Awakening

The little alley in Diagon was kept in shadow, hidden away from the prying eyes of the few that were walking down the main street this late. It was raining and puddles were slowly forming between the cobblestones. The man in front of them was squirming trying desperately to get away from the two Aurors who had caught him. Zacharias had him at wand point making him unable to move without the risk of getting a hex sent his way.

"I won't ask nicely again, who are you working for?" The man cowered but still looked annoyed at them before answering.

"I don't know! I keep telling you! We just got orders from someone in a Death Eater mask. I never saw his face." Orion sighed, it was the same answer as all the other times they had asked.

It really did seem that the wizard had not seen anything important. Sick of the other wizard's act he grabbed his shirt cuff and pulled him towards himself. The man was of a smaller build than the blond himself but he was the same height. Not that Orion could care how tall he was, the unfamiliar wizard knew he was on the losing side.

"You sent my partner into a coma. You better tell us what you know or you will follow her." The man shivered and looked scared for a second before his eyes turned glassy and filled with anger.

"She deserves it! I had to bury my friend because of her! She is a monster!" Both of the Aurors looked at him in surprise. The blond let the man go without realising but Zacharias was quick to grab him again.

"There was no evidence of someone who had died in the pub, how did you get him out?" The man bit his lip refusing to answer. As a response the dark Auror pushed him against the wall hard, pointing his wand against his neck.

"You said?" The usual humour in Zabini's voice was gone.

He had been looking for clues the entire week and finally this morning they had gotten a tip from someone who had been in the Leaky during the attack that they had seen a man acting suspiciously around the area. The woman had a keen eye and recognised the man's shoes, which was not weird as they were made of red dragon leather something that was not normal in this part of town.

Not expecting much Zacharias and Orion had ventured out to try and find him just in case there were some connections and sure enough after hours of looking they had found him walking aimlessly in the street above the Leaky Cauldron. The second he had spotted the Aurors he had sprinted to the pub and quickly made his way into Diagon Alley where they had caught him in a one-way alley.

The cold rain was soaking them to the bone and Orion had to stop himself from shivering as he pointed his own wand at the man. That did the trick as the wizard started to stammer out an explanation.

"T… That bitch was totally crazy! She sent curses left and right never letting up just to make sure some kid ran away. She hit my friend square in the chest with some sort of killing curse! But he didn't die right away, he suffered for an entire night before he died! The men that hired us didn't care either so I had to bury him myself." Several Auror-grade curses came to Orion's mind after hearing his explanation but none of them should have been lethal. Unless Artemis had used more power behind them than necessary.

"Did her eyes seem gold to you?" The wizard's eyes grew wide at the question and he started to shiver violently.

"T… Th… those eyes. They have haunted me ever since. She is a bloody monster!" Zacharias tightened his grip on him as he looked at Orion. The blond pointed his wand at the man's head.

"Obliviate."

Zacharias quickly let go of the man and put his wand away, while putting on a cheery smile. They both watched as the wizard's eyes turned glossy for a second before he looked at them confused.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" The dark wizard laughed slightly while pointing to the end of the alley.

"We were helping you, sir, it seems you have had a bit too much to drink. As I said, the Apparating point is in the next alley." Orion put his wand back into his holster while the man looked at them calculating before he smiled at them politely.

"Oh I am sorry, I must have zoned out for a second. Thank you so much." The two Aurors watched him go and when he had disappeared around a corner Zacharias spoke up.

"He could have had more information." Orion shrugged.

"Perhaps. But we can't have someone remember what she looks like. He was just an underling anyway and it was pretty obvious he did not know his contractor. If he is still alive it means that it was a one-time job. But put some agents to keep an eye on him just in case. Let's get out of here, I'm freezing." Orion walked out of the alley taking a peek up and down the street and relaxing when he saw nobody.

It was past closing time for the shops in the familiar street but there were still lights in some of them. The owners probably stayed behind to wash up for the next day. Zacharias was quick to join his side and they walked down the street in silence. Only the sound of the rain hitting the cobblestones and roofs could be heard and all that the blond wanted was to get back to Hogwarts and take a warm shower.

It had been an incredibly long week and it was wearing on them all. They had been swamped in work both within the school and outside. The mission of protecting Malfoy was also getting more difficult with the four of them splitting themselves in so many different directions and Orion was frankly sick of babysitting the boy. He had personally gone to Potter for some assistance and the young wizard had understood completely and taken the blond even more under his wings to the blond's annoyance.

Then it was the ordeal of Burns drugging and almost raping him that he was meant to take care of but his time had not reached that far yet. Instead, the wizard had chosen to stay in his office for as many of the meals as he could. The witch had not approached him since either but he saw the hungry looks she sent him when they were in the same room.

Cyril had weirdly enough said nothing about the whole thing but as the days went by Orion feared the man was close to a breaking point. It was years since he had seen him show his anger so openly and if he was honest with himself he was scared of what the other wizard could do to him.

It was no secret that Cyril was in love with Artemis to any of the other wizards, only the witch herself seemed oblivious to the fact. The auburn-haired wizard had always followed her loyally even when they had been kids in school never missing an opportunity to touch or put Orion in a bad light.

"Bloody weather." Zacharias' complaining snapped Orion out of his thoughts and he had to nod in agreement.

"Wanna grab a firewiskey before we head back?" The blond shook his head at the dark wizard.

"I rather want to go straight back. A warm shower is more tempting at the moment."

"Fair enough I suppose." Falling quiet for a minute his partner stopped him in his tracks.

"You still feel nothing?" Orion sighed. He was asked this question multiple times a day now and every time he had the same answer but he always had to check anyway just to be sure. Closing his eyes he focused everything he had into the bond feeling around for a response.

Suddenly he felt something, it was weak but there was definitely something there. Focusing harder he tried to grasp the feeling almost pulling it towards himself. Confusion. She was awake and she was confused. Orion's eyes flew open and looked at his friend in shock.

"She's awake." Zacharias's eyes widened much like his own before he started to laugh almost hysterically.

"She made it! I told you! We need to find a floo, come on!" The wizard started to walk down the street with a spring in his step and Orion quickly followed. He was clutching to the feeling as hard as he could as he walked.

The blond looked confused up when they stopped outside of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and the other Auror knocked on the door only to find it open. The blond Auror followed his partner inside as he shouted for the people within.

~𓅃~

"Aurors! We need to use your floo system, it's an emergency!" There was no noise for the few seconds that followed until what was presumably a Weasley stepped out from the room at the back. He was tall, and skinny and where his right ear used to be there was an ugly scar. The wizard's eyes widened almost comically when he saw them.

"Charlie!" The man shouted back into the room he had just come out of and soon a shorter but bulkier build wizard walked out. He looked at them with a sceptical look.

"Aurors? What kind of uniform is that then? I've never seen that colour before." Orion sighed and took out his Auror badge and identification and threw it on the counter for the wizard to see and gestured for Zacharias to do the same. The two redheads studied their badges for what felt like a decade as Orion was slowly losing his patience. Suddenly the shorter redhead looked up surprised.

"Orion Silver? The Orion Silver?" The blond nodded at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes? Do I know you?" The man deeply chuckled.

"No most likely not. I am Charlie Weasley. I was one year behind you in school. Heard a lot of stuff about you. Never thought you would just waltz into the store like that." The other brother then looked up from his partner's ID with huge eyes.

"You are Blaise Zabini's older brother?" Zacharias grinned widely.

"Yes, that charming young snake is my little brother. I assume you are Ron Weasley's older brothers?" They both nodded at them while the shorter Weasley threw their badges and IDs back at them.

"You said you needed a floo?" Orion nodded at him seriously.

"Yes, we need the quickest route to St. Mungo's." Both of them looked worried.

"One of you hurt?" The taller one asked carefully. The blond shook his head.

"No, but our partner is in the hospital and needs us there at once. I am sorry to be rude but can we use the floo or not? You will be in the Ministry's gratitude and I will personally make sure you are compensated for your trouble." The seriousness of his tone seemed to make an impact on the two redheads as the shorter one nodded at the taller one.

"Alright, follow me. Pardon the mess." The shorter Weasley gestured to follow him up a flight of stairs and through a door that happened to lead into the private apartment above the shop.

When he had said to pardon the mess it was said in earnest, the place was a mess and not fit for visitors at all. Orion could not help himself and started to analyse the rooms in front of him. There were clothes strewn everywhere like someone had thrown them around in rage. Old dishes were piling on the coffee table together with take-out boxes of all sizes. Some potion vials were also seen here and there and the blond noticed some empty on the floor that had leaked a little on the floor. Obviously thrown away. Zacharias whistled next to him as they went.

"You've been robbed or something?" Weasley looked back at him with a sad expression on his face.

"My brother downstairs, George, is having a hard time dealing with the death of his twin. We take turns looking after him these days as he keeps digging himself down in misery." The dark Auror said nothing in response and they continued into a bedroom that had a fireplace. The room looked just as bad as the others except the bed was nearly untouched which meant the man was not sleeping in it.

"This is directly linked to St Mungo's. I got it done a few months back, just tell the nurse that George is OK so they don't freak out over there." Orion studied the man in front of him. It was obvious that he was struggling to keep his head afloat after taking care of his brother. Dealing with the death of a brother was one thing but dealing with the death of a twin must be destroying to the soul.

The blond clicked his tongue and took out a piece of parchment from his pocket and handed it to Weasley.

"Your brother is clearly suffering from insomnia, anxiety and probably panic attacks by the look of the house. He is clearly not given the correct medication for this as just from the look of him he looks more like a drug addict on a downward spiral than a recovering patient. This is the name of the Healer we are personally using on the Auror Force, you will not get anyone better. Tell him that Auror Silver sent you and he will gladly help you. My name is on the back as well if you need to contact me, I will vouch for you." The redhead looked down on the piece of parchment as he turned it overlooking stunned for a few seconds before he looked up at Orion.

"I… I'm sorry but there is no way we can pay him." Orion snorted at the shorter wizard.

"That can be worked out later, the most important thing is to make your brother better right? Besides Healer Crane doesn't care about money he is paid by the Ministry for his work and your brother is a war hero correct? I am sure he can slip him through the system." Orion crossed his hands while raising his eyebrow at the redhead who was still looking at him stunned. His mouth opened and closed like a fish a couple of times before he came to his senses.

"Thank you, Auror Silver. I will contact him in the morning and set up a meeting with him. George has suffered enough as it is and it is time he got some real help. This was some compensation just for using the floo." Weasley grinned slightly at them while putting the note in his pocket. Zacharias smiled back at him while patting the redhead on the shoulder.

"Our partner in the hospital is a special one you see so this was nothing to speak of. Good luck with your brother yeah? Don't hesitate to contact the Auror office and ask for any of us if ya need help with something. We both have brothers we need to protect Mr Weasley." Weasley looked at them both in gratitude before his face turned into curiosity.

"Can I ask who it is? The one in the hospital I mean." Orion answered without really thinking about it.

"Artemis Blackmoore, a Senior Auror like ourselves." The wizard's eyes grew wide as dinner plates as he met Orion's own eyes and the blond cursed himself when he remembered that this man had been a Gryffindor and probably knew about the witch but soon found himself surprised.

"Blackmoore? I've worked with her on multiple occasions before, even tried to persuade her to become a dragon tamer. I hope she is okay." Zacharias looked at Orion with a confused look and it seemed that he had not heard about this working relationship. Nothing came to the blond's mind either but then again he had been deep into the potion smuggling cases at one point and they had been doing their separate things for quite a while. He put on a smile.

"She will be fine. We better get going now, Mr Weasley. Don't forget to mention my name to Healer Crane." The man nodded at them both in understanding and stepped away so that they had room to go through the floo. Zacharias took a fist's worth of floo powder from the mantle and threw it into the fireplace.

"St Mungo's!" The fire became green within a second and the man ducked inside while Orion quickly followed leaving the Weasley behind.

~𓅃~

As they stepped out of the floo a young Healer was standing at the ready, wide-eyed and nervous.

"Where is Mr Weasley? That is his private address you are coming from." Zacharias gave her a reassuring smile while taking a peek at her nameplate.

"He is totally fine Miss Zeltwin, we used the Weasleys' floo system to get here faster. We are here to see Auror Blackmoore." The witch's blond curls bounced around her face as she hurriedly got out of their way.

"Oh! She woke up just a little while ago I heard. Healer Crane is taking care of her now." As Zacharias thanked the witch Orion was already marching down the hall towards Artemis' room. Her emotions were clearer now that he was closer but it seemed that she was not totally herself yet. Confusion was still the biggest wave that he felt but it was also a flicker of worry and nervousness.

Rounding the last corner he saw the Healer exit the room shutting the door behind him. Their eyes met when Orion was just a few meters away and the wizard held his hand up to stop him from going into the room.

"One moment please Auror Silver. I am aware that you know she is awake but she is in no condition to see you at the moment." Orion looked at the wizard in front of him with equal parts confusion and annoyance.

"Why is that?" Healer Crane gave him a look that told him he would not like the answer.

"She is confused and remembers little from what happened on the day of the attack. I have already told her that she has been in a coma for the last five days, as she thought that had happened yesterday. It seems her only concern is Mr Malfoy at the moment. So I suggest you go back to Hogwarts to get him. In the meantime, I will do a thorough medical examination of her psyche to see if there is any damage." The Healer positioned himself in front of the door knowing that had he, not the blond would have marched straight into the room disregarding what he had just been told.

All Orion could do was scowl at him before turning back the way he came. As he was halfway to the front desk he saw Zacharias still chatting up the nurse they had met earlier, rolling his eyes he grabbed him by the collar while he passed by, the man in question almost falling over his own two feet in the process.

"I'm sorry Nurse Zeltwin but I have need of this man." The nurse looked at them a little owlishly while they went, curses from the other Auror filling his ear.

"Come on mate! I was so close to a date with that one. What happened to Prince?" The blond sent him an angry look before he answered.

"We need to get Malfoy here apparently, Crane did not let me in to see her before he was present." Queen whistled in awe at what he just heard.

"Well better get back post-haste and get him then." Orion nodded in annoyance and they both made their way over to the floo system. He felt around the bond again and it had grown quiet, but not the same quiet it had been the last few days. The blond concluded that she must be asleep or in a calmed-down state he concluded that Healer Crane must have given her something prior to the examination he was going to do.

He reminded himself that he had to keep his emotions in check to not upset her unnecessarily even if what he really wanted to do was turn around and run back to the witch's room to confirm that she actually was OK.

~𓆗~

Draco was pacing around in his room as he had been doing for the past nights debating if he should take another Dreamless Sleep and make the night pass without troubles. He stopped to look at the chair Auror Blackmoore had been sitting in when she had attacked him for what seemed like the millionth time that week. Flashes of what happened still passed through his mind but not because of fear, no, he wanted to understand how it had happened. Why it had happened. He wanted to know what she was exactly, not just wade around in endless theories that might or might not have some truth behind them.

Auror Zouch had confirmed for him that she did have a Master who somehow controlled her. If this information was given to him willingly or not he did not know, but he was going to use it for what it was worth. He had managed to borrow some books from the library to do research both about bonding rituals and the slave ritual.

The books were strewn around his desk and floor and what he had found made his theory that it must have been tweaked correct. The original branding ritual was a painful affair but it was also mostly to the benefit of the Master and not the Slave. Whoever controlled you would have full knowledge of where you were at all times and could even control you directly with voiced commands. The magic the Slave could use was also limited to protect the Master from Slaves that went rogue. This was the thing that probably was the reason why Auror Blackmoore had this brand in the first place, her magic had been uncontrollable back when she was younger and she had taken this ritual instead of risking her own life or someone else's. It sends shivers down the blond's back when he thinks about being controlled in this way.

Then it was the case of her being bonded to Auror Silver, he had found no evidence that there could not be two rituals like this with two different people. So it was still plausible that she was bonded to the blond Auror and Slave bonded to Auror Thompson. Draco had not seen much of either of them as he had been kept company by Auror Zouch and Potter most of the time.

The blond knew that Auror Silver had asked help from Potter himself and the boy had been sticking to Draco's side ever since. A month earlier he might have found this bothersome but now he took comfort in it. Just the fact that Potter knew about his crush on the witch made them closer to each other and the ravenhead had kept his promise so far about not saying anything.

A yawn escaped him and he sat down on his bed, a book in his hand. He took a peek at the potion vial on his nightstand again but went back to his book ignoring it for the time being. Soon the words he was reading started to float on the page in front of him and just after a few pages he gave up and threw the book to the floor in frustration.

Draco rubbed his eyes and dragged his fingers through his hair when he noticed the Slytherin tie that was hanging over the chair together with his robes. On closer inspection, he had found dried blood on it and for a second he had thought about calling Mips to clean it but had decided against it and used a spare one he had for class. Looking at it now just hanging there innocently Draco wondered how it would have gone if he had stayed and helped the witch defeat the Death Eaters. He was a competent enough wizard he thought, he could hold his own no problem in a duel. Potter was proof of that.

The blond must have been sitting just staring at the tie for several minutes as he jumped when there was a knock on his door. Looking confused at it for a few seconds the person on the other side knocked again before he managed to get to his feet and open it.

He was surprised to find Auror Silver on the other side looking like he wanted to be anywhere else but right there.

"Auror Silver?" The man studied him for a minute before he took a peek over his shoulder and raised his eyebrow.

"Researching something, Mr Malfoy?" Draco swallowed quickly before trying to hide the mess behind him.

"Yes, a lot of homework these days. What brings you here this late, Sir?" The Auror did not look convinced by his excuse but it seemed he did not care enough to question any further.

"I need you to come with me. Auror Blackmoore is awake." The young blond's eyes widened in surprise and he quickly ran over to his robe almost tripping over several books in the process only to proceed to throw it over himself and ran towards the door again.

"Ready, Sir" Auror Silver did not say anything as he started to make his way out of the Slytherin dorm, as usual, expecting Draco to follow, which he did after quietly closing his bedroom door.

They walked in awkward silence towards the Aurors' office. Draco used the time to study the Auror next to him from the corner of his eye. He looked more put together than before but it was clear that a storm was brewing underneath and the blond wondered what was going inside the man's head.

"Something on my face, Mr Malfoy?" The older wizard looked at him with a neutral expression but his eyes were like solid ice. Draco quickly looked away while he shook his head. Not saying anything else the man continued to pay attention to what was in front of him and the young blond went back to his thoughts.

He was happy to finally see Auror Blackmoore again, but at the same time, nausea was quickly climbing in his throat. If he had stayed and helped her back then things might have ended up differently but as pointed out by Potter it could also have ended up a lot worse.

Still, deep in thought, Draco barely registered them going through the painting of Salazar Slytherin and almost tripped on the way catching himself in the last second. Auror Silver gave him a weird look but said nothing instead looking around the empty office. The older wizard mumbled something to himself as he went over to the fireplace to throw some floo powder into it saying clearly: "St. Mungo's." then looking back to Draco motioning him to go first. The young blond quickly did as he was told and stepped into the fireplace only to be met by Auror Zabini on the other side.

"Why hello there, Mr Malfoy! Glad you could join us." The dark man grinned from ear to ear as he usually did and the blond took it as a good sign. Only seconds behind him the other Auror soon joined them and together they walked towards the direction of Auror Blackmoore's room.

The closer they got the more nervous Draco became as he was not sure what to expect. Hopefully, she had healed completely by now as the Healer had said she would but he could not stop the lingering feeling that her ending up in a coma was his fault all along. Maybe he had done something wrong when he had healed her and it had somehow given her a delayed reaction or the potion was too old so it had given her body a shock.

"Earth to Mr Malfoy?" The blond jumped as a hand waved in front of his face quickly and he looked at Auror Zabini in slight surprise. The man only chuckled at him while looking at him knowingly.

"The stage is yours, mate." Again, the blond looked around confused and he found himself outside of the same hospital room he had last seen her. The window to the room was tinted so there was no way to look inside from the outside but if he were to guess you could still see out of it. Looking around his eyes met that of the other Aurors who were now all present, as well as a Healer and a nurse. They were all looking at him with a variety of expressions. The one that sent shivers down his spine was the one from Auror Silver as the man was radiating disappointment and anger for reasons that Draco did not understand but before he got to ask anything about him the Healer and nurse moved over to the door.

"This way, Mr Malfoy. She is ready to meet you." Swallowing hard he steeled himself for what he was going to see inside.

~𓆗~

Auror Blackmoore seemed to be sitting in a state of deep thought when they stepped into the room but when she saw who it was she tried to get out of bed almost desperately.

"Miss Blackmoore stay still! Some of your wounds are still healing!" The nurse told her strictly and walked over to the witch and made her lean back against the pillows again making tutting at her as she corrected the bedsheets.

The brunette was not looking away from Draco as she obediently did as she was told weirdly enough not saying anything. He had not dared to move from the door before being told to and used the time to study the Auror. She looked much better than the last time he saw her. Most of the bandages were now removed as the skin had healed while she slept. The monitoring spells that were all around her had also been removed which was a good sign in Draco's eyes. It also seemed that she had been able to take a shower as her hair was clean and soft-looking, spreading over her shoulders like a bride's veil. The nurse was still fussing around her when the Healer cleared his throat.

"Nurse Zeltwin that is enough. You can wait outside until I need you again." The young witch nodded her head eagerly as her blond curls flew around her face seemingly having a mind of their own. She gave the Auror's bed a last once over before retreating through the door and closing it softly behind her. Leaning closer to Draco the Healer gave him a reassuring smile.

"Now, Mr Malfoy do as I say and you will be fine." Knitting his eyebrows together he looked at the Healer confused who just smiled wider at him in return before he turned his attention to Auror Blackmoore.

"Miss Blackmoore, you know who this is, correct?" The blond looked over to the brunette on the bed as she nodded.

"Draco Malfoy. Is this really necessary, Healer Crane?" Healer Crane pushed him closer to the bed then as he answered.

"Just normal procedure you know this Miss. We have to make sure that your memory is intact." The young wizard was now within touching distance of the witch and that was when he noticed it. Her eyes were gold. He could have sworn that they had been brown when they had entered the room but at the same time could not be entirely sure. Something was clearly wrong because this was not the same witch that had gone to sleep four days prior and Draco momentarily froze in place. Healer Crane seemed to notice as he put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed slightly. The witch rolled her eyes at the Healer but did not say anything as he continued;

"Do you remember his House?". The Auror looked at him with a raised eyebrow and pointed at his school cloak.

"You are kidding, right?" The Healer only smiled back at her in return while waiting patiently for an answer. She looked back and forth between the two wizards for a few seconds before sighing.

"Slytherin. Obviously." The older wizard wrote something down on the parchment he had taken out of his healer's robe while nodding.

"Good, good. His birthday?" Draco had to look at the other wizard now in question. He didn't understand the point of asking her questions about him if it was her who had memory problems. However, the Healer ignored him focusing solely on the witch, who snorted before replying.

"Fifth of June, 1980. He has the dark mark on his left forearm. His father is in Azkaban while his mother is in house arrest in France. I got asked by him to watch over him while he attends the eight-year at Hogwarts which I have done a bloody bad job of so far as I tried to kill him just a week ago. Do you need any more or can I touch him already?" Her voice went from almost cold to overflowing with emotions and Draco saw that her eyes had turned back to the dark brown that they usually were. Healer Crane studied her for a few seconds before writing down something else then proceeded to step away from them.

"Everything seems in order, Miss Blackmoore. I will leave you two alone for a while. Ring on me if anything were to happen." He looked at the blond as he said the last part signalling that he might not be out of danger just yet but at that moment Draco could not have cared and as soon as the Healer was out the door he flung himself at Auror Blackmoore pulling her into a hug. The witch was quick to embrace him in return as he shivered while he felt her breath on the side of his neck confirming to him that she was alive.

"I'm sorry, I should have stayed behind and helped you. I had my wand even and I instead ran away like a coward." He started to ramble nonsense in her ear and she pulled away from him. Touching his cheeks carefully with both hands while looking into his eyes.

"You did as you were asked, Draco. It was not your fault. None of this was your fault. I should have called for backup or I could have run away with you. But you saved me. Healer Crane told me that you healed my wounds in Eminence's store before they brought me to the hospital. You saved my life." The blond looked into her eyes and watched fascinated as they changed from chocolate brown to gold and back again as if the creature inside was just as thankful as she was.

He leaned closer so their foreheads touched carefully and chills went down his spine from the action. The witch closed her eyes and the world now only contained the two of them in Draco's mind. Comfortable silence filled the room and only their steady breathing could be heard. The blond realised that this was an incredibly intimate moment and he hoped that it would never end.

~𓅃~

Orion clenched his fists tightly as he watched the scene inside Artemis' hospital room. Healer Crane had removed the spell from the window so that they could look in without the two inside noticing in case of an emergency. The wizard was now writing down things on the parchment he had in his hands eagerly mumbling to himself as he went.

Starting to bite his lip he looked to Septimus who was standing to his left. The shorter wizard was looking at the scene with his usual calculating look, trying to memorise everything that happened no doubt.

"What does the boy know, Ace?" Sky blue eyes met his own ice-blue once and the shorter man smiled knowingly at him.

"Finally interested, King? You know I never snitch. Unless it is in my interest, of course." Orion matched his knowing smile before answering.

"This is not in your interest?" The other wizard simply chuckled at him while looking back at the scene in front of him.

"I saw plenty of books on the Glamour charm and different topics on bonding in the boy's room before we came here." The tall blond did not look away from his colleague to see if he could get a reaction but, of course, he got none. Septimus was used to interrogate criminals to show any emotions about the topic he was discussing.

"Really? Well then, how interesting. It might seem that he is getting closer to an answer then. But pardon me for saying this, King, what Mr Malfoy knows is not of any interest to you at the moment. You have a bigger 'hunt' shall we say, to take care of." Septimus gestured over to where Cyril stood to their right leaning casually against the wall his arms crossed.

The auburn-haired man was also paying close attention to what was going on inside the room, his look sharp as usual and with a smirk on his face. Orion looked at him confused for a second before their eyes met. The wizard had been looking at him with pure disdain all week but this time it was different. He looked like he had gotten the last piece of cake right in front of Orion's face. Cyril licked his lips almost sensually at him while his gaze turned back to the two in the room.

The blond's brain was working overtime while he studied the man. He did not look any different but something had clearly happened in his absence. The blond Auror knitted his eyebrows together as he thought back to the events that evening but quickly raised them in realisation. He had not seen the man other than when he had gotten the message of the witch waking up when he had come through the floo in the office to go get Malfoy. The auburn-haired wizard must have travelled straight to the hospital at the news which gave him plenty of time alone with her before his own arrival. His feet travelled on his own but before he got to take a step Septimus grabbed a hold of his arm tightly as anger flared up inside him.

"Not the time, King. The Prince needs you." Orion forced himself to look away from Cyril and changed his attention to the room from which Malfoy had now emerged. He had a slight blush on his face and what could seem like faint tear tracks on his cheeks.

"She wants to see you, Auror Silver." He nodded at the young blond before getting the Healers permission to go inside. Once the man gave a signal he marched into the room, hearing the door closing behind him.

~𓅃~

The room chilled within seconds of him entering and from the corner of his eye, he saw ice spreading across the glass window making it impossible to look through. Confused, he looked at the witch in the bed and willed himself to stand his ground as gold eyes met his. This was not the same welcome the Malfoy boy had gotten he mused.

"Artemis, I'm glad you are awake. You got me worried sick." Carefully, he approached the witch and took it as a good sign that she was letting him move. He managed to get all the way over to her and was about to touch her gently when she spoke making his hand freeze in place.

"Where were you?" Her voice was soft, afraid sounding but there was a coldness lurking underneath.

"What?" Orion looked at her with a relaxed face and sat down on the side of her bed not daring to touch her yet.

"I called for you during the attack but you never showed. Where were you?" The blond's eyes widened as his head took him back to the wave of emotions he had felt when he left Burns's office that day, it must have been a delayed reaction somehow of her calling for help. Licking his lips he thought hard about what to say as he could never tell her the truth.

"Are you sure the bond was not closed? I don't recall you calling for me." She looked at him with a hard look.

"It was wide open. You're lying to me. Tell me the truth, now." Her voice was no longer soft and the scared emotion was gone instead replaced by pure ice which was evident in the room now as the frost had started to creep up the walls. However, Orion found himself sweating under his uniform. He could never tell her the truth about what he actually had been doing, but then again if he did not tell her he might not live through the night.

"I… I can't tell you that." Suddenly, the temperature in the room started to rise again and Orion looked at Artemis confused but also a little relieved. But he quickly got a wave of disappointment and sadness washing over him.

"That's fine. Cyril, already told me anyway. Get out." A flare of anger lit in his core as he heard the words coming from the witch. He could not believe that the person he saw as his friend would stoop so low as to tell her something from his point of view that could simply be taken as a misunderstanding.

"Artemis, he misunderstood what was going on in Burns's office. I was being he-," A simple cold glare from the brunette made him shut his mouth quickly and he realised that he was not going to get time to explain himself. Instead, he took a deep breath got up from the bed and gave her a sad look.

"I'm glad you are alright, Artemis. Please, get better soon." Before getting an answer he marched to the door opening it swiftly and once out in the hall he did not stop to look at anyone but continued down the hallway as he ignored the others calling his name.