Author's note: As I've mentioned before, some character deaths in canon didn't happen in this story as you'll see in this chapter.

Thanks to the following reviewers: waking dawn; Richon; SehunsBae37; Kat; littlesprout; lvdmadeon

Warnings: Minor suspense

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

I hope you'll like it!

Part 4

He must have lost consciousness because when he opened his eyes next, he was braced against something and he was staring straight at Potter – who was standing uncomfortably close against him, the baby the only form of distance between them. The air was too warm and he was stunned to see a shimmery cloak covering them when he looked up.

"What the - "

"Don't talk too loudly," Potter whispered warningly. "They can't see us, but that doesn't mean they won't hear us if we're loud."

"What the hell happened?" Draco asked bluntly before he realised too late Teddy could hear him. When did babies even get conscious of the language used around them?

When he glanced down at the baby in question, however, Teddy was seemingly asleep with an … opaque shield around him.

"Don't look like that; it's a Soothing Bell," Potter muttered; his eyes glancing sideways to the main road where people were running around. "I couldn't have Teddy crying and betraying our location. This way he doesn't get scared either."

Draco supposed that made sense, but that still didn't explain – "What happened?"

"After you were attacked with the Festering Flame Curse, I dragged you into this alley and got us under the Invisibility Cloak before I started healing you. I managed to send off a Patronus to the Aurors before the earth wall collapsed, but I have no idea how long it'll take them to get here," Potter rambled, but Draco had already stopped listening at the mention of which curse had hit him.

The Festering Flame Curse: as the name stated, burst of pure magical fire would start festering in the body, first burning through the skin before it would start destroying muscles, tendons, until it reached the bone itself, turning even that to ash. In theory it wasn't uncurable like some other curses were, but it required immediate treatment – treatment that in turn required a large burst of magic in order to combat the destructive nature of the curse. Few Healers were capable of such might and most victims had to make do with having the damage restricted to just one body part by having the inflicted body part completely cut off.

Draco didn't feel any pain anymore, nothing like the searing agony which had made him lose consciousness, but that could only mean one thing.

Feeling ice cold in spite of the cloak, he dared to glance down – and was utterly stumped to see his arm still intact. Only the patch of missing cloth around his upper arm was proof that he had been hit with the curse; his arm was completely fine, not even the remains of a burn lingering.

"Are you listening?" Potter asked impatiently. "I was asking you how you were feeling now. I don't see any flames anymore but - "

"How did you heal it?" Draco asked abruptly, his head shooting back up to stare at Potter.

The dark haired wizard blinked befuddled. "By directing part of my magic to your arm, of course, how else? A simple Healing Charm wouldn't do the trick, you know."

"Yes, I know, but how did you know?" Draco asked pointedly.

Green eyes narrowed, but Potter replied mildly, "I've spent a lot of time reading these past weeks. One of the books mentioned this curse and how to cure it."

It sounded simple, almost banal, but it was far from being that. Only a minority of Healers were capable of calling up the amount of magic needed to cure this curse completely and here Potter had managed such a feat, behaving casually about it as if such an effort was barely more strenuous than flying was.

Irrationally Draco considered that Potter just had to be an exception to every damn thing, it seemed like.

"How are you feeling?" Potter repeated his question, clearly not about to let that one go until he got an answer.

"Fine," Draco answered tersely, flexing his arm to test it. If the curse had managed to reach the muscle level, Potter's magic had taken care of that as well because he couldn't even feel the slightest ache.

They both stilled when a dark haired woman paused in the alley's entrance; her blank gaze roaming around intently. Draco found himself holding his breath, acutely aware of how still Potter had become in front of him. The woman raised her wand and he tensed up; his own hand dipping to his own wand. There was no way she could see then, not with the Invisibility Cloak on them – and why the hell did Potter have his Cloak with him on a regular trip to Diagon Alley? – and their whispered conversation couldn't have been picked up by anybody on the main road with the ruckus that was currently going on. Her blank gaze slid over them, lingering on a point somewhere behind them, before she abruptly turned around and walked away, continuing her search.

"How long ago did you send a Patronus?" Draco inquired, grabbing his wand just in case.

"You were out for twenty minutes, so it has to have been around ten minutes ago?" Potter guessed. "Wasn't really paying attention to the time when I was trying to heal you."

Ten minutes wasn't that long, but the Aurors should normally react quickly once they realised who had sent the Patronus in question. Did he really want to wait for however long it would take them to show up, though? He couldn't exactly leave on his own, not when the mass of people seemed indifferent who they were hitting in their attempt to kill Potter. Staying here, even whilst invisible, was too risky as well, however.

Once cursed with the Voluntas Curse, those people were nothing more than soulless husks, worse than house elves, with only one desire to spur them on: kill their intended target. With nothing but that thought motivating them, it was very unlikely they would think to use a Point Me Charm to show Potter's location or to use Accio on his glasses or wand, revealing his position in that way. They wouldn't think of it – but the caster of the Voluntas Curse might. It would require quite some magical strength to have these soulless husks remembering to use other spells aside from ones meant to attack, but it also took a significant amount of magical strength to curse this many people to begin with.

Draco had no idea who the hell Potter had managed to piss off this time and he didn't want to find out either.

"We can't stay here," he murmured, pulling Potter's attention at once.

It would have been gratifying once to have Potter's full attention on him like this, but all Draco could think about now was that if it hadn't been for Potter and his innate gift to always land in trouble, he wouldn't be in this mess now. He supposed he could have not warned Potter at all when he noticed the crowd behaving oddly, but in spite of what he had wanted to believe for years, he didn't actually want to see the git die.

So for now they were stuck with each other. Fantastic.

"You know of any safe place we can hide in that isn't an alley?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've thought about going to Fred's and George's shop - "

The Weasley twins, Draco recalled after a couple of seconds.

"But I don't want to bring this mess to their doorstep," Potter finished with a grimace. "For all I know, any customers inside might try to kill me there as well."

The Weasleys might try to kill you on sight too, Draco wanted to point out, because who said the caster had left the twins out of their casting? He had a feeling, however, that even mentioning such a possibility would lead to Potter reacting too defensively and the last thing they needed right now was a row over some Weasleys.

Not to mention: if the caster knew Potter well enough, they might be expecting that Potter would flee to the Weasleys' shop. Their best course of action until the Aurors showed up would be to hide in some place neutral, something that wouldn't immediately be tied to Potter. Something like a –

"Hotel room," Draco murmured, pursing his lips but explaining his idea when Potter stared at him blankly, "We can't hide in any known shop, especially not the Weasleys; that place might be the first one they expect you to go to. A hotel room is neutral, though; the caster might not think you would choose something like that as a hiding place."

"There's a hotel close by," Potter mused, before he frowned. "We don't know how many people have been cursed, though. What if everybody got hit? Or what if the owner won't let us stay once they realise we're hiding?"

Draco stared at him, hoping the git would realise why that concern was not only unnecessary but stupid to boot.

"What?" Potter whispered annoyed.

"You're a wizard, Potter," Draco pointed out exasperatedly. "You have your damn Invisibility Cloak and you're wondering how we'll get inside the hotel?"

A look of realisation passed across Potter's face before he mumbled petulantly, "I didn't think of breaking and entering."

"Are you really going to go all moral on me for suggesting we use your Invisibility Cloak to escape a group intent on killing you?" Draco raised an eyebrow. Honestly, the git's priorities were seriously screwed up if this was where he drew the line.

"Whatever, let's go before they start crowding this alley," Potter whispered, pursing his lips.

"They might hear our footsteps," Draco realised.

It was not very likely, given the loud ruckus going on, but if any of them decided to pay closer attention, they actually might pick up the sound of their footsteps even with the Cloak hiding them from view. They shouldn't normally, but again without knowing who the caster was and how powerful exactly, they couldn't leave anything to chance.

"I don't have my broom with me," Potter retorted; his left hand braced on Teddy's back while his right one was clutching his wand.

"I wasn't suggesting a broom," Draco said curtly. "We wouldn't be able to remain invisible under the Cloak. No, we just need lighter feet."

Potter started to frown. "What do you mean, lighter - "

"Adlevio!" Draco whispered, looping his wand twice over their feet before flicking it upwards.

Immediately his feet left the ground, hovering above it. The spell didn't allow anybody to fly, but it would keep their feet off the ground until they reached the hotel. It was a nifty spell, letting one still walk around in a normal manner but just doing so whilst floating. It was also classified as a spell that one could learn as a second year's student, so it wouldn't set off any alarms on his wand.

While he thought being chased by a murderous mob should count as an exception to use more complicated spells, he wouldn't put it past the Ministry to screw him over even in this situation.

Potter looked gobsmacked for a brief moment before he collected himself. "Handy," was all he muttered before he turned around and started walking away, forcing Draco to follow him immediately or risk being exposed.

They managed to reach the hotel without alerting anyone to their presence, which given how many people had been wandering around on the street looking for Potter could be considered a feat. They walked into the hotel unnoticed by following somebody else inside and while the greying wizard approached the desk to check in, Draco and Potter hurried upstairs past way too many paintings and vases. Did the hotel owner believe he was operating a museum?

They walked all the way to the third floor where Potter unlocked a room with view on the street. As soon as they were inside, Draco cancelled the Floating Spell and they landed back on the carpeted floor with a muted 'thud'. Potter ripped off the Invisibility Cloak before casting a Locking Charm on the door and Draco resisted the urge to run his hand through his hair to flatten it properly.

Potter placed a still sleeping Teddy in the middle of the bed before going over to the window, pressing his back against the wall next to it before he peeked through the glass.

"I think the Aurors have arrived," he announced, narrowing his eyes slightly. "I see several spells being used."

Draco glanced out of the window as well and had to agree it was likely the Aurors were the ones firing off the multitude of dark yellow and poisonous green spells. The ones under the Voluntas Curse wouldn't be firing off any curses right now considering Potter was nowhere near them.

"Great, I might be back home in time for my curfew," Draco muttered sarcastically. He felt Potter looking at him, but he refused to glance back, checking out the room instead.

It wasn't really anything special. The walls were a boring beige, the ceiling a bland white and aside from a black wardrobe, a black nightstand and two shelves, there was only the bed left. The couple of paintings present didn't contain any living beings, only showing off a lake with a mountain rising up in the background, a field with unidentifiable flowers dotted throughout the grass and a single, old tree reaching out with its bare branches into the vast night sky. Draco had no idea what to think of the interior design, save for the fact that he wouldn't be hiring its creator any time soon.

"I wouldn't let them do anything to you," Potter said unexpectedly.

"Hm?" Draco turned around, confused.

"The Aurors, I wouldn't let them harass you if you do happen to not arrive home on time," Potter clarified, casting a quick look at Teddy when the baby moved slightly.

"Don't need you to play hero on my account, Potter," Draco said sourly. "They're not a bogeyman."

Potter quirked an eyebrow. "You didn't need to play my hero before either when you warned me to run," he said mildly.

"Whatever," Draco muttered and scowled, trying to come up with something to say that wouldn't continue this particular conversation. He couldn't think of anything else to say but, "Why did you even have your Cloak with you?"

"Force of habit," Potter replied laconically. "And clearly I did well to take it with me today."

Draco guessed he couldn't argue with that, given that the Cloak was one of the main reasons why they hadn't been cursed again.

"I don't hear that much shouting anymore," Potter mumbled, peering out of the window again.

"They're probably rounding up everybody," Draco said idly, rolling his shoulders.

The sound of footsteps echoing through the corridor outside had the both of them tensing up and Potter practically leaped from the window to the bed, snatching Teddy of it. Draco backed away from the door, standing on the other side of the window. When he concentrated, he thought he could pick up the sound of four pairs of footsteps. Regular guests perhaps? Except that they were making a beeline for this room. It could still be guests, of course, and he and Potter might just have accidentally gone into a room already reserved, but after the afternoon he had had so far, he wasn't about to lower his guard just yet.

"Harry, my boy? Would you mind opening the door? It's just me, Kingsley and Miss Moondagger."

What the hell was that old coot doing here?

Potter obviously didn't share his sentiment regarding the headmaster, because his shoulders sagged visibly in relief and he aimed his wand at the door, unlocking it.

Dumbledore offered him an affable smile, the same one he gifted to Draco once he noticed the blond man hovering next to the window. "Ah, Mister Malfoy, it is good to see you unharmed."

"Professor Dumbledore, did the Aurors get everybody?" Potter asked anxiously, adjusting Teddy in his arms.

Shacklebolt followed Dumbledore into the room, together with the woman who had interrogated Draco after the hospital debacle. He couldn't say he was happy to see her, even though she offered him a polite nod.

"They did, Harry, as we speak they are checking the other streets in case of stragglers. My dear boy, what happened exactly?" Dumbledore asked concerned.

"I have no idea," Potter grimaced before jerking his head at Draco. "I ran into Malfoy and we both started to get the feeling that other people were starting to act weirdly. Right before the first one could attack me, Malfoy told me to run but they ended up chasing after us. Malfoy was hit with the Festering Flame Curse and I had to use the Invisibility Cloak in order to hide the both of us in an alley before I could heal his arm. After that we snuck out to hide in this hotel."

That was probably the most succinct way of telling what had happened.

"In what way were they acting strangely?" Moondagger asked, already having some paper and a quill in her hands.

Draco couldn't help but eye her sceptically. Surely there was no way the Aurors didn't recognise the Voluntas Curse? Illegal as it was, weren't Aurors trained in recognising dark spells?

"They all grew silent and started staring at me," Potter answered, frowning. "In a really creepy way. Malfoy said they had been put under the – what was it again? The Voluntas Curse?"

"That does align with their behaviour when we arrived," Shacklebolt murmured, crossing his arms.

"You recognised the Voluntas Curse, Mister Malfoy?" Moondagger raised an eyebrow. "How did you recognise it? It's not a common curse as far as I know."

At least she wasn't throwing accusations around yet like her moronic partner back then. "I recognised it because the Dark Lord saw it fit to show it to me and his followers last year," he answered stiffly.

She blinked before nodding.

"If you need extra medical assistance, Draco," Dumbledore began, but Draco shook his head.

"I'm fine. How did you find us?" he asked instead, because it was unexpected to say the least to have these three showing up.

Shacklebolt and Moondagger, he supposed were reasonable considering that Potter had warned the Aurors, but what was the old coot doing here? He was far from an Auror.

"I used a Locator Spell to track down Harry," Shacklebolt answered calmly. "I'm familiar with this magical signature more than I am with yours, Mister Malfoy, so tracing him didn't take long."

"I didn't expect to see you here, Professor," Potter commented surprised.

"I was handling some business at the Ministry when I overheard your Patronus, Harry," Dumbledore replied, stroking his beard. "I accompanied the Aurors because your description sounded very dire."

"Did you find whoever cast the curse?" Potter asked curiously.

Dumbledore shook his head, uttering a sad sigh. "No, my boy, the Aurors are still looking for this person. At the moment it doesn't look like they are still around."

"We'll be patrolling here for the rest of the day to look for any clues regarding their identity, though," Shacklebolt added.

Draco wasn't surprised to hear they hadn't caught a suspect yet. In order to curse this many people, this person couldn't be just a simple idiot with a stupid grudge. The chance of them having stayed long enough to capture the Aurors' attention was nihil; most likely they had already been gone by the time the first people had started chasing after Potter. There might be some magical residue left that could point them to the perpetrator, but in order to find that magical residue they would have to know first where that person had cast the curse in the first place.

Draco side-eyed Potter. Whoever it had been, was apparently someone who believed they should finish the Dark Lord's work. One of his more fanatic followers perhaps? He certainly had had enough of those, Draco mused, barely suppressing a shiver on time when he remembered his Aunt Bellatrix. It was possible that whoever had cast the Voluntas Curse had wanted to succeed where the Dark Lord had failed. Did this perhaps mean that this person could be the same one as –

"You think this is the same person who sent me those poisoned flowers at the hospital?" Potter's frown was deep enough to cleave his forehead in two, scrunching up his scar, but he was clearly sharing the same thought process as Draco.

Draco wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"It could be," Shacklebolt admitted with a grimace, rubbing the back of his neck. "There is nothing conclusive that connects the two events, save for the attempt on your life of course, so there's also the possibility that this was someone entirely different."

"I think I'd rather have just one person trying to kill me instead of multiple ones," Potter grimaced.

"I think it would be best to want nobody to try to kill you," Moondagger said with a weak smile. "By now some of my colleagues should have arrived downstairs to accompany you back to your home, Mister Potter."

"That's really not necessary," Potter said sulkily, glowering at the wall behind her.

"Protocol," she chirped and Shacklebolt actually smiled for a second.

Draco blinked when she suddenly turned to him. "And if you don't mind, Mister Malfoy, I can accompany you to your home."

"What, afraid I'm going to run off without supervision?" Draco asked coolly, noting how the sun was slowly setting, flooding the roofs with its orange and red glow.

"Protocol," she repeated before blithely adding, "And I do not think you would want to wait for other colleagues of mine to escort you back home."

She could be implying that by not taking up her offer, he would have to wait even longer for backup to arrive and return home. Or – and this option was more likely – she was implying that she was his best choice because other Aurors might not be as neutral as she towards him. Neither possibility was appealing, frankly, but he had learnt which battles to fight and which ones to leave be.

"Well, we wouldn't want protocol to be forgotten," he smiled thinly, walking over to her.

Before he reached her side, Potter suddenly grabbed him by his arm, tugging him to an abrupt halt. "What, Potter?" he asked irritated.

Green eyes darted over to Moondagger, who was discussing something with Dumbledore and Shacklebolt before they focused on Draco again with an unnerving intensity that had him wanting to shuffle his feet. "Thanks for warning me back there," Potter murmured, giving him an odd, barely there smile. "Guess that makes it twice that you helped me out."

"I had some interest in saving my own hide," Draco said stiffly. "Don't even think of making a habit out of this."

"Out of - "

Moondagger called out to Draco, though, and he didn't feel sorry for shaking his arm loose and going over to her. This whole afternoon had already been unnerving enough without the addition of Potter thanking him.

He left without looking back.

Mother was waiting for him in the entrance hall when he walked inside, the newspaper resting on the table next to her. She looked lovely in her pale lavender dress.

Her face was calm, but a storm brewed in the depths of her icy blue eyes when she inquired mildly, "Care to tell me about your eventful outing?"

"Eventful outing? Why would it - " Then he caught sight of the front of the newspaper and he groaned, nary avoiding the urge to bury his face in his hands. Of course this had to happen on top of the bullshit that had happened already.

In big, screaming letters smackdab above a picture of him and Potter peeking out of the hotel room window – where the fuck had that photographer even been? – the newspaper read:

'HERO AND EX-DEATH EATER ON THE RUN FOR CURSED MOB?!'

Damn Potter.

AN2: If the Latin is off, my apologies; it's been quite some time since I last used Latin.

Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.

I hope to see you all back in the next chapter! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!

Cuddles

Melissa

P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.