Undercover

Chapter Five

Being an Auror is not an easy job. It takes a lot of willpower and strength to be surrounded by darkness every day and still be able to go home and smile. The job didn't leave much time for seeing friends but Harry Potter did his best. The oddest friend he had made after the war was Draco Malfoy. He felt sorry for the bully. As much as he hated Draco while at Hogwarts, the war showed him that under his evil exterior, was a scared kid trying to please his parents in any way he could. Harry had even testified at Draco's hearing. He defended Draco saying that had he not had Lucius Malfoy for a father, he probably wouldn't have become a Death Eater. After this, he and Draco began meeting for lunch and slowly making amends. It took a few years but the two had managed to build a working friendship, but, the day that Draco called Harry and asked that he come to Malfoy Manor immediately seemed out of the ordinary.

Once Harry arrived, he found Draco looking worse for wear. His face looked hollow and his blonde hair was messy. "Thank you so much for coming. I hate to pull you away from work but this is very serious and I don't know who else to trust" Draco said, as he rubbed the side of his face anxiously. "What's going on?" Harry inquired. "Do you remember Y/F/N Y/L/N? She was two years behind us at school in Y/H/H?". Harry thought for a moment and then nodded. "Nice kid, she kinda disappeared after school if I remember correctly". Draco sighed and nodded. He then proceeded to tell Harry the whole story. He showed him Y/N's list and even the book that contained signatures of the most evil witches and wizards as of late. They returned back to the kitchen as Draco finished his story. "And then she disapparated. I have no idea where she is now but, I'm worried about her". Harry adjusted his glasses. "You did the right thing telling me this. I knew about the deaths and every time I tried to investigate my inquiries were shut down by an anonymous higher up. Now I know why". In his voice was a tone of frustration and sadness. There had been a war going on right beneath his nose and he hadn't seen it. Harry looked at the list of names again and frowned. Some had been friends, or in the least faces, he grew to recognize from years of passing through the halls of the ministry. "She must be terrified," Draco said remorsefully. "Yes. But she is also brave. This assignment is incredibly dangerous and the fact that she has survived this far tells me that she uses that fear well. As a strange man once told me, fear keeps you fast".

Draco began pacing back and forth. "What are we going to do?" he asked. Harry thought for a while. The next steps would be difficult ones for sure. "Well, the first thing we have to do is find Y/N and keep her safe and hidden. Even if we manage to get Hiram Baxter to trial, it's unlikely the ministry will accept a second-hand testimony from either you or me. We need her". Draco nodded in agreement. Then, he remembered. Draco slapped his palm to the middle of his forehead and scoffed at himself. "I'm so thick! I completely forgot that I still have her DNA trace from the hospital. It'll be risky to use if the Dark Saints have figured out how to use it, but it's worth a shot". Harry pulled his wand out of his jacket. "Right, let's get started".

Once Draco activated the trace, the two men followed the trail and found themselves on a familiar street. "12 Grimmauld Place," Harry said wistfully. "She really is smart". The two checked the area for any muggles or unwelcome wizards before entering the former home base of the Order of the Phoenix. After they entered, Draco deactivated the trace. "Even though this was once a place that housed friends, we should still be cautious," Harry said. Draco nodded and drew his wand. Harry motioned for the two to advance down the hall. They were each checking rooms when they heard a loud bang. "That came from one of the rooms upstairs," Harry remarked. As they climbed the stairs the sounds of voices became more apparent.

"Now now little missy we don't want to make a fuss" a gruff voice growled in a thick northern accent. There were muffled sounds of someone struggling, and the slight scraping of a chair on the floor. Harry and Draco inched closer to the door and were met with a horrible sight. Y/N was tied to a chair. She was gagged and had fresh wounds on her face and arms. She had clearly been involved in a struggle. There were three large men in the room. One lounging on the bed and smiling devilishly, the other leaning against the opposite wall, and the third was circling Y/N. He was the man whose voice the two had heard. As he circled Y/N, he would lean in and whisper something foul in her ear or toss her hair. "He's trying to intimidate her" Harry whispered. The gruff northerner spoke again. "So, let's try this again. Tell me what you know and you'll be spared, refuse to speak and you die" he growled. He leaned forward and removed the gag from her mouth before settling into a chair positioned directly in front of her. She gasped for air and took some deep desperate breaths before finally speaking. "Fine, I'll tell you what I know," she said, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "But first, answer me one question.." The northerner's face twisted impatiently. "Are you new at this or something because you are really bad at threatening people" she said. Her attitude and posture had changed suddenly. The tears had gone along with any trace of fear or desperation in her voice. "What?" the northerner said, genuinely shocked. "I mean come on, you can't tell the one person who has the information you need that if they don't tell you, you'll kill them. That's interrogation rule number one". The other two men shifted curiously as their attention focused in on Y/N. "I mean honestly, you've just told me that not telling you will keep me alive. Besides, let's face it, you and I both know that once I tell you what I know you are going to kill me anyway". The northerner stood up and pushed away his chair angrily. He grabbed Y/N by the throat and lifted her slightly out of her chair and closer to his face. "Then I guess we'll have to torture it out of you" he spat. "Then do your worst because I will gladly go through any amount of pain before I give up my life" she choked. He let go of her neck and she slammed back into the chair.

Draco and Harry were shocked. Draco had seen how terrified she was in the manor, but here it seemed all that fear had been hidden away. Harry's mind was spinning. He was desperately trying to formulate a plan that would end with Y/N making it out of the situation alive but every situation he tried ended in death. A jab in the ribs from Draco brought Harry out of his head. He looked at the blonde who was pointing into the room. Y/N's hands were tightly balled into fists but if you looked closely, there was a dim grey light emitting from between her fingers. Draco looked up at Y/N's face and found her Y/E/C eyes starring back into him. She had seen them. Her attitude remained completely the same except for a slight wink and a small facial gesture indicating that the two should be ready to hold their breath. She turned her head to the right to look back at the northerner who was huddled up with his associates whispering. "Hey boys, pleasant dreams" she mocked. Then, the most peculiar bit of magic either Draco or Harry had ever seen occurred. Y/N un-balled her fists and the grey light turned into fog and flooded the room within seconds. Harry and Draco held their breath as they watched the three men try to make their way to Y/N before their bodies seemingly shut down. They then heard a sharp inhale come from Y/N and the fog disappeared. The two tentatively entered the room and were met with the sight of three large men passed out on the floor and Y/N smiling weakly. "Welcome to the party" she said.