Draco and Harry: Escorts in Exile

Chapter Ten

Harry woke up to the delightful sensation of someone nibbling on the underside of his jaw. A shivery tickle of soft hair wafted over his chin and brushed over his throat. He sighed happily and reached back for his lover, but his hand grasped empty air.

His eyes opened and he saw Draco's lazy grin, albeit upside-down.

"I won't even ask how we ended up in this position," Harry said. He was sprawled diagonally across the bed and his feet hung off the corner. A sheet partially covered his legs. Draco's feet were where the pillows should be--those were missing--and he had no covers at all. Draco's hand roamed over Harry's chest and played gently with a taut nipple while his tongue stroked the hollow of Harry's throat.

"Want me to remind you?" Draco asked.

"Okay," Harry said breathlessly.

Draco moved down and over a bit until he hovered over Harry. He placed a steaming, tender kiss on Harry's lips, all tongue and teeth and teasing lips. Harry tangled a hand in the silvery hair, more than willing to have his favorite breakfast--Draco Malfoy.

A hand slapped against his abdomen and Draco pulled away. He sat up with a wicked grin. "Unfortunately, we don't have time."

The naked blond headed for the bathroom, seemingly oblivious to Harry's arousal, and the shocked expression on his face. Harry sat up and struggled to free himself from his awkward position on the bed. He ended up tangling his feet and falling out of bed with a thump.

"Wha--? Draco, what?" he managed as he climbed to his feet.

"We're off to the Ministry today. Just as soon as we have another chat with your Weasel friends," Draco called from the bathroom.

"You have a plan?" Harry called and hurried to join the Slytherin.

"I have a plan."

Harry grinned as he leaned against the doorframe and watched Draco enter the hot spray of the shower. Harry had a plan, too, and Draco's plan would just have to wait a tick or two. Draco did not exactly resist.

The nice weather had come to an end and rain hammered against the windows. Harry arranged for the Weasley twins to meet them in the gardens at Hampton Court. Harry had no idea where that was, but both Draco and the twins apparently knew it well.

Draco made breakfast while Harry put the living room back to rights, blushing a bit with remembered pleasure as he moved the white rug to its new resting place beneath the coffee table.

Later, fed and appropriately dressed for the rain, Draco Apparated them to a hedge-enclosed garden. A brick palace loomed in the background. Fred and George were already there, looking oddly morose in their dark, hooded cloaks.

"Thanks for fixing Apparition, Harry," Fred said.

"Bloody hell, yes," George added. "It was beastly, going everywhere by broom."

"We're staying at one of our warehouses. It's not pretty, but it's dry and secure. We'll take you there."

Fred took Harry's arm and George embraced Draco's shoulders with a laugh. They Disapparated.

"This is Weasley Warehouse Number Two," Fred announced when they appeared before a dilapidated wooden structure enclosed with a chain link fence. As they approached the door, Harry heard the sound of vicious dogs barking.

"Don't worry, they aren't real," George said. "But it keeps the Muggles away."

"We made it Unplottable so the Ministry won't get their hands on our goods."

"Been that way for years."

"Never trusted them."

The warehouse was huge and dark, and stacked with row upon row of boxes marked with the distinctive triple W of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Fred ushered them up some rickety stairs and into a spacious office heated with a wood-burning stove.

Ron threw himself out of a chair and gripped Harry's arms.

"Harry! What the hell? I mean, seriously, what the hell were you thinking?" The blue eyes flicked to Draco and back. "No offense, Malfoy, but breaking him the fuck out of Azkaban, Harry? What possessed you?"

For reply, Harry sent a helpless look at Draco, whose lips quirked in a beautiful grin and Harry's heart flipped over with a happy sigh.

"I'd do it again," Harry said simply and Ron groaned.

"You're completely hopeless. Utterly in the cauldron."

Harry nodded and shuffled sideways a couple of steps to lean into Draco, who put an arm over his shoulders possessively.

"Hermione is in lockup, Harry! Did you think about her for one bloody minute? Or Lupin and Tonks?"

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but realized that he deserved whatever abuse Ron chose to dish out. He had acted in a completely selfish manner and the fact that he was ecstatically happy as a wanted criminal, so long as Draco was with him, had no bearing on the guilt he felt for involving his friends.

"What do you plan to do about this?" Ron asked.

Harry turned hopeful eyes to Draco, silently pleading with Malfoy not to mention Budapest, because Ron might actually go mad and hit him.

"I have a plan," Draco said. "But I need your brothers."

Malfoy pressed a kiss against Harry's forehead and went to huddle over the small table with the twins. The wooden surface was soon covered in parchment, diagrams, scrolls, and sweet wrappers. Harry thought it was awfully brave of Draco to eat sweets offered by those two, but his tongue did not grow to massive proportion and his skin did not turn a garish shade of violet, so Harry figured they were normal confections.

Ron had set up his portable wizard chess game on one of the cots, and Harry sat down next to him. He pretended to play while listening to Draco and the twins plot.

The Plan consisted of the four of them sneaking in to the Ministry after hours. Harry and Ron would go to the dungeons and have a chat with Hermione and Lupin, while Draco and the twins went do something Draco assured Harry he would rather not know about. As long as it did not involve outright killing, Harry decided he did not have a problem with it. He also wondered if Draco's Slytherinness were rubbing off on him, because he seemed to be losing his conscience. Then again, perhaps it was just Umbridge.

The key to their success was Harry's invisibility cloak and several of the Weasley twins' Headless Hats. Except that they were no longer called Headless Hats, since the twins had managed to extend the glamour to cover the entire body.

"We're still arguing about the name," Fred explained as he plopped a hat on Draco's head. It was a black top hat, and did not look entirely out of place on Draco, except that he would need dress robes to complete the look, and perhaps that silver-headed cane his father used to sport.

"I want to call them Chameleon Caps," George said and plucked the hat from Draco, replacing it with a red beret.

"I don't wear red," Draco said adamantly. Harry thought the beret made him look sexy and French, but George sighed and removed it.

"I prefer Hiding Hats," Fred said. George made a scoffing noise.

"Please. That sounds like a five-year-old made it up."

Fred plopped a fedora on Draco's platinum head and Harry sat up with interest.

"You look like a really hot gangster," Harry said as Draco looked in the mirror and cocked his head.

George snatched the hat. "We'll put this in the 'maybe' pile."

Fred yanked a balaclava over Draco's head, pulling it down nearly to his eyes. It was pale grey, and looked quite nice. Harry grinned.

"Too hot, Weasel. It's summer, remember?" Draco said. Fred dragged the hat off, causing Draco's hair to stand up in a halo of static. Malfoy patted it down with a grimace of annoyance.

A trilby was next. It was black with tiny green pinstripes and a green band.

"Winner," Harry said quickly. God, who would have guessed a hat could look so good? Draco smirked at him. George nodded.

"Good choice. I'll take the fedora. Fred?"

Fred grabbed the beret, but turned it blue. "I am feeling rah-zair French today," he said with a horrible attempt at a French accent. George guffawed. Draco rubbed his temples.

"Balaclava for you, Ronnie-kins," Fred said and pulled the knit hat over Ron's head and down past his nose. Ron yelped and batted him away in annoyance. He tore the hat off and glared at his brother. His red hair stuck out at every angle.

"Cor! Now you look like Harry!" George said.

Harry remembered why the twins' company was best in moderation. He forced a smile.

"Well, we can't leave until dark. Has there been any word from Luna or Neville?"

George shook his head. "No, but we heard from Bill this morning. They haven't taken him in, but he's been ordered to take a sabbatical after his suspension. His house is being closely watched by Umbridge's goons. Same with Kingsley. We don't dare reply, in case they figure out a way to track our Patronus messages."

"Luna is our best contact, although she's probably being watched after that article in the Quibbler."

At Harry's questioning look, Fred scooped up a nearby newspaper and handed it to him. Luna had written an article about the arrest of Harry's friends. She had signed it "anonymous", but the vitriolic cast of it was certain to bring the entire staff of the Quibbler under the attention of Umbridge. Harry smiled at the questions in the article: "What sort of tyrant is running our government?" and "Should the scales of justice reside in the hands of one mad person?"

"She's brilliant," Harry said.

"Let's hope Neville can keep her from being arrested," Draco said dryly.

Ron shook his head. "Don't underestimate the power of a loyal fan base. The public will come down on the Ministry like a stack of cauldrons if they arrest the editor of the Quibbler. They love that silly rag."

"What about Harry's fan base?" George asked.

"Harry has been out of the limelight for years, mate," Ron said and threw Harry an apologetic look. Harry shrugged. Most of his "fans" had disappeared once he'd lost his powers, and he had retreated into a hermitlike state for far too long, hiding from attention. Once he'd recovered his powers, he had focused on his life with Draco. Public acclaim seemed far in the past. He didn't miss it.

"I have all the fan base I need right here," he said and grinned at Draco, who snorted.

"Just don't expect any letters with our names outlined in hearts."

For some reason, that comment set the twins off again and they mercilessly tormented Draco until he threatened to turn them into radishes. Harry expected it to be a long afternoon.

They Apparated in an invisible group to the main entrance of the Ministry. The door locked at precisely 9 p.m., so they had timed it to arrive at 8:55. One straggling employee pushed the door open and departed. Harry caught the door and held it open while a rush of quiet footsteps filed past. It was difficult to judge when the last of his friends went through, and he bumped into one as he entered and shut the door behind him.

He opened the hood of his cloak slightly, partially uncovering his face. He felt warm lips press into his.

"That better not be you, Ron," he said quietly.

"Very funny," Draco murmured and Harry chuckled. He put his arms around the invisible blond.

"Meet you back here in thirty minutes."
They located each other through hissed whispers. Harry and Ron entered the lift and pressed the button for the dungeons. Draco and the twins went somewhere that Harry was not privy to, because Draco said he would rather not know.

The dungeons were just as Harry had left them--dark and damp. He knocked out the dozing guard with a Sleep Spell, since the aftereffects of a Stunner would alert them of foul play.

Ron deactivated the invisibility device on his cap and pulled it lower on his head to conceal his red locks. He lit his wand and they quickly walked the passage, checking each cell.

"What you wakin' us for?" one groggy prisoner whined.

"Go back to sleep," Ron growled in an authoritative tone.

Lupin was stretched out on his cot, apparently asleep. His head faced the wall. Harry marked the cell, but they kept searching for Hermione, finally locating her in the cell where Draco had been held.

Harry dismantled the alarms and unlocked the door, finding it much easier with his wand. Ron pushed inside immediately and snatched Hermione into an embrace. She shoved him onto the floor with a gasp of rage, and nearly followed it with a punch to the face.

"Ron!" she cried, and threw herself on the floor to embrace him. Harry took the Portable Silence Chamber from his pocket and flipped the switch, instantly enveloping them in a sound-dampening bubble. The twins really were useful at times. He shook off the cloak.

"Harry!"

He grinned at her sheepishly. "Feel free to yell at me. I know I deserve it."

She sighed and shook her head. "I won't pretend to know what you were thinking. You haven't been exactly rational where Malfoy is concerned. I do wish you'd thought of the consequences, though."

Harry nodded grimly. "I know. I'm sorry, and I'm trying to fix things, short of turning us in."

"God no, she'll have you both in Azkaban for the rest of your natural lives."

"She brought back the dementors, Hermione. I couldn't leave him there."

"I know. You would have done the same for either of us, too."

Harry blinked, and then nodded, relieved to know that was true, at least.

"You didn't come to break me out, as well, did you?"

"Not unless you want to come," Harry offered.

"Considering how much trouble you're already in, I think I'll stay awhile."

"In that case, I'm only here for advice. I'm relieved you don't think I should turn myself over to Umbridge."

Hermione made a sound of disgust. "She's utterly horrid, Harry. Far worse than she was at Hogwarts. I haven't paid much attention to happenings at the Ministry, working from home all this time, but she's taken iron control of nearly every department. Neville has told me of her excesses. She's cut the Muggle Relations office back to nearly nothing, and those that are left are Obliviators."

Ron said, "We don't have time for a history lesson, 'Mione. We need some suggestions."

ooOoo

Only one hard-working Ministry official remained on the first floor. Draco and the twins walked by his well-lit office, silent and unseen. The Minister's office was at the end of the hall. For a moment, Draco wished he had brought Harry, because the door was guaranteed to be warded against intrusion.

Draco cast a few revealing charms and detected several alarms, as well as two curses. Umbridge was one wicked bitch, that was certain.

"Nasty," he muttered, "But perhaps not too bright."

Draco moved down the hall a bit, bumping in to one of the twins. There was a scramble, and some random cursing, before they all deactivated their hats. Draco checked the door of the office next to Umbridge's. It was not warded. In fact, it wasn't even locked.

The sign on the door read Undersecretary. Trusting, that one. Draco walked inside and went to the wall that joined it to the Minister's office. The twins followed. Draco cast another succession of spells and tsked.

"Sloppy. She's been too long among Hufflepuffs. She's losing her Slytherin edge," he said. He raised his wand and cast a Cutting Charm, drawing his wand up the wall from the floor, over, and back down. He pressed gently on the center of the incised area, and the wall toppled outward, landing with a cloud of dust in Umbridge's office. Draco gestured.

"Sometimes it's simpler to make your own door."

He stepped into the Minister's office, Levitated the broken wall, and cast a Cleaning Charm to eliminate the dust. He could seal the makeshift portal when they left. He scanned the room quickly, noting the kitten plates Umbridge favored were in place on every wall. Luckily, there were no visible portraits, just horrible mewling kittens.

Draco moved to the desk. Fred and George did the same. They needed to find an object they could turn into a Portkey; something that Umbridge would touch. The twins had been working on the Portkey spell ever since what they called the Ireland Incident. Stealing a Portkey from the Ministry had set off a chain of events leading to... well, the situation they currently found themselves in. The twins had decided to learn to make their own Portkeys.

This one would take them to number 12, Grimmauld Place, where Draco and the twins would be waiting. They would then disarm her and use the Imperius Curse to put her under their thrall. Draco knew Harry would have a Gryffindor fit in regards to The Plan, which was one reason Draco was glad to have the unscrupulous twins in his corner.

"The quill?" Weasley One suggested.

Draco shook his head. "Anyone could come in and borrow it. It would be just our luck to get that Edgecombe twit instead of Umbridge."

"Teacup?" Weasley Two asked.

"Do you think the bitch fetches her own tea?"

"Has anyone told you you're really obnoxious, Malfoy?"

"Today?" Draco asked mildly. He cast a spell on the desk drawers and swore. Locked and warded. Suspicious, untrusting twat! "One would suspect she has something to hide." He sighed and began an Unravelling Spell to break the wards, hating to do it, but there were no obvious items to use on the desktop. They needed something more personal.

Draco paused in mid-spell and shot a startled gaze at one of the Weasleys. A strange tingling had begun somewhere near his midsection.

"What the hell?" he managed before he felt the familiar pull of Disapparition.

ooOoo

"I don't see much help for it, Harry," Hermione said. "We'll just have to ride it out. You and Draco stay hidden. Umbridge can't hold us forever, and there is nothing she can charge us with. She'll have to let us go soon. Between Neville and Luna, the pressure is mounting. Others are beginning to ask questions."

"Well..." Harry began, and then squirmed a bit. "We might be able to do something other than bide our time."

Hermione's eyes narrowed. Harry grinned lamely and Ron put on his best innocent face, as though what Harry had to say was news to him. Coward.

"Spill it," she said.

"Draco and the twins worked out a plan."

"Draco? And the twins? The three of them. Together."

Harry nodded, thinking it sounded much worse when Hermione put it out there like that. How bad could the plan be? Harry immediately envisioned the Ministry building as a smoking pile of rubble, and realized he probably should have dragged a few more details out of the Slytherin. It wasn't as though he hadn't tried! Draco was simply a master of distraction. God, that mouth of his...

"What sort of plan?" Hermione demanded, and Harry pulled his mind back to the present. He shared a sickly grin with Ron, whose expression changed to one of hopeful encouragement. Harry opened his mouth to concoct some sort of story that Hermione would see through in an instant, and then he clutched his abdomen. A freezing pain stabbed through him. Harry gasped and sank to one knee.

Both his friends were at his side in an instant.

"Harry!" Hermione cried.

"Oh god!" Harry said. "Oh no, oh god no, it's Draco. Draco's gone."

Harry had felt a lurch through his system, as though something warm and comforting that surrounded him had been torn away, torn away forcibly. He hadn't really felt Draco's presence nearby... not until it was gone.

"I have to go," Harry said as he shook off his friends' hands. He climbed to his feet and ripped blindly at the cell door.

Nothing mattered now but finding Draco.