The Man From H.O.G.W.A.R.T.S. (A Drarry FanFiction)

Chapter Seventeen

   Harry had little time to ponder it. Once they had re-holstered their guns, they smashed up the listening bugs before depositing them down the lavatory. With their jackets back on, they set out once more, heading down the stairs of the little hotel.

Malfoy dropped the key at the front desk. The dark-haired receptionist peered over the top of her book at them, looking surprisingly awake considering it was the middle of the night. She glanced at Harry, then hissed something towards Malfoy in Parseltongue, a glint in her eye that Harry did not appreciate.

"Yes, yes," he groused, tugging at Malfoy's sleeve to lead him away. "Do come on, we haven't got all night."

Malfoy smirked at him. "I do not know what you mean," he said with a flick of an eyebrow. "Pansy was merely enquiring after your good health."

"I'm fit as a fiddle," Harry grumbled, pushing through the front door and into the night.

The case of microfilm sat heavily in his pocket, once again resting next to the strip of photos from the station. Harry kept telling himself he was holding on to them because he didn't want to leave any evidence behind. But if that really was the case, he could probably have flushed them down the toilet along with the bugs.

They walked swiftly down the mostly deserted street. Harry nodded to the women still working the corners, and decided he wasn't going to dwell on why he had held onto the pictures.

He and Malfoy had agreed, in so many words, that they needed to get out of East Germany. There were only so many ways to move from the Allied pocket of West Berlin, out of the Soviet controlled eastern side of the country, and back into West Germany. Although Harry was with Malfoy, they couldn't rely on his Russian comrades to support them. H.O.G.W.A.R.T.S. was a British initiative; their orders had come from London and that was where they needed to return in order to complete their mission.

Their plan was to make their way back to Jannowitzbrucke, as it was one of the only stations still open thanks to the Berlin Wall. If they could make the first train though at 06:08, they would be able to ride down to the safety of Potsdam Griebnitzsee, a stone's throw outside the Berlin boarder, but that was all they would need to deliver them to safety.

Boarding the train would require money and passports though, so that involved both agents navigating the city to collect emergency currency and documentation from safe stashes that would enable them to leave. Their teams would have been long scattered now after the debacle at Jannowitzbrucke station; they were on their own.

It would have probably been quicker to split up, but they'd have been fools to allow the microfilm out of either of their sights. There was little to be lost in divulging their drop points to each other though, as once used they would never be used again. So first they went to pick up Malfoy's stash from behind a lose brick on a street near Charlottenburg, then swung around to look under a park dustbin in Wilmersdorf for Harry's.

It was quite the journey, despite the fact that once they had funds again they were able to get an early running bus a part of the way back to Jannowitzbrucke. By the time they reached the station, it was already approaching six o'clock.

Harry felt nervous as they surveyed the building from a safe distance. Logically, he would assume that the Lestranges and their cohorts would be long gone. But the fact remained that this was one of the best ways out of the city, and if they were desperate enough to get their microfilm back, they might have risked staying behind to watch for Harry and Malfoy.

Harry frowned. If they had been foolish enough to do that, then he was certain his colleagues from M.I.6. would have picked them up. He and Malfoy were more than likely safe to make their approach.

"Come on," he muttered to Malfoy, slinking out from the shadows in the pre-dawn light.

They drew little attention as they walked purposefully into the station. There were enough people milling about that they weren't immediately obvious as they crossed the concourse. Harry didn't think he could see anyone watching him as he left Malfoy making a show of studying a timetable, and he went to purchase their tickets. It was 06:03.

The cashier gave him a pleasant but tired smile as she handed over their one-way tickets to Potsdam Griebnitzsee, and wished him a good day. He very much hoped that was the case.

He didn't allow himself to rush as he walked back over to his partner. He was, however, reminded with every step of their tryst by a dull soreness around his entrance. It was an ache, not entirely unpleasant, but most definitely present in a way that meant he could not completely forgot what had transpired. He would carry the evidence of their intimacy around with him for most of the day, he was sure, and the thought caused another flare of irritation. If the event was to be forgotten, he would rather just forget now and be done with it. The humiliation he had expected in the immediate moments after sex burned in his chest now, so fiercely he felt that Malfoy could surely sense it.

He showed no signs of gloating or triumph though as Harry approached him, holding out his ticket for him to take. Harry tried to push down his personal feelings; it was a gross lapse in professionalism and they were not out of the woods yet.

"We should wait," Malfoy said with a nod towards their platform, and Harry murmured in agreement. In the very unlikely event they were being pursued, they should not give away their destination until the absolute last moment. The clock read 06:05.

Harry refused to look at Malfoy as they waited, instead cataloguing the magazines on display on a nearby newsstand. He also busied himself studying anyone in the station who paused in their stride, assessing for any possible threats. As far as he could tell, there were none.