Aurors

"GO!"

Draco's feet started to move on their own accord when the Auror had shouted in his direction. Quickly scrambling to his feet he had bolted towards the exit into Diagon Alley and his heart was already beating out of his chest when he heard the dark wizards' shouts behind him. In a second of panic, he stood hopelessly in front of the big wall that was between him and the Alley on the other side unsure of what to do before he slapped himself for forgetting that he now had his wand on him. Spellfire could be heard from inside the building followed by shouting as he hastily took out his wand from his robe and tapped the wall, almost tripping in place as he waited for the wall to move enough for him to slip through.

People were now tumbling out of the building pushing each other towards the magical wall and Draco just managed to squeeze through the entrance before getting crushed by the masses of bodies. Quickly picking up speed he ran towards the entrance to Knockturn Alley as he had been told, zig-zagging through people on his way and almost tripping over his feet on multiple occasions. The screams of chaos were getting further away from him as he went but it only fuelled his adrenaline more and he pushed his body to keep moving at a fast pace.

Finally seeing the all too familiar gate to the dark alley the blond skidded into the street almost crashing into the wall on the opposite side. Not giving himself time to relax he continued on and took the first left as the witch had told him to and almost fell flat on his face when his cloak blew up behind him and went over his face. Fear struck him for a second before he managed to get his cloak off himself and he looked down the small alley to see the shop Auror Blackmoore had told him about.

 Sundry, Potions and Glyphs. The shop looked ordinary enough to Draco, as he went back into a full sprint to get to the door. Praying to everything above that the door was unlocked the blond slammed his body against it, huffing a sigh of relief when it gave in to the weight of him, opening violently. Before assessing the situation inside he turned around and slammed the door shut, pointed his wand to it and shouted.

"Colloportus!" Draco heard the door lock with a snap but that was not enough as he started to fire off all the locking charms his late godfather had taught him while You-Know-Who had been living in the Manor. Next, he pointed to the windows and shouted a charm that made them darken making it impossible for someone from the outside to look into the shop.

Hearing movement behind him he turned around in a flash wand raised and stared into the eyes of a surprised tall witch. It took a second for Draco to realise that it was the same witch that had placed the runes on him and for him to remember that she was not a danger to him. The wizard's legs gave out and he collapsed on the floor, his adrenaline now leaving his body making him shake violently. Looking at the witch he opened his mouth to explain what had happened.

"Aa… Artemis… A… Attack… Death... death… Eaters." It came out as incoherent noise to him and he gave in to his hyperventilating looking at the witch in front of him with desperation. Loftwind knelt next to him and started to softly stroke his back.

"Take your time, breathe. You got the door locked more than tight, you're safe. No matter the urgency, Artemis can handle the extra minute that takes. Assuming you didn't lock the door in her face just now, but I doubt that." Draco looked at the witch coldly while he tried to get his breathing under control.

"H…help… hour…" The blond slammed his fist on the floor in frustration that he could not form a coherent sentence yet as he continued to stare at the witch next to him.

"I will help any way I can Draco, but right now I need you to just stay there and not bother. There is nobody I trust more than Artemis to get herself into, and out of, trouble." Draco was about to begin saying something again but was immediately shushed by the tall woman.

"Don't bother please, not yet." Continuing to look at her coldly he took a few deep breaths finally feeling the shaking subside somewhat. He coughed harshly for a minute before breathing normally again. His brain now registered that his muscles were on fire from the running and he flinched slightly when he tried to get up to a standing position. Noticing him wincing the witch spoke up again.

"Looks like you're feeling it now. Let's try again, something about Death Eaters, and your something?" Pulling himself up to a standing position and taking a last deep breath he looked at the tall witch seriously.

"We were in the Leaky Cauldron when a group of Death Eaters attacked the place. Auror Blackmoore told me to run here and take cover. If she is not here after an hour we need to call for help." Nervously twiddling his wand in his hand he watched as the expression on the witch changed from worrying to serious.

"Ah, hour. You've done a bang-up job so far, running here and already putting up more locks than I'm even familiar with. Best we can do now is wait, and be prepared for whatever change of plan she throws at us." Her expression then softened significantly.

"Anyway, how are you standing already? Give me your arm, let's go to the kitchen." Draco looked at her puzzled at the question but let her take his arm and let himself be led towards the back of the shop. He took a quick peek at the door and hoped that all his locking charms would be enough.

~𓆗~

The blond was seated into a chair with a little force behind it and he took his time looking around while Loftwind paced around seemingly looking for something. The room was simple with a few muggle things scattered around. Draco's eyes landed on what looked like a metal box with what looked like a windowed door. He pondered what it could be used for when the other person in the room let out a sound of triumph as she held up a pink teapot. Raising his eyebrow at her he let out a snort.

"You could have Accioed it you know?" Deflating slightly, she went over to fill the kettle.

"Old habits die hard. I didn't grow up around people who do that. Do you want sugar for your tea? And any favourite flavour or just anything?" Well, that explained the muggle things around the place the blond mused to himself before answering.

"Earl Grey, two sugars." Having set the water to boil, Loftwind noticed the young wizard's wandering eyes.

"Feel free to ask about whatever, you wouldn't be the first and it honestly amuses me a bit to see what parts of my world are foreign here." Draco eyed the weird metal box in the corner again and pointed to it.

"What does that do? Trap something?" The witch chuckled heartily at his guess.

"It's a microwave oven. It cooks a bit faster than a regular oven and doesn't need to be preheated, but less versatile. Very good for heating up leftovers!" The blond looked at the box slightly fascinated.

"So it's a heating charm in a box?" The blonde witch gave her microwave an interrogating look.

"It would be I suppose if muggles used magic. Instead, w— they keep inventing new ways to bend electricity to their whims." Judging by her eyes the witch probably understood that the blond had not taken Muggle Studies. Draco nodded in understanding while pointing to the teapot behind her.

"Seems like it's ready." That same moment the kettle began whistling, indicating that it indeed was. Loftwind got a couple of teacups and started brewing.

"There are some marvellous inventions, like the telephone. I find there really isn't anything quite as convenient in use here on the magical side. Though connecting my own one to the London phone grid from here was an interesting challenge." The wizard was mostly confused by what the witch was telling him so he started to zone out of the conversation.

His mind was filling with worry for the Auror back at the Leaky Cauldron and he wondered how much time had passed while he unconsciously started to bite his lip. Just then a teacup was placed in front of him making him jump slightly. Thankful for the distraction he placed both hands around it, feeling the warmth seeping into his fingers and calming him down.

"It's been about fifteen minutes since you arrived, so I reckon it's been twenty, twenty-five minutes since she sent you off." Draco looked at the witch hopelessly as he spoke.

"It was five to one, what if she doesn't make it? I should have stayed and helped -"

"Nonsense. I feel bad for the fellas, hardly a fair fight for them. You don't know what that woman is capable of." Suddenly hit by a morbid curiosity the wizard looked at the tall witch in wonder. He did know what the Auror was capable of but he still wondered if Loftwind was talking about the same thing he was thinking about.

"I know what she can do, but what if it fails to happen?" Taken aback slightly, the witch studies his face with interest, seemingly trying to discern what he knew.

"Oh ho, I don't think that's even what I was talking about… she's already very powerful without any help. But if that's not enough, there's nothing that's going to fail." The wizard thought back to the morning before and it seemed to him that had been a 'fail' of some sort.

Draco studied the witch again, it was clear she knew what he was hinting at. They both had information that the other party did not have and at this point, the blond was prepared to throw caution to the wind.

"You know what she is, don't you? Tell me." His eyes found hers as he waited for her response.

"Cards on the table eh? It's not my right to divulge her secrets, but you've clearly started piecing something together. I'd like to help you, but first I need to know more of what's going on in that head of yours right now. What happened, what's your best guess?" The Slytherin had to be careful with what he said at this point but the thought of actually getting information was too tempting to him.

"That she is possessed by something and it's giving her this power." He looked at her in all seriousness but even to him the theory sounded a little too far-fetched but it was the closest thing he could think of. Carefully he took a sip of his tea which was now growing cold waiting for an answer.

"I see. You're not quite on the money, but I could have expected worse theories. She's more than just any human, and it's the source of her power, but she's not possessed. I'm going to have to have a talk with her, I don't think she quite realises how far her guard has dropped. That woman needs more hugs. Do you think anyone else has noticed anything?" Digesting the new information for a second it made more sense to him.

If the Auror was more than a human some of the things he had seen her do made it seem not so impossible. The act of summoning a Patronus from thin air came to mind quickly as that was impossible to do without a wand in hand. Shrugging at the witch he shook his head to her question.

"No, not to my knowledge." The tall witch released the breath of what seemed like relief.

"That's good news at least." She then rather suddenly shifts from gloomy to cheerful.

"Now then, your turn! Spill it!" The Slytherin frowned when he realised he had not gotten away by not telling her what happened. Thinking hard about what to say he took another sip of tea, it was now completely cold but it went unnoticed by him.

"I met the creature first hand and it tried to kill me." It was a big chance to say this outright, Draco knew this very well but hopefully, Loftwind proved to be a good ally as he held his breath. Loftwind winced at the word 'creature' but was soon looked too shocked to care.

"Tried to— oh no. How, why? Details Malfoy, what provoked her?" Proud of himself for making the witch use his last name he smirked slightly before answering.

"She stayed the night with me, I got woken up by her having a nightmare. Auror Blackmoore then pounced on me, clearly not herself anymore. Had it not been for Auror Thompson entering the room I would not be alive today." Had the situation been different Draco would have laughed at the witch's face but he managed to keep his face neutral.

"Much as I'd like to I don't have any say over who she sleeps with, but how the hell did you pull that one off in just a week?" She sighed and rested her head in her palm. "But it had to be a nightmare. I would have liked it if you were less innocent of this right now, but I'll temper myself. Maybe." Draco smirked knowingly at her.

"Well, I did almost die for it."

"Worth." Loftwind huffed back at him. The Slytherin was about to reply when a loud crash could be heard from the other room. Jumping out of his seat and at the ready he motioned to the witch to stay quiet as he started to make his way back to the main floor of the shop.

~𓆗~

Draco peeked around the corner carefully to see what had made the sound but nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. Perched up against the left wall Auror Blackmoore was struggling to keep herself up, painful groans were coming from her as she moved. Quick on his feet, he ran towards her.

"Artemis!" The witch looked at him with glassy golden eyes and she smiled a bit at him.

"You made it out alright, good." Her breathing did not sound right in Draco's ears as he came closer to her only vaguely registering her eyes.

"Are you alright? What happened to the Death Eaters?" The witch smirked slightly at him before replying.

"Worse off than me -" The brunette didn't finish her sentence before grabbing her sides and groaning out in pain. Alarmed Draco took hold of her and lowered her to the ground carefully.

It was then he noticed the blood seeping out from under her fingers. Without asking for permission he pulled her hands away and buttoned down her uniform only to reel back in shock. There was a huge gash over her left side, but there was no cut in her uniform to be seen anywhere. Which would have been impossible with how deep the cut was. The blond swallowed down his nausea when he looked at it closer and saw what must have been bone. This is when it hit him and he met the witch's eyes with anger.

"You Apparated from the Leaky?! They have Anti-Apparating wards! You're splinched!" The Auror let out what sounded like a laugh.

"Only way out I'm afraid." The blond saw that she was losing consciousness as he waved his wand over her while mumbling healing charms. A veil fell over her as different runes showed up in the air in front of him. Wide-eyed he looked at them, she had several broken ribs, a punctured lung and on top of it all, she had splinched herself on the way into the shop.

Draco bit his lip in frustration, this only showed him what was wrong on the physical level, he could not tell what kind of curses she had been hit with and how many but he knew that if she didn't get help and fast the witch would meet Death soon. She was already losing a lot of blood, evidence of the pool forming underneath her. Making the floor a sickly red colour. Suddenly the brunette grew limp next to him and he realised she had lost consciousness. Draco shooed the panic he felt aside at that moment and thought back to everything Snape had taught him about healing magic. It all came back to him in a flash and took a few calming breaths before shouting:

"Loftwind! Quickly! Please tell me you have a Blood-Replenishing Potion! I need one, NOW!" Loftwind had just stood stunned until this point and was shaken from her stupor by the wizard's commands.

"I— Yes, it's in my first aid kit!" She turned and ran upstairs, and a few moments later Apparated next to them potion in hand. As she handed it to the blond wizard she muttered to herself:

"Stupid, you're a witch!" She pointed her wand toward the stairs she had just run up.

"Accio first aid kit!" Ignoring the woman's mumbling Draco took the potion and uncorked it swiftly, then set it aside. Taking a deep breath he placed his wand over the gash in the side and started to say the Vulnera Sanentur, the same incantation that Snape had used on him several years ago. He never believed he would be using it on someone else and hoped that he was remembering correctly.

The blond could feel the sweat that was dripping from his brow as he did the third repetition and was relieved to see the wound closing, it could have looked cleaner but it would have to do until they could get more help. Next, he pointed his wand towards the ribs he knew were broken:

"Brackium Emendo!" The crack that was heard was sickening but it proved that the spell had worked. Now he had to force the potion down her throat but before he did so he looked at Loftwind.

"Go and call St Mungo's, we need them! NOW. MOVE!" The witch started running toward the bedroom which Draco had seen on their way to the kitchen, but suddenly turned in the doorway and headed up the stairs.

"Fuck, fireplace! Not phone!" He heard her yell to herself as the Slytherin was about to scream after the woman to hurry up but turned his attention back to the witch on the floor. He pointed his wand at her again and shouted clearly.

"Rennervate!" A sigh of relief left the blond as the witch woke up with a start and started to cough violently. Quickly taking the potion in hand he shoved it against her mouth.

"Drink!" Without protest, the brunette did as she was told and swallowed the potion down then proceeded to cough again. She looked at him thankfully while touching his cheek, Draco could feel the sticky blood on her fingers spreading across his face but at that moment did not care. She was awake.

"Lay down, Healers are on their way." He said softly to her while placing her head in his lap carefully. The brunette looked up at him with the same glossy golden eyes as before and the blond wondered if this was the same person as yesterday morning.

"I guess we are even now, hm?" The witch's voice sounded strained which was to be expected by the pain she was going through. The blond could feel tears form as he nodded at her, smiling slightly. Suddenly heavy footsteps could be heard from upstairs and a group of Healers emerged, Loftwind following quickly behind.

"Move boy!" One of them shouted at him and he reluctantly followed orders by placing the Auror carefully on the floor before moving out of their way.

"Auror Blackmoore, you have to remember to call for backup one of these days." The witch laughed softly in response to the Healer's comment.

~𓆗~

Everything that followed happened quickly, they managed to get Auror Blackmoore to St Mungo's via the floo as they had no other choice. Before anyone protested Draco was quick to follow but he noticed that Loftwind stayed behind either because the connection had closed or that she was too out of it to follow. The Healers had rushed the Auror through countless corridors before disappearing into what Draco assumed was a surgery room. The blond was politely told to wait outside once they had examined that he was not harmed in any way.

The young Malfoy was now sitting on a chair feeling sick to his stomach with worry. He had been informed by a nurse that the Auror Department had been notified and they had sent agents to look at the case and he was asked to not go anywhere. Draco assumed that once Blackmoore's name had come up the Aurors at Hogwarts had been notified and were the ones that were coming. Before he even finished that thought he saw said Aurors coming marching down the corridor led by Auror Thompson and surprisingly followed by Potter. Auror Thompson looked like a cloud of thunder as he stopped in front of him.

"Mr Malfoy, what happened?" The look he painted of the case must have been a horrible one as he was covered with blood. Her blood. The boy flinched at the tone the man used but quickly told them what had happened.

Potter had at one point seated himself next to him and was patting his shoulder in a friendly manner. Which at the time Draco found strangely soothing, he did not know why Potter had come with the Aurors but he was silently thankful. After he was finished talking the men sprung into action.

"Zouch, you go to Loftwind's shop and interrogate her. Zabini, go back to the Leaky and see if you can find some evidence of who these Death Eaters were. Silver, you sit your ass down where I can see it." Auror Zouch and Auror Zabini both nodded at their orders and quickly went back the way they came. While Auror Silver looked like he wanted to say something in return but closed his mouth quickly when Auror Thomson gave him a look that could have killed someone. He quietly sat down on one of the chairs opposite Draco and Potter.

The blond studied him and he had to frown at the man's appearance. His usually neat uniform was slightly dishevelled and he was fidgeting in his seat the young blond wondered why it was Auror Thompson who was giving the orders when in reality it was Auror Silver who was the leader of the group as far as Draco knew at least.

Draco was interrupted by Auror Thompson who held his hand out in front of him.

"Your wand." Reluctantly the blond took out the wand from his robes and gave it to the Auror, it was covered in blood and Draco shivered. The other man looked at him with a softer look in his eye.

"Mr Potter, there is a bathroom further down the hall. If you could bring Mr Malfoy there so he can clean up please." The ravenhead nodded and he stood up and pulled Draco with him.

"Come on Malfoy. Let's go." Draco let himself be led by Potter down the hall but he could not help but turn to look back at the two Aurors left in the hall. Auror Silver sat with his head in his hands looking like he wanted the floor to swallow him. The other wizard was standing with his arms crossed in front of him with a strict look on his face. He was clearly saying something to the older blond but they must have put up a charm because Draco could not hear anything.

~𓆗~

Thankfully the bathroom they went into was empty and Potter pushed him gently towards the sinks. The blond looked at himself in horror when he saw his own reflection in the mirror. It seemed that it was not only Auror Silver that looked worse for wear as his own appearance had not been this bad since the battle at Hogwarts.

His robes which were miraculously still Glamoured were covered with soot and even though the cloak was black some spots of blood could faintly be seen. It was not as bad as his shirt however which was stained red across his chest and stomach. The blood had dried some time ago but Draco could swear he still felt that it was sticking to his skin. His face was what made him feel the most disgusted, the fingerprints that Auror Blackmoore had left there were still present and his hair was sticking to it from all the sweating he had done. Scowling he tore the robe off and threw it to the floor, using the sink to support himself as he was starting to feel sick. A hand patted him on the back which made him flinch for a second before he remembered the other wizard in the room.

He looked at Potter to his right and raised his eyebrow in question.

"Are you alright Malfoy?" The blond snorted at him.

"What do you think Potter? Look at me, I'm covered in someone else's blood and I don't know if that person is even going to survive the night! No! I am not fine!" He sounded borderline hysterical towards the end but instead of saying something the green-eyed boy just turned on the tap and splashed some water on him. Draco blinked at the shorter wizard shocked while Potter was looking at him with a knowing look.

"I can imagine. Just focus on getting cleaned up yeah?" The blond looked at the water for a second before starting to clean his hands feeling guilty for his outburst, the water turned pink as the blood flowed down the drain. He washed his face next and dragged his hands through his hair feeling a little bit more alive as the water dripped down his neck. Frowning he grabbed his shirt wondering what he should do with it. Potter tapped him on the shoulder and Draco met his eyes in the mirror.

"Let me?" The ravenhead was pointing his wand at him and he was suddenly reminded of the fight they had in sixth year. Now without a wand again he was defenceless. Steeling himself he nodded to the other wizard. The ravenhead mumbled the cleaning charm at him and the blood on the shirt vanished. Breathing a little easier when the other wizard put away his wand he looked at him in thanks. Potter grinned at him.

"Thought I was gonna vanish your clothes or something?" Despite himself, Draco smirked at the other wizard.

"Something you would like I assume?" The saviour grinned even wider at him than before laughing.

"Were you always this perverted?" The blond smirked.

"I am a Slytherin, Potter. What do you think we do down in the dungeons on our days off? Read?" Draco counted it as a win when the shorter wizard's face turned red and his eyes turned bigger than an owl's. The blond picked up his robe off the floor then and frowned slightly before simply hanging it over his arm.

~𓆗~

Suddenly loud screaming could be heard from the hallway and both boys looked at each other in alarm. Potter being closest to the door pushed it open quickly and went outside, the blond following closely. They both saw Auror Thompson holding Auror Silver in an iron grip preventing him from what looked like beating the Healer in front of him. The blond Auror was shouting at the other man loudly and they could easily hear what was said.

"What do you mean she is not waking up?! What did you do?!" Draco felt a chill run down his spine from what the other wizard was shouting and began sprinting down the corridor, Potter following close behind him. He looked at the Healer in panic.

"What happened to Auror Blackmoore?" The wizard looked at him confused for a second before he sighed annoyed at them all.

"Like I just told Auror Silver she has apparently put herself in a magical coma. No matter what we have tried she is not waking up. Her wounds are healing just as they should be and will be fully healed in a week if I were to guess. But all we can do is wait." The young Slytherin swayed a bit on the spot and felt Potter put his hand on his shoulder again to support him.

"W… was it something I did?" The Healer looked at him puzzled.

"Pardon?" He swallowed thickly before answering.

"I used multiple healing charms on her before you came and got her. I also administered a Blood-Replenishing potion to her." The wizard looked at him impressed.

"That was you? No, no, those were expertly done, my boy! Had it not been for your wand work she would be in a much worse state than this. The magical coma must be something of her own doing. But I can't for the life of me figure out what it could be done for. Sadly to say all we can be is patient and before I forget this was among her personal belongings, I have no clue why she had a Slytherin tie on her person, however." The Healer handed the tie to Auror Silver who just looked at it confused.

"Well, then gentlemen I have other patients to attend to." The wizard walked down the hall most likely on his way to the next patient as he had mentioned and the other wizards watched him go in silence. When he had turned around a corner Auror Silver stared at Draco with a cold look.

"Is this yours?" The younger blond nodded.

"Why did Artemis have it?" Auror Thompson grabbed the older blond's shoulder again.

"Silver calm down. She obviously altered his clothes before they left the Ministry. Even his robes are Glamoured." Draco nodded hastily at the Auror pair and he could see Auror Silver's shoulders relax somewhat but he let out a huff when he handed Draco the tie.

Auror Silver pried himself out of the other Auror's grip then. The man looked like he was about to be sick as he sat down in a chair heavily pulling at his hair. Draco clutched the tie in his fist while he put it in his pocket for safekeeping and looked surprised at Potter when the other boy asked Auror Thompson a question.

"Can we go into her room, Sir?" The auburn-haired Auror looked at them both giving his partner a critical look before nodding at them.

"Follow me." The wizard started to walk down the hall at a slow pace. Draco gave Potter a thankful look as they both followed after him. The saviour smiled softly at him in return once again patting his shoulder and once again the blond found himself grateful for the shorter wizard's presence.

After turning a corner they came to a room that had a window facing the hall which made it so you could clearly see into the room. Draco froze in place when he saw the witch lying in the bed, surrounded by all kinds of monitoring spells. She looked peaceful somewhat, her dark hair flowing over the pillow like a princess in a fairy tale.

The Auror opened the door for them and gestured for them to enter. His face did not reveal what he actually was feeling but the blond could tell that this was not easy for the man. Seeing his partner this way had to be painful, no matter how professional you were. His thoughts floated back to the tattoo the wizard possessed and he wondered if it had reacted somehow when the witch had gotten hurt earlier. Meeting the man's eye as he got pushed in the door by Potter he saw a lake of emotions.

"Are you OK, Sir?". The wizard's eyes turned glossy for a second before he looked at the brunette sleeping.

"Let's just say Mr Malfoy, that sometimes I really hate my job."

~𓆗~

With that, Auror Thompson left them, closing the door behind him.

"It has to be tough on them. I know what it is like to see a friend in this state." The Saviour sat down on one of the chairs placed out next to the bed and he studied the witch with interest. Draco had no answer to this and simply seated himself on the chair on the other side of the witch.

Both of them were silent for a long time before the ravenhead broke the quiet of the room with a simple question yet something the blond was not prepared to answer.

"You love her right, Malfoy?" Vibrant green eyes met stormy grey ones. There was no teasing in the other boy's eyes, it was a serious question. Draco sighed, for once at a loss for words. A crush was evident, but to go as far as to call it love? He clenched his fist when the scene of the Auror pair kissing by the lake came to mind, it was definitely jealousy he was feeling. He tried picturing himself with her in different ways, waking up each morning, eating dinner, and cuddling by the fireplace with a glass of wine.

His heart sank in his chest as he moved his eyes from Potter and towards the sleeping witch. The realisation hit him hard as he understood that Potter had been right. He was in love with her, how had that happened? She looked like she was sleeping soundly, her face relaxed and breathing softy.

The runes that were floating over her head were calm and the ones monitoring her heartbeat were slowly shifting colours, signalling that everything was normal. Putting on a mock smirk he answered the saviour.

"Jealous Potter?" The boy snorted at him in return.

"Typical Slytherin answer. Why can't you just admit it Malfoy?" Draco huffed back at him.

"Typical Gryffindork getting their noses into everyone's business. What's it to you, Potter?" Draco looked at the other wizard again now with a glare on his face. The ravenhead simply shrugged.

"After she came to school you've changed. You're back to being the old Malfoy again. Snarky, posh, proud, the prince of Slytherin. But the venom is gone, take us for example. We are having a conversation right now and none of us have punched the other yet." The boy grinned at Draco as he rolled his eyes at the golden boy.

Admittedly he did have a point, no matter how rudely he had said it. Both of them had been friendlier towards each other and the other wizard was even here keeping him company. If someone had told Draco that he would find himself in this situation in the past he would have laughed in their faces. He sighed before answering.

"She told me one night that I should stop apologising and start acting like the Slytherin I am. It left an impression bigger than I thought. As much as it pains me to say this Potter you are right, I do love this woman." Now that he said that out loud he slowly started to freak out, one thing was thinking it, but admitting it out loud was something completely different. Dragging his fingers through his hair he closed his eyes for a second.

"I'm so fucked." He mumbled to himself and his eyes met Potters again. The ravenhead looked at him with pride evident on his face.

"Wow! I never thought I would hear Draco Malfoy say that I was right in something. I have to watch this back in a Pensieve just to make sure I heard right." Draco rolled his eyes at him but he could not contain the smile on his face as the other wizard started to laugh. After he had calmed down he looked at the blond with a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry Malfoy. I won't tell anyone about it." The blonde nodded in thanks as the ravenhead started to giggle softly.

"But you are really fucked. I heard about the snogging session Auror Blackmoore and Auror Silver had in the garden earlier today, heard you saw it too right?" Draco nodded with a scowl.

"I wish you, luck mate, seems like you are going to need it." Twice in one day, the blond had to agree with the ravenhead in front of him. He needed all the luck he could get at this point he thought as he softly took hold of the witch's hand, caressing it softly.

~🕮~

Suddenly the store was once again empty. Quiet. Eminence had simply stood by as the Healers and Draco all rushed through her fireplace with the wounded witch. With the dust settling and the fire dying down, she finally had a moment to process what just happened inside her home.

"Oh god, I hope I helped. Please be OK Arty." She mumbled to herself. She turned sharply toward the stairs and headed back down to the shop.

"Great. Let's see what abject nonsense we're dealing with down here! And how much of it I can even touch." Her store looked like significantly more than one person had died in there. There was a large pool of blood underneath the desks, which for good measure were toppled over so they could soak up even more of it.

"Bloody… blood. Fucking up my tables, and I've lost about a week's worth of glyph scrolls. Please be OK." The witch growled. Her eyes wander to the darkened front windows and further to the thoroughly sealed door.

"I can take a crack at that one at least. Exactly what's holding my door shut isn't going to be relevant for the investigation." She starts by removing the shadows, letting what little sunlight she normally gets back in, and spends a solid ten minutes analysing and breaking locks on the door before giving up.

"Wow, I wish I knew what kind of spell I just unlocked. Where did he learn all these? Man couldn't even breathe when he cast them!" She turned back to lament the papers sticking out of the pool of blood. Then she saw an unbroken vial lying near the edge.

"Can't really ask for your consent this time can I Arty? Then again, not like you're gonna use this again." Carefully gathering up some of the blood, she stowed the vial in the inner pocket of her robe. The deed done, she Accioed a chair from the kitchen as well as some paper, ink and a quill that wasn't drenched in blood, sat herself down in the middle of the room and started taking inventory of the damages.

Heavy footsteps could be heard from the floor above her signalling that the Ministry had sent a troupe of Aurors to investigate. Soon enough five Aurors came down the stairs and Eminence looked up in surprise when she saw that it was Septimus who was leading them.

The witch had not seen the wizard for a long time and never in this type of setting. He looked like a different person as he scanned the room around her and was quick to give orders to the others before turning his full attention to her.

"Miss Loftwind. A pleasure to see you again, it is a shame that it is during this kind of situation I have to admit." Before she could answer a magical quill and parchment showed up next to his head and immediately started to write things down. The wizard ignored it and instead, he held out his hand for her to take so that she could stand up. Her hands being full, she smiled sheepishly before abruptly standing up on her own.

"How is Artemis!?" Letting his hand drop to his side casually he gave her a reassuring smile.

"She is going to make it. Now shall we take this conversation somewhere else? I have quite a few questions I need to ask you, standard procedure." Eminence could feel the tension in her body leave her.

"Of course. It has been a spell, hasn't it? We can continue this in the kitchen." He nodded at her before turning to one of the Aurors who was busy looking at the blood on the floor.

"Auror Raleigh, you are in charge."

"Yes, Sir." Smiling at her again the wizard motioned her to show the way.

~🕮~

Once they entered the kitchen Septimus seated himself in the same chair that Draco had been sitting in only hours before.

"Tea?" The wizard shook his head politely.

"Would not be fair to the others I'm afraid, but be my guest." The witch busied herself with putting on the kettle for the second time that day while she tried to calm her nerves. Septimus seemed different like this, too polite and distant. Peeking at him from the corner of her eye she could see the quill writing something even though nothing was being said and the wizard himself had leaned back into his chair and crossed his legs.

The silence was soon interrupted by the whistling from the water boiling and Eminence quickly prepared her teacup and sat down opposite of Septimus. Pointing to the quill she asked.

"Is that doing anything productive, or just doodling? Because I've been considering if I could make one do that." Looking at the quill he smirked.

"It is my best partner in the field."

Still seated in the same relaxed position he looked at her with a calculating look.

"Ready, Miss Loftwind?" She nodded first at the quill, then at Septimus.

"Perfect, when about did Mr Malfoy get here?"

"Half-past eleven some time. Absolutely ragged, took several minutes to catch his breath enough to speak." The quill wrote faster now seemingly excited for something to do.

"Understandable, where were you located when he arrived?" The blonde amused herself by observing the quill speeding up and slowing down with the flow of the conversation.

"Got myself covered in chalk dust working on something that's gone now, so I took a shower. I was brushing my hair in the bedroom through there when he tackled down my front door. Which doesn't open now, by the way, Draco knows a surprising array of locking and sealing spells. Might need some help with that eventually. Not that I don't invite the challenge, of course, I undid a few of the simpler ones earlier." Septimus got a slight smirk on his face by the mention of the front door before turning serious again.

"Auror Raleigh, a word please." He had not spoken loudly but the other wizard had somehow heard him anyway as he showed himself in the door.

"You called, Sir?" Looking politely at the other Auror he nodded.

"Take a look at Miss Loftwind's front door, will you? It seems Mr Malfoy has put some more classified locking spells on it." The wizard nodded in understanding before disappearing again.

"The damages to your store will, of course, be compensated by the Ministry, Miss Loftwind." Septimus said with a smile after looking at her again.

"Now, it seems you have already partly answered this question but did Mr Malfoy do any other magic when he was here?"

"Yes, he also performed first aid on Artemis. Let's see what spells I can remember, at least Vulnera Sanentur, that one's easy to recognise. Oh, and what's it called… Brackium Emendo! I remember the noise more than the spell. Pretty sure he did more, but it escapes me." His face turned to that of disgust for a second before he continued.

"Seems like he knows quite the assortments of high-level spells. Good for my colleague in this instance but I digress. I assume some time passed between these two events? What did you and Mr Malfoy do during this time?" The witch was about to answer as a younger Auror, a junior it seemed on the uniform came into view from the hall. He was shifting nervously from foot to foot and waited patiently for permission to speak. Septimus looked at him with a polite smile.

"Yes?" The young Auror continued to shift his weight around before clearing his throat.

"We have confirmed that all the b... blood is Auror Blackmoore's, Sir." The Senior Auror nodded at him.

"Good, now make sure that everything gets cleaned up properly. There shall be no traces of it. Understand?" He was still smiling that somewhat foreboding smile at the poor man, who in turn quickly nodded at the order and left to go back to the shop floor. The wizard turned his attention back to Eminence then, still looking overly professional.

"Can't have a high-ranked Auror's blood on the loose, who knows what it might be used for. You understand clearly." She nodded quickly steeling herself from feeling the weight of the vial in its pocket.

"We had tea. I took my time calming him down with small talk, waiting for Artemis. She had told him to wait for up to an hour for her arrival before raising the alarm. You know, it surprises me how few wizards know what a microwave is, he thought it was some sort of trap! He was quite hard to pin down, very eager to get back to try and help her. I still stand by what I said to him, despite how it all turned out: there is nobody I trust more than Artemis to get herself into, and out of, trouble. On that note, Draco knows a lot more than I expected. He theorised that she's possessed, but I found that a bit too troubling and told him he's off the mark, that her power is something else about what she is. Ended up calling her a beast instead, the nerve. Oh by the way! Aren't Aurors forbidden from sleeping with their contractor or something? Maybe that's what gave her nightmares. I can only hope." The quill was writing at the highest speed Eminence had seen so far as she talked. The wizard's expression changed from neutral to slight amusement by the end.

"How interesting. Well, there is no strict rule saying that you can not sleep with a contractor but generally you do try to keep things professional. What brought this on then?"

Suddenly a Patronus in the shape of a chameleon came skittering over the floor, it quickly climbed up the Auror's leg and up to his shoulder. It seemed to be whispering something in his ear. Eminence tried to hear what was being said but it was too quiet. She watched as the professional mask slipped for one second and was replaced by worry. Had she blinked she probably would have missed it. But his face turned quickly professional again and brushed off the Patronus like you would brush off the dust from a coat and made it vanish.

"Pardon the interruption Miss Loftwind. Do continue." Eminence blinked twice, filing away the worried look for a later conversation.

"He said they slept together and he woke up to her trying to murder him, gold eyes style. Still surprising that he lived honestly. Thank Cyril for a good job for me?" The wizard seemed to be thinking about something for a minute before he answered.

"I will pass the word on to Auror Thompson for you. Now, to my last question before I leave you for the day Miss Loftwind. What did you do in the short time you found yourself alone?"

"I did a round visually inspecting the scene for myself before spending a while trying to break the spells on the front door. After that, I sat down to itemise the losses, which is how you found me. Stroke of luck honestly, I was not in a mindset to consider I could get that comped by the Ministry, but now that I do I suppose I should hand the list to you." She then Accioed the parchment she'd left on the chair in the other room, by the sound of it startling one of the inspectors. Septimus stood up from his chair while he took the parchment in hand.

"Not my department, I am afraid but I will pass it on to the proper authority for you. That concludes the questions I had to ask you, Miss Loftwind. I will take my leave as I have other things to attend to but my subordinates will have to stay until they are finished. I can guarantee that they are working as quickly as they can. It was nice to see you again, Eminence. Good day." Eminence smiled warmly at the man.

"Good day, Septimus. It's been a pleasure."