Malfoy Manor looked like a gothic nightmare in the midst of nowhere: dark, gloomy and lonesome. One of the last of its kind. The pathway to the gate was paved with dry leaves.
Four people appeared on it with a snap. The great manor house stood like a huge raven looking over them. However, it wasn´t abandoned. It was full of some of the most devoted supporters of the evilest and greatest wizard of their time- Lord Voldemort, Draco´s parents among them.
"You´ve got us so far," said Harry. "That´s okay if you don´t want to, you know..."
Draco swallowed and looked utterly depressed.
"We can´t let him go anywhere, what if he turns us in?" said Ron.
"Don´t be stupid Weasley, you don´t even know how to get past the gate without me," said Draco. He forgot his fear in a split second of anger. He was always suspected, even if he did things that would shock them. Ron, however, did not trust this two-faced slimy git, as he called the boy. He had pointed his wand at him and Draco answered him with the same.
"Stop it!" said Hermione. "Ron put down your wand."
"Hermione!" yelled Ron, most disappointed in his friend.
"You are not going to attack me," said Draco, put down his wand instead, turned his back on them and started to walk ahead. They followed him, Ron, much less eagerly now. Harry started to wonder, how were they going to open the gate then? Draco just walked right through it, like it was nothing more than just a breath of fresh air. He then turned around, pressed his ring against the keyhole and told them to proceed. All three walked through the gate just the same.
"You just need a ring to get past?" asked Harry. He was a bit disappointed. He had expected something far more interesting.
"It´s either this or parseltongue," answered Draco.
"I can speak parseltongue," said Harry.
"You also need to be pureblood. Then you get to walk past and let in whoever you want to by pressing anything that is of family heritance to prove your identity," he explained further.
"Now what?" asked Ron. They were inside, but how would they do something so dangerous as to fight off a thousand death eaters, protecting Voldemort´s Horcrux?
"The cloak!" said Hermione. She took out the cloak of invisibility from her bag and thrust it around all three of them. They proceeded to the manor house, Draco leading the way. The one to welcome him at the door was no other than his father. Harry noticed the pale boy´s knees weakened, sure this is where he was not able to go further.
"Draco, you´ve come back," said the older man. "Where are the others?"
"Dead," Draco said.
"What do you mean? There were supposed to be only... You don´t want to tell me that three children could fight against..."
"No, there were more of them," said Draco.
Ron winced and Hermione had to poke him to stay still so as he would not reveal their legs under the cloak.
"He is telling him the truth," whispered Ron.
"Where is your aunt? Where is Bellatrix?" asked Lucius.
Draco looked away suddenly by instinct. Downright lying to someone as overweening as his father was proving a difficult task.
"She, erm... was stunned," he said.
Harry was amazed. Yeah, don´t tell him it was you who did it of course. It was totally giggle-worthy and it was a struggle to hold himself back.
Lucius went inside, Draco held the door open for a while, so that Harry, Ron and Hermione could sneak in.
"What are you doing?" asked Lucius. Little escaped his notice.
"I thought I saw something," said Draco. "It was just a crow."
They were inside the huge manor now. It was much bigger than Harry had ever imagined. He could tell now, why little spoiled and brain-washed Draco was so convinced of his superiority. It was a massive building, walls decorated with impressive tapestries, a huge staircase leading to upper floors. The Malfoys were undoubtedly one of the wealthiest witches and wizards these days.
Draco and his father went to the rectangular room with a huge dinner table and a chandelier. The boy gestured them to follow.
He was seated at the table next to his mother, who looked relieved to see her son alive and well.
"You came back," she repeated Lucius´s words unknowingly and smoothed his hair coil. Draco blushed a bit. It was undoubtedly embarrassing to let your former arch enemies witness your mummy pampering you this way. However, Harry felt a surge of envy. He never remembered his mother fondling him, looking at him as he was the most precious thing in the world. His mother was dead. It became even realer for Harry seeing this boy, whom he had hated so much, receive every family tenderness he had missed out on. Ron and Hermione could never fully understand. And it was so alien, so weird to see Draco looking at his mother much in the same way. His mother he was going to betray. Would he be able to do it? To back out on someone whom he had also smiled at in such a tender way. Harry could have never imagined Draco even knew how to smile like that. This smile vanished from his lips in a second though, and his pale face acquired an irretrievably sad look now.
"We have an announcement," said Lucius now.
The other death eaters, seated at a table, there were seven of them, looked at him.
"I am afraid Draco tells the attack was a failure," said Lucius.
"How much more failures must we endure because of you Lucius!" hissed one of them.
Lucius backed off. He seemed less haughty now. It was pathetic to look at him. The man had been right of course. Since the ministry attack failing, it was somewhat a wonder to see any of the Malfoys and Draco alive by now. Voldemort had been especially eager to make Lucius pay.
"There were apparently people supporting Potter, people we didn´t know would be there. We expected to find only Lupin, whom we knew might have contact with Potter and thus lead us to him," he tried to explain. "The good thing is we did find out Potter´s whereabouts."
"He is probably gone by now," snapped someone.
Lucius did not answer. He sat at the table, looking utterly beaten, grey and much older. And now, something happened, that they were sure Draco had not planned. He was coming. Harry could feel it before they could see him. His forehead was filled with pain, it hadn´t come slowly, gaining its strength before reaching the peak, it had come unwarned and so suddenly he almost cried out and revealed them. Voldemort must have apparated. Harry was clutching to Hermione´s sleeve who looked utterly horrified, holding him up. Harry´s knees fell on the floor and someone must have heard it.
"What was that?" asked one of them, jumping up from his chair.
But none of them could react to it anymore, because the door was ripped open by huge force and Lord Voldemort entered, Nagini slithering behind him. This was it. This was where they would die, or Harry would die from the pain. He hardly even cared anymore, he wanted it to end, even if he knew his friends would be killed with him, and Draco, probably tortured by Cruciatus curse before murdered for betraying the death eaters, unless of course, he could manage to pull it off and say he had specially brought them here for the Dark Lord.
The silence was unbearable. All of the people at the table, staring Lord Voldemort, who slid his gaze upon them, coldly as if selecting whom to eat for dinner.
"I..." he started and everyone looked down as if the mere word would have scared them to death, "...hoped for better."
There was such a nasty coldness about him, it was hard to imagine someone more despising.
"Find them," he said and exited as slowly as his snake Nagini.
The death eaters suppressed a shiver and jumped up, storming around, eager to do something, although they didn´t have a clue what to do next. Some apparated probably wanting to make the impression that they were doing something. Now only the Malfoys and two other people were left behind.
"Draco," said Lucius. "Have you overheard anything that might give us a clue, what Potter´ s moves may be? In the castle, you must know what people say. What are the rumours? Who helps him?"
"Don´t press him," said Narcissa.
"Probably in hiding with some squibs and mudbloods like the coward he is I imagine," said Draco and Harry couldn´t help noticing he took some real pleasure in saying squibs and mudbloods.
"Alright, Draco. I will go take Avery and go see if I can rescue aunt Bellatrix. You´ll be guarding the You-know-what with your father now," said his mother, patting his shoulder affectionately. Draco stepped away quickly. Ron let out a giggle, but luckily the repressed and anxious Malfoys didn´t hear him. Draco did though. He obviously knew what had been so funny, despite of all the horror of Voldemort´s unannounced visit.
"Oh, shut up," he hissed between his teeth.
Draco´s parents left the room, unknowingly leaving their son accompanied by the trio, who now removed the cloak of invisibility.
"That was terrifying," said Ron.
"Harry, are you alright?" asked Hermione. She was looking at Harry like he was a very sick and possibly dying person.
"I am fine," lied Harry. His head was still aching.
Draco looked utterly harassed and avoided eye contact with any of them.
"You-Know-Who is looking for us now. Will he find out where we are?" asked Ron, addressing them all.
"Not if Harry doesn´t let him inside his head," said Hermione, still looking at the boy suspiciously. Draco watched the door that had closed behind his mother and father and for a moment Harry thought he would run down and tell them he had lead Harry Potter into a trap. The moment of desperation Draco had undoubtedly experienced passed quickly. He collected himself and turned to the three of them.
"Now, listen to me. The cup is in this room. There are always two of us guarding it. My father and I will guard it during the next few hours. We must make a replica of it, then you take the one that is the Horcrux and we will win time before it will be found out, that the replica is not the real one."
"Barking mad," said Ron. "Let´s take it now and leave. Where is it?"
"No! The Dark Lord will kill me if I lose it!" yelled Draco. "He will kill all of us, should the cup be stolen under our noses. He must think the one we brought from Gringotts is the fake one, that it was changed in the vault."
"Right," said Harry. "And we can´t leave this place anyway, as Volde- stop it Malfoy,- You-Know-Who, frequently visits the place and will be back most probably today. We need to kill his snake who is always with him."
"Yes Harry, but..." started Hermione. The prospect of the end being so near was intimidating.
"Then it's just me and him," said Harry, patting Hermione on the shoulder.
"When my father returns, I´ll make it so, that he forgets what he was about to do, so we can use the time to copy the cup," said Draco.
"You will use one of the unforgivable curses on you father?" asked Hermione.
Draco ignored her question.
"Bloody hell!" said Ron but his tone was far more appreciative than usually when he spoke to Malfoy.
"You obliviated your parents-" started Harry.
"Harry!" warned Hermione. She did not want Malfoy to know she had done anything as slightly sadistic as he too was capable of.
Loud steps were coming nearer to the room. They all gasped.
Harry threw the cloak on all three of them. The door was opened.
