Malicious Intent - Part 4 (H/D)

Title: Malicious Intent – Part 4
Author: sesheta_66
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Word Count: 2.5K
Rating: Eventual NC-17
Warning: none
Summary: Harry’s world is upended when he’s asked to investigate a break-in and threats levied at Draco Malfoy. He’s never told anyone about their short-lived but intense relationship, and now, five years after it ended, doesn’t seem the time. He’s a professional, so he will investigate, find and arrest the culprit, and get on with his life. What else can he do?
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.

To start at the beginning, click here.

Or to read at AO3, click here.



Malicious Intent – Part 4

Back at Malfoy’s flat, Harry jumped into action. "I’m going to record everything I’m doing, if that’s alright with you."

Malfoy stood, arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the doorframe that separated front room from kitchen. "Whatever the Great Auror Potter must do."

Harry sighed. He wasn’t entirely sure Malfoy was acting. "Look, Malfoy, don’t be a dick. You have the right, as the homeowner and victim here, to request that I not record the inspection as I take a walk through."

Malfoy scoffed. "Like they couldn’t take your own memories as evidence?"

"No, as a matter of fact, they can’t." This was one of the changes made in the last five years. Consent was required for video evidence. Still photographs of crime scenes were standard, but if there was no injury to a person, the homeowner could say no to photographic evidence. "Nothing prevents viewing of memories via Pensieve, but nothing is admissible without your consent."

"Whatever." He waved his arm at nothing in particular. "Have at it. I have nothing to hide." He crossed his arms over his chest again. "Not that you or anyone else believes that."

Harry rolled his eyes and began his recording with the case number, date and time. He repeated the spells he’d used earlier, adding to his earlier notes, and throwing numerous other detection spells into the mix. He could feel Malfoy’s eyes watching his every move, cataloguing what Harry was seeing. He focussed his attention on the damage done to Malfoy’s property, then acted surprised as he came across the barely concealed devices.

"Are these yours?" he asked, holding out his gloved hand to Malfoy, three bugs clearly visible. Malfoy leaned in for a good look and went to reach for them. Harry pulled his hand back. "Don’t touch them, please. They may be evidence."

"Sorry. Forgot." Malfoy withdrew his hand and squinted at them. "No, they’re not mine. What are they?"

Harry stared down at his hand. "This isn’t my area of expertise, but it seems someone wants to keep careful watch on you."

Draco glared at the devices Harry held in his hand. "So these are ...?"

"Bugs," Harry said. At Draco’s faux-confused look, he elaborated. "Listening devices. A sort of muggle-magic hybrid. They don’t look particularly sophisticated, as far as I can tell, but I’ll have someone in forensics look them over."

Malfoy – true to his word – acted quite surprised. "Bugs." He frowned. "But couldn’t they just put a listening spell on the place?"

Harry nodded. "They could have, but these are easier to hide in a wizard’s home. After all, you’re more likely to look for magic than something like this, something that’s less likely to set off your wards."

"Not like those worked anyway."

"No," Harry agreed. "But once you clean up this mess and tighten your wards, these might have gone undetected, and they’d be able to listen in, even if they could no longer get in."

Draco reached for them again. this time with more force, but Harry pulled back. "Don’t destroy them."

"Why the fuck not?" he said, scowling at the devices.

"Because once they’re destroyed, we can no longer track them." Draco stopped reaching for them. "In fact, once they stop transmitting, we probably can’t do anything to track the signal," Harry explained. "That’s the problem with this hybrid technology. The magical component is so weak that it doesn’t leave much of a trace. We have to catch it in the act of transmitting."

"So catch it!"

"These don’t seem to be transmitting right now."

"But –"

"It appears to be recording – that’s the muggle part of it – but it may be set to transmit only at certain times. Less likely to be discovered that way."

"So how did you find them?"

Harry stared at him, then raised his brows. "You may find this hard to believe, Malfoy, but I’m actually pretty good at my job. I’m a trained Auror and I’ve seen a fair few of these over the past few years."

"I –"

"Look, you don’t have to like me or the fact that I’m on your case, which you clearly don’t, but I do actually know what I’m doing. I won’t pretend I’m an expert on surveillance devices – that’s what our forensics group is for – but I have a basic working knowledge of this stuff."

Draco pursed his lips. "Whatever, Potter."

"Let me finish up what I’m doing and then I’ll leave you to fill out reports." Harry carried on with his detailed inspection. He made no indication that he saw or otherwise suspected additional devices. He would review the footage later and make his notes then, away from the prying eyes of the video recording devices.

"Right, that’s me done for now." He ended the recording spell and placed two forms on the table. "One of those is the formal report; the second is for you to list any missing items. Do you have any questions?"

Malfoy looked once more at the bugs. "Are they listening now?"

"They might be, yes."

"Well, get them the hell out of here." He shivered. "It’s creepy being spied on."

"I’ll take them with me and hand them over to the experts. They may want to come by as well." Malfoy didn’t look thrilled at having more people go through his things. Harry couldn’t blame him for that. "So, you have two choices. We can declare this an ongoing crime scene, in which case you won’t be able to stay here until after the team can come in and do their thing."

"How long will that be?"

"A couple of days, give or take. They’ve got quite a bit on their plates at the moment."

"Of course they do." He wrapped his arms around his waist again. "And what’s the second choice?"

Harry ignored the slight. "I don’t recommend it, but without anyone injured, the choice is yours. You can trust me – which I’m sure will sit oh so well with you – to record the scene and bring these bugs and the footage to them, and you can go back to doing whatever it is you do. They can then come by when they’re available to look for anything else out of the ordinary, but the scene won’t have been preserved."

"I’ll go with option two."

"I don’t –"

"I heard you, Potter. You don’t recommend it. But let’s be honest, shall we? They already assigned the case to you. There’s no way people don’t know our history, so putting someone who’s always hated me on the –"

"I don’t hate you."

Malfoy snorted. "Sure. Right. Whatever." He began pacing along a small clearing in the rubble. "Regardless, I don’t fancy anyone at the Ministry gives two shits what happens to me, so how much better or worse could it be than you?" He stopped his pacing to look at Harry. "Better the devil you know, yeah?"

Harry barked out a laugh. "So I’m the devil now?"

Malfoy threw his hands up in the air. "Not the point."

"Then what, precisely, is the point, Malfoy?"

Malfoy settled himself in a chair and put his face in his hands. "The point is that I shouldn’t have even bothered contacting the Ministry. Only … well, whoever is doing this has managed to invade my home and get past my wards. And where else could I go?" He surveyed the disaster of his flat and Harry could see just how deeply this was cutting. "I don’t think anyone is about to bend over backwards to help a former Death Eater, but I will, grudgingly, concede that you may be the one Auror that might actually do something."

Harry coughed. "Gee, such high praise."

Malfoy shrugged but didn’t look up. "For reasons best known to yourself, you did testify on my behalf after the war. And … well … whatever. I suppose that’s more than most would have done, so …"

And I saved your life, you tosser. Not to mention … well, best not to mention. "So you’ll take my recommendation?"

He laughed and finally looked up. "I’ll accept you working the case. Not like I have a choice there, anyway, but still. I’ll also accept your additional security wards. But no, I don’t think I’ll move out whilst waiting for a team to come here and poke around my things, probably hoping to find something on me or, worse, plant something in my home, rather than find whoever’s doing this. Thanks, but no."

"Look, Malfoy –" Harry wanted to defend his colleagues, but understood what Malfoy was thinking. He probably wasn’t far off the mark to think that some people would be more than happy to catch him at something he could be tossed into prison for.

"Spare me, Potter."

"I know the Ministry had corruption all through its ranks. Long before Voldemort took over." Lucius Malfoy was proof of that, though it didn’t bear mentioning. "But we’ve done a good job of clearing the place."

Malfoy snorted. "Sure you have."

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "I have confidence in our Auror department, at the very least. But I understand if you don’t."

"Good, glad we got that sorted." He stood up and took his wand out. "Perhaps you could add some of your Super Saviour Auror wards to this place before you leave, and then I can get on with cleaning up this disaster." He walked into the kitchen. "Meanwhile, I could use a drink."

Harry nodded and did just that. Five minutes later, he was done. "That should be good to keep people out. I’ve set the wards to allow myself access as well as you."

Malfoy’s eyes widened. "You will have access?"

Harry could tell Malfoy was about as thrilled as he was. "Yes, well, I am the Auror on the case, and I figured I should be able to get in should something happen."

"Something?"

"Should someone breach the wards, or ... something."

Malfoy fidgeted with his glass of amber liquid. "Whatever."

"Look, I know this isn’t ideal." Malfoy made a dismissive noise. Harry ignored him. "I have no intention of coming here unannounced and uninvited, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I couldn’t respond quickly to whatever situation might arise." He wanted Malfoy to look at him, to understand that Harry would never do anything to risk his life, nor would he invade his privacy, but Malfoy continued to stare into his glass. "You can put up additional warding to block me as well, but do warn me if you’re going to do that, particularly over the next few days."

He shrugged in defeat, but still didn’t look up. "That’s fine. And what about my mother?"

"No, I thought it best for now, until we catch whoever did this, that she not risk coming here. I presume you agree?"

"Oh. Right. Of course. But ..." His words drifted off and he frowned in thought. "I don’t want to worry her, though."

"I understand, but don’t you think she and your father might be able to help figure out who might have done this?" Not that Harry cherished the idea of interviewing Lucius Malfoy, but if it would help narrow down the suspect list, he should.

"Perhaps, but ... well, she’ll want me to stay with them, won’t she?"

Harry thought of Mrs Weasley and how she’d react if something like this were happening to one of her children. "Yeah, I suppose so."

Draco shuddered. "I don’t relish staying there." Harry knew that Draco hadn’t felt comfortable in his childhood home after the war, after Voldemort all but took over the place. He’d hinted at more but had never fully opened up to Harry about that time. And then whatever they’d had had been over before he’d got around to pressing the issue.

"So you still aren’t comfortable there?" Knowing they were being listened to, he didn’t elaborate, and he hoped his look conveyed that to Malfoy. Well, if he’d bother looking at Harry it might.

He shuddered again. "My father and I don’t see eye to eye on many things, and we keep our distance. It’s enough that I go there for dinner and special occasions. I’d rather not make it any longer than that."

Harry nodded. "So do I take that to mean –"

"That I’d rather you not speak to my parents at this time, Auror Potter."

Harry was torn between relief at not having to see Lucius or Malfoy Manor again, and concern that he might not be getting the information he needed to properly investigate and protect Draco. "Fine, but I may push back later."

"Shocking, that." He finally looked up at Harry. "Imagine you pushing back."

Harry smirked. "I’ve been known to do so on occasion."

A fleeting smile crossed Draco’s face before he stood up and it fell once more. "Right, so you can go now. No need to babysit the Death Eater." Harry blinked at the abrupt change in mood. "I have a flat to clean and you have Auror things to do."

Harry barely stopped himself reaching out with a calming hand. Instead, he withdrew his wand. "I can help with that." Draco narrowed his eyes, but Harry quickly added, "My mending charms are pretty good and you can zoom everything back into place. We can set the place to rights in short order."

Malfoy looked like he was going to argue, but Harry walked away, brandishing his wand.

It took slightly longer than expected, what with all the damage, but together they got through the mess in the front room in about fifteen minutes. Everything was going swimmingly when, now working in the bedroom, Harry repaired an item that mended itself into a very familiar form. His hand shook as he watched it take shape. When Draco saw it, his pale face went paler and he grabbed it with his hand. He opened a drawer and tossed it inside. "I think I can manage the rest," he said.

Harry didn’t argue this time. He needed to leave. Now. "I’ll be back in a few hours," he said, thankful his voice wasn’t as shaky as his body had become. "Is that enough time for you to inventory what might be missing?"

Not looking at Harry, he said stiffly, "That should be fine."

"Right. I’ve left the forms on your kitchen table." Harry ran his hand through his hair nervously. "So. A few hours then." And he disapparated.

Sitting on his sofa back at Grimmauld Place, he tossed his wand onto the table. His hands shook as he raised them to his face. He’d kept it. Draco had kept the gift Harry had bought him all those years ago. It had been a cheap little souvenir from their first – and, as it turned out, only – real date. And he’d kept it. But why?

If what they’d had – how had Draco put it? Had only ever been a distraction, a way to let off steam – if it had never meant anything, then why would he have kept Harry’s gift?

Continued in Part 5