Old Dogs, New Tricks

Harry had insisted that Ron and Malfoy both sat in the back - Ron smelled like crap and Fleur wasn't about to give up her passenger seat for Draco. Harry also wanted to see if they would talk to each other in any way - Ron had been disturbingly violent towards Draco earlier.

"Didn't know there were 24-hour barber shops," commented Draco. He had his nose pinched and hadn't looked at Ron since they got in the car.

"There isn't one," replied Harry. "But the owner lives upstairs. We'll just wake her up."

"Dear oh dear, Harry Potter," snarled Draco, "That's not like you. What happened to the Boy Who Lived, the one we all adored in our childhood years?"

Harry scowled, and stomped on the brake. He leaned over his chair and glared at Draco. "I believe this is your stop, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco snorted. "Fuck off. I'm not getting out in the middle of nowhere..."

There was a click, and Draco looked across at the passenger seat. Fleur's handgun was staring back. Draco sighed.

"Fine," he snarled, shoving the door open and stumbling out. As soon as Draco had slammed the door shut, the car screeched away.

A few minutes later, the car had stopped in a small street with houses that looked like they'd been designed by a rather drunk architect, and then built by a builder that had been even more pissed. They were all three stories high; each floor looking like it had been added as an afterthought. The house Harry pulled up beside had a sign against the window. Ron peered in closely, and saw that it read, 'Parvati & Lavender'. Ron sighed.

"Some more 'old friends'," he muttered.

"They happen to be well-known hairdressers. To our kind of people, anyway," Harry added.

"It's not rocket science," grumbled Ron.

"Well, you can't even brush your hair, Mr. Weasley," replied Fleur curtly, "so you can bloody well shut up."

Ron raised his hands. "OK, OK, I was only saying," he said, as he stumbled out of the car.

"How were you planning on waking them up, Harry?" whispered Fleur as they approached the door.

"Well, I was planning on going to the bedroom to scare the shit out of them, and they'll be so shocked that they won't ask any questions."

Fleur sighed. "Won't ask any questions? It's hairdressing, Harry. What could they possibly ask?"

"Oh, I don't know...perhaps they'll ask why we're here at three in the morning."

Fleur nodded. "Good point."

Harry knelt beside the lock and jammed something in it. There was a moment of silence, and then the door opened with a tiny creak that, in contrast to the quiet, sounded like an explosion. Harry winced and then motioned for the others to follow him in.

*****

Parvati Patil jumped up in bed. "Did you hear that?" she whispered.

"No," said another voice in the darkness, "Would you stay focused?"

"I heard something. I'm going to..."

The door opened, and someone switched the light on. Temporarily blinded, Parvati could not see the intruder, but knew that she was not in much of a position to defend herself.

"Ahem," said the intruder, or one of them. No matter how much Parvati tried to convince herself it wasn't, she knew that the voice belonged to Harry Potter. She also knew that somewhere beneath the sheets was a man, a stranger to Harry and, to be honest, a stranger to Parvati. He had stopped making provocative noises when the light had turned on.

"Sorry to interrupt," said Harry. He watched her rub her eyes, and watched the man struggle to the top of the bed.

"Harry, what the hell are you doing here? I thought we had an agreement - no more night-service for your clients..."

Harry arched an eyebrow. "Well, if I'd known about these services..." he said, as the man walked past him. The stranger stopped at the door.

"Does this mean I still have to pay?"

"Get out!" replied Parvati, throwing the man's jeans at him. The man smiled and trotted down the stairs.

"So can I have an appointment?" said Ron, speaking for the first time. He received a pillow to the face for the comment. It was actually the first time Parvati had noticed Fleur and Ron were with Harry.

"I'll ask again, Mr. Potter," snarled Parvati, "What do you want?"

Mr. Potter pointed to Ron. "I need you to sort this one out. A real hair emergency."

"It's three in the morning!"

Harry shrugged. "Busy day tomorrow, I need everyone to look their best."

Parvati shot a glance at Ron, who smirked. "Why are you really here, Harry?"

"I'll tell you later," said Harry. "For now...short back and sides for Ronald, please."

Parvati scrambled out of bed, and led the three intruders down the stairs, pausing at the door to the salon to whisper in Harry's ear.

"You do know about the 'other services', you liar," she whispered.

"You never made me pay for it...in fact, you nearly paid me for it-"

"Oh, shhh."

Harry nodded, and checked to see that Fleur hadn't heard anything.

"What the hell smells like horse..." started Parvati, but then she traced the offending odour to Ron. "Jesus, what did you sleep in?"

"Oh, about that," said Harry, "I don't know if one of your clients left some clothes around..."

Parvati smiled. "There's some stuff in the cupboard. But for God's sake, have a shower first," she added to Ron. Ron sighed and walked off in a random direction, in the hope that he would eventually find the bathroom. Harry straightened his coat.

"Well, I'm going out for some air," he said. Fleur grabbed his arm.

"I'll come with you."

Harry shook his head and nodded towards Parvati. "I'm sure Ms. Patil could use your assistance. Ron has a lot of hair, after all. I won't be long."

Parvati sighed. "The boy's got issues, I always said that."

"Hmm," replied Fleur, not really paying any attention. She was watching Harry run a hand through his hair as he left. He seemed very agitated.

*****

Just outside, on a decrepit bench, Draco Malfoy was trying to light a cigarette. He'd never got the hang of the lighter.

"Come on," he muttered, "come on..."

Suddenly, a flame flickered in front of Draco's face. The owner of the lighter turned out to be Harry.

"Thanks," said Draco, as he lit the cigarette. "What brings you here?"

Harry put his hands in his pockets and sat next to him. "I don't know. Guilt, maybe."

"Guilt? Would that be guilt induced by throwing me out of a moving car?"

"It wasn't moving."

"Well, I remember a gun being pointed in my face. Could that be making you feel guilty?"

Harry shrugged. "Possibly."

Draco clasped his hands together. Harry looked at him, and saw a different Draco than the one that had tormented him through those five years they had at Hogwarts. Now, Draco seemed to have grown out of childish snide remarks - well, nearly, anyway. But he also seemed less in control. He looked like Muggle life was a strain on him. And why wouldn't it be? He was once part of a powerful wizard family, even if his parents were in league with Voldemort. And now his parents were gone, and he was left, like everyone else, in a world where nothing was the same, every mundane Muggle task was just a little bit extra work. A world without magic was annoying, dangerous...even a little scary.

Finally, there was something in Draco that Harry could relate to. The only difference in that respect was that all those things had happened because of Harry. Shouldn't that make Draco more hostile, angrier with him?

"I guess you're wondering what I was doing with a stash of coke," said Draco.

"It had crossed my mind."

"You might not believe me, but I'm not hooked," said Draco defensively. "I only use it from time to time. No... its these little buggers I can't get enough of," he admitted, looking intensely at the cigarette in his hand.

"I know what you mean," replied Harry, lighting up his own and leaning back on the bench. "Do you know why Ron snapped at you before?"

Draco shrugged. "No idea."

"By that you mean that you have a pretty damn good idea, but you don't want to share it." Harry's eyes hadn't left his cigarette.

"You're good," stated Draco.

"Is that why you've changed? Because of something that happened between you and Ron?"

"Changed?"

"You're not the arrogant shit you used to be, Malfoy. It's like you've been drained, you haven't got the same power over people any more."

Malfoy nodded. "Sad, but true."

Silence followed. Harry couldn't understand - why wasn't Malfoy lashing out at him? Draco's situation was caused by Harry's error. Why wasn't Draco mad at him?

"You know, Harry... when it all happened, when I was reduced to a pitiful Muggle..." Draco spat the word 'Muggle' like it was a dirty word, "...for some reason I didn't blame you. I couldn't. How could I? I was there, watching. If I'd been in the same situation, I don't know what I would have done."

Harry looked at him. "What do you mean? I made a huge mistake, Draco, and one that I could have easily avoided."

Draco looked back at Harry. "I saw her, too, Harry. Fleur, I mean. I know that you couldn't leave her there like that. If I'd had the guts, I would have stepped forward and helped. But I was scared, Harry. I mean, I had never witnessed one of your battles before...that's why I was always so quick to judge. Then, when I was there, when I could have helped, and proved my worth...I bailed out. I hated myself afterwards. I could have helped."

Draco faltered and fell silent. Harry took another puff from his cigarette.

"You know what, Mr. Malfoy? You're not half as bad as you used to be."

"I know," replied Draco, "I hate that."

"You know that there's been someone taking photos of us in the shadows across the street?" said Harry casually.

"Yeah. If you're taking secret photos, you should really use a more subtle flash. Who is it?"

"Colin Creevey."

"Creevey? Has he been following you around since school?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know what he's doing here. But he shouldn't be hard to find later."

Draco frowned. "Why don't you pummel seven shades of shit out of him right now?"

Harry smirked. "And cut my cigarette break? He's not worth it. He can explain himself later."

Fleur appeared behind the bench. "Hello, Malfoy."

The level of friendliness in the greeting surprised Malfoy - he was half expecting her to throw him off the bench. "Fleur."

"Parvati wants to see you," said Fleur, now apparently talking to Harry. Harry nodded and threw his cigarette to the floor. Draco did the same, and walked away in the opposite direction. Fleur looked up at him.

"Where are you going?"

Draco turned, and Fleur saw something in his eyes that not many people ever saw .For once, he wasn't calculating, he wasn't plotting, he was actually showing some sort of emotion, although it wasn't clear what emotion he was feeling. He was trying to conceal it, but was having a hard time trying. Instead, he just turned away and continued to walk down the unfamiliar street.

"Home."

"Where's that?"

"Anywhere I like," replied Malfoy, and carried on walking.

*****

Harry stepped through the door, and walked into Ron, whose hair was now military-grade short. It didn't suit him at all, but he seemed to think it was appropriate.

"Pretty cool, eh?" Ron said with a smirk. Harry sighed.

"At least you won't stand out as much in the street," he admitted. "Go outside and get in the car. Oh, and keep an eye out for Colin Creevey."

"Right."

"Ron, keep an eye out," repeated Harry, "Don't go and pummel him. I just want to know what he's up to."

Ron nodded, looking slightly dejected, before leaving the Patil residence. Harry sighed and turned around.

"Christ!" he exclaimed, not being a fan of people sneaking up on him. It was only Parvati. But she was looking at him in an odd way, that made Harry look at his feet, something that he wasn't known to do. Where's your confidence, he was thinking, why can't you look at her?

"Why are you here, Harry?"

Harry put his hands in his pockets. "Two reasons. Firstly, I wanted to apologize for the abrupt way I left last time. I felt that I had made a mistake, so I ran. I'm sorry." It came out stiff and formal.

Parvati put her hands on her hips. "That was three months ago, Harry."

Harry was looking in every direction except at Parvati. "Yeah, well, I wasn't sure what to say..."

The awkward moment was dispelled when Parvati started to laugh. "It's alright, Harry! It was just a bit of fun."

Parvati walked slowly forward, until she was pressed up against Harry. "Will you be back for another appointment?" she asked, her lips barely a centimetre from Harry's.

"Are you aware that your hand is so far down my leg you could count the change in my pocket?"

"Will you?"

"I'll have to check my diary," said Harry. Parvati started to kiss his neck.

"There was...er...one other thing," said Harry. He wasn't expecting this kind of reaction.

"What was that?" asked Parvati. She had slipped her arms around his waist.

"Have you heard of a man called Riddle? He's been calling up people, getting jobs done for him..."

"I haven't heard much...but maybe I can do a little job for you, Harry," whispered Parvati, unzipping Harry's trousers. Harry pushed her away.

"Y-you know what?" he stammered, zipping up again, "I'm not in the mood for...that, so I'm going to, er, go. I'll give you a call."

Parvati smiled. "I know you will, Harry."

Harry opened the door behind him and stepped through it, quickly shutting it. What the hell is the matter with me, he thought. Why did I turn down an offer like that?

Harry turned around. Fleur was standing right behind him.

"Christ!" he exclaimed, slamming back against the door.

"Something wrong, Harry?" asked Fleur.

"No, no," replied Harry, breathing heavily and putting a hand through his hair again, "you just scared me, that's all."

"Draco's gone," said Ron, who was leaning out of the side window of Harry's car, "and Creevey's somewhere over there. Or he was, at least." Ron squinted across the street to a collection of dustbins. "Where did he get to?"

"Forget Creevey, and forget Draco," said Harry, pushing past Fleur, "can we just go home now?"

Harry walked briskly to the car and barely gave Fleur enough time to get in before he slammed down on the accelerator, driving away in no particular direction.

*****

"What did you get?" said Hermione excitedly, as Creevey stumbled around the corner. Finally, she had found a story...on Harry Potter...

"Not much, Ms. Granger," said Colin. "The light wasn't good, and I think Harry was aware that I was there..."

Hermione pounded her fist against a dustbin, the resulting noise echoing around the street. "You're a useless little shit, Creevey!"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Granger!" he cried. Hermione sighed, lighting a cigarette.

"Oh, whatever. We'll follow him again, and see what happens. Is there something else, Colin? You're hopping like you need a piss."

Colin's lip was trembling. "I-I do, Ms. Granger. But I also wanted to tell you...I don't think I was alone, Ms. Granger. I think someone else was next to me, watching Mr. Potter."

Hermione sighed. "Fuck that. It doesn't matter. There's probably loads of people after him...the more the better! I want to send that bastard to hell."

Colin nearly fainted. "But Ms. Granger! He - He was your friend? How can you be so..."

"So what, Colin? He's a target, not a friend! I need a story, which means I need someone like Harry Potter to do something to get the public riled up. Then I can get a story, and I can save the Daily Prophet. Do you understand? Your job depends on whether you can dig up more shit on Potter. Do you understand, Colin?"

"Y-yes."

"Good."

Silence.

"I still need to go, Ms. Granger."

"I'm not fucking stopping you! Go find a dustbin, or a bush or something. And hurry up! I don't want to lose them. I'm not missing this opportunity."

Colin disappeared. Hermione exhaled smoke and sighed. "I will not let this one go," she whispered to herself.