Harry and Tonks knew that they would not be able to apparate directly to the golf course without tearing apart the Statute of Secrecy, but they took their chances in apparating directly to the toilet they'd used before, on the ground floor of the hotel.
To their relief, it was empty.
Youth returned to Tonks' features, her hair purple once more. She and Harry shared a look, and then nodded.
There had to be a reason for it being Dudley's, and not Alicia's, message to greet them.
They were about to find out why.
"I've just picked up some magic use on the wards. Less than five people, and nothing too major, but you know what that means," Tonks said, her wand held in her hand as she silently re-transfigured her clothes into a dress; one more hard-wearing than what she'd been wearing to begin the day. "You ready for a fight?"
Harry transfigured his clothes only so that they were not such a loud colour, and stripping away the horrid argyle print.
Not for any particular stealth reason, either. That night might be the last memory Tonks, or indeed anyone, had of him. He didn't want to go out looking like that.
"Always am," he said. "Kingsley has to send backup after getting our message."
His words were more comforting than informative, and more for him than for her.
It would take about an hour, they both knew. To assemble a team, and get them to the hotel. It was Harry and Tonks' job to make sure that the culprit or culprits did not leave the premises in that time. Or cause any damage.
Tonks grinned, baring her teeth just slightly. "Wanna find out who's behind all this?"
Harry nodded again, and they were soon bursting through the bathroom door.
The hotel lobby was as it had been. Still filled with people all talking amongst themselves perfectly leisurely. It offered some relief. Whoever had broken in hadn't wreaked their ruin yet.
Harry and Tonks took the free hand of each other and barged their way through. Their path marked by the huffs of indignation they left behind but. Thankfully, it was only a short path back to the front doors of the hotel.
Harry pulled them open with enough force to weaken the brass hinges.
The sun was low in the world outside, its harsh glare hitting them the moment they first stepped foot beyond the interior of the Lansbury Hotel.
Yet, they did not require their vision to navigate through the greenery of the golf course, back toward the others and, most importantly, back toward whoever was behind all of what was happening.
In an area as sterile of magic as that hotel, the brush of magic against Harry's senses was one that stuck out like a lighthouse in a stormy sea, the energy and power of the assailants pouring into the inert air and taking hold, bringing it thick and humid.
Harry and Tonks took off running. They did not trust apparition on the slight chance that they appeared in the very spot that the culprit was hiding. Yet still, the grass disappeared beneath their feet for yard over yard, the trees coming and going along with it, still with no sign of any of them.
They reached the first tee; the place that Harry and Tonks had left the others.
But there was nothing.
No sign of a struggle, nor were any of their belongings, like their golf clubs, left behind. Still, however, the magic was thick in the air, and truly only getting thicker.
Without a word, both Harry and Tonks decided to follow the golf course around, going from the first hole to the second, and then the third, all while chasing the markers of magic use. With each fairway covered, the sense only grew as the magic heightened, yet there was no sign.
"There's not been any attempt of apparition, has there?" Harry asked Tonks breathlessly as they passed over the third hole's green. "No portkeys?"
"Nothing."
"So, they're not trying to leave," Harry panted out. "And Alicia hasn't used any magic yet."
"No one has."
They still had time.
As they ran through the fourth, fifth and sixth holes, the magic in the air maintained its potency but did not gain any strength; holding its place in the air. Thankfully, the course had been otherwise deserted, and so they were given free rein to act as they saw fit, without worrying over anyone watching them.
The seventh and eighth holes passed equally unremarkably, the only shift being of Harry's pulse as they still could not find the others.
Yet, at the ninth hole, that all changed.
The hole was stretched over an enormous expanse of grass bordering a huge body of water, the fairway running parallel to the lake's edges in a dog-leg, the late-evening sun shimmering on the water's dark surface. The far side was lined with pine trees cropped into a thin forest, yet still obscuring all sight and any light that wished to pass through. The ground only rose up in a shallow hill, so that the putting green offered a point of vantage to the whole of the rest of the golf course.
And, as Harry and Tonks stood on the ninth tee, they knew at once that magic had been cast on that spot, the energy of the air at its very thickest where they then stood. A magic detection charm only proved that which they already knew.
The air was not acrid, however. There was not the very caustic touch of the foul magic that wrought death and decay. The magic simply was, to their utmost relief, bringing and taking nothing.
There was still no sign of the others, but that was a sign that, when they did find them, they would hopefully find them alive. Even then, Harry was not above hope.
The silent peace of the hotel's grounds was broken by a piercing shout.
The sound carried over the tops of the pines and screeched through the bronzed evening sky, flocks of birds breaking out into flight and fleeing the grounds in search of the heavens.
Adrenaline pulsed through Harry's blood, caution settling into his eyes as he looked over at Tonks. He did not know the voice that screamed, yet the worry it wrought from him was one he was all too familiar with.
The cry of an innocent had been brought forth. And Harry should have been there to stop it.
Hand-in-hand, they apparated as far as they could see and no further, and then took off running. Yet, even as their legs pounded the turf, they did not seem to run nearly fast enough, the world passing them slowly. As if time was thin and stretched, with each moment its own horrid, present infinity.
Harry and Tonks ran up the green hill of the ninth hole, their vision empty except for the low sun that blinded them and the green, green grass that never seemed to end. Their climb brought forth painfully slow progress, and yet painful worry all the same, time passing with the measure of the gentle arc of the lake beside them.
And, finally, eventually, the hill shallowed, the lake straightened, and the world righted itself flat once more.
At last, they caught the sight of the others.
With time creeping slowly, Harry looked over each and every one of the others. They were kneeling on the manicured grass of the ninth hole's putting green. Harry saw Dudley first, his bulk and height at cause, and Margery sat behind him, their backs facing one another, their bodies tied together by thick lines of rope. Jane and Sally-Anne sat beside those two as well, their forms similarly affixed.
Alicia and Jake laid back to back, yet their heads slumped against one another, unconscious.
Hugh knelt alone, his head downcast and unmoving. His shoulders did move with slight breaths, Harry could see, but he did not show any other signs of life.
And Richard, to Harry's horror, was lying on the grass, his body slumped lifelessly on the Earth.
One figure stood above the six others, with blond hair as pale as moonlight, and a pointed, haughty face that Harry would recognise anywhere; one he'd known for nearly fifteen years.
Draco Malfoy.
His hand was held aloft with his wand pointed at the others with menacing intent, his face still affixed with the sneer he'd worn for all his life. He wore the black robes of a Death Eater, and with his hair as long as it then was, he looked in every way to be the reformation of his incarcerated father, Lucius Malfoy.
Yet, he was not as Harry knew him to be in the present. He stooped his shoulders in recent times, yet then he stood tall and proud over those that kneeled at his feet. As Harry and Tonks crept closer, Harry could see that his eyes were clearer than they ought to be too, without the tired bags that sank into his skin. Devoid of red, bloodshot veins.
"Harry Potter," called out Malfoy's voice, and yet again, it was similar but still so wrong. A caricature. "You've joined us at long last."
And, as Harry and Tonks walked on, then with only twenty yards of separation, they found the most telling evidence that this was not the Malfoy they knew.
As, in his hands, he did not grip the wand of Draco Malfoy; a wand Harry himself had held and used and fought with for half a year. One that Harry could possibly mistake for another.
This one was shorter. Of a different, lighter wood, certainly. But, most importantly, it was not Draco's wand.
Which meant that this was not Draco.
"Malfoy," Tonks called out, drawing the eye of the assailant, and the point of his wand too. His eyes flashing with anger, his shoulders squaring at the sound. In return, she pulled out her wand, holding it lowly, yet it was pointed unmistakably at the Death Eater. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
Malfoy grinned. "Teaching these muggles and traitors a lesson."
"And what lesson is that?" Tonks advanced upon him slowly, just as Harry drew his wand and peeled away from her so that if a fight broke out, they could attack from two points. "You have to know that we were going to catch you."
"Oh, I know you'd find me. It's a bit of a shame that you got here before the fun could begin, but I understood that you'd be here sooner or later; it's why I took care of old Richard so quickly." Malfoy gestured to the slumped billionaire with his wand tip. "But I know you're not going to catch me."
"How do you know that, Malfoy?" Harry asked. "The other Aurors are coming as we speak. they'll be here within the next thirty minutes. Even if you do get past us, which you won't, they'll have the entire hotel surrounded. You'll be in Azkaban before tomorrow, and you'll be there forever."
He shook his head. "No I won't," he said. His head swivelled as he attempted to keep track of the motion of Harry and Tonks all at once. "You're going to let me go free, and you're going to let me go with Hugh and Sally-Anne."
"And why would we do that?"
"Because of this," he said. He reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a small red gem; one used for warding. "It is keyed to view any magic other than my own as totally hostile. If so much as a single spell hits me, you will trigger the enchantments, and you'll blow a hole in the middle of England."
If he spoke truly, they would have no chance. All it would take was one spell, and they would be dead. Either from their wands or from his.
Harry looked to Tonks, his eyes flicking purposefully. She nodded, understanding.
"So, what's your plan then?" Harry asked, drawing Malfoy's eye. "What's so special about Sally-Anne and Hugh that you, scion of the Malfoy family, felt the need to do all this?"
Malfoy gave a derisive laugh. "Why would I tell you?"
"Why wouldn't you?" Harry asked. "If you're so sure that we'll let you go, what's the harm?"
"Do you really think I'm that stupid?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You're just buying time so that Tonks can jump me," Malfoy said. "It's not going to work."
"No, he's not," said Tonks, a good distance away from Malfoy. "Well, he was buying time, but not for that."
And, just then, Harry could feel the slow surge of a hastily erected ward, the beaming smile Tonks wore proof enough of that, too.
"Bit of a standoff here then, Malfoy," Tonks continued. "We can't use magic? Now no one can."
Tonks' magic spanned over the putting green. Upon it, she had placed the Hero's Uprising.
And, as it moved, any magic in the air that then stood evaporated as it made contact, that small part of the world made forcibly inert. No magic could take to the air without being pushed away.
One could speak the spells, and magic would flow from their wand, but it would forever go elsewhere, out into the rest of the world, devoid of its purpose and rendered into pure, distorted energy.
It was an incredibly fragile ward; any wizard or witch of any ability could burst through it, provided they were outside its sphere of influence. Yet, whilst within it, there was not a single thing that a magic user, even the person that'd cast the ward, could do to return their power.
It was quick to erect, and one that Harry, Tonks, and Kingsley had taken to using often when they worked together, not that any publicly accessible record would tell of that. It afforded them the opportunity of an altercation that was entirely on their terms.
Even the most dangerous dark wizard would not manage more than a minute without their magic.
Malfoy's face fell into a blank mask, his sneer sliding away. "I don't believe you," he said. "Aurors don't get taught that ward."
"You're right. Aurors don't," said Tonks, grinning balefully. "But, Aurors that hang around with curse breakers, like Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, tend to learn a thing or two."
The ward was a sister magic to the Thief's Downfall. Where that removed concealments and enchantments, the Hero's Uprising forbade active magic. For as far as the ward spread, not even the will of the Killing Curse or Fiendfyre could break the simple magic's designs.
Not-Malfoy's eyes widened as reality dawned upon them, under that dimming sun. He looked around, searching for something, anything to free him of his newfound prison.
He gripped his wand tightly. Harry could feel the magic thrum into the air, and yet it never flew forward as its wielder no doubt wished for it to.
With no other option available, Malfoy turned where he stood and took off into a dead sprint.
He made it all of fifteen feet before Harry caught up to him.
Harry tackled him to the ground, their bodies hitting the ground with a hard thud, Harry's weight crashing upon the culprit's. Yet, Malfoy was not so easily deterred, and so he wriggled out of Harry's grasp immediately, and soon Harry was holding only onto his outer robes.
And yet, that was enough. Harry wrestled them off of his body, yanking back Malfoy, and thereby offering him a choice. Stay with his robes, with the wardstone, his only protection. Or, let the wardstone go and run.
He chose to run.
Harry rummaged through the robes to find the wardstone, the gem crackling in his touch, burning his skin with its protective energy. He rushed out of the bounds of the ward to press his wand to its edge and pull away the magic that powered it; yet another spell Bill and Fleur had taught him. The red colour, which once glimmered, fizzled and then totally dulled. An ordinary gem once more.
In the time he'd taken, Malfoy had directed his attention to the Hero's Uprising, his wand trained upon the edge of the spell's limits and hurling a black stream of magic into its area of effect. The inert bubble that Tonks had erected shattered into nothing.
Tonks, who had rushed over to the others and removed their bindings, noticed the change. She raised her wand, Statute be damned, and threw up a white shield born of pure magic, just in time to meet the onslaught that Malfoy sent her way.
She ushered all of the others behind her. Dudley, Jane, Sally-Anne, and Hugh rushed to follow her command. Richard staggered around blindly as did Alicia and Jake, who could still not stand despite Tonks' reviving.
Harry struck then. With a low arc of his wand, he carved out a cresting wave of water into the evening sky, falling from the low sun like a waterfall until it cascaded its path toward Malfoy.
Yet, Malfoy brought his wand to meet this torrent just in time, and the great swath of water was soon transfigured into a grand plume of pressurised air which bent around the assailant's under-robes like a glassy mirage.
He raised his wand aloft, and soon that dense air twisted above his white-blond hair. "Infern-" Malfoy got out, the very edges of the air crisping into burning red before Harry's magic hit him again.
Harry threw forward another wave of water, and this one did meet Malfoy before he could raise a defence to it, sending him hurtling into the then-sopping grass of the fairway. Malfoy's back met the ground, yet he was not deterred by the impact, and held his wand aloft even as the back of his head banged against the turf.
"Protego!" Malfoy all but screamed, producing a strong wall of defensive magic that stilled the last of Harry's attack immediately.
But Harry did not stop there.
Harry charged into his straining target, his wand trained upon Malfoy's chest. There was little to do against a wizard's shield except to bludgeon it until the wizard that held it collapsed under the burden of maintaining its protection.
"Bombarda!" Harry cast, stabbing his wand toward his target with such force that the reverberations of his magic against the shield shook the trees in the forest and the surface of the lake. Yet, Malfoy remained resolute. Entirely defensive, but resolute.
"Bombarda!"
Birds flew from the treetops in search of safer abodes, yet Malfoy remained as safe as ever. Harry circled around him, searching for a space that his shield did not cover, yet he found nothing. The clear sheen of the shield was no more; now coloured blue under the impacts it had suffered, but the shield remained.
"Bombarda!" cast Harry, yet not just Harry, as Tonks' voice joined his in magical chorus. She had appeared to his right without his notice, yet her presence would never be more welcome. Her wand trained at Malfoy's chest, just as Harry's was. The others were some way behind her, sheltered by the first cropping of the forest's trees.
Their combined assault was all too much for Malfoy's shield. What had once been an immaculate sheen of pearly-white shattered and splintered until its disunity forced the protection to break completely, leaving nothing left and sending Malfoy prostrate on the ground again.
"Pro—pro," said Malfoy, his voice gasping, yet he could not draw the strength to cast another shield. His wand stood aloft and thin wisps of magic fell from it, but no concrete defence could take root.
"Stupefy!" Tonks shouted, her magic flying toward the wand arm of Malfoy. Yet, he swiped away with a tired flick of his wand, redirecting the energy behind him.
"Stupefy!"
Tonks' voice climbed with her spell but still, Malfoy pushed away her magic.
"Stupefy!" Hary and Tonks chorused, their magic combining in its attack and forcing its way powerfully through the air toward Malfoy.
Yet Malfoy drew himself to his fullest height and threw the onslaught upward with an assured motion. Up to the swirling winds above.
The sky clouded into an instant and terrible storm, yet instead of rain falling into the already sodden earth, a fire was born. The dense air of the storm's clouds gave its flames grand fury and painful heat, and in its eye, Malfoy hid.
The flames soon climbed such that they were taller than Harry himself. He could hear nothing except the roar that the magical firestorm gave out after every moment of its wretched destruction.
Harry and Tonks were quick to douse its perimeter with the greatest forces of water that they could conjure, yet all it served to do was stop the storm's spread. Its burning did not diminish, still stalwart in its obscuring of Malfoy, and indeed its danger, yet Harry and Tonks still held its position.
For now.
A pale arm, upon which the Dark Mark had been etched, poked out of the very top of the flames, a wand in Malfoy's hand. No words were spoken over the fire's roar. All the assailant did was direct his wand forward as if to lead a cavalry charge. Not to Harry or Tonks, either.
But to the others.
Soon, the storm ended its coverage, and instead gained focus. Gone was the ring that surrounded Malfoy, the magic instead twirling itself into a corkscrew, beginning at the tip of the assailant's wand and going on, and on, and on.
Harry knew its target was behind him; to the defenceless others. Yet, in his attack, 'Malfoy' had opened himself up for a counterstrike. He was weak, and would not withstand any spell that Harry hit him with.
He trusted Tonks. Always had.
And so, even as the fire rifled over his head and toward the others, he did not wait for Tonks to cast her shield, he pointed his wand in between the eyes of the assailant.
"Expelliarmus," he cast, and Malfoy's beleaguered arm, still then throwing arcane fire toward his target, could not maintain its grip on his wand, and instead the wand sailed toward Harry who caught it with practised ease. "Stupefy."
Malfoy crumpled into an unconscious heap, his knees bent inward and his back near-spineless in its contortions.
Harry turned around and found Tonks. Her wand held resolute. The firestorm no more.
He heaved a great sigh of relief and rushed over to Malfoy. Harry searched himself quickly for the magical handcuffs that the Aurors used, but he did not find them.
Instead, he conjured several thick cords of rope and tied them around the assailant until he could not move.
"Ennervate," Tonks said, as she rushed over to Harry as he was wrapping the rope around Malfoy.
"We've restrained you," said Harry, gasping with the effort of their prior duel. "If you fight against your restraints, we will use force given you've acted with violent intent. Understand?"
Malfoy gave a groggy nod against the grass
After a moment's pause to properly catch his breath, Harry pulled Malfoy up so that he was sitting. Harry took both of his wrists in hand and pulled them to meet at the base of his back.
To his relief, Tonks produced a pair of Auror handcuffs and clicked them around the assailant's wrists. Harry pushed Malfoy until he extended his legs out straight and then wrapped the corded rope he'd conjured around and behind the culprit's knees and ankles, before tying the ends into a half-hitch knot. Loose enough for his legs to still have blood flow, but tight enough so that Malfoy didn't have a hope of moving.
"Were you in the Scouts?" Tonks asked as he finished his work.
Harry grinned. "Not at all," he said. Tonks smiled. "Anything else from your wards?"
Tonks shook her head. "Nothing. No sign of Kingsley, either."
Harry nodded toward the man he was tying. "Let's see if there's anything more planned."
"'M not going to tell you anything," mumbled the polyjuiced assailant, his head bowed and his bound arms laying in between his tied legs.
"You won't need to," said Harry. "You're under arrest under suspicion of treason, terrorism, attempted murder, conspiracy to genocide, and attacking agents of British law enforcement.." Harry finally released the ropes. "And, given we have reason to believe that said terror plot is currently still underway, we are authorised in this instance to use Veritaserum, provided the interaction is recorded for further analysis and cross-examination of both yourself, as well as Auror Tonks and I."
Tonks had conjured a bag for evidence as Harry spoke, and he dropped the remains of the wardstone into it as well as the assailant's wand. Though polyjuice had made any fingerprints completely useless, storing magical objects away from the open air would sustain the remnants of the magic of its owner, and indeed any magic that had touched it.
If they were on the hunt for a splinter group of the Death Eaters, that information would prove to be invaluable.
He gave a glance toward the others then, to ensure that they were as they should've been; that none of them had suffered any injuries. Thankfully, they were still huddled together beside the trees as they should have been, though they were watching on with complete focus as Harry and Tonks restrained their attacker. Richard, Alicia and Jake were the only exceptions. The Aurors were unconscious again, but mercifully still breathing, and Richard was still much too groggy to focus upon anything.
With Malfoy dealt with, Tonks rushed to the older gentleman's side, bringing his head off the grass to inspect him for any injuries.
She came to learn that there were none. Whoever the mystery attacker was had seemingly stunned him and nothing more; completely at odds with what Harry had expected of a Death Eater.
Harry looked over to Dudley; Dudley at once met his eyes. "Would you mind giving us some help?" Harry called out, his voice carrying over the strong winds that were left in the aftermath of his fight.
"Of course!" Dudley shouted back.
"Good thinking with the pager," Harry said when Dudley joined him besides Malfoy, as did Jane after a moment's hesitation.
Shaking herself free of her shock, Margery burst away from the others and returned to her husband's side, her eyes baffled as she watched Tonks treat him as best she could.
Without any instruction, Dudley placed his hands on the culprit's shoulders, pressing down firmly so that he remained as he was.
"What happened?" Harry asked Dudley and Jane, while Alicia's eyes blinked open groggily. As he spoke, Tonks ushered away Richard, Margery, Sally-Anne, and Hugh to check for any further injuries.
Dudley shrugged. "Everything was fine when you first left," he said. "No interruptions, no one else on the course other than us." He smiled. "Richard was saying how he wished you'd stuck around; he was looking forward to talking with you properly."
Harry frowned and then shook his head as if shaking away an errant thought. "So how did he—" Harry pointed to the man Dudley was atop of, "—arrive and manage to incapacitate all of you?"
"He appeared, as if from nothing; I suspect one of those magical cloaks your kind has. He spoke to Alicia and Jake just as he had to you. Regarding that magical artefact of his, I mean," said Jane, her voice toneless. "They trusted his words, and he brought them into unconsciousness before they could do anything about it. After that, he pointed his wand at the rest of our group and then bound us. He then ordered us to begin walking and follow him."
Most likely toward the ending bounds of the wards that'd been placed on the Lansbury Hotel's grounds. It was lucky Harry and Tonks were as quick as they had been.
"He must've realised you were closing in," said Dudley. "Because when we got here." Dudley indicated the ninth hole, "he stunned Richard and led us up to the putting green."
Harry looked at Malfoy. "So, all he did was stun Richard and tie the rest of you up?" he asked. "What sort of Death Eater would do that?"
Richard grew irate in the corner of Harry's eye, shouting wordlessly at Tonks as he'd just properly awoken. Margery wrapped her arms around his shoulders in an effort to soothe him but it helped very little.
Short of any other resources, Harry discreetly sent a calming charm Richard's way. Tonks gave him a grateful smile. He did soothe then, but only just. Enough for Tonks' words to enter his ears.
Sally-Anne and Hugh were huddled together, their arms wrapping around one another comfortably. Sally-Anne was the only one speaking; Harry suspected she was trying to explain what had happened.
"Harry," Tonks said, the false identities long since in tatters, "Kingsley's here. He should be over in about ten minutes."
Harry sighed, relieved. "Good," he said, looking at Dudley and Jane. "I don't know if you two have anyone to report to, but it's probably easier if you come with us."
Jane nodded. "That is standard protocol, yes," she said. "If I could make one request?" Harry nodded. "If we could apparate instead of using the portkey. I do not think my stomach could handle such nausea at this moment."
"Mine either," Dudley agreed.
Harry nodded again, and left the side of the two security agents, though he still kept an eye on the culprit, even as he laid mostly motionless in Dudley's grasp. He walked toward Sally-Anne and Hugh, meeting their eyes.
He attempted a comforting smile. "How are you two?" he asked. "I know this is a lot to take in, Hugh, but I'm sure it'll become a lot easier in a few moments."
Back at the Ministry, with medical professionals and medical-grade calming charms and spells.
Hugh attempted a smile, though it did not last long. "Still processing, I think," he said curtly.
"I do apologise for not letting you know about the whole…magic thing sooner," Harry said. "Within our world, until you are married into it, or your child proves capable of using magic, then it is completely illegal for you to know of its existence." He looked at Sally-Anne. "Though given you two are getting married tomorrow, then I suppose you knowing a day early can't hurt."
Hugh's eyes widened and affixed themselves to Sally-Anne.
"I'll leave you two to it," Harry said. "You'll have to come with us for a few hours, but after that, you'll be free to live your lives as normal." He smiled. "A perfectly happy, normal wedding."
"Can we not just stay here?" Sally-Anne asked. "Hasn't the culprit just been found?"
Malfoy remained still, his eyes clenched closed. His hands tightened into near-fists, begging the forces of magic to allow him to call forth the power necessary to break free of both Dudley and the wards.
Obviously, nothing came.
"I'd prefer to know the full version of events before I feel comfortable letting you two go off," said Harry. "It'll just be a little bit longer, and then you'll never have to see us ever again."
"We had a meal scheduled with Hugh's extended family, and it was for the first time is all," said Sally-Anne quietly. "I'd prefer for my first impression to be a good one."
"I'm sorry." Harry frowned, shaking his head. "That's not going to be possible."
She sighed. "Not exactly the dream wedding I'd envisioned."
"I can't imagine it would be." Harry ran a hand through his hair. "But I'll do my best to get you two in and out of there as quickly as possible. You'll have some space for yourself, and no one will bother you."
Sally-Anne gave a tight-lipped smile. "Thank you."
It took thirty minutes for Kingsley to finally arrive, the prolonged wait leading Harry and Tonks to share worried looks as time ticked on. Yet, more worryingly still, was that in that time Alicia and Jake had not returned to full consciousness.
Whatever kind of spell Malfoy had used, it had clearly taken its toll on the other Aurors. Their eyes were open, and yet they seemed caught in some sort of dazed daydream, at once awake and asleep, their eyes open and sightless. They would respond to questions, but never with words. Just noises; either of affirmation or distaste, but nothing else.
The Aurors would have to go to St Mungo's, Harry knew, for whatever spell damage they'd incurred. They were likely to be joined by Richard too, who lacked sense in equal measure. It was a common side effect of magic performed upon muggles, their bodies entirely incapable of processing foreign energies. Rather, their minds would grow frenzied until medical intervention was administered.
Kingsley's arrival, backed by two Aurors, was a relief. Such was Harry's panicked awareness, that he could sense the Head Auror from a hundred yards away, his eyes looking to Tonks as he did.
Oddly, even after the extended wait, the effect of the culprit's polyjuice did not even hint of fading. His hair was still Malfoy blond, his eyes still Malfoy grey. Fortunately, that would not last long.
Following Harry, Ron, and Hermione's infiltration during the war demonstrating the weakness of their defences, after the Ministry was recaptured, there had been steps made to prevent polyjuice from ever working whilst within the Ministry's buildings. The Thief's Downfall was placed upon every entranceway, be that fireplace or footpath.
"Took you long enough, King," Tonks said, still standing beside Richard and Margery.
Kingsley gave Harry and Tonks a curt nod, his eyes finding the desultory forms of Alicia and Jake, sat on the grass as they then were. The two Aurors that accompanied him, Goldstein and Jones, wandered over to check on them. "We searched for the night surveillance team at first," he said. "After that, we questioned the muggles at the hotel to ensure that none saw your display of magic earlier."
"Anyone?"
"One," Kingsley said. "A concierge on his smoke break. He's been taken to an Obliviator. You were lucky."
Harry glanced at the sky, the sun's light only there in remnants, the sky a dark shade of blue that would soon give way to black, and wiped his brow of the sweat that had accumulated there.
"So you couldn't find Jeffers and Hendricks?" Harry asked.
"No sign of them anywhere." Kingsley folded his arms, his eyes fixing upon the form that Dudley still crowded over protectively. "That isn't Draco Malfoy. The real one is sat in my office currently, complaining about the indignityof being called upon so late in the day."
"We worked that out," Harry said. The thought of Malfoy irritated still amused him, even then.
"Let's get everyone back to the office and try and make sense of all this," Kingsley said.
Kingsley reached into his robes and pulled out a portkey, which Harry and Tonks led all but Dudley and Jane to. Dudley lifted Malfoy straight off of the ground and released him at Kingsley's feet.
Harry looked to Hugh, and then to Margery. "This will be uncomfortable, but it'll be quick," he said, before grabbing onto Jane and Dudley. "Ready?"
Jane and Dudley nodded.
"Portus," cast Kingsley, and all at once, the others disappeared in a blaze of magic, leaving just Harry, Dudley, and Jane.
Harry closed his eyes and thought of the Ministry. As third in command of the Aurors, he had special permission to apparate directly into the building. He did so with a near-silent pop.
And, as he opened his eyes to find himself inside the Auror office, he first found Tonks' eyes and shared a smile. He searched the room for Malfoy, but he did not find him.
However, dressed in the robes of a Death Eater, there stood Auror Jeffers.