"Cursebreaker Malfoy. Trying to complain to the Head Auror about... What is it this time? Not enough water in the break room?"

"Actually, it's about you. I was hoping to get you moved so I don't have to see your specky face every time I come up here, Auror Potter." Malfoy seemed to pause before digging in his back pocket. "Here," he said, tossing a pair of goggles at Harry. "Since you can't properly take care of your own. They're enchanted. I would have cursed them to suck out the brains of the wearer, but then I realized you don't have any."

"Ouch. You're really breaking my heart here." Harry caught the goggles and inspected them, tilting his head. "Nice. That the only reason you're actually up here then, or was there something else?"

"I do need to speak with the Head Auror." Oh, no. Maturity may have done wonders for how Harry and Malfoy interacted these days, but it didn't help anyone who had managed to anger him.

"Oh, Merlin, what did Dawlish do now?" It was usually their delightful Head Auror that managed to anger Malfoy.

"Not Dawlish. Lexing just came down to us with a bad case of Blood Boils. Once is completely understandable, perhaps even twice, but three times in a month?"

"Lexing is an idiot." Honestly, that man didn't know what a shield spell even was. "If you want to hex him we'll all look the other way."

"That's just the problem. This happens with far too many Aurors. You lot should be better trained."

"Not sure how well that conversation is gonna go for you." Dawlish hated Malfoys, Death Eaters, cursebreakers, and people criticizing his Aurors. "Want any back up?"

"Fine then. You present the idea to the Deputy. He still believes me to be a prat."

"Ron is a prat," Harry laughed, pushing himself off the wall he was leaning against and giving Malfoy a quick salute. "Enjoy your talk with the Head Auror, Cursebreaker Malfoy."

"Potter," Malfoy said with a nod, continuing on his way. Harry watched him for a few moments before turning to see Ron giving him a look.

"Really? C'mon, mate, when are you gonna go for it?"

"Go for what, exactly? By the way, Lexing is an idiot. He had to get treated for blood boils again."

Ron scoffed, shaking his head. "I'll go talk to him. He needs to learn one way or another."

"Next time I say he just keeps them. Then he'll really learn- Hey, did we get anymore information on the Hamish case? He's still missing, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Ron said with a huff, running a hand through his hair. "I'm gonna be honest, Harry. We're coming up with nothing."

"A ministry official like that can't just disappear. We haven't gotten a ransom note or anything? Threats, claims, a slip up?"

"No. No one's claiming it. No one is asking for a price. Just... nothing."

"I don't like that. That means they want whatever Hamish knows and they don't want others catching on as to what that is." That meant these people were a threat.

"Yeah. These people are actually clever," Ron said with a sigh.

"We need to find something before Rita and her lot get their claws on this."

"I'm doing everything I can. You wanna know what you can do to help?"

"Sure?" For a moment Ron had looked very serious. That usually meant very bad things for Harry, when he thought about it. "Wait. Hermione hasn't badgered you to talk about our feelings, has she?"

"She has, but that's not what I'm doing." Ron crossed his arms. "I need you to gather up some Aurors for a raid." Frowning at that, Harry straightened his back, fingers twitching towards his wand.

"How many do you need, where are we going, and when do you need us there?" The two may have joked around a lot when they were at work but Harry had learned the hard way that raids were serious business.

"Take seven with you, I'll show you a map, and in an hour would be great." Nodding, Harry automatically flipped through the Aurors on duty that were in the office. Two of them he was wary about but the rest would be serious about the matter.

"I'll get it done. Go ahead and find that map and I'll be back, I got to talk to someone real quick." Turning around, Harry hurried back the way he came, looking for Malfoy.

Ron nodded. "I'll be right back, mate." Sparing a glance back to watch Ron disappear around the corner, Harry frowned and looked back towards the Head Auror office, pulling up short as he almost ran straight out into a fuming Malfoy.

"Sorry-" Fuming. Right. "Not a good talk?"

"Out of my way, Potty!" Malfoy waved him off and brushed right by him- Stomped, more like. Jeez.

"Just wanted to warn you there's a raid in an hour so you could prepare for more stupidity!" Still so difficult to deal with, honestly. Malfoy threw his hands up in the air and gave a near scream of frustration as he continued on. "See ya later!" Then again, it was a bit fun riling him up... Right. Seven aurors.

No big deal.

::

"It's too quiet," Harry muttered, voice soft and near a dozen silencing charms around him and the group of aurors behind him and Ron as they crept along the hallway of the building they had managed to get into. "Quiet is never a good thing, if you'll remember."

"Definitely."

"Right."

"Ow," they heard a small voice say from further down the hall. A small voice that sounded young. Frowning, Harry gave a signal for them to halt before creeping closer to the door and silently casting a spell. There was definitely someone there.

"Hello? Can you hear me? My name is Auror Potter from the Ministry of Magic and we're here to help." There was a soft gasp and the sound of bare feet slapping against a stone floor before there was silence. Glancing to Ron, Harry mouthed the word 'child' before casting a silent shield and sending an Alohamora at the door before pushing it open. "I'm not going to hurt you, okay? I just want to know why you're here and if there's anything I can do to help you." Nope, not a sound came from the room as Harry carefully stepped inside, giving the Aurors a signal to wait for him.

"Lumos." A gentle light fell over the room - which looked close to a prison cell. There was a half-empty bowl of food in the corner and a pile of blankets in another corner. In the center of the room was a chain nailed down, the other end leading to a child who couldn't be older than eight. "Hello." The child had stashed himself in the corner with the blankets, as far away as he could get. The boy had his arms wrapped tightly around his knees as he stared up at Harry, wide eyes full of fear.

For a moment, Harry could only see a small child with broken glasses and a scar who was scared to be seen or heard. Biting his lip, Harry made a show of tossing his wand a few feet away, sitting down on the ground. He didn't speak, instead settling down and trying to stay as still as possible. Harry watched as the boy's eyes followed his wand and lingered for a few moments before looking back at him. He remained silent, not speaking a word, though Harry watched as he slowly lowered his defenses.

Cautiously eyeing the boy for a moment, Harry kept his gaze lowered a bit as he spoke as softly as he could, "Would you like me to get that chain off your ankle? I can do it and stay right here, if you want." The boy immediately curled up again, eyes widening at Harry and shaking his head frantically. "Okay, okay, that's okay. That's fine. Someone will be angry at you if I do that, huh? That's okay, I don't want anyone to be angry at you." The boy opened his mouth before quickly closing it again and continuing to stare at Harry. "Did someone hurt you?"

With a look around the room, the boy slowly nodded. Nodding himself, Harry glanced back to the door, seeing Ron raise an eyebrow before sighing and disappearing. Good. Ron knew when Harry was stubborn. "If you want, I can help you find your family and get you out of here."

The boy seemed to frown at him, though he gave another nod and extended the leg with the chain, glancing at the wand again as he did so. Strange... Was this child afraid of magic? "I'm going to stand up and move towards you now, okay?" Leaving his wand, Harry carefully and slowly stood up, trying to make himself seem small as possible as he crouched back down next to the boy, gently inspecting the chain. "Are you hurt anywhere?" The boy nodded again and showed Harry the tender side of his arm where a long line of red ran. That didn't look like anything magical.

"Okay, we'll get that taken care of." Trying to squint through the dark, Harry inspected the lock before sending some of his magic into it, focusing on the unlocking spell. It clicked off easily, Harry smiling at the boy. "I'm pretty good with locks." The boy stared at Harry though this time Harry could see the fear begin to be replaced with wonder. "Alright, I'm going to wrap something around your arm to stop it from bleeding, okay? It might hurt a little, but I'll be careful." He was so glad he carried first aid supplies for emergencies unlike some aurors.

The boy nodded at him and held his arm out. Digging out some bandage, Harry quickly wrapped it around the child's arm, hoping the silencing charms were still up. "I have some friends outside. They're here to try and help someone else. Is it okay if I take you to them? I can promise that no one there will harm you." The boy slowly stood and looked to the door before nodding. "Thank you. Would you like to walk yourself, or would you rather that I carry you? Your ankle must hurt a bit after all that, huh?"

With a shake of his head the boy wrapped his arms around himself and stood beside Harry. Nodding, Harry moved towards his wand before pausing. "This is my wand. I use it to help people. I'm going to pick it up and put it away but I won't use it right now, okay?" The boy nodded and followed as Harry began to leave the room. Getting into the hall, Harry waved at the others. "Unaccompanied minor, hurt and chained and very scared. No sudden movements and wands away."

The others all nodded and stowed their wands away nodding at the boy. Feeling something on his leg, Harry looked down and saw the boy was now holding onto his pants and hiding behind him. Smiling weakly, Harry gently tousled the boy's hair before nudging him along up towards Ron. "Anyone else in here?"

"Nah, mate. Looks empty. We'll keep looking, you take him back." Chewing on his lower lip, Harry finally sighed and gave a nod.

"Alright. Contact me if you need me, though." Bending down, Harry smiled at the boy. "I'm going to take you somewhere safe. Is that alright?" The boy looked up at him and gave a nod. It was strange that he wasn't speaking at all. Well... Maybe it wasn't so strange. Harry had been much the same when he was younger. He needed to find out who this kid was and whether he was magical or muggle. "Would it be alright if I picked you up now? I don't want you getting lost in here."

The boy gave a small nod, holding his arms out to Harry. It took a great deal of effort to not beam at the sight - it was a bit adorable. Careful, Harry scooped the boy into his arms, trying to be gentle and keep his arm free of pressure. "Is there anywhere else you hurt?" He shook his head and looked down before slowly leaning his head on Harry's shoulder. "That's good, at least." Alright, how was he gonna get this kid to the Ministry without him seeing any magic... Maybe... "Remember how I made my wand light up and glow? That's magic. I use it to help people, remember? I need to use that to get you to a safe place. Would you rather I not do that?"

The boy looked at him and looked back down at his wand, looking back up at Harry and nodding. Maybe he was cursed. If he was cursed... Merlin, this was going to be a long night. "Close your eyes for a little bit, okay?" The boy tucked himself close to Harry and closed his eyes. "Good, okay, hold on tight for me, okay-"

"Hey, you! What do you think you're doing!" Dammit, Ron, he couldn't even secure the building.

"Bloody hell, don't you know? That's Harry Potter! And he's got the kid!"

"Ooh, that isn't a good thing." Flicking his wand, Harry quickly cast a shield spell before shooting off two stunners and running down the hall. "Okay, it's okay, you're okay, just keep your eyes closed and hold tight. I'm going to keep you safe, okay?" The boy gave a nod and held onto Harry tightly. For a moment, Harry thought he heard whimpering. "Okay, okay, just stay calm."

Rounding a corner, Harry shot up a few spells to get the other Auror's attention, shooting a few more stunners behind him as he dodged a nasty looking curse. "You all are gonna need better aim than that!"

Harry ducked down a hallway and Apparated them out quickly. Attention split and unfocused as he dodged another curse, Harry swore as he ducked and ended up rolling to hit the ground, sighing as he felt the soft carpet underneath him. Merlin, that was way too close. "Potter. Might I ask what you're doing here?"

"Malfoy. What are you doing in-" Harry paused, looking around. "Your office. Right- Shit." Darting up, Harry quickly looked at the child in his arms, checking him off as gently as possible, "Hey, hey, are you alright? Can you point me to anything if it hurts?" The boy gave a nod, still tucked against him.

"...Any curses, hexes, jinxes, or anything of the like on anything?" Looking over to Malfoy, Harry gave a small shrug before setting the boy on the desk and holding his arm.

"This is another friend of mine, Draco Malfoy. He's good at healing people. That wound on your arm? He can heal things like that with his magic. It's nothing to be afraid of, and he's going to help you just like I am. Is that okay?"

"Potter?" Malfoy was frowning up at him. "Why are you speaking to him as though he's a muggle?" As Malfoy spoke, the child nodded and held his arm out, the blond taking it and looking him over. "This isn't a magical wound. I'm no Healer but it looks as though it came from a blade and judging by the age of the wound and the fact it's still bleeding, it was a cursed blade."

"Dammit," Harry cursed softly, shaking his head. "You sense magic from him?" He knew Malfoy was amazing at sensing magic and magical signatures, but he didn't know he could tell with children. "He seemed scared of it. He was terrified when he saw me with my wand when I first found him."

Malfoy nodded. "Definite magic, though... It's dark." Malfoy looked to the child. "Can you speak?" There wasn't a clear response this time, the child looking small and scared and staring at the ground.

"It's okay if you can't," Harry spoke quietly. "That's okay. Can you write? Maybe your name?"

"This is a medical question. You can nod or shake your head but I need to know if you can speak." The boy looked uncomfortable for a long moment before he finally opened his mouth, closed it, and then gave a firm nod.

"I heard him say 'ow'. That's how I found his room in the raid we went on." Malfoy nodded.

"Alright. So there could still be a curse, but a more mild one, at least." Malfoy looked over the child and picked up his wand. "Alright. What I'm about to do is similar to when you go to a doctor for a check up. I'm just going to go through and see if there's anything wrong, anything to fix. Is that alright?"

Harry watched carefully for any signs of distress. The boy nodded, but he looked unnerved as Malfoy took out his wand and began casting spells. Frowning, Harry moved a little closer, cautiously inspecting the boy for any open wounds. "Cursed blade, lasting bleeding on the wound... Hm. Interesting." Malfoy remained silent for a moment before lowering his wand and smiling. "Did that hurt, then?"

The child shook his head, Harry giving a small sigh of relief before he searched around for parchment and a quill. "I'm glad you're feeling better. Do you think you could write down your name? Maybe even your age?"

The boy looked up at Harry and slowly shook his head with a frown. Malfoy seemed thoughtful before he nodded. He held out his wand, the tip facing himself. "Would you like to hold it?" Flinching, the child stared for a long few moments before hesitantly holding out a hand, braced for... Harry knew what those reactions meant.

"Hey, it's okay. You can if you want, but you don't have to. No matter what I promise you that neither of us are going to hurt or yell at you."

"Hm... You know how to use scissors, yes? There's a right way to use them? You cut paper, packages, perhaps even meat?" The child nodded, looking a touch curious, and, huh. Malfoy seemed to be good with kids. "Scissors are a tool. Plenty of people use them the right way, but some people use them to hurt other people. Wands are the same way. It all depends on the intentions of the person holding it."

It was a gradual movement, but soon enough the small boy had the wand in his hand and was inspecting it curiously, seeming rather fascinated but also a touch frustrated. Harry spoke quietly over his head, wanting to reassure him but hesitant to touch. "He was in a cell and chained to the middle of the floor with barely enough room to walk. They weren't pleased when they saw I took him."

"Some of the New Risers, I'm assuming?" Malfoy looked down at the boy and smiled. "Actually, that's typically the part that you point away from yourself."

"Not sure. We were looking for Hamish," Harry sighed, looking down at the child. There was something not right... "Do you... Do you remember your name?"

The boy looked up at Harry and slowly shook his head. "That's what I was afraid of. In my diagnostics, I found signs of an Obliviation."

"Looks like a pretty thorough one," Harry muttered, staring for a moment before shaking his head. "We might need something to call you until we can get you your memories back. Do you have anything you'd like us to call you?" Looking back down at the wand, the boy shrugged. "Alright. How about..." It didn't need to be anything well thought out or meaningful. It just needed to be something they could call the boy until he got his memories back. "How about something simple. Maybe Michael?"

The boy seemed to think this over before he nodded. Malfoy smiled as well. "Alright, Michael. I'm afraid I do need my wand back, however. I'm going to do my best to make your arm better." Michael flipped the wand around so he was handing it to Malfoy handle first, giving a small nod. Malfoy smiled and sat down beside him. "Have a seat, Potter. This will take a few minutes."

"So demanding," Harry teased, sitting down in the seat behind Malfoy's desk and looking around at the files curiously with a low whistle. "They really love running you into the ground, don't they?"

"That's what happens when you're the best bloody cursebreaker." Malfoy was muttering, which always meant he was concentrating deeply.

"Well, can't argue with you there." Malfoy's work spoke for itself, really. "He's going to need to see a Healer, huh?" Which meant mounds of paperwork.

"Perhaps... Though not necessarily. Aside from the curse, the wound really isn't that bad. A healing charm or two will fix it up."

"The Obliviation, though? That can't easily be fixed." He knew that much from Lockhart, after all. He still felt a bit bad about that on some days. "That's not going to go away so quick."

"No, but... We've seen that Healers are not adept at restoring memories." Malfoy looked at him for only a moment before shaking his head. "He'll need somewhere to stay."

"Yeah... Michael? Would you want to stay with me until we can get your memories back and figure out why you were there? You don't have to say yes, but I think it'd be the best thing for you right now."

Michael looked back at Malfoy before he gave a nod. It was a long few minutes of Malfoy breaking the curse, but the moment he did, Michael was turning around to hug him. "Oh. Ah. Alright. There there."

Laughing, Harry shook his head, doing nothing to help Malfoy from his 'torture'. "Do you know what it was that the curse was even doing?"

"The wound itself looks to be a few days old, but you'll notice it was still bleeding. That was the curse. Not enough for anything to happen, but enough to suit their needs." What surprised Harry was when Malfoy began to run a hand through Michael's hair.

"So they needed his blood for something, then? Or they just used the wrong knife when threatening him." Harry stared at the two, shaking his head after a moment. "But why Obliviate him?"

"Obedience." Malfoy didn't elaborate, but he didn't much need to. Harry could connect the dots for himself.

"Now I'm wishing I used more than just a few stunners." Sighing, Harry turned to Michael and gave a soft smile. "Michael? I'm going to take you to where I live so you'll be safe until we can help you more tomorrow. Would you like me to pick you up?" Michael nodded and held his arms out to Harry once again, the brown eyes no longer fearful and wide, but instead doe-like and full of trust. "At least there's that, hm?" Scooping the boy up, Harry carefully smoothed his hair down as he tucked him close. Thank god this kid could still trust. That... That was good. Especially after all those signs that he had gone through something rough in that damn place. Perhaps Michael really was like Harry.

"I'll do some research, see if I can't find anything about this. Look into the news for missing children." Nodding, Harry shifted Michael before giving Malfoy a proper smile.

"Thanks for helping. I feel I should warn you that the rest of the team should probably be back soon. I may have caused a bit of a fuss on my way out." Malfoy nodded, frowning.

"Potter..." Whatever he was about to say, he'd seemed to have changed his mind. "Take care of him."

"I will. I promise."

How hard could it be to look after a child for a few days, after all?