Outside Nurmengard, the rain fell in an unbroken curtain, yet not a drop touched Will. It parted automatically above his head, as though an invisible barrier stood in its way.
Will looked up at the clouds blanketing the sky and let out a long, weary breath.
Snap! Silver flames flickered, and Will vanished.
"Who's there!" In the Minister's Office at the Ministry of Magic, Kane whipped out his wand and aimed it at Will, who had appeared out of nowhere. "Will Behrens?"
Shock and bewilderment mingled on his face, but neither lasted long.
Will snapped his fingers, and Kane fell asleep, collapsing onto a sofa that materialized beneath him.
"Sorry, I didn't know you had someone else in your office." Will looked at Scrimgeour, seated behind his desk.
Scrimgeour looked more haggard than when they had last met. His eyes were sunken, his face pale, and he seemed utterly drained.
Voldemort's curse had clearly taken quite a toll on him.
At the sight of Will, he forced a strained smile. "Mr. Behrens, you still have a fondness for appearing without warning."
Scrimgeour tried to rise, but Will waved him back down. "I can hardly walk into the Ministry's entrance hall and say, 'I want to see Minister Scrimgeour,' can I?"
He walked over and sat beside Scrimgeour's desk, looking at his hand. "How's the hand? Let me see."
Scrimgeour slowly removed his glove, revealing his blackened hand. "It's in a terrible state. I can feel the pain every moment.
"If it weren't for the Sleeping Charm you converted for me, I might not have been able to sleep at all lately."
Will frowned at the sight of the hand and leaned closer to examine it.
The charred skin on Scrimgeour's hand was cracked like the bark of a dead tree,