ar·bi·trar·y (adjective)
unrestrained and autocratic in the use of authority

Harry waved at Sally-Anne behind the desk and shoved aside the mild disappointment that Parvati didn't work today. She always had candy hiding under her desk, and Harry could always use a Chocolate Frog to deal with the dread of seeing Kingsley.

He stepped into the lift and pushed the button, allowing the silence of the soundproof metal box to consume him briefly. It was a peaceful feeling, being the only person in there. It was rare, but he tried his best to enjoy every second of it.

The doors opened and sound flooded through once again; Ministry officials and Aurors darting between desks with paper, shouting across the room, floating objects around.

"Level 2 Department of Magical Law Enforcement," the voice rang through the elevator, and Harry sighed, stepping forward.

"Hey Harry!" Auror Katie called out, waving brightly at him. He managed a weak smile and a wave back, pointing at Kingsley's office. She winced and mouthed good luck before turning back to Auror Alicia.

Harry sighed deeply and shoved the door open. The clock above Kingsley's desk was the first thing he noticed, the hands pointing three seconds away from 3:11 p.m. He sighed in relief and dropped into one of the three seats in front of Kingsley's desk.

"We have a new case for you." Kingsley's face was stoic, but after three years of being an Auror, Harry could see the irritation behind it, and he knew what that meant.

"Death Eater supporters again?"

Kingsley sighed and ran his hand down his face. "They call themselves L'esercito di Voldemort."

"Voldemort's army."

Harry turned to face Malfoy, who was leaning against the doorframe, eyes focused on Kingsley.

"Curse Breaker Malfoy, thank you for getting here as quickly as you could. I know you're busy."

Busy? I was busy! Enjoying myself!

"Not too busy for this." Malfoy sat next to Harry, eyes trained forward as Harry stared at him. "What are they doing?"

Kingsley sat down. He paused for a moment before speaking.

"It's time you knew. Auror Nott hasn't been on assignment. He's been kidnapped."

"Theo's been kidnapped?" Harry yelled at the same time Malfoy asked "They're taking Aurors?"

"Yes." Kingsley's eyes watched them carefully, as if waiting for an explosion.

He got one.

Harry stood from his chair, slamming his hands on the desk. "Why didn't you tell me? They're my partner, for fuck's sake!"

"You were on a separate assignment," Kingsley responded calmly. "I had other Aurors looking, but you're the best in the unit. I didn't want to assign you to this case, because of your emotional involvement-"

"Fuck that! If one of our own goes missing, the whole fucking department should be looking for them, not some fucking search and rescue team!" Harry was livid. The pencils on the desk were starting to shake and spin.

Kingsley's slightly worried eyes caught on the pencils for a moment before he set his expression and focused on Harry. "Auror Potter, calm down or I will have you removed."

"Calm down?!" Harry shouted.

"Potter!" Malfoy yelled, finally acknowledging him for the first time since he walked in. "Sit your ass down and listen to the assignment. The longer you're being a fucking mess over this, the longer Theodore is out there."

Harry blinked a few times, shooting Kingsley another glare as he slowly sat down. The pencils stilled.

"Fine."

"Back to what I was saying." Kingsley adjusted his pencils to how they were before he pissed Harry off. "Auror Nott isn't the only one to go missing. Hit Wizard Bones and Unspeakable Corner have also been taken."

"Silas and Michael?" Malfoy murmured. "They're taking from the Auror Office, the Hit Wizard Division, and the Thought Room. Why?"

"Could it be a hate crime?" Harry piped up. Draco rolled his eyes. "Two of them are transgender."

"We think they're picking them randomly. All they know is that they're Ministry officials. Michael is part of no minority groups, and we don't think it's any sort of discrimination."

Malfoy frowned. "Why the Ministry? Clearly there's no preference of division. They've picked two from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and one from the Department of Mysteries."

"The Ministry is a symbol of power. They only want Voldemort in power."

"No offense, Minister, but your logic has flaws. The motive seems shaky at best."

Harry wondered how Malfoy could be so calm when he felt like everything was crashing down.

"We don't need to worry about motive. We just need them captured."

"Motive is how we find the criminals."

"Find them another way."

Malfoy frowned. "And you're only sending me and Potter? What kind of search and rescue mission is this?"

Kingsley frowned. "It's not a search and rescue. It's an arrest. Terrorists first, hostages second. I need this handled as quietly as possible. We don't need chaos. We need our departments to focus on their own work, not this."

"Hostages first," Harry replied.

Kinglsey's head snapped toward him."Excuse me?"

"Hostages first, everything else second. That's the second thing they taught us. Right after they taught us that teamwork is important and to use as many resources as you need." Harry's voice was cold and unprofessional, but he didn't care. People's lives were at stake. Malfoy was staring straight ahead, expressionless.

"This is the exception. The only resources you need are yourselves. Your Portkey will take you to Glasgow in an hour. Your reports will be with it. Be ready."

Harry stood up, his chair crashing to the ground.

He left it there as he stormed out.