AN: This chapter is a bit longer than the others, but I don't know if that's going to become a thing. Also, this chapter is very explanation-heavy, so sorry about not really making stuff happen. Also, thank you to those of you who reviewed! It's nice to know that you are enjoying the story.

Disclaimer: I still don't own this, though I'll be sure to let you know if I suddenly do.

Chapter 3

On the way to the plane, Derek held Draco back slightly, letting the rest of the team round the corner ahead of them.

"What is it?" Draco asked, furrowing his brow slightly.

"Oh, nothing," Derek smiled, "I just wanted to say thank you for this. I'm really happy that you will be on the case with us and that I finally get to introduce you and the team." His smirk turned a little mischievous. "And I didn't get a kiss when you walked in earlier." Draco leaned forward then to press their lips together, breaking away a few moments later before it got too heated.

"You know I worry about you on your cases," Draco told him, "even when they are just the run of the mill serial killers you deal with every day. I wasn't about to let you go into a situation in which you would be up against a highly dangerous magical murderer without me."

"I can protect myself," Derek said with a frown.

"I know you can," Draco soothed, "but I know that you also know your limitations when it come to a magical duel. As capable as you are, spells aren't really something you can protect against, and I would do anything to see you safe. I am quite selfish, you realize, and would likely do anything to keep you with me."

Derek reached out to pull his lover against him. He placed a hard kiss on his lips before resting their foreheads together. "I love you, Draco, but please don't sacrifice yourself for me, I don't want to see you hurt because you didn't think I could take care of myself."

"I love you, and I would do anything to keep you safe, just as I know you would do the same. I would trust you to protect the both of us, but there are some things I am better suited to deal with." Draco pulled back suddenly and straightened up, putting on a face of exaggerated disdain. "After all, you are just a muggle."

Derek laughed and swept into a mocking bow, gesturing for Draco to proceed him up the corridor. "Then after you, your outstanding wizardness. Your jet awaits."

Draco sniffed in disgust and strode down the hallway, Derek's laughter following him.

When they got on the jet, the team, sans Hotch and Rossi, pounced. Reid took Malfoy to the side, always eager for more information, and JJ and Prentiss cornered Morgan.

"How long have the two of you been together?" JJ asked curiously.

"We've been dating since college," Morgan smiled. "We met in a psychology class sophomore year, and when we learned that we were both studying forensic psychology, he offered to work together for a group project we were assigned. We had the option of larger groups, but neither of us really wanted to work with more people than necessary. We became friends when we continued studying together after the project was turned in and we then decided to share an apartment while we got our masters."

"So you started dating once you were roommates?" Prentiss clarified.

"Yeah, I knew something was going on. You see, we had been living together for a year by then, and Draco isn't the best at living like a muggle. It comes from being raised in a purely magical household, I suppose. But anyhow, one day I confronted him about it and it all came out. Magic, his past, and the fact that he liked me." Morgan grinned. "He turned red and started babbling so much I had to kiss him to shut him up."

"I'm sure that was a hardship," JJ said straight-faced.

"Yes, quite. And the rest, as they say, is history."

As Reid pulled him away, Draco heard the first bits of the conversation with Morgan. He thought back to when they had first started going out.

It had been a rather long day for Draco, and it was only 3:00 p.m. He had gotten up early that Saturday to go to London for James's birthday party. With the time difference, to get there at 1:00, he had had to leave home at 7:00 that morning.

After the war, Draco had mended fences with the light side, or rather Harry had mended them with him. Harry had shown up at the Manor with his wand the day after his trial. It had been one month since the final battle, and the courts had decided to acquit him. They were overloaded with the trials of all the Death Eaters and the Ministry was still trying to put itself back together again after all the corrupt officials had been eradicated. It had also helped that The-Boy-Who-Lived-Twice had spoke in his favor for freedom. After that, they had better things to do than to occupy themselves with one cowardly boy.

Harry had shown up on his doorstep, hands shoved in his pockets and a neutral expression on his face. "May I step inside?" he asked politely.

Draco had stared at him a moment before opening the door wider and stepping inside. They looked at each other for a minute as they stood in his front entry hall. "Thank you for speaking for me at the trial, Potter. Why are you here?"

Potter didn't answer for a moment and seemed to be avoiding looking around the foyer. The foyer where he had been held captive, Draco remembered with a wince. Then a thought seemed to occur to Potter and Draco held himself back from voicing a snide comment.

"I was a little surprised that you came to the door to greet me yourself, to be honest. I didn't think you would want to see me," Potter inquired without directly voicing a question. Draco explained anyway.

"I'm the only one here. Father's in Azkaban and Mother's gone away to France, I don't think she will ever be returning to Britain. As for House Elves, well the Dark Lord would get bored sometimes when there was an insufficient supply of muggles and muggleborns." Potter winced and Draco repeated his earlier question, "Why are you here?"

"I-I had this," Potter said awkwardly, pulling out a very familiar stick. Draco snatched it back quickly, holding it gently as it seemed to warm in his hand. It felt like it had been ages since he had held it and he almost laughed at the wonderful feeling of his magic reconnecting with his hawthorn and unicorn wand.

He looked back up reluctantly. "Why did you bring it back? You owe me nothing."

"No," Potter replied, "but I wanted to. I also thought that we could maybe meet for lunch sometime, that we could learn to be nice to each other. It couldn't hurt."

Draco was stunned into silence for a moment and he just stood there staring. Potter grimaced slightly and began to turn away, muttering something about "never mind" and that it was a "silly idea".

Draco reached out and caught his arm, making him jump and he quickly removed his hand. "No-I don't- I didn't mean that," he stuttered a little, "I would be willing to have lunch with you, Potter," he finished more strongly.

Potter smiled a little then, and said, "Alright, how about next Tuesday?"

"That's alright with me," Draco said, then smiled self deprecatingly, "it's not like I have anything on my calendar."

"Good-that's good," Potter said, standing there a moment more before turning to go. He stopped halfway out of the door and turned back. "Oh, and Malfoy?" he said with a smile as he stuck out his hand, "my name's Harry."

Draco thought of that moment on the train all those years ago when he was a different person. "I'm Draco," he said as he took the offered hand for what it was, a new chance.

Since that day, they had gradually gotten to know each other for the people they were and not who they projected to the world. That is not to say it hadn't been difficult, especially when Harry introduced him properly to the Weasleys, but they had been willing to try. The war had left them all tired of the constant hate and they were willing to make a new start, one in which Draco was welcomed as a friend.

They had stayed in touch when Draco moved to America a year later to get away from the persistent hate of the public and that Saturday, Draco was arriving back from the second birthday celebration of James Sirius Potter.

It had been a tiring day spent chasing after too many children (Draco was never having kids, he thought with a shudder) and he had drunk some fire whiskey at dinner that had made the portkey back even more uncomfortable. Also, his beautiful, green dress robes had somehow ended up an awful shade of shining silver that had moving stars on it and lit up the room with their unnatural luminescence.

At that moment, a knock came on the door and his roommate, (and unaware object of his affections) poked his head inside. A second later, Derek tripped in surprise and toppled over on the floor, rubbing his eyes and groaning slightly. "What in the world is that thing you are wearing. And my God! Are those stars moving!"

"No, no!" Draco protested. He tried to think of a suitably muggle explanation, "They were a gag gift from one of my friends in Britain, the cloth is like one of those moving picture things, you tilt it and the angle makes the stars appear to shift places."

"Bullshit," Derek said immediately, "that is nothing like that, explain please."

Draco hesitated, but only for a moment. He had been wanting to tell Derek about magic for years now, and this was a rather good opportunity. "Yeah, I guess not. It-it's actually magic."

"Bullshit," Derek said again, "funnier, but really, I want to know what that is."

"No, really, Derek, magic is real. Here," Draco said, seeing Derek starting to look at him like he was crazy and he needed to make sure he wasn't going to kill anyone. He pulled out his wand and waved it in the air, conjuring a four foot high elephant that trumpeted loudly, making Derek collapse back onto the floor. The elephant trumpeted again a few moments later and Derek's eyes shot back open and looked between him and it in alarm, before saying,

"I'm dreaming right? You didn't drug me or something and now I am hallucinating all of this."

"No, this is all real, I assure you." Draco waved his wand again, vanishing the elephant before tapping his robes and returning them to their original green. He blushed a little, thinking that this was an awful idea. Derek didn't believe him and when he did, he wouldn't want anything to do with him anymore, but he was already committed, so he had to keep talking. "I had wanted to tell you for years about this but I'm not really supposed to, even though I really like you a lot, because there are laws and stuff and I can't-" Draco was beginning to get a little frantic and couldn't seem to stop talking because he felt like if he didn't keep talking he might start to break down because Derek wasn't acknowledging anything he was saying.

Suddenly he was cut off with a "mmph" as Derek kissed him. When Derek pulled back after a moment, Draco was sure that he was sitting there stupidly with his mouth open, but he couldn't seem to move.

"Hey, its okay," Derek told him, rubbing his arm gently, "I don't care if this is a dream or not, it doesn't matter to me if you have magic. I'm just glad that you told me now. And I really like you a lot too," he added with a smile. "Now how about we go into the kitchen and get a coffee and while I figure out if this is all a dream, you explain about this magic thing."

That had been a bit of a turning point in their lives, Draco thought wryly as he turned his attention on Reid.

"You kept talking about the British Ministry of Magic earlier when you were telling us about the war," he began speaking eagerly, "but what is the American magical government called?"

"It is called the American Magical Alliance and it includes all of North America's magical inhabitants," Draco responded tolerantly. "While most European magical governments are run by wizards and the other sentient magical creatures are considered second class citizens, the AMA is run with representation based on the population size of a species. All sentient magical nations who chose to involve themselves in the government can do so. The only prerequisite is proof that a nation has a some sort of internal governing body to qualify as an independent magical nation. While it is true that wizards are the largest individual magical nation, the other magical beings combined far outnumber us. Thus, it is in American wizards' best interests to be more tolerant."

Reid furrowed his brow at that. "You mentioned earlier that the reactions to trespassers would be different in the US than in Britain. Are the mindsets really so different?"

"Oh, yes," Draco nodded, thinking about the persistent prejudices of the cloistered magical community he had left. "In Britain, the wizards hang on tightly to their belief in their own superiority and they are incredibly resistant to change. If you walk into any magical center in Britain, you would think that you had stepped back in time a few hundred years."

Just then, Hotch and Rossi walked through the door, cutting of the two conversations. The team moved to sit down, Malfoy gravitating back to Morgan's side. JJ stuck her head into the cockpit and not a minute later they were taking off, the team looking to Hotch for instruction.

"I know how much of a shock this is for all of us," Hotch began, "after all, it isn't every day that we learn about a hidden magical society living right under our noses. But we do deal with new information all the time; that is our job. This is a case just like any other, with people who think just like any other, so nothing we have learned should effect our work. This is just more information to assimilate and add to the building of a profile. So with that in mind, where would we start if this was a normal case?"

The team looked at each other for a minute before Reid spoke up. "We would visit the crime scene."

"We'd interview the families of the victims to determine the victimology," Morgan added.

Prentiss spoke next. "We would make contact with the local law enforcement on the case in order to see what progress has already been made."

"Yes, exactly," Hotch nodded, "and we will do exactly that. However, we are already ahead in some things." He looked over at Malfoy to ask him a question. "You said that all of these victims were substitutes for Harry Potter, do you think that we could talk to him?"

"What about? I can answer most anything you need," Malfoy said, a little confused as what they would need Harry for.

"We like to follow up on every lead," Morgan answered before Hotch could. "In a normal case, we might think that the killer would be someone who has a personal reason to hate Harry, and that is something only he can tell us."

Malfoy snorted, "You've met him, no one has a personal reason to hate Harry unless he put them away in Azkaban. Also this started 15 years ago, they have either hated him since school or they hate him because of the war. And you know about his 'saving people thing,' we won't be able to get him back to England until the unsub is caught."

Rossi narrowed his eyes in consideration, "Did you say that he is in law enforcement?"

"Yes," Malfoy replied, "Harry is the Head Auror. I suppose that Aurors are the British magical equivalent of police officers."

Rossi hmmed slightly and asked, "Do you think that he would be able to help with the investigation? He likely knows the unsub and you said he would be willing to help. It looks to be a very good idea to speak with him."

"I likely know the unsub as well," Malfoy pointed out, "and do you really want him flashing himself about on the investigation when we know there is a murderer of unknown capabilities out there who hates his guts and apparently wants nothing more than to kill him?"

Morgan put his hand on Malfoy's arm and looked at him in concern. "Why are you so against bringing Harry here, Dray?"

Malfoy covered the hand with his own and sighed a little before answering. "He's just getting over it, you know? He blamed himself for most of the deaths in the second war and it's taken a lot of time to convince him that they weren't his fault. Also, while I and the rest of the Wizarding World have moved on after the war, Harry has spent the last 15 years taking down dark wizards, many of whom fought for Voldemort and got away after his death. Harry is on his way to healed now, do you have any idea what it would do to him if we told him that 40 muggles in America were murdered because he exists? He never really stopped blaming himself for everyone that dies."

Morgan nodded as he considered this, "I know exactly what you are talking about, but we need every lead we can get, and right now, Harry is the best lead we have."

Malfoy closed his eyes for a minuted before opening them and nodding firmly, his face once again smoothed into neutrality. "I will call him when we land, it will be six in the evening there, and he will have likely already gone home unless there is a case. Will there be a fireplace where we are going?" Malfoy asked suddenly.

Most of the team looked at him like he had grown a second head, but Morgan said, "We will be able to find one. If there isn't one at the hotel, then you can always just use one in a house that is for sale."

"Why would you need a fireplace?" Prentiss asked slightly incredulously.

"Harry doesn't have a cell phone," Malfoy explained. "In areas of highly concentrated magic, electronics short out, so he doesn't carry one. He does have a landline, but if he isn't at home then I will need to contact him at the office through the floo network. Even if I do catch him at his house, he will need a fireplace to arrive through." Seeing the glances, he began speaking to forestall any questions, "Portkeys needs the person who creates it to have either been to a location before or have the precise magical coordinates (where it is in relation to ley lines). Apparation is to far, even for him. When flooing, you only need to say the destination, and so long as the fireplace is connected, you can get there."

"Good, then that's settled," Hotch said, ready to move on. "When we arrive, I want Rossi and Reid to go to the crime scene, after Morgan is finished helping Malfoy find a fireplace, he will join you. The rest of us will go to the Police Headquarters and after speaking with the detectives there, Prentiss and I will go to speak with the family of the most recent victims. JJ, you will need to speak with the lead detectives on the correlated murders for the last 15 years. We want to know every thing they have found that may have been deemed to strange to put into an official report. And Malfoy, once you get a hold of Harry, get back in contact with Morgan for further instruction."

The team all agreed and moved to sit back to study the case files more in depth when Malfoy caught their attention. "I just have one thing to add about the procedure you should follow if you suspect magical involvement. If you or someone else begins to act strangely and you don't know why, please inform me. If you suspect that there is magical interference in a place, don't hesitate to call. If someone pulls out a wand, try to contact me and get ready to dodge. Most spells you will be unable to protect against besides for getting out of the way. Basically, if you are unsure, I would rather we were on the safe side and insure that I am there if there is a possibility of magical involvement."

He reached into a pocket and pulled out five necklaces of thin silver chain, each with a colored pendant the size of a little finger nail on them. "These are for you all. Once you put them on, I will be able to feel your location at all times to be able to apparate directly to you, so I will be able to come if you call me. If you snap the chain, it will act a a panic button and alert me that you are in immediate danger." He passed them out to the team, each person getting a different colored one.

They each took one and slipped them on over their heads before tucking them under their shirts. "Where is Morgan's?" JJ asked as she put hers on.

"I already have one," Morgan answered, and pulled a red one out from under his shirt.

"Why are they all different colors?" Prentiss asked Malfoy.

"I keep their connections to my mind color coded in order to keep them separate," Malfoy explained. "I gave you each the color that I instinctively associated with you so that I will be better able to make sense of any signals they give me."

"Is it not distracting to have the connections constantly in your mind?" Hotch asked, concerned.

"A bit," Malfoy admitted, "but I am a very skilled Occlumens. Occlumency is the art of organizing ones thoughts and memories into controlled places in order to protect one's mind from attack. I learned out of necessity during my childhood, and it is easily one of the most valuable skills I possess. Most wizards would be hard pressed to keep one connection going for long periods of time, but I keep Derek's up constantly. Because I can Occlude, I can hold as many as ten of these connections if necessary, but six is plenty for me to handle, and I don't really want to add any more. Already, I am diverting about half the mental energy I normally expend on my barriers to keeping the strands separate and controlled."

"Is that dangerous, then, to be diverting so much attention?" Rossi asked, a little bit worried about the effect the monitoring necklaces could have on Malfoy's job performance.

"Not really," Malfoy replied with a slight smile, "because I am not really diverting any more of my attention than I normally do. Think of It like a white noise; it is there, and I can tell it is there, but I ignore it. Most people don't use the majority of their subconscious mind. An occlumens, however, can harness that mental energy and apply it to whatever they want, without disrupting their normal thoughts. Normally, I apply that mental energy to my shields, but all I did was weaken my shields slightly to support another area of my brain."

"Why do you keep your shields, so strong then, if it turns out that it is not really necessary?" Reid asked him.

Malfoy laughed slightly before answering, "Most people would (and have) called it paranoia. I would rather use the words of an old teacher and call it constant vigilance. Basically, I spent to many of my formative years fending of the attacks of some of the most skilled Legilimens to ever live, and I feel a little vulnerable without my normal shields, even though most people would say that they are the equivalent of carrying a semi-automatic gun to threaten people who might try to push you over. And a Legilimens is a person skilled in the art of breaking into another's mind."

The team looked a little stunned and horrified at this last bit of information, but JJ was the one to voice a comment. "Wizards can just break into someone's mind and read their thoughts?!"

"Oh, no," Malfoy hastened to reassure them. "Only people who bother to learn Occlumency can even attempt to learn Legilimency. I have only ever met perhaps two dozen people who can perform Legilimecy, myself included. I am probably the strongest Legilimens you will ever meet, as the three people who I am certain would be better than me are all dead now. Also, most wizards, myself included, think that poking into someone's mind without their permission is a crime comparable to rape. Besides, it isn't really possible to 'read a mind,' it is more akin to sifting through a jumble of memories and emotions."

Malfoy sighed as he looked around at the team. Excluding Morgan, they all still had equally horrified expressions on their faces. "How about this," he said gently, "if one of you will allow it, I would like to show you with the mental equivalent of a small nudge would be. I anticipate that with your jobs, you will all have some sort of mental barriers up. All I would do is give you a gentle push in order to allow you to feel what an outside mind feels like so that you can recognize if anyone is trying to get in your head in the future. You can't protect against something that you can't recognize."

The team exchanged slightly wide eyed glances until Morgan spoke up. "Guys, he's not going to hurt you, or even enter you mind. You need to know what this feels like, though, and I'd rather you learned in a controlled environment than when you are in danger."

Hotch was the first one to volunteer. "I'll do it. What do you need me to do?"

Malfoy smiled at him reassuringly. "You just need to look at me, I'll do the rest." He pulled out his wand saying, "I am going to use the incantation so that you know when it is coming, but it's not necessary for a master of the art. Legilimens," he whispered.

Keeping eye contact, Malfoy gently brushed his mind across the surface of Hotch's. Besides for a slight intake of breath, Hotch gave no indication that he had felt anything. Malfoy noted the presence of unusually strong shields for a muggle in his mind before he withdrew.

"You see?" he asked after he had ended the spell. "You will be able to recognize even the slightest touches, though you should be aware that if someone was really trying to break into your mind it would hurt a lot more."

Hotch nodded, considering. "That wasn't so bad. It was a rather strange feeling, though." He turned to look at the rest of the team. "I would recommend doing it so that you know what to watch for."

One by one, the others all took a turn at experiencing legilimency, and after doing so, they were a little more relaxed at the idea, once again confident in their abilities to, if not protect themselves, be aware of any attacks.

The rest of the flight was spent in contemplation of the case and the new world about which they were learning at an alarming pace. They all wore grim faces as they stepped off of the plane and they knew that they weren't all going to be able to continue to assimilate the information so seamlessly. Soon enough, someone was going to be unable to keep shoving their feelings down as they had been doing, and they all knew that eventually, something would have to give.

AN Take Two: I'm thinking about having Harry come with a friend (Hermione, Luna, George, ect.) when he shows up, (though I'm still not certain if he is going to stay for long). If there is anyone you are particularly opinionated about, for or against, then please leave a review and let me know, I promise to take it into consideration. If there is a certain way you want to see this story go, then I'd love to hear it, because much of the plot is still up in the air that fills my head.