Thank you everyone for being patient with me. I just recently finished up with the other story so I'm continuing with this one. Just to put it out there, I've reread my chapters multiple times, catching errors and correcting them as I go but I'm not perfect.

Ministry - Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Friday Morning

It's been three days since Draco last saw Potter. Three whole glorious days without having his life endangered by his ridiculous antics. At first, he wondered if this was some kind of miracle, the work of God himself because if he knew Potter, there was no way that man would miss an opportunity to screw with him. Draco firmly believed that his sole purpose on this planet was to make sure he doesn't get to live an easy life. So what if he used to work under Voldemort? The past was the past and he's more than made up for that mistake. He's proven that time and time again to everyone that he's a changed man.

So when Friday rolled around, Draco was more than convince that this was truly his reward for not straying away from his path. That God himself has forgiven him for his sins. "So this is what it feels like to have good karma." Draco proclaimed, letting out a little hum as he strolled over to Weasley's office. He knocked twice before opening the door. "Those reports that you wanted are done Weasley."

His attitude did a quick 360 and the smile that he had plastered on his face quickly turned into a scowl. "I knew karma was a bitch." Draco muttered, recognizing the person sitting lazily on the chair. "Of all the people working in this building, why does it have to be you?"

Even without seeing the man's face, the hair alone was a dead giveaway. The jet-black, messy hair. Only one person in the world has something like that and it belonged to the very last person he wanted to see before his weekend. His weekend that was now filled with alcohol.

"Draco buddy! I missed you!" Harry stated, turning around in his chair. "Come on, bring it in. I know you missed me too."

"Why are you here Potter...?" Draco said through clenched teeth. "Don't you have a country to blow up or something?"

Ron cleared his throat and took the files from Draco. "Impeccable timing as always Malfoy." He dryly said. "I was just in the middle of a meeting with Harry and it seems like you're the answer to our problem."

"Come again?" Draco asked, still not understanding what just happened. "No never mind. If it has anything to do with Potter, I am out. I refuse to work with that maniac. He tried to kill me twice already. Twice in one day!"

"Don't be such a big baby. Try having Tommy after you for seventeen years." Harry snorted, rolling his eyes at the blatant accusation. "Compared to him, what I did was minuscule. Like an ant." He held up his fingers to emphasis his point.

"I'll kill you Potter. I swear I'll finish the job that every Death Eater wanted to do."

"That is enough!" Ron yelled, slamming his hand on the table. "Both of you are grown ass men." He then stopped in the middle of sentence and then shook his head. "Somewhat grown ass men but I do not need you to behave like spoil brats. Harry, apologize to Draco for almost trying to kill him."

"Twice! It was twice!" Draco ranted but a glare from Ron cut him off.

"You can't be serious." Harry started saying, "He's an Auror, he should be aware of the risk while out on the field."

"Apologize." Ron growled, his patience growing thin. "Or I will deny this and every single request from this point forward Harry. And remember, you need this more than I do."

Just hearing that made Draco a little giddy inside. If there was something that he consider himself good at, it was annoying Potter. "Yeah Potter, apologize to me." He said in a mocking tone. "Be sure to speak up because I want it to be able to hear it clearly."

"You apologize as well Draco." Ron interrupted. "It takes two to create this shitstorm and I don't have all day to babysit your problems so I'm only going to say this once. I don't give a damn what the issue is between you two. I don't care if he did that or you did this. All I care about is the results and if you two can't deliver those results, I will find two other people who can and will do a better job."

"Sorry Potter." Draco mumbled, staring at the floor.

"I'm sorry as well." Harry muttered, his eyes glaring at Ron. "There. Are you satisfied?" He gestured. "Can we get on with it?"

Ron rolled his eyes but accepted their half-hearted apology. "Now before I was rudely interrupted Malfoy, I was in the middle of having a discussion with Harry to see what the best course of action was. He came to me proposing a joint operation to investigate the case that you picked up earlier this week. The one with the dead smugglers. Harry believes that there is a link between them and wanted more time to explore that theory of his. Normally I would tell him to stop wasting my resources but the Minister also heard about this... incident... and is urging for us to quickly close this case before the media gets wind of it."

Draco could feel his stomach dropping, and he mentally started praying. 'God, Big G, All-mighty Creator, Lord of my soul... Please don't let Weasley finish that thought.'

"With that said, seeing as how you were the lead investigator on this case, it's only fitting that you get to work with Harry to quickly resolve this matter. If this goes smoothly, I will officially appoint you as the ambassador between our two departments. It will be a promotion and you'll be able to work with Harry full time, handling extremely sensitive cases from both the Minister and myself."

'Damn it to high hell!' Draco inwardly cursed. His mind quickly went through numerous excuses in order to get out of his futile arrangement. "My wife's pregnant!" He blurted out. "I'm not allowed to leave her side!"

"What are you talking about Malfoy?" Ron asked, "Lavender just saw her yesterday. She didn't mention anything about having children."

"Ah I mean she wants me to take vacation days so we can get her good and pregnant."

"You know I can always step in if needed..." Harry said suggestively, winking at Draco. "You know I'll always be there for her..."

"I swear if you touch her, nothing on this planet can stop me from killing you." Draco threatened, his hand slowly reaching for his wand. He turned to Weasley and pointed at Potter. "See? Do you see why I can't work with him? I'll end up killing him!"

"Doesn't matter. I made my mind. You and Harry will be partners until this is over." Ron said, finalizing his decision. "I am also authorized to tell you both that any plans involving personal time off is currently suspended until this case is resolved."

"You can't be serious!"

Harry jumped to his feet, patting Draco on the shoulders. "Boss man has spoken Draco. I was originally going to force you to work with me but this turned out even better than I've planned. Now that it's a direct order from your superior, you can't tell your wife that I kidnapped you or something so I still have a clean slate!"

"A clean slate?" Draco all but asked. He was deeply afraid of his answer. "What clean slate?"

"It means your wife won't be blaming me for any harm that befalls you!" Harry cheerfully said. "Now we need to pick up one more person for our team. A researcher to be exact."

Draco sighed. "Who is the poor, unfortunate soul that you managed to swindle to join your pointless crusade?"

"It's Hermione." Harry smiled, already walking to the door. "She kindly volunteered her services as a researcher but that comes later. I still have one lead to check out first before we leave London."

"You have sources?" Draco asked, his interest peaked. "Do I want to know who they are?"

Harry thought about it for a minute before shaking his head. "It's better that you don't so you have plausible deniability in the event that this goes south and I assure you, this will go south."

Draco wanted to say something but wisely closed his mouth. He resigned to his fate and just walked out the door, already knowing that it was already too late to turn back.

"You better bring him back in one piece Harry!" Ron shouted as he watched their retreating backs. He scratched his head, "I hope I didn't make a mistake." He muttered.

Inverness, Scotland

"Why are we here? Of all the places in the world we could have gone to, you led us here?" Draco moaned, casting a warming charm on himself. It was already nightfall and the only light source they had was the lumos spell that he was currently casting. "You said it would be a quick stop Potter! An hour tops you said!"

"It is... I just sort of, forgot the way."

"You forgot?" Draco angrily stuttered out. "How can you forget? You have a damn map for crying out loud!"

"Instead of complaining, why don't you do something productive and help me look for some trail markers."

"We're in a god forsaken forest, filled with hundreds upon hundreds of trees. There must be a billion trail markers from people who come here regularly!"

Harry scratched his head, holding the map closer to the light source. He pointed to a spot on the map that had a big red x on it. "Look, I know this is not how you wanted to spend your Friday night but come on Draco, can't you sense the adventure? The excitement? I promise that if we don't find anything in the next hour, I'll take you back to your loving wife."

"I can find my own way home thank you very much." Draco replied. "Give me the damn map Potter. Honestly, can you even read one?"

"Of course I can." Harry argued, "I got us this far didn't I?"

Draco couldn't argue with that. He yanked the map out of Harry's hand and then stared at it. By his calculations, they should be approaching the target site now but something doesn't seem right. They were supposed to have walk past a big rock foundation minutes ago but he didn't notice any kind of weird rock structure. He looked up from the map and saw Harry frowning at him.

"What?" He snapped. "What's the matter now?"

"Quiet." Harry hissed, "And kill the lights. We're not alone."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Of course we're not alone you buffoon. We're in a forest filled with animals and lest you forget, we're wizards. We have magic." He ignored the serious look on Harry's face and continued walking, oblivious to his surroundings. "If you can just stop fooling around for even a second Potter, I think we can do find this location."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Exactly and that's because you're not me." Draco retorted. He continued walking until he bumped into something hard. "What the hell?" He muttered and looked up. What he saw next gave him an idea of why Potter was so serious before. "What... are you?"

"Your executioner." The guy mumbled. He took out a wand but before he could get out even a syllable, Harry came charging in, tackling the guy to the ground. They struggled for a few seconds before pushing each other away.

Harry retreated back to help Draco up. "I told you to kill your lights before. Everything would be a lot easier if you only listened to me."

"I hate you so much right now Potter." Draco said. "Why are there always people after you!?"

Ignoring Draco's remarks, Harry stared at their would-be assailant. "Who are you? Why have you been following us?"

"Our master wants your head Harry Potter."

"Our?" Draco and Harry said at the same time. They then looked around as more figures in dark robes emerged from the night, wands in their hands. Draco wasted no time and started throwing banishing curses out. "Run Potter!"

The pair quickly backtracked, running back the way they just came. From the corner of his eye, Harry could see that they were seriously outnumbered. Spell started flying over their heads and he pulled Draco to the left to take cover behind some trees.

Draco was panting heavily. Between running and throwing out spells, his stamina was quickly taking a hit. He then noticed that his partner didn't even have his wand out. "What the hell Potter! Where's your wand?"

"Don't have it." Harry responded, trying to take a peak. He pulled his head back in time to avoid a cutting curse to the face. He let out a small whistle as he inspected the damage done. "Those people aren't normal. There is no way a person can continuously fire off spells with so much power without growing tired."

"I refuse to die here knowing that you're the last person I'm going to see." Draco snarled. "Take this spare wand and don't stop firing until every one of them is dead!" He pushed the wand into Harry's hand and then jumped out, throwing exploding hexes at everything in a dark robe.

"Let's just apparate out of here." Harry suggested instead, peaking his head out from the side again. They were seriously outnumber and he couldn't accurately gauge how many of them are out there.

"Can't. They came prepared." Draco yelled, pulling himself back behind the rock for some cover. He continued to breathe heavily. "Why aren't you helping me?" He panted. His eyes soon widened. "I'm so stupid... I can't believe I didn't see it..."

"See what?"

"This is a trap. MacBay was correct." Draco exclaimed, now pointing his wand at Harry. "You are a traitor. You wanted this to happen."

"Hey hey. Wait a minute Draco." Harry said, holding up his hands. "I am not a traitor nor did I lure you into this trap."

"Why should I believe anything you say Potter? There's no way for me to know if you were telling the truth or not."

"Because of that you idiot." Harry diverted Draco's attention to one of the figures approaching from the East. "That was one of the guys you hit with an exploding curse but look at his chest. If I had a wound like that, I would definitely not be walking, let alone standing. Something strange is going on."

Draco snatched his spare wand back and growled. "So what, we can continue to blast those things until they are no longer moving. Can I trust you with my spare wand Potter?"

"It's useless to me." Harry replied. "I won't be able to use it."

"Cut the bullshit Potter. I've seen your magic first hand. You have more magic than anyone in the past twenty years so take the goddamn wand before I glue it to your hand!"

"I can't!"

"Take the wand or I'm going to kill you." Draco threatened. "I am not dying to some no-name dark wizards tonight!"

"I don't have my magic anymore Draco." Harry explained. "I lost it a few years ago."

Draco's jaw dropped and then everything suddenly clicked. Memories came rushing into his head and it was clear as day. The reason why Harry dropped out of Auror Academy and disappeared. The reason why he jumped on him when he apparated. Everything finally made sense. There were so many questions he wanted to ask but a loud explosion diverted his attention. He quickly snapped into Auror mode and calculated several things.

They were outnumbered and he was a man down. The odds are certainly stacked against him.

"Stand behind me Potter. Our makeshift cover will not last another blast so on my count, you're going to run to the left into those trees and get some help. I will draw their focus so take this chance and run. I'll do my best to survive until help arrives."

"Let's get one thing straight Malfoy." Harry shoved Draco against the rock. "I never asked for your help. Just because I don't have my magic does not mean you get to treat me like some kind of handicap. Do you understand me?"

"Piss off Potter!" Draco angrily yelled. "You ungrateful bastard. I'm trying to save your life here so stop being an asshole and just follow my plan."

"Did you forget Draco? Even without my magic, I'm Harry Potter and I don't lose."

Despite his insistence, Harry ran out from behind the rock and Draco face-palmed. He was trying to protect the idiot but before he could talk some sense into him, the next few minutes left him speechless. His eyes were unable to comprehend what was even going on. He looked on as Harry ran towards the assailants and with just a few moves, their bodies dropped to the ground, twitching but not getting back up. Harry continued running towards them, dropping them one by one. The moves he was doing didn't make sense at all. How could he have immobilize them with a few punches?

"How the hell..." Draco muttered. If Potter was dangerous before with magic, he shuddered to think just how dangerous he is now. The man was more nimble, more flexible than before. He still remembered the man who brought down Voldemort but this guy right here... everything in his body was telling him to be wary of him. His instincts screamed danger.

It didn't take long for Harry to come back around, dusting his hands off. "I told you I don't lose."

"You owe me some answers Potter."

Harry sighed. "Do we need to do this now? I can debrief you later but we need to move now. There's no telling just how many of them are out there."

"Then just tell me how you did that."

"You would be surprised just how far along Muggles have come Draco. I learned it from a man in Japan who specialized in martial arts. If our kind weren't so close-minded, we could have achieved so much more."

"Spare me the sales pitch and let's just get out of here."

Harry chuckled. "Fine but I promise that I'll tell you the truth after this Draco. You deserve that at least."

Thirty Minutes Later

"I take it back. I don't want to know anymore." Draco protested. "I decided that I'm going to be the bigger man and let your secrets be your secrets. My life is probably safer that way." The last part he muttered under his breath.

"Flattered but if we're going to be trusting each other, you might as well know." Harry explained. They continued hiking up this abandoned path but they were close. So close that he could feel it in his stomach. "There. I see it." He gestured to a dark shape hidden behind a grove of trees. "I think that's it."

Draco squinted his eyes. "Are you sure Potter? It doesn't look like anything to me."

"Trust me, that's it." Harry shouted as he ran past Draco. "Hurry up or I'm going to leave you behind."

It took another ten minutes before they cleared the grove of trees but when they got closer, the dark shape turned into a cabin that seen better days. Draco took out his wand and cast several detection spells, making sure that it wasn't booby-trapped. After giving the all-clear, Harry walked closer to the cabin, inspecting it as he went. He noticed that this cabin must have been abandoned years ago as nature started to reclaim the land back.

He walked up the stairs and peeked into the dusty window. When he was satisfied that no one was there, he reached for the doorknob and with a firm shake, he broke the lock and forced his way into the cabin.

"You know I could have just unlocked it right?"

Harry shrugged, "My way's more efficient."

Draco sighed as he entered the house after Harry. "Doesn't look like anyone's lived here in years, judging by the thick layer of dust on the kitchen counter." He saw Potter stopping at the entry way into the living room and furrowed his brow. "What's the matter? Did you find something?" He asked.

"Yeah... I found it alright." Harry said, waving him over. "I think you need to see this."

Draco went over to see what the big surprise was and when he got there, he understood why Harry stood there in shock. The entire living room was covered with newspaper clippings of Harry. From the first time he entered Hogwarts to his most recent tabloids in the papers. He let out a small whistle to indicate his surprise.

"Why does it always have to be me?" Harry groaned. "Did I do something to piss someone off in my last life? Is this payback? I mean come on! I already dealt with a dark lord problem. Let someone else have a turn." He whined.

Draco walked around the living room, his eyes picking up on the dates from the clippings. "I say you got a stalker Potter and not the hot kind. This person is meticulous..."

"Not a word to anyone." Harry warned. His eyes scanned through the pictures and landed on one that had a big red circle around it. It depicted a familiar spot that made his blood turn cold. "Son of a bitch. He has it. That bastard discovered it!" He shouted, ripping the picture off the wall. "We need to leave NOW!"

"He? How do you know it's a he?" Draco asked, snatching the picture out of Harry's hand. "Why does this look so familiar?"

"That's Hogwarts and we need to go." Harry urged. "Come on, apparate!"

"Woah slow down Potter. What did you hide in Hogwarts?"

"The Elder Wand." Harry said, grabbing onto Draco's shoulder. "I buried it with Dumbledore because it was his to begin with."

"You IDIOT!" Draco roared. "You buried a dangerous artifact in a place surrounded by young children? What were you even thinking?"

"Less talking, more apparating!" Harry snapped.

Draco uttered a low growl before complying and apparated from Scotland. It took them a few hops but eventually they made it back to Hogwarts. Draco dropped to the ground, panting for air. "Just go and make sure it's still there. I will catch up in a second." He gestured.

Harry nodded and ran ahead. It didn't take him long to reach the grave but when he got there, it wasn't as he remembered it. There was a giant hole where Dumbledore's coffin used to be and he could surmise that whoever did this was in a hurry so they didn't care about respecting the dead. He walked closer and saw that the coffin was ripped open and the wand no longer there.

"Damn it!" Harry yelled. One of the Deathly Hallows was now in the hands of the enemy so that means only one piece remain. The last piece was his father's cloak and he hid that years ago. He turned around and saw Draco lightly jogging over. "We're too late, the wand's gone."

"So what's the plan now?" Draco asked as he stared at the damage. "We have no suspects and we're already down one artifact. If they get their hands on the last one, are we screwed?"

"I don't know." Harry said, scratching his head. He saw the look that Draco was giving him and he shrugged. "What? I'm new to this as well. You can't expect me to have all the answers."

"Why do I suddenly feel to urge to just run away?"

"Don't be such a worrywart Draco." Harry cheekily replied. "You're alive so far aren't you? Take some pride in that."

Hermione's flat, Central London

After explaining to Hermione about their current predicament, the only thing that she could do is stare at Harry and Draco with an exhausted expression. "Is that everything?" She asked, rubbing her eyes together. "Why does it feel like you're still hiding something from me Harry?"

"Well did you know that he's lost-"

"My marbles? Way to be mature Draco." Harry interrupted, elbowing him in the ribs. "I swear that you know what I know." He ignored the angry look from Draco and focused on Hermione. "You know that I would never jeopardize your life like Draco's. There's a billion people like Draco out there but there's only one Hermione and it would take a thousand of him to just replace you." He reached for her hand and interlocked their fingers. "When I asked you to join me for this adventure, I was serious. I want you to come on board as a researcher and nothing more. You have myself and Draco as fighters, movers, meat shields if need be."

"Still the charmer aren't you Harry?" Hermione blushed, tearing her eyes away from him. "So let's just assume that your story is true. Where do we even start? We have the stone and whoever blew up Dumbledore's grave has the wand. If the stories about the Deathly Hallows are true, that means there is only one more artifact left. Your invisibility cloak."

"Yes but that's the tricky part. I actually don't have it on me. I gave it to someone to hide."

"Fantastic." Hermione muttered, "Are you just expecting a repeat of what happened with my apartment Harry?"

"Come on Hermione, I said I was sorry. I did pay for everything that was broken though." Harry protested. "And plus, I know where our grave robber is going so we might even beat them there."

Hermione and Draco's ears perked up. "How do you know that Potter?" Draco asked. "Are you withholding evidence from an Auror?"

"I found a map." Harry casually announced as he pulled out a folded up map. He opened the piece of paper and spread it evenly across the table.

"Tell me you didn't swipe the evidence from the house."

"Then don't ask questions that you don't want the answer to!" Harry shot back. "Besides, who said that I couldn't take it? It wasn't like it was an active crime scene or anything. We were there following a hunch and I merely borrowed a piece of paper without realizing the importance of it."

"Why do I even bother?" Draco said, turning his attention to Hermione. "So where are we heading to next?"

"Japan." Hermione pointed out. "I don't know where exactly though. There's not enough information for me to get an accurate location on."

"Oh that's a coincidence Potter. You've been to Japan before right? That's the place where you learned to do that."

"Learned to do what?" Hermione asked, confusion written across her face. "Did you pick up a new skill Harry?"

"I learned about tea pouring." Harry quickly answered and then yanked Draco out of his seat. "Excuse us for a minute Hermione. I need to speak to Draco privately. We'll be back in a second."

Hermione just nodded her head, her attention returning back to the map. Harry pulled Draco into the hallway and punched him in the arm. "What the hell Potter?" Draco cried, rubbing his arm to numb the pain. "That was uncalled for."

"What I told you earlier is between us." Harry hissed, his eyes flickering back and forth between Hermione and the kitchen door. "There's a reason why I haven't confirmed nor denied my condition Draco. If people find out that I really lost my magic, can you imagine who will be coming out to extract their justice?"

"Spare me your selfish ideology Potter. I won't risk her life just so you can keep your little secret. She has a right to know." Draco argued. "If you won't tell her, I will."

"I'll tell her when the time is right."

"Spoken like a true self-righteous git." Draco snorted. He tried to push his way out of the hallway but he felt Harry grabbing his wrist. "You better let go." he warned.

"No." Harry answered and then with one swift move, he flipped Draco upside down, pinning him to the floor. "You and I are the only two people in this world that knows the truth about me and I intend to keep it that way. Look, I know how bad this sounds but you'll just have to trust me alright?"

"It's hard to trust you when you're holding me against my will." Draco muttered, trying really hard not to scream from the pain. "Just let me go Potter."

"Pinky swear that you won't tell?"

"Yes yes! With all my fingers and toes!" Draco snapped, "Now get off me."

Harry's Apartment, Herne Hill, London

After what happened today, Harry was ready to hit the bed. There was just so much to do and his biggest worry that he wasn't going to make it there in time. Whoever he was up against, they weren't normal. It was someone who planned this from the very beginning and the idea of that made him sick to his stomach.

Harry went into his bathroom to wash his face, hoping that the cold water would wake him up. A few splashes to the face usually helps but after the third time, he stopped and stared into the mirror. His eyes drifted down to his chest and noticed a dark spot in the center. He raised his hand slowly to inspect it but found his chest to be clean, spot free but it was clearly there in the mirror.

Harry blinked a couple of times and ran his hand against the glass, wondering if it was just dirty and his eyes was playing tricks on him but that wasn't the case. He shifted his body sideways and the spot moved with him. "What the hell?" He whispered. He blinked again and instead of seeing his handsome face, he saw death standing behind him. He quickly turned around and saw nothing there.

His memories flashed back to Africa where he met a village shaman. He didn't know what compelled him to listen to the medicine man but he was glad he did. The shaman shouted for his attention, warning him that there was something dark, something evil trying to get into his body. The man eventually threw some water at Harry and performed a quick purification ceremony. Throughout the entire ordeal, the shaman kept poking him in the chest, mumbling something that Harry couldn't understand.

It was in that same exact spot where the shaman poked that the spot appeared. His finger moved upward towards his chest, almost touching the black spot. "I guess that old man wasn't a quack after all." Harry mused. "I suppose this is only fitting. I started off by cheating death once and it looks like she's coming to collect..."

Adventure continues to kick off with Harry and the Gang! I wonder what troubles they'll find in Japan.