spellbound heart

𝐖𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

Author: Quicksilvermaid

Summary:

Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy and the cursed item.

What could go wrong?

******

It was a day like any other when the Aurors burst in. Draco looked up from the customer he was serving, frowned and looked back down at the elderly witch.
"Follow those instructions, and you shouldn't have any more trouble with it," he said, handing the necklace back to her.

She tucked it into her bag, along with the folded slip of paper, and gave him a tremulous smile before hurrying out of the shop, head down as she passed the three burly figures in Auror robes.

Borgin and Burkes might no longer be the haven for dark magic and illegal goods it had been ten years earlier, but it still wasn't a place most people wanted Magical Law Enforcement to see them.

Draco sighed internally, forced his face into a politely enquiring mask and looked at the figures stomping their way towards him. Then he froze as bright green eyes met his from behind wire-framed glasses.

Potter pushed his way past his two colleagues and fronted up to the counter.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" he demanded.

"I work here, Potter," Draco snorted. "I've owned this place for the last six years, which you would know if you ever opened your eyes when you were prancing around Diagon Alley."

Potter scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. He'd filled out, Draco noted, flicking his eyes across the form in front of him. He'd seen Potter in the papers, of course. Damned Chosen One was always being splashed across them ... but it had been quite a few years since he'd been so close to the man, in the flesh, as it were.

"I don't prance," Potter grunted, "And I don't come into the dodgy parts of the wizarding district unless I'm looking for dodgy people."
Draco arched an eyebrow, the barb hitting home. If only he could pick up the shop and take it out of the darkness and into the light ... but a large part of his clientele still preferred the darkness.

"Of course," he said instead, voice smooth and calm. He tilted his arm, so that his dark mark, where it sat stark against his skin, was visible to the three of them. He saw Potter's eyes flick down to it and linger for a moment. Draco let his lip curl. He didn't need Potter's judgement. Didn't need anything from him.

"As one of the 'dodgiest' of people, as you might say, I am sure it would be my pleasure to serve our illustrious Auror force in whichever way I can." He made sure his voice reflected the entirety of his disdain for the Aurors, the Ministry and for the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Invade-His-Peace.

Potter's scowl deepened and Draco smirked in response.

"Cut the shit, Malfoy. We need you to identify something." Potter reached into his robes and threw a handful of photographs on the counter. Draco held his eye a moment longer before looking down.

He recognised the item in an instant - had one out the back - but took his time analysing the images, picking each up in turn. The statue itself was relatively harmless. It caused minor effects in susceptible individuals, nothing the Aurors would need to worry about.
"I may know what it is," he said finally, meeting Potter's eyes again, ignoring the two behind him.

Potter waited a few moments for him to speak. Draco could see him getting more impatient with each passing second.
"Fuck's sake, Malfoy, this isn't a game. What do you know?"