CHAPTER NINETY THREE: 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐏
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SEPTEMBER 2ND.
It has been two weeks since Bill and Fleur's wedding and the ambush in Tottenham Court.
It has also been a two weeks since we started planning our rendezvous to the Ministry when we finally get our hands on the locket from the toad.
"I feel like I'm gonna throw up."
I covered my mouth while we walked through the streets in London, we were walking to the street where most wizards use the transport to the Ministry.
I was paranoid because the trio were the only ones who fitted in the Cloak, which meant that Draco and I followed by, wearing hats and long coats.
"Don't throw up on my suit, Jills." Draco let out a breath while we sneaked around, it was basic knowledge that a lot of people knew Draco because he's one of the richest families in the Wizarding World.
One person took a second look at us earlier, and it made me so anxious than usual. I took a quick look around, sighing in relief when no one was looking at us.
"It's not my fault I'm nervous." I scoffed, holding on to his hand in case someone tries to take him from us.
"You think Kreacher actually poisoned you because you didn't finish your soup?" Ron joked, earning a glare from Hermione.
"One, I don't have an appetite. Two, Kreacher would never actually poison me, he loves me!" I sarcastically said, swallowing air to forget the nauseous feeling in me.
"Maybe loosen up your hold, Nicolette. I think Draco's close to suffocating." Harry said.
"That's overexaggerated, Harry. I'm holding his arm, not his bloody neck." I rolled my eyes while we kept our eyes forward, hoping not to look crazy talking to air.
"Are you jealous, Potter? I'm irresistible, I know. But sorry, I don't date guys." Draco smirked.
"Sod off." Harry's voice said louder from the Cloak.
We took a left turn, stopping in an alleyway that was full of trash bins. I heard Draco scoff, full of disgust at the smell of garbage. I leaned on the back of a brick wall, removing the hat for a minute. The trio went out of the Invisibility Cloak.
"It's bloody September, why are you sweating?" Ron questioned, looking at my sweaty face.
"I easily get warm, Ron. I used to surf in California." I wiped my face with the sleeve of my coat.
"Isn't that supposed to be the opposite.. because you were from a warm country." Ron's lips formed into a thin line.
"She's abnormal, leave her be, Weasley." Draco said, the corner of his lip curling. I quickly turned to him with an offended look.
"Right then," Hermione spoke up, checking her watch after we stopped walking. "she ought to be here in about five minutes. When I've stunned her-"
"Hermione, we know, you've been repeating the plan for three times now." Ron spoke sternly. "And I thought we were supposed to open the door before she got here?"
"I nearly forgot! Stand back!" Hermione paled, immediately pushing Draco and Ron away before pointing a wand at the door.
It opened with a crash, thankfully people didn't pay attention to the loud sound. Ron flinched at the sound, eyes widening.
"Did you just use a non-verbal spell?" Draco turned back to Hermione with a raised eyebrow.
"Why are you even surprised, c'mon." I shook my head, pulling him with us while we went inside the back room of an empty theater.
"And now," Hermione turned to us, grabbing the invisible fabric, "we put on the Cloak again.."
".. and then we wait," Ron finished, throwing it over their heads while Draco and I simply stood next to them.
We stood there for minutes, waiting for the woman to appear.
"I think your plan failed, Granger. She's late." Draco spoke, peeking from the wall.
"Maybe there's a delay in her schedule, let's wait a bit more.." Hermione replied, anxious being heard in her voice.
"You did promise us we'll do help with the disguising when something looks bad with the plan." Draco said with a teasing voice.
"Alright, you've been nagging us about it since the last week!" Harry exclaimed, not being able to handle Draco anymore.
"Very persistent, Hobbs." I shook my head with a small grin.
We waited a bit more, before with a loud pop, a middle-aged woman with greyish hair appeared in front of us then she fell on the floor like she had a heart attack.
"Nicely done, Hermione," Ron spoke, emerging behind a bin beside the theater door as Harry took off the Invisibility Cloak while we entered inside, carrying the lady.
"If there was anyone around, they would've accused us of stressing this lady until she underwent a heart attack." I mumbled, shutting the door close while Ron and Draco set the lady gently on the floor.
Hermione grabbed a few strands from the lady's hair, before placing it inside the flask that held the Polyjuice Potion.
"No bald spots, good." I commented, slightly turning the lady's head to inspect where Hermione got the hair. The other girl in the group glared at me. "What? You nearly plucked that spot on the woman's hair bald, just being careful."
"She's right, I think the back of my neck's bald." Harry commented, which made Hermione even more furious.
"Shut up or I'll hex you two!" Hermione grumbled, shaking the closed flask.
"She's Mafalda Hopkirk," Ron said, reading a small card that he grabbed from the woman's purse.
"You'd better take this, Granger, and here are the tokens." Draco said, grabbing the small fabric that held the clinking golden coins.
"Shot, shot, shot!" I cheered while we watched Hermione grimace at the bubbling liquid.
"Better not turn into a cat again." Draco added, which made the witch glare at him.
Hermione quickly downed the contents of the flask, and in a span of three seconds, Hermione was no longer standing next to us and was replaced by Mafalda Hopkirk.
"You fancy older ladies, right Weasley? You have a fat chance with Granger now, congratulations." Draco smirked, watching Ron gag at his words.
"Well.. I think Madame Rosmerta's better-looking than Mafalda over here." I drawled, Ron quickly nodded in agreement while Harry scrunched his nose up in disgust.
"You two are disgusting, Salazar!" Draco shook his head, turning to our leader.
"We're running late, Mr. Magical Maintenance will be here any second." Hermione said, looking at the watch on her wrists.
"I hear footsteps, he's here." I said, quickly opening the door to the theater and exiting with the four. Draco, Harry, Ron, and I tried our best to fit into the Cloak, covering our feet with the trash bins.
We watch Hermione straighten her posture while a thin old man walked over to her, holding a suit case.
"Oh, hello, Mafalda." The man greeted with a subtle smile, nodding.
"Hello!" Hermione squeaked in a shaky voice, "How are you today?"
"Oh my God, she's nervous. She's gonna blow her cover." I whispered while we watched the two Ministry workers interact.
"No.. she's got this." Harry replied, I could see a hopeful look on his face.
"Not so good, actually," The man coughed a bit, shaking his head while he covered his mouth then he wiped it off his clothes.
Ew, Corona.
"That's our cue, if you trip over my foot Ron, I will cut both of your feet off with a chainsaw and I'll make sure to feed it to Chucky." I hissed when I felt Ron step on my feet while we crept along the path quietly.
"Save the threats for later, Jills. We cannot blow our covers." Draco warned sternly.
"Okay, boss." I raised an eyebrow with an amused smile.
"Malfoy, taking the lead? That's new." Harry retorted.
"I'd like to say that I'm a dominant man myself, thank you." Draco said proudly with a suggesting tone, a smirk forming on his face.
"Ugh- we do not want to hear about your dominance over women, Malfoy!" Ron fake gagged, pushing us closer even more.
"Shut up and let's just take this man down!" I whispered, stopping our steps when we're an arm length away from the man.
"I'm sorry to hear you're under the weather," Hermione said with a fake frown, then she quickly fumbled through her bag. "Here, have a sweet.. I believe sweets make people feel better."
"Eh? Oh, no thanks, I think I'm done with sweets for now." The man cleared his throat as another cough came out of him.
"Hermione giving sweets, now that's a sight I never thought I'd be seeing." I said, earning a snicker from Ron and Harry.
"I insist!" Hermione placed the bag of pastilles in front of her rather too harshly that it scared the man to take it.
The man quickly popped the pastille in his mouth, not even a second later, he began to pale up while he ran to the nearest bin, throwing up.
"That's disgusting." Ron gagged.
"Oh, I love the twins so much.. Puking Pastilles really are life savers." I said, smiling brightly.
"Twins? You can just say George, Jills. It's not that hard." Draco remarked, while I rolled my eyes at him.
"I'm close to punching you on the face, Hobbs." I warned, trying not to smile at the thought of George.
I miss that man so much.
"Don't let that happen, she punched me on the stomach once and I'm still traumatized." Harry spoke.
"Right, sorry Jills." Draco's lips formed into a thin line.
"Oh dear!" Hermione covered her mouth in shock while she quickly assisted the man. And with a quick hand, she snatched a few strands from the man's hair while her other hand patted his back. "Perhaps you'd better take the day off!"
"She's wonderful." Ron gaped. Draco, Harry, and I simply turned to him with a weird look.
"No, no!" The man aggressively shook his head while he cupped his mouth.. "I must go today- must go--"
"But that's just silly!" Hermione shrieked frustratedly while she played her role of the concerned co-worker. "You can't go to work in this state! I think you ought to go to St. Mungo's and get them to sort you out."
"You're being too obvious with your feelings, Weasley. You're gonna have to try harder to hide it if that's what you're planning to do." Draco spoke.
"I know." Ron sighed like a lovesick puppy.
"You simply can't go to work like this!" Hermione cried again when the man fell on the ground.
The man stopped gagging for a second, and then as if signalling our victory, he apparated away, leaving his bag on the sidewalk.
"And another one bites the dust! Another win for the Hogwarts Five." I proudly said, opening the back door of the theater once again while Hermione placed the man's hair on the second flask.
I removed the Invisibility Cloak over me while the other three did the same.
"I don't know, Jills. I think Golden Quartet still has the better ring." Draco shrugged teasingly while I pinched his arm.
"Urgh," Ron pinched his nose while his other hand opened the man's suitcase, looking around for his ID.
"It would have made much less mess to Stun him too." Hermione grimaced, wiping her slightly puke-stained skirt with a tissue from her beanbag.
"I told you I could've knocked him out in less than a second but you said, and I quote, we cannot resort to violence! and now puke is all over you." I said smugly, making Hermione groan in defeat.
"As much as I'd like to see you knock someone out, Jills. That man's already sick and you'll make him feel worse if you suddenly punched him out of nowhere." Draco crossed his arms like a strict father.
"Aw, you do have a heart!" I cooed, placing a hand over my heart to express softness.
"I still have the slightest empathy for people, just so you know." Draco rolled his eyes.
"I can't believe the cold-hearted Slytherin Prince is now showing empathy." Ron added, gasping dramatically.
"Potter, get them out of my sight before I lose my decency as a person." Draco sighed. Harry rolled his eyes sassily before standing between Ron and I.
"Hermione's still right though," Ron added, looking through the man's suitcase. "but I still think a whole pile of unconscious bodies would have drawn more attention. Keen on his job, though, isn't he? Chuck us the hair and the potion, then."
Now, Ron was also gone while he was replaced with the sick man.
"This feels weird, I'm Reg Cattermole, according to the label in the back." Ron locked the suitcase and placed it over his arm.
"Ah, now you two look like a married couple, Mr. and Mrs. Granger." Draco made a gesture like a priest congratulating the newly wedded couple.
"Wait, why am I taking her last name?" Ron complained with a flushed face.
"Simple, because Hermione has the guts, you don't." I pointed at him with a grin, making Ron frown.
"Enough of this.. teasing! We still have two to find." Hermione scolded us three with a glare and a red face before she turned to Harry who was still inside the cloak. "Harry, you wait here. We'll find you a person."
Hermione, Ron, Draco and I walked outside the backdoor of the theater once again.
"I feel like we just murdered someone and we left their bodies in there.. I mean if I was going to murder someone I'll be throwing their bodies in the ocean and it'll decom-" I stopped talking when the three looked at me weirdly.
"I'm scared, Nicolette. I'm scared." Ron took a step away from me while he stood next to Hermione.
"It was a theory!" I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms while we waited for other Ministry workers to appear.
"Yeah I agree with him Jills, you can be quite frightening sometimes. Maybe lay off the.. murder theme for a bit." Draco pursed his lips while we looked behind the theater walls.
"Not as frightening as Hermione, you mean." Ron added, squirming when Hermione glared at him again. "Bloody hell, you're scarier in another body."
"Ronald and I will find someone, while you two can find a disguise for Draco.. this will be a much faster process." Hermione explained, then she and Ron walked out while Draco and I still stood behind the wall.
"Hopefully I won't have to disguise as a cranky, old man." Draco grimaced while we watched the passing citizens.
"Why? You just have to be yourself." I joked.
"I hate you." Draco scowled while I grinned.
Draco and I warily watched any wizard that would come across us. It was quite difficult since the only ones that passed by were regular London citizens.
As if God could hear our prayers, a man that looked our age walked hastily with an irritated look. He was holding a parchment with one of his hands with a floating quill, his bag was clutched under his arms while his wand was in his other hand.
"..you stubborn girl, tell our parents to wait for a bit more time and I'll arrive before lunch.." The man said with the words he could muster from his fast pace.
Draco and I quickly grabbed the man after we shot him a stunning spell. We pulled him in the back of the theater where Ron and Hermione already got back, the three were fully transformed.
Ron helped us to place the man on the floor, Draco began to remove the man's vest and pants while Hermione grabbed a piece of hair from the man.
I took the parchment the man was holding earlier, the enchanted pen stopped moving on its own while I read its contents.
To: Alexandra Selwyn (MACUSA)
Are you that impatient? I will be there sooner than you expect. I will just take a quick stop by the Ministry to submit my application to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.. you shouldn't be sending me howlers at this time of the day, you stubborn girl. Tell our parents to wait for a bit of more time and I'll arrive before lunch a---
I folded the paper inside my pockets, keeping in mind that I should pose as Alexandra Selwyn from America. That should be easy, since I'm American, after all.
I walked inside one of the theaters extra rooms, full of broken tapes and broken camera equipments.
I quickly grabbed the suit from my small bag, thanking God that Sirius bought me formal clothes. It was a navy blue blazer paired with flared pants.
I wore the blazer, it was kind of comfortable since it had thick material. It's basically rainy season in London and this fit is definitely the perfect choice.
Thank you, Sirius.
If Alexandra Selwyn's from America, then I should do something that doesn't look like me but feels like what I could've done at the same time.
With a quick wave of my hand, my hair's red was gone and was replaced by brown that had golden highlights. I quickly conjured glasses and placed it on my face, this was every character's disguise.
No, I am not wearing a cap to work.
I quickly straightened my posture while I flattened my suit out. I quickly walked out of the room, meeting the four.
"You changed your hair? Wicked!" Ron yelled in amazement.
"Not bad, Jills. Not bad." Draco commented with a raised eyebrow.
"You can just say I look good, nothing to get shy about." I jested, striking a pose.
"Fine, you look good.. but not as much as I do." Draco said smugly while he placed both hands on his waist.
"You do know you two should act like each other's fiancé, right? Not acting like obnoxious rivals." Hermione sighed stressfully.
"Well, let's just say it's the way we flirt, right- what the hell's your name?" I turned to him in shock, realizing I didn't know his name.
"I'm supposed to be.. Jack Duncan Gibson." Draco said, showing the small name plaque on his suitcase.
"Alright, Jack. I'm Alexandra Selwyn, your bride-to-be.. this is really weird." I sighed, placing my arms around Draco's.
"Not weird, this is really amusing." Harry smirked.
"Shut up, Potter." Draco grumbled.
"Alright, remember our plan. Nicolette and Draco, please try your best to stay in character and keep our backs in case something goes wrong. Harry and Ron, you two know what to do." Hermione explained, placing her wand inside her coat.
"I'm nervous but I bloody hope this goes well." Ron said anxiously.
"We should go, it's nearly nine." Hermione announced.
"Alright we've got this, Nine-nine!" I threw a fist up in the air and I was only met by confused looks.
Shit, I almost forgot.
"I mean, let's go." I rolled my eyes, securing my hold on Draco then we walked out of the theater.
We walked into the busy sidewalk of London under the morning sun, it finally felt nice that people weren't throwing us weird looks because we didn't look suspicious.
I'm the best at disguises.
"The letter said I'm going to register myself for the application on the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and we have a planned dinner tonight. I think I'll be able to stall without actually submitting these letters.. they'll get suspicious of us if we became too weird." Draco explained, showing me the parchments inside the suitcase.
"Well, there's one thing we're most familiar about, our roles. Jack Gibson is the ignorant young businessman, while Alexandra Selwyn is the.. persistent fiancé from Ilvermony." I said while we walked quicker behind the trio.
"Think we can make up an argument to cause a distraction? Weasley's obviously going to mess something up, it's in his nature. We'll need to make a scene, Jills." Draco spoke, closing his suitcase while he fixed his coat.
"How about.. I surprise you and you get mad because I wasn't patient enough to wait for the dinner tonight?" I said using an air quote.
"Yeah, that seems good. If Blaise was here he would've laughed at me for wearing this.." Draco rolled his eyes while he eyed his maroon coat.
"Why? Because it's not black for the first time in years?" I raised an eyebrow teasingly.
"Yes, Jills. I've never worn anything else than black or green.. or silver for that matter." Draco scoffed.
"Yeah, you're right. Other colors doesn't suit you, just wear black for the rest of your life." I scrunched up my nose, acting disgusted with the coat color.
"Thank you." Draco sighed contentedly.
We looked in front to see we were two flights of stairs for bathrooms, stating GENTLEMEN on the left and LADIES on the right.
"Well.. here it goes. When I meet you at the Ministry, you better be Jack Gibson and not Draco Malfoy, Hobbs." I nudged him as the trio said their good-byes.
"I'll see you, Selwyn." Draco winked, separating from me.
We separated ways while I walked alongside Hermione this time, going straight down the stairs.
"I can't believe we have to flush ourselves." I commented as we entered the crowded bathroom.
"I know, it's disgusting, but it's the fastest way." Hermione shook her head with a small laugh. "Here we are, I hope everything goes well."
"Good luck, 'Mione." I squeezed her hand one last time, before entering an empty bathroom cubicle.
I silently prayed while I stepped on the toilet bowl, grimacing to myself while I straightened my posture. The feeling of the water underneath my boots were still unpleasant even if it was dry.
And with one last curse to myself, I pulled the chain to the flush.
I held back a scream when a feeling of my organs pushed together emerged, and in a split second, I was now standing inside the Ministry of Magic.
I'll choose apparating over this any damn time.
I immediately fixed my hair and clothes, straightening my posture before walking directly inside.
I looked around, and it was really different. The last time I've been here was in the battle at the Department of Mysteries. Back then, there were bright lights and would be sufficient for a workplace.
But now, it looks like a dungeon. Like an Illuminati underground building.
Alright, Nicolette. You're Alexandra Selwyn for now.
I walked around the place, almost jumping when someone appeared by my side. I looked and saw that I was beside the departing station where Peter, Loki, Sif and I accidentally entered.
A dull smile made its way to my face as I quickly pushed away the memories because I'm not Nicolette at the moment.
I continued to walk again, slightly freezing in my tracks when newspapers a few feet away from me caught my eye. I tried not to be looking shocked while I went closer.
Wow, they really used that picture from my third year at Hogwarts. Now it looks like Draco kidnapped me instead of the other way around.
I quickly turned away, continuing my walking. Now that I saw that I was wanted all over the Wizarding World, my disguise doesn't feel safe anymore.
I walked in front of the elevator, thankful that I had nobody to talk to and pressed 2 on the elevator, remembering the floor Peter, Loki, Sif and I went to.
"Level two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement." The elevator announced after I held on to the bars.
I almost forgot this elevator was crazy.
The elevator opened with a ring, I immediately exited while I searched the quite crowded hall for Draco.
My boots pressed amongst the carpeted floor while I nodded at the one's who passed by me.
Hopefully I didn't make the wrong move, especially since Death Eaters are working here right now and acknowledging them would make me suspicious.
I walked further into the hall and saw Draco- or Jack for that matter, standing in front of the desk in the middle of the hall where a lady was interrogating him.
I quickly cleared my throat, fixing my composure before walking over them.
"Jack Duncan Gibson!" I exclaimed while I walked over to them. I feel a surge of victory within me when we earned looks from other people.
Jack's eyes turned to me, having no surprise on seeing me while he huffed.
"You stubborn girl, I told you I will be meeting you later at dinner, have you actually been reading my letters?" Jack said with a serious look, massaging his temples while I stood next to him.
"Well, now I'm here to accompany you since Daddy told me that we should start dinner as soon as possible." I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms.
Yes, extracting what I've learned at Clueless.
"You should've just waited for me at your Manor, I just needed to submit these forms and I'll be there right away, why did you need to come here?" Jack huffed, looking very irritated.
"You see, I just miss you so much! And I totally can't stand it when you're not with me.. can you blame a gal for missing her boyfriend? Like I feel very depressed when you're not by my side!" I sighed, looping my arm around his like an obsessive girlfriend.
"Excuse me, who are you?" The lady at the front desk asked with a nonchalant look on her face.
"Alexandra Selwyn, this beautiful man's future wife, nice to meet ya!" I held a confident smile, holding my hand out for her to shake but the lady ignored my hand.
This bitch.
"Miss Selwyn, I believe your father did not inform us of your sudden arrival here today, and I believe that you might not be who you really are." The lady said, deadpanned.
"Uh, FYI.. this what you call a surprise. Also, are you talking about my hair? This is called highlights, you got it? Just because you.. posh wizards and witches don't do things like this, it doesn't mean I should be unqualified to be here right now." I raised an eyebrow while I did my best to do the spoiled rich girl from America character.
"Alexandra, enough." Jack warned sternly.
"I'm sorry, Miss Selwyn. For identification and security purposes, please hand over your wand." The lady spoke.
I panicked deep inside while I squeezed Draco's hand.
Well, I have to go impromptu.
"How dare you! Oh my God, out of my years in MACUSA I have never been treated like this! Like, do you even know who I am? I am Alexandra Selwyn, the rightful heir of the Selwyn family and I am not going to be treated differently just because I'm from a different country! Do you know who my dad is?!" I said loudly like a teenage girl having tantrums on her period.
It seemed to be working because more people began looking at us and the lady looked embarrassed this time.
"I am terribly sorry, Miss Selwyn. Please do proceed.. I will be stamping these application forms and you can go." The lady said quietly, quickly stamping Jack's application forms before handing it to us.
"Thank you." Draco said quietly, receiving the form before putting it inside his suitcase.
We turned around and walked away from the front desk, I turned and gave Draco a side wink in which he returned.
"I feel like 80 percent of my dignity is gone. I'm never doing that again." I sighed in relief that the horrible act is over.
"Whatever you say, Miss Selwyn." Draco smirked.
Our comfortable silence was broken when a small, blonde man walked over to us. He had darkened eyes and a huge scar on his cheekbone.
"Gibson." The man nodded curtly, walking closer while he shook Draco's hands.
"Yaxley." Draco nodded back, a hint of recognition on his face.
"What are you doing here? I haven't heard from you in months. How have you been doing?" Yaxley smiled a bit.
"I just submitted my forms for this Department, how about you? You look.. stressed." Draco pursed his lips.
"Oh, I've been trying my best to overwork Arthur Weasley, that blood-traitor. Seeming like the perfect way to get revenge." Yaxley said cooly.
"Revenge for what?" Draco asked, squeezing my hand to warn me not to do something.
"At his son's wedding.. that wretched Weasley twin hit me real bad that it made a scar, my wife didn't look at me for a week." Yaxley spat, pointing at the long scar on his cheek.
I hid a smile, fully knowing that George was the one who did it. Fred would likely use a spell, George would likely use his fists.
George, you never fail to amaze me.
"Well, I'm sorry to hear about that. But speaking of wives, the reason I've been busy was because of our marriage." Draco said before wrapping an arm around me. "This is my fiancé, Alexandra Selwyn."
The man turned to me in surprise before shaking my hand.
"I've heard a lot about you, how's your father? Ever since he'd settled in MACUSA, he's never been in business since." Yaxley frowned a bit.
"Doing pretty great, he's been practicing boxing for a while, he said he needed some way to get away from the stress these past few weeks." I shrugged.
"Ah, stress. We've been there too.. what is boxing?" Yaxley asked puzzlingly.
"Some sport in America where you have to punch a person." I said timidly.
"I guess his dark roots never did fade out.. glad to know he's still in our side." Yaxley chuckled. "Alright, I've got to go and see if it's still raining in my office.. if you wanted to be part of us, send me a letter, you've got potential."
Yaxley nodded at us before walking in a room with a large door.
As soon as Draco and I were able to reach the elevator, we gaped at each other.
"Selwyn's father was a Death Eater?!" I asked, pressing the ground floor button immediately while I panicked.
"Gibson's affiliated with the Death Eaters.. I can't believe it. But he's still not turned." Draco shook his head, staring at the empty space on his left arm.
I averted my gaze away from his arm, remembering that a mark should be in there.
"You knew him?" I asked, fixing my glasses on my face.
"Yeah, he's friends with my father. He always visited the Manor countless times." Draco explained while we exited when the elevator opened.
This time, the main hall was more crowded and full of people walking around in panic. There were loud whispers and people staring at the newspapers.
Draco and I pushed past the people, looking around for Hermione, Harry, and Ron around the place. I slightly turned my head down in case someone recognized me.
"Where the hell are they?" Draco asked, looking around the place for the trio who should've been here by now.
"Jack!"
Draco and I looked to see a brunette girl walking over to us with an upset look on her face.
I quickly turned around, putting space between us while I pretended to read the newspaper that very much included me.
"What are you doing here?" Draco quickly acted up, turning back into his role as Jack again.
And while I was watching them talk, I could slightly see the flickering of Jack's dark eyes into Draco's grey ones.
"Hobbs.." I whispered-yelled, he threw a quick look at me and I pointed at his eyes.
"Your eyes!" I mouthed, pointing at my eyes while the confused Selwyn girl seemed not to notice me yet.
"I can't believe you said you'll arrive before lunch yet it's the afternoon and you're still here! If I didn't trust my instincts, I don't know what else you could've done. Do you think I will let you go around and fool around? As if! Now, come here." Alexandra rolled her eyes, slapping Draco on the shoulder while I silently panicked.
The real Alexandra grabbed Draco by the shoulders, and before I could do anything to stop it, both of their lips made contact.
I gasped quietly, placing my hand over my mouth while I watched my best friend stiffen up.
My gaze was averted, worsening my anxiety even more as my heart beat even more loud when I saw Harry, Ron and Hermione about to exit the elevator, fully turned to themselves while they were chased by Yaxley.
I turned my head to the two in front of me dramatically. I almost yelled if it wasn't for my composure, because as soon as Alexandra pulled away from the kiss, she looked up into his eyes.
"Hey, your eyes look hella different-"
I was quick to run over and grab Draco's hand, seeing that the roots of his hair was slowly turning blonde. The footsteps of the trio were behind us so with a racing heart, I pulled Draco as fast as I could.
"Let's go!" I said, Draco took a last look at the puzzled Selwyn girl before we took off and ran into the apparition point.
Draco and I went inside, thankfully under the green lights of the four-cornered walls that surrounded us, Draco's face wasn't that recognizable.
Harry was the first to arrive while we pulled him as we yelled for the other two. People began looking around and realized that Harry was there.
"Hurry!" I yelled, seeing as Yaxley was almost catching up to Ron and Hermione with a pointed wand.
As soon as Draco and I's fingers came in contact with Hermione and Ron, we immediately apparated out of the Ministry.
I shut my eyes close, the feeling of being enclosed in a tube with my stomach being sucked out was overwhelming again and it made me nauseous.
I opened my eyes and we were now in a forest, I fell on the leaves on the dirty path while I rested my aching legs from all that running. The fast running earlier had too much pressure and it shocked my leg muscles.