Do You Still Believe?

Guess I don't know what's, left to say
But hear me out
All of the dreams of, yesterday
Keep breaking me down
What's on the outside, can you say
Or am I getting carried away
Vertical Horizon - Goodbye Again
-o0o-


Harry strode down the corridor as if he owned it, leaning slightly when he had to go around someone, without seeming to give ground to them. Part of his mind was telling him that he was going to have to check his stride, and make sure he didn't leave Malfoy behind at a crucial juncture on the job; rookie or not, he'd been through training, and whether or not Harry liked it, he was stuck with the other man for a year.

He'd honestly been surprised when Malfoy mentioned Hermione and Ron; it was something he tried not to think about, except on those two days a year he took off, to visit Hermione in the hospital - not that she noticed him - and to lay flowers on Ron's grave.

Thinking about it reminded him that it was coming up on the first of those days. He didn't bother putting word in with anyone - they were all aware that he took exactly two personal days a year, and for what reasons. Malfoy would have to be told, he thought suddenly, and his face twisted up into a fierce scowl. Let someone else tell him, he decided, and then heard rapid footsteps coming up behind him.

Breathlessly, Malfoy put a hand out to stop him. "This isn't a race, Potter," he said, and after a moment seemed to regain his composure. "The twenty minutes isn't going anywhere fast."

"Waste of time," Harry bit out stubbornly. These were twenty minutes he could be spending getting through the desk-full of paperwork that had piled up over the course of the last week. He was going to have even more to do after this, too, with Malfoy's induction into partner-hood with him. Why Shacklebolt couldn't do it himself, Harry didn't know. He was the one who assigned partners, he could at least take the time to fill out the paperwork for the official records.

"Necessary," Malfoy countered easily. "If you drop dead of exhaustion in the middle of a case because of this mad schedule you seem to keep, you're not going to do anyone any good."

Harry's breath escaped in a whoosh of air that ruffled his fringe. It was an almost physical pain to admit, but Malfoy had a point. "It's worked so far," he pointed out, lifting an eyebrow. Out of the corner of his eyes, he was aware that they were attracting an audience. His rows with former partners were also the stuff of legend; blatant exaggeration rarely did them justice. On his good days, Harry felt amused that he was the sole source of entertainment for the entire department of magical law enforcement. Contrary to the inauspicious start, he actually felt that this was going to be a good day.

Malfoy echoed his sigh. "Exactly," he said. "So far, it's worked. But no matter how much I disliked you in school, I'm not going to allow any partner of mine to work himself to death. You seem reconciled to the notion, but do you have any idea how that would go over with the press? I can see the headlines now." Malfoy spread his hands in a dramatic gesture. "Boy Who Lived Murdered On Job by Malfoy Heir."

Harry almost chuckled, before he caught himself, and reminded himself that not only was he ruining his humourless reputation, this wasn't Ron, or one of the Weasley's he was talking to - it was Malfoy. His unwanted partner.

He sobered so abruptly that it was like someone had dumped an aguamenti spell over his head. Malfoy cocked his head curiously at the change in his expression, but said nothing, to Harry's immense relief.

"Now, coffee." Malfoy said, steering Harry into the break room. Harry lifted an eyebrow.

"Heathen. Sit down and have a cup of tea like a proper Englishman." The words were teasing, and he modified his tone to sound scathing instead of friendly. Malfoy smiled easily despite the harsh words, the expression foreign on his face to Harry.

"You sit down. I'll get you your English tea. How do you take it?" He busied himself at the kettle, filling it with water, and Harry obediently settled himself at the nearest table. It had been longer than he could remember since he'd had someone so... at ease with him. Half the M.L.E. was scared stiff of him, and the other half was so dazzled by his hero status that they all but scraped and bowed at his feet. Shacklebolt had been the only person to treat him as a person and not a monster or a god, but not even he lowered himself so far as to make tea.

"Milk and two sugar," Harry said, drawing himself out of his ruminations long enough to answer. Malfoy danced lightly to a tune only he could hear, and Harry snorted. "You've changed," he noted. Malfoy turned stormy grey eyes on him.

"So have you," he said, and poured his coffee into a mug, inhaling the scent with relish before tipping it to his lips. Harry scoffed again, making a wordless sound of disgust in his throat.

"Filthy stuff," he muttered, and stood to get the kettle when it started whistling. Malfoy shook his finger admonishingly.

"This is your break. Sit down." He took another mug down, and prepared Harry's tea, before setting it in front of him. Harry sniffed it delicately before he drank; he'd been watching Malfoy the whole time, but old habits died hard. In this case - never accept anything from your enemy - it shook him for a moment. Malfoy wasn't his enemy any more. It had been seven years since Hogwarts. The blond was smiling, and dancing, and just seemed so... relaxed. It was so incompatible with the picture of Malfoy Harry had carried since school that it was like dealing with an entirely different person. Setting the cup down, he cleared his throat, feeling odd as he initiated a friendly conversation for the first time in what was probably years.

"So what have you been doing with yourself since school?" Since the war was what he'd actually meant to say, but the words rearranged themselves between his brain and his mouth. To prevent any other telling slips from sneaking out, he busied himself with his tea.

"This and that," Malfoy hedged, and then sighed. "I'm in the process of testing for my Potions Mastership," he elucidated. "I've got several more months of waiting, and decided to try something a bit different in the interim."

Harry barked out a laugh before he could stop himself. "So you enlisted in the single most dangerous profession you could think of?"

Malfoy's lips curled into a familiar smirk. Harry felt better now that they were on more natural territory. "It's something to do," he said. "And it's good enough for you."

Harry set his mug down abruptly. "Times up," he said, and stood before Malfoy could contradict him. As he hurried down the corridor, he tried to tell himself he wasn't running away. When his brain rejected that platitude outright, he decided he was indeed running away, because the alternative was facing a Malfoy who didn't hate him.

Where had the universe gone so wrong, that Hermione was in St. Mungo's, Ron was dead, and Malfoy was trying to be his friend? He gathered up the required paperwork he had yet to complete, and skated out of the building, blithely ignoring the secretary's admonishment that all paperwork was to be completed while on the premises. As soon as he was free of the building, he Aparated home, leaving his partner behind and not caring a whit.

-o0o-

Draco felt more than heard the pop of apparition that signified Potter was no longer on the premises. Heaving a sigh, he tried to figure out where he'd gone wrong. Shacklebolt had won a promise from him that their school-days would not be repeated here, and he'd done his best to be as least antagonising as he knew how to be, while still retaining himself. The last thing he wanted was to act the angel, and have Potter turn on him if his real personality slipped out unexpectedly. So he'd won himself a satisfying mix of himself and polite-to-Potter, and had it backfire in his face. Much like his last potion, he thought ruefully, rubbing his chin. It was the grounds for failure of the test, and the reason he'd taken the Auror's examination. He had exactly one year in which to perfect his Potions-making before he could retake the Mastership test, and after several days of wringing his hands, wondering what he was going to do for an entire year - he knew he was good with Potions, he knew he didn't need the time to perfect it, and he knew what had gone wrong with the potion that that destroyed nearly half of the testing room and rendered the other half unusable - and finally his mother, fed up with his constant whinging, had shoved an Auror application under his nose and told him to get out of the house for a little while.

He'd gone down to the nearest pub and poured his troubles out to a mug of muggle beer - his one vice, one he partook of sparingly - and finally the bartender, also fed up with him, had told him to just file the application and be done with it. The worst that could happen is that he'd be turned away. Half-expecting the result to be just that, he filed the application, and was scheduled for the month-long course that would introduce him to the rigours of Auror life, and test his ability to do the job. While in the office, he'd noticed Potter, and suddenly recalled that he'd taken an Auror job after the defeat of the Dark Lord. Some discreet poking around revealed that Potter was a damned good Auror, but one who was driving himself to death with his work.

More investigations found him out the fates of his two hangers-on in school, and he realised that Potter was punishing himself for their deaths. The idea stole into his head in the dead of night, presenting itself subtly with the thought that he could regain some of the Malfoy's social standing if he could become the Man Who Saved the Boy Who Saved the World from self-destructing.

He'd contacted Kingsley Shacklebolt the very next day and requested Potter as his partner. The Auror head had tried to dissuade him at first; Potter was intolerable to his partners, and usually drove them away within the first month. Draco was insistent, but refused to lower himself to bribing the other man. He simply held onto the idea, and reminded Shacklebolt at every opportunity that when he passed his exams - which, if his trainers were correct, he was going to do beyond passably well - he wanted Potter for a partner. He'd finally caved the day Draco accepted his certificate for the successul completion of the Auror training courses, and promised that he would do his best to convince Potter to take a rookie Auror on as a partner, but the man's reputation when dealing with partners was legendary, and Draco shouldn't expect too much.

This was intriguing in itself; Draco had always known that Potter relied on his two friends for their support, and had heard vague references to the war, which would have been lost if not for their assistance. He wondered what could have happened to Potter, despite the death and hospitalising of his two best friends, that had changed him so completely from the boy Draco thought he'd known from Hogwarts. His desire to take Potter as his partner had only increased.

And now he found himself exactly where he'd wanted to be - something to occupy his time in the year before his next Potion Masters test, a quest to restore the Malfoy's good name, and a personal mystery to solve.

-o0o-
More coming soon!

bloodsoakedninja, hieisdragoness18, paigeey07: Thank you for taking the time to review!

thrnbrooke: nowhere interesting. x3 But Harry's finding his unhappy little world starting to get a little shaken up. This doesn't bode well for him.