Chapter 4

                                        

                                              
Published: June 10th, 2025

Harry's heartbeat was going crazy. It all came down to this. The Blood Tracker Spell had pinpointed this location all three times that he and Aunt Andy cast it. Canvasing the area around the building, he found a muggle who recognized Malfoy but couldn't tell him anything else.
Harry couldn't believe that Malfoy was hiding amongst muggles this whole time. For years, he had torn apart every Malfoy and Black property they could find. He searched all the old "friends" Malfoy had, too. Zabini had almost sued them after the third time they searched his assets. But Malfoy hadn't been seen or heard from since the day Harry "let" Malfoy escape.
Harry was still berating himself for letting a criminal go... for letting a wanted fugitive convince him to break the law. It shamed him, and he felt nothing but guilt. If Malfoy hurt someone or did something bad... it was his fault. He didn't know if Malfoy had done anything criminal since that day. Up until the muggle confirmed his photo, he didn't know if Malfoy was even alive. Harry felt a mixture of relief and happiness at knowing he was so close. He could redeem himself.
Even after four years, the senior Aurors still dropped digs on him for letting the disarmed "bitch" get the drop on him. He hated that everyone seemed to label Malfoy like that. Bitch, coward and worse names. He spent years studying Malfoy's case, and there were so many holes in it. The direct cuts to Malfoy's character seemed so personal, even though none of the Aurors knew Malfoy. Harry didn't understand their callous, derogatory remarks toward him.
Nearly all the Aurors and Death Eaters called him those names, even Malfoy's father. Malfoy's mum refused to discuss it or help Harry find him before she was whisked away to interrogation. Harry, being a trainee still, was not allowed to attend it. He didn't understand her reluctance, as she had lied to Voldemort just to get to Draco. Harry had testified for her, much to the Aurors' anger, and she got 10 to 20 years for it.
However, Hermione developed a Blood Tracker Charm. As it was a light spell, it could only be used by a family member who wanted to help their blood kin willingly. Harry convinced Andromeda that finding Draco would be in Draco's best interests. Her nephew was on the run and living on the fringe. It couldn't be good for him, he argued. She listened to his reasons and agreed to it, but she made him promise that he would help Draco at his trial. Harry agreed, praying that his lapse in judgment four years ago wouldn't get brought up.
A week ago, Aunt Andy cast the spell over a map of England. Dots appeared erratically on it, indicating blood kin. The brighter the dots, the closer they were related. Teddy was brighter than the Weasleys, as they were related distantly to her. When the Weasleys were all at Burrow, it became a single bright dot. Narcissa, in Azkaban to the North of Britain, was the single brightest dot, but there were probably a number of distant relations entombed there.
However, there were hundreds of dots across the country, but there was a bright dot in the West End of London. Harry guessed that Draco, Aunt Andy's nephew, was it. When she cast it on a map of London, Harry got an address. She cast it again the next night and two days later, and the dot, which was brighter than Teddy's, was still there. Harry debated scoping the building out, but he figured Malfoy had evaded detection for a reason. He must have alert wards like at the Mulberry property.
After some brief hesitation, Harry decided to organize a raid. The task force had 18 Aurors, and once Aunt Andy confirmed the location again, they surrounded the building. The team dismantled several triggering wards, put up Anti-Apparation wards and made entry into the dilapidated building. Harry was not expecting nearly a hundred muggles to be squatting in the building. They had to switch to Muggle police uniforms and round up everyone they found, never discounting the use of Polyjuice.