Secrets and Promises (Abandoned Story)

Series Title: Secrets and Promises
Fandom: Harry Potter
Series Rating: NC-17
Genre: Mystery & Romance
Pairing: Draco/Harry, but also mentions of other past and other relationships as the story progresses.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy et al are a fictional characters created by J.K. Rowling as part of the Harry Potter series. We just borrow them to play. We don't make any money from it but we do have a very good time. [Beckett, Cocoa and the Malfoy Townhouse are inventions of slashpervert.]
Series Summary: Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy are Aurors who work for the Ministry of Magic. In this series they find themselves investigating a serial killer and discovering they are in love with each other. It follows them as they struggle to build lives and heal their past wounds, now that the war is behind them.
Notes: This series is written based in part on the RPG Ambiguous Desire.

Chapter Number/Total: 3/?.
Chapter Title: Muggles and Mayhem
Chapter Authors: slashpervert, aveeno_baby, nefernat, and citrus_tears.
Beta(s): nefernat
Chapter Rating: PG-13
Words: 1535 Words
Chapter Characters: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger.
Warnings: Language, angst.
Summary: Information of the murders and a social proposal.


Friday, Oct. 10, 2003

Hermione sat at her desk, a thick folder in her hands. She'd called this meeting to reveal interesting- and potentially dangerous- news to Draco and Harry.

If news like this got out, it could mean double-time for everyone involved and that wasn't something she wanted to happen. Not with the way things were going lately.

Stirring her coffee, she was careful not to knock over the extra cups she'd asked her assistant to prepare. They needed to get down to business as soon as the boys arrived.

Draco had not slept well, and it showed. His clothes were impeccable, as always. But there was the hint of circles under his eyes and his walk was a bit slow today. Most people would never notice. He made his way to the meeting room, only to stand in the doorway for a minute. Noticing Harry was not in there and Granger had already arranged coffee and tea service. He sighed and rolled his eyes. Granger made his head hurt. He sauntered in and took a seat.

Harry yawned as he walked up to Hermione's office. He was so tired recently, and Harry didn't know why. He could remember going to bed at a decent time...but yet he was still tired the next morning. He stopped in the doorway of her office and stepped inside, nodding at Hermione and Draco. It was a good thing he didn't stop for coffee. He took a seat next to Draco.

Ginny hurriedly made her way to Hermione's office. She'd found the memo from Hermione on her desk that morning. After reading it through she'd gone to her boss and requested to be part of the investigating team. Even if she was a trainee-negotiator, she felt it necessary to learn about the way Aurors worked, too. And hopefully it would help her later on as well. Walking inside she saw Draco and Harry already there. Gratefully taking the mug of tea Hermione had set on the table for her, she took a seat and looked at Hermione questioningly.

Draco pulled his tea forward and sipped it, then reached for the sugar to add more. He looked up, suppressing a smile as Harry walked in. And raised his eyebrows when Ginny Weasley came in a minute later. "So, we need to go over what we have found so far," he began.

Hermione nodded. "I have interesting news. But first, did you find anything about the curse? Its origins, maybe?"

Harry smiled and picked up a cup of coffee. The two of them were still the same, and would probably remain that way. It was always some kind of competition. He laughed a bit as he reached for a packet of sugar.

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Granger, or worse. Instead, he sighed and opened the folder in front of him. "I have spent most of the last two days in the Restricted Library vault here at the Ministry." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, headache returning just at the memory of hours spent in a dark dusty vault reading dark magic. “I believe I know what curse was used and may even have some guesses as to why." He laid the photos of the victim out again, including an autopsy photo that showed the opened body cavity was empty. "The curse was Excavare Viscera, which means," he added with a bit of a sneer, "to hollow out internal organs."

Picking up the autopsy photo, Hermione grimaced slightly. "Spells are typically Latin-based, so that makes sense. I'm curious to hear your explanation, given the things I've found out since we've last talked." Pulling a newspaper article out of her folder, she handed it over to Draco. "Same means of death, same curse it seems. Similar post-mortem procedure. What do you think?"

Draco reached out and took the Muggle newspaper. His lips were pursed, scowling as he read the piece for a minute. "Muggle woman, age 65, found in a park, missing internal organs on August 1st." He shook his head and passed the article to Harry.

Harry took the article and quickly scanned the page, grimacing. "Shame. Day after my birthday, too." He shook his head and passed the article on to Ginny. "So, we have a serial killer on our hands?"

Hermione had just been about to pull out the handkerchiefs, fearing the worst from Harry. She breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled through.

"Sure seems like it. I'm afraid if we wait too long to find our culprit, more attacks like this will happen. We can't afford more tension right now between the Muggles and the Wizarding world."

Ginny chimed in with a quiet voice. "It's been said that once serial killers start they cannot stop. It's extremely rare...”

Draco cocked his head, looking at Ginny with a surprised expression on his face, "Said by whom? Outside of the Death Eaters, I don't know if I have ever seen this before."

Ginny shook her head. "It's basic psychology. The psychological makeup of a serial killer is one that forces them to continue, as if the act of killing is a sort of addiction."

She thought for a moment. "This may not be a pureblood wizard. Obviously, they've been exposed to enough Muggle forensic information to know what the police will be looking for."

"If this is a serial killer," Draco replied. When the others looked at him, he said, "It depends on motive. Is this person killing for the sake of killing? Or is he or she collecting organs for a dark magic ritual?"

"Doesn't matter," Harry said, speaking up. "They're still a serial killer; just now they'd need the organs for something." He pulled the folder over and looked at Draco's notes. "So, they might be a witch or wizard that was either brought up by Muggles or obsessed with this kind of Muggle culture..." He bit his lip, deep in thought.

Draco watched Harry biting his lip and took a sip of his tea to cover his reaction. He took a minute to look like he was considering the photos before answering, "It might matter," he said more gently than he would have to anyone else, "because motive might tell us what they are going to do next. If it is about the organs, then we need to know what ritual they are planning to know when they will have enough. And to try to stop it." He took a deep breath and looked over at Ginny. "And, if Miss Wesley is correct, then the person won't stop until we catch them."

"Whether or not this is a ritual-based killing spree, it's important to find the connections between the victims and also between the victims and the Wizarding world. If this is a Muggle-raised or born wizard, then there is a connection we haven't yet looked at. And Ginny is correct. We need to find this person before they commit any more crimes." Hermione took a long sip of her tea and glanced once more at the autopsy photos before handing them back to Draco.

"Right, so. What do we do now?" Harry asked, looking at Draco and Hermione. "How do we go about catching this person?" He went back to nervously biting his lip, slouching in his chair a bit.

Draco nodded. "Well, I will continue my research and see if I can figure out what ritual this might be used for. Miss Wesley could do some research into the possible type of person this would be." He turned to Harry. "And maybe you and Granger could look into the Muggle angle of this. Possible connections we aren't seeing here?"

Harry nodded, looking over at Hermione. "We can do that. Right?"

"There's a connection somewhere. We just have to find it. Nothing was left behind at the first crime scene, and we'll have to check the new one for clues. Hopefully as the killer progresses, he'll slip up. But yes, we can do that. We'll have to." She handed Harry a copy of the notes she'd taken. "Look this over when you have time. Tell me if anything strikes you."

Harry smiled, taking the notes from her. "I will." He sat back in his seat, scanning the notes. "Did any of you get an invitation to Bulstrode's party? I think I'm going."

Draco cocked his head and looked at Harry, "Yes, I did." He considered Harry for a minute, wondering how to ask, but then decided he couldn't resist, "Does that mean you and, um, your roommate will be there?"

Harry shook his head, looking at Draco. "He didn't mention it, so I'm assuming he's not going." Harry shrugged, looking back down at the table. "I just need a break."

Draco nodded, "I guess I will see you there then." For a moment, if Harry ever noticed such things, he might have seen a very intense look from Draco. Then the cool demeanour fell back into place.

"And I'll see you," Harry replied, looking at him again. He stared at him for a moment longer before he bit his lip and looked down again.