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The Devil You Know	By : JBankai89 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 2281 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I gain nothing from this but a way to pass the time.

Chapter List
- 1-Taken
- 2-Hostage
- 3-Survival
- 4-Home
- 5-Aftermath
- 6-Suspicions
- 7-Confessions
- 8-Recovery
- 9-Verdict
- 4
- 5
- 6
Chapter Five - Aftermath

When Draco and Harry entered the dining room, they saw immediately that as advertised, half of the long table was heavy with food. It seemed as though the house elves had prepared all of Draco's favourite things—roast duck, braised cucumber, roasted potatoes, lemon and garlic runner beans, and more.

Draco's mouth immediately began to water, and he was so focused on the food that it took him a moment to realize that there was a man at the table that he did not know. He recognized as an Auror by his set of dusky blue robes, but who the man himself was, Draco was uncertain. This was particularly odd, given that he made it his business to know who was who at the Ministry, for the time when he took over as head of the family.

“Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy, my name is Auror Robak” the man said with a thick accent as he stood up and extended his hand to them. Draco shook it mechanically, as did Harry, then he motioned to the table. They both sat down, and all manner of decorum was forgotten as Draco immediately began to fill his plate. He did not fail to notice the pursed-lip look his mother gave him, as though she was caught somewhere between the temptation to reprimand him for his ill manners, and such gratitude that he was home that she did not care.

Robak joined them at the table while Harry and Draco ate their way through three portions of everything. Everyone else seemed to be a little more reserved with their food intake, save Weasley, which did not surprise Draco in the least.

After a pudding of treacle tarts for Harry and chocolate mousse for Draco, Robak politely ushered the others out of the room, and shut the door.

“Now that we've all been fed, I believe it's time to get down to business,” he said, “I need official statements from the both of you, and the Auror Office is sending down a medical examiner to take a report of your injuries from the attack before we have a Healer take a look at the two of you. Does that sound fair?”

They both nodded their heads, and the Auror smiled kindly at them as he sat opposite the pair at the table.

“Good, then we'll begin. Harry, care to tell me what happened that day?” Robak asked, while he withdrew a scroll of parchment and electric blue quill from inside of his robes, and set the parchment on the table, with the quill's tip balanced upon it. Draco recognized it as a Transcription Quill, and knew that it was designed to record their conversation word-for-word.

“Draco and I were going on a nature walk,” Harry began, “I told Ron and Hermione about it, I thought it'd be a nice change for Draco from his usual sort of outings.”

They exchanged a look at that, and Harry shifted his gaze back to the Auror as he continued.

“It was all going fairly well, I thought, but towards the early evening when I was thinking about going back, and I thought I heard something.”

“What did you hear?”

“Something,” Harry paused and winced, “I've been doing nature walks, hikes, all that for a while now, so I like to think that I know the difference between a natural sound and the sound of something that shouldn't be there. This wasn't natural. I made Draco stay behind and I went to see what it was, and before I knew it I felt something hit me, and I was knocked out.”

“A curse hit you?” Robak asked, and Harry shook his head.

“No, like a—a rock or something. On my head.” Harry pointed to the spot where his injury was, now partially healed. “After that, the next thing I know I'm waking up and I'm tied up by my wrists and ankles, and I'm starkers. Draco calls out to me, and I found this sharp rock and I cut through the rope, then I untied Draco's. After that, we went to look for shelter for the night, and the next day, we went about trying to find a way out of the forest. We were in there for...five days, I think, when we found our clothes and wands, and then we Apparated straight here.”

The Auror nodded, his neutral expression giving away nothing of Harry's account, and he turned to Draco.

“You two were separated,” Robak said, “tell me what happened from the time Harry left you, to when he woke up and freed you.”

Draco nodded, but he felt strangely sick, and began to regret eating as much as he had as his stomach churned unpleasantly. Images of the attack flooded into his mind, and he shuddered, swallowing thickly as sweat dotted his skin. Why was it so hot all of a sudden?

“Take your time, Mr Malfoy,” Robak added, his voice dropping to a gentler tone, “I know it is difficult, but you must give me as much detail as you can. The more we know, the better chance we have of capturing the man who did this to you two.”

Draco nodded again as he took a shuddering breath, and Harry's hand found his under the table. Bolstered by Harry's presence, he launched into the story.

“Harry left me to see what it was, and I was left on the path for thirty minutes, approximately. I was frustrated, he has this...this tendency to treat me like some sort of damsel in distress, and I hated being left behind. After half an hour of waiting, I'd had enough, and I went to see what had happened.” Draco paused and looked up at the Auror, and he nodded for him to continue.

“I didn't get far before I realized that it was just too thick to wade through, and when I turned round, there was a man behind me—hooded and cloaked—and he shot some sort of curse at me—not a Stunning Spell, and it knocked me out.

“When I next woke up, I was like Harry, I was bound and naked, but I wasn't alone. The man was there.”

“Can you describe this man?” the Auror prompted, and Draco swallowed again as he nodded.

“He was about five foot, seven, or so, not tall, and sort of stocky. I don't know what he looked like, he was cloaked, he had a balaclava covering his face, and he wore gloves at all times. H-he pinned me down, and he started touching me.”

“Where did he touch you?”

“O-on my chest,” Draco replied as he blinked away tears, and Harry's hand tensed over his. “I fought, and he put a knife to my throat. When I stopped fighting, he put it aside and started touching me again, but when he went below my waist I panicked, and he took the knife and cut me a little.” Draco lifted a hand to motion to the scab still on his throat at he spoke. Robak nodded for him to continue.

“He went back to touching me when I froze again, and this time when he went below my waist and started t-touching m-me—” Draco broke off as tears sprang to his eyes again, and he clenched them shut, while Harry inched closer and rubbed his back consolingly. Draco buried his face in his hands and took a few shuddering breaths before he continued. “I don't know what happened, my vision went white, I couldn't see—it must have been no more than a few seconds, and when I could see again the man was slumped against a tree, his clothes were smoking, and he just...ran. That's about when Harry started to come to.”

“Your vision went...white?” Robak asked, and Draco nodded. “Is it common for you to use wandless magic of that calibre?”

“I—I can't use wandless magic, sir,” Draco replied shakily, “I've never had much of a knack for it.”

“Hmm, I see...It must have been accidental, then,” Robak mused as he rubbed his patchy, grey stubble upon his jaw. “Your magic protecting you in your moment of dire need.”

Draco offered up a weak shrug, uncertain how he felt about that—he could not recall accidentally using his magic before, and to have it burst out of him like it had had been draining, and nothing like funnelling his power through something like his wand. Robak's voice drew him out of his thoughts.

“Was there a gap between the time when Harry woke up and the man running away?” he asked, and Draco blinked as he tried to remember.

“Maybe five or ten minutes? I'm not certain. It was hard to count time, where I was, but he didn't wake up straightaway.”

Robak looked over the notes taken, then shifted his gaze back to Harry and Draco.

“Is there anything more that you two can think of that would describe this assailant? Did he speak? Anything in the way he moved, like a limp?”

Both young men shook their heads, and the Auror's shoulders slumped a little in disappointment.

“Thank you both,” Robak said to them as he stood up and rolled up the scroll, then tucked it back inside his robes. “We'll be in touch if we need more information, and Potter—” Harry glanced up at the call of his name, “—your supervisor, Auror Matheson, he said that you're on leave for six weeks to recover, he'll be sending by the papers to your flat, but he asked that I let you know.”

“Thank you, Robak,” Harry answered mechanically, and Robak nodded his head once before he took his leave.

The following meeting with the medical examiner, a bald, elderly man named John Bailey, was simple and painless. Separately, Draco and Harry were examined, much like a normal Healer would do, and asked them how they came to receive their injuries. Their wounds were then photographed, and a certified Healer took Bailey's place to treat them, and prescribed each of them Calming Draughts for shock.

When it was all over it was approaching eight o'clock, early, but Draco felt exhausted, like he was a towel that had been thoroughly wrung out.

“Go up to bed, dear,” Narcissa said, as though sensing his exhaustion, “both of you need to rest, I'll see Mr Potter out.”

Draco bit his lip, nervous about leaving Harry's side. He knew that he was being irrational, but that did not stop his fears from settling firmly into his mind. What if they were attacked again?

Harry threaded his fingers with Draco's and while he ignored the presence of Draco's parents, he leant in to kiss the blond lightly.

“My pretty blond,” Harry whispered, his pet name for Draco making him flush a deep scarlet, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw his parents exchange a look. He supposed it had something to do with the fact that Harry had never called him that in front of anyone else before. “It's all right, we're home. You're safe, nothing is going to get you.”

Draco nodded meekly, embarrassed at how foolish he was being, and Harry wrapped an arm around him as he gently coaxed him to his feet.

“C'mon,” he said, “I'll walk you there...”

Narcissa cleared her throat pointedly.

“I'm all right, Harry,” Draco said, more embarrassed by Harry's mollycoddling than anything else. Harry eyed him dubiously. “No, really, I am. I'll see you tomorrow...maybe—maybe things will look better tomorrow.”

Reluctantly Harry nodded, but escorted him out of the lounge and into the front hall, stopping at the base of the staircase to share a kiss, then somewhat nervously, Draco untangled himself from Harry's embrace, and ascended to his room.

Draco could feel Harry watching him all the way up the steps until he fell from view, and without him at Draco's side, he felt a chill run up his spine.

Oh, this is ridiculous, Draco thought furiously as he sped up his walk, and half-ran to his bedroom, I'm home, not in that bloody forest. Why do I still feel nervous without Harry close by?

Draco shut his door behind him, but his heart continued to race as he looked around the expansive suite.

He muttered a quick locking charm on the door as he pulled on his pyjamas and went about his nightly rituals, but still his hands shook, and breathing was difficult.

I can't do this...he thought miserably as he climbed into bed, on top of the covers instead of under them, for he felt almost stiflingly hot, despite the cooling charms that he kept casting. The constant thought of what if he comes back? Continued to race through his mind, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when suddenly his bedroom Floo connection flared to life, though nothing was there.

Draco let out a high shriek, and his parents were there in an instant, cursing him from the other side of the door when one of them ran into it with an audible flump, clearly not realizing that it had been locked. They broke his charm easily, and both Narcissa and Lucius tumbled into the room, still fully dressed, but looking distinctly harassed.

“Draco, what is it?” Narcissa asked as she hurried to his bedside and pressed her palm against his forehead, then slid it to his cheek. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

“N-no I'm fine, I'm sorry,” Draco said in a rush, “I just—I thought I saw...” Draco raked his fingers through his hair, “I'm sorry,” he said again, “I must be imagining things.”

“Don't apologize, dear,” his mother replied as she pulled him into a hug, and stroked his hair gently while she rocked him. Draco closed his eyes, caught between embarrassment and comfort at his mother's words. “You're home, but you still need time.”

“I hate feeling so...weak.”

“You are far from weak, son,” Lucius replied suddenly, and Draco opened his eyes to look up at his father. “You were put through a terrible ordeal, and you came out of it alive and sane. You are much stronger than you think that you are.”

Draco offered his father a small smile of gratitude, and once he'd calmed down both his parents took their leave, but Lucius paused at the door.

“Key us into the warding of the door, Draco, so that we can check in on you. All right?”

Draco nodded to his father's request, and Lucius inclined his head once before he slipped out after Narcissa. Draco did as he was bidden, and made sure that this time his parents would be able to get into the room unhindered. As he turned to head back to bed, a sudden feeling passed over the bottom half of his face—a hand, covering his mouth, but he could see nothing there.

“Don't scream,” Harry whispered in a rush, “it's just me.” He pulled back the hood of his invisibility cloak as proof, and Draco glared at his floating head.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Draco hissed, then flicked his wand at the door to add a silencing charm, before he rounded back on his boyfriend. “That was you using the Floo connection, wasn't it? You scared me half to death!”

“I'm sorry,” Harry whispered in the same low tone of voice, “I got home, but it was...weird, being without you, and I was worried. I figured your parents would check in on you, so I thought I'd take my invisibility cloak and—”

“—give me a heart attack?”

“That was an accident,” Harry replied, bowing his head, “I really didn't mean to scare you like that.”

“It's fine,” Draco said, and heaved a sigh, “I felt weird without you here, too...it's lonely.”

“Come on,” Harry said, taking his hand and tugging in the direction of the bed, “I'll be good, I promise. Just for tonight.”

Draco hesitated, and glanced towards the door. As though reading his mind, Harry added, “I'll leave the cloak on, your parents will never know.”

Somehow Draco doubted this, But in light of all that had happened, he couldn't deny that he really missed a warm body next to his as he slept. He nodded, and Harry's expression brightened as he led Draco the scant few feet to the bed. He took off the invisibility cloak and set it aside, showing that he was in his own nightclothes of an offensively bright orange T-shirt and striped pyjama bottoms. Harry then stretched out on the bed, and with a grin, motioned for Draco to join him.

Draco obeyed, and snuggled into the offered embrace. Harry shifted until he was spooning with Draco, one arm wrapped around his middle, while his opposite hand stroked his hair lightly.

“I'm right here, Draco, I'll keep you safe...” he whispered, and kissed his temple gently.

Comforted by Harry's presence, Draco was quick to fall asleep.

~*~

Robak settled back in his seat, the desk before him littered with papers. Witness and victim accounts, as well as medical reports filled his desk, and he felt like he was looking for a needle in a haystack. There were plenty of people who would want to hurt Potter and Malfoy—ex Death Eaters and the Inquisitors being the two suspected groups, but beyond that, he had no idea where to start narrowing down the list.

A soft knocking on his office door drew him out of his musings, and he looked up to see Junior Auror Smythe peeking her head inside. He noticed that she was very white.

“Sir?” she asked, her voice quivering. Robak found this odd, given that she was one of the toughest Junior Aurors that he knew. Whatever had spooked her, it was big.

“What is it, Emily?”

“The—the search teams from the Forest of Dean are back—they found something. They brought it straight to the processing Aurors...it's...you have to see this.”

Robak stood with a soft groan, caught halfway between curiosity and exhaustion, and he followed the young woman down the hall to the processing office, where they kept evidence for testing.

When they stepped inside, the first thing that Robak saw was a number of wadded up pieces of black clothing caked in mud. A black cloak, black robes, black boots and gloves, and a black balaclava.

The Processing Officer, a man called Yves Duncan, looked up at Robak with wide eyes. He looked just as shaken as Smythe did. Robak recognized the clothing as what had been described by Malfoy as the same garments that his attacker had been wearing. Robak looked at the officer with raised eyebrows.

“Did you find anything that might help us identify the owner of these clothes?” he asked, “they match what the Malfoy boy described.”

“Yes, sir,” Duncan replied shakily, “hairs, flecks of dry skin on the inside of the garments...I—I ran it twice.”

“Why? Was the result somehow compromised?”

“I thought it must have been, the results made no sense to me, but I got the exact same result a second time, and this process has never failed us before...”

“Get to the point, Duncan,” he snapped as he hit the end of his tether. Duncan swallowed thickly, picked up the processing results, and handed them to Robak.

Robak glanced down at the single name upon the parchment, and immediately sank into the available chair nearby. All the colour drained from his face, and he looked down again, certain that he was seeing things. However, the two words upon the small scroll had not changed.

Harry Potter
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The Devil You Know