HP Fic: Suspicions (Harry/Draco). 13 Smutty Nights, part 6/13
Title: Suspicions
Rating: PG
Word Count: 828
Warnings: A little bit of language
Prompt: 13 Smutty Nights of Halloween fest at hd_seasons, prompt #6 (jack-o-lantern; lips)
Disclaimer: Done for fun, not profit. No copyright infringement intended. Characters belong to JKR.
Summary: Sent out on yet another ridiculous assignment, Harry and Draco begin to wonder exactly why this is.
Author’s Notes: Don’t hate me for the way this leaves off?
(catch up with Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four and Part Five)
"This is our assignment?"
Harry shrugged at his partner. "Hey, as long as I don't fall into any circles of skeletons and feel like I'm on fire and unable to breathe, I'm fine with it."
"You know, Potter, that says a disturbing amount about your life, that those are the only things it takes to make your evening tolerable." Malfoy kicked at a pumpkin at his feet. "We're supposed to sit out here, in a pumpkin patch, and just...wait?"
"Those are the orders, direct from Morgan. He said there was an informant who would meet us here an hour after dark, but he wanted us here early, just in case."
"This is ridiculous. First, what kind of time is 'an hour after dark'? We live in an age of clocks and watches and time-revealing spells. Second, it's barely dusk. Third, why does he keep sending us on all these assignments that smack of traps?"
Harry was quiet a moment. "You know, I had wondered about that last."
"Wait, what?"
"I know that a life as an Auror has a certain amount of danger involved, but we have been walking into a lot of odd things lately. There are other people working on some of these leads, but none of them have followed mystery suspects and nearly been killed by dark magic circles, or set to wait out in a field in the cold for a mystery informant, have they?"
Malfoy tilted his head. "Actually, Nuttcombe and her partner were set to meet someone at a park when it rained last week. But it turned out that was a punishment for something. They hadn't been getting along." He scratched at his chin. "So, what are our options here?"
"One: We are yet again being punished." It wasn't out of the question. Dozing off during the briefing had likely not been a wise career move.
"Right. It occurs to me that Morgan has some odd ideas about punishment. Not quite the same as Filch, but odd nonetheless."
"True," Harry agreed.
"Second, I suppose, is that this is some sort of team-building exercise? Maybe we're not having the results Morgan expects?"
Harry thought about that one. "Unlikely. I guess that leaves us with a third option."
"Potter, you are not seriously suggesting that Morgan, the Head of the Auror Squad, is up to something nefarious, are you? I mean, I cannot stand the man, but that's a hell of an accusation."
"No, I'm not accusing anyone of anything," Potter said quickly. "It's just...I don't know. Never mind."
Malfoy seemed to think it over for a moment. "You know, it could just be that things are mad around the place because it's a week before Halloween. Things tend to go oddly around then. Weren't there a lot of odd cases around then last year, too?"
Of course. There had been that rash of enchanted Muggle candy, and the illegal talking jack-o-lantern ring, which had been designed to scare the living daylights out of Muggle children. And then the group who had taken to transfiguring a select few wizards into black cats for sacrificial purposes. They had had their hands full. "Yeah. I suppose you're right." He winced as the wind picked up. It was cold out here.
"I often am, you know," Malfoy smirked. His lips quirked upward in a way that made Harry want to stare at them. They looked like they might be soft. Harry shook his head. He needed to stop having thoughts like that. It was obvious he'd gotten the wrong end of the stick about their interactions. Thinking about his partner in that way would only complicate their working relationship.
They sat in silence for quite a while, each of them perched atop a giant pumpkin. Finally, Malfoy sighed. "Look, Potter, while we’re here and bored out of our minds, I had something I wanted to say to you. "
Harry cringed. He knew, without a doubt, that Malfoy wanted to talk about what had happened last night, before Morgan and the others had shown. Well, he had put it off long enough, hadn't he? "Fine, Malfoy. Talk."
His partner looked startled. "About time," he muttered, but Harry heard him anyway. "Look, about the other night. I think there was a misunderstanding somewhere along the line."
"You know what, Malfoy? Don't bother. We don't really need to talk about this after all."
Malfoy glared at him. "I think you're quite wrong about that, Potter. We most certainly do need to discuss what went on. I know that I probably didn't react in a way you expected. Truth is, I--"
He stopped as if someone had put him in a body bind. "What? You what?" When Malfoy still did not say anything, Harry noticed that his eyes were fixated on something behind him. He looked over his own shoulder and caught sight of what had very suddenly halted his partner. "Oh, fuck," he breathed softly.
"Yes," said a voice behind him. "'Oh, fuck' indeed."
Rating: PG
Word Count: 828
Warnings: A little bit of language
Prompt: 13 Smutty Nights of Halloween fest at hd_seasons, prompt #6 (jack-o-lantern; lips)
Disclaimer: Done for fun, not profit. No copyright infringement intended. Characters belong to JKR.
Summary: Sent out on yet another ridiculous assignment, Harry and Draco begin to wonder exactly why this is.
Author’s Notes: Don’t hate me for the way this leaves off?
(catch up with Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four and Part Five)
"This is our assignment?"
Harry shrugged at his partner. "Hey, as long as I don't fall into any circles of skeletons and feel like I'm on fire and unable to breathe, I'm fine with it."
"You know, Potter, that says a disturbing amount about your life, that those are the only things it takes to make your evening tolerable." Malfoy kicked at a pumpkin at his feet. "We're supposed to sit out here, in a pumpkin patch, and just...wait?"
"Those are the orders, direct from Morgan. He said there was an informant who would meet us here an hour after dark, but he wanted us here early, just in case."
"This is ridiculous. First, what kind of time is 'an hour after dark'? We live in an age of clocks and watches and time-revealing spells. Second, it's barely dusk. Third, why does he keep sending us on all these assignments that smack of traps?"
Harry was quiet a moment. "You know, I had wondered about that last."
"Wait, what?"
"I know that a life as an Auror has a certain amount of danger involved, but we have been walking into a lot of odd things lately. There are other people working on some of these leads, but none of them have followed mystery suspects and nearly been killed by dark magic circles, or set to wait out in a field in the cold for a mystery informant, have they?"
Malfoy tilted his head. "Actually, Nuttcombe and her partner were set to meet someone at a park when it rained last week. But it turned out that was a punishment for something. They hadn't been getting along." He scratched at his chin. "So, what are our options here?"
"One: We are yet again being punished." It wasn't out of the question. Dozing off during the briefing had likely not been a wise career move.
"Right. It occurs to me that Morgan has some odd ideas about punishment. Not quite the same as Filch, but odd nonetheless."
"True," Harry agreed.
"Second, I suppose, is that this is some sort of team-building exercise? Maybe we're not having the results Morgan expects?"
Harry thought about that one. "Unlikely. I guess that leaves us with a third option."
"Potter, you are not seriously suggesting that Morgan, the Head of the Auror Squad, is up to something nefarious, are you? I mean, I cannot stand the man, but that's a hell of an accusation."
"No, I'm not accusing anyone of anything," Potter said quickly. "It's just...I don't know. Never mind."
Malfoy seemed to think it over for a moment. "You know, it could just be that things are mad around the place because it's a week before Halloween. Things tend to go oddly around then. Weren't there a lot of odd cases around then last year, too?"
Of course. There had been that rash of enchanted Muggle candy, and the illegal talking jack-o-lantern ring, which had been designed to scare the living daylights out of Muggle children. And then the group who had taken to transfiguring a select few wizards into black cats for sacrificial purposes. They had had their hands full. "Yeah. I suppose you're right." He winced as the wind picked up. It was cold out here.
"I often am, you know," Malfoy smirked. His lips quirked upward in a way that made Harry want to stare at them. They looked like they might be soft. Harry shook his head. He needed to stop having thoughts like that. It was obvious he'd gotten the wrong end of the stick about their interactions. Thinking about his partner in that way would only complicate their working relationship.
They sat in silence for quite a while, each of them perched atop a giant pumpkin. Finally, Malfoy sighed. "Look, Potter, while we’re here and bored out of our minds, I had something I wanted to say to you. "
Harry cringed. He knew, without a doubt, that Malfoy wanted to talk about what had happened last night, before Morgan and the others had shown. Well, he had put it off long enough, hadn't he? "Fine, Malfoy. Talk."
His partner looked startled. "About time," he muttered, but Harry heard him anyway. "Look, about the other night. I think there was a misunderstanding somewhere along the line."
"You know what, Malfoy? Don't bother. We don't really need to talk about this after all."
Malfoy glared at him. "I think you're quite wrong about that, Potter. We most certainly do need to discuss what went on. I know that I probably didn't react in a way you expected. Truth is, I--"
He stopped as if someone had put him in a body bind. "What? You what?" When Malfoy still did not say anything, Harry noticed that his eyes were fixated on something behind him. He looked over his own shoulder and caught sight of what had very suddenly halted his partner. "Oh, fuck," he breathed softly.
"Yes," said a voice behind him. "'Oh, fuck' indeed."