Aurors

Breakfast had been humiliating. The second Artemis and Orion had gone through the big door the entire school had been staring at them. Confused, Orion had looked at the teacher's table and was met with a not so amused look by the Headmistress. You could have cut the silence with a knife until Zacharias started to laugh loudly followed by a few catcalls their way. Artemis quickly ran over to the Slytherin table while Orion was walking determined to his now usual seat next to the Headmistress. While he walked down the Hall it erupted with chatter and he could hear comments here and there:

"Was it them?"

"I swear I saw them!"

"No. Way!"

"They are in so much trouble."

"Can they put the Aurors in detention?!"

Burns was looking at him gleefully like the thought of him being in trouble was the funniest thing in the world. As he got up to the teachers' table McGonagall stared him down.

"Mr Silver, meet me in my office after breakfast. Take Miss Blackmoore and Mr Malfoy with you as well. We have much to discuss." The usual tone of politeness was gone and replaced by subtle disappointment. Orion nodded in return as he went to sit down. As his waffles appeared before him Burns leaned into him.

"Oh my, Orion! Snogging under the big tree, what a cliché." The woman laughed sweetly at him and placed her hand on his knee. After a whole week of this, he should have gotten used to it but it still made him feel repulsed. He took a bite out of his breakfast without answering while looking down at the Slytherin table.

Septimus was looking at him sheepishly from across the Hall. Orion glared back at him, while Artemis spat out whatever she was drinking at the time. He raised his eyebrow at her when she looked at him but the witch quickly looked away. Cyril, he noted, was grinning like a wolf next to her while patting her back. The man had chosen the correct day to sit at the Slytherin table it seemed.

The blond was pulled out of his jealousy-filled head when Burns started to rub her hand up and down his thigh slowly and if he could get away with it he would have thrown his coffee at her.

"Miss Burns. Anything I can help you with?" Orion looked at the witch with the most polite smile he could muster. Her eyes did not hide what her intentions were, the Auror shivered in disgust.

"Most definitely. Why don't we meet up after class today in my office? I have something I need to discuss with you." Her voice turned to a serious tone towards the end and Orion raised his eyebrow at her in question.

"Really? What would that be?" The wizard did not think the witch could have come any closer at this point but she still seemed to manage.

"It has something to do with Mr Malfoy, I am sure you want to know the details. So, my office?" This was clearly a trap Orion thought, but he had no choice but to agree to go. If there even was a chance that she did have some information he had to know about it. He smiled politely at her again before answering.

"Alright, I will join you after my meeting with the Headmistress. You don't have class until after lunch correct?" The witch lit up like a Christmas tree with delight but before she managed to say anything McGonagall got up from her seat and walked towards the podium. The Great Hall fell into silence again while they waited for the older witch to speak. Clapping her hands the usual candles in the ceiling turned into pumpkin lanterns and little decorative pumpkins turned up in some of the corners of the room.

"My dear students, it is now time again for the yearly Halloween Masquerade!" The students erupted into applause and cheering but stopped when the Headmistress waved her hand.

"Yes, I know all of you must be excited and you have all the reason to be. Now this year we have a theme for this event, pay attention please." McGonagall took out her wand from her robe and pointed it to the ceiling.

"Expecto Patronum!" A cat sprung from her wand and started to dart around the Hall, it visited every table and played a little with the pumpkins that were floating closest to the ground before vanishing. Applause rang around the Hall again from the performance and once again the Headmistress had to quiet everyone. Orion frowned slightly at the show while his eyes met Artemis again, her face mimicked his own.

"As all of you just saw that was my Patronus, which has to be summoned by thinking about the happiest memory a person possesses. So to show that no matter what kind of hardship and sorrow we go through in life we still have the happy memories with us. For this reason, the only rule for this event is that you all will be dressed in masks that represent your Patronus." Whispers were heard around the Hall, and Orion did not have to guess what some of them were saying.

"Now now, I know what you are all thinking. Not everyone can produce a Patronus. But don't worry, you can still participate in the festivities. Simply think of an animal that you think represents you best! This will show all the different individuals that are part of this school. There will also be no House division at this Ball. So you can go with your friends no matter the House. Oh, yes. All students are invited! No age requirement." The whispers turned into cheering again from the younger students and chattering about what they were going to make had already started.

Orion could not shake the bad taste in his mouth, it seemed too staged for his liking. The wizard took a peek down at the Slytherins again and watched as Artemis said some words to the older students at the table. They all sat there with sombre looks on their faces and for a good reason he thought.

"The Masquerade is to be held here in the Great Hall on the 31st of October at six o'clock. I hope to see most of you there and good luck with the mask-making!" McGonagall stepped down from the podium and went back to her seat at the teacher's table. She looked at Orion fully now and with the usual polite expression.

"You and your colleagues are also invited to participate Auror Silver. Remember your masks." The blond was put out for a second, he had not expected the old witch to actually invite them. Which meant there was probably more than met the eye with this.

~𓅃~

Orion, Artemis and Malfoy were now standing inside the Headmistress's office. They had quickly made their way thereafter finished eating and all of them were now waiting patiently for the old witch to show herself.

The room itself did not look much different from when it was Albus Dumbledore in the Headmaster's seat. It was still filled with books from top to bottom along the walls, only the solar system the old wizard had was gone and was replaced with three cages with a different animal in each. One was a barn owl, the second a rabbit and the third a rat. If Orion were to guess it represented something only the Headmistress knew of.

The older blond suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of sorrow and looked at his partner in confusion. She was staring at something at the wall on the right side of the Headmistress's desk, he followed her eyes and saw that it was the painting of his old Head of House, Severus Snape. The old potion master looked at them with a little amusement in his eye, not unlike what he would usually do when they got in trouble. A shallow laugh came from the brunette next to him then.

"A painting, that is all that they gave him. A bloody painting." The wizard in the frame frowned at her.

"Yes, I am indeed a painting Miss Blackmoore. But I still have ears, language please." Hearing his voice was what did it. The woman next to him crumbled like a house of cards to the floor, hugging herself like she was the last person on earth. Small sobs escaped from her every few seconds. But before Orion himself could react the young Malfoy was already on the floor with her, trying to console her.

"It's alright Artemis, I know it hurts. I couldn't look at him in the beginning either." Had it not been for the fact that they were surrounded by old Headmasters and teachers he would have commented harshly on the use of her first name, but Orion managed to bite his tongue in the last second.

Now that he had full access through the bond he placed a hand on her shoulder softly and sent as many calm emotions through as he could muster. Within a few seconds, she had calmed down enough to be helped up again by the young blond. She looked at him with a shameful expression.

"I seem to embarrass myself in front of you, Mr Malfoy. Not very professional of me." The boy only shook his head in response while smiling softly at her.

"It's fine." Artemis smiled at the boy, which made Orion's jealousy flutter in his stomach, and she turned to the painting again.

"What do you remember Severus?" The painting looked at her confused for a second and then smiled at her when he seemed to figure out what she meant.

"The bond is still strong I see. I am glad." Orion watched as his partner got a soft look in her eye and nodded to the painting. Tears were still evident in her eyes, but somehow she seemed more at peace with the answer than he expected.

With the help of the young Malfoy, the witch got to her feet just as a door opened from the left then and the Headmistress came walking in followed by Burns. Instinctively Artemis placed herself a little in front of the young Malfoy, she still had her beliefs that the other witch was here on some mission, and not a good one.

"Mr Silver, Miss Blackmoore. First of all, I want to say that I am utterly disappointed in you both. To be snogging in the schoolyard like teenagers is highly unprofessional. I should report this to your boss, however, I have chosen to let this one slide if it is promised to not happen again." The woman stared them both down in turn while she sat down and in turn, both Aurors nodded in understanding.

"Very good. Now on to other matters. I have consulted with Professor Burns here and we have concluded that you need more help in taking care of Mr Malfoy here. Therefore Professor Burns will be keeping his wand on her at all times and is the one to hand it to him before every class. Also, she will be following him to and from different classes that do not clash with her own schedule." Before Orion managed to even let the information sink in Artemis had already started to protest.

"Has Robards been informed of this? Besides, it is evidently Mr Malfoy who is the one that hired us in the first place. What he says goes. So unless he agrees you cannot do this." The brunette was right, the Headmistress could not do any of this without permission and by the look of the young blond, he was taken by surprise as well as the other two.

"That will not be necessary Auror Blackmoore. He is not the ruler of this school. I am. By the incident that occurred in Mr Malfoy's room only yesterday morning, it is clear you need more assistance. Professor Burns here is excellent at her subject and is more than qualified to do the job." Malfoy took one step closer to the older witch now with a frown on his face.

"I don't want Professor Burns to follow me around, nor for her to have my wand in her possession. That stays with one of the Aurors and they handled the incident yesterday just as they are trained to do. I doubt the Professor here is trained for Death Eater attacks." Burns smiled her usually sickly sweet smile at all of them.

"Oh I will have you know that I have taken quite a few courses on the side for dealing with these situations Mr Malfoy, I thought they would come in handy when I got this job. So the Headmistress is right, I am more than qualified to do it."

"Then let us see some papers on these so-called 'courses' then." Artemis crossed her arms stubbornly as she glared at the blonde witch.

"Of course, they are in my office. We are planning to go there after this are we not Mr Silver? I can show you then." Orion could feel the questionable look that Artemis had on her face when the other witch had said that they were going there together and he tried to reassure her that it was nothing but professional and hoped that she would understand.

"Well I am sorry Mrs McGonagall but you are not my boss. So I am taking Mr Malfoy to London this instant to discuss this with Robards and if he does not agree with your plan then it is not going to happen." The Headmistress looked at the brunette in shock as she took a little bit of floo powder from the jar over the fireplace and threw it into the fire.

"Ministry of Magic!" The flames busted into the familiar green colour as she grabbed the young Malfoy's hand, and with a flick of her wrist, his wand flew from Burns cloak and over to her own hand.

"I will be taking this if you don't mind Professor Burns. Auror Silver, we will be back before lunch." The older blond gave his partner a nod as the pair stepped into the green flames and vanished. He took a deep breath and steeled himself for what was about to come.

"This is outrageous! That woman has to be stopped! That is kidnapping Headmistress!" The older witch was still sitting there in slight shock but was brought back to her senses by the late Potion Master's painting laughter.

"Severus! What on earth are you laughing for." The painting did not answer her, but he winked in Orion's direction which any other day the blond would have found hilarious. Now it seemed strangely reassuring.

~ཐིཋྀ~

As Artemis and Draco emerged from the fireplace the witch quickly realised she was holding onto the young Malfoy's wand. The brunette had Accioed it to herself without thinking too closely about it and it was now spitting sparks while trying to violently wiggle out of her grip. She let it go quickly and it clattered to the ground. Draco looked at the wand on the floor stunned for a second before looking up at the witch.

"What just happened?" Artemis quickly brushed off the soot that had covered her uniform while looking at him.

"Pick it up will you? It is yours." Still, with a stunned expression, Draco swiftly picked up the wand, relishing the feeling of holding it again before putting it securely in his cloak. Artemis started to walk towards the security entrance and heard the boy jog to catch up behind her. It was also at this point she realised that he was at the heart of the Ministry, in a school uniform and people were already staring at them as they passed.

"Auror Blackmoore, people are—"

"Staring? That is nothing new, just keep walking." Artemis noticed that it was Jessica who was on duty and she cursed to herself quietly. This was going to be more difficult now. The brunette put on the happiest smile she could muster as they got closer to the security check. The curly-haired woman noticed Artemis as she was a few meters away from her and started to wave almost maniacally at her.

"Auror Blackmoore! I haven't seen you in forever! How have you been!?" The brunette took a peek at Draco and motioned him to go in front of her.

"Miss Finch, how lovely to see you today. Heard any new gossip?" The woman lit up like a Lumos and Artemis braced herself for the onslaught of words that was coming her way.

"You will not believe what I heard last week! Do you know that extremely handsome wizard who works in the Department of Transportation? Well! He was caught with his pants down in one of the broom closets on the third level, you know the Department for Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, with the even more handsome wizard from the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures! Can you believe it Auror Blackmoore?!" The blond was now past Jessica's booth and was waiting against a wall on the other side for Artemis to come through. The boy had closed his cloak completely to try and hide the school uniform underneath to not seem as out of place. The brunette faked a shocked expression at Jessica.

"No! You don't say? I swear there are no single handsome men left in this place!" The other witch nodded seriously at her.

"I can drink to that!" Both women laughed one with more honesty than the other.

"It has been a pleasure as usual Miss Finch but I have to get going now, duties and all." Jessica smiled at her as she nodded.

"Of course! I am sorry to have kept you Auror Blackmoore, have a good day!" Artemis let out a breath of annoyance as she passed Draco, the boy quickly following.

"Do you always have to do that?" The brunette looked at him irked.

"No thank Merlin, usually I have Orion to distract her." She could hear the blond snigger as they hurried over to the elevators that would take them down to the second floor. Luckily it was empty and they could both breathe a sigh of relief.

"I will do the talking when we get into Robards' office, only speak if you are spoken to. Hopefully, he is in a good mood as he is not expecting us. There is also no use in lying to the man, he has been an Auror too long for that. Understand?" The blond nodded quickly just as the doors opened to reveal the usual chaos that was on the second floor.

Artemis put on the most professional mask that she could and started to make her way towards her boss' office. As usual, eyes followed her as she walked but none stopped her. The brunette could hear some comments about the boy following her as Draco was not an unfamiliar face among the Aurors. One of them was now standing outside of the Head Auror's office with a strict look on his face.

"Sorry, but the boss is busy." Artemis raised her eyebrow at him and quickly looked him up and down.

"Auror Mac correct? I have important information I need to discuss with Robards. Now." The man in front of her looked at her in surprise at the mention of his name but quickly turned serious again at the same time showing her his wand.

"I am sorry, but I have gotten orders to not let anyone in." The brunette took a step closer to him while keeping his eyes locked on her.

"I am saying this again, Auror Mac, I have to speak to Robards. Now. So move if you want to keep holding that wand correctly." The wizard was evidently convinced by the demonstration of seriousness as he cowardly stepped out of the way so Artemis could walk through the door, the blond quickly following behind.

~ཐིཋྀ~

The Head Auror was in the middle of a conversation by floo as they entered the room and the man looked up annoyed when they walked in. When he saw who it was his face got a more understanding look to it as he turned towards the fireplace again.

"As I have told you already I have not seen them yet, Headmistress but I am sure Auror Blackmoore is on her way here right this moment. I will call if I hear anything, good day." The man cut off the floo connection and turned in his chair to face them. He pointed at the two chairs in front of his desk for them to sit down. Artemis nodded to Draco to do as told and the young Malfoy took the chair to the left while the brunette took the one on the right. With a flick of his wand, the door closed softly behind them and as he put it back on the desk the Head Auror's face turned strict.

"Care to explain why the Headmistress of Hogwarts calls me in a riot because you may or may not have kidnapped a student Auror Blackmoore?" Artemis mimicked her boss' expression before starting to explain what had been transcribed in the Headmistress's office earlier that morning. The man listens without saying anything, just sometimes looking at Malfoy for confirmation that it had indeed happened that way. When the female Auror was done talking the Head Auror sat back into his chair, mindful.

"I see. That is not the way we go about things here, that is for sure. Who is this Burns you are talking about?" Artemis knew that she had to give him some information to get his favour but that also meant giving the same to Draco, which she hoped would not bite her later.

"Vanessa Burns. She was in the same year as me in Hogwarts, Sir. Gryffindor. We don't share a good history." Robards raised his eyebrow at the last part.

"Really? Do tell." That was the least the brunette wanted to do as she tried to give Robards a pardoning look, but either the man was oblivious to it or he simply chose to ignore it in favour of information. She peeked at Draco from the corner of her eye and the blond was sitting there listening intently.

"She was an extremely big bully in school, Sir. Blackmail, violence, threats. The whole package. Her being a teacher is just as unthinkable as me following the rules for a week." The smile she gave her boss was mostly for her to try and calm her own nerves, and it seemed that the man understood as he did not question anymore but only nodded.

"I will get someone to do a background check on this Burns and see if we can't come up with something. In the meantime, I will tell McGonagall that the plan they have concocted is off limits and if she plans to follow it I will personally pull all of you out. A few courses, how ridiculous." The Head Auror mumbled the last sentence just loud enough for the other two to hear and the brunette heard a soft snort coming from the boy next to her. The older wizard wrote something down on a piece of parchment before looking at Draco.

"Well, now that you are here in person Mr Malfoy I will ask you some questions directly. We got an alarm that you touched a wand that was not yours early yesterday morning. Is this correct?" Artemis looked over to the young Malfoy as the blond froze slightly in his chair.

"Yes, Sir."

"Did this wand belong to Auror Cyril Thompson?" The young blond peeked nervously over at Artemis before he answered.

"Yes, Sir." Robards studied the boy in front of him for a few seconds before continuing.

"Is it true that you used it in self-defence and under the orders of said Auror?" Artemis had been told by Cyril that he had sent a report to the Head Auror after he had gotten back to the office that morning explaining why Draco had been in contact with his wand, but they had not had the time or the energy to talk about the details yet.

"Yes, Sir." To the brunette, it seemed obvious he was telling the truth and it looked like her boss came to the same conclusion.

"Good, I will then have to commend you for following orders Mr Malfoy. Auror Thompson tells me in his report that you followed orders efficiently and bravely, well done. I have put it together with the rest of your papers and it will earn you a good standing with the judges I am sure." The Head Auror smiled at the young Malfoy who visibly relaxed in his chair. The blond gave the other wizard a polite smile in return.

"Thank you, Sir." Artemis let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and had to remind herself to ask Cyril what he had actually written in that report when they got back.

~ཐིཋྀ~

The pair had managed to make their way back into the Atrium without much trouble. Jessica had thankfully gone to lunch and the wizard taking her shift was not as attentive and Artemis had managed to sneak Draco out the same way as she did in without a hitch. They were now walking towards the floo connections when Artemis stopped in her tracks and looked at the blond.

"Why don't we take a quick trip to the Leaky? There are a few hours until lunch at Hogwarts so they won't be missing us just yet." The young Malfoy looked at her owlishly.

"But I am still in my school uniform, won't people ask questions?" The brunette laughed softly at him, stepped in front of him and opened his cloak. The blond blushed at the gesture and his eyes widened when the witch started to take off his Slytherin tie.

"Auror Blackmoore?" Artemis smirked at him while she held the tie in front of him and put it in her pocket.

"Turn your robes inside out will you?" The blond looked at her curiously now before doing as told, when he was done Artemis took out her wand and tapped him on the shoulder, slowly the green colour turned black and it now looked like an ordinary travelling robe. The boy looked amazed down on himself.

"A Glamour for the cloak? Nifty." The witch grinned in return.

"Thank you, I do this professionally you know? Now let's go hm?" Draco smiled at her in return and nodded. They then made their way over to the elevator to get to street level in silence.

Artemis was in need of a hot coffee at this point and it felt good to be out of the castle even if it was just for a little while. She was sure that the blond with her felt the same way as they entered the elevator together. There were a few witches in there who went quiet when they entered and the brunette did not miss the ugly looks they were sending the wizard next to her. Artemis glared at both of them and they quickly turned the other way. Luckily they got off at the next floor and they were left alone.

"Do you get used to the staring Auror Blackmoore?" The witch looked at the young blond a little saddened by the question.

"You get better at ignoring it and putting yourself above those that have nothing better to do than judge you for things they have no knowledge of." The boy's face turned to that of wonder as the elevator stopped at the top. The pair was now out in the open air and Artemis took a deep breath.

"Never thought I would say this but it is good to be back here." Draco had already started to walk down the street in haste and Artemis had to snicker at the eagerness the boy showed, not that she could blame him for it. She caught up to him quickly and they walked side by side towards the Leaky Cauldron.

~ཐིཋྀ~

It was a short walk but the cold wind that hit their faces made them pick up the pace and they got there in a matter of minutes. Tom was standing behind the counter and waved happily at Artemis as they entered.

"My! Seems we are having big guests here today! Auror Blackmoore, long time no see." The brunette smiled at the wizard and motioned the young Malfoy to find them somewhere to sit. The blond started to scout the tables that were vacant and made his way towards the back quickly while Artemis went up to the counter in the meantime.

"Tom! How is life?" The man smiled even wider at her and winked.

"Oh, you know, not bad! Thank you for keeping the streets safe and all that. So who is the young blood you have with you today? A trainee?" The brunette peeked behind her to see Draco waving at her from one of the booths in the back and she nodded in return.

"Oh, yes something like that. Give me the usual will you and a butterbeer and blueberry tart for the young man hm?" The wizard grinned in understanding at her evasiveness and nodded.

"Coming right up, Miss!" Artemis grinned back at him and went to join the young wizard at his table. The boy looked at her with a smirk.

"Come here often?" Artemis rolled her eyes at him. "I did a lot of patrols of this place right after the war, you start talking to people that way. I ordered for both of us, should just take a few minutes." The blond's eyes looked at her in surprise, then it slowly turned to guilt.

"But I have no money on me. I can't pay you back either." The brunette snorted at him and waved her hand in dismissal.

"Forget about that, money is not everything. Let's say you owe me a favour in return, fair?" The boy thought about it for a second before nodding seriously. As promised the food then arrived and Tom stood there with a tray floating in front of him.

"A beautiful lunch for a beautiful couple." The brunette rolled her eyes again and did not miss the blush that was spreading on the blond's face. It did not go unnoticed by their host either as he smirked at the boy.

"Now you are getting more and more beautiful as time goes by Auror Blackmoore, you are surely turning some heads. Don't you agree?" Artemis looked at the young blond as he blushed harder and nodded in agreement. Tom started a deep laugh as he put their food in front of them and winked at Draco before walking away.

"Find me beautiful do you Draco?" The brunette could not resist the tease and it was worth it seeing the blond take a quick hold of his drink and swallow half of it before he answered.

"You have to be blind not to find you beautiful Aur- Artemis." He was still blushing as his stormy grey eyes met her brown ones. The brunette looked back at him with surprise, she had not expected him to be so direct and she simply took a sip of her coffee as a response. The blond was fidgeting in his seat until he noticed what was actually in front of him.

"You knew I liked blueberry tart?" The witch smirked at him.

"You eat it for dessert every day, it was an easy guess." She took a bite of her own chocolate tart and hummed in pleasure which roused another blush from the boy and she had to take another sip of coffee to hide her grin.

They had been eating in comfortable silence for a little while when some wizards came through the door to the Leaky Cauldron while shouting. Artemis looked alarmed at the door when she saw that they were all wearing Death Eater masks. From this distance, it was hard to tell if they were real or not but thinking about all the people that were inside it was best to be careful.

"If you want to live you all better get down on the floor! Wands where we can see them!"

Her eyes met Tom's behind the counter and she nodded at him to follow orders, and did the same to Draco and started to slowly get off her chair. If she was lucky they did not look too closely at her robes before it was too late. She reached over to pull the blond's hood over his head to hide his hair and then did the same.

The wizards had now started to walk around the room looking at each person as they went. It was obvious they were looking for someone in the crowd but so far they had said nothing. Just moving swiftly from person to person, it was quick to see a pattern as they left all of the children and women alone. It was then one of them pulled up a young man, Artemis frowned at them when they pulled up his sleeve on his left arm.

"Idiot! The boy is blond remember? That guy has black hair!" One of them pointed his wand at the young wizard and he fell back to the floor with a painful thud.

"Sorry, he just kinda looked like him ya know?" The brunette bit her lip if she were to guess they were looking for Draco. But how they knew that he was here was a matter she had to think of at a later time as she started to look around the room now trying to find a way out.

There were five of the Death Eaters and the door out to the streets of London was behind them but the door that led to Diagon Alley was to the pair's right. If she distracted them long enough Draco could get a chance to get into the Alley and to Knockturn where Eminence had her shop.

One of the wizards was closing in on them now and Artemis slid her hand over to Draco, tapping him on the shoulder slightly. He moved so that he could look at her without lifting his head too much in response. The brunette tapped her temple then pointed at him hoping he would understand what she meant. She knew the boy was a skilled Occlumens but now she needed him to lower his shield so the witch could tell him of her plan without giving them away to the intruders. It seemed that he understood as he nodded, she then focused on him and the brief conversation they had earlier became visible in front of her eyes proving that she had access.

"Draco, I will distract the Death Eaters, the moment you see your chance I want you to run through the door to Diagon Alley and straight into Knockturn Alley. Take the first left, when your cloak lifts itself on its own you will see Loftwind's shop in front of you. Sundry, Potions and Glyphs. Hopefully, she will know that you are coming. Lock the door behind you and don't let anyone in, not even if it's me. Don't stop running until you are inside the door." The blond looked at her with worry in his eyes.

 "But what about you, I can't just leave you behind. I have my wand, I can fight beside you!" The witch looked at him strictly.

 "Absolutely not, this is my job and keeping you safe is my top priority. These men are after you Draco and we don't know why. I will follow you as soon as I can but if I am not there after an hour has gone get Loftwind to send for help. Do you understand me Draco?" After a few seconds, the boy nodded slightly and Artemis breathed a sigh of relief.

The wizard was dangerously close now and there was only one person between her and him. Artemis swallowed thickly and stood up and faced the wizard. The intruders looked at her in alarm, all of them pointing their wands at her simultaneously.

"What are you doing lady?! Get down!" One of them screamed at her, sounding surprised that someone had dared to actually get up. She smiled coldly at him.

"You are not real Death Eaters, are you? I've never seen anyone less intimidating than you and I've seen a lot of people in my field of work." The wizard closest to her took a closer look at her and his eyes widened suddenly.

"That's Auror robes!" Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Well spotted, smart aren't you?" She started to slowly make her way into the room making sure that Draco had a clear exit to the door. She slid her makeshift wand out of the cloak pocket as she went, not that she really needed it but it was in these situations she used it to not stand out more than she normally did.

All the wizards were on their toes and the wands followed her as she closed in on the counter on the other side of the room. The further she could get from the blond on the floor the better for him. So far no spells had been flung and if she could keep it that way this would end better for everyone.

"What do you think you are doing? Stand still!"

The wizard in the middle of the group closed in on her, wand pointing at her he gestured to the others to do the same. They were circling her like sharks smelling blood in the water and she took a peek at the young Malfoy who was still on the floor. He was waiting patiently for a chance to run and she figured now was a good time as any. All of the intruders' attention was on her and he had a free shot at the door. The chance of him being hit by a curse on the way out was minimal, even if the closest wizard had good enough reflexes. Artemis stopped moving and smirked at them.

"Five on one is a little much don't you think? I mean I might beat you, won't that be embarrassing?" For effect, the brunette twirled her wand between her fingers. That seemed to do the trick as the wizard in the middle shouted a curse at her. Being prepared for it she shielded it at the last second and kicked a table over and hid behind it.

"GO!" She shouted to Draco as she sent a curse back at the wizard. Confused at her outburst he was too slow to shield himself and it hit him full-on sending him to the ground. Artemis saw the blond run for the door and disappear quickly and she silently hoped none of them had recognised him on the way out.

"Someone just ran out, Sir!" The brunette looked from behind her table and it seemed that the one that was in the middle had not been the boss even though he had put on airs.

"Go after him! That might be him!" That voice sounded familiar to Artemis' ears though at the moment she could not be certain, now she needed to make sure they did not follow Draco.

"Forgot about me already?" She yelled at them before sending a few curses their way which made them run for cover.

The civilians who had been trapped until then had now seen their chance to run in the commotion and wizards and witches were running for both exits, confusing the invaders in the process. They choose to stay put and fight, which Artemis was glad for, which meant that they would not follow the young blond. As she sent out more curses and put up a protection ward she tried desperately to reach Orion through the bond. But somehow she got no response, in frustration, she bombarded the Death Eaters with curses and wondered what the hell he could be doing.

~𓅃~

The second Orion had entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts office a weird feeling had spread throughout his body. It felt like someone was poking him in the back of the skull with a needle and it was giving him a raging headache. Listening to the overly peppy witch in front of him was not helping either and he had to force himself greatly to keep a natural expression.

A cup of tea was placed in front of him carefully and he nodded politely at the witch. The woman smiled all too sweetly at him in return and went to sit down behind her desk. Orion took a peek around the room then, it was barren almost as if it hadn't used for weeks even though the Professor had been here for over a week already. The blond frowned slightly, there were no personal belongings and only a simple desk and chair. The Slytherin was brought back to attention when the woman coughed at him.

"You had some information about the Malfoy boy correct? I am sorry to say I don't have all day Miss Burns." Burns smiled sweetly at him again.

"That I did, but first Orion I wanted to ask something." Orion raised an eyebrow at her.

"Really? Now, what is that?" The witch leaned further towards him with a serious look on his face.

"Are you under the Imperius curse?" Orion looked at the woman dumbfounded for a second.

"Pardon?" Burns got up from her desk and walked around it to stand in front of him hands on her hips.

"I will ask again, are you under the Imperius curse?" The blond could not control his laughter seeing the witch's serious face.

"No I am not under the Imperius curse, why in Merlin's name would you think so?" Frowning the woman took a step closer to him studying him like he was a rare creature.

"I am convinced that Blackmoore must be controlling you somehow. How is she doing it?" Burns was mostly talking to herself at this point as she continued to study him and the blond could not believe what he was hearing. The witch in front of him must have lost her marbles at one point to believe something so ridiculous.

He felt the poking in the back of his head was growing worse now and found it hard to concentrate. Orion froze in his chair when the witch pointed her wand at him, and suddenly his uniform undid itself showing off his chest and stomach. A soft gasp came out of the witch as she studied him, after a few seconds she came back to her senses with a lustful look on her face.

"Burns, your point in stripping me?" Their eyes met then and the piercing green colour sent shivers down his back. He could kick himself for not being faster on the draw of his wand.

"How is she controlling you? I know that monster is doing something to you, no way the Orion Silver I knew would get caught snogging in the school grounds with that damn bitch." Orion could feel his anger rising at each word that left the woman's mouth but somehow he found himself stuck to the chair unable to move. The poking in his head was beyond painful now and his vision was beginning to blur at the edges. Burns started touching him then seemingly looking for something on his chest as she slid into his lap.

"You better get off me right now Burns." He said through gritted teeth, anger dripping on every word like poison. All that met him was a sweet smile that made him sick to his stomach.

"Now now, Orion. I know you want this as much as I do dear. Is it a love potion she got you under? Could it be that simple? This needs to be put to the test then." Grinning like a Cheshire cat she started to place small kisses along his neckline, he wanted nothing more than to push her off and get out. But his muscles had stopped listening to him and he started desperately to look around the room for something that could help him.

He forced his brain to think rationally for a second, he had not touched the tea that had been served him so there could be no way she got any drugs into his system that way and it had been too long since breakfast for anything to take effect now. Which left the room itself. Orion searched high and low from what he could see from his position as he tried to ignore the kisses and little bites the witch was doing on his neck.

Suddenly he saw it. A tiny vial was standing on a bookshelf seemingly innocent, but Orion recognised the misty white smoke coming out of the bottle. It was a muscle-relaxing drug, and a strong one. Burns must have put the antidote in her tea and drank it quickly as he entered the room seeing she was not affected at all. But that still did not explain why his vision was turning blurry and the intense headache he had, there had to be something else that did it.

The blond tried to flex his fingers and was relieved somewhat that they still worked, he steeled himself for the pain he was about to suffer as he forced his body to cooperate with him to push the witch off him. It was not often he needed to use the extra power he got from Artemis' side of the bond but he could not stay here. She landed on the floor with a yelp and looked at him in surprise. His whole body screamed at him when he stood up and gave her a look of disdain.

"Explain yourself. Now." Burns looked at him with fear swimming through her eyes for a second before they became hard as emeralds and a cold laugh left the woman.

"I knew you were under her control!" Hastily standing up she grabbed his shirt and forced their lips together. Pulling slightly apart the witch continued to talk.

"You know I said that I have always liked you, Orion, it was impossible for her to have made you hers in any other way so she drugged you. I understand. We just need to get it out of your system my love." Orion was close to losing consciousness now as his vision was almost gone he stumbled into the armrest of the chair as he tried to get her off him.

The witch took this as an invitation instead and tried to force her tongue down his throat again. Almost at a loss for what to do he faintly heard someone banging on the door through the blood rushing in his ears. Burns stopped what she was doing and looked at the door annoyed.

The knocking became even more persistent and the witch turned to give him an evil smile. "Come in!"

Momentarily horrified Orion looked over to the door and saw a surprised-looking Cyril standing in the doorway. The other wizard studied the scene in front of him and his face slowly turned to that of disgust.

"Sorry to disturb, but I need Silver to come with me." Burns looked at him with an innocent look.

"Oh! Cyril what a surprise. Of course, you can take him, we are done now anyway." If murder had a face it would be Cyril's at the moment as Orion tried to make his way out of the room. His body was still screaming at him to stop moving but he had to get out of the room before he collapsed.

Walking shakily towards the other man, Cyril seemed to notice something was wrong as he took one step into the room with knitted eyebrows only to stop and take a step back. His anger did not falter however as he waited patiently for Orion to get close enough for him to take a hold of the blond's wrist and drag him out into the hallway. The blond supported himself on the other wizard as he closed the door with a loud bang but not before seeing the look of mischief on Burns's face.

Cyril took quick action then and all but threw him down on the floor swearing the entire time.

"What the bloody fuck were you doing in there?! I've been looking for you for over an hour already! Is your relationship with Artemis worth that little to you?! Silver, can you hear me or what?" Orion's mind was slowly clearing up and his vision slowly returned. His body still ached but that too was letting go slowly. He was about to answer the man when he felt a wave of different emotions run through him at once. Desperation, frustration, fear and anger.

The blond held his head in his hands and let out a few deep breaths, the auburn-haired wizard knelt in front of him and then looked at him with momentary worry.

"Orion?" Orion raised his head to meet the other man's eyes.

"There was something in that room that did something to me, you noticed the muscle drug didn't you? It was something else too, but I don't know what." Cyril's face turned to that of anger again as he stood up.

"I don't bloody care about your fucking kinks or that bitch, I was looking for you for a reason." He held his hand out for Orion to take when he did he pulled the blond off the floor and into a standing position. The blond ignored the remarks the other wizard said to him as he realised what he had said earlier.

"Wait, you said you had been looking for me for over an hour? What time is it?!" The blond looked at the other man in desperation and he got a sinking feeling in his gut when his friend gave him a disappointed look.

"Got so lost in your little seance that you forgot time? It's after lunch already." Orion's eyes widen at the information, how could that be possible? Had he really been in that office for over two hours? The whole thing seemed to have been over in just a couple of minutes for him. Then it hit him. The emotions that he had felt all at once. They had, of course, come from Artemis but now when he tried to feel for her he felt nothing. But it was not the same nothing he felt when she had closed the bond, this was different and it sent chills up his spine.

"I can't reach Artemis." He said in a whisper mostly to himself, but his colleague heard him and patted him on the shoulder a little too forcefully for the blond's liking. Orion looked at him annoyed but his expression faltered when the same face of disdain appeared on his partner's face.

"While you were doing fuck knows what to that woman, Artemis ended up in St Mungos. Malfoy and her were attacked at the Leaky a little over an hour ago. Potter was the one who tipped us off the fact that Malfoy had not returned to school before lunch and we sent word to Robards. That's how we found out. I sent the others ahead with Potter, and he insisted on coming. Had I known what you were doing I would not have bothered to find you at all so if you can get your shit together long enough then let's go already." Cyril started to walk down the hall in frustration, all Orion had really heard from what he said was that Artemis was in the hospital and that they had been attacked. The blond tried the bond again desperately but still felt the same emptiness as before. It terrified him.