Chapter 24 The Eve Before Dawn

The night was as dark as ink. In the distance, smoke was still rising from the ruins of an apartment building after a raging fire. Draco and Harry glared at each other across the rubble.

The air was filled with a pungent smell of burning and lingering magical smoke, and the atmosphere was so heavy that it seemed as if water could drip out of it.

Draco's pale face was full of anger and panic. He gripped his wand tightly, his knuckles turning white, and the tip of the wand trembled slightly, as if a deadly spell was about to burst out in the next second.

"Potter, what's wrong with you?" he growled, his voice slightly hoarse from anger and the aftereffects of the love potion. "Are you going to drag me to death even if you don't want to live anymore?"

Harry's face was also flushed, his chest heaving violently, and the wand in his hand was flickering, not to be outdone.

"Malfoy, you used the Horcrux clues to lead me here, and then you wanted to kick me away. What do you think of me as, a tool?"

The rage in his eyes seemed to devour Draco, and he felt mixed emotions.

His feelings towards Draco were complicated to begin with, with a mixture of love and pity, but also wariness of him as a Death Eater. At this moment, provoked by Draco's behavior, anger instantly took over.

Draco snorted coldly, his hair scattered messily in front of his forehead, making his face even colder.

"If I hadn't done this, would you have come? All you care about are those Horcruxes and the heroes of the Order of the Phoenix. When have you ever really cared about my life or death?"

His words were like sharp blades, hurting Harry and cutting through his own expectations for this relationship.

The two men were in a stalemate, anger burning in their eyes, and neither of them was willing to give in first.

The cry of the night owl broke the silence, causing the two men's bodies to tremble slightly.

Draco's heart tightened. Oh no! The night owls that he and Harry had alarmed due to their loss of control had attracted the werewolf capture team.

"You did a good thing, Potter!" Draco scolded angrily, then turned around quickly, trying to find a way to escape.

Harry also realized the seriousness of the situation, and regret instantly surged in his heart, but at this moment he had no time to think about it. He rushed to Draco and shouted, "Follow me!"

Draco slammed his hand away, "I don't need your fake kindness."

But having said that, his feet unconsciously followed Harry's movement. After all, in this desperate situation where they had been blocked by the capture team and cast a spell prohibiting Apparition, they could still be considered to be in the same boat.

Draco and Harry hurried along the alley, the light of the bronze mirror flickering in Draco's palm, as if urging him and guiding him.

The two men looked a little disheveled in the dim light, their clothes were torn and their hair was messy, but there was a determination in their eyes.

Behind them, the apartment where they had just stopped was set on fire by the furious arrest team.

The orange-red flames licked everything madly, thick smoke rose into the sky like a black dragon, and a pungent smell filled the air.

The two men stumbled through the thick smoke. Draco was choked and coughed uncontrollably, tears welling up in his eyes.

Harry endured the discomfort, holding Draco with one hand and waving his wand with the other to clear a path.

"Harry, what should we do? They are getting closer and closer!" Draco's shouts were a little broken by the wind. He ran while covering his mouth and nose tightly with clothes, trying to speed up.

The strands of hair on his forehead had long been soaked with sweat, sticking to his smooth forehead in clumps. A few strands of hair even got into his eyes, stinging them and causing pain.

But he had no time to care about it at the moment. He could only blink desperately, trying to squeeze out the things that were blocking his vision.

His chest heaved violently, each breath was accompanied by a heavy gasp, and his footsteps were hurried and messy, splashing dust and water on the ground.

Draco bit his lower lip so hard that his snow-white teeth almost dug into his lip flesh, his eyes full of fear and vigilance.

"Damn it, Harry. Didn't your old headmaster teach you that the names of powerful wizards are evocative? Your courage is killing me!"

He took big strides with his long legs, and the hem of his robe was lifted high in the wind, rustling like a fluttering battle flag, but his messy footsteps revealed his inner panic, and every step he took would splash water that would wet his boots.

"Don't panic, we have to find a way to get rid of them."

Harry took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

He knew that Draco was about to collapse. Whenever the little bastard got scared, he would start blabbering non-stop, complaining about everything, and even kicking passing dogs.

They had to find a way to escape, or soon they would both be in trouble.

His slender fingers grasped Draco's wrist precisely and powerfully, and the hot warmth of his palm was instantly transmitted, soothing Draco's emotions.

"I, I'm sorry, Harry." Draco looked at Harry in annoyance, the apology in his eyes disappeared, but the panic in his heart did not decrease at all.

He had never experienced such a scene before, and he had never thought that he would become the target of the capture team. He was not even sure whether he could escape this disaster, let alone protect his parents who were far away in Malfoy Manor.

This feeling is so terrible!

"Don't say sorry, Malfoy," Harry sighed softly, his eyes gradually becoming determined.

"At a time like this, it's more important to conserve your strength. Don't be distracted."

Then, he took Draco and, relying on his familiarity with the terrain, turned sharply into a narrow alley.

The walls on both sides of the alley were mottled and dilapidated, with moss growing wildly. In some places, there were even sharp weeds that scratched their clothes.

But just as they were about to rush into the alley, a huge werewolf pounced on them from the high wall like a tiger descending from a mountain. Harry was unable to dodge and a deep cut was made on his arm by the wolf's claws. The blood instantly dyed his sleeves red.

"Harry!" Draco exclaimed, and subconsciously waved his wand, sending a powerful repulsive spell that sent the werewolf flying.

Harry gritted his teeth, his face pale, "I'm fine, go!"

Draco felt a pain in his heart. At this moment, the panic in his heart dissipated most of the time when he saw Harry injured. He supported Harry, and the two stumbled out of the alley and hid in the dense forest.

After escaping the range of the binding spell, Draco instantly Disapparated.

The howling of wolves behind him gradually faded away. Draco helped the bloody Harry to sit on the sofa, tore off a corner of his robe, and bandaged Harry's wound with slightly trembling hands.

"You reckless fellow."

He muttered quietly, but his tone lacked the sharpness from before.

Harry looked at Draco with a mixture of emotions.

"Little Malfoy, why are you back again?"

A middle-aged man wearing slightly loose silk pajamas opened the door.