Confisio Suprema

All good things must come to an end

On Christmas Day, Draco woke up next to Harry. He watched for a moment his beloved sleeping. He seemed perfectly happy at that moment. So happy it was unreal. He would have preferred to lie still and wait for Harry to wake up, but he still needed to take care of something very important. He lightly kissed Harry's hair and quietly left the bedroom. He quickly dressed, skipped breakfast, and moved to Diagonal Alley. He headed straight to the goldsmith's shop, where he had a custom-made gift for Harry. Now he was sure he had made the right choice. It was a tiny ring adorned with a rose of rubies and emeralds. The combination of Gryffindor and Slytherin colours was symbolic, and the ring was also enchanted to become invisible when Harry needed it – Draco could imagine situations where the Auror would prefer to make the delicate jewel on his hand invisible to the prying eyes of his colleagues. He was ready to apparate move back when he noticed the small crying boy. He probably got lost. Draco wasn't so irresponsible as to leave him in a street full of wizards running around.

"Sir, help me find my mother, she's lost somewhere over there," the boy dragged him towards Knockturn Street. Draco took the tiny hand in his and let himself be guided.

"Or maybe it was over there," the boy continued when he couldn't find his mother in the street. They wandered the winding streets for some time, they had long since turned away from the main streets, and Draco didn't know much about the area.

"We have to get back, I'll report you to the Aurors, and they'll find your mom in no time," Draco promised.

He didn't like where they were at all. It was an empty one-way street, deserted and gloomy. Draco turned around, and it dawned on him at that moment, but it was too late. He looked into the eyes of an unknown person in a Death Eater mask, saw his wand, and then only heard "Imperio."

---

"Haven't you seen Draco?" Harry asked with concern in his voice. It was already afternoon, it was Christmas Eve, and he hadn't seen him since morning. Maybe Draco had some plans for today, planned a surprise for the boys, or was visiting his parents? However, it was strange that he didn't confide in Harry about anything. They had spent a perfect evening together yesterday. He expected the morning to be similarly beautiful.

"I don't know where he is," Scorpius answered seriously. He wasn't used to his responsible dad leaving him unattended for so long. He read fear in the Auror's face and immediately began to worry. He was no longer a little naïve boy.

In the afternoon, Harry couldn't take it anymore and called Draco with the locket he got from him. No response. This was very suspicious. Harry wasn't hysterical, but as an Auror, he could gauge the level of danger, and it was really high now. He asked Narcissa to take care of the boys and declared a search for Draco.

Christmas Eve looked completely different than planned. Nobody even thought about gifts, Scorpius was crying, and Narcissa and Albus were trying to calm him down.

Harry was most surprised by Lucius' behaviour. He seemed calm, but you could see that he was very worried about his son.

"Mr. Potter, if anyone can find him, it's you. I trust you, and I'm sorry if I haven't treated you with respect in the past."

Harry nodded. "I will do everything in my power. I care about Draco," he said firmly. He needed as much information as possible. He interviewed all the Malfoys first. It was painful, but they didn't seem to hide anything from him. Draco currently had no enemies. He lived an orderly life. He had enemies in the past, and not a few. Revenge of a former Death Eater? Or, conversely, someone who can't forgive the Malfoys for their past? Kidnapping for ransom?

Harry spent the whole night reading Draco's records at the Ministry of Magic, going through social networks and contacts. Nothing.

A few days passed, and still no sign. Harry was absolutely desperate. After the New Year, the boys returned to Hogwarts. They could not enjoy the new broomsticks they got for Christmas. Scorpius was against returning to school, but Harry promised to keep in touch with him, even though it was difficult for him. He wrote him messages every day so that he would not lose hope and concentrate on his studies. He hardly slept himself. He put the case he was working on on hold and devoted himself only to the search for Draco.

The Malfoys tried to be patient, but Harry could see that Lucius was losing trust in him. It's not that he didn't appreciate his efforts, it was more that he stopped believing in his competence. How could some stupid Gryffindor find his son? The fragile reconciliation that existed between them was broken over time, and Lucius now looked down on Harry as before.