𝒜𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓂𝒶𝓉𝒽 | 𝒟.𝑀.

43 | ﴾ Charming Tale ﴿

Draco's ears began to ring as he and Theo locked eyes across the colossal central atrium. Theodore continued to lean on the edge of the fountain with his arms crossed and his wand spinning in insultingly calm mannerisms, forming a figure of eight. His lip was curled up wickedly, his eyes flaring daringly.

Harry stiffened next to Draco as he sensed the inevitable, exchanging glances with Hermione as Draco's pulse sped up and his breathing grew rabid. "Malfoy. Malfoy, wait," he spoke in a warning tone, but there was no stopping it.

Draco took off a like a lion, bolting with his wand blasting dangerous spells in Theo's direction. Several women in the vicinity shouted in terror as Draco shoved people clean out of his way.

Theo reacted equally as fast by turning, and with one hand on the coping of the fountain's edge he had twirled athletically into the water, dodging Draco's casting.

Tall columns of water burst in vertical, colourful explosions as Draco's Death Eater instincts heightened for the first time in months. He leapt clean over the granite seatwall without hesitation, and soon both of them were running through the shallow fountain with Harry scrambling to follow around the curvilinear side. Looming above the chaos, the golden statues of Adaleus and Dumbledore stared downwards as if with judgemental curiosity as the two boys rotated around their feet gigantic feet.

Theo reached the other end of the expansive fountain and stumbled over the capped edge, laughing like a lunatic. He was now quite close to the elevator that led to the Department of Mysteries. Draco was faster, but not fast enough.

As Draco practically flew over the second ledge with muscular practice, Theodore reached the elevator and flattened himself against the inner panelling while jamming the button and pissing himself with laughter. Guards that were still lingering from Madeleine's arrest had also been attracted to the madness and were making their way over with concern.

The permeable iron gate slid across just as Draco reached it, and he gripped the grating with such murderous brutality that it started to tear out of it's foundational wall with his powerful pull.

Nott stepped to the center on the other side and burned his eyes straight into Draco's malignant blue one's with freakish serenity.

"You coward!" Draco roared, still tugging at the gate with unprecedented rage, "Face me, you coward! I'll kill you! You're on borrowed time Nott! I'm going to burn you alive!" Both of their hair was dripping from the battle in the fountain, along with most of their clothing, and water was absolutely everywhere.

Harry reached the scene first, and tried to encourage Draco to drop his efforts. His voice was nothing but a ringing blur in Draco's ears, inaudible words of useless soothing, and his hand on his shoulder felt numb. The look in Theo's eyes had Draco hyperventilating like a carnivore that was but a foot from it's first meal of meat in months.

When the elevator shut and took off, Draco turned around still snarling, soaked and vengefully delirious. Harry continued trying to shuffle him back yet farther, like an unsocialized dog that had gone off leash in a public space.

Harry's voice came back into sharp resolution. "I have him, we're leaving, I have him," Harry was warding away guards that had approached wearily as Draco fought not to pass out from the fury running through his veins. He'd been so close, so close. Although, if he had managed to harm Nott on Ministry property, he would surely have ended up straight in Azkaban as he was still on a precarious probation.