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sesheta66Title: Second Chance – Chapter Twenty
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sesheta_66 || AO3: sesheta_66
Prompts used:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
slythindor100’s early bird prompt U—Christmas Tree Ornaments (picture under the cut) and dracoharry100’s prompt 30: Santa's elves
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Word Count: 1.5K (this part)
Rating: R (eventually; this part PG)
Warning: none
Summary: This is the second Christmas for Draco without Astoria and Harry's first since Ginny remarried. Will best friends Scorpius and Albus be just what they need to rekindle something they'd thought fleeting and lost forever?
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Written for theslythindor100 Early Bird 25 Days of Draco and Harry and the dracoharry100 Christmas Challenge.
On LJ: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20
OR on AO3
Second Chance – Chapter 20
Harry sat down with Skeeter and was giving her the updates he had that he was willing to make public at this time – in other words, giving her some filler without disclosing much – when he received an alert from Drummond. Another rave the night before; another three cases at Mungo's, one critical.
"Sorry, Rita, but I have to go."
Her eyes lit up and her quill hovered jauntily over the page. "Ooh, do tell! My readers will want to know."
There was no point remaining quiet. She'd find out about thirty seconds after Harry left. One quick call to Mungo's ought to do the trick. "There's been another incident. Three more taken to St Mungo's. I need to get there."
"But – who is it? Was it another rave? Where was it held?"
"That's all I have for you now," Harry said, putting on his coat. "I have to get back to work."
As he ran out the door, she shouted, "I expect a full update later!"
He arrived at Mungo's in short order, and got the update from one of the Healers. As she spoke, Harry looked around the youth unit, Christmas tree with its festive ornaments and Santa's elves mocking him. The one in critical condition was not doing well and had to be restrained and sedated for her own safety. She was only thirteen years old. Lily's age. The other two were stable with family keeping vigil. They were both fifteen.
Several others, Drummond informed him, had been badly tripping according to witnesses, but no word on their locations at present. The thirteen-year-old had gone out with her older brother who had told their parents that they were just going to a friend's house. From there, the friend had apparently suggested they go to the party. No word yet on how she came to ingest the drug.
"We've got people at the party location – abandoned, but running forensics – as well as the homes of those we know were in attendance."
"Keep me posted."
"Sir?" Drummond looked like a cross between someone ready to kill, ready to collapse or ready to throw up. "This one went bad fast. I think we're gonna see a lot more cases come in. We need to get word out to the public so they act quickly."
Harry nodded. "On it."
He didn't have to go far. As expected, Skeeter was outside the hospital when he exited. He made a bee-line for her. As much as it sickened him to see her excitement, he knew she would be the best way to get word out fast. "Rita, I have an update for you."
Her quill shivered in response. Even it was excited. Harry felt ill. "Do tell!"
"There was a rave last night, an abandoned warehouse just off Knockturn Alley. Several children – the youngest thirteen years old – have been brought into the hospital for treatment. We don't have all the details yet, but this case appears to have the potential to be worse than the previous ones. We need to get word out to the public that anyone who attended a party in that vicinity last night should seek medical attention immediately." He thought of the little girl inside fighting for her life. "There is a concern that the drug may have been administered without the victims' knowledge."
The pen flew across the page, and to Harry's relief did not seem to be embellishing his words. "Do you know who did this? Has anyone been arrested?"
"I'll give you more updates as I have them. But please, get word out as fast as you can. If anyone is experiencing anything out of the ordinary, and attended a party in the area, get to a Healer. And a special alert to parents: if your child went out last night without you, please talk to them now. Assess their condition and bring them to a Healer right away if they exhibit any unusual behaviour."
"Harry, can you comment on–"
"No." Harry pulled out his wand. "I need to get to the office now. I'll be in touch, and I suspect we'll have a press conference later today." With that, he Apparated to the Ministry.
The first place he went was to the lab. Ron was already there, deep in conversation with one of the techs. He nodded at Harry, looking sick, then went back to his conversation. All hands were present, frantically assessing the samples they'd collected. Draco looked like death warmed over, his hands shaking as he cast spell after spell. Harry approached him. "Anything?"
He looked up, surprised at seeing someone standing there. "What? Oh, yeah. This is bad, Potter."
"Tell me."
"Same manufacturer, no question. Signature and all. But he's upped his game. This stuff is nearly double the potency." Harry's blood boiled. "Those three cases you've got? They won't be the last. There will be more, and I'd wager they'll be coming in soon."
"Fuck."
"Couldn't have said it better myself. There's something else, too. A new ingredient, trace amount, but it might be the mistake we were hoping for."
"How so?"
"Well, not that he needed it, what with the potency already upped, but this particular ingredient acts as an accelerant when combined with some of the others, and is powerful in very small amounts. So the effects kick in faster and stronger."
"Fuck," Harry said again. "So how is this something we'd hope for?"
"Okay, bad choice of words. But this might be the key to catching this guy. The material is tough to come by, highly regulated. Even in Knockturn, you'd have a hell of a time getting your hands on it."
"Did you let anyone know?"
"You're the first. I just isolated it a minute ago and was about to tell Weasley when you walked in."
Harry nodded. "Great work, Draco. Give me the details and I'll pass it on."
"Go," he said. "I'll give him the update. You go talk to the Minister."
Harry nodded and left to do just that.
After briefing Kingsley, Harry arranged for a press conference for the afternoon and called a meeting of all department staff to bring them up to speed. Draco attended as well, providing the update from the lab. The hit wizards looked ready to take out the guy responsible and every auror looked ready to join them. Harry couldn't blame them; he wanted to do the same. With everyone up to date on the events, and bracing for an influx of inquiries and, sadly, more cases at Mungo's, Harry returned to his office to prepare for the presser.
A short time later, Ron, Drummond and Draco knocked. "We have news," Ron said.
"Good news, I hope."
"Progress anyway." Harry couldn't recall seeing Ron look this bad, ever. "Malfoy was right about that substance. Hard to come by, but after scouring Knockturn, we were able to come up with a supplier. They're bringing him in. We're going to interrogate him now, if you're interested."
Harry wanted to. Badly. But he needed to prepare. "No, you can handle it. I have to get ready for this presser. Just let me know how it goes."
Ron nodded. "Will do."
"You might want to bring Draco in with you." He looked at Draco. "If you're comfortable with that."
Draco looked apprehensive but nodded. Ron turned to him. "I thought you could observe from the next room, feed us details if there's anything we should ask. That way you won't have to go in."
Draco looked relieved at that. "Good idea," Harry agreed. "Everyone good?"
"Fucking fantastic," Drummond said sarcastically. "Thirteen! What's next? Ten-year-olds?"
The rest of the day went about as Harry had expected. The press conference was a nightmare. Eight more cases were brought to Mungo's with another fifteen deemed lucid enough to remain under home observation, with strict instructions to bring them to the hospital if their conditions worsened. No deaths so far, though, despite the drug's upped potency, so there was that. No change in the thirteen-year-old's condition.
At about seven o'clock that evening, Draco knocked on his door looking better than he had in days.
"I think I have an antidote."
Author:
sesheta_66 || AO3: sesheta_66Prompts used:
slythindor100’s early bird prompt U—Christmas Tree Ornaments (picture under the cut) and dracoharry100’s prompt 30: Santa's elvesPairing: Harry/Draco
Word Count: 1.5K (this part)
Rating: R (eventually; this part PG)
Warning: none
Summary: This is the second Christmas for Draco without Astoria and Harry's first since Ginny remarried. Will best friends Scorpius and Albus be just what they need to rekindle something they'd thought fleeting and lost forever?
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Written for the
slythindor100 Early Bird 25 Days of Draco and Harry and the dracoharry100 Christmas Challenge. On LJ: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20
OR on AO3
Harry sat down with Skeeter and was giving her the updates he had that he was willing to make public at this time – in other words, giving her some filler without disclosing much – when he received an alert from Drummond. Another rave the night before; another three cases at Mungo's, one critical.
"Sorry, Rita, but I have to go."
Her eyes lit up and her quill hovered jauntily over the page. "Ooh, do tell! My readers will want to know."
There was no point remaining quiet. She'd find out about thirty seconds after Harry left. One quick call to Mungo's ought to do the trick. "There's been another incident. Three more taken to St Mungo's. I need to get there."
"But – who is it? Was it another rave? Where was it held?"
"That's all I have for you now," Harry said, putting on his coat. "I have to get back to work."
As he ran out the door, she shouted, "I expect a full update later!"
He arrived at Mungo's in short order, and got the update from one of the Healers. As she spoke, Harry looked around the youth unit, Christmas tree with its festive ornaments and Santa's elves mocking him. The one in critical condition was not doing well and had to be restrained and sedated for her own safety. She was only thirteen years old. Lily's age. The other two were stable with family keeping vigil. They were both fifteen.
Several others, Drummond informed him, had been badly tripping according to witnesses, but no word on their locations at present. The thirteen-year-old had gone out with her older brother who had told their parents that they were just going to a friend's house. From there, the friend had apparently suggested they go to the party. No word yet on how she came to ingest the drug.
"We've got people at the party location – abandoned, but running forensics – as well as the homes of those we know were in attendance."
"Keep me posted."
"Sir?" Drummond looked like a cross between someone ready to kill, ready to collapse or ready to throw up. "This one went bad fast. I think we're gonna see a lot more cases come in. We need to get word out to the public so they act quickly."
Harry nodded. "On it."
He didn't have to go far. As expected, Skeeter was outside the hospital when he exited. He made a bee-line for her. As much as it sickened him to see her excitement, he knew she would be the best way to get word out fast. "Rita, I have an update for you."
Her quill shivered in response. Even it was excited. Harry felt ill. "Do tell!"
"There was a rave last night, an abandoned warehouse just off Knockturn Alley. Several children – the youngest thirteen years old – have been brought into the hospital for treatment. We don't have all the details yet, but this case appears to have the potential to be worse than the previous ones. We need to get word out to the public that anyone who attended a party in that vicinity last night should seek medical attention immediately." He thought of the little girl inside fighting for her life. "There is a concern that the drug may have been administered without the victims' knowledge."
The pen flew across the page, and to Harry's relief did not seem to be embellishing his words. "Do you know who did this? Has anyone been arrested?"
"I'll give you more updates as I have them. But please, get word out as fast as you can. If anyone is experiencing anything out of the ordinary, and attended a party in the area, get to a Healer. And a special alert to parents: if your child went out last night without you, please talk to them now. Assess their condition and bring them to a Healer right away if they exhibit any unusual behaviour."
"Harry, can you comment on–"
"No." Harry pulled out his wand. "I need to get to the office now. I'll be in touch, and I suspect we'll have a press conference later today." With that, he Apparated to the Ministry.
The first place he went was to the lab. Ron was already there, deep in conversation with one of the techs. He nodded at Harry, looking sick, then went back to his conversation. All hands were present, frantically assessing the samples they'd collected. Draco looked like death warmed over, his hands shaking as he cast spell after spell. Harry approached him. "Anything?"
He looked up, surprised at seeing someone standing there. "What? Oh, yeah. This is bad, Potter."
"Tell me."
"Same manufacturer, no question. Signature and all. But he's upped his game. This stuff is nearly double the potency." Harry's blood boiled. "Those three cases you've got? They won't be the last. There will be more, and I'd wager they'll be coming in soon."
"Fuck."
"Couldn't have said it better myself. There's something else, too. A new ingredient, trace amount, but it might be the mistake we were hoping for."
"How so?"
"Well, not that he needed it, what with the potency already upped, but this particular ingredient acts as an accelerant when combined with some of the others, and is powerful in very small amounts. So the effects kick in faster and stronger."
"Fuck," Harry said again. "So how is this something we'd hope for?"
"Okay, bad choice of words. But this might be the key to catching this guy. The material is tough to come by, highly regulated. Even in Knockturn, you'd have a hell of a time getting your hands on it."
"Did you let anyone know?"
"You're the first. I just isolated it a minute ago and was about to tell Weasley when you walked in."
Harry nodded. "Great work, Draco. Give me the details and I'll pass it on."
"Go," he said. "I'll give him the update. You go talk to the Minister."
Harry nodded and left to do just that.
After briefing Kingsley, Harry arranged for a press conference for the afternoon and called a meeting of all department staff to bring them up to speed. Draco attended as well, providing the update from the lab. The hit wizards looked ready to take out the guy responsible and every auror looked ready to join them. Harry couldn't blame them; he wanted to do the same. With everyone up to date on the events, and bracing for an influx of inquiries and, sadly, more cases at Mungo's, Harry returned to his office to prepare for the presser.
A short time later, Ron, Drummond and Draco knocked. "We have news," Ron said.
"Good news, I hope."
"Progress anyway." Harry couldn't recall seeing Ron look this bad, ever. "Malfoy was right about that substance. Hard to come by, but after scouring Knockturn, we were able to come up with a supplier. They're bringing him in. We're going to interrogate him now, if you're interested."
Harry wanted to. Badly. But he needed to prepare. "No, you can handle it. I have to get ready for this presser. Just let me know how it goes."
Ron nodded. "Will do."
"You might want to bring Draco in with you." He looked at Draco. "If you're comfortable with that."
Draco looked apprehensive but nodded. Ron turned to him. "I thought you could observe from the next room, feed us details if there's anything we should ask. That way you won't have to go in."
Draco looked relieved at that. "Good idea," Harry agreed. "Everyone good?"
"Fucking fantastic," Drummond said sarcastically. "Thirteen! What's next? Ten-year-olds?"
The rest of the day went about as Harry had expected. The press conference was a nightmare. Eight more cases were brought to Mungo's with another fifteen deemed lucid enough to remain under home observation, with strict instructions to bring them to the hospital if their conditions worsened. No deaths so far, though, despite the drug's upped potency, so there was that. No change in the thirteen-year-old's condition.
At about seven o'clock that evening, Draco knocked on his door looking better than he had in days.
"I think I have an antidote."
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Date: 2025-12-31 03:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-12-31 04:55 am (UTC)