Winds of Desire

Escaped

It is four weeks after Harry had first found out about the escaped Death Eaters when he and Ron apparate to the Ministry after using those weeks to gather all information possible. Ron is excited to be helping Harry but is currently complaining about having had another meal the night before with Draco and Hermione.

"Am I going to have to be around that bloody couple all the time now? I can hardly take it Harry, I see her all the time and it's hard to get over her when she's right there!" Ron complains, but Harry doesn't listen at first.

"It is over with you and Hermione and you need to realize that. Now shish up so we can concentrate on what to do!" Harry responds to his best friend, waving his hand to quiet him. There is a time for life outside of work and it isn't right now.

"Right, sorry, so how are we going to get the lot back to Azkaban?" Ron asks, remembering why they are at work after hours on this night.

"Well, we have ourselves a new mission to find them and it probably won't be easy," Harry tells him, grabbing the Daily Prophet which he has been reading it every day to try and find new information his Department may have not caught already. There is nothing in the paper that points to any other Azkaban escapes. This leads Harry to think that Kingsley, who is the Ministry of Magic, knows nothing of the escape of the Carrows, Dolohov, Zabini, or the others.

Knowing that Kingsley has no phone as mobile phones aren't popular in the wizarding world still (Harry, his immediate friends, and Draco are the only ones he knows that have one) Harry decides he will have to cast a Patronus to get ahold of Kingsley. He will have him come into the Ministry at once even though he probably already is home for and resting for the night. It is now nearing seven in the evening.

Harry sits in the comfy black chair in the head office of his which is very large and decorated in his favorite things. A picture of Ginny and Harry right after they had brought baby James home is his favorite and it sits right beside his computer. There are also pictures of the Weasley family on the walls, and even a picture of Harry and his cousin Dudley Dursley (who is on friendly terms with Harry now but Harry still doesn't really talk to Vernon and Petunia), and many other pictures of various important things in his life. His office is lined with many important books such as some of Hermione's favorites which she suggested of course, A History of Magic.

Ron follows Harry in and sits on a couch in the corner, staring silently at the picture of Hermione, himself, and Harry back before the war. They are sitting near the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room and laughing like old times in the photo, and it gives Ron a jab of sadness, why couldn't they go back and fix things in life?

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry's stag of a patronus leaves the room in a flash to give Kingsley the message he had just conducted.

"Ron, we have to get Draco to come here with us, put your differences aside for the night. Kingsley will want to know everything he saw," Harry tells Ron.

Ron's face immediately turns angry. "Bloody wonderful, let's invite your new friend to the party then!"

Harry ignores his comment and picks up his mobile phone to call Ginny as he does not have Draco's number, not really caring to. Draco agrees to come and is on his way to meet them in the Auror office.

Suddenly a strong knock on the door startles the two boys.

"Come in," Harry beckons.

Kingsley Shacklebolt, as tall and threatening as ever, storms into the large office looking angry he was summoned at such a late hour.

"What is going on Potter?! Where's the Malfoy boy?" Kingsley asks with his gruff voice, looking frantically around the room. Harry eyes Ron as if to say told you!

"Here sir." Malfoy's soft voice drawls, coming from the door. He walks in and joins Ron on the couch. Ron immaturely stands up and walks to the very far side of the room to sit again, as far away from Malfoy as possible on a recliner.

Harry looks at Ron with a scowl, will Ron ever grow up?

"Who is it did you see Malfoy?" Kingsley questions him, towering over him like a skyscraper.

"There was Dolohov, the Carrow siblings, and the Zabinis, that is all I remember as I did not recognize the others for they were not in the inner circle like my family. Amycus Carrow tells me that more is probably going to come out soon, they have a plan to breakout I assume," Draco answers Kingsley, thinking hard on what all the woman said to him that morning when she interrogated him in his own home.

"Just wonderful," sighs Kingsley, "I thought we were done with this mess."

"So did I Shacklebolt," Harry adds, shaking his head.

"I hoped they were too, I have no desire to see Father right now or ever again. It has been so nice without him," Draco adds while Ron looked at him and snorts, not believing Draco would never want to see his father, who he used to threaten people back in Hogwarts with all the time.

"Potter, we need to go to Azkaban now to investigate the cells there. Malfoy, Weasley, you come as well, that's an order," Kingsley directs, looking seriously at the boys.

"Why me sir?" Draco asks, not desiring to go because he knows who is still there.

"You are an ex-Death Eater Malfoy, you can help us out by trying to think how they do," Kingsley states.

Ron snidely says. "Still seems like a Death Eater to me, once a Death Eater always a Death Eater in my book!"

"Shut it Weasley, would you just stop?" Draco turns and yells back at him.

Kingsley is also glaring at Ron, Harry just rolls his eyes and picks up some documents that they need to bring to Azkaban with them, pictures of all the Death Eaters in capture that they could look at and check off who was there and who was not.

Draco feels uneasy about the trip to Azkaban. What will the Death Eaters say when they see him with Weasley and Potter? What will Father say to him? He doesn't have much time to think about this because Kingsley has already ordered them to get ready and leave. He knows he is in trouble already by Lucius because of how he treated the Death Eaters this morning.

They walk to a place in Harry's office where there isn't much room but the most they could get, and put one of each hand on top of another's hand. Then before they knew it they are spinning in air and then land on a ledge near the wizard prison, Azkaban.

The prison looks as scary and unwelcoming as ever. There are many Aurors and other Ministry personnel surrounding the property like ants, and there are ten guards near the entry way armed with swords and other weapons as well as wands. There are no longer dementors after the war because they can't be trusted after so many of them turning sides. Kingsley found some Aurors and interrogated them with Harry by his side.

The scenery of the ocean and horizon was rather majestic and breath-taking as Azkaban is in the middle of the ocean. This is Draco and Ron's first time here, and they both feel equally terrified of what is inside and didn't know what at all to expect. Ron stands and watches the ocean deep in thought as Draco decides to just stand by Harry and wait to enter as much as he didn't want to, he did like to help out on the good side now.

Harry leans into Draco's ear and whispers. "I know you are worried about what your father might say so if you want you can pretend you loathe me still, I'll understand."

Draco shakes his head smirking, not taking his determined eyes off the entrance as he is scared. "No, it's fine. I already crossed the line with them by being with Granger and I don't care anymore, the war is over."

"Still doesn't change how I loathe you!" Ron adds, joining them again.

"Weasley, no time for that now! If I hear one more comment from you then you are suspended from the Ministry for a month! Don't forget I still have my eye on you for assaulting Malfoy the first time!" Kingsley bellows at him, making Ron shut up.

Harry pushes Ron to walk ahead as Kingsley leads all four of them toward the entrance.

Kingsley walks in first into the prison with Harry at his heels, Draco and Ron somewhat lag behind, their hearts palpitating. Ron glares at Draco the whole time they walk forward.

"Speed up Weasley you snail!" Draco says impatiently but quietly as Ron hesitates to enter for a moment. Ron looks back at him dangerously but does say anything again within Kingsley's hearing range.

________

Hermione and Ginny finish their dinner and Hermione levitates the dishes to wash as Ginny breast-feeds James. She then lays on Ginny and Harry's couch, stroking her swollen stomach which is even a little bigger now than two days ago.

"What do you think they are doing?" Hermione asks Ginny thoughtfully.

"I would guess they went to try and catch the Death Eaters, what they do best," Ginny answers with a shrug and a little grin, thinking of how hard-working her husband is.

Hermione feels a pang of worry; she hopes they were all okay. She hopes Lucius doesn't hurt Draco.

"Hermione, you said yourself, Harry's the best, they will all be fine so stop your worrying," Ginny reassures her, seeing her friend's concerned eyes.

_________

Draco and Ron do a double take when they see what is inside, Harry has to urge them to keep walking and start doing their job.

A man that Harry recognizes from the Auror office shakes his and Kingsley's hands. This man, named Mark Hinkler, stays permanently within Azkaban to keep watch on most days and he gives Kingsley the report about the Death Eater's escape and how he and his men believe it happened. This visually angers Kingsley because he feels if they were doing their job no one would have escaped. There are so many jail cells, too many to count, and they are mostly all filled with Voldemort's ex- followers. How are they going to find the right ones?

The walls are wet and dirty, and the place is very noisy with the calls from the Death Eaters. Most of the cells smell of sweat and dung.

"Bloody hell," Ron whispers out loud.

Harry and Draco turn to look at him, but Draco is in awe as well. He is thanking Harry and whoever fought for him in his trial that day very much now in his head.

Kingsley stops walking and turns to look at Draco. "Malfoy, tell me, if they escaped through the wall last time, how could they have escaped now? Had your parents ever mentioned anything on their tactics?"

Draco thinks hard, it is hard to though because he starts to hear his name being shouted to his horror and he refuses to look up to see who all was shouting at him and tries his best to block it out. "Erm, no sir, Father mentioned once that a few had escaped from the windows somehow."

Kingsley nods and then looks at the windows; sure enough there is a broken window just feet away from them. They walk toward it and discover it is neatly cut, so it must've been broken by wand. Kingsley examines the window. "This must be how. This window has no bars. We must double check all have bars on them now and we still have to go looking for the other lot that escaped!" And he did a spell to seal all the windows with very thick black bars, similar to the ones that were already on the cells.

But Draco isn't listening, he hears his name come from a familiar voice. Harry and Ron are both looking at Draco as well to see how he reacts to his father screaming at him.

"Draco, my son! You are here, oh my wonderful boy! You came to get me out of here!" Lucius cries out, clutching to the rusty bars of his cell.

Draco coldly looks at him without any facial expression and didn't move.

"Come here son, please?" Begs Lucius, tears coming from his eyes now.

"Go see what he says," Beckons Harry to Draco.

Draco listens to Harry and walks slowly toward his father. He arrives at the cell and looks into his father's face. But the man in front of him doesn't look like his father anymore. His usual long blonde hair is much longer, dirty and graying and he has a beard almost as long as his chest. The only thing Draco can recognize is the gray eyes that are identical to his.

Lucius clutches his hands to his son's face. A couple of Aurors who are very nearby race to Draco's side but Harry sends them off on their way because he knows Draco needs to see his father whether he thinks he does or not.

"I miss you and your beautiful mum. It's so good to see you and I am sorry how I ever treated you both! I can't wait to break free of this wretched place, I'm so glad you came to get me!" Lucius cries to his son, melting down to his knees.

Draco's eyes grow big and watery, he does not want to cry, and he hates his father but at the same time does not like seeing him this way. He is still his family as much as he hates to admit it.

"I'm not here to get you Father, I can't. I'm sorry-" Lucius must not have heard him because he then carries on conversation.

"Draco, tell me what has been happening with you," Lucius cries, desperate for communication. His body leans pathetically against the cell bars as if Draco is about to open them.

Draco looks at Ron, Harry, and Shacklebolt who are still examining the prison with the prisoners pretending they aren't listening. The Death Eaters still shout and scream at them and threaten death upon them if they don't let them out.

They aren't paying attention so Draco decides to tell his father things he wanted him to know. "Father, I have changed since the war. I am not a Death Eater anymore and never really was," He starts, pausing to show Lucius the mark on his left arm which is just a scar now like his father's. But Draco has crossed his out as much as possible. "I am in love with Hermione Granger, a muggle-born, and we are having a baby. I rather you stay in here and die than come back out and hurt mum and me like you always have. That's what's going on with me! I believe you deserve to be in here father," Draco spits at his father, standing to walk away but he is too slow.

Lucius punches Draco in the nose and breaks it and then grabs Draco's throat. "How dare you, you snotty little prick? How can my own son mate with a mudblood? How can you turn your back on us?! You are no son of mine!" Lucius is now choking Draco, his hands are very tightly wrapped around his throat and Draco is turning purple and losing oxygen fast. He screams for help but it only comes out with a grunting sound and Lucius holds on for a good five minutes, there are no employees around.

Luckily Harry notices what is going on and he hit Lucius Malfoy with a Jelly Finger curse, causing Lucius' fingers to fall like jello back onto his hands. Lucius then looks at his son, and down at his hands, not believing what his hands just did to his son and feels ashamed.

Draco immediately falls to the concrete floor and loses consciousness. His nose bleeds badly and dark bruises form around his throat. Lucius screams pointlessly that he is very sorry and keeps repeating himself over and over again, crying.

"Draco! Draco wake up!" Screams Harry as the Death Eaters around him jeer and yell at him, "Potter! YOU WILL DIE AT OUR HANDS WHEN WE LEAVE THIS PLACE we will revenge what you have done to Him," repeatedly as they shake the cell bars and spit at him.

Draco is not coming to, and Kingsley finishes his task at barring the prison windows and runs to Draco's aide.

"If only Hermione was here, she'd know what to do, but with her being pregnant she would probably die of a heart attack seeing him this way so we will leave her be. No one tell her until we get there, she's too vulnerable to deal with this!" Harry yells at Kingsley, who takes Draco up into his huge arms, placing Draco's wand back in his wand pocket because a nearby Death Eater, who happens to be Yaxley, reaches out and almost grasps it in his hands after it had fallen.

They leave the inside of the prison to a quieter outside and lay Draco on the ground, his father screams for him as they leave and the Death Eaters just laugh at Lucius as he reaches out for his son who is no longer in sight.

"He's a traitor anyway, let him die Lucius! I heard what he said!" Yells Thorfinn Rowle in disgust.

______

Ron thinks hard of some of the spells Hermione used in the past, but he can't, even though they lived together for a year. He just can't remember and he wishes he could because he is actually saddened by watching Draco nearly grasping for his life for those few moments, just imagining how Hermione would be devastated if the father of her child died. Wow, Ron really cares for Hermione...

Finally, after about thirty minutes of trying to wake him up after surrounding him, now outside of the prison on the cliff's floor, Draco wakes up. He coughs up blood and then vomits, this concerns Kingsley so he feels that he should be taken to St. Mungo's.

"I'm f-fine; really Shacklebolt there's no need!" Draco pleads but to no change of heart as Kingsley tells Harry and Ron to apparate to St. Mungo's at once while he calls for a thestral because Draco is not strong enough to apparate.

The boys did as Kingsley told them but decides to make a stop first. The thestral arrives to Kingsley in a nick of time. Kingsley Shacklebolt adjusts Draco onto the animal and then slides in behind him, holding him steady as they take off.

After about an hour, they finally arrive at the hospital to an awaiting Ron and Harry, and Shacklebolt escorts Draco in after feeding the thestral meat and sending it on its way.

Draco thinks of how he dreads Hermione hearing about this happening and her being pregnant and worried about him.

The Healers escort him in, taking him away from Harry, Ron, and Shacklebolt and performing spells to repair his nose at once. Well, this is the last place Draco expected to be on this night... he planned a nice night with Hermione. Looks like plans would have to be postponed because Kingsley is not letting Draco out of his sight ever since they had left Azkaban and now he is being admitted into St. Mungo's.

A/N: Yay! Halfway through!!! I hope you guys have re-read the story because it is now way better and better edited. PLEASE leave a review to tell me what you think so far! Whew editing is hard work!

-Lindsey