Never A Memory

~Scratching Through the Surface~



One hour later...

***



Ron hurried down the hall towards Muggle affairs. Ron held the note that had been owled to him moments before tightly in his enclosed fist. 'Ronald,' the note had read, 'get your ass in here now! ~Hermione.'



Ron cleared his throat outside of the Muggle Affairs Head Office and mentally braced himself. Reaching up, Ron knocked lightly on the door.



Ron nearly stumbled back when an arm suddenly thrust through the now opened door, grabbed his shirt collar, and roughly pulled him in. Inside, while Ron righted himself, Hermione paced her office like a caged lioness.



"Ron," Hermione said angrily. "Where is Harry?"



Ron shrugged. "I haven't seen him all morning."



"Someone broke into my office this morning," Hermione continued. "I think it was Harry."



"Why would Harry break into your office, 'Mione?"



Hermione continued to pace. "The address of Draco Malfoy's new flat is missing."



Ron stiffened and then he groaned loudly, throwing his hands into the air. "He's gone mental, that one!"



***



Draco’s eyes flew open and he instantly sat up. He shook his head, trying to get a handle on where he was. Suddenly, remembering everything from an hour ago, Draco jumped to his feet and ran out into the hall, his stormy irises searching for the man with the green, green eyes.



Realizing the man had left; Draco grabbed a chair angrily and threw it across the room with a shout. Clutching at his hair, Draco tried to think of where this man would go, where he could find him.



This man knew him; Draco could see it in his eyes. He had to find him. He had to know who he was and why he was always in his dreams.



Draco wouldn’t let the only person who knew who he really was slip away from him. He couldn’t let that happen.



Draco shut his eyes tightly and tried to pull up the images that had always centered on that man, times where he saw the two of them corresponding. Draco bit his lip as one image came into his mind and remained there, becoming sharper and more vivid. Through the haze of his amnesia, Draco could make out a shiny, mahogany colored steam engine, the sound of its horn blasting through his head. Gold letters on the stern solidified and Draco concentrated on them, trying to make them out with all his might.



Hogwarts Express.



Draco took in a deep breath and held it, trying to keep that image solidly in his mind while attempting to move around it. Families hurried around one another on the platform and, out of the corner of his eye, Draco spotted a lone boy with messy black hair and rounded spectacles. The boy turned slightly, causing a thick black tendril of hair to shift slightly on the boy’s forehead. Draco gasped and the image suddenly vanished.



The boy had an identical scar on his forehead, a lightning bolt one. And while Draco couldn’t remember if the man that had appeared in his flat had a similar scar or not, behind those rounded spectacles, that boy had the greenest eyes Draco had ever seen.



Except once.



Draco hurried into his room and pulled on some clothes. After throwing on a heavy black coat, Draco left the apartment, his long strides taking him down the stairs and out of the building.



Draco stopped a small, hunched over, old woman and asked her where the nearest train station was.



“Train station?” the old woman repeated. “That would be on Willow and Seventh. Five blocks that way.”



***



Seated on a swing in the park two blocks from Draco’s flat, Harry frowned as he felt the familiar tingling in his mind. Squinting, he pushed it away and stood up, knowing that must mean Draco was awake.



Harry couldn’t bring himself to Obliviate the Malfoy heir again but he also couldn’t handle staying in the apartment while the blond slept. Draco’s reaction had surprised and overwhelmed him. Harry had not realized their connection had become so strong so quickly. It had taken Harry years to figure out he was connected to Voldemort.



All the same, it wasn’t so much Draco’s reaction that had frightened Harry, it was the strength and power of his magic rolling off of him in insuppressible waves when he had grasped Harry’s arm. It was electric and raw, cackling around Draco and snapping angrily at Harry until he was dizzy with it.



Harry swallowed and shoved his hands in his pockets as he began to move back towards the apartment. Harry couldn’t explain why he’d left like that. He had an overwhelming urge to get out, to get away, to get some air and clear his head.



He needed a new plan. The old one, if he had even had one, certainly didn’t work.



Harry took a deep breath as he turned a corner and saw Draco’s building come into view. Here goes nothing.



***



Deans greeted Harry with a death glare when he entered the apartment. “Where is he?” Deans grated.



Harry’s jet-black brows went sky high as a sick, sour feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. “What do you mean? He’s not here?”



“Are you serious?” Deans shrieked, panic shaking his voice. “I left him with you!”



Harry spread his hands. “He was sleeping when I left. Calm down!”



Deans ran a hand roughly through his dark curls. “He was my first case. They’re going to fire me for sure.”



Harry snorted, somewhat sympathizing with the young Social Worker. “No kidding. Do you have any idea where he would have gone?”



Deans bit his lip. “I don’t know.”



“You still have that car?”



Deans nodded.



“Let’s go then. He couldn’t have gotten far.”



***



Draco scowled when the metal bar wouldn’t move. He reached out and tried to unlock the mechanism it was connected to using the trick he learned to use on Dr. Laeverton’s door at the Ward. It still wouldn’t budge. Draco could see a train ahead of him, on the other side of the small, annoying devices that barred his way.



Draco glanced over when an older man slipped some coins into the device and the bar gave way for him. He frowned, knowing he had no coins.



“Fuck it,” Draco muttered as he jumped over the bar and made his way towards the train.



It was an outdoor train station and the sky moved above him, slow and watchful. A security guard straightened when he saw Draco jump over and moved forward. “Excuse me, sir!” the guard barked.



Draco raised a brow and turned to him. “Yes?”



“Its thirty-five cents,” the guard said.



Draco shrugged and turned away.



The guard frowned and stepped in Draco’s path. “Sir, did you hear me?”



“Yes. Please move.”



“Sir, you need to pay the machine or leave.”



Draco scowled. “Really, mate. Today is not the day. Get away from me.”



“Thirty-five cents, sir,” the guard repeated, unperturbed. “Or I am going to ask you to leave.”



Agitation welled up in him and Draco curled his hands into fists as he stared at the train. Not only was it not the Hogwarts Express, it wasn’t even a steam engine. Draco pressed back into that memory, trying to recall how it was that he had gotten there in the first place. “Platform…platform…”



“Sir,” the guard said, reaching for his walkie-talkie. “I’m going to ask you one more time—“



Draco snapped his fingers. “Platform Nine and Three Quarters! Where is it?”



“Excuse me?”



“Where is Platform Nine and Three Quarters?”



“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the guard said shaking his head. “But I must ask you to leave.”



“Leave?”



“You need thirty-five cents, sir, or you must leave.”



Draco shook his head incredulously. “No, no, no. I’m looking for someone. You haven’t seen him, have you? Black hair, green eyes, about my age, maybe an inch taller than me, Platform Nine and Three Quarters…?”



“Sir—“



Draco rolled his eyes and sidestepped the guard, approaching a small child with rosy cheeks and long golden curls. “You wouldn’t, by any chance, have thirty-five cents?”



The little girl giggled and bent down, picking up a quarter and a dime from the pavement and handing them to Draco. Draco frowned slightly at the dirty coins but thanked the child anyway. He walked back to the guard, who was now accompanied by two more just like him, and handed him the coins.



“Now,” Draco said, as if speaking to an idiot. “Platform Nine and Three Quarters.”



“I don’t know what you are talking about sir,” the guard said, stepping closer to Draco, his hand hovering over a short black weapon his belt. “There is no such thing. What is your name?”



Draco trembled as agitation hit him again like a bucket of cold water. “You realize you are most unhelpful,” Draco snapped.



The guard behind him who had been speaking quietly into his walkie-talkie stepped forward. “Sir, Sgt. Tailer has asked you to leave. Please do so quickly and without any fuss.”



Draco began to shake as the agitation churned in his blood and the visions began attacking his mind again, unwelcome and uninvited. “I’m looking for—“



“Sir,” another guard said. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. We will walk you out.” The guard moved forward and grabbed Draco on his upper arm.



Draco’s eyes blazed. “Don’t touch me,” Draco shrieked, jerking away. “I need to find—“



Suddenly, all three guards surged forward and attempted to grab Draco and restrain him.



“Get off of me!” Draco roared and energy spiked and crackled around him. With a shout, Draco’s magic exploded from his body and the guards flew off of him screaming.



Magic swirled around Draco in violent, uncontrollable spasm and Draco’s eyes glazed over as his mind shut down, completely succumbing to the power that had been locked inside his body for far too long.



***



Dr. Laeverton hung up the phone and began walking briskly towards the Staff’s Office. Deans had just called him, informing him that Smith was missing and a certain Christian Hale was with him and helping him look for Mr. Smith.



Deans didn’t trust Hale, that much was evident from the tone of his voice, but he agreed with the doctor on allowing him to help search for John Smith. Find Smith first, ask questions later.



The Doc entered the Nurse’s Office and looked up when silence greeted his entrance. Every staff member present was staring at a small television and Dr. Laeverton’s mouth fell open when he saw what they were watching.



“Doctor,” a Betty said breathlessly. “Isn’t that Mr. Smith?”



There, amidst wreckage and fire, was John Smith, his head thrown back and exploding energy emanating from his body, causing catastrophe wherever it reached.



Dr. Laeverton pulled out his cell phone and dialed Deans’ number.



“Hello?” Deans said on the other line.



“Deans,” Dr. Laeverton said in a hollow voice. “Get your ass over to Willow and Seventh. I’ll meet you there.”



“Is that where Smith is?”



“Yes.”



“How do you know?”



“I’m watching him on Channel Nine.”



***



Hermione waited for Ron outside of Draco’s flat, impatient and trying to push back a persistent migraine. It had taken longer to get here than Hermione would have like because they had to first go to Hogwarts and retrieve a Memory Draught from Snape’s storage unit as Hermione’s had not been completed yet. Snape, of course, had been infinitely clear that he was furious at their incompetence concerning is godson. Then, they had to owl four other Aurors to aid their search.



Now, nearly two hours later, Ron had left Hermione outside with three of the four chosen Aurors, Mackle, Boyle, and Nadger, to go search Draco’s flat for Harry. Anin had went with Ron and Hermione frowned when they came back out of the building the same as they had entered it—without Harry Potter.



“Where is he?” Hermione demanded for the seeming billionth time that day.



Ron ran a hand through his hair as he approached his glaring fiancée. “I don’t know, ‘Mione. He hasn’t been gone long though. Anin and I found traces of his and Draco’s magic all over the flat.”



Hermione’s brown eyes widened a fraction. “Malfoy was using his magic? Do you think they had a battle?”



Anin, a pleasant fellow with blond hair and light brown eyes, shook his head solemnly. “No, ma’am. There was no sign of a struggle. And we believe that Potter left after Malfoy. His magic is the freshest even though it seems only residual. Malfoy’s traces are much more distinct if a bit scrambled.”



Ron nodded his agreement and watched Hermione’s frown deepen.



“We should have brought Hedwig, Ron,” Hermione said finally. “She would be able to locate him fairly quickly.”



“Should we go get her?” Mackle inquired from where he stood on Hermione’s left.



Hermione shook her head. “I don’t think we have that kind of time. Especially if Malfoy’s magic is exuding that kind of unrestrained power. Wherever Malfoy is, Harry is. We need to locate Malfoy.”



Suddenly, two American Aurors dressed in navy blue robes Apparated a few feet from them. “Mr. Weasley?” the taller one called out.



Ron immediately turned and walked towards them. “Yes, that’s me.”



“A moment please,” the shorter one said and bent his head to speak to Ron in low tones.



Hermione watched as the blood drained from Ron’s freckled face and when he walked back to Hermione, he wouldn’t quite meet her eyes.





“Ron, what is it?”



“The Yankees say they just came from a train station five blocks from here,” Ron murmured. “Malfoy’s there surrounded by Muggles and…he’s losing his mind.”



“Losing his mind?” Hermione asked shrilly.



“They say he’s causing quite the fuss and that the Muggles will kill him if he doesn’t stop blowing shit up.”



***





a/n:



Graballz: lol, funnily enough, Draco ends up doing something similar when he wakes up. I love it when the reviews parallel the character's reactions. It means I'm doing my job. :-). Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoyed the update!



Pleiades Wolfe: :-) I hope this chapter sufficiently answered your question. Thanx for the review.



Jan: Yeah! You tell him! lol, thank you for the review.



Snakevamp: Thank you. Yes, yes, and yes. As you can see, mucho panicy and half-crazed Draco to come. :-) Exciting, neh?



Bigkt: BECAUSE I want to leave you trembling with excitment AND anticipation. LOL, loving that you're digging the story. :-) Thanx for your review.



Dark_Samira: Thank you! Oh, and thank you for pointing that out to me. I fixed his name in here. Product of too many late night writing sessions, I guess. I don't have a clue why I added an "e" to his name. :-)



Thrnbrooke: *grins wickedly* You'll see.



Alexkim: lol, thank you!



Justmine25: Thank you.



Cinque: Thank you. I hope you enjoyed the update. :-)



Luie: Yeah, man, damn those teasing bastards. Thanks for the review. :-)