Chapter Text
Prologue
Glancing between his paperwork and the clock on his wall, Gawain Robards sighed. Days like this one – December 31st – shouldn’t be work days, simply because no one wanted to be there. No matter how much you loved your job, New Year’s Eve was not a day anyone wanted to work. Being the Head of the Auror Department was no exception. Considering the amount of people out and about on days like this, he knew that the Department would have a surge in cases. Dark witches and wizards seemed, in his experience, to have some of the worst timing ever. If they would only give him just this one day…
He shook his head. He knew it was useless hoping for something that would never happen. Placing his signature on the bottom of the paper in front of him, he sent the hovering stack over to his outbox. The next pile was the shortest he had to deal with that day, thankfully. Pulling the sheaf of papers towards him, he immediately wished he had left it until last. Or even the next day.
INCIDENT REPORT
Report filed by: Senior Auror Garfield Havisham
Incident: On the afternoon of December 27th, 2004, Auror Harry Potter and Auror Draco Malfoy were called to regular training in the courtyard. As the rest of the group gathered, Auror Malfoy was heard to remark loudly on how his Christmas celebrations had gone. He compared his own lavish festivities with those of ex-Auror Ronald Weasley, making disparaging remarks about Mr. Weasley’s home life. Auror Potter took offence to the remarks immediately. Auror Potter informed Auror Malfoy to: “shove your festivities up your arse”. Auror Potter then turned his back on Auror Malfoy and began to walk away. Auror Malfoy cast a Trip Jinx at Auror Potter, who responded with an Impedimenta. The situation devolved into fisticuffs after that. They were separated forcibly after about a minute or so.
Action taken: Auror Malfoy sent to the Healer with a broken nose. Aurors Malfoy and Potter were suspended from duties until this incident has been reviewed.
Sitting back in his chair, Gawain ran a hand through his hair. He had teamed Draco and Harry up instead of assigning them a junior partner each because he had thought that two experienced Aurors would work much better together than if they were training juniors. On paper, the two of them were damn-near a dream team: with Malfoy’s brains and Potter’s talent, technically they should have been unstoppable. He had seen their potential in the field when they were able to put aside their differences and work together towards a common goal. When they focussed, they were a brilliant team, but this childish rivalry the two of them held onto was preventing that, however. It had only been a month since he had paired them, but already Harry had spent more time with the Healer than usual and Draco was stalking around the offices with the darkest scowl on his face Gawain had seen yet.
He knew what had to be done: they had to be sent to a counselling retreat. The Ministry had used retreats in the past to solve conflicts between their workers, but this would be the first time Gawain had had to send any of his Aurors to one. Kingsley had recommended the Pandora Retreat on Great Blasket Island as being particularly effective, but Gawain was still hesitant. If there was any chance that they could solve this without sending one of his best teams away for a week, then that was the route he would take. Waving his wand, he sent a note to his secretary, requesting that she round Malfoy and Potter up and send them to him.
He returned to his paperwork while he waited for the two of them to arrive. Requisition forms, sick leave, holiday leave and interdepartmental requests were all signed off on in the few minutes before a sharp knock sounded on his door.
“Enter.”
Gawain raised his head just in time to see Draco Malfoy step into the room. Dressed in his usual black and white with his hair immaculate and expression closed off, Draco looked every inch the snooty pure-blood he had been raised to be. There had been a wager between the elder Aurors when Malfoy had first begun training on how long he would last before dropping out, with many of them stating his apparent delicateness as the reason. Gawain had known better, though. He had seen the kind of determined glint to Draco’s eyes that usually indicated a person would make a brilliant Auror and had won that wager by a mile. He leant back in his chair and offered up a small smile.
“Take a seat, please, Draco. We are just waiting for your partner to join us.”
Keeping a close eye on Draco’s expression, Gawain could have sworn he caught a brief flash of annoyance at his mention of Harry. Draco had made great strides in making amends for his behaviour in the past, but it seemed that Harry Potter and his friends were his one stumbling block. No matter how much time had passed, Draco simply seemed incapable of treating Harry with anything other than scorn. Gawain returned to his paperwork while they waited for Harry. It was only a few minutes later when a second knock sounded on his door.
“Enter.”
Harry Potter had lost the gawkiness of his teenage years and, with the intensive training the Corps had put him through, he had turned into quite the Auror. After the first few years, when his fame had overshadowed everything he did, he had settled down and had managed to carve out a fine career in hunting down Dark witches and wizards. With the exception of this little bump with Draco, Gawain couldn’t really fault him on anything. Now, if they could only get this animosity settled without any further incidents…
“Good afternoon, Harry. If you would take a seat, please?” He didn’t miss Harry’s eyes flicking over to the back of Draco’s head, nor did he miss the surprise. Gawain cleared his throat and took a deep breath before speaking again. “I have received Auror Havisham’s report on the incident at training between the two of you this past Monday. As this isn’t the first time Garfield has had to file an official report on you both, I am now required to take formal action in order to resolve this conflict. Is there anything either of you have to say before we begin?”
Harry’s eyes flicked back to Draco again, but he kept quiet. Draco, on the other hand, didn’t look at Harry but sat up straighter and locked eyes with Gawain.
“Are we being reassigned?” There was a formal tone to his voice that Gawain had only ever heard when he was nervous or under a lot of pressure. “Perhaps even new partners?”
Gawain considered Draco for a few seconds, trying to get a read on him. There was a flicker of something across his face when Harry shifted in his seat, but besides that, he was blank. He knew it was useless trying to read him, as it seemed that Harry was the only one able to provoke him into any kind of reaction, but he did keep at it, just in case Draco slipped one day. Looking between the two of them, Gawain sighed.
“No, I’m sorry.” Gawain could have sworn he saw Draco’s shoulders slump a little with disappointment. “All the other teams work well together and I’m not willing to split them up because the two of you cannot move past a childhood grudge. You have such potential as a team, but I cannot force you to get along. Unless you are both willing to discuss your problems here and try to come to a solution right now, I will, therefore, be left with very little choice.”
Harry sat up a little straighter at that, a slight alarm to his movements. “What does that mean? We’re not being fired or anything like that?”
Draco rolled his eyes, the first time he had really acknowledged Harry’s existence since they had entered the room. Gawain’s eyes flicked between them again, noting that neither had even considered his suggestion of discussing their problems here. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair; it looked like he was about to lose the two of them for a few days.
“No, Potter, you aren’t being fired.” He had to bite back a smile when Harry let out a breath and fell back against his chair. “You are, however, being sent to a counselling retreat. It starts on the third and finishes on the ninth, so you’ll have a full half-day to get used to your new ability to trust each other and work well together.”
Leaning back, he laced his fingers together over his stomach and watched that information sink in with the both of them. Harry’s reaction was immediate: his eyes widened and his mouth opened and closed like a fish before he looked over to Draco to catch his reaction. Of course, Draco was much more restrained, but Gawain could easily see the displeasure that caused his eyes to briefly slide shut and curled his top lip.
“A retreat?” Draco found his voice first. “You want us to get along, so you’re sending us to a place where we can’t escape each other?”
Biting back another smile, Gawain met Draco’s eyes. “Yes, I am. I have witnessed the two of you putting aside your differences and working together in the field, so I know that you should be able to do the same in your general interactions. This retreat comes highly recommended by the Minister himself, and I am expecting the two of you to commit to working out whatever it is that is causing this animosity.”
The insulted look that crossed Draco’s face was one of the most amusing things Gawain had seen in a while, and he had to exert a considerable amount of control to keep a straight face. Harry, on the other hand, seemed almost calm about this. Sitting across from him as he was, Gawain could see every emotion as it crossed Harry’s face and the domineering one seemed to be a quiet acceptance. It was odd to think, but the idea that Harry might actually be open to this crossed Gawain’s mind before Draco spoke again.
“I assume this is mandatory?”
The strain was now evident in Draco’s voice, making Gawain thankful that the two of them were on suspension at that moment. He nodded.
“Yes, it is.”
Draco’s responding gusty sigh seemed to shake Harry out of his thoughts. He glanced between Draco and Gawain a few times, a small frown forming between his eyes.
“How long would it be for?”
“Why aren’t you objecting to this? You’re half of the problem here!”
“I know I am, that’s why I’m not objecting. I quite like my job and I really like the idea that I can come to work without having to put up with any extra stress caused by being partnered with someone I don’t get along with. If Kingsley says this place is good, then maybe–”
“Oh, of course the Minister’s little pet would agree with everything he said.” Draco stood and held a hand out. Gawain was surprised to note that it wasn’t shaking and a sense of respect for Draco's control washed through him. “I assume there’s a brochure I should read?”
Gawain rummaged through his top drawer before pulling out a crumpled brochure and handing it silently over to Draco, who spun on his heel and stomped out of the room. He offered up a small smile when Harry’s eyes closed, deciding that showing some sympathy at this point couldn’t be a bad thing.
“You are the only one who is actually able to get any kind of response like that out of him, you know.”
“Lucky me.”
Gawain’s sympathetic smile widened a little. “Look, Harry, separately, you and Malfoy are two of my best. When you’re able to put aside this animosity you show each other in your everyday lives, you are a brilliant team. But I cannot have the two of you continuously sniping at each other and starting fights in the corridors. It places more than the two of you in danger and gives the new recruits the wrong impression. You never know, this retreat could be one of the better things to happen to you.”
“Or my very presence could cause Malfoy to spontaneously combust with anger and my problems would be solved.”
Gawain couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up out of him at Harry’s sarcasm. “Just try not to help him along with it, alright?”