Chapter Text
May 2000, London
Early on Monday morning, Draco learned that he would be travelling to Germany with Harry Potter to investigate the source of an illegal potion.
He was not exactly surprised.
From the day he joined the Ministry of Magic, he had always felt that sooner or later, he and Potter would end up working on the same case. They had once stood on opposite sides of a war, but both of them had chosen to stay at the Ministry afterwards.
What surprised him was how quickly that day had come.
The war had ended only two years ago. Did the Ministry really trust them that much, or did no one care what had happened between them?
After the war, Potter had not returned to Hogwarts. He had gone straight into the Auror Office. Draco, meanwhile, had returned to school for his final year. After completing his N.E.W.T.s, he joined the Department of International Magical Cooperation.
His colleagues had not welcomed him at first. Some of them still made sharp remarks whenever they had the chance.
Fortunately, the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Percy Weasley, had patiently guided him through his first few months at the Ministry. Whenever anyone tried to make things difficult for Draco, Percy would simply quote the relevant Ministry regulations, and the discussion usually ended there.
Draco would never admit this aloud. The fact that a Weasley—even a more intelligent Weasley—had helped him settle into his new job was deeply embarrassing.
Still, Percy had made Draco’s first few difficult months at the Ministry much easier than they could have been.
Draco had not wasted the chance Percy had given him. He quickly memorised the international magical laws he needed for his work. He was good at handling official documents, translating foreign materials and even organising international conferences.
Little by little, his colleagues began to respect his abilities. In a way, they also began to accept him.
Of course, they still did not invite him out for drinks or dinner after work.
Draco did not care. At least they had finally learned to work with him peacefully during office hours.
Perhaps, in the end, he had managed to free himself from at least some of the burden that came with the Malfoy name after the war.
When Percy told him about the assignment, he looked uncomfortable. Draco immediately understood why.
Ron was Percy’s younger brother. He had probably told Percy plenty of stories about the years Draco and Potter had spent hating each other at Hogwarts.
Percy must also have known that Potter had spoken for the Malfoy family after the war. But that only proved Potter was willing to be fair when it mattered. It certainly did not mean that they had suddenly become friends.
Percy admitted that he had already asked their superiors to reconsider the arrangement. However, the department head still believed that the benefits of sending Draco and Potter together were far greater than the “minor” risks. It might even show the wizarding world that things were not always simply black and white.
Draco showed no sign of objecting. He calmly accepted the assignment and began asking what exactly his role would be.
He saw Percy’s shoulders relax.
Percy spread the documents across his desk, and together they planned the journey and divided the work between them. They also agreed to attend a joint meeting in the Auror Office on Wednesday morning.
When Draco and Percy entered the meeting room exactly one minute early on Wednesday, Potter and his section head, Elias Thornton, were already there.
Surprisingly early, Draco thought as he looked at Potter.
This was probably the first time since the war that Draco had studied him so closely.
He had not properly looked at Potter during the trials, not even when Potter returned his hawthorn wand afterwards. He had not paid much attention to him at the Ministry either.
Potter had hardly changed. His hair was still a mess, although he looked healthier and more energetic than he had before.
The hawthorn wand in Draco’s pocket seemed to remember the moment Potter had used it to defeat Voldemort. It grew faintly warm against his robes.
Draco frowned. He had thought about getting a new wand, but he could not bring himself to give this one up.
“Morning, Mr Weasley and Mr Malfoy.”
Thornton stood to greet them. Potter also rose, and Draco noticed the small smile that appeared on his face when he heard the formal greeting.
Draco frowned again.
“Morning, Mr Thornton. Potter.”
Percy stepped forward and shook Thornton’s hand, then Potter’s.
Draco did the same.
The moment he took Potter’s hand, he could have sworn they were both eleven years old again, standing on the Hogwarts Express.
“Right, let’s begin.”
Once everyone had sat down, Thornton waved one large hand, and the briefing appeared in the air before them.
He explained that an illegal potion called Lethe Elixir had recently been found on the black market.
It was not yet widely available, but it had the dangerous ability to completely rewrite a person’s memories. They needed to find its source before it spread any further.
“We believe the potion came from Dresden,” Thornton said. “That means we need help from the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Mainly to make sure Harry does not do anything impulsive and accidentally break international law during the investigation.”
Thornton gave Potter a pointed look.
Potter simply held up his hands and tried to look innocent.
“Of course, we do not want to warn the people behind it,” Thornton continued. “That is why only the two of you are going. You are not expected to arrest anyone. Your job is only to trace the potion back to its source.”
They spent the rest of the meeting discussing the details of the investigation. They agreed to leave as soon as Draco had arranged the necessary Portkey.
They expected the whole mission to take no more than a week.
Looking back, Draco realised that he had accepted the assignment so calmly for two reasons.
First, he had always known that he and Potter would have to work together one day.
Second, he had believed that the job would be simple.
They only needed to investigate the source of an illegal potion. They would not have to spend much time together. Once the Portkey had been arranged, they could travel straight to Dresden and begin their work. They had even believed that everything would be over within a week.
But Draco should have known better.
Nothing involving Potter was ever that simple.
Draco had never handled a case involving Germany before. His work with other countries already kept him busy enough.
It was only when he began applying for the Portkey that he discovered how little official contact there had been between the British and German Ministries of Magic since Voldemort’s rise.
The German Ministry only allowed British witches and wizards to travel by Portkey directly to the German Ministry itself. Anyone travelling to another city had to continue by train.
By the time Draco reported this to Percy, his voice was already full of frustration.
After Percy and Thornton discussed the problem, they decided to extend the mission to two weeks.
Anyway, whether it took one week or two made little difference to Draco, as long as they finished the job as quickly as possible.