your the fire inside the man || open || 18+

[Serendipity]

The Malfoy name had been through its ups and downs over the last ten years, and Draco Malfoy had had his fair share of those ups and downs also. A lot of which he hadn't had a say over, which was what many people didn't realize. It had literally been do or die for the Malfoy's nine years ago - at least it had been that way for Draco who had been only seventeen at the time. And what was a seventeen year old boy to do when someone like his father, Lucius Malfoy, took sides with The Dark Lord in his efforts to rid the magical realm of all 'mudbloods'. Growing up in a family so full of hatred - it was no wonder Draco, as a seventeen year old boy had been so messed up and conflicted. Some would think otherwise but he had known right from wrong back then, he just couldn't act apon his feelings and do the 'right' thing. Well, at least he had done one right thing back then - if you could call it right, he had still let all those Death Eaters into the Hogwarts Castle- when he hadn't been able to bring himself to kill his Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. If he was grateful for one thing, he was grateful that Snape had interrupted him that night and taken it upon himself to finish the task Voldemort had given specifically to Draco. At least he hadn't taken that one step too far, at least he hadn't killed someone.

The tall blonde shivered at those past memories as he made his way through the large brass double doors of Gringrott's Bank. Snape had protected him from a life of torment and regret and he was thankful to him for that. And Draco had grieved, for both Snape's and Dumbledore's deaths, they had both made such an impact on his life, more then anyone would ever know. But Draco didn't like to dwell on the past and quickly pushed the thoughts from his mind. He was still paying for what had happened all those years ago, now twenty-eight he realized that he would be paying for his mistakes for the rest of his life. That's why it had been so hard for him to get his career -and life- in order. For four of those years after Voldemort had been defeated, Draco Malfoy had sought solitude at the Malfoy Manor with his mother who was also regretting what she had done but swore it had all been in an attempt to protect her son. He'd heard a few rumors spreading around about him and his whereabouts, many had assumed that he had fled with the rest of the Death Eaters. So it had been a shock to many in the wizarding world when he finally came out of solitude to find out that he had been at the Malfoy Manor the entrie time and not involved with any Death Eater activities.

His father however was a different story, Lucius hadn't been able to give up his Death Eater ways and as a result had landed himself in Azkaban. Draco hadn't seen his father in five years, it had been his 21st birthday the last time he had spoken to the man and that hadn't been a pleasant experience. His father -again- had gone on and on about what a disgrace Draco was to him for not continuing Voldemort's work, and that the Malfoy name wasn't worthy of such a 'spoilt brat'. But that was Lucius for you and Draco had merely shrugged the experience off and told himself that that would be the last time he saw his father, it was obvious the man was never going to change.

Draco sighed and adjusted his robes in frustration at the direction his own thoughts were going, he had to stop dwelling on the past and just get on with his life. He didn't care what people thought anyway, and he certainly didn't have to give them an explanation. And just because the Dark Lord was dead and he was no longer a Death Eater (not that he'd been one for very long) anymore did not mean that he had to be polite to anyone either, which people were quickly finding out. He still had the wrath of a Malfoy in him after all, which he supposed he got from his father, it was in his blood, it was just how it was. People would either have to accept that or get out of his way.

Woman I need your guiding hand,
show me the way to the promised land
the fever that burns in my heart
your the fire inside the man

The blonde came to a sudden halt just a meter outside the large double doors he had just come through and swore. He had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts he hadn't realized that something was terribly wrong with the picture in front of him. Did Goblins usually try and kill other witches and wizards? Weren't they supposed to be under the Ministry's control? Grey orbs blinked a couple of times just to make sure that he wasn't imagining the scene in front of him. No, I'm not bloody imagening anything. That Goblin just clubbed that poor wizard over the head! It was Chaos in Diagon Alley, and it had irrupted out of nowhere! Draco found himself quickly re-entering the bank, though many others hurried passed him to see what was happening outside. "Get out of my way you git!" The man scowled and pushed passed the crowd in search of a more secure location where he could apparate from. The room he found to lock himself inside would be satisfactory enough even if it was what looked like a store room filled with rows upon rows of filing cabinets.

"Damn it" The violent curse echoed throughout the endless room and was repeated several times more before there was a loud thud as Draco slammed his hand into the nearest filing cabinet. Why the hell couldn't he apparate? He wanted to get out of here and report to the Ministry's office, whatever had happened outside Gringrotts needed to be reported and who else to do it then an off duty Auror who had witnessed the outbreak? That's right, Draco Malfoy former Death Eater, was now an Auror - of course he was on probation. The Ministry for Magic still didn't trust him, but he was lucky enough to have at least earned the title, even if he was still assigned to desk duty. Which explained the briefcase he had with him and the very business like robes he wore, just to show that he was serious about this position and he would do the damned desk work until his probation period was over without complaining.

Draco frowned, his blonde locks slipping from his magicked slicked back look and pushed another filing cabinet in front of the large mahogany door he was hiding behind. For some reason his wand wasn't working either, he couldn't use it at all and so he had to push three large filing cabinets against the door in order to be able to safely lock himself in the room. Well if he couldn't apparate his way out of there he was going to barricade himself in this room until he came up with a plan of escape. But it was hard work moving all those filing cabinets on his own, and though he was toned in all the right places thanks to good genes, he wasn't used manual labor - he didn't think any witch or wizard would be used to it, that's what they had gone to Hogwarts and had wands for!

And when the world is closing in
you come save me once again.

Steel grey orbs narrowed upon the barricaded door in front of him as though if he stared at it hard enough he would be able to see straight through it and find out what was going on behind it. There was a spell for exactly that, but he'd given up trying to use his wand, it clearly wasn't much good. He was slowly beginning to realize that something to do with the loss of everyones magic was to blame for the chaotic scenes beyond those doors, after all he was quite skilled in the art of spells and apparation, there was no possible way he had made a mistake and pronounced a spell or two wrong. There was another explanation for all of this...but what? Who or what had the power to take away magic like this? The thought baffled him and so he decided until he knew more information he would only focus on getting out of Diagon Alley or he would stay in this damned room until it had quietened down out there, then he would make his escape.

Yet as the screams grew louder and the bangs and thuds grew closer, Draco knew that he couldn't stay in the file room forever. His gaze quickly searched the room for something he could use to defend himself if need be, but the blonde quickly realized that his briefcase would be his only form of defense against the crazy mob just beyond the door. Merlin, this was not going to be good. He thought and with another frustrated sigh he started shoving filing cabinets back out of the way of the door. Why the hell wasn't his wand working, he could really use some magic right about now!

"Okay...you can do this," He murmured to himself and flung the door to the file room open, he swiftly lifted his briefcase up over his head so that he would have some kind of protection against people throwing things at each other. His charcoal colored robes flurried behind him as he quickly made a run for the large brass doors at the front of the building. He dodged bodies and debris easily, jumping over a couple of mahogany benches that looked as though they had been flung hastily aside in someone else's effort to escape. Draco didn't even break a sweat as he reached the front doors of Gringrotts Bank, if he thought things inside the bank were a mess, he wasn't looking forward to what lay on the other side of these doors. Perhaps he should have found something else other then his briefcase to defend himself with...

And if there's a storm that's close at hand
you'll push it away, you'll understand
And I'll do anything, just to please you
I'll do anything just to know that I can hold on to you.

But it was too late to turn back now and search for something, he could only work with what he had - stealth and speed. Even as an Auror - and of course magic- you had to be fit, sometimes you'd be in situations where you were on foot and in order to succeed you had to be faster than your opponent. So Draco made himself think of this situation as merely another training exercise the Auror Department had given him. However, even in those training exercises he still had the use of his wand. The blonde made a sprint for it, shoving would be attackers out of the way with his elbows as he went. He was running so fast, everything was a blur around him and because he was keeping his head down so that he wouldn't get hit with any flying debris he couldn't quite focus on where it was exactly he was headed. He just knew that if he kept going straight he would eventually find an exit.

And with people running around like the crazy mob they were it wasn't long before someone whom was lying on the ground that Draco had tried to jump over grabbed his foot. One minute he was sprinting towards the other end of Diagon Alley and the next he was stumbling forwards. And he stumbled straight into another body, his torso slamming hard against theirs and despite his best efforts to keep himself standing, he brought both of them crashing to the ground with a loud thud, his briefcase skidded across the ground and was lost in the chaos. There was no mistaking that the body he'd run into was clearly female and if he were in any other situation he'd probably enjoy the feel of those lush curves against his hard chest for a little longer.

He swore softly under his breath and quickly got to his feet, his hand came out to help the female to her feet, it probably wasn't a good idea for her to be on the ground as it wouldn't be long before she got unknowingly trampled. His breath caught in his throat as he looked down at the woman he'd basically tackled to the ground and a sneer came to his lips. He couldn't help it, despite all the changes he had gone through, he still very much disliked Harry Potter and his group of friends. And he'd just happened to literally run into one of them - Hermione Granger lay sprawled at his feet. For a split second he thought about leaving her there, but his conscience got in the way once again and with an angry growl he said, "You can thank me later, Granger," as he reached down and grabbed her arm, yanking her to her feet. "Get up!"

Whenever I feel like just giving up
whenever my dreams just fade away
I just return to my heart 'cause I know that I'll find you there