Scars

Draco had never seen so many scars on one person before and stared fascinated as they came into view one by one as the Glamour vanished. Unconsciously, he leaned closer to her from his position on the bed. Some scars had to come from being careless on missions he reasoned but others were clearly older than the rest. Then he saw them, scars similar to that of his own. One stretched from her shoulder to over her chest, he could see a hint of a second starting between her breasts and continuing down. A third and fourth were over her shins, when he looked closer it could seem that had been from the same spell and her legs had been close together when it happened. His eyes widened, even more, when he realised that he could only see her front. Her back could be even worse. He kept looking her up and down before he frowned while looking at her chest. What seemed like a circle could be seen from underneath her nightgown. She must have noticed him looking at that spot for a long time trying to figure out what it was and she casually pulled down the gown a little. Draco leaned more forward to get a closer look, the Auror did not move and he took it as an okay to do so. A circle with a raven inside was placed directly over her heart, there was no curse that Draco knew of that left that kind of scar and it made him curious.

"What is that?" He didn't know why he had whispered but it seemed right to do. The brunette looked at him for a while then down to the raven again.

"The one scar I can never hide." It made him even more curious to receive that type of answer but he understood that it was something she might not want to talk about in detail. The woman deserved her privacy he thought as he nodded at her.

"I understand." He spoke louder this time but still softly as if he would scare her away if he was too loud. She smiled softly at him in return.

"No, you don't. But you don't have to Draco." She looked at him with a slightly stricter look on her face.

"So do you see now? I won't give you pity for one scar." Draco didn't know what to answer to that so he simply nodded as a response. He really did have no right to receive pity now that he had seen all of her scars. A gruesome thought entered his mind as he looked at her worriedly.

"Did your parents do that to you?" Right as the question had fallen off his lips he regretted it. He had made the same mistake with Potter earlier when they had talked about their childhood. He had completely misunderstood how The Saviour had grown up and it had ended in a big fight. To his surprise, the woman let out a harsh laugh. She looked directly into his eyes while she answered.

"As I told you earlier. I was sadly a Gryffindor. Now it is getting late and we both need to get some sleep." She pulled her uniform cloak closer around her as she went towards the door. As she touched the door handle she looked at him from over her shoulder.

"Take that potion I gave you alright? I'll see you at breakfast. Good night, Draco." All the boy could do was stare at the door after she left. The woman always seemed to leave him with more questions than answers. He turned to study the potion vial in his hands and open it. It was expertly made, that much he could tell. He downed the potion and got himself comfortable. Soon he felt sleep overtake him.

Artemis hadn't been this tired in a long time and didn't even have the energy to Apparate back to her bed. She regretted Apparating straight there when she realised that she wasn't even wearing shoes and her feet would become ice blocks by the time she reached the third floor, Heating charms only did so much.

The woman stopped to look out to the grounds when she reached the Entrance Hall. It was the same thick fog as the morning before, covering the landscape like a thick blanket. Birds had started to sing from a tree somewhere and it had to be closer to six o'clock at this point. She sighed again when this was probably going to be an even longer day than the previous one. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours that she could almost not wrap her head around it.

Artemis did not stop the tears from falling again as she started to think about Snape and by now the man would be having his first morning tea in his living room. Probably grading some homework with that annoying look on his face when it was a bad student's essay. Mumbling to himself that at least he had taught Artemis correctly from the beginning. A laugh escaped her. It all had seemed so normal back then, so trivial.

"Artemis?" The Auror jumped slightly and looked behind her only to relax when she saw who it was.

"Oh, Septimus. Done with your rounds?" The man nodded with a slightly worrying look on his face. He looked her up and down.

"What brings you here dressed in only a nightgown? You must be freezing." She laughed a little as she tried to be as discreet as possible while drying her tears away.

"Aren't I always? There was a situation with the Malfoy kid I had to deal with. I just came up from the dungeons." The man was nice enough to not comment on her tears. Artemis had always thought that among the four boys, Septimus was the least Slytherin of them all. He was simply too nice in some situations. He chose instead to nod in understanding. Then his eyes widened.

"Artemis, your scars are showing!" Artemis looked at him surprised and had to look down on herself and sure enough, the man before her was right. She mumbled the Glamour spell and watched as the scars slowly vanished. Septimus had plain worry on his face now.

"What happened down there that you forgot to cast a Glamour? What of Mr Malfoy? Is he alright?" She bit her lip but nodded.

"He is fine, nightmares and vomiting…" She took a long pause as he crossed his arms waiting for her to continue.

"…and I showed him the scars." Septimus muttered something incoherent as he took a step back.

"You allowed him to see them? Just on a whim?" She nodded.

"Yes. He freaked out about the Sectumsempra scar that he has and I just told him that he was lucky he only had one. One thing led to another…" Septimus pointed to his own heart.

"That means?" Artemis nodded again.

"I did not tell him what it was. Please don't mention this for Orion. You know that he will probably try and Obliviate the boy and I need him to trust me if this is going to work." Septimus sighed then nodded in understanding.

"Very well, I shall not question this further but let us return to the office before you die from the cold." She grinned at him and linked their arms together while they started their walk back.

~ཐིཋྀ~

When they got back to their office the others were already up. Cyril was nose-deep in a book. Zacharias was nursing a cup of coffee like it was the most precious thing in the world and Orion was leaning over a cauldron brewing a potion. However, when the pair entered the room Orion hopped out of his chair and went up to Artemis. He put his hands on her shoulders carefully.

"Where were you?" She frowned at him and shrugged off his hands.

"In the castle, you know that already." A wave of sadness came over her as he backed away but he said nothing.

"Mr Malfoy was vomiting and experiencing night terrors, hence why Artemis kept him company in the dungeons, as is her job, must I remind you?" Septimus crossed his arms while he talked looking cross at Orion.

"According to Blaise, the boy has trouble sleeping and eating these days." Zacharias said from over his coffee cup.

"Can you blame him? He is a war victim after all." Cyril added still not looking up from the book. Artemis sighed loudly at all of them and went towards the bedroom.

"I'm taking a warm shower then we better get to breakfast." Now actually looking at her Cyril's eyes widened.

"Did you go out just dressed like that? Aren't you freezing to death?" She rolled her eyes at him.

"Yes, therefore the warm shower part." Not saying anything else she went into their bedroom and closed the door behind her. Again she sighed loudly into the room. The thing she wanted now was just to be alone with her thoughts. Her feet made a soft patting sound as she went over to her trunk brought out a spare uniform and went towards her bathroom. It was just like any ordinary bathroom in the castle and for right now she was thankful for it. Artemis turned on the valve to be as hot as she could take it and stripped out of her clothes. By habit she dropped the Glamour charm, she had always felt that she never became clean unless she dropped it. This also made her look at herself in the mirror and remember who she was and how she became her. The raven looked at her with its usual cold demeanour but somehow there was a hint of sorrow to it. Maybe the raven itself was feeling guilty about burning her. Artemis touched it carefully while the water ran down her body warming her up. She could feel the edges of it clearly as she traced them. It felt smooth to the touch compared to the other scars that decorated her body.

Artemis rested her head on the wall just standing still and enjoying the silence in the room. She was desperate for sleep but knew that she had to be present at breakfast. The young Malfoy came to mind again and how fascinated he had looked when she showed him the scars. Despite herself, she smiled at the thought. The boy had not looked at them in fear or worry as many before him. Most of the time she hid them even in front of her friends because all the looks were full of worry or pity.

There was a soft knock on the door, the brunette knew immediately that it was not Orion. He was pacing the office if the nagging feeling of the bond was any indication. Closing her eyes she tried to focus on the magical core on the other side of the door and frowned. It was hard trying to detect magic when she was this tired, even the demon within was staying calm having lost the will to stay awake. It was either Cyril or Septimus, Zacharias' magic was too static compared to them. Theirs were calmer, if she were to take a guess it had to be Cyril. When they were in the same room she could tell the difference but apart it was more difficult.

"Yes? Cyril?" A hum came from the other side, so she had been right.

"Can I come in?" Artemis stared at the door from where she stood under the water. It was just a glass wall between her and the door. He would be seeing everything if he entered. But then again it was not often Cyril intruded in this way and it made her too curious.

"Alright." Cyril entered quietly but swiftly, quickly shutting the door so the cold air would not be let in. Their eyes locked together as Cyril stood in front of the door and for a quick second his eyes wandered before the wizard sat down on the toilet seat, looking down on the floor. Artemis started to shampoo her hair while she studied the man, he seemed nervous in a way but she waited patiently for the man to say something. The smell of lemons filled the room. It should have been an awkward situation, but for some reason, she felt comfortable.

"I wanted to say sorry." Cyril was still looking down at the floor when he spoke.

"While cornering me in the shower?" It was meant with humour and luckily he chuckled.

"When I got that owl from Septimus stating that we were to keep Snape's death a secret I protested immediately. I thought Orion was an idiot to follow that wish. What would come out of it I thought. It went so far that he did not trust me with leaving you alone with me. In the end, he forced me to take an Unbreakable Vow to keep me quiet. So believe me Artemis when I say I will do anything you ask of me to make up for it." Artemis turned to look at him, he was still looking down at the floor. She rinsed out the shampoo from her hair in silence and turned off the water when she was done. A towel was lying on a shelf next to her and she wrapped it around herself before softly walking over to where Cyril sat.

Her hair was dripping water down on his shoes as she sat down on the floor and took his right hand in hers. Tiny scars from the Unbreakable Vow could be seen and anger shot through her. How could Orion stoop to that level?

"I wish it was me you know." Artemis looked up at him in confusion.

"What?" Cyril smiled at her melancholically while pointing to her chest.

"I wish it was a chameleon instead of a raven." Her eyes widened in surprise from what he had just said. A short laugh escaped him and he smiled at her again.

"I hoped when we went to Hogsmeade back then that somehow you would react to me in the same way as Orion, no such luck I'm afraid." Artemis stood up slowly, swaying slightly on the spot. She was quickly steadied by Cyril standing up and grabbing her shoulders. When there was no sign of her falling over he took hold of her hand and went down on one knee in front of her.

"Therefore I will pledge myself to protect you however I can. No matter what." Artemis looked dumbfounded at him, a blush started to spread on her cheeks as the words sunk in. He laughed at the look on her face as he stood up.

"The first thing I am going to do is take your shift of watching Malfoy until lunch. You need sleep. No use protecting someone if you pass out in your breakfast, hm?" All Artemis could do was nod, going to sleep now was too tempting of an idea that she could not refuse.

"Don't worry, I'll explain to Malfoy. See you at lunch." He smiled mischievously while looking her up and down before kissing her cheek and then walking casually out of the bathroom, closing the door softly behind him.

A few seconds passed as she just stood there, mind blank. Then a few emotions seemed to blend into one in a tsunami. Confusion. Anger. Envy. Sorrow. Guilt. Cyril must have said something to Orion as he went back into the office. All Artemis could do was laugh at the situation as she changed into a new nightgown and brushed her teeth quickly. Carefully she opened the bathroom door into the bedroom, thankfully it was empty and she went over to her bed. She felt around for Orion and he was on his way to what was most likely the Great Hall as he was moving away from her. A bed had never felt better than at this moment. She closed the curtains while putting a few wards around the bed just to be sure. It only took a second from her head to hit the pillow and she could feel her eyes closing. She hoped that it would be a peaceful sleep.

~𓅃~

Orion looked up from his cauldron with a frown when Cyril came out of the bedroom. "What were you doing in there so long? Where is Artemis?" Cyril looked at him with a dark look in his eyes.

"Saying something that should have been said years ago and I sent her to bed obviously. She is exhausted from everything that happened and needs sleep. You should have known this. Just because she is mad at you there is no reason for you to act this petty." Orion looked at him in shock at what he just heard. The shock quickly turned to anger.

"What are you trying to say, Thompson?" As a response, the other man simply looked at him in disapproval and went out of the painting to the office. Orion stood still for a second getting his emotions under control. He groaned loudly and kicked Cyril's desk on the way out of the office.

When he entered the Great Hall the familiar sounds and smells washed over him. It was like being back at school again. He quickly scanned the tables and looked at Zacharias and Septimus with a raised eyebrow. Both Aurors were sitting at the Slytherin table surrounded by students. Orion recognised Zacharias' younger brother Blaise among them. He looked over at the teachers' table and saw Cyril sitting next to Professor Slughorn, they both seemed to be deep into a conversation about something. He debated sitting with the Slytherins but changed his mind when he saw the look on the Headmistress's face. Orion sighed and walked up to the teachers' table and sat down in the vacant seat next to the older woman.

"Good morning Auror Silver. How was the first night in your new living quarters?" A plate of waffles appeared before him with a cup of coffee on the side. He took a quick sip of the cup before answering.

"It was fine, Ma'am. I'm sorry for the absence of Auror Blackmoore but she was in dire need of sleep." The older woman looked at him courtly and nodded.

"I see. I hope she has not forgotten the reason she is here?" Orion shook his head.

"No, Ma'am. Things were just a bit hectic yesterday." As if called Cyril came up behind them and smiled politely at the Headmistress.

"I apologise, Headmistress, that we did not inform you earlier but I will take care of Mr Malfoy until lunch today. Auror Blackmoore will then be back on duty." She nodded at him again politely. Orion had to look away from Cyril to keep himself from punching the other man in the face. But the thought about what the other man had said to Artemis was making him on edge. He reasoned that it had to be something about the events that had happened during the past day but something kept telling him in the back of his head that it might not be that easy. Hopefully, Artemis would be talking to him before the day was over. He looked over at the Slytherin table curiously when a boom of laughter could be heard across the hall.

~𓆗~

Draco had not smiled and laughed this much in a long while. Auror Zabini and Auror Zouch had sat down with them by the Slytherin table and were sharing stories from their time as Auror Trainees. Blaise had sunken further and further under the table while Zacharias had shared stories of when he had come home from missions and his younger brother had been worried for him.

"No, I swear to all of you this boy here was so cute where he stood in the staircase back in the manor all worried for his big brother." Auror Zabini grabbed Blaise's shoulders and pulled him up on the bench again.

"Aww, you shy little brother? It's a sign of love you know! You love me! Admit it!" Auror Zabini used a sing-song tone at the end, not unlike the one Peeves used. The younger Zabini tried to get away from the older one desperately but to no avail.

"Let go of me moron! Why don't you eat up where the teachers are?!" Blaise was desperately looking to Draco for help, but the blonde just grinned at him.

"Come on Blaise, we want to hear more stories of you being a lovable little brother. Right?" He looked around the table while smirking at the others. Pansy Parkinson laughed loudly clutching her stomach, tears were forming in her eyes from laughter.

"Yes Auror Zabini, please continue!" Auror Zabini grinned widely at them all.

"Well, I have to oblige now that the Lady asked! I remember this one time when it was really late in the night when I came home. A huge storm had just hit England it was simply disastrous outside. I swear to Merlin I was soaked into my underwear." The dark man winked at the girls around the table, getting a hit behind his head from Auror Zouch.

"Manners, Mr Zabini!" Auror Zabini just grinned at the other Auror before he continued.

"So I walked up to my bedroom right, dripping water everywhere. The poor house-elf was walking behind me with a mop I think and guess what I find in my bed when I go in?" Pansy held her hand up in the air enthusiastically.

"You found Blaise right?" She smirked at Blaise who had started to sink under the table again. Draco laughed at his friend, it was rare to see Blaise this flushed about something.

"Bingo!" Auror Zabini shouted loudly and started to laugh again. The table burst into laughter making the other tables look over at them in surprise. This was a rare occurrence from the Slytherin table, after all, it was more expected from the Gryffindors.

~⚡︎~

Harry looked over at the Slytherin table with a surprised look when the table burst out in laughter.

"What is going on over there?" Ron on his left said between bites of toast. Hermione scowled at the redhead in disgust.

"Ronald please don't talk with food in your mouth." Ron just rolled his eyes at her as she turned in her seat to get a better look at the Slytherin table behind her.

"Seems like they are having a fun morning at least." Harry leaned a little to the right to get a better look at the scene before him. He saw that even Malfoy was laughing along at what was happening. He had to agree with Hermione that it did look like for once the Slytherins seemed to be having a good morning.

"Even Draco looks like he is having fun. Good for him." Harry looked at Luna on his right with a raised eyebrow.

"When were you first names with Malfoy?" The blond girl looked at him with her usual big eyes.

"Since he apologised to me. Besides, it is his name, Harry. You should try, he actually likes it when people use his name you know." The girl looked at him with a look that was hard to say no to so he simply nodded. Luna seemed to accept this as an answer and continued. "Seems like he has gotten some sleep too, good for him. Oh, I have to remember to ask him about what hair potion he uses, his hair is always so pretty. My father is indeed in need of some products like that. His hair always knots itself when he is taking care of the plants in the garden. Do you know what that is like Harry?" Harry looked at the girl confused but smiled at her in the end. It was not surprising for Luna to talk about these types of topics so it did not surprise him anymore.

"Can't say I do, no." He laughed at the look she gave him while Ron poked him on the shoulder.

"Wasn't there supposed to be a female Auror that was gonna babysit Malfoy?" Harry looked over to where Malfoy now stood in front of one of the Aurors, he was looking worried. The two Aurors that had been sitting at the table were leaving the Great Hall waving back at the students cheerfully.

"Isn't that one Auror that is leaving Zabini's older brother?" Harry looked at his friends curiously. Hermione nodded.

"Yes, they were a big deal back when they went to school. They ruled the Slytherin house apparently." Ron looked over at his girlfriend with a sceptic look.

"How do you know that 'mione?" The girl just rolled her eyes at him.

"Parkinson told me. They were known as the Royal Court and their leader was Auror Silver. The one sitting next to Headmistress McGonagall." Harry looked over at the man sitting next to McGonagall in wonder. Their eyes met for a second and it felt like the ice-blue eyes could read his mind so he quickly looked away. Ron was looking up at him as well.

"He certainly looks like a Slytherin that is for sure. So they are all previous Slytherins? Even the woman?" Hermione shrugged.

"I don't know, Parkinson only mentioned the four men." The girl looked at the watch she had on her arm.

"We are going to be late for class! Hurry!" Harry watched his friend hurriedly pick up her book bag and bolt for the door. He looked over to Ron who slowly picked up his own bag and shook his head.

"Some things never change, mate." Harry laughed at him as they followed their other friends out of the Great Hall.

~𓆗~

Draco turned around when he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder, he was surprised to see it was Auror Thompson. He calmed down his laughter enough to give a greeting.

"Good morning, Auror Thompson." The Auror smiled at him.

"Good morning, Mr Malfoy. I am the one that will be watching you until lunch today." Draco turned completely around on the bench now and stood up in front of Auror Thompson.

"Is Auror Blackmoore okay?" Auror Thompson patted his shoulder calmly.

"She is fine. I just made her get some sleep until lunch. So I will be your shadow until then." Draco studied him for a minute with a frown but nodded in the end. The man smiled kindly at him then turned to the other Aurors at the table.

"Gentlemen it's time for work, hm?" The two Aurors grinned at the students at the table, got up and said their goodbyes.

"Goodbye, my sweet darling little brother!" The Slytherins burst into laughter again as Blaise now hid completely under the table while shouting curses in his older brother's direction. Draco watched as the two Aurors disappeared out of the Great Hall and snickered at Blaise under the table.

"Come on Blaise it wasn't that bad was it?"

"Shut up! I hate him!" Draco laughed again at his friend under the table while he picked up his book bag. This morning was starting surprisingly well for the Slytherin. He didn't get the chance to get much sleep but the Dreamless Sleep potion he had gotten from Auror Blackmoore had made him feel refreshed when he woke up. He had to remember to ask Auror Silver what he used in it later if he got the chance. Thanks to Auror Zabini's antics at the table he had also momentarily forgotten the bad things that had happened over the past year and he had finally managed to eat an entire plate of pancakes.

Pansy hooked their arms together as they used to do back in the day while he walked out of the Great Hall. He smiled at her, a real smile that he hadn't been able to do in a long time. The girl smiled even wider back at him and giggled. Draco suddenly remembered Auror Thompson was supposed to follow him and stopped a little down the hall and looked around confused. He could not spot the man anywhere. Frowning slightly he was about to call out for him when a voice was heard right next to his left ear.

"Don't worry Mr Malfoy, I'll be right by you even if you can't see me. That is my domain after all." Draco jumped slightly when the Auror spoke but relaxed again. Pansy looked at him confused for a second but he shook his head as if to say it was nothing. He started to drag the girl after him towards the dungeons to get to potion class.

~ཐིཋྀ~

Artemis woke up with a start and sat up in bed breathing heavily. She could not remember what she had just dreamt about but it was not pleasant. Casting a quick Tempus she saw that it was almost the end of lunch. If she wanted to eat something before the next class she had to hurry. She climbed out of bed and went over to her trunk to pull out a uniform. It was weird to be back in school but wearing a different uniform this time. It made her feel more powerful now, she could walk among the students and get looks of respect and not fear. She walked softly to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get dressed. While she stood there her mind floated to what Cyril had told her earlier in the morning. Unconsciously she touched her brand mark and blushed slightly.

 "I wish it was a chameleon instead of a raven." 

The brunette wondered how it would have been if Cyril was the one she was branded to and not Orion. Things would probably be a lot different she thought. Shrugging she started to comb her hair, it was a mess from the night before. She cursed that she had gone to bed with wet hair as it was now standing up in all sorts of weird angles. Frowning when the brushing did not help she flicked her wrist and the hair started to lay back down to its normal position. Satisfied she quickly changed into the uniform and hurried out of the living quarters.

Orion, Septimus and Zacharias were all seated at their desks working. Zacharias looked up from a box that he was fiddling with as she walked in.

"Good morning sleeping beauty!" Artemis rolled her eyes as she walked out of the office, blatantly ignoring Orion's attempt at talking to her. Just to make the feeling of guilt stop waving over her she cut the connection to Orion for now. It made her breathe a little easier for the time being.

She used the shortcuts that she found were still in the same place to get down to the Great Hall faster and entered when several students passed her out the door. Doing a quick scan she saw Draco sitting at the Slytherin table surrounded by his friends. Artemis did not spot Cyril anywhere but figured the man was not far away. The witch was right when she felt someone touch her lower back softly.

"Everything has been quiet so far Auror Blackmoore. You look better now. Hurry and get something to eat, the Headmistress announced that the 8th years are having their first class of Defence after lunch. Seems like she finally found a Professor to take the class." Artemis looked over her shoulder and saw Cyril smiling at her softly.

"Thank you, I owe you one." He laughed and shook his head.

"Absolutely not, I'll be returning to the office then." He winked as he walked out of the Hall. When she turned to look over at the Slytherin table all of them were looking in their direction. She rolled her eyes, they were still the same curious snakes it seemed.

Artemis smiled when she got closer to the table and motioned for permission to sit next to Draco. He moved slightly aside for her so she could sit down as a plate showed up before her with some simple ham sandwiches and coffee.

"Sorry for not joining you as planned for breakfast Mr Malfoy but I am sure Auror Thompson explained everything?" Draco nodded at her with a slight look of worry in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" She nodded at him with a reassuring smile, and then her attention was turned towards Parkinson as she gasped and pointed at her.

"Wow, you have the most beautiful hair, miss! What do you do with it?" Artemis blinked at the younger woman for a second before laughing.

"I'm sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Artemis Blackmoore and I don't do anything special with my hair, Miss Parkinson." The girl looked at her in surprise as she called her by name.

"How do you know my name Auror Blackmoore?" Artemis grinned at them all knowingly.

"It's my job, I know everything about all of you. But don't worry, I never snitch. All your secrets are safe with me." She could not contain her laughter when she saw the horrified looks around the table but she quickly turned serious again.

"No, really. I have files of all of you seeing you are Mr Malfoy's friends. It's my job to know everything concerning him after all. But again, I won't be using this information against you or telling anyone about it. I am a professional after all."

Parkinson looked at her suspiciously with good reason, most of these kids had not gotten a good first impression of how the Aurors operated the last year. Artemis held the eye contact until Parkinson looked satisfied.

"Alright! I believe you at least, besides we got some funny stories from Auror Zabini earlier today. That was hilarious, wasn't it Draco?" Draco grinned at the girl and nodded. Artemis sat there silently and ate her lunch while the students talked around her about what had happened at breakfast. Soon the Great Hall was emptying for real now and they all got up to go to their first Defence class of the year. Artemis noted that all of the 8th years were having the class together no matter the house they were in. Which made sense seeing as there were not that many of them.

~ཐིཋྀ~

They all stood outside the Defence classroom with butterflies in their stomach. From what Artemis gathered the Professor was a woman, and some of the boys were already developing a crush. She had to try not to roll her eyes at them and wondered if all of the male students were like this when she was their age.

Finally, the door to the classroom opened and the students were let in by someone from the inside calling them. Draco looked back at Artemis and she smiled at him motioning him to go in front of her, making the Auror the last person to enter. The Professor was standing with her back to them when they entered, the woman was writing her name on the blackboard in front of her. Artemis froze and felt a wave of nausea overcome her. Vanessa Burns. The witch turned around then with a big smile on her face that quickly turned sour when she saw Artemis. Their eyes met and on instinct, Artemis took the wand she had in her robe and pointed it at the other woman.

"What are you doing here?" The students looked between the two women confused. Burns' sour look turned into the sickly sweet smile that Artemis knew too well from school.

"My my! Blackmoore! What a surprise seeing you here dear! I am the new Defence Professor, didn't you hear? On that note, I must say that it is quite rude to point your wand at me, honey." Artemis' hand was shaking so much she could barely keep her wand steady. All she wanted to do was get out of the classroom, but she could not leave Draco behind. But then again he had his wand now that he was in class, she made a quick decision as she felt the door behind her. The brunette slowly lowered her wand feeling that it had grown lighter and put up a professional smile.

"Oh my, Burns! I must apologise you looked so much like a Death Eater we are hunting, my lack of sleep must have made me more on edge than I thought. Mr Malfoy, I will return after the class is over, but if you need my assistance please don't hesitate to try and contact me. That goes for all of you." She met Burns' eyes again and nodded courtly before quickly leaving the classroom. Once outside she started to breathe heavily and the nausea was more dominant than ever. Artemis leaned on the wall to catch her breath and tried to think about the next step. She needed more help to protect the boy now, who knows what intentions Burns had for returning here. The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence. The wand came into her mind as she took hold of it again, it was definitely lighter than it had been earlier which meant that she needed a new crystal in it. Her eyes widened when she got an idea, she needed Eminence's help. If someone knew how to protect oneself without a wand it was her.

Artemis quickly Apparated straight into the office, making all the men inside the room jump in surprise.

"Bloody hell, woman!" Zacharias yelled at her while looking down at the ink he had spilt on himself. Septimus looked at her with wide eyes.

"Did you just Apparate inside the castle?" Artemis ignored both of them and looked at Cyril seriously.

"I need you to look after Malfoy until I come back. I need to go to London." Cyril looked at her with concern while Orion shouted at her.

"What happened?! Why in Merlin's name are you leaving? Why are you closing me out?" Artemis looked at her bonded partner with a dark look.

"Burns is here. Because the guilt you are sending through the bond is making me sick." She quickly took some floo powder from on top of the fireplace and threw some in.

"Ministry of Magic!" As soon as the flames turned green she passed through the flames and found herself in the Atrium. Not even bothering to look around she Apparated straight outside of Eminence's shop in Knockturn Alley. She took a moment to steady her breathing and was about to knock on the door when it suddenly opened.