Department of Magical Creatures Case #625369
Exactly a month! It's a record!
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Chapter 10
Potter,
If you would be so kind as to inform me the next time my mother decides to travel to Azkaban, it would be greatly appreciated. It would also be appreciated if you would shield her from any contact with the Dementers. As I am certain you have already noticed, she is rather weak and sickly and I fear what the Dementers might do to her health.
Much gratitude,
Draco Malfoy
PS- If you would like to accompany me on a lunch date so that we may discuss what precisely went on during my mother’s visit with Professor Snape; I would be more than happy to treat.
/
Harry raised his eyebrows at the post script; having anticipated some form of note from the instant Mrs. Malfoy requested her visit with Snape, but not anticipating an invitation to lunch. Did he want to go? He thought going would be an acknowledgement that they were developing a friendship, that he accepted Malfoy as tolerable and even enjoyable to converse with, an acknowledgement he wasn’t sure he was ready to make. Was he prepared to be Malfoy’s friend? Did he want to be? He wasn’t as disturbed by the thought as he previously would have assumed himself to be. After having stared at the parchment so long the words began to blur on the page, he pushed the note away and shook the thoughts from his head. He would respond in the morning; for now, there was an evening with Regina to look forward to.
With his evening in mind, he began to pack up for the night, reports finished and plans for his next assignment already sent to Kingsley’s desk for approval. Within ten minutes he was in his flat and headed for the shower. He was surprised to find Regina already sitting on his bed when he got out, clad only in a pair of lacy black knickers and a bra that left nothing to the imagination, her eyes trained on the towel around his waist as though she were willing it to fall. She smirked at the surprised look on his face. “I grew impatient. I’ve not seen you in over a week and that is far too long to have to agonize through dinner before getting you in bed.”
“Oh…” It had been nearly a year, and yet Harry still had difficulty processing the fact that there was a woman in his bed and that she wanted him. He had been single and distracted from thoughts of his physical needs outside of food and sleep for so long that sex had become a background thought and every time he was with Regina, he was a bit disoriented by it.
Thankfully, Regina was not disoriented, and she managed to tug him closer by his towel before stripping him of it. His head cleared as soon as her warm hands touched his skin and he leaned down to take possession of her mouth. They crawled backwards on the bed together, mouths still fiercely attached. He broke away to suck at her pulse point, and whispered hotly in her ear, “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” She didn’t say anything in return, but instead pulled him up for another kiss.
Later, as they lay curled together under the covers, Harry still could not resist running his hands over her body and pressing light kisses over her face. “I love you.” It wasn’t planned; he hadn’t really even been aware that he was thinking it, but there was no taking it back once the words had been said.
Regina tensed for a moment before looking into his eyes and caressing his cheek affectionately. “You are very young,” she whispered before kissing him. He wasn’t quite sure what she had meant, but she was already asleep ─or at least pretending to be so─ and he was too tired himself to think about it.
/
Justin could tell that Draco had only heard maybe half of what he had been saying; his eyes were focused more on his clothing than his face and the glossiness of his eyes made it clear that Draco was mentally undressing him. After a moment, the blond shook his head and finally made eye contact. “What did you want to do? I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening.”
“The cinema, do you want to go to the cinema?”
Draco blinked at him. “The what?”
“The cinema, you know, films.” When Draco only continued to stare blankly, it occurred to him that films were muggle and he might not have ever heard of one. All of his pureblood friends had at least taken muggle studies, but with Draco’s family’s hatred for the non-magical, Draco more than likely did not. “You’ve never heard of the cinema, have you?”
“No, but I’m going to guess and say that it’s muggle.”
“It is. It’s like a picture, only there’s sound and the people in them act out a story.” At the confused look Draco gave him, he went on with another description. “It’s like… looking into a pensive memory, sort of. Only none of what you’re seeing is real. Does that make sense?”
Draco still looked wary. “I suppose… But why would you want to do that? I think going to the theatre would be a much better time.”
Justin resisted a sigh and kissed him instead. “Is there a particular play you’d like to see?” he asked, resigned to the fact that his lover would never be entirely open to muggle culture without coaxing. Of course, subconsciously he had known that would be the case when he began seeing Draco, but he had also hoped it would not. If he wanted to be with Draco (which he did, with a ravenous desire he had not expected to feel), then he would just have to adjust to the fact.
Draco smiled up at him, warming him down to his toes. “There’s a showing of Les Yeux Vertes at the Pinchwife theatre off Diagon. It’s a French play, but I believe they’ve put a translation charm on the theatre.” Though he was not a particular fan of the theatre, he knew that Draco was, and he was willing to do anything to make his lover happy. He nodded his consent and Draco extracted himself from his arms in order to grab his coat.
Minutes later as they were walking down Diagon Alley, Justin got an idea. If he wanted to expose Draco to muggle culture, all he need do is bring him home. “Would it be all right if we go back to my flat tonight? It’s just I don’t know your kitchen yet and I sort of have a tradition of making a rather large breakfast on Sunday mornings.”
Draco blinked up at him. “But my house elf could make us a large breakfast if you like, and then you won’t have to get out of bed.”
Justin smiled and kissed his cheek. “You miss the point, love. I want to cook myself; it’s part of the tradition.”
“If you insist. I don’t know why you would want to needlessly exert yourself, though, when you could be snuggled up with me.”
“But if we’re snuggled in bed, then we can’t have sex on the counter like I planned.”
Draco brightened up at that. “Now, that’s a different matter entirely. You failed to mention the sex.”
“If I’ve learned anything from being around you, it’s that you should never reveal all your cards at once.” That earned him a grin and a rather passionate public snog, neither of which were displeasing. He ushered his lover into the theatre with a pleasant buzz of warmth in his heart and visions of a very satisfying Sunday.
/
“MacMillan, if you’d be so kind as to join my in my office after you’ve returned from lunch, I would be much obliged.”
Ernie stood frozen in the queue, unable to do anything but nod dumbly at his department head. There was a rumour going around the office that he was retiring and he had been calling a few of the more dedicated employees into his office for well over two weeks. Retirement or not, Ernie could not imagine what Mr. Winchester wanted with him, though. He had only been with the Ministry for a few years; surely there were more experienced candidates interested in becoming his replacement.
And yet a promotion was precisely what Mr. Winchester was offering as he sat nervously in the wooden chair in front of his desk. “Sir, I do not understand. Why not choose someone older? More experienced? I’ve only been working here a few years, there has to be someone better suited for the job.”
Mr. Winchester surveyed him gravely. “Are you declining the offer or unsure that you deserve it?”
“Unsure, sir.”
“Well, to be perfectly honest, I hadn’t even considered you originally. I always intended for Robert to take over when I finally retired, but he was not interested. When I asked whom he thought would be the best choice, he suggested you. And now that I’ve really taken a look at you and your history with us, I can’t say that I disagree. You may be younger and less experienced than some of our other employees, but there is a certain advantage to promoting a less experienced person. Someone who has been here for a considerable amount of time may know the intricacies of the department, but they will also have developed ideas of making ‘improvements’. Change is often very beneficial, I know, but this department has run smoothly on the same system for over a hundred years with only minimal alterations to allow for modern situations. Drastic change could cause problems, disastrous problems if they involve some of our more volatile creatures. If I promote you, train you in the proper ways of running the department, I know that you are consistent and dependable enough not to make detrimental changes to the system.”
He paused after the long speech to take in the surprised look on Ernie’s face, and then came to an amusing conclusion. “Did you think I would not properly train you before allowing you to take over? My God, that would be a disaster.” He chuckled and Ernie turned red.
“I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest. I’d never even considered applying for the position when I heard the rumour that you were retiring, I just assumed I would be ignored. Are you certain there isn’t anyone better? I’ve seen at least a dozen people meet with you over the past few weeks.”
“Indeed, I’ve had more than a dozen applicants, but none of them were exactly right. I want you.”
“May I have a few days to consider? This is a big decision, and I know my fiancée will be upset if I do not speak with her first.”
“Yes, of course. You may have a week to consider. Any longer than that and I may have to cut into the training time, though, and I am certain neither of us wants that.”
“No, no, of course not, sir. I will have my answer to you within the week. Thank you very much, indeed, sir.” They shook hands and Ernie slipped out of the office, still looking a bit starry-eyed and lost. Robert grinned at him as he sat down.
“I take it congratulations are in order.”
Ernie stared at him blankly for a moment before shaking his shocked look off. “Sorry? No, not yet. I asked him for a week to consider. Why on earth would you suggest me?”
“Because I thought you would do well, why not? I only didn’t take the job myself because I would have to leave all my cases behind and I rather enjoy dealing with the separate creatures.”
Ernie’s eyes began to sparkle and he brushed his fingertips over a parchment sitting in the middle of his desk. “That’s right, Mr. Winchester never interacts with individual cases unless they become violent, does he? I wouldn’t have to deal with Malfoy any more.”
“Indeed, you would not. Although, I don’t know who you could convince to take him. He’s fairly horrid to deal with.”
“He’s a menace. He’s been wandering about Italy with a new vampire for the last six months and he won’t read any of my notes warning him against it. I’m seriously considering sending Harry back after him.”
“All the more reason to accept Winchester’s offer. Then, you wouldn’t have to deal with the little bugger anymore, at least not on a regular basis.”
“True… I’ll have to talk it over with Penelope tonight, see what she thinks.” They shared a nod and a warm smile, and both got back to work. That night, Ernie talked it over with his fiancée and they decided it was in his and their best interest to accept. He started training the next week.
/
Thursday morning found Draco apparating to the Ministry right along with Justin, tired and a bit on edge for having to visit his least favourite place. Justin rubbed his back as they stood in the lift, comforting him as though he could feel the tension in his lover. They shared a kiss before separating, and Draco made his way to the magical creature’s department and his meeting with MacMillan. As he approached the department, his brows furrowed in confusion; MacMillan was not as his desk and neither were any of the things usually found on his desk. Instead, the desk was littered with pink folders and picture frames, and a petite, young girl was sitting behind it, with pale curls and a lavender robe. Draco had to resist the urge to vomit.
“Pardon me, but I seem to have misplaced my case worker. Where has Ernie MacMillan been moved to?”
At the sound of his voice, the girl looked up and beamed at him. “Mr. Malfoy, how lovely to finally meet you. My name is Emma Wilder.” She stood and held out her hand as though she intended to shake his, but he only looked at it with disdain and repeated his question. She looked hurt for a moment before natural cheerfulness took over and she beamed once more. “Mr. MacMillan’s been promoted to the head of the department. He isn’t able to monitor individual cases any longer, so I volunteered to take most of them, including yours. Would you like to sit down and we can discuss your mate?”
Draco looked askance at her. “No, I would not like to sit down or discuss my mate with you. I am not going to share intimate details of my life with a stranger, and least of all with the likes of you. Now, where is MacMillan’s new office? I’ll just take my file and we can forget this entire incident ever happened.”
She bit her lip in worry and indecision. It was obvious that no one had informed her of his disposition and displeasure at having to reveal such personal information, even to MacMillan whom he had known since they were eight. “I… I understand that the nature of this situation can be uncomfortable, but I assure you that I am nothing but professional. I’m certain that if you were just to sit down, we could discuss this rationally and you will find that we may get along rather agreeably.”
“I do not see such an outcome. If you would just hand my file to me, I can be on my way and we needn’t have any sort of discussion.” She stared up at him with wide, panicked eyes, mouth opening and closing as though she did not know what to say. Draco huffed impatiently and leaned over her desk so that they were face to face. “I do not know why they let you take over my case, little girl, but you can not handle me. Now. Give. Me. My. File.” He glared at her and she held out a pink folder with shaky hand, his twenty-one-year-old self sneering up at her. He snatched it up and turned to the desk next to hers and a wizened older wizard whom he knew had been acquainted with MacMillan.
“Where has MacMillan moved?” The man pointed to a door towards the back of the department, amusement dancing in his eyes. Draco ignored his look and briskly manoeuvred through the desks until he reached the office door, which he entered without as much as a knock.
“If you think for one moment that you are going to push me onto some mousy, inarticulate, frivolous little girl just because you’d been sodding promoted, you have gravely underestimated my tolerance level. I have revealed to you the most intimate details of my sex life for two years now, under coercion I might add. I am not about to be shoved aside and disregarded.” After taking a breath and smoothing down his robes, he nodded to the very surprised-looking Minister sitting across from MacMillan’s desk. “Good morning, Minister, it’s lovely to see you, again.”
Scrimgeour greeted him in kind, still a bit taken aback by the abrupt interruption.
“Mr. Malfoy, perhaps it would be best if we discussed this at a later date. As you can see, I am in a rather important meeting and…”
“I can see that, but as you already scheduled a meeting with me and I am in a life-altering situation, you will have to excuse my rude entry.”
“Your meeting was scheduled with Miss Wilder, you may find her at my former desk.”
“I have already seen Miss Wilder.” He spat her name out as though it were a rotten cauldron cake. “Miss Wilder has no in-depth knowledge of my case and is obviously new. I am in a delicate, life-or-death situation, I do not want an amateur giving me the wrong information and causing me to become sick, as my mother is.”
MacMillan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before giving the minister an apologetic look and casting Muffliato on him. “Malfoy, do you believe that Justin is your mate?”
“Yes, but I also believed Smith was my mate for a few days as well, so this could just be a false alarm.”
MacMillan squeezed his eyes shut and prepared himself, knowing that the next words out of his mouth were morally and ethically wrong and yet not caring after the outburst that had just occurred. “Sexual aggression and possessiveness are both signs that the partner involved is your mate.” He fumbled through a drawer and pulled out a small stack of parchment. “Fill these out and we’ll set up an appointment for Justin to register. Please don’t ever burst into my office like this again.”
Draco took the stack in exchange for his file and left with a nod to Scrimgeour. Ernie took off the spell and quickly apologized before continuing their previous conversation.
/
Draco stood on the front step next to his mate, wary but determined to make a good impression to make up for all the bad impressions he had previously given. This family was the closest he would ever come to in-laws, given Justin’s parents, and he would more than likely be dealing with them on an intimate basis for the rest of his life. Justin squeezed his hand reassuringly, managing to balance their gift in his other. There was a commotion from behind the door as the bell was rung was rung once more, and then the stoop was flooded with light and a grinning, rosy-cheeked Molly Weasley. The grin seemed to slip a bit at her glance at Draco. She quickly shook off whatever discomfort she felt and engulfed Justin in a hug. “Hello, dear, how are you? I’m so happy you could come, I’ve not seen you in too long.”
Justin beamed back at her. “I’m well. How are you?”
“Excellent, dear. I see you’ve brought a date, as I asked.” She sounded as though she was very much regretting having asked him to. “Hello, Mr. Malfoy.”
Draco smiled politely and bowed to her, though he was loathe to do so. He quickly chastised himself for the thought, reminding himself that any arguments with the Weasleys would hurt Justin. He made a polite, if slightly forced, reply and they were ushered into a room with yet more Weasleys. Arthur was enthused by his gift, a miniature care that barely looked large enough for a garden gnome, let alone a person. Draco didn’t understand it, but Arthur had been delighted.
He was not surprised to find the twins or their respective girlfriends in attendance, but he was surprised to see Percy there with his wife and two little boys. Draco had been under the impression that there had been a falling out between him and the rest of the family. Whatever had happened, it must have been mended though, because his younger son was in Mrs. Weasley’s lap and she looked delighted to have him there.
There was also a gorgeous looking man, obviously another Weasley, whom Justin introduced as Charlie. According to Justin, Charlie lived in Romania and was only home for his father’s birthday and a symposium on the latest advancements in vetri-wizardry for dragons. Draco had a difficult time keeping his eyes off the man when Justin wasn’t in the room. He tried to avoid him as much as possible and stick close to Justin for that very reason.
Mrs. Weasley continued to treat him with distant politeness, pointedly ignoring the way he was always in physical contact with Justin or the way Justin always looked to include him in the conversation. Justin appeared too bright-eyed and happy to be with his adopted family to notice.
They hadn’t been at the home more than an hour when a knock announced another party guest, and Draco was surprised to find Potter with a box that looked more to have been attacked by old issues of Marvin the Muggle than wrapped in them, followed by Granger and a tall man who looked just a dry and boring as Granger, carrying a pristinely wrapped box of gold and red. Granger’s eyes went immediately to the only blond head in the room and her eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t say anything as she slid onto the floor next to the chair the tall man (Mrs. Weasley called him ‘Nigel’) sat in. Potter didn’t notice until after Granger’s gift had been opened, but unlike Granger, he exclaimed his surprise, leaning around Fred to look at him. “Malfoy, what are you doing here?”
Draco sat rigidly and tried to appear more sophisticated than he felt while willingly mingling with Weasleys. “Justin invited me.”
Harry blinked owlishly at him. “You mean Emma wasn’t just being naïve, he really is your mate?”
Draco set a glare on him. “Yes, and I advise you to watch you back because I am going to kill you.” But Harry wasn’t listening; he had burst into fits of unmanly giggles at the first sign of confirmation, attracting the attention of the entire room.
“What’s so funny, Harry?” Mrs. Weasley asked.
Harry had to take a moment to compose himself before he could answer her. “It’s just a joke between me and Malfoy, sorry.” Mrs. Weasley looked askance that Harry and ‘that Malfoy boy’ had inside jokes, but said nothing and all returned their attention back to Arthur.
The evening went rather smoothly, all things considered. Mrs. Weasley slowly began to warm up to Draco, though neither quite dropped their overly-polite manner. It appeared that once Mrs. Weasley saw that Harry accepted Draco and could speak amiably with him, she relaxed.
Of course, she never saw the scene between the two just outside the toilet on the second floor. Harry had just walked out, without washing his hands, Draco noted, and Draco was leaning against the wall glaring at him, wand loosely pointed in his direction. “This is entirely your fault, you realize.”
Harry grinned at him, not needing any further explanation to know what he was referring to. “I don’t think it had anything to do with me. This is all karma coming back to bite you in the arse.”
Draco rolled his eyes. “And what in the hell is karma?”
“Muggle theory that whatever you do in life comes back at you. If you’re a good person, good things happen; if you’re a bad person, bad things happen. You spent the majority of your life making fun of muggleborns, now you’re going to spend the rest of your life with one.”
“I don’t believe that exists. Now, shall I hex your bits entirely off or leave them and merely make you impotent instead?”
“Doesn’t matter, I can send you to Azkaban just as easily for either.”
Draco was about to reply when Justin appeared at the top of the stairs, eyes lighting up as soon as they met with blonde hair. “There you are, I’ve been looking for you. Arthur’s about to blow out his candles.” Harry was headed past them at the first sign of cake, leaving them alone in the hallway. Justin took immediate advantage of the situation to pull Draco close and nuzzle his neck. “Enjoying yourself?”
“Mmm, I would be more if you were kissing me.” Lips were on his before he’d even finished the sentence. They stood there, kissing, for several minutes. Their kisses were relaxed and unhurried, as if they could spend all evening just like that, and Draco thought he could. He had never felt this sort of warmth for another person, this need to be near them, just touching. It was probably another sign that Justin was his mate, and if it was, it eased the tiny voice in the back of his head that still occasionally spouted uncertainties.
Eventually, Justin pulled back far enough to speak. “Should we go downstairs before they start to get ideas?”
“I suppose, though I’d rather stay here.”
“We’ll continue tonight when we go to bed. I’ll reset the silencing charms on Ron’s room and no one will be the wiser.”
Draco straightened. “Ron’s room? Why would you do that?”
“Otherwise Harry will hear us, Ginny’s old room is right under Ron’s and that’s where Harry always stays.”
“We aren’t staying the night here, are we?” He looked horrified at the very thought.
“It’s tradition; we always stay the night and Molly makes a big breakfast in the morning for everyone. She’d be really upset if we didn’t.”
“You never mentioned this before.”
Justin looked confused and then contrite at the sore look he got for it. “Sorry, Love, thought I told you. It’s alright, isn’t it? Ron’s room is at the top of the house, no one will bother us. And I got rid of most of the orange when I lived here.”
Draco sighed and looked away for a moment as though in thought and then nodded heavily. “Alright, but only because I’m already on the wrong foot with Mrs. Weasley and I know it’ll make you happy to get along with her.”
Justin beamed and kissed him. “Thank you, it’ll make us both very happy. Now let’s go down and get some cake.”
/
“Now, I said I got rid of most of the orange, but not all of it because I knew Ron would kill me, so don’t go mad. It isn’t my fault, I promise.” Draco nodded absently, distracted by a fevered feeling and an impatience for Justin to just open the door rather than leaning against it with his hand on the knob. As long as it had a bed sturdy enough for a long, hard fuck, he really did not care at this point. Finally, the door was opened and Draco was hit with the most intoxicating scent he had ever encountered before. The force of it caused a spontaneous release of all his pheromones and before he knew what was happening, the door had been slammed behind them and Justin had pressed him against it.
They were kissing, hard an insistently, while fighting to rip each other’s clothing off. Justin tripped out of his pants as they made their way to the bed, accidentally tumbling onto it with an already nude Draco pressed under him. He let out a muffled laugh from around Draco’s Adam’s apple and Draco moaned and squirmed underneath him. He fumbled in a drawer for oil, and Draco didn’t question why it was still there, though neither Justin nor Ron had lived there in quite some time. Instead, he focused on pushing his lover onto his back and taking the small vile from him. Justin looked puzzled, but he only smiled sexily in answer while pouring some of the oil on his own fingers. He moaned as he pressed the first, then second finger in, and began to rock back onto them. His eyes shut momentarily as he flickered his middle finger against his prostate, but opened again with a grin at Justin’s whispered, “Fuck…”
“You liked that?” he whispered hotly back, delighting in the grown groan his words elicited. “You like watching me fuck myself with my fingers?” Justin was panting, hand desperately pulling his erection, which was throbbing and so swollen it was nearly purple. Draco thought he might be behaving cruelly by making his mate watch rather than participating, and so he pulled his fingers out and shooed Justin’s hand away from his erection. He used the oil still on his fingers to slick the erection before guiding it inside him without hesitation. Both moaned as he sank down, and Justin leaned up for a kiss.
He pulled away to a sight that shocked him. As he looked into Justin’s eyes he saw an intense adoration that he had never seen before. Justin cradled him close, leaning up to kiss his cheeks, his forehead, and suddenly they weren’t just having a frantic, pheromone-induced fuck, they were making love. And just as suddenly, Draco realized that he didn’t ever want to leave these arms, that despite his earlier misgivings, he knew that Justin was his mate and that he wanted Justin to be his mate.
The realization that his search was finally over caused him to be overcome with emotion and he suddenly felt tears spring up in his eyes. He swooped down and devoured Justin’s mouth, teeth tugging at his bottom lip, and it was only a few moments before they were both calling out, clinging together as they climaxed.
They kissed as they came down, Draco pressed in close, still connected. As they settled into sleep, Justin whispered, ‘I love you’ and for the first time, Draco whispered it back.
/
Form: 83352739
Name: Draco Malfoy
Registry Number: 625369
Date: 10 Feb 2003
Age: 22
Mate: Justin Finch-Fletchly
Current Location: London, England
Number of Sexual Encounter(s): 26
Name(s) of Partner(s): Justin Finch-Fletchly 26(M)
Age(s) of Partner(s): 22
Species of Partner(s): wizard
Description of Sexual Encounter(s): I refuse to answer this question. What happens between my mate and I is sacred and beyond the bounds of discussion.
Was non-Veela magic used during the encounter(s)?: Yes
If so, what spell or potion was used and what were its affects?: The usual.
Did any encounter result in pregnancy?:
Was Veela Power used in any manner not involved in finding a mate?: Yes
If so, how and why?: I was impatient for a latte.
Comments: My mother tells me there is another form when you meet your mate, why have I not been sent it?
>
PS- Thank you to my wonderful beta, domtheknight.
1/2/3/ 4/ 5/ 6/ 7/ 8/ 9
Chapter 10
Potter,
If you would be so kind as to inform me the next time my mother decides to travel to Azkaban, it would be greatly appreciated. It would also be appreciated if you would shield her from any contact with the Dementers. As I am certain you have already noticed, she is rather weak and sickly and I fear what the Dementers might do to her health.
Much gratitude,
Draco Malfoy
PS- If you would like to accompany me on a lunch date so that we may discuss what precisely went on during my mother’s visit with Professor Snape; I would be more than happy to treat.
/
Harry raised his eyebrows at the post script; having anticipated some form of note from the instant Mrs. Malfoy requested her visit with Snape, but not anticipating an invitation to lunch. Did he want to go? He thought going would be an acknowledgement that they were developing a friendship, that he accepted Malfoy as tolerable and even enjoyable to converse with, an acknowledgement he wasn’t sure he was ready to make. Was he prepared to be Malfoy’s friend? Did he want to be? He wasn’t as disturbed by the thought as he previously would have assumed himself to be. After having stared at the parchment so long the words began to blur on the page, he pushed the note away and shook the thoughts from his head. He would respond in the morning; for now, there was an evening with Regina to look forward to.
With his evening in mind, he began to pack up for the night, reports finished and plans for his next assignment already sent to Kingsley’s desk for approval. Within ten minutes he was in his flat and headed for the shower. He was surprised to find Regina already sitting on his bed when he got out, clad only in a pair of lacy black knickers and a bra that left nothing to the imagination, her eyes trained on the towel around his waist as though she were willing it to fall. She smirked at the surprised look on his face. “I grew impatient. I’ve not seen you in over a week and that is far too long to have to agonize through dinner before getting you in bed.”
“Oh…” It had been nearly a year, and yet Harry still had difficulty processing the fact that there was a woman in his bed and that she wanted him. He had been single and distracted from thoughts of his physical needs outside of food and sleep for so long that sex had become a background thought and every time he was with Regina, he was a bit disoriented by it.
Thankfully, Regina was not disoriented, and she managed to tug him closer by his towel before stripping him of it. His head cleared as soon as her warm hands touched his skin and he leaned down to take possession of her mouth. They crawled backwards on the bed together, mouths still fiercely attached. He broke away to suck at her pulse point, and whispered hotly in her ear, “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” She didn’t say anything in return, but instead pulled him up for another kiss.
Later, as they lay curled together under the covers, Harry still could not resist running his hands over her body and pressing light kisses over her face. “I love you.” It wasn’t planned; he hadn’t really even been aware that he was thinking it, but there was no taking it back once the words had been said.
Regina tensed for a moment before looking into his eyes and caressing his cheek affectionately. “You are very young,” she whispered before kissing him. He wasn’t quite sure what she had meant, but she was already asleep ─or at least pretending to be so─ and he was too tired himself to think about it.
/
Justin could tell that Draco had only heard maybe half of what he had been saying; his eyes were focused more on his clothing than his face and the glossiness of his eyes made it clear that Draco was mentally undressing him. After a moment, the blond shook his head and finally made eye contact. “What did you want to do? I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening.”
“The cinema, do you want to go to the cinema?”
Draco blinked at him. “The what?”
“The cinema, you know, films.” When Draco only continued to stare blankly, it occurred to him that films were muggle and he might not have ever heard of one. All of his pureblood friends had at least taken muggle studies, but with Draco’s family’s hatred for the non-magical, Draco more than likely did not. “You’ve never heard of the cinema, have you?”
“No, but I’m going to guess and say that it’s muggle.”
“It is. It’s like a picture, only there’s sound and the people in them act out a story.” At the confused look Draco gave him, he went on with another description. “It’s like… looking into a pensive memory, sort of. Only none of what you’re seeing is real. Does that make sense?”
Draco still looked wary. “I suppose… But why would you want to do that? I think going to the theatre would be a much better time.”
Justin resisted a sigh and kissed him instead. “Is there a particular play you’d like to see?” he asked, resigned to the fact that his lover would never be entirely open to muggle culture without coaxing. Of course, subconsciously he had known that would be the case when he began seeing Draco, but he had also hoped it would not. If he wanted to be with Draco (which he did, with a ravenous desire he had not expected to feel), then he would just have to adjust to the fact.
Draco smiled up at him, warming him down to his toes. “There’s a showing of Les Yeux Vertes at the Pinchwife theatre off Diagon. It’s a French play, but I believe they’ve put a translation charm on the theatre.” Though he was not a particular fan of the theatre, he knew that Draco was, and he was willing to do anything to make his lover happy. He nodded his consent and Draco extracted himself from his arms in order to grab his coat.
Minutes later as they were walking down Diagon Alley, Justin got an idea. If he wanted to expose Draco to muggle culture, all he need do is bring him home. “Would it be all right if we go back to my flat tonight? It’s just I don’t know your kitchen yet and I sort of have a tradition of making a rather large breakfast on Sunday mornings.”
Draco blinked up at him. “But my house elf could make us a large breakfast if you like, and then you won’t have to get out of bed.”
Justin smiled and kissed his cheek. “You miss the point, love. I want to cook myself; it’s part of the tradition.”
“If you insist. I don’t know why you would want to needlessly exert yourself, though, when you could be snuggled up with me.”
“But if we’re snuggled in bed, then we can’t have sex on the counter like I planned.”
Draco brightened up at that. “Now, that’s a different matter entirely. You failed to mention the sex.”
“If I’ve learned anything from being around you, it’s that you should never reveal all your cards at once.” That earned him a grin and a rather passionate public snog, neither of which were displeasing. He ushered his lover into the theatre with a pleasant buzz of warmth in his heart and visions of a very satisfying Sunday.
/
“MacMillan, if you’d be so kind as to join my in my office after you’ve returned from lunch, I would be much obliged.”
Ernie stood frozen in the queue, unable to do anything but nod dumbly at his department head. There was a rumour going around the office that he was retiring and he had been calling a few of the more dedicated employees into his office for well over two weeks. Retirement or not, Ernie could not imagine what Mr. Winchester wanted with him, though. He had only been with the Ministry for a few years; surely there were more experienced candidates interested in becoming his replacement.
And yet a promotion was precisely what Mr. Winchester was offering as he sat nervously in the wooden chair in front of his desk. “Sir, I do not understand. Why not choose someone older? More experienced? I’ve only been working here a few years, there has to be someone better suited for the job.”
Mr. Winchester surveyed him gravely. “Are you declining the offer or unsure that you deserve it?”
“Unsure, sir.”
“Well, to be perfectly honest, I hadn’t even considered you originally. I always intended for Robert to take over when I finally retired, but he was not interested. When I asked whom he thought would be the best choice, he suggested you. And now that I’ve really taken a look at you and your history with us, I can’t say that I disagree. You may be younger and less experienced than some of our other employees, but there is a certain advantage to promoting a less experienced person. Someone who has been here for a considerable amount of time may know the intricacies of the department, but they will also have developed ideas of making ‘improvements’. Change is often very beneficial, I know, but this department has run smoothly on the same system for over a hundred years with only minimal alterations to allow for modern situations. Drastic change could cause problems, disastrous problems if they involve some of our more volatile creatures. If I promote you, train you in the proper ways of running the department, I know that you are consistent and dependable enough not to make detrimental changes to the system.”
He paused after the long speech to take in the surprised look on Ernie’s face, and then came to an amusing conclusion. “Did you think I would not properly train you before allowing you to take over? My God, that would be a disaster.” He chuckled and Ernie turned red.
“I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest. I’d never even considered applying for the position when I heard the rumour that you were retiring, I just assumed I would be ignored. Are you certain there isn’t anyone better? I’ve seen at least a dozen people meet with you over the past few weeks.”
“Indeed, I’ve had more than a dozen applicants, but none of them were exactly right. I want you.”
“May I have a few days to consider? This is a big decision, and I know my fiancée will be upset if I do not speak with her first.”
“Yes, of course. You may have a week to consider. Any longer than that and I may have to cut into the training time, though, and I am certain neither of us wants that.”
“No, no, of course not, sir. I will have my answer to you within the week. Thank you very much, indeed, sir.” They shook hands and Ernie slipped out of the office, still looking a bit starry-eyed and lost. Robert grinned at him as he sat down.
“I take it congratulations are in order.”
Ernie stared at him blankly for a moment before shaking his shocked look off. “Sorry? No, not yet. I asked him for a week to consider. Why on earth would you suggest me?”
“Because I thought you would do well, why not? I only didn’t take the job myself because I would have to leave all my cases behind and I rather enjoy dealing with the separate creatures.”
Ernie’s eyes began to sparkle and he brushed his fingertips over a parchment sitting in the middle of his desk. “That’s right, Mr. Winchester never interacts with individual cases unless they become violent, does he? I wouldn’t have to deal with Malfoy any more.”
“Indeed, you would not. Although, I don’t know who you could convince to take him. He’s fairly horrid to deal with.”
“He’s a menace. He’s been wandering about Italy with a new vampire for the last six months and he won’t read any of my notes warning him against it. I’m seriously considering sending Harry back after him.”
“All the more reason to accept Winchester’s offer. Then, you wouldn’t have to deal with the little bugger anymore, at least not on a regular basis.”
“True… I’ll have to talk it over with Penelope tonight, see what she thinks.” They shared a nod and a warm smile, and both got back to work. That night, Ernie talked it over with his fiancée and they decided it was in his and their best interest to accept. He started training the next week.
/
Thursday morning found Draco apparating to the Ministry right along with Justin, tired and a bit on edge for having to visit his least favourite place. Justin rubbed his back as they stood in the lift, comforting him as though he could feel the tension in his lover. They shared a kiss before separating, and Draco made his way to the magical creature’s department and his meeting with MacMillan. As he approached the department, his brows furrowed in confusion; MacMillan was not as his desk and neither were any of the things usually found on his desk. Instead, the desk was littered with pink folders and picture frames, and a petite, young girl was sitting behind it, with pale curls and a lavender robe. Draco had to resist the urge to vomit.
“Pardon me, but I seem to have misplaced my case worker. Where has Ernie MacMillan been moved to?”
At the sound of his voice, the girl looked up and beamed at him. “Mr. Malfoy, how lovely to finally meet you. My name is Emma Wilder.” She stood and held out her hand as though she intended to shake his, but he only looked at it with disdain and repeated his question. She looked hurt for a moment before natural cheerfulness took over and she beamed once more. “Mr. MacMillan’s been promoted to the head of the department. He isn’t able to monitor individual cases any longer, so I volunteered to take most of them, including yours. Would you like to sit down and we can discuss your mate?”
Draco looked askance at her. “No, I would not like to sit down or discuss my mate with you. I am not going to share intimate details of my life with a stranger, and least of all with the likes of you. Now, where is MacMillan’s new office? I’ll just take my file and we can forget this entire incident ever happened.”
She bit her lip in worry and indecision. It was obvious that no one had informed her of his disposition and displeasure at having to reveal such personal information, even to MacMillan whom he had known since they were eight. “I… I understand that the nature of this situation can be uncomfortable, but I assure you that I am nothing but professional. I’m certain that if you were just to sit down, we could discuss this rationally and you will find that we may get along rather agreeably.”
“I do not see such an outcome. If you would just hand my file to me, I can be on my way and we needn’t have any sort of discussion.” She stared up at him with wide, panicked eyes, mouth opening and closing as though she did not know what to say. Draco huffed impatiently and leaned over her desk so that they were face to face. “I do not know why they let you take over my case, little girl, but you can not handle me. Now. Give. Me. My. File.” He glared at her and she held out a pink folder with shaky hand, his twenty-one-year-old self sneering up at her. He snatched it up and turned to the desk next to hers and a wizened older wizard whom he knew had been acquainted with MacMillan.
“Where has MacMillan moved?” The man pointed to a door towards the back of the department, amusement dancing in his eyes. Draco ignored his look and briskly manoeuvred through the desks until he reached the office door, which he entered without as much as a knock.
“If you think for one moment that you are going to push me onto some mousy, inarticulate, frivolous little girl just because you’d been sodding promoted, you have gravely underestimated my tolerance level. I have revealed to you the most intimate details of my sex life for two years now, under coercion I might add. I am not about to be shoved aside and disregarded.” After taking a breath and smoothing down his robes, he nodded to the very surprised-looking Minister sitting across from MacMillan’s desk. “Good morning, Minister, it’s lovely to see you, again.”
Scrimgeour greeted him in kind, still a bit taken aback by the abrupt interruption.
“Mr. Malfoy, perhaps it would be best if we discussed this at a later date. As you can see, I am in a rather important meeting and…”
“I can see that, but as you already scheduled a meeting with me and I am in a life-altering situation, you will have to excuse my rude entry.”
“Your meeting was scheduled with Miss Wilder, you may find her at my former desk.”
“I have already seen Miss Wilder.” He spat her name out as though it were a rotten cauldron cake. “Miss Wilder has no in-depth knowledge of my case and is obviously new. I am in a delicate, life-or-death situation, I do not want an amateur giving me the wrong information and causing me to become sick, as my mother is.”
MacMillan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before giving the minister an apologetic look and casting Muffliato on him. “Malfoy, do you believe that Justin is your mate?”
“Yes, but I also believed Smith was my mate for a few days as well, so this could just be a false alarm.”
MacMillan squeezed his eyes shut and prepared himself, knowing that the next words out of his mouth were morally and ethically wrong and yet not caring after the outburst that had just occurred. “Sexual aggression and possessiveness are both signs that the partner involved is your mate.” He fumbled through a drawer and pulled out a small stack of parchment. “Fill these out and we’ll set up an appointment for Justin to register. Please don’t ever burst into my office like this again.”
Draco took the stack in exchange for his file and left with a nod to Scrimgeour. Ernie took off the spell and quickly apologized before continuing their previous conversation.
/
Draco stood on the front step next to his mate, wary but determined to make a good impression to make up for all the bad impressions he had previously given. This family was the closest he would ever come to in-laws, given Justin’s parents, and he would more than likely be dealing with them on an intimate basis for the rest of his life. Justin squeezed his hand reassuringly, managing to balance their gift in his other. There was a commotion from behind the door as the bell was rung was rung once more, and then the stoop was flooded with light and a grinning, rosy-cheeked Molly Weasley. The grin seemed to slip a bit at her glance at Draco. She quickly shook off whatever discomfort she felt and engulfed Justin in a hug. “Hello, dear, how are you? I’m so happy you could come, I’ve not seen you in too long.”
Justin beamed back at her. “I’m well. How are you?”
“Excellent, dear. I see you’ve brought a date, as I asked.” She sounded as though she was very much regretting having asked him to. “Hello, Mr. Malfoy.”
Draco smiled politely and bowed to her, though he was loathe to do so. He quickly chastised himself for the thought, reminding himself that any arguments with the Weasleys would hurt Justin. He made a polite, if slightly forced, reply and they were ushered into a room with yet more Weasleys. Arthur was enthused by his gift, a miniature care that barely looked large enough for a garden gnome, let alone a person. Draco didn’t understand it, but Arthur had been delighted.
He was not surprised to find the twins or their respective girlfriends in attendance, but he was surprised to see Percy there with his wife and two little boys. Draco had been under the impression that there had been a falling out between him and the rest of the family. Whatever had happened, it must have been mended though, because his younger son was in Mrs. Weasley’s lap and she looked delighted to have him there.
There was also a gorgeous looking man, obviously another Weasley, whom Justin introduced as Charlie. According to Justin, Charlie lived in Romania and was only home for his father’s birthday and a symposium on the latest advancements in vetri-wizardry for dragons. Draco had a difficult time keeping his eyes off the man when Justin wasn’t in the room. He tried to avoid him as much as possible and stick close to Justin for that very reason.
Mrs. Weasley continued to treat him with distant politeness, pointedly ignoring the way he was always in physical contact with Justin or the way Justin always looked to include him in the conversation. Justin appeared too bright-eyed and happy to be with his adopted family to notice.
They hadn’t been at the home more than an hour when a knock announced another party guest, and Draco was surprised to find Potter with a box that looked more to have been attacked by old issues of Marvin the Muggle than wrapped in them, followed by Granger and a tall man who looked just a dry and boring as Granger, carrying a pristinely wrapped box of gold and red. Granger’s eyes went immediately to the only blond head in the room and her eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t say anything as she slid onto the floor next to the chair the tall man (Mrs. Weasley called him ‘Nigel’) sat in. Potter didn’t notice until after Granger’s gift had been opened, but unlike Granger, he exclaimed his surprise, leaning around Fred to look at him. “Malfoy, what are you doing here?”
Draco sat rigidly and tried to appear more sophisticated than he felt while willingly mingling with Weasleys. “Justin invited me.”
Harry blinked owlishly at him. “You mean Emma wasn’t just being naïve, he really is your mate?”
Draco set a glare on him. “Yes, and I advise you to watch you back because I am going to kill you.” But Harry wasn’t listening; he had burst into fits of unmanly giggles at the first sign of confirmation, attracting the attention of the entire room.
“What’s so funny, Harry?” Mrs. Weasley asked.
Harry had to take a moment to compose himself before he could answer her. “It’s just a joke between me and Malfoy, sorry.” Mrs. Weasley looked askance that Harry and ‘that Malfoy boy’ had inside jokes, but said nothing and all returned their attention back to Arthur.
The evening went rather smoothly, all things considered. Mrs. Weasley slowly began to warm up to Draco, though neither quite dropped their overly-polite manner. It appeared that once Mrs. Weasley saw that Harry accepted Draco and could speak amiably with him, she relaxed.
Of course, she never saw the scene between the two just outside the toilet on the second floor. Harry had just walked out, without washing his hands, Draco noted, and Draco was leaning against the wall glaring at him, wand loosely pointed in his direction. “This is entirely your fault, you realize.”
Harry grinned at him, not needing any further explanation to know what he was referring to. “I don’t think it had anything to do with me. This is all karma coming back to bite you in the arse.”
Draco rolled his eyes. “And what in the hell is karma?”
“Muggle theory that whatever you do in life comes back at you. If you’re a good person, good things happen; if you’re a bad person, bad things happen. You spent the majority of your life making fun of muggleborns, now you’re going to spend the rest of your life with one.”
“I don’t believe that exists. Now, shall I hex your bits entirely off or leave them and merely make you impotent instead?”
“Doesn’t matter, I can send you to Azkaban just as easily for either.”
Draco was about to reply when Justin appeared at the top of the stairs, eyes lighting up as soon as they met with blonde hair. “There you are, I’ve been looking for you. Arthur’s about to blow out his candles.” Harry was headed past them at the first sign of cake, leaving them alone in the hallway. Justin took immediate advantage of the situation to pull Draco close and nuzzle his neck. “Enjoying yourself?”
“Mmm, I would be more if you were kissing me.” Lips were on his before he’d even finished the sentence. They stood there, kissing, for several minutes. Their kisses were relaxed and unhurried, as if they could spend all evening just like that, and Draco thought he could. He had never felt this sort of warmth for another person, this need to be near them, just touching. It was probably another sign that Justin was his mate, and if it was, it eased the tiny voice in the back of his head that still occasionally spouted uncertainties.
Eventually, Justin pulled back far enough to speak. “Should we go downstairs before they start to get ideas?”
“I suppose, though I’d rather stay here.”
“We’ll continue tonight when we go to bed. I’ll reset the silencing charms on Ron’s room and no one will be the wiser.”
Draco straightened. “Ron’s room? Why would you do that?”
“Otherwise Harry will hear us, Ginny’s old room is right under Ron’s and that’s where Harry always stays.”
“We aren’t staying the night here, are we?” He looked horrified at the very thought.
“It’s tradition; we always stay the night and Molly makes a big breakfast in the morning for everyone. She’d be really upset if we didn’t.”
“You never mentioned this before.”
Justin looked confused and then contrite at the sore look he got for it. “Sorry, Love, thought I told you. It’s alright, isn’t it? Ron’s room is at the top of the house, no one will bother us. And I got rid of most of the orange when I lived here.”
Draco sighed and looked away for a moment as though in thought and then nodded heavily. “Alright, but only because I’m already on the wrong foot with Mrs. Weasley and I know it’ll make you happy to get along with her.”
Justin beamed and kissed him. “Thank you, it’ll make us both very happy. Now let’s go down and get some cake.”
/
“Now, I said I got rid of most of the orange, but not all of it because I knew Ron would kill me, so don’t go mad. It isn’t my fault, I promise.” Draco nodded absently, distracted by a fevered feeling and an impatience for Justin to just open the door rather than leaning against it with his hand on the knob. As long as it had a bed sturdy enough for a long, hard fuck, he really did not care at this point. Finally, the door was opened and Draco was hit with the most intoxicating scent he had ever encountered before. The force of it caused a spontaneous release of all his pheromones and before he knew what was happening, the door had been slammed behind them and Justin had pressed him against it.
They were kissing, hard an insistently, while fighting to rip each other’s clothing off. Justin tripped out of his pants as they made their way to the bed, accidentally tumbling onto it with an already nude Draco pressed under him. He let out a muffled laugh from around Draco’s Adam’s apple and Draco moaned and squirmed underneath him. He fumbled in a drawer for oil, and Draco didn’t question why it was still there, though neither Justin nor Ron had lived there in quite some time. Instead, he focused on pushing his lover onto his back and taking the small vile from him. Justin looked puzzled, but he only smiled sexily in answer while pouring some of the oil on his own fingers. He moaned as he pressed the first, then second finger in, and began to rock back onto them. His eyes shut momentarily as he flickered his middle finger against his prostate, but opened again with a grin at Justin’s whispered, “Fuck…”
“You liked that?” he whispered hotly back, delighting in the grown groan his words elicited. “You like watching me fuck myself with my fingers?” Justin was panting, hand desperately pulling his erection, which was throbbing and so swollen it was nearly purple. Draco thought he might be behaving cruelly by making his mate watch rather than participating, and so he pulled his fingers out and shooed Justin’s hand away from his erection. He used the oil still on his fingers to slick the erection before guiding it inside him without hesitation. Both moaned as he sank down, and Justin leaned up for a kiss.
He pulled away to a sight that shocked him. As he looked into Justin’s eyes he saw an intense adoration that he had never seen before. Justin cradled him close, leaning up to kiss his cheeks, his forehead, and suddenly they weren’t just having a frantic, pheromone-induced fuck, they were making love. And just as suddenly, Draco realized that he didn’t ever want to leave these arms, that despite his earlier misgivings, he knew that Justin was his mate and that he wanted Justin to be his mate.
The realization that his search was finally over caused him to be overcome with emotion and he suddenly felt tears spring up in his eyes. He swooped down and devoured Justin’s mouth, teeth tugging at his bottom lip, and it was only a few moments before they were both calling out, clinging together as they climaxed.
They kissed as they came down, Draco pressed in close, still connected. As they settled into sleep, Justin whispered, ‘I love you’ and for the first time, Draco whispered it back.
/
Form: 83352739
Name: Draco Malfoy
Registry Number: 625369
Date: 10 Feb 2003
Age: 22
Mate: Justin Finch-Fletchly
Current Location: London, England
Number of Sexual Encounter(s): 26
Name(s) of Partner(s): Justin Finch-Fletchly 26(M)
Age(s) of Partner(s): 22
Species of Partner(s): wizard
Description of Sexual Encounter(s): I refuse to answer this question. What happens between my mate and I is sacred and beyond the bounds of discussion.
Was non-Veela magic used during the encounter(s)?: Yes
If so, what spell or potion was used and what were its affects?: The usual.
Did any encounter result in pregnancy?:
Was Veela Power used in any manner not involved in finding a mate?: Yes
If so, how and why?: I was impatient for a latte.
Comments: My mother tells me there is another form when you meet your mate, why have I not been sent it?
>
PS- Thank you to my wonderful beta, domtheknight.