Malicious Intent - Part 13 (H/D)

Title: Malicious Intent – Part 13
Author: sesheta_66
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Word Count: 3.5K
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.

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Malicious Intent – Part 13

The next morning, when he arrived at the Ministry, Harry went directly to the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, making a beeline for the Improper Use of Magic Office. He’d decided it was time to involve others in the case, particularly if he wanted to track down Rowle quickly. He didn’t want to give him time to get away while Harry figured out how to narrow down his search.

"Auror Potter," Brian MacInness, a harried but cheerful gentleman in his fifties, greeted him. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

Harry smiled. "Hi, Mac. I was hoping you could help me on a case."

"At your disposal," he said. "What can I do for you?"

Harry decided he wouldn’t mention Draco unless necessary. Mac was never one to question Harry’s requests too closely, so he didn’t think it would come to that. "I’m wondering if you can tell me about magical occurrences in Romford." At Mac’s frown, he added, "Any chance you already have surveillance in the area? Considering it’s a primarily Muggle suburb, I thought you might. It could really save me some time."

He winked in response. "We do, indeed. Not sure what help it’ll be, but I can check the records. How far back to you need?"

"That’d be great," Harry said. "I’m looking for any significant changes over the last –" He thought about how long the devices had been at Draco’s and added a couple of months as a buffer "– at least eight months. Specifically changes in the amount of magic either cast in the area or sent to the area."

"Sent to?"

"Yeah. We’ve found some surveillance equipment that transmitted information to the general vicinity, but I’m trying to narrow it down to a particular residence. I’m guessing it’d be in the magical neighbourhood near Raphael Park, but if you could check all of Romford, I’d appreciate it."

"Sure thing. When do you need it by?"

"Yesterday?" Harry asked hopefully. Mac rolled his eyes. "I know, we always ask for rush jobs, but in this case, someone’s being threatened and I have no way of knowing when the suspect or suspects will bolt, likely as soon as they figure out their bugs have been removed. So the sooner, the better." Harry considered how much to disclose while Mac pulled some files. He decided to err on the side of Draco’s safety. "Keep this to yourself, but it’s a Death Eater long presumed dead, and I’d like to see him locked up for good this time."

His eyes widened. "Of course, Harry. I should have something for you by the end of the day."

Harry grinned. Nothing like the threat of a Voldemort sycophant to light a fire under someone. "Thanks. I really appreciate it."

"Should I send the report to your office?"

Harry wondered where he’d be when the report came in. Most likely at the hotel. "I’ve got some work to do outside the office today. How about you just send me an owl and I’ll come to pick it up directly? I don’t want something like that sitting on my desk."

"No problem. I’ll get right on it."

"Cheers."

Harry stifled a grin as he watched the usually subdued Mac positively twitching in his seat at the prospect of helping with a case involving a Death Eater.

Back in his office, Harry dealt with a few messages and some follow up on two of his pending cases. Ron’s team still hadn’t returned from Yorkshire, though he suspected they’d be back soon. Inwardly, he was grateful. He didn’t fancy the fallout with his friend any more than he’d enjoyed the confrontation with Ginny. He’d have plenty of time to deal with that after Draco’s case was closed. Or at least after today.

Forcing himself not to return to the Improper Use of Magic Office, knowing Mac would be on the case and would let him know as soon as he found anything, Harry headed back to the hotel to work on the case undisturbed.

When an owl tapped on the window about an hour after he’d settled in, Harry looked up hopefully, only to recognise Pig. He opened the window and the ever-excitable ball of feathers zoomed around the room until Harry was able to snatch him mid-air. "Come on, you. It’s just a hotel room. Nothing to get that stirred up about."

He removed the scroll and opened it. He smiled.

Harry, feel like meeting up for supper at the Leaky? Say seven o’clock? Ron’s still away and I thought we could catch up. Give response to Pig. Love, Hermione.

He replied in the affirmative and got back to work feeling a bit more cheerful. He and Hermione hadn’t had a chance to talk on their own since last Christmas when they’d stolen a few moments at the annual Weasley Christmas at the Burrow. It’d be nice to chat.

A few hours later, Harry tossed aside the papers he’d been staring at, bleary-eyed, for the past ten minutes. Something was niggling at the back of his mind and he’d become distracted. Though there’d been no arrangement between them for Draco to return, and there weren’t any outstanding questions he needed to talk to him about, Harry had somehow expected him to show up. In a matter of a few days, he’d grown accustomed to seeing Draco. Looked forward it, despite the emotional upheaval caused by their close proximity.

As he replayed yesterday’s intensely charged conversation, he wondered if he’d been too harsh. He’d only wanted to be sure of Draco’s motivation. That and, when it came down to it, Harry’d had all that bottled up inside for five years. He supposed it was a lucky thing he hadn’t blurted all that out on day one. But he hadn’t meant to throw Draco’s words back in his face, no matter how much they still stung.

In the bright light of day, he realised that Draco had actually poured his heart out to Harry. He’d laid himself bare and had to have been vulnerable. Something Draco hated to be, fought against always. Add to that the new-found knowledge of what had prompted that conversation all those years ago, and Harry began to feel like a right shit.

As he was about to send a message to Draco telling him just that, another tap came at the window. He let the owl in and found a message from Mac. Forgetting everything else, he Apparated to the Ministry, hoping that this might be the break he needed in the case.

It was and it wasn’t. Mac had narrowed down some peculiar activity to a particular residence. He hadn’t taken note of it right away, because it wasn’t a particularly large wave of magic, but after finding no such surge in magical activity, he went back to study the records with a closer eye.

"This pattern started about six months ago at one house. See this?" He pointed to a page that showed a line graph, one that was mainly flat, with blips where the line shot up and then back down again every so often. "See how it sits at a low level?" Harry nodded. "That’s just ambient magic – keeping the wards up, interior climate at a constant level, that sort of thing. But then look at these." He pointed to peaks in the line where there’d been increases in magic.

Harry studied them. "They look almost rhythmic."

Mac grinned and nodded. "Exactly. That’s what caught my eye. There’s nothing random about it. In fact, there seems to be nothing going on for a two-week period, then boom, a surge of magic – incoming, by the way – and then nothing for another two weeks. Then, like clockwork, incoming magic, then nothing."

"What do you think that means?"

"My best guess is that this place is not being lived in. There’d be a lot more magic, and it’d fluctuate whenever spells were cast. Looks to me like it’s set up as a place to receive those signals you were talking about, but nothing else."

"So that if someone – the Aurors, for instance – discovered the transmissions, the person’s whereabouts would remain concealed, because they weren’t actually there."

"That sounds about right," Mac agreed.

Harry looked at the last date of transmission, and sure enough it was the same day his trace had detected the transmission from Draco’s flat. That gave him less than two weeks before the next one. "How strong do you figure the wards are, based on the level of ambient magic in place?"

"Strong," he said. "But not Auror-level strong, if that’s any help."

Harry nodded. "It is. Thanks."

"Anytime." He flipped to the last page and pointed at an address. "That’s the place." Harry tapped it with his finger and committed it to memory. Mac handed over his report. "Good luck, and you’ll let me know when you catch the bastard, yeah?"

"You’ll be one of the first," Harry assured him. "Now go home; it’s late."

Mac chuckled. "Will do. But you knew I couldn’t leave without finishing this."

"Yeah, you rock, Mac."

"Tell my boss that."

Harry tucked away the report and ran from the room, determined to share the news with Draco. He called over his shoulder, "You can count on it."

He took out the coin and sent Draco a message. News on the case. Need to talk.

By the time he got back to the hotel, he only had a quarter of an hour before he had to leave for his dinner with Hermione. He spent the time planning his strategy to catch Rowle. He needed to stake out the place, scan the wards and try to gain entry. He ruled out going for a warrant, not with Draco’s life at risk and the delays he knew would face him in order to get one. If he could get one. The evidence was clear to Harry, but did not amount to anything that could justify a warrant. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission. And when it came to a Death Eater, it didn’t even matter if this case fell apart; Rowle would be returned to Azkaban for life based on prior crimes. It was a win-win in Harry’s book.

He’d need to set his own trap, undetected, to catch anyone entering the place. He suspected Rowle might not show up himself, so Harry needed to attach a tracking charm to whomever entered, then follow them – hopefully right to Rowle.

When it was time to leave and he’d not heard back from Draco, he got himself ready and made his way to the Leaky. He’d have to bring Draco up to speed later.

He met Hermione outside the pub and when they went in, he placed their drinks order while she grabbed a table in back. After taking his order, the bartender motioned him on ahead to the table. "Replacing the keg. Just about done, but it’ll be a couple of minutes more. I’ll have Kathie bring the drinks round as soon as we’re done."

"Cheers," Harry said and he made his way to the table. As he approached, the busboy deposited two glasses of water, cutlery and napkins and moved to the next table to pick up the empty glasses left behind. "They’ll bring the drinks over," Harry told Hermione.

"Sounds good." No sooner did he get his bum in his seat than she said, "So, I thought it best to meet on neutral ground."

"What?" Harry laughed. "Why would we need neutral ground?"

She fidgeted in her seat, turning her fork over in her hand before putting it down and looking up at Harry. "Well, Ron’s away right now, but could come home at any minute." She bit her bottom lip, then said, "And I know that you’re not staying at home right now."

"How did you –?" But of course he knew. "Never mind. Ginny."

"Yes, Ginny. She came by to see me last night." She looked at Harry as if to see into his mind. He Occluded himself, just in case. "She was a right mess."

Harry shrugged, then picked up his glass of water and took a sip. He could use that pint, damn it. "Was she?" He was going for indifferent but suspected he sounded angrier than he’d hoped.

Hermione frowned. "Yes, she was." Her voice was harsh and came out rather louder than she’d expected, if her look of surprise was any indication. She cast a swift silencing charm and continued. "And I can’t say that I blame her." She glared at Harry, but he said nothing. Anger was beginning to swirl around in his gut and he needed a moment before he tried to speak. "What were you thinking, Harry? After all this time, demanding that she get out? And in two days!" She looked disgusted. Still he said nothing. He waited for her to continue, so he could get a fuller picture of precisely what Ginny had told her.

She picked up her napkin and started twisting it in her hands. When she realised what she was doing, she tossed it onto the table. "I blame myself, you know."

"What?" he said. "How did you work that out?" Had she known all along what Ginny and Ron had done? Had she been a part of it? Planned it? Helped them keep it from him?

She rolled her eyes as though he’d said something incredibly stupid. "I’m the one that told her to tell you how she felt. That she wanted to get married. I never expected you would throw her out for that." She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at Harry.

Thankfully, the waitress came over with their drinks and Hermione ended the charm. "Sorry for the wait. Can I get you anything else?" Harry smiled and took a long pull of his beer, debating ordering another right then.

"Not right now, thank you," Hermione said, plastering on a smile. She took a perfunctory sip of her wine and Kathie left.

"Well?" she said, glaring daggers at Harry. He raised his brows and she said, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Harry sat back and took another long draw from his pint, letting it slide down his throat and cool him down slightly before answering her. He placed it down carefully and cast a fresh silencing charm over their table. He leaned forward and smiled. "What precisely did Ginny say to you? What is it that I’m supposed to have done that has you this riled with me?"

Hermione scowled. She was used to getting answers, not questions thrown back at her. "She said that you’d planned a nice dinner at home for the two of you and that you were going to talk about wedding plans afterwards."

He showed his surprise before reaching for his glass once more. He sipped it slowly this time, then put it back down. "Funny, I don’t remember saying anything about wedding plans."

Hermione looked confused. "But Ginny said –"

"Yes, I have an idea of what she might have said. In truth, she mentioned marriage after visiting with you. What you might not know is that we’d been having ... issues already and the last thing on my mind was getting married. Which I told her. I only agreed to talk the next day." Her brows furrowed as she digested that bit of news. "What else did she say?"

She picked up her glass and stared into it. Harry recognised this as her ‘going over a conversation in her head’ look. He let her work through it. "Well, she burst into tears at that point. Then said something about you saying awful things to her and something about work and something else about her not knowing you and then you told her to get out and you left."

Harry barked out a laugh, drained his glass and motioned to the barkeep for another. "So let me get this straight," he said. "First, I was planning some romantic dinner as a prelude to a discussion of our forthcoming wedded bliss, is that right?" She fidgeted, but nodded. "Right, then out of nowhere I spewed off a bunch of horrible things, announced she didn’t know me and kicked her out of the house?"

"Yes, with only two days to move."

He nodded and took a fortifying breath. "So you, naturally, think I’m a right bastard."

"Well ..."

"So you’ve made up your mind about me, then. No point hearing my side."

She grabbed the napkin again. "I didn’t say that."

"No," Harry said, "but you certainly came at me, guns blazing."

"You haven’t denied kicking her out."

"No."

"And you’re not staying at the house right now."

"No."

"And you’re not getting married."

He laughed. "Oh, hell, no." Blessedly, Kathie brought his second beer. He dropped the spell, lifted his beer in a toast and thanked her, then erected the spell once more. He took a sip.

"Well?" she prodded.

"Well what?"

"What happened?"

He leaned forward across the table. "Are you sure you want to know?"

She frowned. "Of course I want to know. I care about both of you and I can’t believe it’s over, not after all this time."

Harry reached once more for his beer and took a slow sip, savouring the bitter taste. "Oh, it’s over. It’s definitely over."

"But why?"

"Let’s just say that – after I’d agreed to talk with Ginny – I found out some disturbing news." He hesitated but – knowing that Hermione’s determination would wear him down eventually – continued. "I don’t think you really want to know what happened."

"Why wouldn’t I?"

"Because it involves Ron, too."

She took a large sip of her wine at those words, then fixed her gaze on Harry. "Now I really want to know."

"I don’t think you do, but ..."

"Spit it out, Harry."

So he told her. Everything. He’d expected shock when he told her about his short-lived relationship with Draco, but she just smiled and said, "I always wondered."

That threw him. "Wondered what?"

She shrugged. "If the two of you would ever stop pulling each other’s pigtails long enough to see if there was anything there." The shock he’d expected from Hermione bloomed on his own face as his mouth fell open. She chuckled. "What? I always thought there was some serious chemistry going on there – well, at least from fifth year on. It’s just we were ... well, rather busy with other things for me to come right out and ask you. And with Draco’s father ... being who he was ..."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "You really are far too smart for your own good."

She laughed and toasted him. "So, go on. Then what happened?"

"Ron and Ginny happened."

She narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"They went behind my back, to Draco, and told him to break things off with me. Told him he’d ruin my life, no one would ever hire me as an Auror, let alone anything more. They even suggested the Ministry might lock me up to prevent such a strong wizard – me – from being influenced by a Death Eater – him."

She laughed at that last bit. "I’d like to have seen them try that."

He shrugged. "Yeah, that was a bit far-fetched, but the rest resonated. It worked. He called things off, said it had never meant anything. Said he would dutifully marry a pureblood witch but ..." This part was hard to say, even now, even knowing now that he hadn’t meant it at the time. "But we could get together and fuck – on the side and in private – once in a while. You know, after he got married."

Hermione gasped. "He didn’t."

"He did." Harry took another pull of his pint and stared at the table. "He was very convincing."

"And you believed him."

He slid his glass from hand to hand. "Not at first, I didn’t. I mean, I had no idea why he’d said what he had, but as time went on and he didn’t contact me, I started to believe it. Realised that I’d been a complete idiot. I couldn’t trust my own instincts, started to wonder what sort of useless Auror I’d be if I couldn’t even see through something like that, from someone I’d spent years distrusting."

Hermione stopped his glass mid-slide and grabbed his hand. She squeezed. "I’m so sorry, Harry."

He looked up at her and knew at once she’d not known a thing before now. "Yeah, me too."

He felt raw, exposed under her gaze. He reached for the menus and thrust one into her hands. "We should order some food before I drink my supper and I can’t walk out of here."

She smiled and nodded. By the time Kathie returned to take their orders, Harry’d composed himself reasonably well and was able to enjoy the meal with his friend. He could face everything else tomorrow.


Continued in Part 14