Lucius Malfoy drank from his goblet of Firewhiskey and glared into the fire. The sound of the rushing wind outside was magnified in the huge empty manor. His once beautiful mane of white-blonde hair was now dull, lank, and greasy and his once beautiful face was marred with various scars from deep cuts. A cracked mirror was next to the hand that was holding the goblet on a small table. A blood encrusted blade was also next to him, but no one would know that. No one visited him these days. Not even his family came to visit him. Narcissa had long ago left him for another, younger man. His only son, Draco Malfoy, thought him a disgrace to the family because of his actions during the War and so had no contact with him now that it was over. Lucius set the goblet down on the small table next to him and picked up the mirror. He looked at his reflection, and then looked down at his bare arm that contained a black tattoo of a skull and snake. The Dark Mark: a permanent reminder of all that he once had and lost. Making a face, he hurled the mirror away from him and it shattered as it hit the wall. He picked up his goblet once again and sipped from it calmly. Never once did he utter a sound or spoke a word. He did not notice the house elf that appeared in the room and began to pick up the pieces. The elf looked sadly at his master. Even though he could pick up the pieces of a shattered mirror, he could not pick up the pieces of his poor master's shattered soul.
OOO
Hermione Jean Granger rushed into her office at the Ministry with her hair falling out of its bun. As a schoolgirl, Hermione would've laughed at the suggestion of her working at the Ministry of Magic at the tender age of twenty. At the time, the Ministry's actions during the War made it highly unpopular among the general public. However, as the muggle equivalent of a parole officer and counselor, she couldn't deny that the ministry had improved since then, and the wages weren't half bad.
Two hours later as Hermione was working on paperwork, a soft knock sounded at the door.
"Enter," she said.
A handsome young man of twenty-four, at most, entered her office.
"Gee Hermione, I never knew you could fly. Why didn't you tell me?" the young man laughed. Hermione rolled her eyes at him and laughed at her friend's wittiness about her being late.
"What do you need James?" she asked.
"You have a new assignment. I have the case file right here," James said, his demeanor shifting from playful to something more serious. Hermione looked up into his face, wondering at the cause of his seriousness in the first place. It had to be something unpleasant, because James was hard to ruffle. Before she could ask, the look on his face turned to concern and he said quietly, "be careful" and left. Hermione, thinking on James' strange behavior, opened the file. The picture that popped out at her made her drop the folder, and gasp. There, sitting on her desk, was a picture of none other than ex-Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy. Her next assignment was Lucius Malfoy. Hermione worked through the rest of the day distracted. She was grateful that she didn't have to visit any of her cases or do anything that required extreme concentration. Her upcoming visit to Malfoy Manor and the memories she had of that place caused a distraction that was unusual for her.
OOO
Binky stood at the window. There was a very pretty lady outside with kind eyes. Help at last.
OOO
Hermione looked at the mansion, nearly paralyzed with fear. Her forearm ached, bringing the smell and taste of blood to her senses. Never had she ever had such an intense reaction to a house, but most of the homes she visited were not places that she associated with pain, fear, and desperation. Or torture. Taking a deep breath and ignoring her pounding heart, she walked forward and was about to knock with the brass snake-shaped knocker when the door opened seemingly on its own. Moving to step forward, a squeak stopped her. She looked down to find a smaller-than-average house-elf.
"Hello, miss. My name is Binky, and I am the house-elf here. Please, come in," he stepped aside to let her enter. Hermione looked around the house. The house was neat, but it wasn't clean. Everything, save the floor, had a thin layer of dust and the house was dark and looked empty. Devoid of life. The aura in the house was one of palms began to sweat and she desperately wanted to remove her wand from its holster.
'Calm thoughts, Hermione, calm thoughts. This house cannot hurt you, Mr. Malfoy cannot hurt you. He doesn't even own a wand.'
Herminoe looked toward Binky, "Binky, I need to see Mister Malfoy, can you take me to him please?"
"Of course, follow me," and Binky lead her through a dark hallway and opened a door somewhere in the middle of it. Mustering up her courage once again, she stepped inside. She was not prepared for what she saw was awaiting her.