THE VISION THIEF - D. MALFOY

45. the walking time-bomb

It's like I forget the basic properties of human nature when I realize that is in fact, my very own father. The man I had been told all my life, died in a tragic accident, just to later be told he was killed off by the most evil wizard in history, finally, to be told that he was actually alive and in hiding that whole time.

It had been a hell of a last few months, discovering something new nearly every week, but this was by far the most shocking to me. The most uprooting experience was for sure as I stood below, looking up at my Dad.

And I have no idea what to do. I simply stand there, absolutely dumbstruck. He has yet to notice me, and I doubt he will. There are hundreds of people down below and I just can't believe he is so out in the open. So available to anyone's gaze.

I want to yell at him to get somewhere less in the open, to get out of this place and away from the Death Eaters. But yelling across a loud and busy room, with a full-on ball going on, is not my greatest idea. So I square my shoulders, turning towards the doors leading back out to the main entrance of the building.

I walk fast, continually looking between what's ahead of me, and back to where my father stands. He's still talking to Leo, it's looking a little less like an argument and I wonder what they possibly could be discussing. But my timing is awful because they quickly look down, towards the center of the room, before moving.

I'm not sure where they could be going, but maybe if I make it up to the second level, I can catch them in time. Right as I make it out of the doors leading out of the ballroom, I hear the dreaded sound of Malfoy shouting my name from right behind me.

I stop in place, still feeling enraged. I spin right around on my heel, facing him, and nearly ready to kill him. He stops immediately, almost jumping back, and for once in his life, actually looking scared of me.

"What do you need?" I growl.

"You can't go out here alone!" He tries to tell me. I take several steps towards him, "I found my Dad, and I need to get to him before it's too late. Don't ruin this Malfoy!" I say in such an angry and demanding tone, he looks seriously taken aback.

"You forgot this," Is all he says, before he opens his coat pocket and grabs my wand, holding it out for me. I just look at him in surprise. I blink hard before I snatch my wand from his hand. I begin to turn around, but before I do, I pause.

"Get Ron and Harry, and meet me out here. Hurry!" I urge. He simply nods, giving me one last steady, silver gaze, before he turns back around and rushes inside. I look around the front lobby of the building. I scan from one end of the building to the other. Two large staircases on either side.

I look down at my stupid red heels, and then back up, looking at the staircase to the right of me. I roll my eyes before I quickly rip off those painful shoes. I shove my wand into the tight sleeve of my dress, before quickly taking off sprinting towards the stairs. The front lobby remains nearly empty, making it all too easy to get there quickly.

I urge myself to move even faster. Time is limited, and I can only pray my father is still somewhere upstairs. I round the corner of the staircase, almost running into an older couple. "Sorry!" I shout, nearly giving them a heart attack, but I carry on.

I skip steps, urging my legs to carry me even faster. When I reach the very top, I gasp loudly. I'm looking right at my father and Augustus Rookwood, engaged in a duel. Leo, who was with my Dad just a few minutes ago, is now nowhere to be found.

Rookwood doesn't notice me, his back is turned to me. I watch in horror as the two throw spell after spell at each other. A fight like I have never seen before. And my Dad, the closest I have been to him in 16 years.