Aurors

It was past midnight and Artemis was in Draco's room again consoling him from another nightmare. They were in their usual position on the bathroom floor him leaning against her trying his best to catch his breath. Sweat was evident on his forehead and his hands shaking.

"Want to tell me what it was about this time?" Stormy grey eyes met her brown ones. He was thinking about it she noted while she patiently waited for an answer.

"You." The brunette raised her eyebrow at him.

"Me?" He nodded slowly as he grasped one of her hands and placed it on his own cheek closing his eyes in the process.

"I keep seeing you in pain and no matter what I do I can't help you. It's driving me insane." Artemis laughed softly as he opened his eyes again with a curious look in them.

"How are you not scared of me yet?" Draco's eyes softened.

"Like I already told you I trust you completely and I don't care what you are." She smiled down at him.

"Surprising that. Then the only thing I can do is trust you as well, however, you mentioned the Master yesterday and I need to know how much you actually know about that. Even though this might not be the right time to ask about this." The blond looked up at her with slight fear in his eyes for a second before he relaxed against her.

"I got curious when I saw the branding scar the first time and looked up how the Glamour charm worked. But it was Auror Zouch who actually hinted that you had a Master when he questioned me while you were in a coma. I also know that you are bonded to Auror Silver. I overheard him talking to Auror Zabini in the office." Artemis didn't quite know how to react to the information she was given. This meant that he had known for a while but somehow there was something that didn't fit into what he was saying. Of course, Septimus must have had a reason for hinting to the boy about the fact that she did have a Master and seeing that the wizard had not been Obliviated by Orion yet it meant that he was keeping everything a secret. She took a deep breath placed both hands on his face and stared into his eyes.

"Do you know who the Master is?" He was quiet for a second before he replied.

"I'm not sure but I believe it's Auror Thompson." The brunette looked down at him surprised.

"But you know that I am bonded to Orion, why would you believe that I am then blood-bonded to Cyril?" He looked just as surprised as she did as he got up into a sitting position and took a deep breath.

"Because it only seemed logical to me. He was the one that got here first when I was in trouble at that time you tried to… and he took control when you ended up in the hospital." The young wizard had a good reason behind his theory Artemis noted. She looked at him deep in thought. Of course, she could let him have his theories but on the other hand, it might be better to tell him straight up. The brunette sighed as she got up from the floor and reached her hand out for him to take.

"Let's move to the bedroom. It will be more comfortable for you." He smiled at her as he let himself be pulled up on his feet, however, she had to support him as he started to sway slightly.

"Careful." The blond continued to smile at her and there was something that flashed over his eyes that she didn't catch. She moved them slowly towards the bed making sure to keep a tight grip on the taller wizard. He sat down heavily on the bed and raked his hands through his hair.

"How you feeling?" Artemis crouched in front of the blond and put her hands on his knees. Draco took a few deep breaths before he met her eyes and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Better, thank you." She smiled at him in return and stood up.

The room was silent for a couple of minutes before Artemis decided to just jump from the cliff she had been balancing on since she got back to the school.

"It's Orion. He's the Master." Draco looked at her with wide eyes.

"But… t… that makes no sense. He's so cold towards you, even after you two kissed under the tree by the lake. It's like you've been strangers." The blond was right of course. Orion had been cold towards her during their stay at the school and maybe it had started before that but it was not only his fault. Artemis had spent countless hours being mad at the man and if she was honest still was at some level. Everything was a big mess and now that Eminence had done what she had done it only became worse.

The brunette felt her legs weakened and she sat down next to Draco on the bed. He looked at her with worried eyes but chose to stay silent. Not unlike what he had done the first night they had met in the kitchen.

"It might not make sense but it's true. I am bonded to Orion with a blood ritual that we did in our seventh year here. It was Severus that performed it back then." Words tumbled out of her mouth without a care in the world and it felt good to say them out loud after such a long time. However, it also made her feel bad as she had not conveyed this to Eminence back when she had the chance.

"But what about Thompson?" She had to grin when the wizard finally dropped the title before their names before she replied.

"He is... well, a friend. A close friend. The idiot is willing to protect me even if it means facing his own death. Which he showed that morning. There was no guarantee that either of you would be able to stop me without Orion. It was incredibly stupid of him to even try." The brunette looked up at Draco and was surprised by the wonder in his eyes. It looked like he wanted to say something but he bit his lip instead. Artemis studied him as he moved slightly in his seat and shivered.

It was then she remembered he was not wearing a shirt again and the dungeons were getting colder by the day. She got up and walked the short distance over to his trunk to pull out a clean nightshirt before returning to face him. He was quick to put the shirt on and close it. The wizard managed to button it up by himself now as he had calmed down and his hands had stopped shaking.

"He can't hurt you, can he?" The grey eyes were filled with worry as they looked her up and down and Artemis understood where his mind was going.

"No. He is not responsible for any of these scars." She sighed before motioning him to get under the covers and then sat down on the edge herself.

"Listen, Draco. I saw the books you were reading and I know what is in them. Severus took the slave ritual and tweaked it to fit my situation. The bond goes both ways for us, he gets more powerful while my powers are kept under wraps. As good as they can be that is." The young Malfoy nodded after thinking it over for a while it seemed.

"I think I understand. Of course, Uncle would never have given him full control over another human being like that. But what can Silver do that is so special?" Artemis studied him again for a second before she shifted her position to sit crossed-legged at the end of the bed. Taking a deep breath she cast a privacy ward around them just in case someone was listening.

"I'll tell you the whole story from start to finish but I need to know that I can trust you with this. Orion will not hesitate to Obliviate you if you talk about this with anyone." His grey eyes widened into the size of dinner plates as he sat up and mimicked her position. Dark grey eyes studied her then before they turned serious.

"I'm willing to take an Unbreakable Vow. No questions asked." Draco was completely serious it was easy to see and that alone made her feel more confident in telling him. He had seen enough of what was going on with her now that it was simply stupid to not tell him. It was either that or removing the poor boy's memories. Preparing herself she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before opening her eyes again and letting the words pour out of her mouth.

Artemis had told him absolutely everything even, the part about who Burns was. When she first started to talk she found it difficult to stop. The young wizard sat quietly and listened, the only proof of him actually registering what she said was his eyes widening from shock here and there. They sat in silence now with only the candlelight flickering from time to time sending long shadows into the room. It felt like hours had passed when Draco finally broke the silence.

"When did you know it was a demon?" Artemis looked at him puzzled by the question at first before she realised what he meant.

"The Vanisher told me when I was a child."

"You trusted him? He kidnapped you after all." She laughed softly.

"I was just three years old at the time and I had no choice but to trust him. Honestly, I didn't even know I had been kidnapped." The blond looked around the room for a second before returning his curious gaze to her.

"You never doubted anything he told you or tried to find him?" The brunette tilted her head to one side and thought about the question.

"Never. I know what I am and he is the reason I became an Auror in the first place so that I can find him one day." He nodded in understanding before going quiet again. They sat in silence for a while and Artemis used the time to think. The blond was asking the correct questions she believed, some she didn't haven't even thought about answering before. She wasn't sure why she was so honest with answering them all but at this point, there was no point in keeping more secrets.

"You've been through a lot, Artemis. Are you alright?" Laughter escaped her before she could stop it.

"I have been better, but I've also been worse." Draco didn't seem satisfied with the answer as he bit his lip.

"Uncle obviously helped you a lot but have you ever tried to find your real parents? Do you even know if you're a half or full-blood?" She smiled.

"As I told you, The Vanisher changed my name, I've tried looking for them. Even got Septimus to help me but we had no luck. I have a theory that Vanisher somehow made them 'Vanish' as in removed them from the record in the Ministry. Mostly on the evidence that I am the only 'Blackmoore' on record and Severus just assumed that I was full-blood but all I know for sure is that I am no muggleborn." He gave her a 'no kidding' look and she had to smirk at him.

"Would you ever get rid of the demon, if you could?" That took her by surprise and her smirk fell off her face. It was a simple question and of course, she had thought about it before.

"That is a hard question to answer. It's a part of me now and it has helped me in situations I most likely would have died had I not had this power. The time at the leaky cauldron comes to mind for instance. But a lot of things could have been avoided had I not had it." Draco looked down at his hands obviously thinking hard about the answers he was given. A slight blush spread over his cheeks and she scooted closer to him to look at his face.

"Are you alright, Draco? I know it's a lot to take in." The blond looked at her directly then the blush still on his face. He pointed at his own chest.

"Can I see it again? I know it's not my place to ask something like that but…" Artemis smiled softly at him and unbuttoned her uniform cloak and then the top buttons on her shirt that she wore underneath. Draco eyed it fascinated and reached for it but before he touched it he looked up at her for permission, which she gave with a nod. He caressed the branding as if she were an antique piece of porcelain. The brunette shivered under the touch.

"Do you ever regret doing this?" He was whispering like the first time he had seen it as they locked eyes again.

"I do, sometimes but the alternative is worse." The blonde nodded as he continued to trace around the raven.

"It's weirdly pretty. For a scar that is." Artemis snorted.

"If you want to call it that be my guest." Draco took his hand back and the brunette buttoned up her clothes.

"Any more questions?" The wizard shook his head and leaned back against the headboard.

"I'm sorry for asking all that without even asking for permission first." The witch had to laugh at him as he flung his arm over his face.

"It's fine. I wouldn't have answered if I didn't want to. Believe me and I already told you about what I think about you apologising for everything." She got up from the bed and started to walk towards the door only to stop before she reached for the door handle.

"Get some sleep, Draco. You are going to need it. You've been through a lot the last few weeks." A harsh laugh was heard behind her as she left his room quietly and as she exited the common room she decided to swing by the kitchen before she found Peeves.

~ཐིཋྀ~

The kitchen was quiet at this time of night, not weird as it was closing in on three in the morning. However, the witch was not going to anger the elves by touching things around the kitchen and decided to call for Mips anyhow.

"Mips? You here?" The elf appeared immediately but she looked distressed to the point that her ears were lowered as far as they would go.

"Misses. There is so much glitter. Everywhere! Mips cleans but the shiny is still there!" Artemis blinked at the little elf as she was indeed covered in glitter from head to toe.

"What in the world happened?" Huge eyes looked up at her then.

"Pretty Bird friend and Shapeshifter gave me their uniforms, Misses! They sparked so prettily but it was horrible, Misses! It keeps following Mips everywhere!" The witch laughed at the poor little creature in front of her.

"It's alright, Mips. Stand still." Mips froze like a statue as Artemis waved her hand above the elf and most of the glitter flakes collected themselves into a tiny ball. With the ball still floating in her hand, she took a glass that had been left behind on one of the counters and placed it inside then handed it to the elf.

"There you go, Mips. I didn't get everything but it will leave you alone after a little while. Think of them as some new friends in the meantime, hm?" The little elf jumped up and down in joy when most of the glitter had been placed in the cup.

"Happy day, Misses!" The witch laughed again as Mips started to dance circles around her before suddenly coming to a halt in front of her. Her eyes turned into a glare for a moment before her ears perked up again.

"Did Misses sleep well?" Puzzled the witch crouched down to the same level as the elf.

"What do you mean, Mips?" Mip's eyes widened again.

"Missters said that Misses was sleeping! He was letting you sleep so His Majesty was here with Pretty Bird friend instead of Misses." The brunette was confused over what the elf was talking about but to be safe she decided to play along.

"Oh yes, of course. I had a good rest. I'm sorry Mips, I haven't been here to see you in a long time." Mips waved her free hand around in an almost offended manner.

"Misses has work! Mips has also had work, she has helped Missters eat in his room! Missters is good at studying alone." The witch smiled at the elf's innocence as she stood up.

"Alright, I better get back to work then. You keep doing a good job, Mips." The elf beamed at her with a wide smile as she nodded so hard her ears flapped around her.

"Of course, Misses!" With a last smile, Artemis left the kitchen and had to remember to ask one of the others about what they had told Mips while she was gone.

~𓆗~

Draco was staring at his bedroom door long after the Auror had left. His head was a mess of thought and no matter how he twisted and turned it he still came to the same conclusion. That is somehow all made sense. Of course, this didn't mean he wasn't going to spend a lot of time in the library the next few days but at least now he could ask one of the other Aurors for help to understand. Which meant he most likely had to go to Auror Zouch. Something he was dreading already as the wizard had seemed out of place since the other night.

It was clear something was bothering the man and even though Artemis had now told him mostly everything she had still not touched upon what had happened the night before. The blond had not dared ask about it as he figured it to be a touchy subject. All he cared about right now was that she was OK. He kept seeing her in his dreams over and over, still the same blood pool on the floor and not moving as if dead to the world.

Draco shivered as he pulled the bed covers closer to himself. At that moment he cursed having a room alone, at last earlier he could have bothered Blaise about the cold. With a frown, he decided to get up and have a shower hopefully settle his thoughts at the same time. He swayed slightly again before walking to his trunk to get some fresh clothes. As he walked into the bathroom he waved his hand towards the tap and had to smirk to himself when it turned on by itself. At least some of his magic was still with him he thought as he grabbed some water from the sink before stripping down.

The water was steaming up the bathroom quickly as Draco stood under the spray to think. He tried to collect his thoughts to his best abilities by making a mental list. One, it was good to know that Auror Silver was not the one that had given her all the scars but somehow it still surprised him that he was the Master and not Auror Thompson. The other wizard simply seemed to care for her more in the end. Two, she obviously had more power than he could actually imagine, which did scare him a little bit so far everything had worked out fine. Three, after being told all that he still found himself to be in love with her. His views on her had not changed and he had struggled not to pull the woman into his arms when she had given him permission to touch the scar. Killer or not, she was still Artemis he reasoned.

The blonde groaned loudly as he thumped his forehead to the wall in front of him.

"You're so fucked." The silence was his only answer as he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

Draco wasn't quite sure how long he had been staying under the spray but he could feel his muscles relaxing and his thoughts were settling so he decided to turn off the water and dry himself off. Making sure to brush his teeth before leaving the bathroom he felt better now the second time he went to bed. However, after tossing and turning for what seemed like an eternity he felt his eyes grow heavy and he prayed that he would have a dreamless sleep.

~ཐིཋྀ~

Artemis was walking along the hallway on the second floor when she heard Peeves singing from down the hall. No sooner had she heard him than the ghost came flying full speed towards her. She stopped in the middle of the hallway and waited for him to stop spinning around in the air.

"Well good evenin' little one! What brings you up past bedtime tonight?" The brunette rolled her eyes at him.

"I have a task for you and as many ghosts as you can gather, Peeves. I need to find the Defence classroom the castle decided to hide from 'Professor Burns'. Think you can help me?" Peeves grinned a wide grin as he spun around in the air happily.

"You? Helping that ugly monster? Why would you eeeever do that?" Again, she rolled her eyes.

"Out of the goodness of my own heart, I assure you." The ghost laughed a chilling laugh.

"Oh-ho! Little Miss Demon is snarky tonight. Better watch myself so that I don't die again on the spot!" He flew right into Artemis's face then, grin still in place.

"But I am already doing a job for you, little Miss Snark. Who is going to watch the Malfoy whelp then?" The brunette snorted.

"When did you ever care for the so-called 'whelp'? He is fine. He should be asleep by now as he rarely wakes a second time. Besides, this is why you need to gather as many ghosts as you can. The more help we get the better chance we have of being done before the sun comes up. So, what do you want this time?" Peeves looked thoughtful for several minutes and right before Artemis was on the brink of losing her patience he laughed again. This time it was more of a sinister tone.

"Tell me a secret. What hides inside that bloodlust-filled head of yours?" The brunette thought it over for a few seconds before she nodded.

"Fine, but after, you find it. Deal?" The ghost cackled loudly as he spun around.

"A deal it is!"

"Then go. Get as many ghosts as you can to help you. I'll continue the search on this floor then move upwards. Come to me immediately when you find it." Peeves mock saluted her before disappearing into the floor and out of sight. The witch sighed before she started her journey through the corridor all the while opening doors as she went. However, when she started her journey down the second corridor of the fourth floor she was starting to lose hope of ever finding it.

She had checked every door the ghosts hadn't so far. Peeves, surprisingly, had fulfilled his end of the bargain as a ton of the school's ghosts had started their search and she had gotten lucky that some of them had started on the third floor which meant she could proceed directly to the fourth when she was done on the second. Suddenly, she realised she was walking in the direction of Orion as his presence felt closer than if he were to be on the floor underneath her. Artemis had for once forgotten about the bond the entire day as her mind had been occupied with other things and true enough when she rounded the corner she saw the blond-haired wizard come out from one of the rooms. He looked at her puzzled for a second before they met in the middle of the hall.

"So this is where you were. I've been looking for you. I heard you got a mission to find Burns's classroom." The witch nodded.

"Correct but I swear the castle is hiding it on purpose. What are you doing here? I thought it was Septimus that was starting the night shift?" Orion looked uncomfortable for a second as it was obvious he was trying not to let any emotions through the bond.

"I told him to take the night off. He needs the sleep." She eyed him before sighing.

"Alright, fair enough. Excuse me." Artemis was about to go past her partner but he grabbed her arm before she had a chance to escape.

"Artemis, wait. I need to find Burns's office just as much as you do. Let's work together on this. You don't even have to talk to me if you don't want to." She looked down at his hand that was clutching her arm and sighed.

"Fine. I guess you need the evidence, right?" He nodded in response as he let her go. The brunette pointed down the corridor she had come from.

"I've checked all rooms in that direction so I guess that leaves the east part of this hallway then." Orion looked down the hall and nodded in agreement again.

"Seems so. Better get a move on then." The witch rolled her eyes as he passed her and walked with confident strides down the hall.

They were walking in silence throughout the fourth floor checking every door as they went and soon found themselves on the fifth floor. It was closing in on six in the morning and students would soon fill the hallways and the ghosts would retreat to their respective hidey holes for the day. Artemis rubbed her tired eyes and looked towards Orion who looked just as tired as she felt. Their eyes locked for a second and the words left her mouth before she could stop herself.

"I told him." Orion looked confused at her as he walked closer and stopped in front of her.

"Told what to who?" His eyebrows knitted together in frustration about her evasiveness.

"Draco. I told him everything about me. The branding, ritual, Burns, everything." The tall wizard's eyes went from shock to anger and back again multiple times before it at last ended on anger.

"What?! Are you insane?! What if he tells someone?" He grabbed her shoulders tightly as the anger washed over her in waves through the bond.

"He won't, I can promise you that." Orion let out a groan of frustration.

"Nobody is supposed to know, Artemis. Why did you tell him everything? You told Loftwind and see where that ended up!" Her own anger flared up inside her then at the sound of Eminence's name.

"Because I am sick of hiding! If you even dare Obliviate any of them I will never forgive you!" She shoved him away from herself forcefully as more anger washed over her but it was easily matched by her own.

"Fine! I just have to live with you not forgiving me ever again. None of them can know any of this, you know this."

"Don't think I don't know how many people you have Obliviated for the smallest thing. Do you even know how many you have done it to or did you stop counting at some point? I've chosen to ignore it for a long time, Orion, but this has to stop."

"You killed people, Artemis. What should I have done?!" Artemis froze to the spot as she looked at the man in front of her. He stood ready to defend himself that much was obvious as his wand hand was ready to reach for his wand if he needed it. It saddened her to see that even the one she was sharing a bond with had to have his wand close for him to feel safe around her. Flashes of Cyril being the hero when he tried desperately to wake her suddenly came to her as if the demon was reminding her of something. The wizard must have noticed the sorrow as he eased up his stance but didn't move his hand from above his wand holster.

"I guess we can get to Snape's portrait then and see if he has a way to remove the bond."

"Artemis … what are you talking about?"

"Maybe someone could be willing to take the burden off your shoulders. Cyril doesn't seem to be scared of me."

"Stop it."

"The easiest way is just for me to end it. Jump off the Astronomy Tower maybe."

"Enough …"

"When I think about it they have wards for that. Drowning in the lake would be the easiest."

"ENOUGH!"Artemis flinched at the commanding tone the blonde used and his loud voice woke up some of the paintings surrounding them as they hushed them angrily. His hands were on her shoulders again and he was sending soothing emotions through the bond.

"Please. Don't talk that way." She felt tears threatening to fall when she looked up at him. His icy eyes were softer than usual as he moved his hands from her shoulders to her face.

"Don't ever think that way. I am not willing to part ways with you. Not again." His voice had turned into a whisper that seemed to tickle in her ears as she felt herself calm down. That whole train of thought was ridiculous, to begin with as they didn't even know for sure that he would be free if she did die or the other way around for that matter.

"The days I had with silence were enough. I never want to experience that again. It's fine, I won't touch him but he needs to know the seriousness of this whole thing and we should let the others know that he knows. Alright?" The brunette nodded in agreement and it felt like a burden had lifted off her chest. She quickly blinked the tears away as she suddenly heard Peeves coming down the hall. He was singing obnoxiously loud, even for him and the witch suspected it was so that he would interrupt something before he even had the time to see it himself.

Orion let go of her as he turned to the ghost annoyed.

"Peeves." The ghost in turn looked just as annoyed back at him.

"Your majesty, King of Snakes." Peeves did a deep bow in the air while he snickered before he turned to Artemis.

"We had no luck tonight, Little one. The castle is crafty with this one, we need more time as most of my dead friends are going to sleep now." The witch nodded at him.

"Fine, but I want all of you looking the second the sun goes down again." Her voice cracked in the middle of the sentence and the ghost actually looked worried for a couple of seconds before the characteristic grin was back again.

"Very well! It shall be done. I wish you a good day!" Before they had time to say anything else the ghost disappeared through one of the walls annoying a painting in the process. Artemis looked at Orion before taking a deep breath.

"We should go back to the office. I am desperately in need of sleep." Thankfully he just nodded in agreement and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and started to lead them towards the third floor. The pair had only walked for a couple of minutes before the wizard broke the silence.

"How did he take it? He was curious I might imagine." The brunette hummed in agreement, too tired to actually voice an answer. As a response, he rubbed her arm soothingly and the silence continued. Soon enough they managed to get back to the office as the hallways were filling with the earliest risers of students.

~ཐིཋྀ~

Neither of them was surprised to find Zacharias nursing a cup of coffee at his desk, however, Septimus sitting without a shirt and a towel over his shoulders was another matter.

"Forgot where you placed your shirts, Ace?" Orion asked as they walked in. The wizard jumped slightly as if he had been deep in thought.

"Evidently. Pardon me, there was something I had to check before I forgot it." The taller wizard just waved it off and went over to his desk and sat down with a grunt. Artemis used the little distraction to look at Septimus as it was a while since she had seen him half-naked. He was smaller than the other three but by no means did that mean he was not well refined. Shaking her head as she got a weird look from Orion she went over to her own desk and noticed a letter on top of it. It was not a Ministry envelope and it only had her name on it.

"What is this?" Zacharias looked up from his coffee long enough to see what she was talking about.

"Ah, that came by owl earlier. No clue who it's from but I've checked it for dangerous nonsense and it's safe to open. Earth to Ace! Go get a shirt on, mate." As the wizards started to discuss something in the background she eyed the letter in her hand with suspicion. The handwriting looked familiar to her but she somehow could not place it. Giving up, she sat down for then to open it.