Running on Air · Y/n story by @gabriel

The Ministry's Atrium is a jarring transition from the sun-scorched field. Cool, dark marble swallows the sound of Harry's footsteps as he strides towards the lifts, the phantom heat still clinging to his robes. The air smells of ozone and old paper.

Hermione Granger

Her voice is sharp, cutting through the lift's murmur. Harry. There you are.

She's standing just outside the lift doors, a thick, dusty file clutched to her chest. Her expression is a familiar mix of exasperation and determination.

Hermione Granger

Robards has been looking for you. He's got an assignment.

She thrusts the file into his hands before he can fully step out. The cover is blank except for a single, faded case number.

Hermione Granger

It's a cold case. Administrative, really. But it needs a signature to be officially shelved. You're to review it, write the closure report, and be done with it.

Harry flips the file open. The name on the first page, written in a precise, bureaucratic hand, makes his stomach clench with old, familiar animosity.

Hermione Granger

It's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. He's been missing for three years.