The Beginning
Hermione sighed for the 10th time on their outing as they passed by a very gruesome shop in Knockturn Alley.
Ron rolled his eyes, "Oh, Hermione stop it."
"Well, Ronald. I think I have perfect reason to whine all I want since I did NOT want to come here."
Harry ignored the bickering two as he headed towards one familiar store.
"You two shut it and look over here."
They stopped and followed 'the boy who lived.'
Harry peered inside through the nasty window and his eyes flashed when he saw the gray, wrinkled hand on the alter.
"This is it…" He said mostly to himself.
"This is what, Harry?" Ron asked in an exasperated tone.
It had been 3 years since they graduated and Voldemort was still on the loose. The Golden Trio have been searching for the longest, but every time they got close, he slipped away. It was even more irking that there was still one Horcrux out there.
"Moody said that the Malfoys owned a Horcrux but didn't know what it was exactly. In our second year, when I floo'd to the wrong place, I ended up in this fireplace and I saw Malfoy and his father come in here."
"Lucius said that he had a great deal of 'embarrassing objects' that he needed to drop off just incase the Ministry raided the Manor. So my guess is that he left the Horcrux in their hands."
Hermione cocked an eyebrow, "But Harry…If it is so important to Malfoy, don't you figure he'd bring it to someone more trustworthy?"
Ron piped up, "Yes, but the Malfoys are a very dull breed so you never know."
Harry snickered a little but stopped as Hermione sent him a warning glare.
"Soooo…lets have a peak shall we." Harry carried on before they say anything different.
They entered the shop cautiously, searching for the sleazy store keeper.
"All clear!" Harry whispered as they inched on. Hermione nodded and went over to where the books were. The other two weren't very surprised.
Ron looked over at the different ornaments on the shelves as Harry looked around the register.
"How peculiar…" Hermione mused to herself as she ran her fingers over a books cover. "Dragon scales?"
Harry jumped as he heard a crash in the back room and movement followed quickly after that.
"Sorry!"
Harry and Hermione both sighed in relief at Ron's apology.
"Stop making such a ruckus Ronald." Hermione said before getting back to searching.
"Well, sorry mum."
She rolled her eyes and smirked. Hermione then scrunched up her brow as she came over a book that she had never saw before.
"Las leyendas del Muerto. Must be Spanish…"
Hermione carefully opened up the first page, feeling it crack with age beneath her fingertips.
She read on, scowling with disgust at the content inside the book.
Harry stood up from behind the counter and shook his head, "Nothing." He looked up to the door to see a very horrid looking man coming through the front door.
"Hide!" He whispered in a hoarse tone as he ducked behind the register. Hermione gasped and slid behind the book stands with Ron.
They all held their breath as the lanky man walked by, muttering to himself about some 'stupid wench.'
They waited till they heard the back door close to regulate their breathing and come out of there hiding spots.
Harry hurried over to Hermione and Ron, "Come on. Lets go."
They all linked arms and disaparrated with a 'POP'! Almost immediately, they arrived at Number Twelve Grimauld Place.
Hermione let go and walked over the table in the middle of the living room. She slammed the book on the table and huffed as she sat down.
"Is that one of the books from the shop?" Ron asked as he sat down opposite from Hermione.
"Yes, and it's completely unnecessary text and I wish I could burn it and erase it from the face of this earth. But yet, it most likely holds vital information that will do us a great deal of help."
Harry opened up to the first page, "What's wrong with it, Hermione?"
Her eyes were ablaze with fury, "It speaks about the numerous Death Eaters that have proven worthy to serve under Voldemort. The title is Legends of the Dead. It sickens me because it praises the many evil beings that have done Voldemort's dirty work. And what pisses me off to no end is that the stupid bastards aren't brave enough to state their names!"
She said the last part angrily as she pointed to the small wording below the title that read 'Anonymous'.
Harry nodded understandably and looked at the pages, "Did it say anything about the Malfoys?"
Hermione shrugged, "I don't know. I didn't get that far."
Ron jumped in, "Well, lets find out." They all huddled together as they read the information.
Hermione shook her head, "Look in the index…" She shooed their hands away and flipped to the back of the book.
"Malfoy…Malfoy…Where are you?" She mused as she ran her fore finger down the list. Hermione tapped the name when she found it.
"Lucius Malfoy, there you are…" She flipped back to the page number and skimmed the page for the mention.
"There's just a little bit about him. Not that surprising." Hermione smirked, "Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, was born in 1954 and educated at Hogwarts School, presumably where he met his wife Narcissa Black, as well as many other Slytherin students who later became Death Eaters."
"Lucius Malfoy is related to many others either by blood or marriage. There is Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black, (sister of Narcissa Black) and there is brother-in-law Rodolphus Lestrange. Furthermore, for many years, it was believed that Lucius Malfoy was an only child but Azkaban records show that a certain Death Eater legend was the very close sister of Mr. Malfoy, Margaret Anne Crucifix. Better known as Maggzi Malfoy."
Harry scrunched up his brow in thought, "I remember that name…"
Maggzi…
"I remember that name very clearly."
Hermione looked up to him, "Where from? I've heard of Crucifix but not so informally."
Harry stared off into nothingness, "One of my dreams…"
Ron scratched his neck nervously, "I've saw her once."
They both turned to him.
He grew wide eyed at their eager expressions, "Just once though. We were in our 2nd year and we were down in Diagon Alley. It was right after the incident with the Malfoys. As they walked off, I noticed that they were going directly to this hooded woman off in the distance. I don't quite remember how she looked like and all but I know that I'd recognize her eyes any day."
Hermione rolled her own, "Did you fall in love with her beauty Ronald."
Ron sneered, "That's not it! It's just that she had the weirdest looking eyes. They were a very bright neon green. I mean, wicked green! I'm not exaggerating here."
Harry and Hermione scoffed.
"I'm not!" Ron said in defense.
"Sure your not. Sure." Harry said before getting back to the book.
"So. Lucius married to Narcissa who is the sister of Bellatrix who is the wife of Rodolphus who is a major Death Eater. And Lucius is the brother of Crucifix who happens to be….?"
Hermione eyed him carefully, "You need to keep reading to find out…"
Harry blushed slightly, "I knew that."
"Crucifix is known to be the Dark Lord's second in command and the most successful Death Eater there is. Crucifix may not be the most loyal but she was the best at getting the job done with out flaw. Crucifix is said to be the most powerful Death Eater of the clan and is very close to the Dark Lord himself. Maggzi Crucifix and her own followers have been responsible for the numerous deaths of witches and wizards alike. Also, to her belonging, is a small emerald locket given to her by the Dark Lord, himself."
Hermione sneered in disgust, "She has her OWN followers? I can't believe this rubbish."
Ron shrugged and then hit his head in realization. "Wait a tick! If Crucifix is Lucius' sister, that means that she is Malfoy's aunt!"
Harry nodded, "I know. Everything has a way to leading to him."
Hermione grabbed the book for them and slapped it shut. "I think we should show this to Moody."
They both nodded and followed her to the kitchen where Moody was, not very surprisingly, eating a sandwich.
"Moody, we found this book down in Borgin & Burkes. It talks about Voldemort's followers. And I've been lead to believe that Malfoy's aunt owns a Horcrux."
Harry and Ron looked up to her skeptically, "When did we come up with that assumption?"
Hermione sighed and looked back to Moody, "It stated that she has a small locket given to her by Voldemort. For safe keeping possibly?"
Moody nodded, "This is all very good, Granger…but Bellatrix Lestrange has been search and her estate, raided."
Hermione growled, "I'm not talking about Lestrange, sir. I'm talking about Margaret Crucifix. The sister of Lucius Malfoy?"
Moody rose an eyebrow and thought as he chewed, "Ah yes, Crucifix. But she's been missing for years…." He stated before taking another bite out of his sandwich.
Hermione nodded, "Yes, I understand that, but most likely, her nephew would have some sort of idea where his aunt is."
Moody rubbed his nose against the back of his hand, "Yes but he was sent to Azkaban last week so they could perform The Kiss."
Hermione couldn't help but gasp. The Kiss? Even Malfoy wasn't deserving of The Kiss!
Harry and Ron paid even more attention at the mention of The Kiss.
Moody noticed the questioning glances and answered between chomps, "Death Eater Activity chew, chew Use of the Unforgivable chew Curses chew, chew and lying chew numerous times chew to the Ministry chew, chew and Fudge."
Hermione suddenly grew very determined, "Then we must question him before this happens."
He finished the food in his mouth and nodded to the young woman in front of him, "Of course…"
