Disclaimer: I don't own anything here!!! Don't sue me!!!!

A/N: Um…what should I say? I got sorta bored during writing my other story and I came up with this idea…so…I decided to write it. Um…please review and tell me what you think of it. Oh yeah, this is rated PG-13 for language…but I don't think it's that bad.

~

When There Are No More Tears

Chapter 1

"No, five million is not enough!" Draco Malfoy yelled into the telephone and stood up angrily from his luxurious black leather chair. "I'm selling you my company's best electronical software and all you have to offer is five million?"

"No, I want twice that! It's ten million or forget it! And if- "

Before he could utter any more threats to the man on the phone, a very young and tired looking woman burst into the room. Draco looked up with venom in his eyes and covered the phone with his hand.

"What the hell? Can't you see I'm in the middle of a very important deal here?"

"Got an urgent call from a Gregory Goyle. Claims to be your friend. He's on line two," she said before she turned and stomped out of the office, shutting the door very loudly behind her.

Fuck.

Draco uncovered the phone and began talking into it. "We're not done yet. Call me back in 5 minutes."

With his left index finger, he reached out and pressed the flashing red button that said "line 2" and took a deep breath.

"Yes?"

"Have you found the ring yet?"

"No."

"Any new developments at all?"

"No. What about the others?"

"Nothing. Nobody's got anything."

"How are we sure it's even here at all? I've been stationed here for six years and there still has been nothing! Nothing at all!"

"The Locator Charm says it's here - in the U.S."

"The U.S is the fourth largest country in the world! It's not likely that we'll ever find it!"

"We must find it. It is the only way he can regain his soul."

"I'll keep trying."

"And by the way, Nott's been restationed. He's in Seattle now, acting as a real estate agent."

"Why the hell'd they restation him?"

"They figured that Reno was a small city and there probably wasn't any chance that the ring would be there."

Before Draco could reply, the "line 1" button began flashing. "I've got another, call, I'll talk to you later."

Draco hung up on line two and pressed the line one button, expecting it to be the irritating, cheap, computer software dealer that he had been talking to earlier. He prepared himself to be annoyed.

"This is Draco Malfoy."

"Draco!" Draco recognized the voice. It belonged to his father, Lucius.

"Father! It's been a while. How are y-"

"Draco, listen!"

"What's wrong?"

"Fudge, that great idiot of a minister, wants to see New York. And he informed me by owl just yesterday saying that since I was such a great patron of the Ministry, and since I had a son who was a rich CEO in New York, he was going to stay at your home."

"Fudge? Here? At my home? Are you joking?"

"Are we laughing?"

"Alright, let him do what he wants. He can stay here. It won't cause such a big problem and it'll earn more of his trust."

"But…listen, Draco." His voice sounded urgent.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you remember six years ago when we first disguised you as a computer software company CEO?"

"What does my disguise have to do with anything?"

"Well, you see," Lucius said uneasily. "We didn't want too much suspicion, so we wrote in your files that you were happily married in the States and expecting a child."

"What the hell'd you do that for?"

"Well, we had to make up a reason for you to be living as a muggle in the U.S! So, we just said that you had fallen in love with a muggle who lived there and wanted to stay in New York and live as a muggle with her."

"A muggle? Father, a muggle? That's absolutely…disgusting!"

"And people are more trusting of people with families and loved ones! This way, the ministry will be less suspicious of our activities!"

"So what you're telling me, is that he's expecting me to have a wife and a whole family? Is that what you're telling me?"

"Unfortunately, yes. And if he finds out that we've been lying about you in your files, that means he'll become suspicious. And if-"

"-that happens all our hard work would be over."

"Yes, Draco. Just because the thickheaded Ministry didn't realize six years ago that we sent twenty three people connected to the dark arts to the States for absolutely no reason at all, doesn't mean that they won't find out! And then when they find out about the ring…"

"… we'll all be sent to Azkaban and the Dark Lord will never be revived. So what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Find a family."

"Find a family? What the bloody hell do you mean by that?"

"Find somebody with a kid who'll pretend to be your wife."

"Who the hell would do that?"

"Somehow, somewhere. I'm sure you'll find someone desperate enough to help you."

"When's Fudge coming?"

There was a pause. "He want to come the 27th."

"This month? That's two weeks away! How'm I supposed to find -"

"Draco, whatever you do, just make it work!"

"What other options do I have?"

"Well, if you found the ring…that would change things."

"Alright, alright, I'll do what I can."

"And Draco?"

"Hmm?"

"No mistakes. We can't afford any."

There was a small click and then Draco heard the dial tone. He buried his face in his hands and tried to think of what he could do. Just at that moment, the office door swung open and there stood the woman who had been there earlier, to inform him of a call.

"What the fuck is it now?"

The woman approached him slowly and held out two pieces of paper in front of him. "I'm quiting."

He grabbed the pieces of paper out of her hand and scanned it with his eyes. "Letter of resignation?"

"You can't just do this, McCowen!" He stuck the papers in the paper shredder on his desk and the two of them watched the shreds of paper fall into the waste basket.

The woman, Trisha McCowen shrugged. "I'm sick and tired of this. You treat me like shit. This isn't the kind of environment I want to work in. I'm leaving and I'm not coming back tomorrow and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Fine." Draco said, realizing that a he could just find another person to fill in her job. "But call in Rogers on the way out, will you?"

She didn't answer, but just merely walked out of his office and didn't even close the door. Five minutes later, an older looking man knocked on the fully opened door. Draco looked up and saw Rogers.

"Did you need anything?"

"Yes, run an ad in every newspaper. We need a new secretary."

"Yes, sir, I'll do that. Do you need anything else?"

"Just leave and get it done."

The man left, closing the door behind him gently. Draco sunk into the soft leather of his chair and closed his eyes. This day had been one of the worst in all his twenty five years of life.

~

A young woman strode through the crowds of people in the wild night club. The place had an awful stench of beer, cigarettes, and who knows what else. She was dressed so scarcely that one would probably just go right ahead and say that she was nude. Her shiny brown hair framed a delicate face that was plastered with too much makeup. She looked as if she was hurrying somewhere and stopped only when she felt a rough hand grab her thigh. She spun around to see who it was. She didn't recognize him.

"Care to do a dance for me?"

She took used to her right hand to remove his grasp on her thigh. "Sorry, my shift's over."

Before the man could reply, she had already darted out of sight. The young woman entered a hallway which led to a dressing room.

"Hey, Pheonix," said another woman who putting on her clothes.

"Oh, god, Gwen, don't call me that."

"Ok, fine, Harmony. Happy now?"

Harmony's reply was a deep sigh. "Am I ever?"

"Hard night?"

"It's never easy."

"Don't be like that. One day, you're gonna get outta here, you hear me?"

She nodded and began to put on her own clothes quickly.

"A nice girl like you don't deserve a life like this."

"Gwen?"

"What is it?"

"If I tell you something, will you promise not to laugh at me?"

"I promise, now tell me! Is something wrong?"

"Two days ago I found this newspaper that this guy dropped. And I found an ad in it. Like, a job thingy."

"What kinda job?"

"Well, a secretary."

Gwen looked at her friend with sadness in her eyes. "Honey, you don't have a high school diploma."

"Gwen! You promised you wouldn't laugh!"

"I ain't laughing."

"I just want to try. You know, just maybe I'll have a chance, right? You never know."

"So watcha gonna do?"

"I called the company from a pay phone and I made an appointment to see if maybe I could get the job."

Gwen's eyes opened wide. "Oh, my God! You're going in for a job interview?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"What are you gonna wear?"

"Well, I've been thinking about that. I was thinking that I could probably wear a white blouse and that plaid skirt I have."

"You mean that plaid miniskirt?"

Harmony nodded. "It's the longest one I have. And I've got nuthin' else."

"Well, lemme tell ya, if you wear that, they ain't gonna even let you in the building."

Harmony sighed. "Well what am I supposed to do?"

"Alright, Harmony, let's go shopping in the morning and we'll find you something suitable to wear, alright?"

"Alright."

"Wait, don't you hafta work tomorrow?"

"I already told the restaurant that I was gonna take the day off. They're good. They letcha have up to three days off in a year."

Gwen picked up her purse. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, alright? Be careful, don't cut through the alleys, ok? And get some sleep."

"See you."

~

"No, that's too expensive," said a very tired Harmony.

"It's only forty. Usually clothes like this cost hundreds. This is the cheapest secondhand store I know of!" Gwen said with authority.

"I can't. I really can't."

"Harmony, you wanna make a good impression don't you? It's all about first impressions!"

"But, my God, that's forty dollars!" She held out the suit in her hand. It was dark blue colored and came in two pieces. "I've never even touched something this formal before!"

"Well, that's how all the rich people dress."

"And I ain't rich, Gwen."

"I know you aren't. So -"

"I have to…save money…you know." Harmony's eyes suddenly watered up. "I just have to! And I can't waste it on something like this!"

Gwen looked her friend in the eyes. "I know, Harmony, I know. If you would have let me finish what I was saying I would have told what I'm gonna tell you now. I'll pay for it. Consider it as a present from me."

Harmony looked at friend, horrified. "No, you can't! I don't want it and I don't want you to pay for it."

"Well, watch me!"

After a lot more arguing, Harmony finally gave up and Gwen purchased the suit. She handed the bag over to Harmony and Harmony accepted it.

"Thanks, so much."

"You're gonna get this job, alright?"

Harmony nodded, but didn't seem so sure of herself.

"When are you going?"

"This afternoon, three fifteen."

"Well, I wish you lots of luck."

"Thanks," Harmony said appreciatively. "I'll see you tonight, ok?"

"Alright, see ya."

And with that, the two friends parted. Harmony sighed happily, envisioning herself getting the job. And with this suit, she would definitely have more chance of getting it. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't realize that someone was following her.

In a split second the shopping bag was torn out of her hands. She screamed in surprise and turned to see who it was. It was a boy, probably in his teens, and dressed in torn clothes. He laughed and then began to run off. Harmony did the only thing she could think of to do - run after him. She followed him down a very dirty alley and slipped on a garbage bag. She picked herself up and began to chase him again.

Unfortunately, high heels were not easy to run in. And unfortunately, Harmony happened to be wearing them.

"You get the fuck back here, you fucking bastard!" Harmony cried in vain as she turned a corner as disappeared from her sight.

She collapsed to the ground and cried. Forty dollars gone and no chance at getting the job anymore. It was about an hour later that she stood up and began to walk home on shaky legs.

~

It took her about an hour and a half to find the building. It was very tall and very new, probably built in recent years. She hurried inside and hoped that they wouldn't stop her from going in, as Gwen had told her. After all, she was dressed a bit…inappropriately to be in such a nice place as this was. Well, maybe it was alright. Everyone wore skirts and hers was only a bit shorter than theirs.

Inside, there were metal detectors and police officers sitting by each one. She hoped they wouldn't notice her or the way she dressed.

She passed through the metal detector with no problem and started up the stairs. The job interview was to be on the thirty fourth floor. By the time she had finally gotten there, she was so tired she could barely stand.

Harmony walked slowly up to the front desk, still breathing deeply, and the receptionist looked at her with her eyebrows arched.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi! I'm Harmony Grayer and I'm here for the job interview."

The receptionist, whom Harmony was beginning to dislike more and more scanned her from her head to her toes with a look of disgust.

"I'm sorry I look like such a mess, but thirty four floors are really hard to run up. How do you manage it?"

"Elevator. Ever heard of it?"

Harmony scowled and watched as the receptionist pulled a form from her desk and handed it to Harmony. "Fill it out and wait over there until they call your name."

Harmony took the form and a pen and walked over to where the receptionist had pointed. There she sat down and began to fill out the form. When she was done, she waited patiently until a man came out of the huge double doors and called her name.

She stood up quickly and straightened her clothes. When he saw her, he motioned for her to follow him into the room. The room was absolutely beautiful, she thought as she walked in. It was large, with a big long meeting table in the middle. The man sat down on one side and she sat down on the other side.

"Your form, please?" He reached his hand out.

She handed it to him and then sat back and folded her hands in her lap.

"Harmony Grayer?"

She nodded.

"I'm Charles Tabot, and I'm in charge of handling the job interviews."

"Ok."

"Have you had any experience in this field?"

"No, not really."

"Can I see your college diploma?"

"I never went to college."

He looked up at her. "High school diploma, then.'

Harmony felt very uneasy and very uncomfortable. "I don't have one."

"What kinds of jobs have you had or have right now?"

"Um…" Harmony licked her lips nervously, "I'm a bartender on some nights and I work at a restaurant in the day."

"Anything else?"

"Uh…I also…dance."

"What form of dancing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ballet? Swing?"

"Oh…" she blushed a deep crimson. "I'm like, uh, an exotic dancer."

Charles looked up and studied her closely. "Anything else?"

Yeah, I used to be a hooker…"No, nothing else. But, I can read and write and I can learn to do anything."

"Ms. Grayer, it was a pleasure having you here today, but unfortunately you don't have enough experience in this field of work. We'll keep your forms on file, and if something changes, you will be informed."

Charles stood up from his seat and Harmony did the same. He held the door open for her and she walked out, a feeling of hopelessness flooding through her. But she didn't show any emotion, at least not until she had fled the building. Then, in a flood of emotions, she buried her face in her hands and cried.

~

"Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco turned around at hearing his named being said. "Yes, Tabot?"

"I've found you a new secretary. But of course, I need to wait for your approval. Would you mind meeting her? She's in the conference room right now."

"Hmm…fine."

Draco followed Charles Tabot to the conference room and once they got there, Tabot opened the door to let Draco step in. Sitting inside was a middle aged woman with gray hairs showing through her very terribly dyed hair. Her eyes were small and round and her nose was very large. She looked like she was about two hundred pounds.

Draco, after taking one look at her walked out of the room, dragging Tabot by his collar.

"Who the hell is that?"

"Your new secretary," Tabot said meekly.

"Her?" Draco said this with disgust in his voice.

"She was the most qualified!"

"I don't really care about qualifications. Anybody can do the jobs that a secretary does."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to get rid of her."

"And then?"

"Find me a good looking girl for the job. I hate having to look at ugly people."

"There weren't any good looking young women who were qualified enough."

Draco sighed and glared at Tabot. "Didn't I make myself clear? I don't care about qualifications!"

"Well, there was one…but she was…"

"Was what?"

"She was dressed in this little miniskirt and looked like…a…nevermind. And she had absolutely no experience in this kind of work. For God's sake she didn't even have her high school diploma! She's not fit for this job!"

"Tabot, I will decide who is fit for the job, not you. Any other beautiful women?"

Tabot shook his head. "None that really comes close, no."

"Alright, then, give me her files."

Tabot looked at his boss questioningly. "Ok, let me find them."

He set his briefcase down and rummaged through the contents. Finally, he removed a piece of paper and handed it to Draco. "Here it is."

Draco grabbed the paper and scanned over it, frowning. "Harmony Grayer. No phone number. She didn't leave a phone number. Or her address."

"Yes, but she did leave a the address of the club she works at, if that's any help."

Draco smirked. "She sounds rather interesting. I think I'll pay that club a little visit. What time is it now?"

"It's eight o'clock," said Tabot, after glancing down at his watch.

"Prepare my car."

~

The smell of beer and cigarettes filled Draco's nose as he tentatively stepped into the wild club. It was crowded with people - a lot of people. He walked up to the bar and took a seat at one of the stools.

"Can I getcha anything?"

"Actually I was looking for someone."

The woman didn't answer. Draco took out his wallet and threw a crisp twenty dollar bill at her. She took it and stuffed it in her bra.

"Who you looking for?"

"A girl."

"This place is filled with girls."

"Harmony Grayer."

"Harmony Grayer?" She woman at the bar looked puzzled. She thought for a moment and then her mouth opened slightly as if she just realized something. "You mean Pheonix?"

"Uh…I suppose."

"She's around here somewhere. Probably fucking around."

"You know her phone number?"

"Nope. But I know where she lives."

"Where?"

The woman held out her hand expectantly. Draco sighed and pulled another twenty dollars out of his wallet. Money wasn't a problem for him.

"1473 Spruce, number 16, I believe."

"Thanks." Draco scribbled it down on a small piece of paper and then pulled another twenty out of his wallet and handed it to her. "I never spoke to you, alright?"

She nodded, took the twenty, and then moved on to get a beer for someone. Draco looked at the address on the paper. He had absolutely no idea where it was. His driver would just have to figure it out.

~

He knew before he arrived that this would not be a pretty place. But he had not been prepared for how absolutely hideous it looked. The apartment was in a very old and rundown part of the city. A part that he had never known ever existed.

He stepped out of his car and looked at his surroundings. Even though the sun was long gone and it was dark, he could still see that the ground was littered with trash. The apartment itself, though, was worse. It was old, beat up, and built of wood, from what Draco could see. Everything here was just so…dirty. And it smelled awful too, Draco realized. Like sewer water.

He wondered why he was even here. After all, he could find a secretary easily and didn't need to bring himself here to find one. But he realized that he was interested. Interested in what kind of person would live in a place like this. He had never realized that there were actually poor people in the world. After all, he had grown up in the Malfoy Manor with many riches. It never occurred to him that there were people in the world who starved each day.

The apartment building was small and it didn't take him a very long time to find number 16. In fact, he found it almost instantly.

Draco walked up to the door and knocked gently. There was no answer. Well, of course there wouldn't be, he thought to himself. She was still at work. Curiously, he reached for the door knob and turned it. To his surprised, it turned and he pushed the door open. It creaked eerily and Draco thought it was definitely a bit creepy.

He stepped in and looked at his surroundings. The room was tiny, with a small stove in one corner and a sink next to it. There was not much furniture. Just a small beat up looking table and few chairs. Well, it's not like anything else would have fit anyway. There was a light switch, and he turned it. The light didn't come on.

Through the darkness, he could make out two doors, one straight ahead and one to the side. He stepped forward and opened the door that was in front of him. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness and he saw that inside was a very rusty toilet and a very dirty looking shower place. Well, all of the apartment looked pretty dirty and rusty.

After seeing enough of the bathroom, he headed towards the other door. He opened it slowly. Inside, he saw that there was a twin size mattress on the ground and it was covered with some sheets. It was a tiny room, the mattress took up almost all the room. Draco realized that his closets at home were much bigger than the living room, the bathroom, and the bedroom combined.

Draco stepped cautiously into the room and scanned the darkness to see if there was anything besides the obvious mattress. His eyes settled on something, but he couldn't make out what it was. He squinted.

It was a pair of eyes.

He gasped in shock and fell backwards, landing on the wooden floor with a thud.

The eyes came closer. He realized that they were a deep blue. And he had to admit, he was a bit frightened, even if he was Draco Malfoy.

As it came closer, he realized that it had to be either a child, or a person on their knees. The person/thing whatever it was reached out a small hand. Draco slowly put his own hand up to meet it.

It was a child, he realized.

It opened its mouth. "My name is Elle."

It was such a small, delicate voice. Draco didn't know how to answer.

"I'm four years old," the young girl named Elle added. "But I'm almost five."

Draco kept quiet.

"Are you an angel?"

Silence.

"We really need one."

Draco listened to her childish and innocent words, but did not reply. The girl spoke no more, but just merely sat across from him and stared at him. He remained there for almost an eternity before he heard the front door creak open.

~

Harmony tiredly turned the knob on her door and stepped in. She strode over to the table where two large candles sat. She then reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a match. She struck the match on the side of the matchbox and carried the flame to the candles. Then she blew out the flame on the match.

"Baby? Are you sleeping?"

She heard scurrying of feet and realized that Elle was still awake.

"Mommy's home, Baby."

When she turned out, she came face to face with her daughter, who looked rather distraught. She knelt down and gave her a big bear hug.

"Mommy, there's an angel."

"What, Baby?"

"There's an angel in my room."

"What do you mean?" Harmony was starting to get worried. She wondered if her daughter was hallucinating.

"There's a man in my mom and I think he's an angel."

Harmony frowned and stood up quickly.

She hurried over to the cupboard and grabbed a frying pan. "Elle, baby, you listen to Mommy and go and stand over there by the door. If something happens, run for help, alright?"

Elle nodded and Harmony proceded to walk slowly towards the bedroom door. She seriously hoped that her daughter was lying and that there was nobody there, but she had a feeling that what Elle said was true. Maybe an angel had come. God knows they needed one.

She held onto the frying pan with her left hand, ready to swing. With her other hand, she cautiously reached for the door knob.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door. The room was dark and the only little bit of light came from the candle in her hand. She glanced around and saw that there was a figure in a dark corner of the room.

"Don't swing."

That voice…where had she heard it before?

The tall, dark figure held up his hands like he was surrendering and stepped out from the darkness into the light. Harmony's eyes opened and her mouth dropped as realization dawned on her.

"Oh, my God."

TBC

~

A/N: Ok, review and tell me what you think! Your feedback would be very appreciated!