The Killing Kind ~Lucius Malfoy~

A Search

Alexis sat in a salmon-coloured armchair, her fingers fiddling with a button on its arm. Lucius sat on the arm of her chair, Alexis's shoulder grazing his side. Demetri stood to her other side, his arms folded over his chest. He appeared intimidating when he stood like that. 

They faced a nervous-looking girl, with brown hair. Her brown eyes moved from person to person, taking them all in. 

"Astoria," Demetri said, "thanks for speaking with us." 

"Of course." Her hands shook as she clutched a cup of tea. "You said it was about Draco." 

"It is," Demetri replied.

"How do you know Draco?" Lucius asked, his eyes narrowed on the poor girl.

Recognition flickered in her gaze as she looked at Lucius. "Well, I-" 

"It's fine, Astoria," Demetri reassured her. "Her and Draco are seeing each other." 

Alexis felt Lucius's body tighten next to her. 

"What was your last name?" Lucius asked. 

"Greengrass," she answered, a shy smile on her lips. 

Alexis placed a hand on Lucius's thigh. "It's really not the time, Lucius." 

Astoria watched this small gesture and Alexis quickly removed her hand. 

"Draco's missing," Demetri finally said. 

"He's missing?" Astoria almost dropped her cup. She placed it on the coffee table. "What do you mean?"

"Have you seen him?" Demetri asked.

"I-" Astoria paused to think. "N-no, I haven't seen him since last weekend." Demetri and Alexis exchanged a look. "Where do you think he is?" 

"Has he said anything... odd to you? About leaving or anything?" Alexis asked. 

Astoria stared at her hands in her lap. "He mentioned something about wanting to move away. We talked about running away together." She smiled sadly. "But it was just talk. We weren't serious." Her big brown eyes met Alexis. "He wouldn't have left without me. I'm sure of it." 

Lucius stood suddenly. "This is pointless. We're wasting our time. This girl doesn't know anything." 

Alexis stood. "Lucius, would you stop? At least it's something." 

Demetri looked down at the girl, handing her a piece of parchment. "This is our address. Can you please let us know if you hear or see anything?" 

Astoria took the parchment hesitantly, her lips pursed. 

"Astoria, this is his father." Demetri gestured to Lucius. "His mother, Narcissa, is at home in hysterics because of this. Please. You need to tell us if he comes here." 

Astoria looked up at Demetri. "Is there anything I can do to help?" 

"You can help by keeping us informed." 

"Okay, I will." 

Alexis walked down the street between Lucius and Demetri. 

"Did you see anything when you read her mind?" Alexis asked.

"No," Demetri answered. "She wasn't withholding anything from us. She doesn't know where he is." 

Lucius looked at them curiously but remained silent. 

"And how did you know he was seeing her?" Alexis asked.

"Because I read his mind." Demetri smirked. "I would, um, supervise their dates." 

"Supervise?" Lucius asked. "Why did Draco need a chaperon?" 

"He was nervous to go alone," Demetri lied. 

"That's ridiculous-" 

"It doesn't matter." Alexis stopped walking, the two men following her lead. "Where do we go from here?" 

Her question was met with silence. 

"I could check his wand at the Ministry," Demetri suggested. "He had to register it to work there. It might tell us where he is." 

"Why would you not suggest that from the beginning?" Lucius asked. 

"Because the system can be finicky," Demetri explained. "And if he was kidnapped and his kidnapper isn't an idiot, they would have disabled the tracking. Besides, the Ministry is closed for another hour." 

Lucius glanced down at his watch. The sun was just coming up. Alexis felt tired from not sleeping, but was used to being up all night. 

Alexis leaned against the corridor wall, watching Lucius pace back and forth. 

"Why can't we go in with him?" Lucius glanced at the black door at the end of the corridor. 

"Because it's the Department of Mysteries," Alexis said, her arms crossed tightly against her chest. 

"He's taking forever," Lucius announced. 

Alexis reached for his hand, drawing him to a stop. "It'll be okay, Lucius." 

He leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. "He should have been home by now." 

Alexis thought back to the note they left Narcissa, explaining what they were doing. In the note, they had asked her to stay there and wait for him in case he came home. She was to send a patronus if he came home. As the hours stretched by, the hope of him being gone through his own free will diminished. 

The door suddenly opened, revealing Demetri. Lucius took a step away from Alexis as if they had been caught. 

Alexis looked at Demetri. "And?" 

He looked back at her and nodded. "Let's go." 

As the adrenaline pumped into her veins, the three of them left the Ministry.