'Here, let me do that.' It was the girl who had spoken to Tonks earlier. Tonks handed over the hanger with the clothes. 'How's your friend?'

'Ok, I guess,' muttered Tonks. 'Unhappy love affair.'

'Ouch.' The girl had found the right place on the rail and was carefully hanging the haute couture that Tonks had borrowed. 'I'm Sandy, by the way.'

'Tonks.'

'Nymphadora Tonks? Draco's cousin?'

Tonks stiffened. Draco should not have been talking to muggles, she thought. While she understood the need for obliviation, she didn't like it. The spell was known to cause varying degrees of damage to the subject's short term memory as well as having far too much in common with Imperius for her liking. 'What did he say?' she asked.

'Not a lot. Truth be told he was stoned. He'd been talking to this girl who's studying genetics at Uni. and then he . . . well he went quiet for a bit and then . . . Well, never mind. I only remembered because your name's so unusual.

'I prefer Tonks.'

'Yeah?' Sandy finished fussing with the rail and turned, smiling. 'I got christened Alexandrina. They hoped my rich great uncle would leave me all his money.'

'And he didn't?'

'Not yet.'

'A hand here!' Tonks turned to see Gates half carrying Draco Malfoy. 'Bellatrix . . . some sort of cutting hex to his eyes . . . can't stop it.'

'Sit him down.' Styles dragged a chair into the corner behind the clothes rails. Arm across his eyes, Draco allowed himself to be guided into the seat. 'Let me see.'

'Get Snape,' demanded Malfoy and then hissed with pain.

Tonks took a moment to envision the young woman that she had seen climbing up the underside of a rock face and then concentrated.

She was already feeling hungry and the changes to her body would send her metabolic rate through the roof, but she needed the physical strength. Gently, she took hold of Draco's wrist and pried his arm away from his face. His eyelids were a crisscross pattern of tiny cuts, beginning to ooze blood where they intersected.

'I'll get him,' said Styles and turned to find himself blocked by McLaggan.

'Involving civilians? No laddie. We'll deal with it.' He tipped back Draco's chin and examined the damage. 'No problem.' Tonks spun round to find, to her horror, that she could see no sign of Fortinbras or Shacklebolt. 'Finite Incantatum!' intoned McLaggan and Draco jerked back with a sob of pain. There were now deep cuts across both eyelids. McLaggan looked interested.

'Idiot!' hissed Malfoy. 'It's Bellatrix . . . She's reinforced it. Get Snape or get me to Saint Mungo's.'

'All in good time,' said McLaggan easily. 'Why don't you tell us about your aunt?'

'I went looking for her because an Auror asked me to,' spat Draco.

'Do you always do what you're asked to do?' said McLaggan. 'Go looking for Aunty Bella? Let Death Eaters into Hogwarts? How far will the spell go anyway?'

'All the way.' Draco had begun to shiver.

'Here. It's crushed ice. Might help.' Sandy forced her way through the throng and laid a dripping linen napkin across Draco's eyes. 'Somebody, do something,' she pleaded.

Potter caught Tonks eye, she nodded and Potter and Weasley sped of in the direction of the toilets. Feeling sick, she tried to work out how long it would take for Snape to reach them and if Draco would still have eyes by then. 'Ok,' breezed McLaggan, 'Let's try something different.'

'No!' yelped Draco.

McLaggan raised his wand and Tonks interposed herself between them. 'Unless you know what you're doing, which you don't, leave him alone. We'll call Saint Mungo's,'

'I think you'll find that I'm in charge' said McLaggan. 'Move, Auror Tonks or face charges of insubordination.'

'Where's Fortinbras?' demanded Tonks.

'Reporting to Headquarters.' McLaggan smiled. 'She may be gone a while. Now get the hell out of my way.'

'He's in this state because he chose to help us,' persisted Tonks.

'He wouldn't be here at all if he hadn't chosen to help Voldemort. Shouldn't have let those scum into school, should you boy?' McLaggan tried to push Tonks aside.

Tonks took a deep breath and then she took McLaggan's wand. 'I think we can manage without the impromptu torture sessions,' she said.

'Unless you want to face charges for obstructing . . . attacking an Auror in the course of his duty . . .'

It was with relief as well as astonishment that she saw the door to the toilets open and Snape glide through. 'Professor Snape,' said Tonks, loudly.

As the Dark Arts expert approached, a path opened up before him. Snape knelt in front of Draco and took hold of his hands, still clutching the napkin across his eyes. 'Let me see.' Draco allowed Snape to draw the napkin away from his face. 'What did she use?'

'I don't know. Petrificus first, I think, and then she said something about those who have eyes and will not see. D'you think it could've been "Sectumsempre"?'

Snape drew his wand and began to murmur incantations. Tonks found Potter at her elbow. 'How'd he get here so fast?' she whispered.

'Portkey to Grimmauld Place, then apparition. I sent Dobby. Will Malfoy be alright?'

And that is why Potter's not about to become the next Dark Lord, thought Tonks. While Potter continued to surprise people by achieving the impossible, calculated cruelty just wasn't in his makeup.

She put an encouraging hand on his shoulder and he turned to her. 'Ron's gone to get Hermione as well.'

Tonks would have worried more about it if Snape had not, at that moment stopped chanting. Apparently satisfied with his wandwork, he reached into his robes and brought out a jar of salve. Long fingers smeared paste across Draco's eyelids and the young man blinked and gave a sheepish smile. 'Thanks,' he murmured.

Saying nothing, Snape rose smoothly to his feet. Outside the small alcove formed by the rails, he stared in disbelief at the back stage area. 'Whoops!' Sandy exclaimed. 'Draco you're on in six minutes.'

'Shit,' said Draco attempting, unsuccessfully, to slide past Snape whose hand shot out like a snake.

Snape's long fingers flexed on Draco's shoulder. 'Explain.'

'It's a living.'

'Draco, if you're that short of money . . .'

'Here,' Draco pulled what looked like a contract from his pocket and showed it to Snape. 'And that's just for today.'

'And you do what, precisely?' Snape's voice had become icy.

Draco pointed at the television screen on which number of young men were cruising the catwalk and displaying their talents. As Snape's expression darkened further, Draco began hurriedly: 'Look, the people who pay me don't need the money and the people I pay do. I'm an essential part of the economic equation.' Snape glared at him. 'I didn't have a wand.'

'And whom do you pay?' Snape enquired.

Draco shrugged. 'Bartenders and taxi drivers for the most part,' he said, before adding more quietly: 'First, do no harm . . .'

'Draco!' came a yell.

Draco attempted to take off at a run and then stopped, rocking on his feet to regain his balance.

'Draco?' enquired an individual that Tonks at first took for a witch before deciding that she had to be one of the muggles responsible for this haute couture hell. 'Who's this then?' she asked, circling Snape appraisingly, drinking in the details of the teaching robes that he had not had time to change. As she ran her fingers down the professors' gown, Snape raised one eyebrow and the woman smiled. 'Utterly gorgeous, love,' she told Draco. 'But can he move?'