drao had kept his gaze ooly trained on the pair of green eyes staring bak at him in the lobby potter had removed his harmed disguise, and drao felt a twinge of relief at the sight of him, if only beause eversworn’s bloated fae had no business harb those eyes when the doors to the lift finally losed and broke the trane he’d been in, he shook himself and answered, “the two aren’t mutually exlusive, pans i am drao malfoy, former death eater, and i work for the department of mysteries”
“i know you an’t tell me anything,” pansy sighed “but maybe you an expin why a disguised potter was being quesned in ren to bertrie’s disearane?” drao turned to her then, the soothing relief of her fiere and inquisitive mind a onson, and he felt his features soften in affinity for her she quirked an eyebrow and added, “and maybe why you ouldn’t take your eyes off eah other just now?”
“irrelevant,” drao rolled his eyes the lift doors opened and ushered them out
pansy followed him to his room and wathed him use the spell key followed by a series of preise wand movements to open his door he gned at her, but she maintained her unimpressed get on with it look, pushing past him into the room as soon as the loks were undone
“how do you know this is malfoy’s room?” herne asked
harry’s jaw lenhed “i just know, okay” the sene of himself, oddly dressed and irritated, fshed aross his memory
herne sighed “you haven’t been following him again?”
“i have absolutely not been following him,” harry bristled “if anything, he’s been following me”
“malfoy broke into his ft,” ron offered and at that, herne wore a look of mild onfun
harry reahed for the door the antiipan prikled from his nek down his spine, and he mildly wondered why he somehow knew malfoy and parkinson were on the other side, and with them, any number of lues and answers as he hesitated, the ool metal of the doorknob in his palm, harry wondered why it felt less like an entrane and more like a preipie; as if the moment harry walked through the doorway, he would be jumping off the point of no return the rush of purpose flooded him, and he opened the door
the t walked in to a super suite deorated in vish, deep tones of green and blue, earthy and yet extravagant harry reognised the yout as they entered the sitting room, an open set of double doors led to the bedroom behind the seating area malfoy and pansy sat on the sofa, staring at the group of them in expetan
“it took you long enough,” malfoy finally said he leaned forward and reahed into a bowl of fruit on the offee table looking pleased, he grabbed an le and sat bak “did you get lost on the way up?”
harry was sure he did a terrible job hiding his surprise “you expeted us?”
parkinson snorted
herne leaned in and whispered, “you were leering at malfoy from aross the lobby”
harry turned with the n of orreting her—he unequivoally had not been leering at malfoy, perhaps gl, sneering maybe—but then something odd aught harry’s eye in the orner of the sitting room stood a rge ase board overed in photographs, notes, and cerforth hippolyle’s it’s solved then! every color case string harry and ron pratially fell over moving to get a better look at it
zivantus was pinned to the top of the board and a lovely photo of bertrie underh his to the right, a series of names and photos of people harry didn’t reognise pes like jones distillery and hantorave downs were listed and had vaus olors of string oing them to individuals on the board pinned down the enter, a rge lok fae with the hands at a quarter to seven had lots of strings oing to people and pes on the left, harry reognised what ould only be a gringott’s vaultry list of items, some of whih had missing written insriptto them there was also a blueprint of the hotel, and to the farthest left of the board, a photo of an older woman beled gertrude lokhart
“this isn’t bad work,” ron said absentmindedly when he realized he’d said it out loud, he spped a hand over his mouth
harry turned around in time to see malfoy’s lip quirk “thank you, weasley” his grey eyes flitted to harry “i had help” harry gave him a quesning look malfoy stared at his le and asked, “did you have a produtive visit at the dmle?”
harry almost hoked “i’m sorry?”
“you met with the iigators on bertrie’s ase, did you not?”
“how—”
“even if i hadn’t reognised you the moment i first saw you, you’re wearing the exat lothes you had on earlier this m the only thing that’s hanged is the absene of those awful disguise harms, of whih i am ever thankful it’s hard to admit there was something worse than your atual fae, but here we are”
herne took a seat in one of the armhairs, staring at malfoy with wide, bzing eyes harry ouldn’t gauge the emon was it anger? it looked like something loser to expetany herne sat bak and settled into the hair, “and yet, you allowed the pretense to ontinue why?”
malfoy tensed
“hang on—” harry stepped forward “you didn’t think it was odd that i was in disguise w as a hotel porter?”
“if you hadn’t notied, potter, there isn’t a single thing about this ase that isn’t an odd but oordinated obfusan”
harry took that as a deflen malfoy’s stare lingered on him, and harry narrowed his eyes it was true, the events of the st day had been truly bizarre even though behind him stood a detailed ase board, and malfoy himself had admitted that zivantus had hired him, harry held on to the belief that malfoy was still hiding something
“our first prity should be finding bertrie,” parkinson interrupted harry’s thoughts she was looking at herne bu
