Scorpius' heart was hammering in his chest as he struggled against his bindings. His eyes never left Lyra, tied to her chair with blood trickling from a cut on her lip. She wasn't looking at him, but he could feel her awareness of every moment, every movement, every breath.
That man…He'd been ready to violate Lyra…
The building shook again with such force that Scorpius could hear the shouting of a battle happening not too far from them. They couldn't stay here; it was too dangerous, and the building seemed ready to fall at any moment.
For the first time in his life, Scorpius cursed himself for being born a squib. If he'd had magic, he wouldn't have been so helpless as their kidnapper fondled Lyra and made such vile threats against her person.
Pulling at his restraints, Scorpius kept his mind focused on one thing and one thing only. Getting free and saving Lyra. The self-doubt that had begun to creep in was shoved aside as the distant explosions faded into the haze of background noise he couldn't focus on. Saving Lyra was the priority. Since he'd first met her, she'd never let him down. She'd never left him feeling as though he were inadequate for not having magic, standing up for him against people who had fought to make his life miserable.
Gritting his teeth, Scorpius gave a final forceful tug, and the ropes that had been holding him snapped, sending him tumbling to the cold floor as his face smacked against the concrete, sending a sharp pain through his face as his nose broke.
"Lyra!" he shouted, his voice hoarse and filled with desperation. Ignoring his pain, he pushed himself to his sister until he was beside her. "Hang on," he whispered, his fingers pulling at the bindings, "We're going to get out of here."
Lyra's silver eyes widened, but she said nothing and nodded her head. As the warehouse trembled again, an explosion made the walls shake, and Scorpius knew that if they didn't get out now, the entire building would come down around them.
A deep, guttural growl echoed behind them as the brother and sister began to make their way through the dimly lit room. Scorpius froze, turning his head just enough to see three monstrous figures stalking toward them, their eyes glowing like lanterns in the dark.
"Fuck," Scorpius muttered, pulling Lyra behind his back so that he was between the werewolves and his sister.
"Where do you think you're going, little squib?" The man taunted, as Scorpius took a step backward, using his body to keep Lyra out of sight.
"Just going for a little moonlight stroll. Shame it's not full tonight, would have made it more interesting." Scorpius said, the words coming from his mouth as his pulse raced with his anxiety.
"I don't think you'll be going anywhere, little Malfoy," another one of the wolves said, stepping forward, his wand twirling between his fingers. "The boss would be furious if we let you get away." He growled, the stench from the three men making Scorpius' eyes water.
The three men began to circle them, Scorpius turning his body in a desperate attempt to keep Lyra from getting too close, but it seemed hopeless as the building shook, causing another slab of stone to fall. His heart was pounding in his ears, but Scorpius stayed focused on one thing. Keeping Lyra safe.
"We could have some fun with you," the first werewolf growled again, his lips curling into a wicked grin. "The boss, he has plans for the girl, you, on the other hand…maybe we could show you what the boss is doing to her."
Scorpius's mind raced, trying to figure out how to protect his sister. The third man swiped a hand towards Lyra, missing her, and Scorpius stepped in the way, taking the blow to his abdomen. They were going to die here, he thought as the building shook again, more debris crumbling to the ground around them, and there was nothing he could do.
As the grin on the man in front of him spread, Scorpius lifted his chin to take whatever blow came next when a sudden sharp burst of light broke through the gloom, and a loud, resonating crash echoed through the room.
"Stupefy!"
The werewolf Scorpius had been face to face with, dropped to the floor, stunned as Theo's voice rang through the dust-filled air. Scorpius' head whipped around to see Theo standing at the entrance to the room, his wand raised, and his face etched with urgency and fury that Scorpius had never seen on his stepfather's face before.
"Stay away from them!" Theo shouted, his gaze darting from the men to where the twins stood together.
He didn't wait for a response, charging forward, toward the remaining men, throwing spell after spell at them. One barely managed to dodge the blast, leaving his foot unbalanced. Before he could recover, Theo was on him, hitting him with a curse that sent the man flying into the fall wall with a sickening crunch as his body crumbled to the ground.
"You're too late," the last werewolf sneered, his wand turning on Scorpius and Lyra. "You were too late, and it's going to be all your fault when they're both dead," the man spat.
But Theo wasn't intimidated by the threats. Without hesitation, he flicked his wand and shouted, "Reducto!"
The spell hit the man in the chest, and Scorpius turned, covering Lyra with his body as the man's body burst into little more than dust.
"Are you alright?" Theo asked, his voice steady. Rushing forward, he collected the pair of siblings in his arms and looked them over, as if, regardless of their answer, he needed the assurance that they were fine.
Scorpius could barely respond, still shaking with adrenaline as he looked into his stepfather's eyes. Turning his gaze to Lyra, Scorpius looked up at him with her silver eyes wide and grateful. Physically, they were unharmed, mentally and emotionally…well…
"We're fine," Scorpius managed to say, returning his attention to Theo. "But I don't think the building will hold up much longer." As if on cue, the building began to tremble again, more of the ceiling falling around them.
"Stay close," Theo urged, his eyes flicking to where the rubble lay. "There's an opening we can get out of just ahead." Quickly."
Rushing from the room, the siblings held tight to one another, as Theo rushed them from the room and to the hole in the building he'd promised them. "Keep moving, I'm right behind you!" Theo shouted as the building began to creak behind them.
The three of them, panting, had hardly cleared the tree line when the building behind them crumbled. As Scorpius turned to see the dust filling the air, the only sound he could hear was Theo's screams of agony.
—
Sweat dripped into Draco's eyes as he watched Hermione standing just a few feet before him, her wand pointing at Greyback, still fighting his way free from the restraints Hermione had put him in. The air was thick with tension, and the building creaked again, threatening to collapse on top of them. Every second they lingered, Draco's skin prickled with the urgency to leave and get to safety. He knew that Theo would have found the children and brought them safely. Now, Draco's only priority was getting himself and Hermione out.
"Hermione…" Draco warned, his voice tight as he kept his wand trained on the bound werewolf, but his eyes were focused on her. She was trembling, but it wasn't from fear. No, the fire of fury burned in her, ready to use a killing curse on the beast.
"We have to go," he urged, his voice low but sharp. He moved closer to her, watching her intently, seeing the battle raging in her eyes. Her lips were set in a hard line, and her stance didn't falter, even as the walls around them continued to crumble.
"Not until he's dead," Hermione replied, voice hoarse with rage and her chest heaving with every breath she took. "He's a threat, Draco. A danger to our children. And he has to be eliminated."
Draco's heart was pounding in his chest as he watched Hermione. Every beat echoed with his desperation about the situation. He knew what Greyback had done and that his father had hired him. He knew what he had planned for Hermione, and that he had used their children as bait. He wanted the monster dead just as much as Hermione did, but they didn't have another moment to spare.
"The building is about to come down on top of us," Draco said, his voice dangerously quiet but firm. "We've got to go, now."
The tremors beneath their feet grew more substantial, and the walls groaned in protest. Dust was falling in thick clouds around them, and a portion of the ceiling above cracked with an ominous snap. Draco could feel the weight of time pressing down, every second bringing them closer to disaster. The building was coming down, and they were still inside.
Draco moved without waiting for a response, his body moving on instinct. His hands gripped his witch by her waist, lifting her off her feet.
Turning with Hermione over his shoulder, Draco made a run for the exit they'd hardly stepped through, knowing they needed to clear the building as the ground shook with the force of falling in on itself.
His muscles strained from the weight, but Draco didn't care. He couldn't stop moving as the sounds of the crumbling structure roared in his ears, and he turned on his heels and ran toward the exit.
The ground shook harder, the walls groaning under the pressure of what was happening around them, but Draco didn't stop. His heart raced as he sprinted toward the entrance they'd used what felt like a lifetime ago. Draco's eyes stayed focused on the woods ahead of them, his grip on Hermione tightening as the air vibrated with the crumbling destruction around them.
Draco didn't slow his pace as they burst through the exit, needing to put as much distance between themselves and the building as possible. When the building came down, the force of the Earth shaking caused Draco to stumble, falling to the ground as he used his body to protect Hermione.
The flying debris hit Draco's back as he stayed positioned over Hermione, using his body as a shield. His eyes clenched shut as the dust made it impossible to keep them open. The sounds were deafening, but Draco couldn't reach his wand for fear of Hermione's safety if he were to move.
As the dust began to fade, Draco's ears were still ringing from the assault of the building's collapse. A warm spell on his face, clearing the dust, was the only cue he had to open his eyes and gaze down at the witch below him.
"Draco, I…"
Draco didn't let Hermione finish her sentence; instead, he leaned down and pressed his mouth against hers. His desperation for her was as if it had a mind. He needed her. In a way that he'd never thought he'd need someone besides Theo.
He loved her with his whole being; his soul ached to be near her and never to let her go again.
Pulling back, Draco looked down at his witch, ready to express all of this to her, when a crash through the brush in the woods jerked his attention to where the commotion was coming from.
"Mum! Dad!" a familiar female voice yelled, shifting Draco's mindset from how quickly he could undress his witch to his approaching children. "Mum!" Lyra yelled, stumbling as she leaned heavily against Scorpius for support.
Looking at his children, Draco's blood ran cold, wishing he could drop the building on Greyback again for their condition. They were both bleeding and filthy, their clothes torn, and prominent dark circles under their eyes. Scorpius had dried blood from an injury at his temple and was sporting a black eye. Lyra's lip was cut, and handprint bruises were on her neck and her exposed arms.
"Dad! Hermione!" Scropius said, struggling to stay upright.
Draco and Hermione were off the ground, wrapping their arms around their children as Theo appeared, looking disheveled and broken in a way Draco had never seen the brunette wizard before.
"Theo?" Hermione's voice cracked as she caught sight of the brunette wizard.
"You're alive…" Theo whispered, as if afraid to say the words too loudly. "You're both…alive…"
As Theo fell into a head, his tears soaking into Draco's shirt, and his husband clung to Draco, their children, and Hermione, Draco looked at his witch and raised his brows in a silent question.
Giving a single nod, Hermione's chocolate eyes filled with tears before breaking contact with Draco and looking at their family. Her soft words of agreement were all Draco needed from her.
"Let's go home."