted to use the hills for grazing their sheep. 

 

When Harry and Deckard were readying themselves to go to the last piece of property, the one where Harry thought Narcissa might be hiding, he tried not to let himself get his hopes too high.  This was the one place where his instincts spoke loudest, but at the same time, he knew that cases were rarely solved until every option was exhausted.  This seemed almost too easy, and he knew that he had to be wary in case something were to go wrong.

 

The portkey dropped Harry and Deckard roughly, and Harry struggled to keep his balance.  The wind whipped around his body quickly, and it was quite a bit cooler here so near the coast than it had been in London.  He watched as Deckard slicked his sandy-brown hair back from his face and adjusted his robe.

 

As soon as the other man was done, Harry said “Let’s go.”  He headed off across the small piece of property towards the only building on it:  a small but well-kept cottage.  The house did not look particularly lived-in, but if someone was trying to hide their presence, then it would have been quite stupid to advertise the fact that a person was there. 

 

As soon as Harry stepped onto the small stone stoop, wand in hand, he could feel the wards contract and flex around his body.  It was obvious that whoever had been here last felt the need for some heavy-duty protection.  This raised Harry's hopes slightly as he knocked on the door.

 

Of course, no one answered.  This bothered Harry somewhat; he knew it could take an hour or two to dismantle the wards, and there was no guarantee that Narcissa would even be there.  On the other hand, Harry knew that he really didn’t have much of a choice. 

 

“Deckard, could you please do a sweep of the property?  I want to know of every trace of magical signature there is to be found.  Chances are, if Narcissa Malfoy was here, she would have been careful not to use her wand, but everyone is known to slip up.”  Harry watched as Jerry Deckard agreed.  “Take your time.  I might need a couple hours to dismantle the wards here.”

 

Almost immediately, Deckard turned around to walk back towards the corner of the property where he and Harry had portkeyed in.  Harry turned back to the door and pointed his wand, muttering a series of complex spells under his breath as he started to search through the layers of wards.  First, he would have to figure out exactly what wards were being used, and then he would have to “unwind” the strands, pulling out each individual ward until there were none left.  Most people preferred to dismantle wards by starting with the easiest protection spells, but Harry preferred to do it in the opposite way; he figured if he got the hard part out of the way – which was what would inevitably take the longest anyway - then the rest of the dismantling process was a piece of cake.  It was also much more convenient to have the worst protections gone if a person had to rush through the wards before they were completely dismantled.  Harry would rather deal with an itchy case of hives than a severing charm any day.

 

Harry became so engrossed in his work that, at first, he didn’t feel the tap on his shoulder.  A good, solid clap on his back brought him to reality though.  He turned around, surprised that Deckard had finished his scan so quickly, but he was even more shocked when he saw Narcissa Malfoy standing next to Deckard. 

 

He held out his hand so that he could shake her outstretched palm.  “I was hoping you would be here.”

 

She nodded.  “I’m hoping you haven’t destroyed my wards yet,” she countered. 

 

Harry looked at her closely as she spoke.  Despite the fact that she looked just as cool and collected as ever, he could see the slight tremble in her jaw as she talked.  It was obvious that she held these wards in high regard, and he thought that she might even believe that the wards were the only thing keeping her safe at the moment.  “No, I just finished scanning through them to figure out what they were.  You are lucky you arrived now instead of ten minutes later, because I would have been well on my way to tearing them down.”

 

“Good.  I suppose I know why you are here.  If you promise to leave my wards be, I will suggest that we take this conversation inside.”  Harry agreed, and with a flick of woman’s wand, the door swung open to allow them inside.  Harry motioned for Deckard to stay outside while Harry followed the woman.  

 

Harry watched as Narcissa Malfoy walked straight to the small kitchen, taking two tiny bags from her pocket and enlarging them.  It was obvious that she had been grocery shopping, and Harry started talking as she pulled the items from the bags and placed them into the cupboards and refrigerator. 

 

“I need to get the key for the tower where Draco is staying.  As you know, both of your trials are coming up next week on Wednesday, and Kingsley Shacklebolt feared that neither one of you would show up after your disappearance.  It would be bad enough if you did not show up, but since Draco is still young, it would look even worse to the public.  The people have no idea that he is currently detained for reasons that are not his own, and if he didn’t show up, he would be condemning himself,” Harry explained, slightly out of breath as he finished.  He figured it best to get the majority of the situation out on the table immediately.

 

“Hmm, yes, that is true.  But I had my reasons for leaving.  It was no longer safe there,” Narcissa told Harry.

 

Harry cocked his head to one side.  “But you were in a safe-house.  I would think that there were few places left that would be safer than that.”

 

“Not quite.  As you probably already know, someone has been making attacks on my family for the last few months.”  Harry nodded his head for Narcissa to continue speaking.  “Almost two weeks ago, I received an anonymous letter by owl that said our family would pay for our choices.  It told me that it wasn’t enough that we would be tried, or that Lucius would be spending the rest of his life in Azkaban, especially since the Dementors are no longer there.”

 

Harry watched as Narcissa gripped the edge of the counter, her knuckles turning white under the pressure.  Her body shivered as she spoke, “The person said that they would take our son away from us, to teach us exactly how it felt to lose a child to the war.  They think we are more responsible than the others, the ones who weren’t so involved, that if we hadn’t made the insane choice to follow the Dark Lord that he wouldn’t have been able to gain so much power.” 

 

She sighed and shook her head.  “Yes, my husband was a Death Eater.  But so were many other people.  And if it hadn’t been us, there would have been others in our place to support the Dark Lord.  The author of the letter doesn’t think that way though.  He just wants to make us suffer by making our son suffer.”  As soon as Narcissa stopped speaking, she took a deep breath as if to calm herself. 

 

Harry's mind was reeling.  He knew that there had to be a good reason why Narcissa had run, and this was obviously it, but he still couldn’t figure out why she left the safe-house.  “So, why did you leave Ministry protection then, if it was Draco in danger?”

 

The blonde woman cleared her throat, a rather unladylike gesture.  “There had to have been a tracking spell on the owl that delivered the letter, because they came after me to find out where he was.  I managed to get away, but if they had gotten their hands on me, I’m sure they would know not only where he is staying, but have the key, too.  I wanted to make it as hard as possible for the people after my son to find him, and if they can’t find me, there is no way they can get the key to access the tower.”

 

It was at this point that Harry realized that Narcissa was guarding her son’s life with her own, and there was no way she was going to hand the key over to him.  He decided to ask once more for the key.  “Could I please have the key to the tower?  Shacklebolt would feel much better about the situation if we knew we could get Draco out of the tower in time for the trial.  We also don’t want anything to happen to you and… -well, you know what I’m saying.”

 

Narcissa cracked a small smile at this.  “Eloquent as ever, at least according to Draco's stories from school.  You don’t want me to die and then not have a key.  Don’t worry, I’ve taken extra precautions in the last few days, just to make sure that there is a backup plan in case I were to pass away or disappear – and not on my terms.  I just can’t give up the key at this time.  It’s not that I don’t trust you… but I feel Draco is much safer where he currently is, at least until the trial.  I could never forgive myself if he were to go someplace else and something were to happen.”

 

She didn’t have to say any more for Harry to understand perfectly.  “Thank you very much for your time, Mrs. Malfoy.  If you still have the letter, I would like to take it with me for evidence.  I trust that you will keep safe and be careful until next week?” he asked.  He knew that there wasn’t anything else he could do at this time.

 

“Of course.  Now, if you could please leave my house, I will reset my wards straight away.”

 

Harry turned back to the front door, seeing through the small window to Deckard still standing outside.  He had momentarily forgotten that the other man was with him.  “We’re done here.  I must go see Draco to let him know his mother is safe.”

 

Harry opened the door and walked out onto the stoop, now standing next to Deckard.  “Thank you again,” he told Narcissa, offering his own hand this time for her to shake. 

 

As she grasped it gently, she leaned forward and whispered near his ear, “Please tell my son that I love him, and that I will see him soon.  Though he may be unhappy with this arrangement now, if he is still alive until the trial next week, I will be extremely satisfied.  I don’t want to lose the only man left in my family.”

 

Harry told her that he would relay the message, and almost as soon as he let go of her hand, she handed him a folded letter and the door shut in his face.  He felt the wards swarm up around him.  He stepped off the stoop as quickly as possible and headed straight towards Deckard.  “Now, I need to go see Malfoy.”

 

<<<<<>>>>> 

 

Harry hadn’t originally been planning to take Deckard to Lunar Tower, but the man had made the dumb decision to latch onto Harry's arm just as he was getting ready to Apparate.  As soon as they landed, Harry yanked his arm free, and he couldn’t help reprimanding the older man.  “What the hell do you think you are doing?  You could have gotten us both splinched!”  Almost as soon as he finished yelling, he told himself he had to calm down.  It was obvious that the man had scared himself just as much, if the wide-eyed look in his eyes was anything to go by. 

 

“Just stay here,” Harry ordered him.  It would only take him a few minutes to relay the information Draco's mother had given him, and there was only one broom anyway.  He stalked away to the other side of the tower, hoping that the man would listen to him and stay put.  A man Deckard’s age should know well enough not to pull a stupid stunt like that, and Harry was half-tempted to report it to Kingsley when he got back to the Ministry.  The only thing pulling stunts like that would do, especially by an experienced Auror, was put their partners and themselves in unnecessary danger.

 

As Harry flew up, he was reminded of his last conversation with Malfoy—about Rapunzel, and he couldn’t help calling out, “Draco, Draco, let down your golden hair!”  He sniggered to himself when he got to window-height and saw that Draco was already waiting for him. 

 

Malfoy shot him a sneer at the phrase, then raised an eyebrow in question and asked, “What in Merlin’s beard was all that ruckus?” 

 

Harry just shook his head.  “Nothing, just my partner doing something stupid without thinking about it.”

 

“You should have cuffed him,” Malfoy advised, though he was completely oblivious to what the stupid act had even been.  It was obvious he didn’t discriminate punishment against anyone.  “Did you find out anything about my mother?” he asked next.

 

Harry smiled.  “Actually yes, though some of it is good news and some of it is bad news.  Which one would you like first?”

 

Malfoy rushed to say, “Good news.  My mother is okay, right?”

 

Harry nodded.  “She’s just fine.  Unfortunately, she refuses to leave her current isolation.  The bad news is that she refused to give me the key to the tower.”

 

“What? Why?” Malfoy spat out. 

 

Harry sighed.  “That’s where the problem comes in.  A couple weeks ago, she received a threatening letter.  She left the safe-house because she knew it was the only way she could keep your location secret.”

 

Malfoy immediately looked confused.  “Why would she leave if someone was threatening her?  The best place for her to stay would be under Ministry protection.”

 

Harry rubbed his free hand over his face.  There was no easy way to tell this bit of the story.  “Malfoy… Draco, there’s something I think you should know.”  He paused before continuing to explain.  “Shacklebolt thinks that at least a couple of the people that are attacking the family members of Death Eaters work in the Ministry.  Unfortunately, having her stay in a Ministry-sanctioned safe-house is probably not the best idea right now, especially when she is trying to protect you.”

 

Draco just stared at Harry blankly, so Harry tried to explain about the threat letter.  “The letter… well, it didn’t have anything to do with your mother.”  Harry paused to collect his thoughts before continuing in a quiet voice, “It was actually threatening to harm you.”

 

Malfoy's mouth immediately dropped open, the “O” giving his face a surprised look. 

 

“Your mother was attacked at the safe-house, so she decided the best thing to do would be to leave.  Since she didn’t report the attack, we had no idea about it until today.”  Harry paused again.  “She knew she had to get away.  If someone were to catch her, she would have no way to keep your location a secret, and they would be able to get the key, too.”

 

Draco nodded, a resigned look on his face.  “There’s no chance I will get out before the trail, huh?”

 

Harry shook his head at the almost-rhetorical question.  “No.  She wanted to make sure that no one knows where you are until the last possible minute.  We will have you out by next Wednesday morning at the latest, but if we can catch a break and at least find out who left the letter, we might be able to take these guys down before that.”

 

Harry watched as Draco gritted his teeth.  “Okay, fine.  I can stay here another week.  I’m just glad to know that my mother is safe.”

 

“Me too,” Harry told Draco.  “Oh, and she told me to tell you that she loves you.”

 

Draco grimaced a bit at that sentimental piece of information, but Harry could see that he appreciated it just as much. 

 

“I need to go.  My partner is still waiting below, and I need to get back to the Ministry so I can get the letter analyzed.  I will check on you tomorrow, okay?”

 

“That’s fine,” Draco said.  “I’ll make sure I’m here.”  Harry had to roll his eyes at Malfoy's comment, because it wasn’t like he was going anywhere.

 

Harry flew back down to the ground, still on the opposite side of the tower from Deckard.  He dismounted the broom then placed it back in its spot.  When he walked back to the other side of the tower, Deckard was wandering near the base, looking up at the dark stones.  “Come on,” he told his partner.  “I need to get to back to the Ministry this afternoon to have some tests run.  The technician won’t be in this weekend to do it, and they are always overloaded on Fridays.”

 

This time, Harry and Deckard Apparated separately, each going their own way once they arrived in the lobby. 

<<<<<>>>>> 

 

It was nearly four o’clock by the time the letter had been thoroughly scanned.  Harry was still waiting for the results, but he had a feeling that nothing would show up.  As soon as a small, elderly man walked up to hand him a single piece of paper, Harry knew he was right.  It took him mere seconds to scan the few words on the sheet, words that told him absolutely nothing he didn’t already know.

 

Harry was starting to get frustrated with this case.  He had only been on it for a few days, but already he was exhausting the leads that should be turning up evidence.  He was just getting ready to toss the letter into the case file when an idea popped into his head. 

 

Kingsley had said that Harry could use any of the departments he deemed necessary on this case.  There was one set of resources that he hadn’t even considered until this point, mostly because they were extremely new to the Ministry and many of the employees were uncomfortable with the technology. 

 

Harry left the lab immediately, taking the closest elevator three floors down.  When he arrived at a clear glass door labeled “Experimental Procedures,” he almost bumped into a young brunette woman walking out.  “Wait, wait!” Harry rushed out.  “You aren’t locking up are you?”

 

The woman nodded.

 

“Can you please do a quick scan for me?” Harry asked.  “I have a very urgent case, and it can’t wait until tomorrow.”

 

The woman sighed, but as soon as Harry, frustrated, ran a hand through his unruly hair, brushing the strands up off his forehead and showing his scar, she immediately smiled and took the key out of the door.  It seemed that she had caught on to the fact that he was the Boy Who Lived.  “What do you need done?” she asked.

 

“Just a quick fingerprint scan.”  Harry wasn’t sure exactly how quickly a print scan could be done, mostly because the Auror department rarely used this lab, but he knew it was possible.  “I have a letter and I need you to see if you can find out who sent it.”

 

The woman nodded.  “It shouldn’t be too difficult.  All I have to do is have a decent set of prints and I can run it through the system.  Don’t be surprised if we don’t have any matches though, because besides criminals convicted in the last year, we only have Ministry employees on record.”

 

Harry handed the folded letter over to the woman, telling her that there would be prints from the magical signature tracer upstairs, along with prints from Narcissa Malfoy and himself.  The woman raised her eyebrows at Narcissa’s name, but at least she didn’t question it. 

 

Harry took a seat in an uncomfortable chair at the front of the lab and watched as the brunette worked her magic.  He wasn’t quite sure if this would really work, but he wanted to make sure that he covered all the bases, just in case. 

 

Harry didn’t realize how exhausted he was until the brunette was tapping him on the shoulder to wake him up.  He looked at his watch and realized that an hour had already passed.  “Potter?  We have a match,” she told him.

 

He immediately woke up.  “What did you find?”

 

“Well, the fingerprints on the letter actually matched a Ministry employee.  One by the name of Richard Osbrow.”

 

The name didn’t ring a bell with Harry, but as soon as he heard that the fingerprints on the letter matched a Ministry employee, for some reason he wasn’t surprised.  Kingsley had said that he thought multiple Ministry workers could be involved, and few people in the Ministry even cared enough to keep up on the new technology – like fingerprint scanning – so they wouldn’t be careful about leaving evidence that wasn’t magical signatures behind. 

 

“Thank you, so much,” Harry told the woman.  “I need to get down to the archives before they close for the evening.”

 

The woman nodded and handed the letter, now sealed in a plastic bag, back to Harry.  “If you ever need anything done again, just let me know.  Though next time it will cost you dinner.”  She smiled at Harry, and he realized that she was hitting on him.

 

He didn’t turn her down outright because he didn’t want to be rude, but he really felt no attraction to her despite her beauty.  Instead, he just smiled gratefully and said, “Thank you again.”  He waved at her briefly and walked away, thinking that blondes were really more his type.

 

<<<<<>>>>> 

 

It didn’t take him long to get to the archives, which was a good thing because the person would be off duty soon and he didn’t want to have to call in extra help just for some research.  He was able to locate Osbrow’s file fairly quickly, but it was much larger than he expected.

 

Most employee’s files are fairly thin, containing a list of any altercations or problems, a list of accomplishments, and how long and which titles the person had in the department(s) they worked in.  Osbrow’s file was at least three times the length of most normal files, and as soon as Harry opened it, he realized that was because Richard Osbrow seemed to be quite a problematic employee. 

 

From the very beginning, Osbrow had an issue controlling his anger.  He used to work as an Auror, but he was prone to altercations with witnesses and suspects, and in a few cases even physical violence or randomly thrown curses had been involved.  He was also known to let words fly, often making his cases take a turn for the worst because he couldn’t hold his tongue.  Harry saw that there were six different cases alone in Osbrow’s file from those types of incidents.

 

As Harry read on, he saw that not long after the fall of Voldemort, Osbrow had been demoted.  He now worked as a desk-jockey, for lack of a better term, for the Aurors.  It turned out that he had acted quite aggressively towards a handful of Death Eaters that were arrested right after Voldemort’s death, and there was no way that Shacklebolt wanted to keep him on as a case worker—Harry shared the same sentiments as his boss.  He agreed to do one year of desk-work and take anger management classes, and then he would be allowed a psychiatric evaluation to see if he was fit to return to his previous position, or so the file stated. 

 

The most interesting fact that Harry found out though was that Osbrow had been partnered with Deckard up until he was demoted a few months prior. 

 

It was obvious that Harry needed to talk to Kingsley, not only to let him know what he had discovered, but about any possible leads.

 

<<<<<>>>>> 

 

Harry didn’t waste any time fire-calling Shacklebolt as soon as he got home.  “I have an interesting update,” was the first thing he said.

 

Kingsley yawned and said, “Go on.”

 

“Narcissa Malfoy received a threat letter two weeks ago.  She was then attacked at the Ministry’s safe-house,” at this Kingsley’s eyebrows practically reached his hairline in surprise, “and she decided that it was best for her to leave.  The letter didn’t threaten her though, but Draco.  She told me that if she was harder to find, then there would be no way any person could get to her to get information, much less the key to his tower.

 

“I was able to get the letter from her, but tracing showed no magical signature.  I figured it was a dead end, until I realized that we have that new lab at the Ministry, the one for fingerprint tracing.  And I found something.”

 

Kingsley’s eyes took on an excited look.  “Do tell.”

 

“Richard Osbrow’s fingerprints were found on the letter.  It matched his prints on Ministry file.”

 

“Shit,” Kingsley mumbled.  “I knew that there had to be people in the Ministry involved, but I hate that it is one of my Aurors.”

 

“What I don’t get,” Harry said, “is why Narcissa Malfoy still insists on being on her own.  It’s not like we can’t set her up in a different location, one that no one else knows about but a few select people.”

 

Kingsley scratched his bearded chin, a common characteristic of when he was thinking.  “I’m pretty sure I know why.  If she is trying to protect her son, she is using herself to lure the attacker away from him.  If he’s going to find her, she’d rather it be a country away, instead of just a few hundred kilometers.”

 

Suddenly, that made complete sense to Harry, and he wasn’t sure why he hadn’t thought of it before.  Not only could he see Narcissa doing that to spare her son, but he could see her as the vengeful mother, finally able to take on the people threatening her family. 

 

“This is still a problem though.  Even if we know Osbrow sent the letter, he’s not the only person involved.  We could try to arrest him, but many people, including some others in the Ministry, would deny the fingerprint evidence because it is too new.”  Harry tried to collect his thoughts before continuing.  “I don’t want to arrest him just to let him go.  We almost need to catch him in the act to convict him, and we don’t want to let the other perpetrators know that we are on to them.”

 

“I agree, Harry.  As much as I hate to do it, I think we need to let Narcissa continue with her plan.  Let her be the bait, and I’ll send someone new, someone trusted, to watch the property she is staying at so we can be there first thing in case of an attack.”

 

“That sounds good to me.  I’ll do some more research tomorrow, and I’ll take Deckard as backup.”  Harry paused, then realized what he said.  “Wait, I came across something interesting in my research.  Deckard was partnered with Osbrow before, right?” Harry asked.

 

“Yes,” Kingsley confirmed.  “He worked with him for almost three years, up until the time that Osbrow was demoted.  I hated to do that with him, but his actions against the Death Eaters were the final straw.  I couldn’t allow that type of behavior to continue.”

 

The more Harry thought about it, the odder it seemed.  Deckard looked to be a very calm, collected individual, while Osbrow was high-strung and easy to anger.  Harry couldn’t see the two men getting along for an extended period of time, much less three years.  His mouth asked the question before he could stop himself, “Has Deckard ever had any complaints?”

 

Kingsley shook his head.  “No, he’s always been the one to calm Osbrow down, not instigate the problem.” 

 

“Alright,” Harry said.  “Well, I should let you go.  I have a few things yet to do this evening, and tomorrow I will continue with my research.  I’ll keep you updated with what I find out.”

 

“Sounds good,” Kingsley said.  “I’ll talk to you later.”  He nodded at Harry as he pulled his head out of the fire-call.

 

Harry sat back on his sofa, glad to relax and catch his breath.  He felt like he had run himself ragged the entire day, but he knew part of it was just from the multiple portkeys he’d taken.  Portkey travel screwed with a person’s internal clock, and he knew he would sleep early tonight. 

 

As much as he didn’t want to, he pulled himself off the sofa and walked to his small kitchen to make himself a sandwich.  He had missed lunch earlier, with the exception of a small package of crackers he grabbed while at the office.  He was just in the middle of placing a slice of cheese on the bread when a thought popped into his head. 

 

Deckard had been partnered with Osbrow.  And not only was he partnered, but they obviously got along well enough to be partnered for three years.  Even with Osbrow’s angry personality.

 

Instead of making Harry question his discovery about Osbrow, that information made Harry think about Deckard.  Maybe the sandy-blond man was the one who was hiding something.  The more he thought about it, the more nervous he became. 

 

Deckard was the one who had initially investigated Narcissa Malfoy's disappearance.  And he could almost bet that he had been on multiple Death Eater arrests, even if he wasn’t the one speaking out like Osbrow had been.  Harry also recalled reading something in the files on the Malfoy case that Deckard had asked to be assigned to it, claiming that the other case he would have received would have resulted in a conflict of interest because he knew the involved parties.  The only problem with the alternate case was that he was not related, or even close friends, with the people.  There was no reason for him to be reassigned, just like no other Auror was reassigned on similar cases.  The Wizarding world was way too small for many of the people not to know each other. 

 

This train of thought led Harry to think about something else.  Even when it happened, Harry was taken off guard when Deckard broke all basic Auror rules and Side-Along Apparated with Harry without Harry's permission, and in the context of his new information, it was even worse.  Because of that incident, Deckard now knew where Draco Malfoy was staying.

 

Almost as soon as Harry thought it, it clicked.  Deckard was Osbrow’s partner, albeit the quiet one.  They got along, even if they seemed completely opposite in personality.  Deckard had been with Osbrow during the cases when he acted out against the Death Eaters, and Deckard had gotten himself assigned to the Malfoy case as soon as Narcissa went missing.

 

Kingsley told Harry that few people knew about the Malfoys, and Harry highly doubted that Kingsley advertised the fact that he needed Aurors on the case.  Since Deckard wasn’t requested to be on the case, the only other way he would have known about it was if he knew Narcissa was running. 

 

Which meant that he had to have known about the attack, or even been there.  That also meant that it hadn’t been a mistake when Deckard had grabbed onto Harry's arm as he Apparated to Draco's tower. 

 

Shit.  If Deckard was involved, Harry had just led him straight to the person he wanted most.  Harry was instantly glad that he had asked Deckard to stay outside when he talked to Narcissa, otherwise the man would know about the key and would have gone after her instead.

 

Harry dropped his half-made sandwich onto the counter and grabbed his wand from his pocket.  It took him less than two seconds to shout out the name of Draco's hiding spot before he felt himself being sucked in at his navel and transported to his destination.

 

He immediately crouched into a defensive position as he landed, careful to make as little sound as possible.  As he searched the surroundings, he could see three dim wand lights near the tower. 

 

A moment later, he saw a bright red flash of light hit the dark stone wall of the tower, and he had no idea how long Draco had been under attack.  He knew that there was very little chance that the attackers could do any damage to the tower, much less to Draco, but it didn’t stop the adrenaline in his system from surging, and he could feel his muscles tense as his instincts kicked in. 

 

He crept forward slowly, carefully trying to stay hidden behind the trees and underbrush of the surrounding forest.  He circled around the tower, staying a decent distance away from the three dark figures nearer the wall so that he would not be detected.  When he was about fifteen feet from the one closest to the edge of the woods, he stopped moving and lined up his wand.

 

Harry knew that he would probably only get one shot before either the figures retaliated or Apparated on the spot.  His only hope would be to take at least one person down so that they could be brought in for questioning.  He tried to make out faces on the figures, but they were all facing the tower and it was too dark to see proper features.

 

Bracing himself for a possible counterattack, Harry whispered “Stupefy” and pointed his wand at the nearest person.  A red light shot from his wand and struck the figure in the back, immediately toppling him over. 

 

It would have been a rather sneaky attack, had the person not landed in a pile of dead branches near the base of a tree, creating horrible cracking sounds that could have imitated thunder.  Almost as soon as the sound emitted from the pile, the other two figures whipped around, wands pointed at the woods near where Harry was crouched.

 

At this point, Harry was very glad that it was dark out and that it was nearly impossible for them to see him, hidden behind the trees.  He watched as the taller of the two remaining figures walked slowly towards his body, the wand still lit so that the person could search for Harry.

 

Hoping that he would get another shot at one of the people, Harry lined up his wand again.  Unfortunately, the line to where the nearest figure was walking had a good-sized berry bush obstructing his view.  He carefully stepped to the side, trying to find a spot to hide, yet still have a decent shot. 

 

As soon as Harry took three steps to the left, he stepped on a twig.  The small branch cracked under his foot, just as the pile had done for the stunned body, and the nearest figure whipped around to face him.  He was now close enough, less than five feet, and Harry wasn’t surprised to see Deckard’s face lit by the wand. 

 

It only took a moment longer for Deckard to realize who he was looking at, but before Harry could fire off a spell, Deckard hollered for the other person in their group to Apparate and he did the same.

 

Seconds later, after a cursory glance to make sure that Deckard and the other man had really disappeared, he sprinted the short distance to the stunned body, glad that the other two hadn’t tried to grab him before Apparating.  Working on autopilot, Harry quickly restrained the still-limp body, putting the man in a body bind before flipping him onto his back, so he wouldn’t be face down when he woke up.  Then, for good measure he tossed in a quick Silencing spell.

 

As soon as he was done, he ran to where the broom was still leaning up against the tree, glad that the others obviously hadn’t noticed it in the darkness, and he mounted it as quickly as he could.  It took him mere seconds before he was hovering at window-level, and glad to see the shutters were shut, he shouted to Malfoy that it was safe to come out. 

 

As a disheveled blond head appeared at the frame after the shutters were cracked open, his tired voice said, “You know, Potter, that would almost be funny if I could actually leave the tower.”

 

Harry felt slightly abashed at the play on words, but it didn’t stop him from asking how Malfoy was.

 

“I’m quite fine.  I just stayed on the far side of the room, away from the window.  I have no doubts that the tower could easily deflect any spell those imbeciles tried to throw at it, but I had no idea you would be back tonight.  I figured out I wouldn’t be getting much sleep until they left in the morning and you came back.”

 

Harry was slightly confused.  “You don’t even seem upset about this, Draco.”

 

He shrugged.  “It’s hard to be upset now that I know why my mother did this.  I only agreed in the first place because I couldn’t stand to see the hurt in her eyes—like during the war.  To be honest, I’d much rather be stuck under attack up here than out there.”

 

Harry could agree with that.  “Well, to make a long story short, I figured out at least who one of the men is.”

 

Harry paused, but after a quick look back at the body still lying on the ground, he said, “I’ll tell you about it later though.  And I’m glad you’re okay, Malfoy.”

 

There was a pregnant pause before Malfoy said, “Thank you.”

 

Harry had a feeling that the blond was a bit surprised that Harry had been so concerned.  Actually, Harry was a bit surprised too, but then he figured that he really didn’t want to see anything bad happen to anyone, even if it was Malfoy.  And Malfoy had actually been quite pleasant during this entire experience, even when Harry would have been yanking out his own hair and yelling obscenities out of boredom. 

 

Plus, no one deserved to lose their son because the world was full of psychos.  Harry also thought it would be a waste to lose such an attractive man, too.  He didn’t know anyone else who filled out a ball gown quite like Draco Malfoy, and as soon as he thought it, he couldn’t keep the image from his head, no matter how hard he tried to banish it. 

 

“Malfoy, I have to go.  But just so you know, I don’t think you will have to stay here much longer.  It’s not safe now that Deckard knows where you are.”

 

In the dim light, Harry could barely see Draco nod.  “I will talk to Kingsley tonight, but I probably won’t be able to get the key from your mother until the morning.  Until then, I’ll have Kingsley hand-select a couple men to do patrol down here, and Kingsley will probably stay himself.  I will try to find out as much as I can from the man I stunned, and I will be back as soon as I possibly can.”

 

“Where will I go if I’m not here?  There is no other place as safe as here.”  For a moment, Draco sounded worried.

 

“I’ll figure something out.  We aren’t working for the Ministry for no reason.  If all else fails, you will probably stay at someone’s house so that you have twenty four-seven protection, rather than in a safe-house.  I’ll let you know tomorrow morning for sure.”

 

With a quick wave, Harry didn’t waste any time flying down to his bound captive, unsurprised to see him still out cold.  He dismounted the broom and tossed it carelessly towards the tree where it was always propped, then walked to the body.  Since he had been stunned outside of the protection spell, he didn’t have to drag the man any further away and Apparated immediately.

 

<<<<< Friday >>>>>

 

The next morning, Harry was up early, and rather cranky.  He’d had only a few hours sleep, but the night had been well worth it.

 

As soon as he’d arrived back at the Ministry, he’d brought the stunned man to a holding cell and then fire-called Kingsley.  His boss wasted no time Flooing to the office, calling in two of his most trusted Aurors to help out.  Harry then had to transport each of the three men individually to Draco's hiding spot before heading back to the Ministry for the questioning.

 

Kingsley came back from Draco’s an hour into the questioning of Deckard’s accomplice, and then things really took off.  Before, Harry and the questioner hadn’t been able to use Veritaserum without Kingsley Shacklebolt’s approval.  The only thing that Harry had found out was that the man’s full name was Patrick Jason Welling, that he was thirty-nine years old, and that his son had been a casualty of the war.

 

As soon as Kingsley walked into the room, carrying a vial of the so-called “truth-serum,” Harry relaxed.  Five minutes later, the man was spilling every detail of his life, including the fact that he had been involved in four other attacks of different families and that Deckard had convinced him to become part of the vigilante group nearly four months ago.

 

The man’s evidence would guarantee that a warrant would be out for Deckard’s arrest, along with Osbrow, who Welling had confirmed was other man with Deckard at the tower, and five other men and women.  Besides Deckard and Osbrow, two of those others worked in the Ministry, but thankfully Deckard was the only current Auror. 

 

When Harry asked Welling why Deckard had decided to become a vigilante of sorts, Welling told Harry that Deckard had been dating a woman who disappeared almost a year ago.  No one ever found her, and even a specialist from the Department of Mysteries didn’t find a trace of where she went or who could have taken her.  Since it was during Voldemort’s rise, the Ministry considered her just another casualty of war, and Deckard never got over the fact that they had to give up the search to pool their resources elsewhere, such as to prevent Voldemort’s complete takeover.

 

Deckard had been planning to propose to her.

 

As much as Harry thought that Deckard went about the situation in the worst way possible, he could understand where the man was coming from, and he definitely knew what it felt like to lose a loved one.  Still, it was no excuse to endanger or take the lives of others, especially when Deckard had sworn to protect the lives of any and all when he became an Auror, just like Harry had.    

 

Harry would still feel much better once he was caught, along with all the other vigilantes in his group.  If all the people on trial could just make it through the next couple weeks, at least until the trials were over, then they had a good shot at being safe. 


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