Propriety: Chapter 34

Wonderful news! I have finished writing this story! I have decided to celebrate by updating again today. To make this week even better, I will also be updating every day this week until this story is completely uploaded! :) Glad I got it done now, since I'm headed back for spring semester this Saturday. Anyway, enjoy!

***Beware this chapter is a direct continuation of the first scene of the last chapter. Please re-read that chapter if you need to! :)

PLEASE SEE WARNINGS

Warnings: See chapter 1

Disclaimer: I think we all know at this point that no one other than JK Rowling owns these beloved characters. I just own this plot line. ;)

Please Enjoy!

Call for Me, I Might Not Answer

"We should focus on finding Mr. Potter right now. We can worry about these peoples' motivation later." Kingsley bid everyone follow him through the floo to his office. He knew it would do no good to tell the students to stay put, because they would just follow him and Snape anyway. Everyone crowded around his desk, even as he went to the door and cast a Patronus.

"I've sent a message to two Aurors I trust and have investigated myself." His last words assured Severus more than his first, and the ex-spy conceded. While they waited for the Aurors, everyone started brainstorming places where these people could have taken Harry. They were in the midst of a heated argument when the two Aurors arrived.

"I'm just saying they'd have to be extraordinarily stupid to have taken him here to the Ministry," Neville said. Draco sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Or it would be very very smart. We think it'd be stupid of them to take him here, so we wouldn't search here. Ergo, it's a lot less stupid than we think." Ron was throwing in his two cents in that conversation, while Hermione was arguing the benefits of a number of tracking spells with Professor Snape and the Minister. The two Aurors were stunned for a moment but quickly sprung into action.

"Minister Shacklebolt! We just got word from Lord Malfoy. There have been reports of a young man matching Mr. Potter's description suddenly popping up past private wards all over England." Everyone in the room got quiet.

Snape recognized the two men as those that took Miss Weasley away after she had attacked his ward. He appreciated their haste in getting right into the investigation. Kingsley growled.

"There's a reason it's still in Development!" He took a deep breath and got a hold of himself before he continued. "From the description of his original disappearance it is believed that two Aurors slipped one of the experimental Emergency Portkeys onto Mr. Potter's person. One of these Aurors we know to be Smythe. Have you seen him?" Both of the Aurors shook their heads in the negative, and neither were ultimately surprised that Smythe was involved. They knew the man was a bit of an extremist and honestly, no one really liked him.

"Sir, I've seen his partner head down to the Gringotts construction areas by way of entrance C17 multiple times. Sometimes she's with someone from Development or Archives. I always thought it was strange, but whenever I asked she snapped and said she was put on restructuring duty."

To keep on the good side of the Goblins, the Ministry had agreed to help rebuild Gringotts from the destruction wrought by the Dragon and multiple Dark vaults imploding at the death of their owners. A number of Dark wizards and witches had rigged multiple curses to destroy their belongings and heirlooms and fortunes locked away in the bank so the Ministry could never touch them. Individually, they would be nowhere near powerful enough to even chip the walls of the bank, but together, they had caused a great amount of damage. Ministry officials from multiple sectors were put into a rotation to help with the rebuild.

"If it's the woman I've met, she's nasty with a short fuse. We need to find Harry fast." The Aurors who did know the woman could definitely agree with Snape's description. She was one nasty witch.

"I agree. However, the construction site is extensive with a long intricate tunnel network. It's also very precarious in certain areas. If it came to a fight down there, we could bring the whole of Diagon Alley down on our heads." Draco was rubbing his finger raw with how viciously he kept turning his ring.

"I don't care if this makes me sound like a Gryffindor, but we need to go now! Who knows what they're doing to him!?" Severus turned to his godson and laid his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Draco, we know you're upset. I am too, but we need to think of a way to do this without hurting Harry." Snape turned to the Minister of Magic. "Are there any other Aurors we can trust? I have no doubt this group will be larger than we think." Kingsley thought for a moment, then nodded. He sent out more Patronus messages.

While they were waiting for more Aurors to arrive, Lucius Malfoy came through the floo. He didn't miss a beat upon walking into a very high strung group meeting and went straight to his son.

"I went to Hogwarts first, then the Headmistress told me you would all be here. Tell me, do you have a plan?" Lucius reared back at the sudden onslaught of loud voices. He held up his hands to quell the rising tide and luckily they listened. "It sounds as though you have a good idea as to where Mr. Potter is, but are unsure as to attack or sneak in and out." There were some nods, and Lucius began leading a more directed, helpful discussion of strategies. He and Snape started bouncing ideas off of each other like the old days, and as more and more new, trustworthy Aurors trickled in, a solid plan began to form.

"Now, at that point, all we would have to do is-" A horrendously loud boom was heard to echo down the empty hallway, and the ground shook beneath them. A great wave of magic flowed over them and Severus recognized it right away. He paled and turned to his friend in fear.

"That was Harry. I know it. His magic lashes out when he's stressed or angry, but it's never been this violent." Decision made for them, the large group left the Minister's office, Harry's friends and family leading the charge to the elevators. Soon, the horde met at the lowest level and slowly made their way to the entrances of the construction tunnels. Shacklebolt turned to address those present.

"Our primary objective is to retrieve Mr. Potter and do so with the least amount of violence as possible. Mr. Potter's magic has reacted violently for unknown reasons but can likely be attributed to the actions of those that took him. We expect a large group of corrupt officials, some you likely know personally. Be prepared. They've kidnapped and intentionally harmed a minor; they won't hesitate to attack you. Move out and be cautious." With grim determination, the group split up and different rescue parties took different entrances.

The students stayed with the Minister, Snape and Lord Malfoy at the adults' insistence. The group of seven moved swiftly but quietly through the tunnels, with the Minister leading the way. Dust and sediment filled the air and made it hard to see despite their Lumos charms. It would be useless to try and banish all of the debris and dangerous to summon a wind to clear it. So, they made do with squinting and covering their mouths and moved forward.

The passageway was eerily silent and occasionally the whole place would tremble. Knowing the tunnels could cave in on them at any moment made them all the more motivated to find Harry and get out of there.

They took another turn and suddenly the air felt charged and thicker. They knew right away that they were on the right track. Severus moved closer to the very front of the pack. He had dealt with Harry's wild magic before and knew that he would likely need to calm Harry so they could approach safely. A few turns later and they could see a light not their own up ahead. The walls shook again and the group picked up their pace.

They could hear another group's footsteps echoing farther behind them and knew they weren't alone. Finally, they reached the opening to a large carved out room. Hermione gasped at what she saw.

At least twenty grown witches and wizards covered the floor, all unconscious, and more than a few were bleeding from injuries. They all seemed to be breathing which was a good thing, but what caught everyone's attention the most was Harry himself.

The young man was levitating off the ground in a laying down position. His whole body was radiating magic. They breathed a sigh of relief when they noticed he was breathing, but something was clearly very wrong.

"Harry," Ron called. No answer. Not even a twitch. Their friend simply floated without a care in the world. Severus rushed forward. Draco tried to do the same, but his father held him back.

The Potions Master's breath left him the moment he laid eyes on his ward's face. The young Gryffindor's eyes were wide open and glowing bright white. Snape called out to him again.

"Harry. Harry, wake up. You're safe now." Something must have gotten through, because the light in Harry's eyes flickered. However, as soon as it did, the walls around them started to shake and tremble again. Kingsley walked over all the while casting worried glances at the walls around them.

"Severus, we need to clear out of here as fast as possible. Harry, we-" Shacklebolt had clearly made an error when he laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. The shaking in the tunnels got so violent that those present (and on their feet) nearly lost balance. In the midst of his stumbling, Minister Shacklebolt's hand fell out of contact with Harry and suddenly, the tremors stopped.

There was a moment of quiet and then a group of Aurors hurried into the cavernous room. They were stunned momentarily by the scene before approaching the Minister for orders.

"Arrest all of those you see on the floor around you. We suspect Mr. Potter's magic acted in self-defense. They are all unconscious. Quickly now." As instructed, the Aurors made quick work of binding the perpetrators. As they slowly began apparating them out one-by-one, one of the criminals started to stir. Her groan caught the others' attention, and Kingsley's heart fell at who he saw.

"Clara…" Shacklebolt had trusted his secretary explicitly. Granted, he hadn't told her about his on-the-side investigation into Mr. Potter's situation, but with everything else…? Kingsley growled and shook his head. This was not the time for reflection. He made a mental note to do his own personal, thorough background check on any future assistants and started helping to clear the room.

Lucius, meanwhile cautiously approached his friend.

"Severus, how will we get him out of here if we can't touch him? Given the state of his magic, I don't think trying to float him out would be safe." Snape agreed with Lucius's concern and told him as such. Then he remembered being in the Hospital Wing with Harry, which shockingly was only a few days ago, and decided to try something.

"Lucius, stand back. I'm going to try something." At this point all of the prisoners and Aurors were gone and only Harry's friends, guardian, Lucius and the Minister remained. Snape slowly reached out to lay a hand on Harry's shoulder….

Nothing happened, and Harry's magic harmlessly washed over Severus as he had hoped. He sighed in relief.

"This means I should be able to simply apparate him out of here. I'd take him directly to the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts…" Here Severus paused. It could be as simple as that, but Snape felt that Harry's magic would not appreciate suddenly getting dumped in a new environment with only one "non-threatening" person to stabilize it. Snape met his friend's eyes.

"Lucius, I'm going to need you to trust me. Send Draco over here and then have the rest of the students and yourself apparate to the hall outside of the Hospital Wing at the school." The others heard him and began to protest. The walls shook around them again, and Snape cast them a hard glare. "If Harry's magic accepts me as non-threatening I believe it will accept Draco as well. Anyone else could cause it to lash out again, which will bring miles of stone down upon us all. Go now, and hopefully Draco, Harry and I will meet you at the school."

Ron was about to argue again, but Hermione laid a hand on his arm and shook her head. Though the red-head wasn't pleased with the situation, he trusted that Hermione was right. He sighed in resignation and the young couple apparated out. Neville scowled at the whole situation but did the same.

Kingsley hesitated for only a moment.

"I'll check that the Aurors have secured all of the prisoners in separate holding cells, then meet the students at the school. Be careful, Severus, Mr. Malfoy." With that, he was gone. Finally, it was just four of them. Lucius cared about both boys, but he was understandably concerned for his son's safety in this volatile situation. He trusted Severus with his son's life though and knew he had to continue to trust him now.

The Malfoy Patriarch approached his son and pulled him into a fierce hug.

"You can do this. You two love each other and his magic will recognize you as an ally. Honor the Malfoy name. Protect your Intended. I-I love you, Son." Lucius didn't wait for a reply and apparated away, knowing if he stayed another moment he wouldn't leave.

Draco let out a shaky breath and stepped forward. More debris fell from the ceiling in the time it took him to cross the room and both conscious wizards knew there wasn't much time left. The young Slytherin positioned himself at Harry's feet and after a nod from his godfather, reached out and grabbed hold of his Intended's ankles.

Both let out the breaths they had been holding when Harry's magic easily accepted Draco's presence. Snape met his godson's eyes.

"Draco, we will apparate him to the Hospital Wing on the count of three. Be prepared for his magic to lash out upon arrival. It will not harm either of us, but the explosion around us might be rather spectacular." He waited for Draco's nod of understanding and then continued. "On my mark: one, two, three-"

The moment they left, the stone room collapsed in on itself.

I'll see you tomorrow, faithful readers! :)

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