Episode #9: The Research
Episode number and title: 9 - The Research
Episode writer: ashiiblack
Episode editor: llaeyro
Warnings/content: mature content
Episode summary: When a Muggle geneticist turns up missing, Harry, Iris, and Draco investigate. Meanwhile, Harry is unsure where he and Draco stand.
"Fuck, Malfoy." Harry threw his head back and grabbed a fistful of Draco's hair, pushing him down to his cock.
Harry wasn't sure how this had become a normal thing. After their first time together a week before, they had hardly been able to keep their hands off of each other for longer than several hours. Snogging sessions took place in the loo, in Harry's office, in Draco's loft, in Harry's kitchen. Hell, Harry had managed to get Draco off in a session in the Ministry lift.
Draco's tongue swirled around Harry's cock, and he snapped back to the moment. Harry fought from thrusting his hips forward. From what he gathered from their previous experiences, Draco liked to be in control. He knew exactly what he was doing, and Harry had no complaints so far.
While this was nice and all, Harry wasn't sure what it all meant. Were they just fucking? Would it lead to something more? That motorcycle ride together a few weeks before had seemed as though it would. Yet, when they were working, Draco was nothing but professional.
Did Harry want Draco Malfoy to be his boyfriend? It surprised him that he smiled at the thought.
Just then, Draco took the full hilt of Harry's prick into his mouth, and Harry lost his ability to think. He watched the blond hair fall in front of Draco's shoulders. Harry felt sweat-beaded arms slip under his back, pulling his body closer to Draco's mouth. Harry couldn't help but moan. He wouldn't be able to last for long.
A beeping sound filled the room. Even though his eyes were closed, Harry could see both their wands beaming a blue light at the tip. For once, someone had used a wand notification method to call them in, instead of Floo. Perhaps after working with the Muggle police, the heads of the Ministry realized that Muggles had a much easier time contacting their employees.
Harry heard Draco groan. Suddenly, the warmth of his mouth was gone, and replaced by cool breeze. He shivered.
"Potter."
Harry kept his eyes closed, hoping that Draco would get back to his cock.
"Harry."
He opened his eyes. "What?"
"We're being called in."
Harry sat up and looked at his unsated cock; it was starting to look a bit droopy. "Is this about the Squib killings?"
"I would guess so."
Harry glanced around, "Where are my trousers?"
Draco pointed to the ceiling fan, hiding an embarrassed smile. "Not sure how they got up there."
Several minutes later, they were dressed and Apparated to the Ministry.
"Who called us in?" Harry turned to Draco.
"Who do you think?" Draco motioned to Dawlish's office. "He still wants to feel like he is a part of the team."
Harry grinned at Draco, spending just a fraction of a second too long staring into his eyes. Harry's ears burned, and both men quickly looked down.
Draco knocked on the door and stepped inside. "You wanted to see us?"
They each took a seat in front of Dawlish’s desk and looked at him, waiting for him to speak.
Dawlish hardly looked at them, and spoke in short, clipped sentences. "A Muggle scientist is missing. Detective Bustamant is adamant that this pertains to your case."
Harry took out his notebook and began writing. A Muggle scientist?
"Detective Bustamant will meet you outside St. Mungo's. The research lab is a short walk from there. That is all."
Harry stifled a smile. He recognized it was immature but he couldn't help but feel smug that, despite Dawlish's opposition, Harry was still a part of this investigation. While trying to ruin Harry's career, he had managed to put Harry in an even better light with the Ministry and Auror Department.
He and Draco rose and stepped out of Dawlish's office.
"I suppose we should head over to meet Iris." Draco surprised Harry by taking his hand.
"What are you-" Harry started speaking, but was cut off by the squashing feeling of Apparation.
They reemerged in an alley near St. Mungo's. Iris stood near the entrance, looking rather impatient. Her expression brightened when she saw Harry and Draco approaching. A grin spread across her face as she looked them up and down.
"Auror Malfoy, your hair is a little messy. Did we wake you?"
Draco ran his fingers through his hair. "It is most certainly not messy."
Iris shrugged. "I know what bed tousled hair looks like."
Harry rolled his eyes at Iris. "Let's discuss the case. Dawlish said this kidnapping is related to the Squib murders?"
Iris nodded. "Remember that genetics lead we followed up on a few weeks ago? One of the lead members who created that system went missing three days ago. I don't think it's a coincidence."
Draco pursed his lips. Harry watched his eyes glaze over as they turned upwards, deep in thought. He loved how Draco got lost in his thoughts.
"We should visit the team of scientists first." Draco reached out for the file in Iris's hands. His eyes quickly scanned the file. Harry leaned in, so that he could both read the case and smell Draco's hair.
"They were all geneticists?" Harry looked up at Iris, who nodded. "We're lucky Draco knows at least a little bit about the science behind genetics."
They began walking. Iris was reluctant to Apparate or Floo again. Harry didn't blame her; if he could, he'd travel by broomstick everywhere.
"Does anyone on the team know about the Wizarding World?" Draco looked at Iris, who shook her head.
"No, they are all quite oblivious to magic. Now that I've seen how you lot carry on, I can't imagine why I didn't see it before."
"What do you mean?" Draco furrowed his brows.
"You aren't exactly subtle in many of your practices. I saw several wizards Apparate straight out of the pub last night. People walk straight past the Leaky Cauldron as though it isn't there."
Harry shrugged. "I think magic is only noticeable if you are looking for it."
"And those without magic who do look for it are often regarded as paranoid conspiracy theorists." Iris shook her head.
They stood in front of a sleek, modern building. It was called the Neumann Center for Genetic Research. As they stepped inside, they were immediately greeted by a security guard, who began patting them down.
"Excuse me!" Draco eyed the guard with distaste. "I am law enforcement!"
Iris, Harry, and Draco took out their badges to show the guard. He muttered a few select words under his breath, and then regained his professional manner. "If you're here why I think you are, you understand why I am required to search everyone."
"Well, perhaps you should buy a bloke dinner first before you start groping me." Draco glared at the man and walked up to the receptionist's desk.
Iris and Harry exchanged a look, and followed Draco.
"Welcome to the Neumann Center. Please sign in. How can I help you?" The receptionist smiled at them.
Iris picked up the pen and signed them in. Harry stepped forward. "I'm Special Agent Potter, these are my colleagues Agent Malfoy and Detective Inspector Bustamant. We need to speak with Dr. Mahoney and her team regarding Dr. Laurent."
The smile vanished from the receptionist's face. "Is he really missing?"
"That's not really-" Draco started to speak, but Iris interrupted him.
"Unfortunately, he has been declared missing. When was the last time you saw Dr. Laurent?"
"I saw him on Monday night. He was leaving just as I was. He even held the door open for me." Her head dropped down and she stared at her keyboard. A moment later, she perked her head back up and issued them three visitor passes. "Dr. Mahoney is on the fifth floor. I hope you find him."
"So do we, ma'am." Harry patted her hand as he took the passes. He turned to Iris and Draco. "Let's go."
**
A lift ride, a slight panic attack from Draco's end, and a gentle backhand on the head from Iris, the trio stood in front of a tall, red-haired woman.
"Dr. Mahoney?” Harry held out his hand. “I’m Detective Potter, and these are my associates, Malfoy and Bustamant.”
She nodded and shook Harry’s hand. "Call me Margaret. What can I do for you?"
"Margaret, we are here on behalf of the police force. We'd like to ask you a few questions about Dr. Laurent."
She paled. "He really is missing, isn't he?"
"Can you tell us if he had any enemies?" Iris took out her notepad and pen.
"Not Tyler. Everyone loved him. He helped us get funding."
"For what?" Harry looked around the lab. "It seems as though you got an awful lot of it."
Margaret gave him a harsh look. "We were originally part of the Human Genome Project. Nearly everyone in the building was paid for work out of that contract. When it ended in 2003, Tyler was able to secure funding from private donors to continue the work."
"What's the Human Genome Project?" Draco glanced at Harry and Iris, who both looked equally mystified.
"About thirty years ago, a worldwide collaboration began, known as the Human Genome Project. Our goal was to map and analyze the human genome. As you are probably aware, DNA can tell us an inordinate amount of information regarding human health, appearance, and evolution. Our team started here in 1999, and finished four years later. We worked on chromosome 2 in particular."
Harry nodded. "Since then, what have you been working on?"
"We're still spending a lot of time on chromosome 2. Chromosome 2 is believed to be the evolutionary marker that separated us from chimpanzees hundreds of thousands of years ago. If we can prove that, it could potentially make evolution nearly impossible to refute."
"You, Dr. Laurent, and your team worked on this together?" Iris scribbled in her notebook as she spoke.
Margaret nodded. "We were working on it, and bloody close to discovering something."
Harry caught on to the frustrated tone in her voice. "Until?"
She sighed. "Until another team stepped in six months ago. They had been given orders from the government to take over. Apparently, they were the experts in chromosome 2. Since then, we've been focusing on deletion syndromes which cause body deformities."
"That probably irked Dr. Laurent, didn't it?" Draco's voice sounded sympathetic.
"He tried to speak with Dr. Urquart, but he wouldn't listen."
"Dr. Urquart?" Draco seemed excited. Harry gave him a curious look, but Draco waved him off. "Malcolm Urquart?"
"The very one." Margaret pursed her lips. "It happens all the time, though. Scientists or their sponsors get a whiff of major research being done, and everybody wants a bit of glory."
"Thank you, Margaret. We will let you know if we find anything. Detective Bustamant? Potter? We can go."
They followed Draco and once in the lift, bombarded him with questions.
"We didn't spend more than five minutes with her!"
"She barely spoke of Dr. Laurent!"
"We didn't even search the place!"
"Harry. Iris. Calm down." Draco patted them both on the shoulder. Harry leaned into the touch perhaps a little too much. "Malcolm Urquart works in the Research Wing at St. Mungo's. He and his team are contracted out through the Department of Mysteries. The last I heard of their work, they were reviewing scientific Muggle research and comparing it to their own."
"Draco, that's brilliant!"
Iris looked at Draco with a quizzical expression. "Are you saying that a group of wizards were interested in what a bunch of Muggles were researching?"
Draco nodded, the smile taking up most of his face. "That's exactly what I'm saying."
Harry had to resist the urge to kiss Draco right then and there. It wasn't as though he hadn't been thinking about it all morning, though.
**
"I thought you said I wasn't allowed in magical places!" Iris nudged Draco's arm as they approached St. Mungo's.
"This is for interrogation purposes. You'll do fine here." Harry spoke in a reassuring voice. Plus, it wasn't as though any of them were particularly obsessed with following the rules.
"As long as you're sure."
"Do you not want to help conduct the interview?" Draco raised his eyebrows at her.
That seemed enough to convince Iris. Harry and Draco flashed their badges to the security and headed to the sixth floor-the recently renovated research wing.
As they approached the front desk, Harry saw posters of moving scientists. They were holding their research in their hands and smirking at the camera. He recognized a large number of famous Ravenclaws.
Iris dropped her voice so only Harry and Draco could hear her. "The moving portraits are still incredibly off-putting."
"You get used to them eventually." Harry patted her shoulder. "I still remember the first time I saw Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog."
"That sounds disgusting."
"Ahem."
Harry and Iris looked up and realized they were standing at the receptionist's desk.
"How can I help you, Auror Potter?" The receptionist appeared to be in awe that she was standing in Harry's presence.
Harry's ears felt warm. He could practically feel the smirk from Draco penetrating him. How he wished something else were penetrating him!
He quickly coughed to pull himself out of that thought. "Could you please direct us to Urquart's team?"
"He isn't in. Is that alright?"
"Who is in charge when he isn't around?"
She smiled. "That would be Roger Davies and Edmund Grayson. They are both team leads. Their office is down the left hall and two doors on the right. I'll let them know you are on your way."
"Thank you!" Iris waved and ushered Harry and Draco down the hall. "Sir Walter Harrison wouldn't stop winking at me!"
Draco chuckled. "From all accounts, he loved female Muggles."
They knocked on the door, labeled R. Davies and E. Grayson. The door opened and Roger Davies' face erupted in a large grin. "Harry! Good to see you!" He motioned behind him to an older, balding wizard in his fifties. "This is Edmund Grayson. We work together on Urquart's team."
"You know Unspeakable Malfoy, and this is Detective Inspector Bustamant. Roger, Grayson , can we ask you a few questions about your work?"
Roger Summoned several chairs, and sat in one himself. "Sure! What do you need to know?"
Draco spoke first. "Is it true you took over research from a Muggle team on genetics?"
Roger nodded. Harry watched as Roger leaned forward and rested his chin on his hand. Grayson also shifted in his seat. "That is true."
"What would a group of wizards want with Muggle research on DNA?" Harry watched Grayson scratch behind his ear and purse his lips.
"I'm afraid that's confidential." Roger sat back.
"As an Unspeakable, I am at a level two clearance." Draco narrowed his eyes at Roger.
"Yes, but they are not." Grayson motioned to Harry and Iris.
Harry turned his gaze on Grayson. "We are investigating a serial killer. Anything relevant to our case is clearance to us."
"The only other person who knows exactly what we are doing here is Urquhart. No one else on the team knows the full extent of our project. I'm sorry, Auror Potter, but this is also a security issue. If you knew what we were doing, it could get out and thousands of people's lives could be in danger."
Harry had an idea of what this research was about, but didn't want to say anything unless he knew for sure. "Can you tell us why you took the project from the Muggle research team?"
"The head of St. Mungo's Research Division feared their project could cause a discovery that would allow them to breach our Statute of Secrecy. If they found out that wizards existed, could you imagine what would happen?"
Iris held up her hand. "Hold on. Are you saying that their work would have led them to discover wizards?"
Roger nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying."
Chills ran down Harry's body. "Their research was leading them to the discovery of a gene that could identify wizards."
Roger shook his head. "Not exactly. We-"
Grayson elbowed Roger in the side. "We've already told them too much. I will not be responsible for any child's death. Plus, that one is a Malfoy, and that Muggle already knows too much."
"Excuse me?" Draco stood up. "My family has done a lot of horrid things, but I am an Unspeakable, and guard more secrets than you ever will."
"Horrid things?" Grayson glared at Draco. "Horrid doesn't begin to describe what I've seen your family do."
Just as Draco's face began to look the color of a grape, Harry grabbed hold of his hand, threading Draco's fingers with his own. "Let's not start anything. We need answers. A Muggle is missing. We want to find him before he is killed. Please, Roger. Anything that you can tell us will help."
Grayson turned to Harry, his face softening slightly. "Someone is missing?"
Harry nodded. "Someone is killing Squibs, and we think that this Muggle may have known something. All we are trying to do is save him, including Draco."
At that moment, everyone realized that he and Draco were still holding hands. Harry released Draco's hand, and casually dropped his own hand into his lap.
It was silent for several moments until Grayson spoke up. "The Muggles were investigating a deletion pattern in chromosome 2. In most cases, deletion patterns result in extreme mental incapacitation. In this instance, it seems to produce wizards."
Draco's jaw dropped open. "The Muggles discovered how to identify wizards?"
Grayson nodded. "That was Urquhart's fear. It's why we took over their project. It's also why we've kept it extremely confidential. Could you imagine what someone like You Know Who could do with that information?"
Harry and Draco nodded, both paling. "It's been several months since you took their project away. What have you discovered?"
"A fair amount." Grayson smiled. "We took samples from wizards who had participated in some of the DNA projects around the world. While most of them followed the deletion pattern in chromosome two, there were several prominent Pureblood wizards who did not have the genetic markup."
"You didn't find it, then? The 'Wizard Gene’?" Iris leaned forward.
Grayson shook his head. "In doing this research, we discovered that the ability to hold magic, as well as magical skill and power, has nothing to do with family."
"That we've seen so far." Roger patted Grayson's shoulder. "We'll find it."
"What do you mean that it doesn't have anything to do with family?"
"For example, the first thing we discovered is that the age of either or both parents makes no difference in their offspring's magical ability." Grayson gestured to Harry. "The fact that you are a powerful wizard has nothing to do with the fact that your parents were so young when they had you."
Draco leaned in towards Harry. "That means we could prove that Enid Longbottom's age had nothing to do with Sarah's latent magic ."
Harry turned to Draco and grinned. Draco was still thinking about that case in a time like this? He was so smitten with Draco, it made him sick.
"What we've been looking into more is the difference in genetic makeup for Squibs, Muggleborns, Purebloods, and the rest of the spectrum of magical ability. If there's anything my research in the past has taught me, there is an explanation for everything." Roger spoke with passion, his voice rising.
"Roger, there may not be an explanation for why some people have magic and others don't." Grayson chuckled. "I've been doing genetic research for nearly thirty years, and this is the closest I've ever come to finding anything resembling a 'Wizard Gene'."
"We just need to keep looking. Despite its dangers, can you imagine what the discovery of something like that would do for researchers everywhere?"
Draco chuckled. "You'd be famous, and probably become very rich."
Roger turned to Draco, looking less than amused. "Do you think I do this research for money or fame? Malfoy, I want to find this for myself. Finding an explanation for what makes a wizard a wizard is the greatest intellectual challenge I've ever attempted. I would do anything to accomplish it."
"Murder?" Draco's voice was casual, but filled with curiosity.
Grayson scoffed. "We don't receive bodies in this lab. All we get are the DNA samples, Unspeakable Malfoy. All of the samples we get are easily traced to databases. On top of that, all of the databases use DNA that was willingly given to them." He clapped his hands. "Now that that is cleared up, is there anything else we can help you with? Any more accusations you want to make at us?"
"You said you didn't want anyone else knowing about this. What would you have done if you actually had discovered the Wizard Gene?" Iris crossed her arms.
"We would have approached the Minister and seen what he wanted to do." Grayson shrugged. "We do the research, not the publicity."
"If that's all, we have centrifuges to attend to." Roger stood up and showed them to the doorway.
"Yes, thank you. We may need to contact you and Grayson again. You may be of use in explaining some of the science to us." Harry shook Roger's hand and smiled.
Harry, Draco, and Iris walked out of the office, and out of St. Mungo's in silence. Once they were out of the building, Draco turned to Harry and Iris. "Do you think they told us everything?"
Iris shook her head. "I doubt it. They clearly didn't want their research getting out."
Draco spoke up in a soft, pensive voice. "Not that I blame them."
Draco’s 'words surprised Harry. Out of all of them, he expected Draco to be more interested in the research Urquhart's team was doing. At Harry's surprised face, Draco smiled and shook his head. "Not every Death Eater is as reformed as I am. I'm sure your work has shown you that much."
"There's talk of a gene technology that could let parents pick the gender or eye color of their baby. I imagine the ability to make them a wizard could be a service high in demand." Iris shrugged and turned to Harry.
"Yes, but they are only trying to find the gene that gives magical people their ability." Harry pointed out.
Iris pursed her lips in a thoughtful manner. "The next step is controlling it. Humans want to be in control, magical or not."
"We should go check in with Dawlish. I'm sure he will want an update." Draco patted Harry on the shoulder and Iris smirked behind her hand.
Harry nodded. "Iris, do you want to come along?"
She sighed. "For it being a Friday night, I have absolutely nothing to do."
They made the short walk to the Ministry, entering through the visitor's entrance. Harry assumed that Iris would have no interest in flushing herself into a toilet.
Once the visitor's badge had been pinned to Iris's blouse, they went up the elevator to Level Two.
Dawlish was in his office, staring at his oak desk without an expression.
"Sir?" Draco knocked in the doorway. "We just came from several interviews and were hoping to debrief you."
Dawlish let out a long sigh. "The Muggle just turned up."
"Alive?" Harry allowed hope to creep into his voice.
Dawlish shook his head. "Dead."
Harry's heart sank.
"Was he killed in the same manner as the Squibs?"
"No, Unspeakable Malfoy, he was not. It doesn't appear as though the killer had any interest in experimenting on him. Instead, they applied torture techniques. They used magic on him."
Through his side vision, Harry could see Iris's head and shoulders drop down as she took in a shaky breath.
Draco turned his head to face the doorway again, crossing his arms. "We believe that the killer is experimenting on Muggles, Squibs, and Wizards to find out how magic is given or passed down to a person. Their reason why is still unclear."
"Why the geneticist?" Iris seemed to ask her question more to the room than its occupants. Still, Draco answered.
"Perhaps the killer thought he knew something. If they were unaware of Urquhart's new research, Dr. Laurent would have been the best source to go to."
A thought occurred to Harry. "We should send Aurors to guard Urquart's lab. Dr. Laurent may have given up information about who took over from him."
Dawlish nodded. "I'll have Weasley stand guard there."
"Is there anything else, sir?" Iris's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Find the killer as soon as possible." Dawlish sighed and bent over to continue his paperwork. "That is all."
Harry, Draco, and Iris turned in unison, and left the office.
"I don't know how Aurors do it, but when we get news like this in the force, we go to a pub." Iris patted Harry on the back.
Harry was overcome with gratefulness. There was no way he could focus on the case with news of this gravity. He could start up again the next day, but all of the interviews and the news of Dr. Laurent's death was too much.
With a glance at Draco, Harry nodded. "I could use an ale or two."
At Iris's insistence, Harry found himself with her and Draco in the back of a taxi their way to a Muggle pub called The Salty Dog.
**
"An ale or two" quickly became four or five ales. Harry, Draco, and Iris had a back booth all to themselves. Iris knew the pub owner quite well and he gave them preferential seating, along with a hefty discount on drinks.
Draco laughed as a peanut rolled off the table. Harry made a mental note to remind himself that the other man couldn't handle his liquor very well.
"What made you want to become an Auror?" Iris turned to Harry.
"I think I always wanted to be an Auror. I remember in school, when we had career counseling, that's what I wanted to do."
"He was inspired by Loony Moody." Draco giggled at his joke.
"Mad Eye." Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't forget that it wasn't actually Moody who turned you into a ferret."
Iris spat out her drink. "Someone named Mad Eye turned you into a ferret?" She slapped the table and started cackling.
Draco huffed and tried to take a graceful sip of his drink. "It was a traumatizing experience. I had to get rid of my pet gerbil because it reminded me too much of that day."
Having never heard this before, Harry burst into laughter. From the shock on Draco's expression, he quickly stopped. "I'm sorry, but you were a real twit back then."
"You were a fool yourself. Stupid, pratty little Gryffindor. You meddled in all the things you weren't supposed to, and then got rewarded for it."
"It sounds like someone was the teacher's pet." Iris spoke in a singsong voice.
"I wasn't the teacher's pet." Harry frowned at Draco. "Was I?"
"The biggest." Draco expanded his arms wide. "Can we get another round?"
"I'm cutting you off, Malfoy." Iris patted Draco on the shoulder.
"It's fine. I need to have a wee, anyways." He gathered himself, stood up, and walked away from the booth.
"Once he was out of earshot, Iris turned to Harry, her eyes shining. "Are you two involved?"
Harry sputtered, and finally came up with a rather weak, "What? We are-partners."
"I saw his hair this morning, and you two hold hands every chance you get. That seems pretty involved to me."
Harry sighed and finished off his ale. "I don't know what we are. I noticed that we were flirting a few weeks ago, and then we kissed, and now-"
"Now?"
Harry leaned in close to Iris. After smelling his own breath, he leaned further back. "We're shagging."
Iris's eyes grew even wider. "You don't seem too happy about that."
Harry banged his hand on the table, causing himself to jump. "Of course I'm bloody happy! I've been pining after him for weeks! I just-I don't know what that means."
"Why not?"
"Neither of us is very good at talking. Any girlfriend I ever had asked me on a date first. I don't know what I'd say. Plus, I can't tell if he wants a relationship or just someone to shag while he's between boyfriends."
"You should probably ask him." Iris patted Harry on his hand.
"I don't want to seem like I'm being clingy or whiny. You know, he frustrated me just as much as this when we were in school." He paused, and added as an afterthought, "Only I wanted to punch him in the face instead of shag him silly."
"Shag who silly?" Draco stood at the front of the booth, his hands wrapped around the end of the table.
"No one. Just a new Muggle song." Iris moved over to give Draco room, but he plopped next to Harry. The look Iris gave Harry did not go amiss.
Iris’s phone beeped. “Well, gentlemen, it looks as though I’ll leave you here to sober up. My father wants me to tell him all about working with wizards tonight.” She shook her head. “Honestly, if I didn’t know him better, I’d say he wanted to be a part of the Wizarding world.”
She stood, waved goodbye, and left to find a taxi home. Draco turned to Harry and started grinning.
Harry couldn’t help but return the grin. “What?”
As Draco spoke, his hands glided along Harry’s trousers. “Why don’t we finish what we started this morning?”
Harry stood so quickly, he nearly knocked over their glasses. “Let’s go.”
**
The moment they arrived in Harry's flat, Draco pressed a hard kiss to Harry's lips. Harry eagerly returned the kiss, allowing his hands to travel down and wrap his fingers around Draco's front hip bones. Still kissing, he led Draco to the sofa, pushing him onto the cushions. At this rate, there was no way they'd make it into the bedroom, anyway.
It seemed as though their clothes melted off, and the next thing Harry knew, he and Draco were rutting against each other.
Harry pulled away from Draco. "Are you feeling up for this still?"
Draco scoffed. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"
Harry shrugged. "You're just a bit more intoxicated than usual. I don't want to take advantage of you."
Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him so close, their lips were touching. Harry felt chills shoot through his body as Draco looked straight into his eyes and spoke. "Potter, I want you to fuck me so hard, I won't remember what an awful day it's been afterward. Can you do that for me?"
As everything in Harry's body tensed in arousal, Draco laughed. "I'm pretty sure that's as good an answer as I’ll get.
Harry fought a grin and scooted back on the sofa. He traced his finger down Draco's perineum and around the pucker of his arse. Harry reached for his wand on the floor and performed a Lubrication Charm on his fingers. He watched the look of satisfaction spread across Draco's face as Harry slowly pressed his finger into him.
Draco rutted and tightened against the finger as Harry kissed down his body, stopping at his cock. Harry stared at the glorious leaking erection in front of him, and licked it from the base to the tip, enjoying the taste of the precome.
He slid in another finger, pumping it in and out of Draco. Harry tried to focus on something else, eager not to come before he got a chance to fuck Draco.
Without slowing the speed or force of his fingers, Harry performed another Lubrication Charm on Draco. He pulled out his dripping fingers and wrapped them around Draco's cock. Harry positioned himself at Draco's entrance and pushed in. He watched as Draco threw his head back and moaned.
Draco felt bloody fantastic. He was so warm, so wet, so absolutely perfect. As Harry fucked Draco, he couldn't help but feel as though this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
It was a strange thought, that he was smitten with someone as big of a pain in the arse as the Malfoy lying in front of him. When they met, Draco was everything Harry hated. They were polar opposites. Yet, at some point in their adulthood, they had become compatible in every way.
There was still the nagging feeling in the back of Harry's mind that Draco didn't trust him, which was why they hadn't discussed the nature of their relationship.
"Potter, if you don't start moving, I'm going to take care of myself." Draco's growl snapped Harry back to the moment.
Neither of them lasted long, especially with watching Draco come undone, his come ribboning out onto his chest. Harry cried out when he came, tears forming in his eyes as he clutched Draco like he would disappear.
They lay together, hearts pounding and shaking breaths for some time until finally, Draco spoke.
"Would you mind if I cleaned off? There isn't much worse for sensitive skin as dried semen."
Harry laughed into Draco's neck and pulled himself off of the other man. He stood up and allowed Draco to get up to go to the bathroom.
Instead of joining Draco in the shower, he performed a quick Cleansing Charm and began cleaning up the mess they had made in his living room.
As he waited for Draco to finish in the shower, Harry made a decision. He would ask Draco to stay the night. Perhaps that would be enough of an olive branch to have Draco see he wanted more than just someone to fuck.
The door opened and Draco emerged in a puff of steam. "You're out of hot water, Harry."
Harry shook his head and grinned. "Listen, Draco, I-"
"I should probably get going. It's late and you need to sleep. I imagine Dawlish will want us in bright and early to debrief everyone and make sure no one else gets killed."
Harry felt the little confidence he had disappear quicker than a feast at the Weasley house. "Right. I suppose you should go."
"Right."
Harry picked up his head and looked at Draco. His expression looked challenging, as though he was waiting for something. He looked down and realized that Draco's shirt was at his feet.
"Here." Harry handed Draco the shirt. "Have a good night."
Draco pulled his shirt on, and walked out the door.
Once the door shut, Harry sighed and flopped onto his bed. He couldn't believe how foolish he was, thinking Draco actually wanted to be with him.
Harry shut off his lights with his wand, turned over, and closed his eyes. Perhaps if he pretended he could sleep, he could eventually do so.
**
At some point during the night, Harry must have fallen asleep. He awoke to someone knocking on his door. He stood up, put on his robes, and walked rather zombie-like to his door.
Once he opened it, he saw Draco standing in front of him. "We need to get to the Ministry dungeons. Now."
Draco grabbed him by his wrist and Disapparated so quickly, Harry wasn't sure if he had the time to even close his door.
"Fuck, Draco. I just woke up. It would be nice of you to give me a little warning next time." Harry rubbed his eyes, looking around at the booking room. "Why are we here?"
"Benjy just got arrested."
Harry's jaw dropped. Had he attacked Draco? Had he done something crazy out of jealousy? "For what?"
"For killing all of the Squibs and Muggles." Draco's voice was dry.
That wasn't what he expected to hear, either. "Do you believe that?"
Harry finally had a chance to look at Draco. He was a mess. He looked as though he hadn't slept at all, and his hair hadn't been combed. One of the buttons on his robes was in the wrong button hole, causing his robes to look rather lopsided.
"He betrayed me."
"How do you figure?"
"He knew that I worked in the Unspeakable department. If he managed to kill all of those people without us finding out until now, he had to have someone who would get him easy access to files."
"Draco, listen to yourself. There's no way Benjy could do something like that. He's a Seeker, not a murderer. What was the evidence tying him to the murders?"
Draco clenched his fists. "While some Aurors were reviewing some of the witness reports on the Miranda Philpotts kidnapping, they discovered that all of them had seen Benjy fleeing the scene."
Harry shook his head. "That doesn't sound like Benjy. Do you really think he’s intelligent enough to mastermind something like this? He probably was just following you around, like he had been doing all that week."
Acting as though he hadn't heard a word Harry said, Draco continued. "He was also spotted outside my cousin's house."
"Listen to reason, Draco. Just because he was at a crime scene doesn't make him a criminal. Plus, what would be his motivation?"
Draco scoffed. "Cash. If what Grayson and Davies said was true, finding the Wizard Gene and controlling it would be worth thousands and thousands of Galleons. Benjy loves money."
Harry stomped his foot. "Dammit, Malfoy, will you just listen to me? Why is it that you always have to be right? I'm an Auror, for Merlin's sake!"
Draco glared at Harry. "Sure, you're a big-headed, self-confident, arrogant Auror."
"Why won't you trust me?" Harry grabbed Draco's wrists. Though he struggled to move away, Harry held on tight. "You're upset. You have every right to be. Someone you trusted was just arrested for a crime that we've been investigating for months. Keep your head on and think straight."
Draco pushed away Harry's hands. "This isn't about trust. This is about someone using me for information."
Harry was speechless. He wasn't sure why Draco was taking things this personally. He normally kept a cool head and waited until all of the facts were processed. Sure, he was judgmental at times, but would never suspect someone of murder with as little evidence as simply seeing someone at a crime scene.
"You know what happens when more murders happen under our watch. We arrest someone to make it look as though progress is being made. It's a sad truth, but that's what is happening here. Benjy is probably innocent."
"You know what, Potter? I'm regretting bringing you here. Why don't you make yourself useful and find out who Benjy is actually working for?"
Harry's expression hardened. "Fine. If you need to arrest more innocent people, I'll be in my office trying to find the real murderers."
He turned and stalked off, heading to the lift.
It was strange, that he needed to prove the innocence of Draco's ex-boyfriend. It didn't matter, though. There were more Muggles' and Squibs' lives in danger, and he wouldn't let this tiff with Draco distract him.
Though, his heart couldn't help but hurt as he turned to press the button for Level Two and caught Draco's eye. For the first time in many months, Harry stepped into the lift alone.
TO BE CONCLUDED NEXT WEEK...
Episode writer: ashiiblack
Episode editor: llaeyro
Warnings/content: mature content
Episode summary: When a Muggle geneticist turns up missing, Harry, Iris, and Draco investigate. Meanwhile, Harry is unsure where he and Draco stand.
"Fuck, Malfoy." Harry threw his head back and grabbed a fistful of Draco's hair, pushing him down to his cock.
Harry wasn't sure how this had become a normal thing. After their first time together a week before, they had hardly been able to keep their hands off of each other for longer than several hours. Snogging sessions took place in the loo, in Harry's office, in Draco's loft, in Harry's kitchen. Hell, Harry had managed to get Draco off in a session in the Ministry lift.
Draco's tongue swirled around Harry's cock, and he snapped back to the moment. Harry fought from thrusting his hips forward. From what he gathered from their previous experiences, Draco liked to be in control. He knew exactly what he was doing, and Harry had no complaints so far.
While this was nice and all, Harry wasn't sure what it all meant. Were they just fucking? Would it lead to something more? That motorcycle ride together a few weeks before had seemed as though it would. Yet, when they were working, Draco was nothing but professional.
Did Harry want Draco Malfoy to be his boyfriend? It surprised him that he smiled at the thought.
Just then, Draco took the full hilt of Harry's prick into his mouth, and Harry lost his ability to think. He watched the blond hair fall in front of Draco's shoulders. Harry felt sweat-beaded arms slip under his back, pulling his body closer to Draco's mouth. Harry couldn't help but moan. He wouldn't be able to last for long.
A beeping sound filled the room. Even though his eyes were closed, Harry could see both their wands beaming a blue light at the tip. For once, someone had used a wand notification method to call them in, instead of Floo. Perhaps after working with the Muggle police, the heads of the Ministry realized that Muggles had a much easier time contacting their employees.
Harry heard Draco groan. Suddenly, the warmth of his mouth was gone, and replaced by cool breeze. He shivered.
"Potter."
Harry kept his eyes closed, hoping that Draco would get back to his cock.
"Harry."
He opened his eyes. "What?"
"We're being called in."
Harry sat up and looked at his unsated cock; it was starting to look a bit droopy. "Is this about the Squib killings?"
"I would guess so."
Harry glanced around, "Where are my trousers?"
Draco pointed to the ceiling fan, hiding an embarrassed smile. "Not sure how they got up there."
Several minutes later, they were dressed and Apparated to the Ministry.
"Who called us in?" Harry turned to Draco.
"Who do you think?" Draco motioned to Dawlish's office. "He still wants to feel like he is a part of the team."
Harry grinned at Draco, spending just a fraction of a second too long staring into his eyes. Harry's ears burned, and both men quickly looked down.
Draco knocked on the door and stepped inside. "You wanted to see us?"
They each took a seat in front of Dawlish’s desk and looked at him, waiting for him to speak.
Dawlish hardly looked at them, and spoke in short, clipped sentences. "A Muggle scientist is missing. Detective Bustamant is adamant that this pertains to your case."
Harry took out his notebook and began writing. A Muggle scientist?
"Detective Bustamant will meet you outside St. Mungo's. The research lab is a short walk from there. That is all."
Harry stifled a smile. He recognized it was immature but he couldn't help but feel smug that, despite Dawlish's opposition, Harry was still a part of this investigation. While trying to ruin Harry's career, he had managed to put Harry in an even better light with the Ministry and Auror Department.
He and Draco rose and stepped out of Dawlish's office.
"I suppose we should head over to meet Iris." Draco surprised Harry by taking his hand.
"What are you-" Harry started speaking, but was cut off by the squashing feeling of Apparation.
They reemerged in an alley near St. Mungo's. Iris stood near the entrance, looking rather impatient. Her expression brightened when she saw Harry and Draco approaching. A grin spread across her face as she looked them up and down.
"Auror Malfoy, your hair is a little messy. Did we wake you?"
Draco ran his fingers through his hair. "It is most certainly not messy."
Iris shrugged. "I know what bed tousled hair looks like."
Harry rolled his eyes at Iris. "Let's discuss the case. Dawlish said this kidnapping is related to the Squib murders?"
Iris nodded. "Remember that genetics lead we followed up on a few weeks ago? One of the lead members who created that system went missing three days ago. I don't think it's a coincidence."
Draco pursed his lips. Harry watched his eyes glaze over as they turned upwards, deep in thought. He loved how Draco got lost in his thoughts.
"We should visit the team of scientists first." Draco reached out for the file in Iris's hands. His eyes quickly scanned the file. Harry leaned in, so that he could both read the case and smell Draco's hair.
"They were all geneticists?" Harry looked up at Iris, who nodded. "We're lucky Draco knows at least a little bit about the science behind genetics."
They began walking. Iris was reluctant to Apparate or Floo again. Harry didn't blame her; if he could, he'd travel by broomstick everywhere.
"Does anyone on the team know about the Wizarding World?" Draco looked at Iris, who shook her head.
"No, they are all quite oblivious to magic. Now that I've seen how you lot carry on, I can't imagine why I didn't see it before."
"What do you mean?" Draco furrowed his brows.
"You aren't exactly subtle in many of your practices. I saw several wizards Apparate straight out of the pub last night. People walk straight past the Leaky Cauldron as though it isn't there."
Harry shrugged. "I think magic is only noticeable if you are looking for it."
"And those without magic who do look for it are often regarded as paranoid conspiracy theorists." Iris shook her head.
They stood in front of a sleek, modern building. It was called the Neumann Center for Genetic Research. As they stepped inside, they were immediately greeted by a security guard, who began patting them down.
"Excuse me!" Draco eyed the guard with distaste. "I am law enforcement!"
Iris, Harry, and Draco took out their badges to show the guard. He muttered a few select words under his breath, and then regained his professional manner. "If you're here why I think you are, you understand why I am required to search everyone."
"Well, perhaps you should buy a bloke dinner first before you start groping me." Draco glared at the man and walked up to the receptionist's desk.
Iris and Harry exchanged a look, and followed Draco.
"Welcome to the Neumann Center. Please sign in. How can I help you?" The receptionist smiled at them.
Iris picked up the pen and signed them in. Harry stepped forward. "I'm Special Agent Potter, these are my colleagues Agent Malfoy and Detective Inspector Bustamant. We need to speak with Dr. Mahoney and her team regarding Dr. Laurent."
The smile vanished from the receptionist's face. "Is he really missing?"
"That's not really-" Draco started to speak, but Iris interrupted him.
"Unfortunately, he has been declared missing. When was the last time you saw Dr. Laurent?"
"I saw him on Monday night. He was leaving just as I was. He even held the door open for me." Her head dropped down and she stared at her keyboard. A moment later, she perked her head back up and issued them three visitor passes. "Dr. Mahoney is on the fifth floor. I hope you find him."
"So do we, ma'am." Harry patted her hand as he took the passes. He turned to Iris and Draco. "Let's go."
**
A lift ride, a slight panic attack from Draco's end, and a gentle backhand on the head from Iris, the trio stood in front of a tall, red-haired woman.
"Dr. Mahoney?” Harry held out his hand. “I’m Detective Potter, and these are my associates, Malfoy and Bustamant.”
She nodded and shook Harry’s hand. "Call me Margaret. What can I do for you?"
"Margaret, we are here on behalf of the police force. We'd like to ask you a few questions about Dr. Laurent."
She paled. "He really is missing, isn't he?"
"Can you tell us if he had any enemies?" Iris took out her notepad and pen.
"Not Tyler. Everyone loved him. He helped us get funding."
"For what?" Harry looked around the lab. "It seems as though you got an awful lot of it."
Margaret gave him a harsh look. "We were originally part of the Human Genome Project. Nearly everyone in the building was paid for work out of that contract. When it ended in 2003, Tyler was able to secure funding from private donors to continue the work."
"What's the Human Genome Project?" Draco glanced at Harry and Iris, who both looked equally mystified.
"About thirty years ago, a worldwide collaboration began, known as the Human Genome Project. Our goal was to map and analyze the human genome. As you are probably aware, DNA can tell us an inordinate amount of information regarding human health, appearance, and evolution. Our team started here in 1999, and finished four years later. We worked on chromosome 2 in particular."
Harry nodded. "Since then, what have you been working on?"
"We're still spending a lot of time on chromosome 2. Chromosome 2 is believed to be the evolutionary marker that separated us from chimpanzees hundreds of thousands of years ago. If we can prove that, it could potentially make evolution nearly impossible to refute."
"You, Dr. Laurent, and your team worked on this together?" Iris scribbled in her notebook as she spoke.
Margaret nodded. "We were working on it, and bloody close to discovering something."
Harry caught on to the frustrated tone in her voice. "Until?"
She sighed. "Until another team stepped in six months ago. They had been given orders from the government to take over. Apparently, they were the experts in chromosome 2. Since then, we've been focusing on deletion syndromes which cause body deformities."
"That probably irked Dr. Laurent, didn't it?" Draco's voice sounded sympathetic.
"He tried to speak with Dr. Urquart, but he wouldn't listen."
"Dr. Urquart?" Draco seemed excited. Harry gave him a curious look, but Draco waved him off. "Malcolm Urquart?"
"The very one." Margaret pursed her lips. "It happens all the time, though. Scientists or their sponsors get a whiff of major research being done, and everybody wants a bit of glory."
"Thank you, Margaret. We will let you know if we find anything. Detective Bustamant? Potter? We can go."
They followed Draco and once in the lift, bombarded him with questions.
"We didn't spend more than five minutes with her!"
"She barely spoke of Dr. Laurent!"
"We didn't even search the place!"
"Harry. Iris. Calm down." Draco patted them both on the shoulder. Harry leaned into the touch perhaps a little too much. "Malcolm Urquart works in the Research Wing at St. Mungo's. He and his team are contracted out through the Department of Mysteries. The last I heard of their work, they were reviewing scientific Muggle research and comparing it to their own."
"Draco, that's brilliant!"
Iris looked at Draco with a quizzical expression. "Are you saying that a group of wizards were interested in what a bunch of Muggles were researching?"
Draco nodded, the smile taking up most of his face. "That's exactly what I'm saying."
Harry had to resist the urge to kiss Draco right then and there. It wasn't as though he hadn't been thinking about it all morning, though.
**
"I thought you said I wasn't allowed in magical places!" Iris nudged Draco's arm as they approached St. Mungo's.
"This is for interrogation purposes. You'll do fine here." Harry spoke in a reassuring voice. Plus, it wasn't as though any of them were particularly obsessed with following the rules.
"As long as you're sure."
"Do you not want to help conduct the interview?" Draco raised his eyebrows at her.
That seemed enough to convince Iris. Harry and Draco flashed their badges to the security and headed to the sixth floor-the recently renovated research wing.
As they approached the front desk, Harry saw posters of moving scientists. They were holding their research in their hands and smirking at the camera. He recognized a large number of famous Ravenclaws.
Iris dropped her voice so only Harry and Draco could hear her. "The moving portraits are still incredibly off-putting."
"You get used to them eventually." Harry patted her shoulder. "I still remember the first time I saw Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog."
"That sounds disgusting."
"Ahem."
Harry and Iris looked up and realized they were standing at the receptionist's desk.
"How can I help you, Auror Potter?" The receptionist appeared to be in awe that she was standing in Harry's presence.
Harry's ears felt warm. He could practically feel the smirk from Draco penetrating him. How he wished something else were penetrating him!
He quickly coughed to pull himself out of that thought. "Could you please direct us to Urquart's team?"
"He isn't in. Is that alright?"
"Who is in charge when he isn't around?"
She smiled. "That would be Roger Davies and Edmund Grayson. They are both team leads. Their office is down the left hall and two doors on the right. I'll let them know you are on your way."
"Thank you!" Iris waved and ushered Harry and Draco down the hall. "Sir Walter Harrison wouldn't stop winking at me!"
Draco chuckled. "From all accounts, he loved female Muggles."
They knocked on the door, labeled R. Davies and E. Grayson. The door opened and Roger Davies' face erupted in a large grin. "Harry! Good to see you!" He motioned behind him to an older, balding wizard in his fifties. "This is Edmund Grayson. We work together on Urquart's team."
"You know Unspeakable Malfoy, and this is Detective Inspector Bustamant. Roger, Grayson , can we ask you a few questions about your work?"
Roger Summoned several chairs, and sat in one himself. "Sure! What do you need to know?"
Draco spoke first. "Is it true you took over research from a Muggle team on genetics?"
Roger nodded. Harry watched as Roger leaned forward and rested his chin on his hand. Grayson also shifted in his seat. "That is true."
"What would a group of wizards want with Muggle research on DNA?" Harry watched Grayson scratch behind his ear and purse his lips.
"I'm afraid that's confidential." Roger sat back.
"As an Unspeakable, I am at a level two clearance." Draco narrowed his eyes at Roger.
"Yes, but they are not." Grayson motioned to Harry and Iris.
Harry turned his gaze on Grayson. "We are investigating a serial killer. Anything relevant to our case is clearance to us."
"The only other person who knows exactly what we are doing here is Urquhart. No one else on the team knows the full extent of our project. I'm sorry, Auror Potter, but this is also a security issue. If you knew what we were doing, it could get out and thousands of people's lives could be in danger."
Harry had an idea of what this research was about, but didn't want to say anything unless he knew for sure. "Can you tell us why you took the project from the Muggle research team?"
"The head of St. Mungo's Research Division feared their project could cause a discovery that would allow them to breach our Statute of Secrecy. If they found out that wizards existed, could you imagine what would happen?"
Iris held up her hand. "Hold on. Are you saying that their work would have led them to discover wizards?"
Roger nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying."
Chills ran down Harry's body. "Their research was leading them to the discovery of a gene that could identify wizards."
Roger shook his head. "Not exactly. We-"
Grayson elbowed Roger in the side. "We've already told them too much. I will not be responsible for any child's death. Plus, that one is a Malfoy, and that Muggle already knows too much."
"Excuse me?" Draco stood up. "My family has done a lot of horrid things, but I am an Unspeakable, and guard more secrets than you ever will."
"Horrid things?" Grayson glared at Draco. "Horrid doesn't begin to describe what I've seen your family do."
Just as Draco's face began to look the color of a grape, Harry grabbed hold of his hand, threading Draco's fingers with his own. "Let's not start anything. We need answers. A Muggle is missing. We want to find him before he is killed. Please, Roger. Anything that you can tell us will help."
Grayson turned to Harry, his face softening slightly. "Someone is missing?"
Harry nodded. "Someone is killing Squibs, and we think that this Muggle may have known something. All we are trying to do is save him, including Draco."
At that moment, everyone realized that he and Draco were still holding hands. Harry released Draco's hand, and casually dropped his own hand into his lap.
It was silent for several moments until Grayson spoke up. "The Muggles were investigating a deletion pattern in chromosome 2. In most cases, deletion patterns result in extreme mental incapacitation. In this instance, it seems to produce wizards."
Draco's jaw dropped open. "The Muggles discovered how to identify wizards?"
Grayson nodded. "That was Urquhart's fear. It's why we took over their project. It's also why we've kept it extremely confidential. Could you imagine what someone like You Know Who could do with that information?"
Harry and Draco nodded, both paling. "It's been several months since you took their project away. What have you discovered?"
"A fair amount." Grayson smiled. "We took samples from wizards who had participated in some of the DNA projects around the world. While most of them followed the deletion pattern in chromosome two, there were several prominent Pureblood wizards who did not have the genetic markup."
"You didn't find it, then? The 'Wizard Gene’?" Iris leaned forward.
Grayson shook his head. "In doing this research, we discovered that the ability to hold magic, as well as magical skill and power, has nothing to do with family."
"That we've seen so far." Roger patted Grayson's shoulder. "We'll find it."
"What do you mean that it doesn't have anything to do with family?"
"For example, the first thing we discovered is that the age of either or both parents makes no difference in their offspring's magical ability." Grayson gestured to Harry. "The fact that you are a powerful wizard has nothing to do with the fact that your parents were so young when they had you."
Draco leaned in towards Harry. "That means we could prove that Enid Longbottom's age had nothing to do with Sarah's latent magic ."
Harry turned to Draco and grinned. Draco was still thinking about that case in a time like this? He was so smitten with Draco, it made him sick.
"What we've been looking into more is the difference in genetic makeup for Squibs, Muggleborns, Purebloods, and the rest of the spectrum of magical ability. If there's anything my research in the past has taught me, there is an explanation for everything." Roger spoke with passion, his voice rising.
"Roger, there may not be an explanation for why some people have magic and others don't." Grayson chuckled. "I've been doing genetic research for nearly thirty years, and this is the closest I've ever come to finding anything resembling a 'Wizard Gene'."
"We just need to keep looking. Despite its dangers, can you imagine what the discovery of something like that would do for researchers everywhere?"
Draco chuckled. "You'd be famous, and probably become very rich."
Roger turned to Draco, looking less than amused. "Do you think I do this research for money or fame? Malfoy, I want to find this for myself. Finding an explanation for what makes a wizard a wizard is the greatest intellectual challenge I've ever attempted. I would do anything to accomplish it."
"Murder?" Draco's voice was casual, but filled with curiosity.
Grayson scoffed. "We don't receive bodies in this lab. All we get are the DNA samples, Unspeakable Malfoy. All of the samples we get are easily traced to databases. On top of that, all of the databases use DNA that was willingly given to them." He clapped his hands. "Now that that is cleared up, is there anything else we can help you with? Any more accusations you want to make at us?"
"You said you didn't want anyone else knowing about this. What would you have done if you actually had discovered the Wizard Gene?" Iris crossed her arms.
"We would have approached the Minister and seen what he wanted to do." Grayson shrugged. "We do the research, not the publicity."
"If that's all, we have centrifuges to attend to." Roger stood up and showed them to the doorway.
"Yes, thank you. We may need to contact you and Grayson again. You may be of use in explaining some of the science to us." Harry shook Roger's hand and smiled.
Harry, Draco, and Iris walked out of the office, and out of St. Mungo's in silence. Once they were out of the building, Draco turned to Harry and Iris. "Do you think they told us everything?"
Iris shook her head. "I doubt it. They clearly didn't want their research getting out."
Draco spoke up in a soft, pensive voice. "Not that I blame them."
Draco’s 'words surprised Harry. Out of all of them, he expected Draco to be more interested in the research Urquhart's team was doing. At Harry's surprised face, Draco smiled and shook his head. "Not every Death Eater is as reformed as I am. I'm sure your work has shown you that much."
"There's talk of a gene technology that could let parents pick the gender or eye color of their baby. I imagine the ability to make them a wizard could be a service high in demand." Iris shrugged and turned to Harry.
"Yes, but they are only trying to find the gene that gives magical people their ability." Harry pointed out.
Iris pursed her lips in a thoughtful manner. "The next step is controlling it. Humans want to be in control, magical or not."
"We should go check in with Dawlish. I'm sure he will want an update." Draco patted Harry on the shoulder and Iris smirked behind her hand.
Harry nodded. "Iris, do you want to come along?"
She sighed. "For it being a Friday night, I have absolutely nothing to do."
They made the short walk to the Ministry, entering through the visitor's entrance. Harry assumed that Iris would have no interest in flushing herself into a toilet.
Once the visitor's badge had been pinned to Iris's blouse, they went up the elevator to Level Two.
Dawlish was in his office, staring at his oak desk without an expression.
"Sir?" Draco knocked in the doorway. "We just came from several interviews and were hoping to debrief you."
Dawlish let out a long sigh. "The Muggle just turned up."
"Alive?" Harry allowed hope to creep into his voice.
Dawlish shook his head. "Dead."
Harry's heart sank.
"Was he killed in the same manner as the Squibs?"
"No, Unspeakable Malfoy, he was not. It doesn't appear as though the killer had any interest in experimenting on him. Instead, they applied torture techniques. They used magic on him."
Through his side vision, Harry could see Iris's head and shoulders drop down as she took in a shaky breath.
Draco turned his head to face the doorway again, crossing his arms. "We believe that the killer is experimenting on Muggles, Squibs, and Wizards to find out how magic is given or passed down to a person. Their reason why is still unclear."
"Why the geneticist?" Iris seemed to ask her question more to the room than its occupants. Still, Draco answered.
"Perhaps the killer thought he knew something. If they were unaware of Urquhart's new research, Dr. Laurent would have been the best source to go to."
A thought occurred to Harry. "We should send Aurors to guard Urquart's lab. Dr. Laurent may have given up information about who took over from him."
Dawlish nodded. "I'll have Weasley stand guard there."
"Is there anything else, sir?" Iris's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Find the killer as soon as possible." Dawlish sighed and bent over to continue his paperwork. "That is all."
Harry, Draco, and Iris turned in unison, and left the office.
"I don't know how Aurors do it, but when we get news like this in the force, we go to a pub." Iris patted Harry on the back.
Harry was overcome with gratefulness. There was no way he could focus on the case with news of this gravity. He could start up again the next day, but all of the interviews and the news of Dr. Laurent's death was too much.
With a glance at Draco, Harry nodded. "I could use an ale or two."
At Iris's insistence, Harry found himself with her and Draco in the back of a taxi their way to a Muggle pub called The Salty Dog.
**
"An ale or two" quickly became four or five ales. Harry, Draco, and Iris had a back booth all to themselves. Iris knew the pub owner quite well and he gave them preferential seating, along with a hefty discount on drinks.
Draco laughed as a peanut rolled off the table. Harry made a mental note to remind himself that the other man couldn't handle his liquor very well.
"What made you want to become an Auror?" Iris turned to Harry.
"I think I always wanted to be an Auror. I remember in school, when we had career counseling, that's what I wanted to do."
"He was inspired by Loony Moody." Draco giggled at his joke.
"Mad Eye." Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't forget that it wasn't actually Moody who turned you into a ferret."
Iris spat out her drink. "Someone named Mad Eye turned you into a ferret?" She slapped the table and started cackling.
Draco huffed and tried to take a graceful sip of his drink. "It was a traumatizing experience. I had to get rid of my pet gerbil because it reminded me too much of that day."
Having never heard this before, Harry burst into laughter. From the shock on Draco's expression, he quickly stopped. "I'm sorry, but you were a real twit back then."
"You were a fool yourself. Stupid, pratty little Gryffindor. You meddled in all the things you weren't supposed to, and then got rewarded for it."
"It sounds like someone was the teacher's pet." Iris spoke in a singsong voice.
"I wasn't the teacher's pet." Harry frowned at Draco. "Was I?"
"The biggest." Draco expanded his arms wide. "Can we get another round?"
"I'm cutting you off, Malfoy." Iris patted Draco on the shoulder.
"It's fine. I need to have a wee, anyways." He gathered himself, stood up, and walked away from the booth.
"Once he was out of earshot, Iris turned to Harry, her eyes shining. "Are you two involved?"
Harry sputtered, and finally came up with a rather weak, "What? We are-partners."
"I saw his hair this morning, and you two hold hands every chance you get. That seems pretty involved to me."
Harry sighed and finished off his ale. "I don't know what we are. I noticed that we were flirting a few weeks ago, and then we kissed, and now-"
"Now?"
Harry leaned in close to Iris. After smelling his own breath, he leaned further back. "We're shagging."
Iris's eyes grew even wider. "You don't seem too happy about that."
Harry banged his hand on the table, causing himself to jump. "Of course I'm bloody happy! I've been pining after him for weeks! I just-I don't know what that means."
"Why not?"
"Neither of us is very good at talking. Any girlfriend I ever had asked me on a date first. I don't know what I'd say. Plus, I can't tell if he wants a relationship or just someone to shag while he's between boyfriends."
"You should probably ask him." Iris patted Harry on his hand.
"I don't want to seem like I'm being clingy or whiny. You know, he frustrated me just as much as this when we were in school." He paused, and added as an afterthought, "Only I wanted to punch him in the face instead of shag him silly."
"Shag who silly?" Draco stood at the front of the booth, his hands wrapped around the end of the table.
"No one. Just a new Muggle song." Iris moved over to give Draco room, but he plopped next to Harry. The look Iris gave Harry did not go amiss.
Iris’s phone beeped. “Well, gentlemen, it looks as though I’ll leave you here to sober up. My father wants me to tell him all about working with wizards tonight.” She shook her head. “Honestly, if I didn’t know him better, I’d say he wanted to be a part of the Wizarding world.”
She stood, waved goodbye, and left to find a taxi home. Draco turned to Harry and started grinning.
Harry couldn’t help but return the grin. “What?”
As Draco spoke, his hands glided along Harry’s trousers. “Why don’t we finish what we started this morning?”
Harry stood so quickly, he nearly knocked over their glasses. “Let’s go.”
**
The moment they arrived in Harry's flat, Draco pressed a hard kiss to Harry's lips. Harry eagerly returned the kiss, allowing his hands to travel down and wrap his fingers around Draco's front hip bones. Still kissing, he led Draco to the sofa, pushing him onto the cushions. At this rate, there was no way they'd make it into the bedroom, anyway.
It seemed as though their clothes melted off, and the next thing Harry knew, he and Draco were rutting against each other.
Harry pulled away from Draco. "Are you feeling up for this still?"
Draco scoffed. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"
Harry shrugged. "You're just a bit more intoxicated than usual. I don't want to take advantage of you."
Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him so close, their lips were touching. Harry felt chills shoot through his body as Draco looked straight into his eyes and spoke. "Potter, I want you to fuck me so hard, I won't remember what an awful day it's been afterward. Can you do that for me?"
As everything in Harry's body tensed in arousal, Draco laughed. "I'm pretty sure that's as good an answer as I’ll get.
Harry fought a grin and scooted back on the sofa. He traced his finger down Draco's perineum and around the pucker of his arse. Harry reached for his wand on the floor and performed a Lubrication Charm on his fingers. He watched the look of satisfaction spread across Draco's face as Harry slowly pressed his finger into him.
Draco rutted and tightened against the finger as Harry kissed down his body, stopping at his cock. Harry stared at the glorious leaking erection in front of him, and licked it from the base to the tip, enjoying the taste of the precome.
He slid in another finger, pumping it in and out of Draco. Harry tried to focus on something else, eager not to come before he got a chance to fuck Draco.
Without slowing the speed or force of his fingers, Harry performed another Lubrication Charm on Draco. He pulled out his dripping fingers and wrapped them around Draco's cock. Harry positioned himself at Draco's entrance and pushed in. He watched as Draco threw his head back and moaned.
Draco felt bloody fantastic. He was so warm, so wet, so absolutely perfect. As Harry fucked Draco, he couldn't help but feel as though this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
It was a strange thought, that he was smitten with someone as big of a pain in the arse as the Malfoy lying in front of him. When they met, Draco was everything Harry hated. They were polar opposites. Yet, at some point in their adulthood, they had become compatible in every way.
There was still the nagging feeling in the back of Harry's mind that Draco didn't trust him, which was why they hadn't discussed the nature of their relationship.
"Potter, if you don't start moving, I'm going to take care of myself." Draco's growl snapped Harry back to the moment.
Neither of them lasted long, especially with watching Draco come undone, his come ribboning out onto his chest. Harry cried out when he came, tears forming in his eyes as he clutched Draco like he would disappear.
They lay together, hearts pounding and shaking breaths for some time until finally, Draco spoke.
"Would you mind if I cleaned off? There isn't much worse for sensitive skin as dried semen."
Harry laughed into Draco's neck and pulled himself off of the other man. He stood up and allowed Draco to get up to go to the bathroom.
Instead of joining Draco in the shower, he performed a quick Cleansing Charm and began cleaning up the mess they had made in his living room.
As he waited for Draco to finish in the shower, Harry made a decision. He would ask Draco to stay the night. Perhaps that would be enough of an olive branch to have Draco see he wanted more than just someone to fuck.
The door opened and Draco emerged in a puff of steam. "You're out of hot water, Harry."
Harry shook his head and grinned. "Listen, Draco, I-"
"I should probably get going. It's late and you need to sleep. I imagine Dawlish will want us in bright and early to debrief everyone and make sure no one else gets killed."
Harry felt the little confidence he had disappear quicker than a feast at the Weasley house. "Right. I suppose you should go."
"Right."
Harry picked up his head and looked at Draco. His expression looked challenging, as though he was waiting for something. He looked down and realized that Draco's shirt was at his feet.
"Here." Harry handed Draco the shirt. "Have a good night."
Draco pulled his shirt on, and walked out the door.
Once the door shut, Harry sighed and flopped onto his bed. He couldn't believe how foolish he was, thinking Draco actually wanted to be with him.
Harry shut off his lights with his wand, turned over, and closed his eyes. Perhaps if he pretended he could sleep, he could eventually do so.
**
At some point during the night, Harry must have fallen asleep. He awoke to someone knocking on his door. He stood up, put on his robes, and walked rather zombie-like to his door.
Once he opened it, he saw Draco standing in front of him. "We need to get to the Ministry dungeons. Now."
Draco grabbed him by his wrist and Disapparated so quickly, Harry wasn't sure if he had the time to even close his door.
"Fuck, Draco. I just woke up. It would be nice of you to give me a little warning next time." Harry rubbed his eyes, looking around at the booking room. "Why are we here?"
"Benjy just got arrested."
Harry's jaw dropped. Had he attacked Draco? Had he done something crazy out of jealousy? "For what?"
"For killing all of the Squibs and Muggles." Draco's voice was dry.
That wasn't what he expected to hear, either. "Do you believe that?"
Harry finally had a chance to look at Draco. He was a mess. He looked as though he hadn't slept at all, and his hair hadn't been combed. One of the buttons on his robes was in the wrong button hole, causing his robes to look rather lopsided.
"He betrayed me."
"How do you figure?"
"He knew that I worked in the Unspeakable department. If he managed to kill all of those people without us finding out until now, he had to have someone who would get him easy access to files."
"Draco, listen to yourself. There's no way Benjy could do something like that. He's a Seeker, not a murderer. What was the evidence tying him to the murders?"
Draco clenched his fists. "While some Aurors were reviewing some of the witness reports on the Miranda Philpotts kidnapping, they discovered that all of them had seen Benjy fleeing the scene."
Harry shook his head. "That doesn't sound like Benjy. Do you really think he’s intelligent enough to mastermind something like this? He probably was just following you around, like he had been doing all that week."
Acting as though he hadn't heard a word Harry said, Draco continued. "He was also spotted outside my cousin's house."
"Listen to reason, Draco. Just because he was at a crime scene doesn't make him a criminal. Plus, what would be his motivation?"
Draco scoffed. "Cash. If what Grayson and Davies said was true, finding the Wizard Gene and controlling it would be worth thousands and thousands of Galleons. Benjy loves money."
Harry stomped his foot. "Dammit, Malfoy, will you just listen to me? Why is it that you always have to be right? I'm an Auror, for Merlin's sake!"
Draco glared at Harry. "Sure, you're a big-headed, self-confident, arrogant Auror."
"Why won't you trust me?" Harry grabbed Draco's wrists. Though he struggled to move away, Harry held on tight. "You're upset. You have every right to be. Someone you trusted was just arrested for a crime that we've been investigating for months. Keep your head on and think straight."
Draco pushed away Harry's hands. "This isn't about trust. This is about someone using me for information."
Harry was speechless. He wasn't sure why Draco was taking things this personally. He normally kept a cool head and waited until all of the facts were processed. Sure, he was judgmental at times, but would never suspect someone of murder with as little evidence as simply seeing someone at a crime scene.
"You know what happens when more murders happen under our watch. We arrest someone to make it look as though progress is being made. It's a sad truth, but that's what is happening here. Benjy is probably innocent."
"You know what, Potter? I'm regretting bringing you here. Why don't you make yourself useful and find out who Benjy is actually working for?"
Harry's expression hardened. "Fine. If you need to arrest more innocent people, I'll be in my office trying to find the real murderers."
He turned and stalked off, heading to the lift.
It was strange, that he needed to prove the innocence of Draco's ex-boyfriend. It didn't matter, though. There were more Muggles' and Squibs' lives in danger, and he wouldn't let this tiff with Draco distract him.
Though, his heart couldn't help but hurt as he turned to press the button for Level Two and caught Draco's eye. For the first time in many months, Harry stepped into the lift alone.
TO BE CONCLUDED NEXT WEEK...