Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters or story line affiliated with either the books or the movies. All rights are reserved for its creator J.K. Rowling.
oOo
Chapter Four
Hermione prowled the ground floor opening and closing various doors until she found the dining room. Entering it she noticed another door across the room and headed towards it. Pushing through it she found herself in a rather dingy kitchen. There were dirty plates stacked on several services and as with the rest of the house dust covered everything. Hermione wandered how the Malfoys had survived so long without the help of their house elves. Judging from the detritus scattered about the kitchen and the refuse left spilling over a rubbish bin in the corner it was apparent to her that they hadn't survived well without their servants.
Looking around Hermione spotted a door and after opening it was happy to note that it was a supply closet. Pulling out the brooms and mops and other cleaning paraphilia she pointed her wand at it and muttered a spell and watched in satisfaction when everything multiplied. Flicking her wand she issued a silent spell and set the cleaning instruments to task.
With that accomplished she left the kitchen and went about the ground floor of the manor taking everything in with a critical eye, flicking her wand here and there when something in need of change caught her eye. Finally she came upon the drawing room and after taking a deep breath she pushed open the door and stood there willing the nightmarish images to recede. When she had pushed the memories back through a door in her mind and locked them away she stepped over the threshold and looked around with a new eye. Like with the rest of the ground floor she flicked her wand and turned the dark hardwood flooring into sleek shining light wood before she turned her attention to the purple tinted walls around her. Swishing her wand she smiled to herself when the dark walls changed to a light airy grey that reminded her of Draco's eyes, the color going well with the white marble of the massive fireplace set in one wall. Hermione's eyes narrowed on the heavy black velvet drapes and chairs and with another swish of her wand changed the black to white to match the white marbling of the hearth.
Finished with her changes she looked about the room and sighed in happy relief when the little changes she made turned the room of nightmares into something cheerfully different. Gone were the feelings of neglect and darkness and just because of that Hermione knew that she could enter this room without the memories of that day plaguing her like a sickness.
Happy with the changes she made in the drawing room she left and entered the hallway narrowing her eyes at the staircase set at the end near the parlor. In her pregnant state she wasn't feeling inclined to make the trek up the stairway, but having seen no other way of making it to the first floor during her perusal of the ground floor she sighed and began the climb, stopping along the way to rest.
Finally reaching the top she stopped again and leaned against the wall to catch her breath. Sighting a door she made her way towards it and after opening the door she peered inside. Noticing the huge king size bed and the clothing draped carelessly over the footboard she surmised that this room belong to Lucius and Narcissa. Letting her eyes roam the room and taking in the darkness that oozed from every corner Hermione shook her head before swishing and flicking her want several times. Happy with the lightness now brightening the room she closed the door and moved on to another.
Hermione stayed at it for near an hour, changing things here and there, leaving other things alone when their suited her new scheme of lightness. Finally she made it to the last two rooms at the end of the hallway. Opening the first she noticed the rather horrid neglect that had befallen the room and seeing nothing to indicate that it was Draco's room she assumed it to be the guest room and therefore hers. Eyeing the room with a new respect she whirled her wand and the dust diminished and the floor, changed to the same light wood as the rest of the manor, clean and polished. Pointing her wand at the curtains they flew open and early evening light spilled in. Conjuring an image in her mind of a room she once saw in a Muggle magazine she flicked her wand several times and glanced about the room. Smiling to herself at the beauty she had created she closed the door and moved to the last one.
Pushing open the door she stepped inside and peered around. Beneath the layer of dust that she quickly siphoned away with her wand she noticed the green and black colors of a typical Slytherin. The black made the huge room seem smaller than it should so pointing her wand she changed the black to glistening silver, but when she went to change the green she decided to leave it thinking that it suited Draco better than any other color would. Picking the clothes up from the floor by hand she hung them in the massive closet and cleaned them with magic before she surveyed the room looking for anything else amiss. Seeing nothing she nodded her head to the empty room and left.
Once again in the hallway Hermione spotted another staircase that had escaped her notice before. Waddling towards it she peered up and wondered what was at the top. Curious she climbed the stairs and gasped when she reached the top. The sight of the massive library making up the entire second floor made her almost weep with joy. Stepping further into the room she made quick work of cleaning and restoring it to its former glory. After changing a few things to give the veil of darkness hanging over it a lighter, happier feeling she tucked away her wand and scurried over to the first floor to ceiling wall of books.
Hermione let her eyes roam over the titles as her fingers gently brushed the spines of the books as if they were the most precious things in the world. Turning away from the wall she spotted a large green book with silver etchings sitting upon a table surrounded by chairs near a fireplace set into the wall opposite of the windows. Her attention caught she settled into one of the chairs and grabbed the book from the table. Opening it she was surprised to see a collection of baby pictures. She was certain that she was seeing the beginning of the young life of Draco and feeling more than curious she studied each picture looking for any sign of the arrogant boy she had known not so long ago.
She became lost in the early years of her former classmate. The seconds turned into minutes and still she studied each picture. She lost track of time in her discovery and was unaware when the Malfoys returned and found her sitting there lost amidst the moving timeline of their son.