"Alohomora!" Ron whispered, pointing his wand at the metal gate in front of Malfoy Manor. Though he stared expectantly at the large cast-iron lock, nothing happened. Behind him, Hermione placed her hand on her hip and sighed.
"Honestly, Ronald. Did you really expect that to work?" she asked, pushing him aside while simultaneously raising her wand. "Expulso!"
Ron jumped as the lock broke into pieces, shattering at their feet. "A warning would've been nice," he muttered.
"Come on," Harry whispered, pushing open the gate. "And remember, be quiet."
Hermione glared at him. "You act as if we haven't done this before," she whispered, and Harry hung his head.
"I'm just . . . " Harry started.
"Worried," Hermione said, "I know." As she tugged at her sleeve she felt the material scrape against her scar. "I'll be fine."
The three of them walked along the dirt path leading to the Manor, wands at the ready. The trees along the path swayed in the wind, but they felt nothing. Though Hermione expected to hear crickets chirping at this time of night, the only thing audible was each others' breathing.
"Does it seem oddly quiet to you?" she whispered before something above caught her eye. Looking up she saw a red jet of light shoot across the window on the top-most floor, followed by a jet of blue. A window on the far right silently shattered, proving a silencing charm had been cast on the house. Whoever was inside did not wish to be found.
"Think it's Malfoy in there?" Ron asked, but Harry shook his head.
"He knows this would be the first place they'd look for him. If he was in there, he's long gone."
"Who do you 'spect it is then?" Ron asked, but Harry just shrugged.
They approached the steps and tiptoed up to the massive front door. Hermione noted that Hagrid would fit through quite easily (even Madame Maxime wouldn't have a problem squeezing in). It seemed misplaced—since when did the Malfoys entertain anyone besides pure-blood witches and wizards? Hermione scoffed. It was probably just used as a show of wealth.
"You okay?" Ron asked. She nodded.
"Let's go in," she said, and the three of them pushed the door open. Unsurprisingly, the hinges didn't squeak as it moved.
"Nice to be able to walk through the front door this time," Ron muttered and turned red when Harry and Hermione looked confused. "You know—instead of being here as prisoners."
Hermione wanted to say she would rather not be here at all, but didn't want to appear scared or weak, so she remained silent.
The foyer was dark and Hermione could barely see her hand tightly gripping her wand.
"Lumos!" she said. Her wand, along with Ron and Harry's, lit up the room, revealing broken furniture and glass shards scattered across the hardwood floor. As she took a step forward, a piece of a floral vase crunched beneath her right foot. She looked behind her and saw Harry, mouth slightly agape and eyes scanning the room.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" he said, and Ron nodded. Hermione continued to walk toward the stairs, taking care not to step on the wooden splinters from the nearby demolished coffee table.
"What are you doing?" Ron whispered harshly, his feet rooted to the floor where they had entered.
"The spells came from upstairs," she whispered. "We can't just stand here and wait to be attacked."
Harry began following her and Ron grudgingly moved toward them. Together they crept up the stairs, but stopped when they heard voices.
"You're a rather weak one, aren't you?" A raspy male voice asked, amusement in his voice. "Crucio!" he yelled.
A painful scream rang through Hermione's ears and she cringed. "We have to help them," she whispered and began moving, but Harry grabbed her ankle.
"We don't even know who it is or how many there are," he whispered. "It could be a trap."
"Incendio!" This time a female voice spoke, and the victim's scream pierced through Hermione's chest.
"I can't do nothing!" she whispered and yanked herself away from Harry's grip. She ran up the remaining stairs and flames caught her eye.
"Aguamenti!" Water shot from her wand, getting rid of the flames, but the body they had covered ceased to move.
The female Death Eater eyes widened and she turned toward Hermione, jaw clinched and wand held steady. "Avada—"
"Expelliarmus!" she heard Harry yell, and the wand flew out of the surprised woman's hand. Her male companion raised his wand to attack, but a spell hit the chandelier above him, and it crashed on top of him, knocking him unconscious. Hermione looked behind her to find Ron smiling triumphantly.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry yelled. As soon as the woman's petrified body hit the ground, Hermione ran over to the source of the earlier screams.
It was obvious the victim was male, but his head was tucked under his arms so she was unsure of his identity. She placed two fingers on the left side of his throat and felt a faint heartbeat.
"He's alive!" she yelled to Harry and Ron. His arms were badly burned, and she moved them as gingerly as she could in order to expose his face. She gasped when she noticed the pale, thin face.
"It's Malfoy," she whispered.
"Guess our work is done," Ron muttered from across the room, wand pointed at the male Death Eater. Hermione shook her head and pushed a strand of blond hair away from the unconscious male's eyes.
"It's not Lucius," she said. "It's Draco."
Review pretty please :)
