Draco
4.
"I need you to pick me up," was the first thing he heard from the other end of the phone. Draco needed a moment to fully wake up before he could process the words.
"What- I- Harry, what are you...?" He sat on the bed and used both of his hands to rub his eyes. The phone rested on his lap for a split second before he took it again, now more aware of what Harry had just said.
"Where are you?" he asked, serious. You couldn't have guessed that he had been deeply asleep just a second ago. He got up from bed, with the phone between his ear and his shoulder, and began changing into clothes.
"I don't... I..."
Draco looked at the time: 3 AM. He thought of a lot of places Harry could be, but he also knew that Harry probably wasn't in any of those places. It was also a mystery why Harry had to call him to pick him up instead of finding his own way back.
"I think I took a plane"
Alright, buckle up a second. What the fuck?
But he didn't say that. Instead, he stayed calm and concentrated on tying his shoes before going out the door. In the inside he was panicking a little. Merlin, Harry, what did you got yourself into?
"Do you know where you are?"
"Um..." he swallowed, and Draco could almost picture him looking around for an indication of where he was "It looks like L.A."
L.A.? Draco thought. It wasn't the weirdest place Harry could be; he did own a penthouse in LA, after all. The weird part was that he couldn't return by himself.
"Are you sure? Are you in the building?"
"No, uh... but I recognize the streets... yeah, I'm sure."
Alright, it was okay, it was manageable. They could work with that. As he got into the car and drove towards the airport, he couldn't help but wonder what the fuck Harry was doing on another continent, apparently not knowing how he got there. The weird part was that he didn't sound high or drunk, so it ruled out certain possibilities. The only thing Harry sounded was confused, and scared, and Draco did not recognize that as symptoms of a crazy night out that followed the party too far.
"Harry, what happened?" he asked, sighing before he could stop himself. It wasn't his intention to ask, but he didn't regret it. He wanted to know what he was walking into, what kind of assistance Harry would need.
"I don't know, alright?" Harry didn't sound so confused anymore, thank Merlin for that. "I'll tell you later. I blacked out, and the next thing I knew, I was across the sea in another continent. I must've taken a public flight because... well, the jet not being on a random street gave me a clue. Can you pick. me. up?" he groaned.
"Alright. I need you to go to the penthouse, and I'll land the jet at the airport and meet you there, okay?"
"I..."
Draco realized that maybe, even though Harry sounded just fine, like it was another day in LA, he was still a little bewildered about where he was and how he got there. Draco inhaled deeply and tried to focus his own very bewildered brain to try and give Harry more help.
"Look for someone, a cop, or a wizard if you can spot one. If by any chance you see someone from MACUSA, go to them..."
He waited. If he couldn't spot any of them, a normal muggle would do, he guessed, but it was always better if it was someone who would recognize The Great Harry Potter and do whatever he asked. A muggle cop would work better because, in a city as big as LA, there was a good chance they'd recognize Harry. After all, the Aurors often worked with the muggle police, and a significant number of them knew about magic; the wizarding world was not as hidden as they liked to think they were.
"I... There's a police officer..."
"No wizards or witches?"
He heard Harry swallow. Draco could picture him looking around, trying to focus, to notice if they had a magical aura.
"No, I can't see any"
"Alright, get to the police man"
He heard the other side of the line as Harry very briefly greeted the man and he asked in an american accent if he could help him with something. Then Harry, apparently not in the mood to explain, just gave the man the phone.
"Hello, officer..." Draco started.
"Braun"
"-Braun. Thank you for your time. This is Auror Draco Malfoy," he tried his luck. The truth was that if Braun wasn't a detective yet, he probably hadn't worked with or heard of the wizarding world, and he was just about to tell Draco to go back to the madhouse where he came from. "And my friend there with you is Auror Harry Potter, soon-to-be Head of the Department. I was hoping you would be able to help us real quick here..."
There was a brief silence before Braun spoke again.
"Harry Potter..." he muttered, and Draco breathed a sigh of relief; he recognized the name. "Yeah... Yeah. I've heard of you... What- How can I help?" he asked.
There was a beat of silence before Braun spoke again.
"You'll see, we were doing a crazy experiment, and my friend suddenly appeared in another continent. You know how magic works..." Braun didn't. Draco knew Braun didn't; otherwise, he would never have said such nonsense. It was an obvious fact that magic didn't work like that. "So it would be of a lot of help if you could help him get somewhere since we don't have any vehicles."
"Of course, I don't remember much about... you know, your world, but I know I have direct orders to lend any services required by an... Auror," he pronounced slowly.
"That's great" Draco said, and then he gave him the directions to the penthouse.
"Thanks" Harry said, talking to the officer, or maybe talking to Draco, either way it warmed his chest.
"Listen" he said, once he knew it was Harry again on the line "I'm going to have to hang up for a bit now, okay? I need to make a few calls, but I'll call you again to let you know where I am and where I'll be getting there"
"Thank you"
"Stay in the building until I get there, Okay?"
"Okay"
"Do you need me to call anyone else, maybe tell Hermione or Ronald to call you?"
"No"
"Do you want for me to stay in the call a little longer?"
"No, I'm okay"
"Alright, I will hang up now"
"Thank you"
"Anytime. See you later"
He hung up. He didn't call anyone just yet, he took a selfish second for himself. He looked at the road, he felt grounded by his hands in the steering wheel. He didn't understand why wizards moved everywhere with flu powder instead of driving, there was something relaxing about a long trip road. He took the phone again, and sent a message.
To Tory. 3.42 AM
currently going to the airport to fly to LA
long story
tell you later
To Tory. 3.43 AM
sorry i left in the middle of the night
ill be back tomorrow night
if anyone calls you to ask about harry, he's with me and he's okay
To Tory. 3.45 AM
i love you.
Then he made a call.
"Tony, how are you, my man?"
"What the hell Malfoy. Don't any of you ever sleep?"
"C'mon, by now you have to be used to our time scketchulde"
The man at the other end sighed.
"Where do you need to go?"
"LA"
Another sigh.
"I can get to the airport in an hour, not earlier"
"It's perfect, I'll wait for you, thank you for your kindness"
"You're lucky Harry pays me well"
Draco laughed, but there wasn't anything funny about the words when you really thought about it. The pilot being available 24/7, ready to be called if needed for missions or emergencies, was something that money could buy, but it was really expensive. For Tony, it was a good deal. His work was unpredictable, and sometimes he was free for months without having to work but still getting paid enough for him and his family of four to live comfortably.
But then there were times like these, for missions or emergencies, that he had to leave his family without warning to fly Draco to another continent.
When he got to the airport, Tony wasn't there, but he still asked for access to the private side. He got into the jet and sat comfortably on one of the couches.
"No, I'll be there in a couple of hours... more like, ten. Yeah, from london. Nah, I can make it in ten, is a tiny jet with only two passengers." he greeted Tony when he got in and the stairs were lifted "Yeah, I'll need a car to be ready, I want to drive it myself... no... yeah, well, thank you... bye"
He looked briefly at the notifications.
To Draco. 4.37 AM
i luv u too
He went straight to the cabin and sat behind Tony and the co-pilot, where the jet had three extra seats for no reason. Draco didn't even know the co-pilot's name; he just knew Tony chose them, and they often changed them. He said something about training.
"Belt on," Tony said.
"Aren't you going to give me the full explanation like a flight attendant?" he faked disappointment.
"Belt on" Tony said.
"Aren't you going to give me the full explanation like a flight attendant?" he faked disappointment.
"Belt on while we take off" he sounded serious, but Draco could see the smile in his eyes, the co-pilot, a young man who had been quiet the whole time, now laughed a little at Draco's comment.
After the jet took off, Tony paid Draco more attention.
"What brings you to LA a random working day at four AM?"
Draco shook his head a little.
"Harry." He said "I don't even have the details myself, but apparently he's in LA and he need a ride"
"How did he get to LA without me?" Tony asked.
"In case you don't know," Draco joked, "Harry has a license to fly this thing, and he has two others available." But they both knew he wouldn't have left without backup for a flight this long.
Later, much later, like twenty hours later, Draco was rushing back to the airport, this time with Harry in the passenger seat. Draco was at peace with the events of the day; it had gone smoothly.
Since they were there, they went to eat at a local restaurant they always visited, and they talked. Harry didn't seem upset, confused, sad, or scared. Maybe he had felt that way twenty hours before, when he realized he had traveled without even knowing what he was doing, just to wake up so far from home. But now he looked like the old Harry, confident, easygoing, sarcastic, and a bit of a pain.
Harry had talked to Ginny, Ron, and Hermione on the phone, and the three of them ended the call feeling relieved after hearing that he was actually okay. He didn't look like he had run to hide, but maybe he didn't. He had done it subconsciously, he ran because that was his way to feel safe. Still, as soon as he came back to his senses, he realized that he didn't actually need to hide.
"Kingsley fucking overwhelmed me" Harry had explained "he's just to enthusiastic with the idea of me taking the lead, so he had been flashing instructions all day and it reached a point I... well, I don't know, I guess I ran."
They joked for a while longer before going back to the airport. Draco was glad Harry had called him; he was the best for the job on a day like this. Any of the others would have been worried and read too much into this. They would have thought Harry was lying when he didn't make a big deal out of it. Draco understood. It wasn't that normal to fly across the sea and then not make a big deal out of it, but Draco knew that Harry was like that. He knew because he was like that sometimes as well. He wasn't going to say a bit dramatic, but...
On the plane, Draco made a call to the LAPD and asked for an officer Braun that had been around Harry that day to be rewarded for his help.
They slept all the way home.