The Man From H.O.G.W.A.R.T.S. (A Drarry FanFiction)

Chapter Nineteen

   Harry shifted in his seat. Again.

McGonagall glanced up from her desk, but only for a moment, and did not say anything out loud. He could guess what she might have been thinking, but decided he'd rather not.

He watched her study the microfilm through the magnifying lens for the next several minutes, only squirming when he absolutely had to. Malfoy threw him more than one quelling look, which he did his best to head. But really, he was quite uncomfortable.

"This is excellent work gentlemen," McGonagall announced eventually. She placed the reader down and carefully wound the film back up, securing it back in its case. "No doubt the hostages will have been moved to another location by now, but we have more than enough information to go on here, including the means to prevent any more abductions."

"Is that so?" Harry asked. He eagerly sat forward in his seat. His arm was no longer in a sling, but his injury still smarted when he moved it suddenly. However, he was too keen to know their mission had truly been a success to care all that much. "Is there a list of targets?"

"Not exactly," she said, her eyebrow quirking. "Let's just say we will be detaining and interrogating Mr Pettigrew as soon as possible, and that should solve the issue."

Harry couldn't help the coldness that ran through him. Did she mean Peter Pettigrew? He wasn't particularly close to the man, but he knew he had been an old acquaintance of his father's. He couldn't be a traitor could he? A double agent?

Harry sat back in his seat and chewed his lip sombrely. He supposed he would just have to wait and see.

"We are delighted to be of help," Malfoy told the director. His fingers were laced and his hands resting on his knee, his legs crossed, and back ram-rod straight. He didn't even remotely look tired, whereas Harry was so shattered he was sure he could have fallen asleep right there and then, even with the director looking on. The only thing that had been keeping him awake was discovering what exactly they had retrieved on the microfilm. It appeared they had done a good job.

"You were," McGonagall confirmed. "I trust your journey back wasn't too hard?"

Oh.

It had been hard alright.

It had been hard for the last twenty minutes into Potsdam Griebnitzsee in the train's cramped bathroom. It had been hard in the hotel in Hanover, several times. It had been hard in the backseat of the car they had hired in Apeldoorn, and in the narrow cabin on the ferry across the Markermeer lake, and even in one of the cupboards that held cleaning supplies downstairs in the very building they were currently sat in. One could say, it had been an extremely hard week since Berlin.

Harry gave her a tight smile, subtly moving on his seat again. "It passed without any further incident," he answered, which was truthful as far as Voldemort's people were concerned.

"Well," McGonagall said, and nodded once. "That's that then, I guess. As you gentlemen are aware, the H.O.G.W.A.R.T.S. initiative was only an experiment."

Harry didn't say anything. This was it; the experiment was over, and all he could probably do now was hope that he and Malfoy weren't sent to kill each other any time soon. He supposed it had been a fun week whilst it had lasted.

He was resolved to this. His consolation had been in witnessing for himself how fervently his partner cared for him, and how deep his affections apparently ran. Harry had not declared his feelings out loud, but he had aspired to convey his contentment through his actions. When alone with Malfoy, he hoped he had illustrated the importance he placed on their intimate moments, with every kiss and caress he could.

If this was to be it, he felt confident Malfoy knew he had won his heart, if only for a short while.

"And the results of this experiment?" Malfoy asked. Harry was too busy pondering, and trying to unsuccessfully once again relieve the pressure on his tender arse.

McGonagall raised both eyebrows and leant backwards in her chair. "A resounding success," she said. "I assumed you might have guessed as much. The agency is extremely keen to maintain operations, in fact, there's even talk of expansion."

Harry blinked once, then twice. What had she just said? He carefully cleared his throat, and picked at an imaginary bit of lint on his trouser leg. "So, we are to remain as partners?"