Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot, all the characters, places and references belong to the almighty J K Rowling, we salute you!
Chapter 4: Missions and Freedom.
"He's in a meeting at the moment Sir. Would you like me to memo him?"
"Yes, alright!" he snapped, tapping the desk impatiently with his fingers. He noticed, with grim
satisfaction, the Malfoy name still has some effect as the receptionist went into a flurry over the memo parchment.
She taped it with her wand, sending it soaring off towards the lift, and then asked him to take a seat in the atrium.
He sat, one foot propped on the opposite knee, trying to take in the Daily Prophet, realising lately (since seeing
Ginny actually) that he had been finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate.
He was also getting progressively more pissed off at being made to wait. He knew that the Malfoy name didn't amount
to much any more, but he was finding it hard to become unaccustomed to the luxury and social status he had once
held.
Thankfully the little witch was now coming across the wooden floor, high heels clicked as she went; informing him he
could now make his way upstairs. Nodding his head in a sign of acknowledgement he made his way to the golden doors. As
the lift clunked its ways up the floors, he carelessly fell into thought. He remembered another time he had taken this
path through the ministry.
"Now Malfoy, you understand why you're here?"
"I'm not as stupid as some may believe." Draco drawled back, only his knuckles turning white displaying
his true emotion. Harry ploughed on, ignoring his comment.
"You are to undertake a secret operation for the Order and the Ministry. You will be registered as a secret
unspeakable. Only yourself and a select few will know about the mission and it is paramount you don't reveal
yourself to the wizarding world after this meeting. You will take a portkey to a set location from here and await
further instructions." Harry took a deep breath, looking earnestly at the pale man in front of him.
"You've been through a lot recently, you don't have to accept this if you want to recover."
"You know full well if this is going to work it has to be now."
Harry sighed nodding; he knew Draco was speaking the truth. It just seemed so soon after everything to be sending him
back to a solitary existence with no guarantee of survival. Draco seemed to read is mind.
"Don't get all sentimental on me, Potter! I have to be presumed missing if I can carry this off." His
expression darkened. "I can't let myself get attached again if I'm going to help the Order. At least this
time I'm doing something that will make a difference. At least I'll have hope, how ever small." He
finished quietly.
Harry felt a new sense of connection and admiration for Draco Malfoy, he truly was a man of honour now.
"Very well, sign here."
"Magical Law enforcement…" brought him back to the present. He walked out of the lift and strode confidently
down the corridor, ignoring the stares and whispers. Not bothering to knock he entered the office at the end.
"Malfoy," Harry rose up out of his chair, "Please take a seat." He gestured to a chair opposite the desk. Draco ignored him, instead going to the window.
"Let's just get this over with, shall we?" he said, glancing at his colleague, and dare he say - friend?
"Right, well your mission seems to have been successful. You've gathered all the necessary information we needed." He looked up smiling at Draco, who scowled and went back tot looking at of the window.
"I'm aware of what I have achieved, why don't we just get on with what, or rather where, I'm going next."
"What? Oh where has it gone?" he was rummaging through a pile of parchment on his desk. Draco noticed him grimace slightly and finger the scar on his forehead.
"Where am I going next?" he said this with the air of one addressing a very stupid person.
"Going next…" Harry said snapping his head up to look at Draco. "Malfoy you're not going anywhere!" Draco turned slowly, looking Harry straight in to eye.
"What?" Harry smiled at this.
"I asked you here to congratulate you and officially sign you off!" he waved a piece of parchment in front of Malfoy, it was the magical contract he had signed months ago. Whatever colour had been in the pale wizard's face, drained at these words.
"But I don't want to be signed off, I want another mission." He said deathly quiet. The smile on Harry's face faded.
"Well, I'm sorry Malfoy but I've got my orders. You are to be dismissed as an unspeakable. Naturally you are reminded of you oath and contract, they still stand even thought you have returned to civilian status. This means you can't repeat or converse about any of the missions or situations you have encountered as an unspeakable. Now enough of the formal talk, lets go out a celebrate." He grinned but faltered at the look on Draco's face.
"I want another mission." He repeated, a muscle twitched in his cheek.
"Look you can appeal on this if you really want to, but I really won't recommend it."
"Oh yes?" Draco reply with mock interest. "And why exactly is that, Harry?" he stressed Harry's name, making sure the other man new this wasn't not a term of endearment.
"I don't think you'll win." He replied simply, quickly carrying on by the look of rage creeping over Draco's face. "You need a rest, you've been on this mission for over 10 months now and before that…" he broke off. "Look you need to heal," he quickly continued before Draco could cut in. "I know you've healed physically but mentally you're still stuck in that cell. I see it in your eyes. You forgetting Malfoy, I know what it was like."
"You have NO IDEA!" Malfoy yelled. "You were there for five minutes, you were there getting us out. I was in that cell for two years, on my own Potter! Two years of not speaking to any one! The only human contact being those who torture you for days at a time. So forgive me, Potter," he spat the name out, "if I think you are talking bollocks!"
Harry looked taken aback by this sudden out burst, Malfoy never lost his cool! How ever this only cemented in his mind that he was doing the right thing by stopping Malfoy from being given another assignment.
"I also think it would be a good idea for you took go and talk to some one."
"Oh shove off Potter, I don't need a sodding Healer, I need another mission!"
"Well you not getting one, so bloody well accept it! Christ you would have thought I was sending you on a mission
when I promised you leave!"
"What would I want leave for?" Draco snapped.
"Er, friends, family?"
"What friends and family Potter? They're all dead, hate me, or in Azkaban!"
"Ginny." Harry was very interested at the reaction that this name provoked in Malfoy. He was not
disappointed. He didn't miss the look of affection that past through those eyes, the flicker of self doubt, but it
was gone almost as quickly as it had come.
"What about her?"
"What are you going to do about her?"
Draco had been dreading this question. He was now a free man. He no longer had to distance himself from her, he could carry out the promises he had once made to her. But what if she couldn't, or worse, wouldn't forgive him? What if she didn't want him? What if she had moved on? He would fight of course, she had been the one thing that had kept him going for 3 years now and he wouldn't give up. But the question was would she want him to? Turning to leave he said on last thing to Harry before going.
"I don't think that's up to me, do you?"
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Ron looked up from his desk as Harry's door opened. His jaw fell open as Draco Malfoy strolled out, cool as anything thing, making his way back down towards the lift. Ron waited until the doors had closed to rush into his friend's office.
"What the hell was he doing here?" Harry looked up red flooding Ron's face, a sure fire warning sign for trouble ahead. He knew Ron had never learnt to trust their old enemy, hell, had it not been for the fact he had been Draco's only correspondence over the last 10 months he won't have either.
"Nothing much, just wanted to chat." he said looking back down.
"Just wanted to chat?" Ron said, disbelievingly. "What the hell could you and he possible have to chat about?!"
"Clam down Ron, it's nothing of interest to you." Harry could feel the anger rolling off his friend.
"Calm down! CALM DOWN!" Ron was full on yelling now. "That bastard walks out of your office after disappearing for nearly a year, with not so much as a Christmas card and you're telling me to CALM DOWN!"
"Look Ron, don't you think he's been through enough. It's really none of our business where-," Ron cut him off, looking mutinous.
"Don't even think about saying it's none of my Business. You've been hanging around with Hermione too
much! He broke Ginny's heart! Remember, Ginny, my little sister, practically your little sister!" he poked
Harry in the chest to emphasise his point.
"Look mate I hate to sound even more like Hermione, but you really shouldn't be talking about stuff you
don't know about." He knew almost before he had finished he shouldn't have said it. Ron looked as if he
was about to exploded. In fact, he was so anger he could only manage short punctuated sentences.
"Snotty bastard….swanning in here….Ginny."
"All I'm saying Ron, is there are things you don't know about, stuff that has happened to Malfoy that means you should cut him some slack." Harry said quietly. Ron stopped pacing, peering suspiciously at Harry.
"What do you know?" he said, trying to keep his voice even.
"Oh come on Ron, you know I can't tell you!" Harry sighed. Ron had always struggled with Harry being an unspeakable Auror, he still thought Harry would tell him everything, like it had been at Hogwarts.
"You've changed." Ron said angrily.
"Oh course I've changed!" Harry snapped. "You'd changed too if you had the fate of the whole wizarding world hanging over your head! Don't you think it's about time you got over yourself Ron! Why can't you accept Malfoy, there are more important things to worry about!" he was yelling now, all control over his temper gone. Ron looked shocked. When an awkward silence took over, it was Ron that eventually broke it.
"Look I'm sorry," he said flopping into a chair. "I'm just worried about Ginny. I can't bear what that git did to her last time; I just don't want to risk her going through that again! How do we even know he's really on our side? He might have been working for them this whole time! How do we know?!" he sat forward, presenting these worries that had been bugging him for days now.
"'Cause he's working for us." Harry replied simply. He knew in theory he shouldn't be telling Ron this, but he also knew that Ron would not stop until some one told him the truth and the magically contract binding himself and Draco had finished now. It was actually a relief to finally be able to tell some one. "Just trust me on this one Ron, ok?" Ron looked as if he wanted to say something but fortunately for Harry, decided to change the subject.
"I've got a message from Mum." He said running a hand through his trade mark Weasley hair. "She told me to remind you about dinner tomorrow night."
Harry had actually forgotten about the dinner they had organised a few weeks ago. He was about to say he couldn't make it, when he had a brainwave.
"Yep, I'll be there." He said grinning. Ron looked relieved that the brief argument was over.
"Right, well, we'll see you there about half six?" and when Harry nodded he left the office to owl Ron's mother.
Harry quickly grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled a hasty note across it.
Dear Mrs Weasley,
Thanks for reminding me about dinner, don't worry I'll be there, wild hippogriffs couldn't keep me away. I was just wondering if it would be okay to bring a guest? Just send Hedwig back with you reply.
Thanks again,
Harry.
Tying the message to his old owl's leg he wondered briefly if this was a bad idea. Then decided he had to happen some time and if he had learnt anything over the years it was that sooner was always better than later.
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Authors Note: Thanks to the people who have reviewed this fic, It means a lot. Next Chapter will be uploaded very soon, either later today, or tomorrow. Please review after reading, is always very nice to know what you think of the chapter and the fic so far. Here's a sneaky spoiler for the next chapter:
We find out what actually happened that night in Diagon Alley when the war started, and just who Draco saved Ginny from.
Thanks again to those who reviewed. Azure xxx