Coffee with a side of Amortentia

Chapter 3

He stood in his lab, and ran a hand through his hair, letting himself laugh nervously, smiling. Then he pumped his fist, letting his youthful excitement take over.

A real date!! An actual date with a girl!

Draco threw himself into his chair, leaning back, still grinning. He reached for his notebook, and knew he couldn't let his thoughts distract him from his work. He picked up the rat that was still bare, no fur visible, and made sure it was healthy, before setting it back into the cage, and walking to his potions set up.

He watched it for a moment and sighed, summoning his dragon hide gloves, strapping them on, grabbing his safety goggles that he dearly despised, even though they are the reason he wasn't blinking yet. He then pulled back on his tunic, so his dress shirt wasn't baggy and then turned on his cauldrons, using his wand to get all the ingredients he had used for the failed hair growth tonic. He examined each of them, and set up three different stations, so he could try three different ideas. Draco added the basic independent items, making sure each cauldron stayed at the same temperature and all retained a blueish tinge, as he shredded up boomslang skin, squeezed the juice from glow worms and then added fumes from dragon flames, one into each.

Draco then turned up the heat and turned his attention to the boomslang skin induced tonic, not hearing the bubbling behind him. He then turned around, just as the dragon's flame cauldron erupted, sending a shock wave through the room, throwing Draco across the room and into the wall, as his lab exploded with smoke and all the glass panels shattered. Fire was erupting everywhere, and crumpled on the floor, was his unconscious form.

The eruption had shaken most of the offices like a miniature earthquake, but working at the ministry, most of them knew that was not the case.

Back in her office, Hermione was writing a letter to another minister from her department, when the entire room shook, and her ink well fell over, spilling over the desk, as a few things fell off her desk. It stopped, and then the ministry's built in fire alarms started blaring.

"Shit-" She muttered, and got up, walking out her door, ad saw the smoke covering the roof, and knew it was from one of her labs. She ran the opposite way, and farther into the building. As she ran, she was joined by Harry and a few other aurors, who were sent to make sure it wasn't an attack. The smoke grew thick, and the group cast bubblehead charms, as Hermione ignored Harry's constant insistence for her to leave.

"This might be one of my employees!!" As she went ahead, and found the demolished lab, recognizing it, "No..."

The team started to try and put out the fires, as Hermione climbed through the rubble, and saw a form on the ground, burnt shirt and clothes. She quickly rushed over and turned him over and saw that it was Draco. He looked horrid, dehydrated obviously from how dry his skin was, along with the blackened soot on his face.

She grabbed under his arms, "Harry!! I found him!!"

It took a moment, but after a minute or two, Harry appeared, as they put out the fires.

He knelt beside her, "We need to get him into St. Mungo's. The amount of smoke he must have inhaled..." As he helped her pick Draco up, "GET THE LAB SAFE! WE FOUND THE SCIENTIST. THEN EVACUATE." HE yelled to his team, and then he apparated himself and Hermione to Mungo's, wondering what the hell must have been added to cause an explosion like this or almost kill someone, especially what had been added that Malfoy hadn't realized was dangerous. He had gotten an O in his N.E.W.T.S. Potions exam.

They got Malfoy to Mungo's, and instantly a nurse came and took him to a room. He sat beside Hermione, knowing she didn't like the hospital.

"Do you know what happened?" He asked, putting an arm around her shoulder. A simple head shakes.