Tom Stark-Malfoy

I woke up to a comfortable silence. Almost as if the loud echoes of explosion and gunfire of yesterday were just a dream. But I look around and see a room different from my own. Everything that had happened was real. And now everything is gone, everything taken away from me because I was too slow, to weak to do anything.

I've lost my family and my home once more due to my incompetence.

I push myself up into a sitting position, grimacing at the pain that shoots through my c.h.e.s.t. It's been quite some time since I last woke up with a gash cutting across my body.

I lift the white sheets off my legs and scowl at the sight of the clothes I have been put in. A hospital gown? Sure I had a cut a few inches long, but it's on my c.h.e.s.t! Would it place their finances in jeopardy to give a 7 year-old some pants?

I stand up and enter into what I presume is a bathroom. Thankful that it was a toilet and had a mirror, I lock the door behind me and slip off the hospital gown. I proceeded to take off the white bandages underneath and got a clear view of my wound. It was about 5 inches long spanning 1-2 cm wide. I hoped this wouldn't leave me with a new scar. After getting around fifty or so of them in your previous life it was pretty easy to get sick and annoyed an at getting them.

"Vulera Sanen-"

Wait. I stopped myself just in time to realize that Vulnera Sanentur is most likely an advanced spell. If it was to backlash, the effects could be worse than the initial wound. It would most likely be best to use a simple spell multiple times.

"Episkey."

I could see the wound scab over slowly. I repeated the action until I was satisfied with the coverage, stopping just short of completely healing it. I should find some dittany before I do that.

Content with my work, I lean over the sink and wash my face. Taking a deep breath, I recalled all the events of yesterday, then thought of all the actions I could take.

I needed to find Tony. Even if all that was left was a body, I still needed to find him. It would be difficult if he were blasted into the waters, I wouldn't even know what to do if that were the case.

I decided in the end that I would search the rubble and whatever remains of our house. I couldn't keep performing magic, so I would need working gloves. A hammer would also be good if I could manage to befuddle whatever poor chap ends up at the cash register.

If I were to buy it at a store of medium or large size, there would be a number of witnesses, I should buy it in a junk shop. I transfigured my clothes into a regular pair of jeans and a t-shirt, shaking of the stinging pain that coursed through my arm, putting it down to magical backlash. Better safe than sorry, I decide to place a light disillusionment charm on myself.

I step out of the bathroom and glance around the room for anything useful. The room was completely void of anything except for some flowers in a vase, my earphones, and my phone that sat at the side table. I take it and look for any scratches, finding none. It was one good phone.

I turn it on and open Google Maps, searching for nearby junk shops. Surprisingly, I found one that wasn't too far off from the mansion. I click on "Mark's Junk Shop". A short 10 minute walk from here. I plugged in my right earphone and leave my left slung over my shoulder.

I exited the room, making my way to the elevator and pressing '1'. I close my eyes and take another deep breath, calming my anxiety. My hands won't stop shaking.

I come back to my senses after hearing a ting as the metal doors slide open.

I'm greeted by the sight of bustling people and blinding white lights. The reception area. I cross the floor hopefully unnoticed, heading straight for the glass doors on the other side.

As I come close to the door, I see that there were more people outside than in here. They were all carrying cameras. Paparazzi? Could they be waiting for me? This can't be good.

I turn around and start heading towards a motherly looking woman. Sorry miss, but I would have to borrow you for a few minutes. I raise my hand and cast my strongest Confundus charm, dispelling the earlier Disillusionment charm.

"Miss, you're taking me outside, right? Let's go immediately."

"W-what? Is that so? Alright let's go."

"Right! You're also lending me your hat and glasses because the sun could hurt my eyes."

"That's right. Here you go."

The woman takes off her beanie and glasses and I put them on. I believe the press doesn't know what I look like since I always refused to go to any events with Tony, but there is no saying if they saw me yesterday.

I take her hand and we walk out of the hospital, not garnering any attention from the paparazzi waiting outside. As soon as we make it down an entire block, I sigh a breath of relief and say goodbye to the lady - returning her glasses and hat before I head on to my destination.

Staying true to the reliability of Google Maps, I arrived there 9 minutes later. It was a small, dusty, and cluttered shop, with all kinds of items; from disposable cameras to cat picture frames and fish coffee pots. At the corner I spotted what I needed. Some old rubber gloves and a rusty hammer.

"Hey kid, anything you need?"

I look up to see a bearded face with greying hair. It was a man, presumably Mark, about in his mid-thirties.

"Yes sir, my father needs those gloves and that hammer."

"And how do you suppose you'll be paying for them?"

Oh tosh. I forgot to get some money.

"I won't be paying for them yet, I'll still look around for anything else I might need."

The man lets off a grunting sound as he resumes to whatever it was he was doing at the counter.

"Don't even think about stealing kid, or I'll be calling the police."

I nod my head and walk around the store looking for a place where I could not easily be seen. On my way to the back I come across some bottle caps.

By Merlin, I'm doing something illegal. But it is for the greater good. I grab two fistfuls of bottle caps and transfigure them into quarter dollar coins. I observe them for a few seconds hoping they won't revert back into bottle caps and miracle! They don't! Why hasn't anyone fixed this loophole yet?

Transfiguring muggle money should have been-

. . . the metal coins morph back into bottle caps. I knew it, too good to be true. Wait! I could still transfigure this into something else, something more valuable! I return half of the bottle caps and transfigure the other half into a metal bird with small leaves and flowers dotting the feathers haphazardly. And I'd have to say, I'm quite proud of how it turned out.

"Hey kid, what are you doing back there."

I wipe the smirk off my face and head to the front with the bird in my pocket. Taking it out, I place it on the desk and confound the irate man.

"This was my mom's, my dad told me to trade it for those gloves and a hammer. I found nothing else."

". . . Yeah sure... Go ahead kid, just leave that here with me."

"Thank you sir."

I hide my growing grin as I walk to a far corner of the store to get my hammer and gloves. That was a doss (easy as pie). I pocket the gloves and fasten the hammer to my side (sliding it through one of the loops for the belt on my jeans). Feeling proud, I rush out of the store and head towards the direction of my house with a jump in my step.

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0-0-0-thirty minutes after he left at Mark's junk shop-0-0-0

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"Whoever it was already left, but I swear if I catch whoever idiot was flaunting his wand around in front of No-Maj's, I'll have him sent to jail in the blink of an eye." He fumed. He was a man in his later twenties with curly dark brown hair and his partner, an older man in his mid-thirties with long black hair was also annoyed as well.

"I've already obliviated the owner. There are no traces of magic other than on the metal bird. But whoever it is had motives. I could not find any trace of the wand used, I've checked with the MACUSA, they haven't received any information on wand use in the area." His older partner replied.

"It must be a Native Wizard then, if the person didn't use a wand." Remarked the younger.

"That was my first guess as well, but the letter from the head office also mentioned that other people have already been sent to check with them. Everyone has been accounted for, the person who did this has no doc.u.ments, no personal info. It's as if he or she hasn't integrated with the wizarding society yet or at all. Probably a foreigner from a small country with no wizarding government"

"Well whoever it is better watch out if he thinks that he can get away with leaving magical marks all over the place! Because he is damn wrong."

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My feet hurt and I'm sweating like Niagara falls, but I've managed to reach the house. I sat down on a large piece of debris to get enough rest before I start looking for him.

The breeze carries a faint smell of ashes, reminding me once more of the unfathomable destruction that had happened not even 24 hours before. I try to recall the exact events that happened yesterday to get a rough idea on where he could be, but I can't. It's all unclear, everything happened so fast. I could only recall the blaring explosions that reverberated through my ears with every trembling step I took on the violently shaking floor

That's enough. I can't just sit here.

I stood up and entered the building through a hole that might have once been a solid wall. Glass and rubble crunching below my feet as I take every step with caution not to land on any unstable looking cement. There was not a single inch left undamaged, soot and rubble covering everything in layers. Almost like the remains of a warzone. I chuckled darkly. It probably was one...

I stopped at a place that looked stable and closed my eyes, searching for my magic. When I felt it, warmer and larger than it was yesterday, I tugged at it. Bringing a large amount to my fingertips.

"Homenum Revelio!"

I could feel my magic spread out and touch every item in a 3 foot radius, searching for human life. A warm stinging pain, like electricity, zapped through my arm. Magic backlash again? But it didn't matter, all that matters is finding my father.

I walked towards a place further-in, and did the same. I raised my hand and sent out more magic.

"Homenum Revelio!"

My magic spread out in a 4 foot radius as the pain in my arm increases. It's not enough, I need to send out more. I walked in, deeper into the ruins of my home. My feet nearly an inch away from a familiar riff on the ground. The edges of my lips lowering in disdain at what could have been if only this hole did not exist. We would have made it across, and my dad-. . .

We would be getting ready for Yuletide, I haven't even opened my presents yet and it's all. . . gone.

I closed my eyes, willing to forget all the pain; just like before, just forget the pain. Nothing should hurt me, feeling pain is weakness. Weakness that I can't afford.

"Homenum Revelio!"

My magic spreads out further, now about 2 meters in radius. I had to close my eyes and bite down hard with my jaws, seething at the pain in my arm that could be on level with a cruciatus.

Nothing here.

I looked around for any passageway I could go through. After the hole was a cement wall with dangling lightbulbs. The ceiling probably collapsed after I got out. I was about to turn around to find a different opening when I noticed a faint light coming from the left. Leaning forward, I could see a space probably big enough for me to fit through between the cement wall and a wooden beam that fell at an angle. Just where the hole ended by the wall, a couple of iron bars were jutting out.

I hastily make my way there while putting on the rubber gloves and place my left foot on the first bar, testing out if it could carry my weight. It seemed to be strong enough so I grab onto the iron bars that were bent in irregular angles above me.

My right foot next, then my left. I focused all my strength and concentration to my grip on the iron bars, and could feel the ridges dig into the gloves. Thankfully I had them, otherwise this could have been quite painful.

Slowly, I make my way to the other side. Now that I am this close, I know I won't make it though with all those nails sticking out of this wooden beam . If I didn't have my gloves and hammer, who knows how many cuts I would have by now.

With one hand securely on an iron bar, I took hold of the hammer I had fastened by my waist and started hitting the nails, dislodging them from the wood. When I believed that I had removed all of the nails that could graze me, I slid my feet passed the wall onto solid ground and squeezed myself through the narrow space. I let go of a sigh of relief when both my feet were securely on the ground.

Turning around I was immediately brought to a stop. Just a couple of feet in front of me, the floor had ended. There was nothing left. A salty breeze tingled my nose, as I couldn't believe what was in front of me. There was nothing left! Why was there nothing left?!

Only a single wall remained. The support beams, foundation, and cement, everything had long since collapsed into the water below. But this can't be it- There has to be more!

I tugged at more magic than before and screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Homenum Revelio!"

I collapsed onto the floor writhing in pain, as I felt a hundred knives jab into my arm, crawling further into the rest of my body. My vision turns blurry with tears due to the sheer pain that twisted and dug deeper into muscle with every second that passed. Sweat covered my forehead in a thin sheet as I pulled myself up. A sharp rasp left my lungs as the pain would not go away and instead transformed into a burning pain that roasted me from inside.

I doubled over, clutching my stomach as I felt something boiling hot surge from my gut into my throat. I threw up a thick dark red liquid which tasted like rusting metal and salt. Wiping off the remains from the edges of my mouth, I stood up straight and headed towards the end of the floor. Looking down I saw mild hope. The tide had yet to wash away the debris that fell into the ocean.

One of the metal beams conveniently landed with one end on this floor and the other supported by a large rock near the ocean. Climbing down, I was starting to feel light headed but blamed it on the glare of the sun.

I feel like I could hear someone shouting, but it must be a hallucination, no one knows I'm here. At the bottom of the beam, I took a large leap towards a floating piece of furniture that I suspect to be my armoire. When I landed, it sunk about 2 feet before bobbing up, causing me to lose my footing but thankfully I was able to clutch onto it before I completely slipped off. I positioned myself to sit down at the center of the furniture before closing my eyes and calling forth more magic, it needs to be bigger, it needs to be stronger.

"Homenum Revelio!"

I could feel pain strike through my body similar to a cruciatus. My limbs spammed, and my stomach reeled in, but this time I held on and concentrated on my spell. I could taste the same metallic liquid rise in my throat but pushed it back down.

"Homenum Revelio!"

The pain was searing through me again- ripping, ceaselessly eating my core. White spots were starting to cover up my vision. No. Shaking it off and recovering my vision, I concentrated on pulling my magic again. It's not enough. I need to find him. It's not enough!

"HOMENUM REVELIO!"

A rough jab struck my brain. My eyes watered from the pain, I could feel it convulsing, pushing against my skull. My head, it hurts! It was going to rip open! I- It hurts! It hurts! H-help! please?! please. it hurts!

"- H-y! - - - doing?!- - k- -!"

I could hear someone screaming. It was a bit muffled by the sound of the surge and backwash of water. Regulating my breath, I could feel the pain subside. . . No, it's not enough. I need to find Tony, just a little more.

"H-Ho-men-um R- R-."

"Stupefy!"

My vision turns black, and everything turns cold. So cold.