Who Will Stop the Rain

The Other Time

"Can you tell us what happened, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco clenched and unclenched his fists in his lap, trying to keep his fear and temper in check but failing miserably. He'd been sat in the Auror's Office for hours now, being asked the same questions by Auror Creevey over and over again. It was like they were trying to trip him up, make him contradict himself, but Draco's story had remained the same.

"We left Flourish and Blotts at around one-thirty, we were going to the ice cream parlour. He ran ahead of me and I lost sight of him. I tried to keep up with him but...he'd disappeared. I found his books on the ground..."

Draco's voice trailed. Creevey nodded and scribbled something down in his notepad before asking, "If Scorpius went missing at one-thirty, why did it take you until three to report him missing?"

"Because I went looking for him!" he snapped impatiently. "I checked every shop, every alleyway, everywhere I thought Scorpius might go. I thought he couldn't have gone far. But when I couldn't find him, I came here."

His shoulders sagged and he put his head in his hands. He was living his worst nightmare and these idiots were wasting time making him repeat himself. Creevey looked inquiringly at Draco.

"Did Scorpius have any particular difficulties, Mr. Malfoy?" he asked lightly, although his expression was tense. "Anything that might have caused him to run away?"

Draco's hands slid from his face. He hesitated before admitting, "Not particularly. I mean...I suppose Scorpius is a sensitive child. And our relationship has been a little...difficult recently."

"Problems at home with the wife?" Creevey inquired.

"Ex-wife," Draco corrected him gruffly. "Scorpius has had a lot to deal with lately, but as I've already said, he wouldn't have gone off anywhere without telling his mother or me."

"What about your other son?" asked Creevey without looking up from his notes. "He died a while ago, yes?"

"Two years," Draco confirmed shortly.

"You think perhaps that could have something to do with Scorpius running away?" Creevey ventured.

"He didn't run away!" shouted Draco. The room fell silent and people stared at him, but Draco didn't care. "Look, you're wasting time arguing with me about this. Someone has taken him. He's not lost, and he didn't run away. Now I need you to do your fucking job and find him!"

Creevey frowned, "What makes you so sure he was taken?"

"Because there's a killer on the loose and he's targeting boys my son's age!" he snarled. "And given my history..."

"Being a Death Eater?" asked Creevey coldly. Draco glowered at him.

"Ex-Death Eater. But yes, given who I am and what's been happening...I mean, what am I supposed to think?"

"Mr. Malfoy, I highly doubt that the Origami Killer is involved," Creevey assured him. "Your son is probably a runaway and will turn up in a couple hours. We'll send out an Amber Alert and continue to search for Scorpius overnight. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred the kids turn up within a few hours."

"And the other time?" asked Draco darkly. Creevey didn't answer. Instead he patted Draco roughly on the shoulder.

"Go home," he said gently. "We'll contact you if we have any more questions."

With that Creevey closed his notebook and walked away, leaving Draco reeling.

"Did they find him?" asked Astoria desperately.

Draco shook his head, "Nothing yet, but they're going to keep looking through the night."

They stood in the busy Atrium at the Ministry of Magic. Astoria had been asked to come in to the Aurors office to answer questions separately from Draco. Astoria clutched her purse so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"Do they think it's the Origami Killer?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Draco hesitated, "They say it's unlikely...but they haven't ruled out the possibility that it is."

Astoria burst into tears and punched Draco hard on the chest, "How could you let this happen? How could you lose our boy? Wasn't it enough losing Cetus?" Her words struck Draco like a physical blow and he let out a hard breath, trying to remain steady on his feet. Astoria's eyes widened in horror at her own words.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I didn't mean that. It's just...I miss him so much, Draco. Don't touch me, please..." Draco reached out to hug her but she recoiled like his mere touch caused her physical pain. She shook her head, "I'm already late for my meeting with them. Just...go home, Draco. You've done enough." She turned and walked in the direction of the golden elevators, sobbing. Draco stood there at a loss at what to do. He never thought his life could get any worse after Cetus had died, and the universe had answered resoundingly with mocking laughter - it can always get worse.