Inside the Malfoy manor the chandelier crashed down, scattering shards of crystalline glass. The large double doors leading directly to a large tea room, swung open and out sprang three figures. Gripping wands in front of them, they stare down at the glittering wreckage of the anteroom, the chandeliers black beribboned chains swaying gently above.
The man and the forefront, tall, skin bleached bone white and eyes flickering from the door opposite, the windows (all untouched), till he spied suddenly in the middle under the bulk of the glass and twisted metal a glint of scarlet. The shards had buried dagger like into four motionless bodies, pale and bloodied. The woman to the his right had spotted them a second later and let out a screech.
"Impossible!?" She screamed, shaking with disbelief. "No one- Never could anyone have entered undetected-"
No," The bone-white man said coolly, "Unless they were already inside." The blonde man and the woman stared at him, clearly stunned by this suggestion. The woman raised a shaking hand toward him, then dropped it thinking better of the gesture.
Surely M'lord is not afraid we have b-betrayed him," she said weakly, "we who have come like moths to the flame of his glorious endeavors-"
No, Bellatrix," the man allowed himself a small smile, which seemed to melt Bellatrix's fear as she beamed back. "I was only wondering at the possibilities of the scene before us, Lucius?"
The blonde man jumped at the sound of his name and gave a stiff sort of nod, when he spoke his voice seemed to come form further away than the mere inches separating them. "Y-yes…M'lord?"
"Are you familiar with any of our guest?"
Lucius looked as if he might be sick but gave a cursory at the bodies, five of them coated in dust and matted with blood. One was a woman weighted with strings of beads and jewels, her mouth sagging open, the others looked Hogwarts age, two blonde headed girls and a blonde boy, the last two were dark haired and Lucius thought perhaps the one nearest them looked like someone he'd met…
"Potter?" Lucius murmured bending down. "shouldn't they be on the train back to London for Christmas now?"
"Exactly, why is one of Dumbledore's precious students here and accompanied be strangers?" M'lord spoke quietly.
"Dumbledore's favorite?" Bellatrix snarled aiming a kick at the unconscious body's foot, she and Lucius had been graduated for three years now. In that time Lucius had gotten engaged to her sister and the dark lord had secured a vital position under Dumbledore's nose as DADA teacher and had been since September of the year before gathering to him students who were worthy of serving him and Potter though of pureblood was worthless. He wasted his purity by chasing after mud bloods and defending other worthless students, another filthy pet of Dumbledore's.
"Do think he was spying?" Lucius asked.
The dark lord ran a hand through the dark hair that contrasted sharply with his chalky pallor, "Lucius can you tell me why this chandelier has fallen?"
"No, M'lord."
"What about it's value, is the glass expensive?"
"Yes, it was made by the only goblin family to use glass on it's silver… I'm told the glass was made from a rare sand." Lucius added.
"Rare?"
Lucius nodded.
As if now reminded of it's worth the glass and glittering dust rose into the air and reformed crystals and glass jewels. It was beautiful the air hung with flashing bright jewels which then burst like a miniature fireworks display, white glitter raining down and disappearing.
"Impossible to destroy?" M'lord wondered aloud. Lucius started, he had not mentioned that. It was true in rumor at least, the chandelier was said to never sustain permanent damage. Any injury to it's frame or jewelry would
Vanish.
*8*
