Aurors

Draco ran as fast as he could in the direction of the third floor and prayed to everything from up above that the witch in his room would be OK on her own. Most of the students were still in the Great Hall eating but when he looked through the big doors none of the Aurors was present, frowning he noticed that the Headmistress was also missing and he set course for the seventh-floor swearing loudly on his way. His lungs were burning when he reached the second floor and spotted Potter further down the hall in company with several Gryffindors, most likely on their way to their common room.

"Potter!" The saviour turned around surprised as Draco caught up to them.

"I… need your… help." The blond took a few deep breaths with his hands on his knees to try and calm down and get his speech back to normal.

"What do you need, Malfoy?" Draco stood upright again as he registered who was with the ravenhead. The She-Weasley, Weasley and Longbottom were standing behind Potter with similar looks of surprise.

"I need to find the Aurors, have you seen them?" Before Potter managed to say anything Weasley answered first.

"I saw Auror Silver and Thompson on the seventh floor before lunch, they were meeting with McGonagall they said. Dunno if they're still there though." Draco never thought he would be thankful for the help of a Weasley but here he was anyhow. He nodded in thanks and was about to start running again when Potter grabbed his arm.

"Wait, Malfoy. I can help you find them quickly. Come with me." The blond gave the ravenhead a confused look but let himself be dragged down the hall by the shorter wizard, however, they did not get far before the She-Weasley shouted at them.

"Stop right there! Harry, why are you just leaving? You promised we would spend time with each other today!" Potter turned around to give her an annoyed look.

"It's still plenty of time before the day is over Ginny. Malfoy needs help and I am going to help him." The blond froze as the witch marched over to him pulled out her wand and pointed it at him.

"What have you done to Harry, Malfoy?" The other Gryffindors shouted at her to put her wand down but she didn't listen to them.

"Why are you suddenly so close to him? Answer me." He did not have time for any of this and was for once thankful that he did not have his wand as he probably would have done something that he would regret later. The blond pulled his hand from the saviour's grip and walked closer to the witch who made her wand poke him in the chest as he raised himself to his full height.

"I don't have time for this, Weasley. I couldn't give a damn about what you think about me but would you really hex an unarmed man? If so, be my guest." The witch glared at him for a long time but Potter snapped before she came to a conclusion and ripped the wand out of the girl's hand.

"That's enough Ginny! We will talk about this later, now excuse us. Come on Malfoy." The ravenhead threw the wand at Longbottom who caught it with surprising ease. Both he and Weasley nodded at Potter as Weasley looked furious at his little sister. Seemed like things would be heating up in the Gryffindors' tower after this.

Potter brought him to a bathroom down the hall which turned out to be Moaning Myrtles, luckily the ghost was off haunting somewhere else in the castle at the moment.

"Potter, what are we doing here? I really don't have time to waste." The ravenhead gave him a grave expression.

"It's Auror Blackmoore, right? Something happened with her again?" Draco did not see a reason to hide his reason for urgency for the man when he had asked for help in the first place and nodded. He watched stunned as the other man took a piece of parchment from his pocket and pointed his wand at it.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The saviour grinned at him as he folded the parchment out in endless pieces and a blueprint of the castle with tons of different nameplates came into view. Draco stepped closer to study it fascinated.

"This is how you kept following me in sixth year wasn't it?" Potter laughed quietly as he nodded.

"Yes, sorry about that by the way. Let's find the Aurors quickly." They put the map on the floor and folded it out as much as they could and soon found all of them. Them being on the second floor made Auror Zouch the closest to them as he was moving in the direction of the Entrance Hall, most likely coming back from a round on the outskirts of the castle. Aurors Silver and Thompson were on the sixth floor and heading downwards but going up was slower than going down as Auror Zabini was in the library which was located on the fourth floor.

"Let's run to meet Zouch at the Entrance and I can send a Patronus to Silver and give them the message to meet us in the dungeons." As Potter was about to close the map Draco stopped him and quickly found the Slytherin dorm and then his own room. Slight relief went through him when he saw that the nameplate of Auror Blackmoore was still there. He quickly stood up as Potter finished folding the map back up.

"Mischief managed." As he removed his wand the map returned to look like any ordinary parchment again and the man put it inside his robes for safekeeping.

"Let's go."

"Potter, wait. You don't have to come with me for this." The ravenhead just looked at him as if he had just told him his favourite colour was Gryffindor red.

"Auror Blackmoore is in trouble, right? I don't need to know details I just want to help. Besides, we don't have the time to argue about this." Potter pointed his wand in front of him as he summoned his Patronus. The stag stood proudly and patiently as he waited for the message it was about to deliver.

"Auror Silver, you need to go to Malfoy's room. Hurry!" They both watched as the animal vanished through the door and Potter was then quickly on his feet to follow it outside. Draco watched as it ran at a fast pace up the hall for a second as he quickly followed Potter in the opposite direction.

~𓆗~

Luck was on their side as they met Auror Zouch on the staircase on their way down. Immediately he understood that something was wrong when he spotted them.

"What happened?"

"It's Auror Blackmoore, Sir. Something is wrong. She's in my room." The wizard's brows knitted together as he studied the two wizards in front of him.

"Does Auror Silver know?" Potter was quick to nod.

"He should have gotten my Patronus by now, Auror Thompson was with him so the only one missing is Auror Zabini." The Auror was quick to take out his wand and summon his own Patronus.

"Malfoy's room. Now." Just as the message was done the dove flew in high speed up the staircase and the Auror was already moving down the direction he had come from. Shouting to students that they needed to move out of the way.

Soon after Auror Zouch stopped in front of the same statue that hid the shortcut straight into the Slytherin common room and turned to face Potter then.

"I am sorry, Mr Potter. But this is where you go no further. Hurry, Mr Malfoy." He said the phrase to the statue and was quick to disappear. Potter stood there slightly confused.

"It's a shortcut straight into the Slytherin dorm. I will give you an update later and thanks for your help, Potter." Draco gave him a grateful look and the man grinned at him in return.

"I'll stay here and wait for the other Aurors. If they are slow I can send them another Patronus." Instead of replying the blond followed the Auror into the dark corridor and soon found himself in the common room. There were a few students present that jumped when they entered but none of the wizards paid them any mind as they went to Draco's room in a determined manner. However, before opening the door Auror Zouch pulled out his wand and mumbled a few charms on it.

"Tell me what happened Mr Malfoy." His eyes were still glued to the door as Draco gave him a quick summary of what had happened. The wizard's face became more and more worried at every word he spoke. Auror Zouch bit his lip and finally looked at him.

"We need to wait for the others, there is sadly no guarantee that I can handle her on my own." Draco bit his lip as he prayed they were close by.

It felt like hours had passed when the other Aurors arrived. Auror Silver looked erratically to Auror Zouch and the three got quick updates of what had happened.

"Fuck." Auror Thompson swore as he readied his wand.

"This might get ugly. What do we do about him, King?" Auror Silver gave him a cold look before he reached into his robe and gave him his wand.

"From what Ace tells me you already know quite a lot about Artemis, correct?" All eyes were on him as he took hold of his wand and nodded.

"I do." The Auror nodded again as his eyes grew hard.

"If this gets out in the public I will not hesitate to Obliviate this entire year away from your memory." Draco shivered but stood his ground as he met the older wizard's eyes.

"If I ever talk, unwilling or not, I will let you do it willingly." Auror Silver showed no signs of accepting the answer or not as he carefully approached the door. Auror Zabini cast some complicated wards right where the hallway ended before his room while the rest of them readied themselves for what was inside.

~ཐིཋྀ~

The witch did not know how much time had passed as she was lying on the floor writhing in pain before she heard noises outside the door. In her delirious state, she had tried her best to be in control of herself and not let the demon win but it was growing more and more difficult. It was twisting and turning inside her in an enraged state and she could not understand where the blind rage came from. However, when the door was opened and the wizards entered the room she could smell it. Her blood. It was not something she had noticed before but the demon helped her to understand as flashes of Draco drenched in her own blood came to mind as well as the blood that was left behind on the floor.

Someone was shouting her name now as she bit down on her arm even harder and she could taste her blood in her mouth. Closing her eyes she could focus easier and tried to focus on the things being said.

"Artemis!"

"Don't touch her."

"Get the door closed."

Multiple footsteps banged against the floor but as one pair of feet walked past her the demon got control just enough and she attacked.

"Ace!"

Her vision came into focus as she looked down and met the sky-blue eyes of Septimus. He was trying his best to remain calm but the fear was clear in his eyes. The wizard winced as she felt her nails grow longer and pierce his uniform.

"Blood. I smell it." Her voice was unfamiliar to her as it came out raspy and low. Septimus looked up at her confused.

"What do you mean, Artemis? There is no blood here." Unwillingly she lifted him up by clenching her fingers and banged him against the floor.

"It is here! You smell of it!"

"What the bloody hell is she talking about?" Septimus gave what would have to be Zacharias a motion to be quiet behind her. The man was now more curious than afraid as he met her gaze.

"I do not have any of your blood, Artemis. It was all destroyed." Now that the demon was more in control when the next wave of pain came it felt like someone had set her on fire and she screamed again while clutching herself to Septimus. He didn't touch her but lay completely still and waited for her to be done. The black smoke was washing over him in waves and his hair was showing signs of frost at the tips. Her breathing came out in harsh gasps as she laid herself flush against him and spoke into his ear.

"L… lies. S… stolen." Suddenly, Septimus carefully rolled over so he was on top of her. His eyes were now filled with white rage and his voice was cold as the room.

"Cyril, we are paying someone a visit." Artemis watched as the wizard removed some hair that had come loose from the braid from her face and carefully stood up. She did not register what was being said after that between them as the pain was too much to handle. After a little while, she felt someone touch her and by the little calming effect it had to have been Orion. The brunette found herself suddenly being lifted into the air and placed on the bed. A potion was forced down her throat and someone mumbled sweet words in her ear as she found herself succumbing to the darkness.

~🕮~

"I really don't have time for you to be like this right now." The tall witch was pacing back and forth, levitating a pulsing crystal in the middle of the room.

"Why did you go berserk, why did you calm down again!?" No sooner had she finished the sentence before there was a knock on the shop's door. Which was weird as she had hung up a 'Closed' sign on the door earlier that day. Hastily moving the crystal around the corner, Eminence stepped over to open it.

"Septimus! I was expe… Oh. How is Artemis? What happened?" The tall witch had never seen the wizard's face quite like this before as the wizard was known to rarely show much emotion at all, but now his fury was readily apparent.

"Loftwind. You can perhaps shed some light on how Artemis is doing yourself I hope?" Even though his eyes showed anger his voice was monotone and emotionless. It sent chills up her spine.

"I can't tell you much, but I had a dream. She was in pain and distress. You were there. She pinned you to the floor, I think. And I saw her wand's core crystal. I've been up all night working on one." She didn't dare do any less than tell him as much as possible in as little time as she could.

"I see. Make way, Knockturn Alley has keen ears." The witch immediately complied and moved out of the way so he could walk into her store. She fumbled trying to hide that she was actively floating an object out of sight with Wingardium Leviosa behind her back, hoping he was too preoccupied to notice. While also hoping she was wrong to expect Cyril today as well. Septimus stood in the doorway for a few seconds before he entered the shop, softly closing the door behind him. He visibly studied the state of her shop while he walked to the centre of the room before looking at her again with the same angry expression as before.

"You have been busy, I see?" Eminence looked around the room, only now taking note of the mess. The nearest work table was obviously frostbitten, and several similar marks could be seen around it on the floor. She had also carelessly strewn various materials and vials about, planning to tidy them up some other time.

"All night, seeking answers to what I saw. What happened to her? Has it all happened yet?" The wizard's eyes turned a darker shade of blue as it looked like the man was fighting his own ability to stay calm.

"Yes." Shocked at the curt answer, she nearly dropped the crystal before composing herself and continuing.

"How can I help?" Surprisingly, Septimus took a deep breath before he answered.

"Where is the blood?" Eminence took a second to breathe as well, making sure not to take too long so as not to agitate the wizard further.

"Gone. All used up." The wizard took one step closer in her direction then not bothering to hide its threatening intent.

"How?" Instinctively Eminence took a step backwards, lucky to not trip on anything.

"I— I…" The witch took another deep breath.

"I'm very bad at asking for help. This is how, and I don't know how to control it." No longer trying to hide her hand behind her back, she reached toward the steps and a small object covered in spikes of ice and oozing with cold and dark mist floated toward her.

"One of the spent wand cores, soaked in her magic. It more or less ate it and started going nuts." The Auror didn't move as the anger clearly rose in the man's eyes. Suddenly, the witch felt what had to be a wand tip press into the right side of her neck.

"You almost fucking killed her." The witch froze on the spot, twisting her hand around to make the crystal stop as well. Septimus looked over her right shoulder.

"Cyril. Stop."

"Don't fucking tell me to stop, Zouch. This bloody mudblood is messing with things that are way out of her understanding. Artemis could fucking die because of this. You saw her! I say we throw this bloody bitch in Azkaban and be done with her!" Until this moment, despite the fear, Eminence's eyes had had a welcoming glint to them. Instantly it disappeared, replaced by anger and disappointment.

"You fucking what?" The wizard in front of her held his hand up as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, clearly trying to calm his own anger before saying anything else.

"Hand on right shoulder. Now." The tall witch heard a grunt of annoyance as the wand tip disappeared from her neck. After a few seconds, she could clearly see that a handprint had formed on Septimus' right shoulder.

"Take the antidote."

"Fuck, no." Eminence quickly responded.

"Fuck yes. Accio glitter. Ventus!" Before the Aurors had the time to react a box of glitter came flying across the room and as the lid loosened she shouted the spell to make it fly around the room covering everything and everyone. In front of her now stood the glitter-covered wizards, Septimus had a clear expression of disgust on his face and the man next to him was now a shimmering outline.

"Was that strictly necessary, Loftwind?"

"Is he strictly necessary?" Without answering the wizard placed his hand over the other wizard's hand and visibly pinched it.

"Antidote." A small sound of pain could be heard from Septimus's left before Eminence heard what had to be a potion vial being opened. After a few moments, Cyril came into view bearing an expression of pure rage.

Having vented a bit, Eminence suddenly remembered the crystal. It had dropped the moment she cast a different spell and was now freezing itself into the floorboards while pouring out large amounts of smoke across the room.

"Aw shit, Wingardium Leviosa!" The crystal refused to move to a simple levitation charm as it was slowly encapsulating itself in an ice cage and she looked to the Aurors next to her.

"Septimus? About that asking for help thing?" The wizard in question was watching the crystal on the ground in fascination for a moment before something seemed to click in his mind. For the first time, the Auror took out his wand and pointed at it confidently.

"Reducto." Ice flew to every corner of the shop as Eminence jumped back on instinct and then looked at the blond wizard dumbfounded.

"Bloody hell. No half-measures with you, hey." Without giving an answer he motioned to the crystal to the floor while holding his arm in front of Cyril, preventing him from going towards it. Taking the hint Eminence quickly walked the short distance to where the crystal was lying on the floor before attempting again to lift the gem and was surprised for a moment when something responded to the levitation charm. A second later the witch was relieved to find that what she retrieved was mere shards, and they didn't seem to do anything anymore. Immediately she collapsed to her knees.

"I thought this was saving her, not hurting her. Clairvoyance can really suck." Eminence faintly heard Cyril mumble something to himself and she glared at him, but as she was about to open her mouth to say something Septimus crouched down next to her. Anger was still evident in the wizard's eyes but it had calmed down from earlier as his voice had turned softer.

"He said it harshly but nevertheless Cyril said the truth when he said 'you might have' killed Artemis. She was in immense pain and was fighting for control over the demon. It somehow knew its blood was being used for illegitimate purposes. Pardon me for saying this, Loftwind, but you were the most logical choice in finding out who was using it. Therefore, I ask you, why did you take a blood sample?" The tall witch kept staring at the floor as she answered.

"Sheer curiosity, honestly. I had no original plan for it. I believe the biggest miscalculation wasn't actually the blood, but the crystal. They're not simply charged with power from her, but in fact, appear to actually be connected directly. The blood was more about seizing an opportunity; it was there. Wait, how is Orion? They share emotions and sensations, but you haven't mentioned him at all in all this!" Septimus raised his eyebrow at the last part as Cyril whistled behind him.

"You don't know the whole story, do you? Thought Artemis told you everything when you saw her in the office." She gave Cyril a sharp glare, then settled to meet the eyes of Septimus with a confused look.

"There's more?" The sky-blue eyes looked at her with what she believed was pity before he sighed.

"It is not my place to tell but seeing as none of us wants this situation to repeat itself I will tell you. You are aware of the fact that Artemis and Orion are bonded. However, it seems you do not know how they are bonded." He pointed to his chest, just above his heart.

"The scar she has over her heart? It is the mark of a blood ritual. A Master and Slave ritual to be precise. Orion is the 'Master', and Artemis is the 'Slave'. Therefore, he feels none of her pain. This is how he can keep her under control in times like these." Eminence nodded along, listening intently as the wizard explained, then returned her gaze to the floor beneath her.

"That makes some sense. Shouldn't really surprise me given who made the bond in the first place, he knew a lot about things you shouldn't. At least I needn't worry about Orion then, for better or worse. I just really hope Artemis will be okay. This should never have happened, everything was there in my premonition but I misjudged which part was a warning. Do you think she can forgive me?" Septimus stood up then and tried in vain to dust off some of the glitter from his uniform.

"Sometimes it is better to let things take their course without interfering. For your sake, Loftwind, I hope she forgives you. As of right now, you should be grateful we are not bringing you in for the illegal use of magic, on that note know that you will not get a second chance. I have been kind to ignore it for this long. Cyril, we are leaving." With her eyes still glued to the floor, Eminence could hear the other wizard was about to protest but must have been shut up by Septimus and she heard them both walk towards the door.

"I don't get the luxury of ignoring the signs, good people die that way. But I hate the risk that it goes wrong like this. Thank you, Septimus. If anything comes up again, I'll try harder to ask for help. Take care of her." None of the wizards answered her as she heard the door to the shop open and close leaving her alone once more.

~ཐིཋྀ~

Artemis woke up to the pain shooting through her again and she started writhing around on the bed she had been placed on. Her vision was swimming as the tears started to run down her face again. It took a few seconds before she understood that the screaming she heard came from her own mouth and she bit down on her hand again. However, someone was quick to remove her hand from her mouth and started to say sweet words into her ear. Not that the witch understood any of it as the sound of her blood flowing in her ears was too loud. Someone was shouting now. Another potion bottle was pressed to her lips but this time she refused to take it. But the person was not going to give in as a strong hand took hold of her jaw and forced it open. Before Artemis could do anything about it she had swallowed the content of the bottle and she felt the world disappear again.

~ཐིཋྀ~

When she woke up the next time the room was shed in soft candlelight. The pain had finally subsided and she took a deep breath. Suddenly, a pair of arms were wrapping themselves around her while words were whispered into her ear.

"Shh… calm down. We're right here." Confused, she looked to her left and met the eyes of Zacharias who looked surprised back at her. While she was on her back he was on his side lying as close to her as possible on the small bed.

"Za… ch?" Her voice cracked in the middle of his name making her cough. He shushed her again as he petted her head softly.

"You back with us, Artemis?" She nodded at him between the coughing, her throat felt like sandpaper and it was hard to swallow. The wizard smiled clearly relieved, looking at him closer he looked like a dead man. Fatigue was clear on his face and he had a few cuts in his uniform. Her eyes widened for a second and she was about to say something but he clearly understood what she was about to comment on because he put a finger in front of her lips.

"Don't worry, I'm not hurt. None of us is. Do you remember anything?" Artemis nodded but as she tried to say something she started to cough again. Zacharias poked his temple then.

"So you don't have to talk." Relieved she smiled at him in thanks.

"I remember the intense pain that went through the branding and telling Draco to run and get you all. Also jumping Septimus, is he alright?" The wizard nodded at her and pointed towards something.

"He is fine, he's asleep on the chair over there." The brunette lifted herself slightly and clearly saw the man sleeping in the chair she had been sitting in earlier. His brows were knitted together in a worried expression with his arms crossed over his chest. His feet were stretched out before him in a tense position but other than that he looked fine. He was also wearing his personal clothes she noted. Taking the time to look around some more she noticed that it was only those three in the room then.

"I'm still in Draco's room? Where is everyone else? What time is it even?" Zacharias pushed her back down into the bed and it was then she noticed they were both wearing their uniforms.

"We could not move you in fear of someone seeing you in that state. Malfoy said that he could spend the night in Blaise's room, he made an excuse to do so somehow and it's just past eleven." He unwrapped himself from her carefully and got up from the bed. The wizard stretched for a couple of seconds before he pointed to the bathroom door.

"I'll get you some water." As she watched him go she felt around for anything out of the ordinary with the bond and relaxed when she found nothing.

"Where is everyone else then?"

"We had to pretend everything was more or less normal so Orion and Cyril are doing their rounds as normal but they will return here when they are done so I and Septimus can do ours." It made sense that they would do something like that. Of course, it was important to try and keep as much as possible under wraps. Artemis rubbed her face with her hands in frustration. After coming to this damned school everything had turned for the worse in her life. Now more than ever she regretted coming here.

"Why did you convince me to come here? I hate you for it." Artemis heard a soft laugh from the bathroom before the man emerged from the door with the glass of water in hand.

"Because you would have blamed yourself if the boy got killed when you could have done something about it. Here, drink something." She glared at him as she took the glass but he just grinned while sitting down on the edge of the bed. Doing as told she chugged the glass down in one go and breathed a sigh of relief as the burning in her throat lessened and placed it on the nightstand next to her.

"I almost killed him." The brunette's throat still felt sore but at least it was easier to talk after having some water. The dark wizard rolled his eyes.

"Well, it was not like it was planned. Besides, nothing happened." Artemis was about to say something in protest but the man covered her mouth with his hand.

"I know, I know. You hurt the boy but he lived and he is not scared of you in the slightest somehow. He came in here with us earlier and he didn't even flinch. Cyril is fine too. More than fine if what I saw earlier today is anything to go by." He grinned again now and winked. The brunette rolled her eyes at him and took away his hand from her mouth.

"But wh-" Annoyingly, her mouth got covered again before she finished.

"But what if? I thought you had stopped thinking about the what-ifs years ago. Come on, Prince. This is not your first time fucking up something and it's not gonna be the last. But don't worry this strong and ridiculously handsome wizard will protect you."

Despite herself, the witch had to let out a laugh at the way Zacharias was talking to her. It had not changed in the slightest from their years at school. No one else managed to stay serious and be humorous at the same time the way he did. His grin softened into a crooked smile as he removed his hand again. The wizard unconsciously picked at one of the cuts in his uniform before he caught himself but she had already noticed.

"How did that happen?" Laughing he waved his hand at her.

"You sleep a little rowdy but don't worry it didn't go through the uniform. Besides, you gave me worse cuts the last time we shared a bed." Artemis' worry changed into embarrassment and a blush crept over her cheeks as she hid her face in her hands.

"Don't remind me of that again." The wizard laughed quietly again as he petted her on the head.

"Well, that cat is outa the bag now." Artemis felt Zacharias's hand flinch suddenly which made her look up in alarm only to see him sit with his other hand over his heart in a mocking fashion while facing Septimus. The previously sleeping wizard had walked quietly over to the bed and presumably scared the other Auror with his sudden presence.

"Bloody hell, Ace! Do you wanna kill me?" Septimus smirked at him before he looked at Artemis. She saw clear anger flash in his eyes which made her worried again. That was not something you would normally see on the man so easily.

"Septimus?" Their eyes locked as he kept standing by the side of the bed quietly, obviously debating with himself over what to say. The dark wizard got up from the bed then and patted the other wizard on the shoulder.

"I'm gonna see where Orion and Cyril are." Artemis watched him leave the room with unusual haste and got even more worried now. The blond sat down on Zacharias's place heavily. The brunette noticed that something was glittering in his hair and reached out to brush it out only to find it stuck.

"Is that glitter in your hair?" The glass that the witch had put down on the night table earlier shattered without warning making her jump. With wide eyes, she looked from the shattered glass to the wizard before her. He was shaking in anger and was clasping his hands together so tightly they were turning white from the pressure. Artemis waited patiently for him to gather himself before she said anything and after a few minutes, he relaxed slightly and took a deep breath. The wizard turned his body and put one leg up on the bed so that he was facing her completely. His eyes were a turmoil of emotions but the anger was the most dominant as he locked his eyes to hers again.

"I am reluctant to tell you this, Artemis. But the situation leaves me no choice." The brunette nodded for him to go on.

"In case you do not remember you whispered to me that the blood was stolen. I found out who stole it." Artemis's eyes widened even more now and we're already imagining the worst.

"Don't tell me it was the Death Eaters that took it?" Surprisingly, the wizard gave her an ugly smile.

"That would have been a better outcome I am afraid." She frowned at him then and got more worried as he had to take another deep breath before continuing.

"It was Loftwind. She gathered a sample after you were taken to St. Mungos. I should have made absolutely certain that she did not have any on her person before leaving the shop that day. This is my fault." Artemis's blood had frozen when she heard Eminence's name fall from his mouth. Her mind was racing to keep up with the information she was given. There was no way the wizard was lying to her as he preferred then to say nothing at all than to lie to her face. It was clear that this was eating at him as he looked at her with regret and desperation.

"Why… how?" The brunette was too shocked to get out a complete sentence but thankfully Septimus understood as he explained that she had taken a wand core and infused it with the demon blood making that the reason for the pain. However, the reason for why was stuck on his tongue.

"Loftwind… she… she only did it to get her own bloody curiosity satiated. There was no thought behind it." She sat there staring at him for a long time as the words slowly started to make sense in her head. Of course, she felt betrayed and rightfully so but on the other hand, it was something she could not blame the other witch for doing. Not completely anyway.

Flinching, she felt Septimus's soft touch on her cheeks as she realised that tears had started to flow down her cheeks without her knowing.

"The crystal is destroyed. I did it personally and we did not bring her in. However, if Cyril had a say in it she would be in Azkaban already." All she could do at that moment was a nod in understanding. Eminence had been one of the first people she had called her friend. Someone who had called her magic beautiful. Never asked questions even if they would be burning on her tongue. A harsh sob escaped her and the wizard in front of her quickly took a hold of her pulling her towards him. Artemis clutched to his soft sweater as she cried into his chest and at that moment she would rather be feeling the intense pain from the branding again than the feeling of betrayal.