George's feet carried him far further than he expected. He wasn't out of breath either- whether he was running on adrenaline or fear, he didn't know which and his mind was less than concerned. Two shoes pushed him along the stone ground of the Ministry, battling the sheer panic in the back of his mind. [i]What if Caroline was already dead? Why was everything coming down? Why couldn't he just calm down and do his job?[/i] People were going to die today, in fact they already had! It wasn't his concern to chase employees around the building... He needed to stop the reason for all of this. Yet his stomach twisted at the thought of having already lost her-

"Caroline!" He yelled again, following the route he was given a short moment ago. Deep down in the back of his mind, George did question the logic of the man he'd previously been speaking to. There was no way he could have known which way Caroline had gone.. What if she'd already gotten back to the room? These thoughts never surfaced, however, and George kept running. His journey took him passed two wizards, both clearly with something to say, but he didn't care. He carried on forwards, sprinting down the halls as if he were being chased. "Caroline!" The urgency in his tone echoed off each stone wall, bouncing around and lingering in the distance. 

George watched his deepest thoughts surface as he arrived at an empty hallway, clearly long since abandoned. As if a train was colliding a wall, George felt all his previous anger bubble to the surface in a rage he'd not felt for some time. How could he have been so stupid? It had only taken one moment to lose his head and he'd lost everything. The facade he kept up for the sake of his employment, his attitude of authority- everything. He was darting about, headless. Slowly, he turned, wand gripped tightly in his left hand. He'd kill him- whoever [i]he[/i] was. In his current mood, George couldn't deny the dangerous feeling of how possible it truly felt. With shaking hands, the man turned around. The run had caught up with him now, his breath no longer in his chest. Panting, he started back towards the room, violent determination on his mind. 

[b]"Never turn your back on a snake."[/b] His attention shifted towards the portrait of a man, elderly and less than impressed. [b]"they will always find a way to bite you in the butt.[/b]" The portrait chuckled, looking him up and down. [b]"Minister of magic for 14 years now reduced to the glorious position of owl. Blackwell needed information and they were shooting down the memos; they're bottle-necked up there."[/b]

"Minister.." George managed, suddenly buckling under the ten ton weight he'd felt drop onto his shoulders. His duty was to the Minister, after all, it was his job. There was no denying his place was upstairs with the rest of them. He felt the sudden twang of guilt- Caroline. He couldn't just leave her. What if she really was in danger? What was he supposed to do then? What if Caroline had already gone to the Second Floor looking for help? That's where he'd sent her and surely she wasn't still running around down here... Feeling the smallest flicker of hope, George nodded to Eldritch and darted back down the way he'd come. 

Twisting back on himself, he made his way to the first elevator and shouted to three witches out. Without hesitation, the three women scurried out, barely taking the moment to insult or complain; George wasn't going to thank them for understanding. He yanked the shutters and pressed the button for the first floor. For whatever reason, it was deserted and it probably wasn't a good sign, yet George felt compelled that's where everyone was heading.