Friendship

Draco looked at the raven head in front of him with a smirk. The boy looked at him sheepishly while holding his hands over his ears.

"Tsk, Auror Blackmoore says that eavesdropping is a bad thing, Potter." Potter looked at him in concentration for a second.

"WHAT?" The blond winced at the volume of the other boy's voice.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU." Draco had to put his hand over the other's mouth to make him shut up. The witch had said that the ringing would stop after five minutes so all they had to do was wait. He put his finger in front of his mouth to signal to Potter to be quiet. The raven-head nodded his head with a grin. The office door opened again then and Auror Thompson emerged in the doorway, he looked at them both in surprise before the painting firmly shut behind him.

"I bet that he is still deaf?" He waved at Potter who automatically replied with a loud "HELLO, SIR."

Draco hit him on the shoulder as punishment which in turn earned him a scowl in return.

"Is there a counterspell for this Sir?" He begged the older wizard.

"I'm afraid only Auror Zabini knows it, that hex is his invention and he is not fond of sharing counterspells to his own creations I'm afraid. But it should stop eventually as Auror Blackmoore mentioned." He chuckled at the disappointed look Draco gave him.

"What class do both of you have now?" The man asked almost too politely for Draco's taste.

"We have self-study until dinner, Sir. The Headmistress so gracefully gave us permission to do it wherever we want to." The man chuckled again and nodded.

"What a loving Headmistress you have. Well, you should run along to your studies then. I assume you will be in the presence of Mr Potter here until dinner?" Draco had planned to go back to his room but he figured if he told the Auror he would be followed there and not be let out again without an escort so he nodded. The man smiled at them both.

"Very well. Oh and if the ringing doesn't wear off you should go and find Auror Zabini." Draco nodded in understanding while Potter still looked confused while the Auror left them. The blond looked over to the raven head with a smirk.

"So you can't hear me, can you? Don't mind if I call you the Saviour then?" Potter's confused look made him laugh out loud and when the look turned into a pout he laughed even harder. Looking at one of the mightiest wizards in the world pouting because he could not hear anything was too much for Draco as he clutched his stomach. He rested his hand on the frame of Salazar's painting so that he could catch his breath when he felt a sudden chill go through him.

He retreated his hand as if burned and looked at the painting confused. It looked normal from what he could tell. Then he noticed something seeping from underneath it, was that ice? Puzzled Draco was about to lean down to take a closer look when Potter trampled with his feet to get his attention. The blond looked at him with a grin.

"What? Potty got a hissy fit from not getting attention?" The blond started to laugh at the pout Potter gave him again and had no choice but to follow him when he started walking away in frustration.

~𓆗~

Granger had insisted that they all go to the library to get the most out of their self-study time. Seeing as the eighth year's schedule was different from the other years the library was quiet. Madam Pince was ever watchful though from her seat at the entrance desk. A group of Slytherins and Gryffindors sitting together was clearly a sign of disaster for the old librarian. Weasley had complained loudly enough for all of them but a smack at the back of the head from his girlfriend made him shut his mouth and start working. The redhead was now pulling his hair out of frustration about his potion homework but refused to ask anyone for help. Draco rolled his eyes at him while looking back to his charms essay. They all had to write about why Depulso was useful and how it would be without it.

The blond was slowly losing focus as he read the page on the charm. Lazily he started to flip the pages of the book stopping when he came to the page about Glamours. He took a quick peek at Potter next to him, the Saviour was nose-deep in his own charm essay and not paying the blond any mind. The raven-head still hadn't gotten rid of the ringing so he was focusing more than usual. He started to skim over the information on the page until he found the part where it talked about what the spell did not work on. His eyes widened and he let out a gasp.

"Something the matter Malfoy?" Draco looked up and met the curious eyes of Granger.

"Ah, no nothing." Not known to let an opportunity get away from her she leaned over the table to look at the page he was looking at.

"Glamour? You trying to disguise yourself?" The blond shook his head no.

"Just curious about the spell. I was wondering if it could hide everything or not." Granger looked at him with a sad look in her eyes.

"It should be able to hide, you know." She pointed at her own left forearm. Draco looked at her dumbly, of course, the goody-two-shoes thought he had meant the dark mark. Not that he hadn't thought about hiding it, but after seeing what Auror Blackmoore was hiding it seemed petty in comparison.

"Not what I had in mind Granger, but appreciate the thought."

"What are you gonna hide then Malfoy? That really blond hair of yours?" Weasley snickered at his own joke lamely.

"At least I am not a redhead like you Weasley." The other man looked like he was about to resort to something but one look from Granger stopped him.

"Found anything interesting then?" Her big eyes were full of want to learn something new, Draco swore that she should have been a Ravenclaw and not a Gryffindor. He knew that he would not get away now without answering and moved the book towards her, tapping the paragraph about what it couldn't hide.

"Seems like it can't hide everything." Granger scanned the page with knitted eyebrows. "There was a slave ritual?! How terrible!"

"Of course, there was one Granger, what do you think Full-bloods used before house-elves were a thing?" Blaise said from further down the table with a knowing look.

"Are we making Malfoy a slave now!?" Everyone looked at Potter's confused face and started to laugh. Earning them a strict "Shush!" from Madam Pince.

"Got your hearing back mate?" Weasley snickered. The raven-head blinked at them all confused but nodded.

"What were you talking about?" Granger turned the book towards him.

"Did you know that Full-bloods used a slave ritual back before the 1800th hundreds Harry?! That is totally insane! I mean muggles used slaves as well but actually having them use a blood ritual is horrible." Potter frowned at the book while scanning the page.

"So a Glamour can't hide that mark then? But that was a long time ago though 'mione. No person would have that kind of scar today right?" Suddenly the boy's eyes widen even more.

"Wait! We are not writing the paper on Glamour right?! Don't tell me I have written about the wrong charm?!" Granger rolled his eyes at him.

"No, Harry we are writing it on Depulso so calm down." Draco would laugh at Potter's face had it not been for the information he now possessed, again Auror Blackmoore's words rang in his head.

"The one scar I can never hide." Was that raven actually a slave mark? Who would be her master then? Did she have one? Draco's mind was swimming with questions. He really wanted to get out of his chair and march back to the Auror office but figured it would only get him in trouble. Instead, he turned the page back to the Depulso charm and started reading where he left off.

~ཐིཋྀ~

Artemis leaned on the door for a second calming her anger from her partner's behaviour. It was not surprising to her that he had wanted to Obliviate Eminence, this was not the first time people had seen her like this after all. But the ones before were mostly petty criminals that were going to get punishment, them being Obliviated was nothing suspicious. This was completely different, this was her friend he had talked about. Artemis looked at Eminence who was studying Septimus' bed for reasons the brunette did not know. She had to decide exactly what to tell the taller woman, did she tell her the whole truth? She bit her lip and went to sit on her own bed.

"Eminence, have a seat. We have a lot to talk about."

"Of course. I imagine breaking this old secret isn't easy for you, but I'm listening." She sat down on the bed, hopping a little checking the springs.

"How does anybody fall asleep on something this bouncy? Would keep me up all night!" Artemis smiled at her while chuckling before turning serious again.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Orion was not far from the truth when he said 'Satan himself' earlier. Yes, you did see my 'source', as you call it, awaken. But it's a little bit more complicated than that and I have to start from the beginning for you to understand." Artemis looked at the other woman in front of her waiting for a comment.

"I really thought that was a joke, didn't expect you to agree… but go on. I'm not running away yet." Eminence urged. Artemis took a deep breath before continuing.

"As a child, I was kidnapped by someone who called himself The Vanisher. I am still looking for the man now but that is beside the point. He kidnapped children who he thought had extraordinary magical abilities. I was one of these kids. I only remember bits and pieces from the time I spent with him, but I do know that we all went through vigorous training to control our magic. I know that he returned the others back to their families when he deemed them good enough. But he told me that he would never return me to my parents. 'They can't control you.' He kept telling me. One night he gave me a letter and simply left me outside of the Ministry in London. The letter contained a warning to them that if they did not follow it, there would be grave consequences. Of course, they did not listen. I was placed in an orphanage." Artemis took another breath while giving Eminence time to let the information sink in. She pondered for some time, then nodded.

"There's more to this story." The Auror nodded in response.

"I assume you have heard of 'The Orphan Massacre' that happened in 1979?"

"I'm not good with years, but I think that's the one I've read about. There was only one survivor, a child. They called it a miracle." Artemis nodded slowly.

"That was me. I was the only survivor because I was the one who killed everyone. It was the first time I lost control." Eminence's eyes widened to the point where you could barely see the green of her irises.

"Oh no. I'm so, so sorry-" Before she got any further Artemis held up her hand to stop her so she could carry on.

"To shorten the story a bit, when I came here to Hogwarts I believed it to be a blessing. I was wrong. It was hell on earth living here, I had no friends and because of my 'source', I could not live with the other students in the dorm. Severus Snape took me in and I lived in his personal chambers all throughout school. But when we were in our seventh year here at Hogwarts I met Orion and the others. It was purely by chance that Orion was walking his night rounds as a Prefect and I was lazing around the castle unable to sleep. We talked for a while and somehow he took an interest in me I suppose." Artemis smiled softly to herself.

"By chance, we had potions together the next day and we met again. For the first time, someone actually stood up to me and talked to me like I was a real person. To believe it was the Royal Court even." She laughed a little.

"Was that the class when we were split off from the Slytherins? Professor Snape was so mad about that! Having to scrap our projects… At least something good came of it." Artemis smirked at the witch's comment.

"Yes, he was furious for a long time. Anyway, not long after I met you too, that was the first time I went to Hogsmeade with someone actually. You made me really happy when you called my magic beautiful back then." "And I still mean it every time!" Eminence interjected. The brunette looked at Eminence with a smile and quickly dried a tear she felt rolling down her cheek.

"Anyway, Severus figured out that mine and Orion's magical cores were a match, it calmed down the… demon blood in me when he was close to or touching me. It never worked with any of the other boys. He did some research and found a bond ritual that he tweaked to fit our situation. That is why Orion fell to the floor earlier, he was taken aback by the sudden anger that I sent towards him with the bond. I can also tell that he is nervous right now and a little guilty." Artemis was holding her breath now, waiting for her friend's reaction. She had decided on purpose not to tell her about the brand mark. The fact that she had been bonded to Orion for the last ten years would be information enough for now.

"Thank you for trusting me with all this. I understand your hesitance to tell me, …to tell anyone! It's a lot to take in. I see why the two of you have been seemingly inseparable now, despite not infrequent spats. Can't be easy. I've enough trouble with just my own emotions, can't imagine feeling somebody else's as well. Not so directly. Is there give-and-take? Does Orion get something from the bond? No, before anything else: would you like another hug?" Artemis looked at her friend in surprise but nodded in approval to the hug blushing slightly. The tall witch spread her arms wide, beckoning her shorter friend towards her. The brunette smiled slightly at the blonde before accepting the embrace.

"I'm sorry to have kept it from you for so long, but it's not really something you can start discussing over tea you know?" Eminence sighs softly.

"Yeah, I get that, it's not an easy topic to broach!" The two witches broke apart then.

"Though honestly, it might just be me but we can definitely discuss these kinds of things over tea." Artemis grinned at her friend before answering her question.

"Orion does get some benefits from this as well. He gets a power increase on his magical core so he can do spells wandless that would otherwise be impossible. It of course enhances the magic from the wand as well, so everything becomes more powerful. It is to ensure that he can keep me under control when needed or to bring me back to my normal self. That was what you walked in on earlier." Eminence looked at Artemis fascinated.

"Wait, so he's been using high-level wandless magic all this time without mentioning it to me even once? That's cold. How does it feel when the demon side takes over?" Artemis chuckled a little at the cold remark but turned sombre when she heard the second question.

"Ah. Well, I don't actually feel anything. It's like someone else takes control and I am only a bystander to the show. I remember everything that happens in bits and pieces afterwards."

"So you were actually kinda out of it when I arrived?" Before Artemis could reply Orion walked into the bedroom cautiously. He looked around before his eyes met Artemis.

"I see you are both still alive." Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Like you wouldn't know if I died." Orion just looked at her with a stern look before continuing.

"I was wondering if you were coming to dinner? I am starving personally."

"For attention?" Eminence quipped with a grin.

The Auror scowled back at the blonde sitting on the bed. Artemis felt a needle of irritation through the bond and had to bite her lip to stop herself to match her friend's grin.

"Eminence can't be seen by the Headmistress so we will eat here today. I'll get Mips to bring us something. You can go. Follow Malfoy here after you are done eating will you?" With a last scowl directed at Eminence, the man left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"Mips!" The elf showed up with a soft sound as she looked around with big curious eyes.

"You called Misses?" The brunette smiled at the curious elf.

"Yes, could you bring me and Eminence some dinner, please? We are not going to the Great Hall to eat you see." Mips looked at Artemis strictly before she replied.

"But what about Missters? You are supposed to take care of him! What if something happens when Missters eat his dinner? It can be poisoned! Or worse!" The elf started to pace around in circles while she ranted. Artemis had to get off the bed, go over to her and put her hands on the elf's shoulders.

"Mips! It's fine! Orion is keeping watch. Besides the whole teachers' table is filled with talented witches and wizards remember?" The elf looked at the Auror with a sceptical look but nodded in the end.

"Fine! If Misses says so. But you better go back to work after eating Misses!" Artemis laughed at the elf.

"Yes yes, I promise. So can you get us some food?" Mips was about to leave when it looked like she just realised that Eminence was there.

"Misses friend!? Clever friend! Master always was happy with the work you did! Always said that Ravenclaw friend was a good clever girl!" Eminence smiles proudly at the compliments.

"It's great to hear he had kind words for me behind closed doors as well!" The elf turned her gaze towards Artemis again.

"Misses is also very clever of course! Master was very proud of Misses." Mip's ears seemed to be pulled down towards the floor as she spoke. Artemis could feel the tears forming in her eyes as she squeezed the elf's shoulders softly.

"Thank you, Mips and it's a secret that Eminence is here so don't tell anyone hm?" The elf's ears picked up again at the word secret.

"Secret? Mips can keep a secret! Mips will never tell!" She put both her hands over her mouth tightly. Artemis let go of the elf then and stood up.

"Good, now the food Mips?" Mips nodded enthusiastically while she bowed so low her nose touched the floorboards and then disappeared. Artemis shook her head as she laughed lightly.

"Merlin that elf. She hasn't changed during the last ten years that is for sure." The Auror walked the short few steps back to the bed.

"I hadn't actually met her before now." Eminence remarked.

"She seems great." Artemis raised an eyebrow in question.

"Really? She was Severus's house-elf. I am planning on taking her with me after this mission is done." Mips quickly returned with their food, presenting it proudly in front of her.

"Here you go, Misses and clever friend." Artemis took the tray from the elf placing it carefully on the bed in between the two women.

"Thank you Mips, you can go back now." Mips looked at her with glee, bowed then disappeared again.

~𓅃~

Orion walked into the Great Hall right as dinner was about to begin. It was filled with students chatting about their day and the volume was louder than usual. He took a peek over to the Slytherin table and almost immediately spotted Malfoy among them. The blond walked over to the table at a quick pace, curious students from the closest seats following his every move. The conversation around the table halted when he got close enough. His eyes met the younger blond's as he nodded curtly at him.

"Mr Malfoy. I need you to follow me to the Aurors' Office after dinner. So wait for me when you are done eating please." Malfoy nodded to him in understanding. The Auror also gave his colleagues at the table a nod as he walked towards the teacher's table when he noticed who was sitting next to the Headmistress. Vanessa Burns was waving at him excitedly.

"Auror Silver!! I saved you a seat right here!" The woman pointed to the empty chair next to her. He scanned the teachers' table and confirmed that it was the only vacant seat. Cyril was smirking at him like a wolf would look at a sheep. Steeling himself Orion walked up to the table and took a seat.

"Miss Burns, we meet again." The woman next to him was cutting her chicken almost violently when she talked.

"The Headmistress just told me that all of you Aurors ate in the Great Hall and I got so excited! None of you have changed at all! It is a shame that Blackmoore is not here though, where is she?"

"That is something I would like to know as well as Auror Silver. She has shown herself only once since she came here. What is her excuse this time?" Headmistress McGonagall asked before he could answer Burns. He took a sip of water from his glass to calm down his irritation towards the both of them before answering as politely as he could.

"She had a lot of work to attend to, so she is taking her meal in the office. I will make sure she is at more meals from tomorrow onward Ma'am." The older witch let out a snort before turning her attention to Professor Flitwick at her right. The blond wizard froze when he felt a hand on his knee and looked at the woman next to him with a dry smile.

"Miss Burns?" Burns smiled sweetly at him, it was still the same ten years later it seemed and it still made him slightly sick to his stomach.

"Oh! I am so sorry! It seemed like my hand slipped for a second there. You know I will tell you a secret." She leaned even closer to him now. He had to will every fibre of his body not to jump out of the chair and run straight out of the Hall.

"Oh really? What is that then?" His voice was polite but cold.

"I had the biggest crush on you back when we were in school. I never had the courage to tell you back then you see. But now I felt I had to do it so I would not miss my chance again." She giggled like a schoolgirl while a blush spread across her face. Orion gave her the most neutral smile he could muster.

"I see, I never knew. I am honoured." He placed his hand over the one she had on his knee and gently removed it from his presence.

"But let us not do anything scandalous in front of the students now, hm?" It seemed like the word 'scandalous' was enough to get the woman to blush even harder. Orion was glad that he could not see what was going on in her head right then as he started to eat the chicken that was waiting in front of him.

"Oh my, Orion! I never knew you were that kind of man." Hearing his first name from the woman's lips sent shivers down his spine. He was never going to complain about how Artemis said his name again, angry or not. Orion winked at her while he took another sip of his glass. The woman started to babble nonsense in return and he tuned her out. The faster he could finish his food the quicker he could get out of here.

Thankfully the Headmistress pulled Burns into a conversation with herself and Flitwick which gave the Auror a chance to escape after he finished. He said his goodbyes to the teachers and marched down towards the Slytherin table where Malfoy was getting out of his seat.

"Ready to go Mr Malfoy?"

"Yes, Sir." Zacharias looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You alright there King? It looked like you were molested up there." Snickering could be heard from the table as he rolled his eyes.

"Language Auror Zabini. Follow me, Mr Malfoy." He turned around and started to walk out of the Great Hall. Orion knew the boy was following him by the click of his shoes as he hurried as far away from the Hall as possible before letting out a loud groan. Malfoy was looking at him puzzled.

"Sir?" Orion stopped to lean against the wall for a second.

"I'm sorry Mr Malfoy but that was the most painful meal I've ever had in my life. That woman is a nightmare. I never expected to see her again and then she shows up here of all places. I didn't even know she was a certified teacher of the subject." Orion pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, he could feel a headache coming. He looked up to meet Malfoy's eyes.

"Don't trust that woman." "I don't trust that woman." Both wizards said at the same time. They blinked at each other before Orion smirked at the younger blond.

"Well, well. Seems like you are a Slytherin, after all, Mr Malfoy. What makes you not trust her?" He started to walk in the direction towards the staircase while keeping his surroundings in mind. You never knew who could be listening. Malfoy walked into step with him next to him.

"When Auror Blackmoore entered the Defence classroom earlier today she pointed her wand at Professor Burns, then told clear a lie about mistaking her for a Death Eater before leaving in a hurry. I don't believe the Auror would do that Sir. Potter seems to agree to this as well." Orion looked at him surprised as he step on the staircase to the second floor waiting for it to align with the next set.

"Auror Blackmoore pointed her wand at her?"

"Yes, Sir. She looked ill before she left the classroom too." When Artemis had Apparated into the office earlier today he had not noticed anything from the woman, which meant that she probably had closed the bond right before this event. She probably panicked when she saw Burns in the classroom and for once the instinct to flee won before anything else. It was probably for the best Orion reasoned. He could not Apparate of free will inside the castle like she could and would therefore not make it to the classroom before something fatal happened.

The two blonds stepped off the stairs when it had reached the landing to the third floor and started walking down the hall when Orion realised something.

"Wait, did you say that Mr Potter also agrees?" Malfoy looked at him.

"Yes, Sir. He also did not buy Auror Blackmoore's excuse. The man might be paranoid after the war but he still has some sense. I have learned to trust that now. If I may be so bold, Sir. Who is that woman?" Orion studied the Slytherin before him and sighed.

"She is one that myself and my colleagues went to school with. The rest is not my story to tell I'm afraid. But she was never good news back then, let's hope that has changed." They now stood in front of the office door, for a second Orion hesitated to go in. Even though Artemis had opened the bond earlier not many emotions had been let through it. Not that this had to mean something was wrong, but she was not alone at this given time which made him nervous for reasons unknown. However, Malfoy grabbed his shoulder before he could open the door. Puzzled he turned towards the younger man.

"Yes? Is something the matter Mr Malfoy?" Malfoy looked at the floor saying nothing for a minute, Orion was beginning to lose his patience before he looked up at him. Grey eyes met ice blue.

"Please answer me honestly if you can Sir. Auror Blackmoore doesn't want to be here does she?" There were multiple ways to go with this answer Orion thought to himself. He could give in to the request of being honest, or he could simply lie. Either way worked for him, but then again if he lied the relationship that Artemis was trying to build with the young Malfoy might get set back if his lie was figured out. He pulled himself up to his full height before meeting the young Slytherin's eye again.

"If I am going to be brutally honest with you Mr Malfoy. I am sure that Auror Blackmoore would rather take on You-Know-Who's army all by herself instead of being inside the walls of this castle again." The boy seemed to will himself to go through the floor rather than stand before him. Orion almost pitied him, almost.

"However, she is here to prevent history from repeating itself. You made a good choice to ask for her personally, I can assure you that none other would come to your rescue. It is solely because of her that the rest of the team are here, myself included. You better remember that. So count yourself lucky Mr Malfoy." Orion did not bother to wait for a reply from the other blond before he turned towards the door again and walked in.

~𓅃~

The office was empty but Orion could hear laughter from the bedroom. He rolled his eyes as he went to knock on the door before he got an answer though he opened it.

"Sorry to disturb ladies but I'm here with Mr Malfoy." He waved the boy over to the room and motioned him to enter.

"Ah, Auror Silver, there you are. Took you long enough. Mr Malfoy have a seat in the chair over there." The boy did as he was instructed to do by Artemis. Orion took a look around and noted that Loftwind had indeed gone to work after their meal. Rune circles could be seen on the floor, some of the beds were moved to make room for a chair in the middle of the room now and at least a dozen small light balls hung around in the air. Orion stood in the door while Artemis introduced the two to each other.

"Mr Malfoy this is Eminence Loftwind. The glyphs expert I told you about earlier. Eminence this is Draco Malfoy. The reason I am here at the moment. Miss Loftwind will be explaining to you what she is going to do to you, nothing too dangerous I assure you." Artemis gave Loftwind a side look.

"I will be outside in the office as I will only get in the way of Miss Loftwind's work. But call for me if you are in need of help, got it?" Malfoy and Loftwind shook hands politely, Loftwind with the biggest grin on her face.

It made Orion shudder to think about what the woman was gonna do to the boy. Getting runes on the body was not the most pleasant. But compared to the Dark Mark it would be a walk in the park he supposed. Artemis looked at Loftwind again with a knowing look.

"Don't forget the thing I gave you." Loftwind nodded before turning her attention to Malfoy.

"Well come on Auror Silver, time to leave." Artemis pushed him out the door with a little more force than necessary. She closed the door behind her then walked over to her own desk and sat down heavily in the office chair. The woman let out something between a whine and a groan.

"That was the most painful experience of my life." Orion looked at the woman curiously.

"What was?" He jumped slightly when gold eyes flashed before him.

"Ah, yes. She took it well? Or do I still need to Obliviate her?" The witch groaned louder in frustration.

"No, she seems fine with it. I did not tell her the whole truth, but it will be enough for now. Why did you take so long to enter the office anyway?" Orion sat down behind his own desk then, moving some papers around it before answering cursing to himself that she had the ability to pinpoint his exact location while he could not do the same for her.

"He just asked me some questions, nothing serious. Don't worry about it." He could tell that she did not believe him, but apparently, she did not care enough to dig more into the subject as she stayed quiet.

~𓆗~

What Auror Silver had told him before was still swimming around in his head when he sat down in the chair. It wasn't until he had shaken hands with the tall woman that he had got himself back to reality. Her name did ring a bell somehow, but he wasn't sure where he had heard it before. The woman in question was walking around the room looking at different papers that were spread out across the room, humming to herself. It was not a song that Draco recognised but it sounded soothing somehow. If she was a friend of Auror Blackmoore at least he was in safe hands he reasoned and willed himself to relax more in the chair.

They had obviously used the Aurors' private sleeping chamber for this so as not to get caught by any of the teachers. He wondered if the female Auror also shared this room with the other men or if she had her own room. Then he noticed the different runes that were on the floor, the Auror had said that this woman was a runes expert. According to some of the more advanced runes, this seemed to be a true fact. He cleared his throat to get the witch's attention.

"Miss Loftwind? What exactly are you going to do to me? Auror Blackmoore said that you were going to explain." Loftwind paused in her song and looked at him.

"How much do you know about runes, Mr Malfoy?"

"Top of the class Ma'am." Draco smirked proudly at the witch and was met with a smirk back almost matching his own.

"Excellent! In short, we're giving you some of this." She stated, and with a flick of the wrist dispelled the Glamour that hid the runes on her body and joyfully presented her arms.

"I've devised a method for writing runes to the skin without causing permanent damage and minimal pain." The Slytherin widened his eyes while staring at the witch's arms. He unconsciously pulled his sleeve over his left arm down.

"How will this method be done then and isn't this highly frowned upon?" Loftwind quickly returned to her preparations.

"It's honestly gotten quite boring since the beginning of my research. Still looks quite impressive though I must admit. You select a location, and I'll make the rune and attach it. I'm planning on making just two simple ones today, mostly because anything more would take quite long. While the reason it's frowned upon, primarily, is exactly what my method doesn't do. As mentioned, the pain and the permanent marks. I avoid those. Besides, giving you additional secret magical resources is by itself frowned upon, Mr Malfoy. Can I call you Draco?" Draco paid close attention when the witch explained her work but was surprised by the question of using his first name.

"Ah, yes I suppose that is fine Ma'am."

"Great, then please call me Eminence in return. I don't feel old enough for Ma'am yet." She interjected.

"Then please put them on the right arm, the left is kind of occupied…" Draco rolled up his sleeve on his right arm while looking at Loftwind.

"Sure, I can probably fit them. Reject and Dogwhistle aren't exactly complicated. You'll mostly have to be prepared to sit still for fifteen, thirty minutes." The blond raised his eyebrows at her.

"Reject and Dogwhistle? That is something the Aurors wanted me to have correct? It seems so simple." Eminence smiles mischievously.

"I chose those, actually. Art— Aurors Blackmoore and Silver never studied runes and simply left it up to me. They are simple tools, but quite effective for what we want from them: a way for you to escape and get help if push comes to shove." The Slytherin smiled apologetically. When he thought about it more it did seem like a good choice after all. Without his wand, he could not even put up a ward even if he wanted to.

He watched as the witch started to do the finishing touches on the floor. She drew multiple lines between the runes while she continued to hum. Draco wondered how close of a relationship the witch had to the Aurors, he had not missed that she had almost called Auror Blackmoore by her first name. This might be a chance he would not get again.

"Are you close to Auror Blackmoore, Eminence?" The witch stopped and looked up at him from where she sat crouched on the floor.

"Yes. We met during our last year here at Hogwarts, and have been quite close friends ever since. I've known Or— Si— Orion for a bit longer." His mind started to wander back to all the scars the woman had and wondered if Eminence knew about them.

"I see, was Auror Blackmoore a klutz when she went to school?" She tilted her head and gave him a curious look.

"She was quite often hurt, but it was rarely ever her own fault. It's been only a day, what rumour mills have begun spinning now?" The witch returned briefly to her work drawing on the floor before grasping something on her right hip, and with a tap of her left hand, the runes around the room came to life. Draco looked at the glowing runes getting slightly nervous before replying.

"The Slytherin table is notorious for spreading gossip and one of my friends is the queen of it. It was just something I overheard over dinner. Somebody did say that she has a tattoo though, is that your work perhaps?" He motioned to all the different runes on her body as an example. He was not sure if the witch knew about the raven scar but this was a way to confirm it or not. Loftwind's eyes widened further than Draco had anticipated.

"That's surprising. No tattoos, no, but it wouldn't be surprising if somebody thought so. If I recall correctly Cyril has one and Artemis had something do to with that one. However, I've never known her to slip up in covering that mark. At least they're Slytherin rumours, if your house is anything like I remember them from my time this can pass easily." Not missing the insult to his own house Draco frowned slightly, also storing the information about Auror Thompson's tattoo for later.

"Mark? So it's not a tattoo then?" The blond felt like he was treading in dangerous waters, but he had gotten this far.

"Again, I'm quite shocked anyone could have known. There is a distinct mark that she will not show happily, so I'd be grateful if you could help shut this one down for her sake. By the way, watch this:" She walked toward the centre of the room, near Draco, grabbed her wand from her right side and tapped the floor with her foot. The glyph responded and an ethereal blue cluster of light floated up to just under the height of her chest.

"Come to think of it, you didn't actually have to remain seated for any of this. Hadn't really considered that, sorry." She started weaving her hands through the light in front of her, gradually altering its shape. The Slytherin knew that he would not get anymore information about Auror Blackmoore's scar from the glyph expert, he was already putting himself at risk for asking about it in the first place. If the Auror somehow found out about him asking around it would probably not end well. Instead, he started paying attention to the case at hand.

"I would have preferred to keep sitting anyway." He said while studying the runes.

"This is fascinating though, I got to admit. Are you sure this is not going to leave any permanent scars?" Eminence scoffed at the question.

"Watch." She tapped her wand against the underside of her left arm which began emitting the familiar light of an activated rune. Ribbons of golden light gathered toward the palm of her hand which she directed behind her, and moments later a small cloud had formed which she promptly sat down on. The witch then displayed her arm to Draco.

"Not a trace." Draco had to try not to roll his eyes.

"Show off." He mumbled.

"Yes, you got me convinced. Should we get this started for real then? I'm sure the Aurors are growing impatient." He stretched his right arm towards her.

"Of course, just one more moment." She stood up and walked over to her suitcase in the corner of the room, returning a few vials of colourful dust and some inks. Pouring out the contents of a couple of vials into the floating shiny object she had conjured, she started drawing a Reject rune in mid-air inside it. Draco raised his eyebrow in question. He had to admit this was an unorthodox way of doing it but he had no choice but to trust the witch in front of him and hope that she knew what she was doing.

"There, now finally your arm, please. We'll just wrap this around it. You can do it if you want, I'll help guide the glyph. Let's you place it where you think it's most convenient to use." He thought about it for a moment before deciding to place it in the middle of the bottom side of his lower right arm. The witch smiles.

"Great, now to draw a Dogwhistle too." She retrieves the rest of the vials she had stashed in her pockets, including one containing a viscous red liquid and starts weaving them into a rune. The vial looked suspicious to Draco, he knew that the rune could be altered by the use of different ingredients but pouring something that seemed like blood made him curious.

"Is that blood you're poring on the rune?" Loftwind nodded slowly.

"Artemis' idea, and not a bad one honestly. Blood is a strong bond, lets you hear Dogwhistles across vast distances."

"So that is Auror Blackmoore's blood?" Draco asked in shock, he would have never thought the Auror would go that far to protect him.

"Mm-hmm" The witch replied softly, still focused on her work.

"Now then, let's get this one situated as well." She said moments later. The blond stretched out his arm to the right and pointed at the underside of the upper arm.

"Here would be good, Eminence." She smiles and promptly pushes the glyph toward his arm, carefully placing it flush against his skin.

"Done! Let's see how worried or bored they got shall we?" Draco got up from the chair feeling his legs shaking slightly while the lights in the room snuffed out one by one. The rune expert started to clean away her equipment while he went for the door.

~𓆗~

Carefully opening it the first thing he saw was Auror Blackmoore asleep on her desk. Auror Silver was deep in concentration with his nose in a cauldron brewing a potion of some sort. He walked the two steps over to the female Auror and tapped her shoulder carefully. The brunette almost jumped out of her chair.

"What?! Oh, Mr Malfoy. You're done I see." Her surprised look changed into a calm one when she realised it was him.

"Yes, Miss." She let out a long yawn as a reply before standing up.

"Let me look then." He showed her the runes and she nodded in approval.

"Good, remember don't show them to anyone if you can avoid it alright?" He nodded and rolled down his sleeve. Then the taller woman emerged from the other room with her suitcase in tow.

"There we go, all packed! I guess I have to take the same way out as I did in?"

"If you don't want to be chewed out by the Headmistress then yes, that is the best way." Orion spoke up from his desk.

"Stop being rude Orion. Yes, that is the safest way Eminence. Thank you for today." The tall witch curtsied clumsily, still having one hand on her suitcase.

"Always a pleasure Artemis! It was a great opportunity to test out my new Canvas anyway. I would have loved to stay, but I'd probably quickly get you in trouble then. Feel free to drop by my shop whenever all three of you! My door is always open, and that's not just because I get customers coming through." She started towards the floo, then stopped herself again.

"Oh, before I forget. If my Nimbus is still there come evening, just push it against the roof. And Draco, if you haven't activated a rune before without your wand handy, I recommend making some to practice with at your earliest convenience." The Aurors exchanged a confused expression with the mentioning of Nimbus as Draco had to hide a smirk remembering that none of them had taken runes so they would be thinking of the broom instead.

After the witch had entered the floo and disappeared the mood in the room seemed to change. Draco was sure that something was going on between the two Aurors who were in the office but he was not sure what. Auror Blackmoore stretched on the spot before turning her attention towards him.

"Well, then Mr Malfoy. I'll follow you back to the dungeons. Come on." The woman started to move before hearing his reply, a common thing among Aurors he figured. They walked side by side down to the Slytherin common room in silence. All Draco wanted was to go to bed, it had been a long day and for once he thought he could get a night's sleep without having nightmares.

When the pair entered the common room however Pansy and Blaise were waiting for him. Both were curious as to what he had been doing in the Aurors' office this entire time. Auror Blackmoore just smiled at them politely and said good night to him before she left. She was probably exhausted as well. His friends had bombarded him with questions the second the older woman had left but he was not in the mood to answer. So he simply went up to his room to go to sleep.