FIC: Surrender the Grey (11/30)

[emmagrant01]

NOTE: This is the first draft of this story. The final version can be read HERE.

Title: Surrender the Grey
Author: Emma Grant
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Draco Malfoy returns to London after five years of self-imposed exile to start a new life with Harry. But will the secrets of the past destroy everything they've worked for?
Sequel to: Left My Heart. This will make much more sense if you have read that first!
Disclaimer: Not my characters, no copyright violation intended.
Length: 150,000 words
Status: COMPLETED November 2, 2005 (Posted March 2 - November 2, 2005)
Notes:
1. Please don't archive this story yet! This is the first draft, and in the next few months, it will be revised and edited. I'll post the final version on my website and a few other select archives, but in the meantime, feel free to link to this post.
2. There aren't enough words to say THANK YOU to jedirita, hazelhawthorne, and charlotteschaos for beta-ing this story! These are some of the hardest-working betas out there, and they deserve lots of snaps for putting up with me for eight months.
3. Even though the backstory of this fic only assumes canon up through Order of the Phoenix, I stole a few cool ideas from Half Blood Prince. Cause they were cooler than mine...

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10

---

(11)

Thursday, 4 March, 2004

Draco was dreaming about something pleasant, for a change. Harry was laughing about something Draco had done, and he looked so happy, and Draco was grinning from ear to ear. Harry fell into his arms and they collapsed backwards, but the ground was soft and falling didn't hurt. Harry was smiling down at him. Draco closed his eyes, waiting for Harry to kiss him.

He heard a strange tapping sound.

Draco opened his eyes, but Harry wasn't there anymore. The tapping sound remained, though, insistent and sharp. The ceiling came into focus. An arm slid across Draco's chest. The tapping was coming from the right, from… the window.

Draco sat straight up. There was an owl hovering outside the window, pecking at the glass. The only owl who'd come to Draco's window like that belonged to Lucius.

"What the-?" Harry stirred beside him.

And he wasn't alone. Draco's stomach dropped as he sprang from the bed, mind whirling. He could open the window and glare at it, send it away. He could tell Harry it had made a mistake.

Oh, that was ridiculous. Owls didn't make those sorts of mistakes.

"Hedwig?" Harry said.

Draco froze, hand on the clasp to open the pane. He squinted. Without the vision charm, he couldn't see through the window. He turned to peer at Harry. Harry was nearsighted; he couldn't possibly see that far either.

Draco turned the catch and cracked the window open. A snow-white owl glared at him from its precarious perch on the window sill, as if to say, What took you so long? Draco breathed a sigh of relief., Not Lucius's owl, then. He pushed the window open.

The owl swooped past him and landed on the bed. Harry sat up and scratched the top of its head. "Morning, Hedwig. What's this?" He peered at the note attached to the owl's leg. "Take it to the office, girl." He petted her head and she nipped his fingers. "Ow, fuck," Harry hissed. The owl flew back out the window. Draco pushed it closed, then exhaled before turning back to Harry.

"Work-related," Harry sighed, flopping onto his back. "I dunno why she brought it here."

"Yeah," Draco said. He glanced at the clock next to the bed. "The alarm was about to go off anyway."

Harry stretched, then grinned at Draco. "So we have a few extra minutes. Wanna take a shower with me?"

Draco's shower was nearly too small for two people, but they managed. The fact that their bodies kept sliding together only added to the fun. Harry was particularly mischievous with his soapy hands, washing parts of Draco that he was fairly certain didn't need quite that much cleaning.

Draco turned to face the spray, rinsing his hair. As the water beat down on head, and Harry pressed his soap-slicked cock against his arse. His hands slid over Draco's chest, fingers pausing over taut nipples before heading further south. By the time one of Harry's hands wrapped around Draco's cock, Draco was panting and leaning back against him. Draco pressed his hips back against Harry, grinding his arse into Harry's groin. Harry's hand squeezed and stroked, his breath harsh in Draco's ear.

"Do you know how hot you are like this?" Harry whispered.

Draco came right then and there, into Harry's soapy hand.

Ten minutes later, they were dry and mostly dressed. Harry stared at his own face in the mirror. "Draco?"

"Yeah?" Draco was staring in a small mirror by the wardrobe, contemplating the styling charm he'd just cast on his hair.

"Would you… You offered to do a depilo the other day."

Draco grinned and peeked around the corner into the bathroom to see Harry frowning at his reflection. "I thought you'd never ask." Harry turned towards him, and Draco studied his face for a moment. The spell wasn't difficult; it simply required a bit of concentration. Harry's jaw was more square than Draco's, and his nose was broader. His lips were fuller -- Draco had to pause to kiss them at that thought -- and the stubble was denser on his face than it was on Draco's. All of these things were important. Draco concentrated, brows furrowed together. Harry blinked, looking nervous.

"Relax," Draco breathed, picking up his wand. "But don't move, or you'll fuck it up." Harry closed his eyes, looking tenser than before. "Depilo. There." The stubble on Harry's face disintegrated before Draco's eyes.

"Wow," Harry said, reaching up to touch his face. "Thanks. I still can't manage that one by myself."

It was on the tip of Draco's tongue to offer to teach Harry the spell, but he realized he rather liked the idea of doing it for him. Harry slipped through the door past him, shoulder brushing against Draco's back as he did. Draco leaned into the mirror and pointed his wand as his own reflection. He pursed his lips, concentrating, then said, "Dispicio". The world came into focus all around him.

"Nor that one," Harry sighed. He was standing in the doorway, buttoning his shirt.

Draco turned to smile at him. "That's one I can't do for you."

"I suppose. Want to have lunch with me today?"

Draco let his hand trail over Harry's stomach as he passed him in the doorway. "I have a meeting, actually."

Harry shrugged. "Dinner, then."

Draco found his shoes and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling them on. "Sure. Where?"

"My place," Harry replied. "I'll cook."

"Should I be frightened?"

Harry crossed to the bed and knelt in front of Draco. "I'm not a horrible cook, you know. Besides, I… have a surprise for you."

Draco grinned. "A surprise? Really?"

Harry moved forward until he was between Draco's thighs. "Yes." He leaned forward to kiss Draco's throat.

"What is it?"

Harry's response was muffled against Draco's skin. "It's a surprise, silly. Can't tell you."

Draco let his hands drift down between Harry's thighs. "How about a hint?"

"You'll like it. That's my hint." Harry caught his hands, grinning.

Draco stood and pulled Harry up against him. "That's not a very good hint, you know." He kissed Harry, relishing the feeling of smooth skin against his face. That charm was several days overdue.

Harry smiled at him, then pressed his forehead against Draco's. "I won't tell you. You'll just have to wait and see."

Draco's hands drifted downwards to cup Harry's arse. He squeezed, pulling their groins together.

"Don't start something you can't finish," Harry groaned.

"Who says I won't finish?" Draco replied into Harry's open mouth.

Harry kissed him firmly before pushing him away, grinning. The grin faded into a strange smile.

Draco blinked at him. "What?"

Harry opened his mouth, and then closed it again. He swallowed, audibly, but said nothing.

Draco sighed and fastened a missed button on Harry's shirt. "Guess I'll have to wait, won't I?"

Harry shrugged and smiled. "Come over around seven?"

Draco nodded. "Seven." He cast his eyes away when Harry stooped to put on his shoes. A nice view of Harry's arse was the last thing he needed before heading to work.

+++++

"Sir?" Draco looked up to see Grizabella hovering over his desk. "I'm finished with the list of missing persons." She blinked at him, as if this were all the information she needed to report.

Draco made a vague gesture with his free hand. "And…?"

"No one within a reasonable radius of Durham disappeared in the last two weeks." She shrugged.

Draco sighed. That had been an utter waste of time. He only hoped Tonks hadn't taken too much of a risk in getting that list to him. "Thanks for trying," he said, smiling at Grizabella. "By the way, I have a meeting at 1:00, so hold any messages for me."

Grizabella nodded, twisting her hands together. "Where is your meeting?"

"Not here," Draco replied, turning back to his computer monitor. She was good at her job, but she was rather nosy at times.

Of course, Draco had something to hide -- else it wouldn't have seemed an intrusive question.

Grizabella's shoes clopped against the concrete floor as she walked away.

+++++

The building appeared to be a run-down Muggle warehouse. Faded paint indicated it had once been the property of Johnson Bros., Ltd., but there was no sign that anyone had been inside in decades. Draco pulled his wool robe more tightly around him, shivering against the damp air. His glamour charm gave him the appearance of an ordinary businessman in a suit and overcoat, but underneath, he looked like a member of a distinguished wizarding family. Appearances were quite important, of course -- particularly with this crowd.

He pulled a slip of parchment from his pocket, on which was written a single word in his father's sharp handwriting. He looked around, then stared at the rusting tin of the warehouse's large bay door and said, "Resero."

The surface shimmered and a doorway appeared before him. Draco looked up and down the street once more before pushing it open. The interior of the building was dark, so he cast a lumos before stepping forward. The door closed behind him with a loud metallic clang. It had barely subsided before the rustle of a robe caught Draco's ear.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"Mr. Malfoy -- sir." Out of the shadows stepped the man Draco had encountered in the alley days before. Draco dropped his glamour charm and nodded his head at the man in greeting. The man gave a slight bow, then turned and indicated Draco should follow him.

They walked down a dark corridor, then took a lift down several levels. The doors opened into yet another corridor, at the end of which was a closed door. The man opened it.

On the other side was a dimly lit chamber. About a dozen men in robes were standing about, conversing quietly. Each group grew silent as Draco passed them on his way to the front of the room. The rush of power was exhilarating, and Draco had to take a calming breath. He'd forgotten what this was like, to be feared and respected, on the basis of his name alone.

By the time he reached the front of the room, everyone had seated themselves on chairs that seemed to have been conjured since he'd entered. Everyone stared at Draco, waiting.

Waiting for him to fix their problems, perhaps. He suppressed a shudder. He was in over his head, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

"Well," Draco said, turning to face them. "I understand you have questions."

A few of the men whispered to each other; otherwise there was no response.

Draco crossed his arms over his chest. "Have I wasted my time in coming here?"

"No, of course not!" the man who'd met him said, turning to look at the others. He made a gesture that clearly meant get on with it!

One of the men in the back snorted. "I'm more interested in hearing what he has to say."

"Aye," another said. "What of Lucius Malfoy and his promises? We've sacrificed enough, put our own necks on the line. We want to see the rewards we were promised."

"You'll get nothing," another voice said. "All he sends us is his shirtlifting son--"

"Enough," Draco hissed. "Or I'll leave this instant and tell my father of your disturbing lack of faith." The room quieted, but their stares were still suspicious, if not outright hostile. Draco gritted his teeth. What had he expected? He glared at the man who'd made the last comment, someone whose face he didn't recognize at all. "If you have any further personal opinions about me, you'd best keep them to yourself." The man smirked, but didn't respond. The room was silent for a long moment.

"We… we're all being harassed by Aurors," a man near the front said at last. "My children have been questioned at school, and my wife was approached at her place of work."

"Yes," another man said. "They're asking too many questions. We agreed to support this because we were afraid of the Dark Lord, afraid of what might happen if he continued to gain power."

"There are rumors," an older man interjected, "that the Ministry is no longer under our influence, that they are close to discovering what we have done."

Draco held up a hand. "They are aware of the smothering spell, it's true. They are actively searching for its source."

"No thanks to you!" someone hissed. "We all know you're working with them."

A dozen pairs of eyes stared at Draco. He forced a smile. "The best undercover operatives are those who work with the enemy, gentlemen. I can assure you they will not uncover the source."

"The source has been out of contact for years," a tall dark-skinned man said. His accent was unfamiliar to Draco. "He has not been to our meetings, and he does not respond to owls. He may have abandoned our cause."

"That's ridiculous," Draco replied, carefully controlling his response. "He must be cautious. He cannot make a single suspicious move."

"That is true," a man who appeared to be near Draco's age said. "We mustn't jump to conclusions so easily."

"And what of Mr. Malfoy's relationship with Harry Potter?" asked the same man who'd made the shirtlifting remark earlier. "What conclusions could one draw from that?" A few people near the man shot him withering glances, but no one said anything.

"Leave Mr. Potter to me," Draco replied with a grim smile. "I can assure you he is of no concern. He will not interfere." There was a bit of murmuring at that.

"And if the Dark Lord returns?" one man asked. "What will become of us? He will know we assisted in this conspiracy, and none of us will escape his wrath."

"Yes," another said. "Will Malfoy protect us, as he promised?"

"He can't!" a voice from the back replied. "They've delivered nothing that was promised, so why should we believe them when they promise us more?" There was more murmuring from the others, and several heads nodded in agreement. "When the others come to my door, why should I resist? I'll join them to protect my family. I'll claim Malfoy forced me into it."

There was an anxious excitement in the air, one Draco was all too familiar with. All the more reason to squash it down now.

"If you believe the Dark Lord would spare you, knowing what you've done, you're far more foolish than I thought," Draco said, staring at any individual whose eye he could catch. The room grew quiet, and he let the tension build for a moment. "Gentlemen, your faith is necessary to our cause. If any of you turns aside, it makes our task more difficult. But together, we will ensure the Dark Lord remains…" Draco paused. He didn't know how to complete that sentence. "--does not return."

The room was silent. Several of the men nodded and waited for Draco to continue. Others looked even more anxious.

Draco swallowed down his own anxiety -- he'd said it, and no one had challenged him. He'd been right. They had somehow conspired against Voldemort, and now they were all terrified.

"The smothering spell is of the utmost importance," the dark-skinned man said. "Those of us who work in the Ministry have heard the growing rumors about its existence, and every day we fear what will happen if it is lifted."

"Mass chaos," the young man said. "We'll be fighting a war on two fronts!"

"And if the Dark Lord returns, it's the end of us all!"

"I'll also swear that Lucius Malfoy forced me into it!" someone said. A few voices chorused "Yes!" to this.

"That is enough!" Draco shouted. He waited to regain their attention before continuing. "I will tell my father that your support is unwavering, that he can count on each of you." He let his eyes sweep around the room, hoping to give them the impression that he was committing their names and faces to memory, to report them back to his father. "Unless anyone would rather I tell him otherwise?" His question was met with silence.

"Good. If there is anything further you wish to discuss with me, you know how to contact me. I have wasted my time here, apparently." He glared at them and strode from the room, sweeping his cloak behind him in as dramatic a gesture as he could manage. He exit was met with silence, though he was certain the conversation would resume as soon as he'd gone.

No one followed him, not even the one who'd met him so anxiously at the door. Draco took the lift back to the ground level, crossed to the door, and pushed it open.

It was raining. He made a face. He hated getting wet. He could apparate, though, back to the apparition room they'd established in the office. It was standard field procedure not to apparate within 100 meters of a meeting point, in case anyone was looking out for incidences of magic.

Draco had a feeling that it no longer mattered.

+++++

Manny glanced up from his desk when Draco entered the office. "Great, you're back. How did the interviews go?"

Draco shrugged. "As expected."

"Did you learn anything new?"

Draco sat and turned on his monitor. "Not really." He hated having to lie to Manny like this, but he couldn't see another way to go. He simply couldn't tell anyone the truth -- that he'd been meeting with recalcitrant Death Eaters all week, individually and in groups, and that each time, he'd heard the same story. They were afraid. They'd vaguely conspired against Voldemort. They feared that the Ministry investigation -- which Draco happened to be leading -- would have disastrous consequences, upsetting the delicate balance they'd been maintaining for years.

He was starting to wonder if they were right.

Manny was still staring at him. Draco leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Hermione was correct. Aurors are highly secretive." That, at least, was true. He hadn't heard from Tonks since they'd last spoken on Monday. He'd owled her twice, to no avail.

"Speaking of secretive," Manny said, turning his chair to face Draco, "Harry thinks they've made a breakthrough in the search for the source of the smothering spell." He raised his eyebrows. "They think it's a person."

Draco looked up from his monitor. "Really?" He felt something twist in his belly.

"Yes. Turns out the strength of the spell waxes and wanes according to the time of day and even moves around from building to building. It's stronger in the daytime and fades almost completely at night."

Draco frowned. "But that doesn't necessarily mean the source is one person. Couldn't it just be a function of how many people are present in the building? Perhaps it's amplified by the people it affects."

Manny nodded. "That could still be the case, even if it's maintained by an individual. Good thinking!" He turned to his computer and began typing. "I'll email that idea to Hermione."

Draco blinked. "When did they get internet access over there?"

Manny grinned. "This morning. Apparently Hermione worked something out with a Muggle internet service, and they've been installing the wiring all week. It drove the staff crazy, since they couldn't use magic when the Muggle technicians were around. And they had to dress like Muggles for two whole days."

Draco couldn't help but grin. "That must have been entertaining. Do any of them actually know how to use a computer?" He'd been so immersed in his own work he hadn't heard anything about this.

Manny laughed. "I'm sure Hermione is already working on that."

On a whim, Draco opened his inbox. Sure enough, he had emails from both Hermione and Harry. "Wow," he muttered, opening the one from Hermione.

~~~


From: Hermione Granger Weasley <hgw@merlin.gov.uk>
To: Draco Malfoy <d.malfoy@beowulf.fbi.gov>
Date: 4 March, 2004 11:22
Subject: New email address

Draco,

Believe it or not, we now have internet access in our building! I'll spare you the details of the ordeal we suffered to get it finished, but you probably understand how excited we all are about the prospect of having new means of inter-office communication! I'll still check the yahoo address, but this one is now the best way to reach me.

Best,
Hermione

--
Hermione Granger Weasley
Assistant Director of Communications
Investigative Services Division
Ministry of Magic, United Kingdom

Owl post attn: Hermione Granger Weasley
Email: hgw@merlin.gov.uk
Phone: 020 7276 1234
Fax: 020 7276 1279


~~~

Draco snorted. He doubted anyone else was as enthusiastic about this as Hermione. He opened the message from Harry.

~~~


From: Harry Potter <hpotter@merlin.gov.uk>
To: Draco Malfoy <d.malfoy@beowulf.fbi.gov>
Date: 4 March, 2004 12:42
Subject: Email

We have email over here now, and Hermione is promising to start working on encryption. So, maybe, we won't have to owl files to each other anymore. She's quite excited, as you can probably guess. Anyway, here is my new email address.

Also, are you still coming at 7:00?

Harry
--
Harry Potter



~~~


Draco smiled and clicked "reply".

~~


From: Draco Malfoy <d.malfoy@beowulf.fbi.gov>
To: Harry Potter <hpotter@merlin.gov.uk>
Date: 4 March, 2004 15:01
Subject: RE: Email

Harry,

I'm glad to see the Ministry's agreed to move into the 21st century at last.

> Also, are you still coming at 7:00?

I thought you wanted to have dinner first? ;-)

Draco

PS -- We need to have a little talk about commas.

--
Draco Malfoy
Deputy Special Agent
Division of Magical and Occult Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation

Mail: PO Box 1423-A, New York, NY, 10016, USA
Phone: (212) 314-9935
Fax: (212) 314-9871


~~~

He pressed send, then noticed there was another email in his inbox from Hermione. He scanned it: she'd got Manny's email and wanted to know if Draco could come to a meeting there in fifteen minutes. Draco frowned at the screen.

"We could use your help on this, you know." Draco looked up at Manny, surprised. "She copied me on the email," he explained. "I know you have lots of other stuff on your plate, but this is much closer to your area of expertise than mine."

Draco shrugged. "I suppose that's true." If things went as planned, he'd need a lot more information about the smothering spell anyway. His mind was already turning with questions he wanted to ask.

But what if they found out who the source was? What would he do? At the moment, he wasn't certain. The talk of chaos and war at the meeting hours earlier had shaken him, and he was no longer certain that eliminating the smothering spell was a good idea. At least not until they knew more about why it was there.

"Harry and Hermione have been working to develop detection spells all week," Manny continued. "That's how they learned the source was a person."

Draco frowned. "They think the source is a person, but they've no idea who it could be?"

"There are too many possibilities. They can't just go around casting spells on people in the Ministry of Magic, you know. They have to find ways to be discreet about it."

"I can imagine," Draco sighed. He glanced at his schedule, but it was empty. He'd left it open, having no idea how long his early afternoon meeting would be. "I guess I'm going."

"Thanks," Manny said, turning back to his computer. "We can port over in a few minutes, if you want."

Draco nodded. His inbox beeped.

~~~


From: Harry Potter <hpotter@merlin.gov.uk>
To: Draco Malfoy <d.malfoy@beowulf.fbi.gov>
Date: 4 March, 2004 15:03
Subject: RE: Email

Ha ha. Cute. I'll take that as a 'yes'.

And what's wrong with my use of commas, anyway?

Harry

--
Harry Potter


~~~

Draco rolled his eyes and grinned. He glanced across the room at Manny, who was engrossed in reading something on his monitor. "I'm ready to go whenever you are."

---

Go to Part 12

Note: The comma bit at the end is a reference to an email someone on my f-list (taradiane, maybe?) got from Daniel Radcliffe, in which his comma abuse was adorable. It seemed like such a Harry thing to me, so I used it here. :-)

Comments

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

OMG, Equine Bling! Will you send me the URL when that site is up? I really want to see it! ;-)

[charlotteschaos.livejournal.com]

They keep... not getting back to me. But you can see the products up, this is not my design...

http://www.equinebling-bling.com/

The logo cracks me up, still. ;)

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Interesting... So what exactly is an artisan, anyway?

[charlotteschaos.livejournal.com]

Haha don't look at me on that copy, man. I think some of it is hand beaded, etc, I've not seen the items n person. The artisans may well just be a wholesaler ;)