Friday morning came and Hermione was pleased to have risen just as the sun was. Her rooms faced west and she had been falling into a bad habit of sleeping in later than she cared for.

Need to get a new clock, she reminded herself. Her old alarm clock was electric, and it wouldn't function properly at the Manor.

She was quite disappointed that her stereo, DVD player, and TV couldn't be used either. She had known they wouldn't work but it was still disheartening. She had spent so much time using them in her flat. There were magical equivalents but she didn't think any were compatible with Muggle media, which meant all her CDs and DVDs were useless. Of course, it had been ages since Hermione had gone shopping in the Wizarding world. And even at that, Diagon Alley didn't always have the latest and greatest. It was possible that hope remained for her yet.

She dragged herself out of bed, scratching Crookshanks' belly on her way to the bathroom. She opted for a warm shower to help wake her. When she stepped out of the shower and began to dry off, a soft pop came from her room. She snatched her wand from the counter top and hesitantly cracked the door to the bedroom open.

The room was empty. However, the heavy curtains were thrown open letting in the morning sun. The window-doors were cracked, allowing the morning breeze to flutter in, bringing the rich fragrance of the roses with it. The bed was made, and on the foot of it, near a still sleeping cat, was a small black, velvet box. Hermione rolled her eyes angrily.

She stepped into the room and stopped a foot from the box. She wanted to open it. She wanted to see what he had picked out. An internal debate was raging in her mind. She wanted to see it so badly, but she wanted him to have to be the one to give it to her. She wanted him to have to swallow his pride. She didn't care if he proposed at all, honestly; she didn't care if it was romantic, beautiful, or heartfelt. She simply wanted to see Draco Malfoy kneeling before her, the Mudblood. She pushed her curiosity aside and pointed her wand at the box, muttered a spell, and saw it vanish. It would be on its way to Narcissa, wherever in the house she was.

Hermione went to the closet and began sifting through the clothes; every time she thought about it, she became irate.

All her clothes, all her clothes, were gone. She wanted to cause serious injury to whichever Malfoy was behind it. She would find out who was responsible for it and get them back.

She found something that looked comfortable and slipped it on. She examined herself in the mirror; the dress clung to her torso and flared out at her hips. The lower half was layered with a wispy fabric. She had altered the gown to a pale blue and the over all look was ethereal.

She left her room; she needed breakfast and the dining room was her destination.

Draco had risen well before Hermione. With his pathetic sleeping habits, he was up hours before the sun was. He was leaving his room when he heard her shower running and decided to go forward with his plan. He called his house-elf and instructed it of what to do. The creature Apparated into Hermione's room and began tidying up.

Draco went to his study. His owls delivered his mail directly to his desk and he stopped there first to see if he had anything urgent awaiting his attention. By the time Draco entered the dining room, Hermione had already found and sent the box away.

Narcissa was sitting in her normal seat beside her husband, who was reading The Daily Prophet.

Draco went to his seat, pulled it away from the table, and made to sit.

He froze.

He stepped away from the chair and looked into it. He looked away to the door, to his parents, and back to the chair, his brows tightly knit together in confusion.

It was still there.

He reached down and touched it.

What the devil? He thought as he picked up the box from his seat and sat down.

"Has Granger been down already?"

Narcissa looked up and met his gaze confidently, being the Slytherin she was.

"No, I haven't seen her. Have you, dear?" she asked Lucius.

"Hmm?" he replied without being distracted from his paper.

"Your father hasn't seen her either," Narcissa answered for him before returning to her morning tea while she glanced over the Society pages from the paper.

Lucius looked up from his portion of the paper curiously; he glanced from his wife, eating her breakfast normally, then to his son, who was studying something in his lap. Lucius quirked a brow and leaned forward to see what Draco was staring at.

The boy noticed and pocketed the black box before his father saw what it was.

Lucius frowned and returned to his paper.

Draco would have questioned the two, if it had remained the three of them. However, it did not. As soon as he opened his mouth to begin the inquisition, the doors opened and Granger entered in all her glory, looking like a phantom. The translucent fabric layers of the dress fluttered as her movement stirred the air around her and the light color, a color not seen within the walls of that home, truly made her look ghostly.

He almost wanted to touch her and make sure she wasn't an apparition. It angered him, for some unearthly reason, that she looked quite beautiful that morning. He scowled at her approaching figure.

Hermione took her normal seat and began placing bits of fruit onto her plate for breakfast.

Narcissa looked up and smiled.

"Good morning. That's a lovely color. Is that one of the dresses I bought you?" She lifted her cup to her lips.

"Yes, it is. I altered the colors. I can only stand so much black, it's so dreary," Hermione said cheerfully.

She took a bite of the fruit she had selected and looked around. Draco and Lucius were looking at her in an annoyed manner; naturally, they were both dressed in head to toe black.

She smiled demurely at the two scowling men.

The four ate in silence, the only sound being the crinkle of the pages of the Prophet Lucius was reading.

Draco felt the box in his pocket through the fabric of his pants.

How the hell did she manage it, he kept wondering.

He was truly perplexed. He knew the elves would never dream of disobeying him. Somehow, the witch had managed to get it to the dining room without his parents seeing her.

He suspiciously watched those at the table.

His face slacked in realization.

Hermione had looked up from her food and met eyes with Narcissa. The two women smiled devilishly at each other, like they shared a private joke, like they had a secret.

His blasted mother was working against him again!

He sighed in frustration and tossed his napkin to the table without touching his food. Lucius looked up at that movement, upon seeing Draco was done, folded his paper, and stood to leave the room.

"We're leaving, mother," Draco said dryly as he stood by the woman and bent down to kiss her cheek.

"All right, darling," she answered, ignoring his tone.

Draco left the room and Lucius, too, bent to give her a kiss and whisper in her ear before leaving.

Confident they were gone, Hermione spoke.

"I think he knows."

"He'll be fine," Narcissa replied nonchalantly, still looking over her paper.

Hermione's brow rose cynically, but decided not to argue with the other woman.

"I saw your horses yesterday," she said conversationally after another bite of fruit.

"Oh?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, they're quite beautiful. I wasn't aware there were any Andalons around anymore. How did you come about acquiring them?"

"I'm not sure of all the details; they've been handed down for several generations. I think one of Lucius' ancestors purchased all the known living ones during his time as a wedding gift for his daughter in-law, something like that."

"Oh. That's fascinating. I can't get over this place; it's like a museum of the Wizarding world."

Narcissa looked up from her paper and frowned, "Yes, so many generations of the family have lived in this house and constantly accumulated wealth and treasures. I'm truly amazed the place isn't cluttered from floor to ceiling."

Hermione smiled at her and finished her fruit breakfast.

"Do you ride?" Narcissa asked after several minutes.

"Oh, no, I haven't in years, and only once at that," Hermione said.

"Well, the weather is lovely today, we should go for a ride," Narcissa said. "I love riding, but Lucius is always too busy to go with me."

"I have nothing to wear but these dresses; it seems all my normal clothes have vanished." Hermione watched the woman's face for any telltale signs that she was the culprit.

Narcissa looked at her curiously.

"Your clothes?" she asked.

"Mmhmm, my Muggle clothes. Gone," Hermione said between sips of tea.

Narcissa made another curious face before shrugging. "That's odd. No doubt one of the boys has something to do with it."

Convinced of her innocence, Hermione mentally ticked her off the list of suspects.

One down, two to go, she thought.

"Well, you can borrow some of my riding clothes if you'd like."

"Oh, I don't know…"

"Don't be silly. It'll be fun." The woman rose and stopped at the doors to the room. "I'll have one of the elves bring them to your room in a few minutes, meet me at the stables as soon as you're ready."

"Alright," Hermione said, as she too rose from the table and went to her room to change.

Hermione entered the stables and found Narcissa working with two of the animals, getting them ready to ride.

One of the horses was tall and lean, beautiful and terrifying. An ink-black metallic color covered his entire body and his eyes seemed to glow threateningly. Hermione hoped she wasn't to ride him. The other horse looked much more approachable; it resembled one of the silver-white beauties she had seen the day before.

Narcissa turned to fetch something else and noticed Hermione.

"They fit all right?" she asked the young woman as she bustled about.

"Yes, fine."

"Are you ready then?"

Hermione hesitated.

"I…dunno…it's…well…I," she babbled while eyeing the black monster.

"You aren't riding him, he's extremely temperamental, so don't worry," the other woman replied, seeing the girl's obvious fear.

"Oh… good." Hermione sighed in relief and mounted the white animal.

They rode in silence for a while, leading the horses at a leisurely pace around the outer edges of the grounds.

"Narcissa…" Hermione spoke, no longer able to stand the silence.

"Yes?"

"I…I don't mean to be rude but I'm curious…why…why have you been so nice to me?" Hermione asked cautiously.

Narcissa smiled to herself and thought about her answer.

"It's jus that…well… I know I'm Muggleborn and I was…expecting the worst and it's been anything but that," Hermione quickly added at the other woman's silence, hoping she hadn't offended her.

"I grew up with two sisters. I was very close to Andromeda but Bella was always a little mad, even when we were young. She was always so dark. I remember being about seven and she was torturing the gnomes in the garden. I just couldn't stand it; she was full of reckless evil."

She paused.

"I was always close to Andromeda, though. She was the normal one," she smiled at Hermione. "It broke my heart when she ran away with Ted. I knew I'd never see her again. They'd call me a blood-traitor if I tried to. And of course, I always wanted a daughter. We had Draco and Lucius refused any others. He had his heir and wanted no more."

She sighed.

"When they told me what Draco planned to do, by marrying a Muggleborn, I had no choice in the matter. It was going to happen whether I wanted it to or not. I could fight it, make your life miserable and still be a lonely woman; or I could accept it and finally have a daughter. I think it's easier for me to accept than either of them. Lucius was an only child. He never really knew love or friendship. His mother died when he was very young and his father was…well…just like him. Draco, though I tried desperately, I don't think has turned out much better. Lucius never could understand why I wanted more children. He never understood why I'd cry on Andromeda's birthday. He's not that hateful, he just…doesn't know what it's like."

She paused and sighed again, lost in her memories. Hermione felt a twinge in her heart for the woman. She felt bad for her and she understood her loneliness.

"And besides," she continued in a lighter tone, "I think you're wonderful for Draco, all prejudices aside. You won't ever let him have what he wants when he wants it. Neither of those men know what 'No' means. I think it would do them both some good to have opposition. I don't think either really knows how to take any of it, like last weekend when we were so intoxicated- I've not drank that much alcohol since my seventh year at Hogwarts- neither of them knew how to react to it."

She smiled brightly.

"I like it. It's always been the two of them against me, now the sides are equal."

Hermione smiled back at her.

"You're telling me you're going to side with me against your husband and son?"

Narcissa sat in thought.

"Yes," she said simply. Both women laughed lightly.

"You know, I'm truly sorry about what Lucius did with the necklace. I had no idea he put it there. I hadn't seen it in years. It was a very cruel thing to do," Narcissa said after several minutes of silence.

"It could be worse," Hermione said, though silently agreeing that Lucius was cruel. "What is the point of it? Do you know? I mean…why have a necklace like this?"

"It's barbaric, one of those old family heirlooms from four or five hundred years ago. The

Lord Malfoy of the time was an extremely jealous man and crafted it himself. He was paranoid of his wife being unfaithful and he didn't trust her to even leave the grounds without him. When he would be gone for days, weeks, or months at a time, he'd put the necklace on her, preventing her from leaving the Manor and condemning her to a life of solitude and loneliness. They were married ten years, I believe, and had a small son when she threw herself from the Manor roof. I'm not sure if anyone's worn it since."

Hermione's eyes widened and she looked at the pendant hanging from her neck in shock, wishing more than ever she could be rid of it.

They continued riding and made their way around the western wing of the house, continuing towards the lake and forest on the south side.

"Do you know… why did Draco volunteer for this? He hates Muggles, Muggleborns, and… me. Why would he freely get himself into this knowing he'd be miserable?" Hermione finally asked; it had been on her mind since that day in the conference room when Lupin announced just who the family was.

"There are a great many things that go on in this house between those men that I am not privy to. I know only that it was imperative to both of them that the family name and trust be restored. They saw an immediate and easy fix and seized it. The true motivation behind it… I don't know… I don't know what they do at their meetings or what they discuss. I don't know where they go when they vanish for days at a time. I only hope they aren't doing what I fear they are."

"And what is that?"

The blonde woman looked at her, a dark look in her eyes.

"Meddling in things they shouldn't be, with people they shouldn't be associating with."

"You don't like his…dinner guests?" Hermione asked after several moments. She was eager to finally have some answers, for herself and the Aurors.

"No. It's not them that worry me, though they aren't the best lot to have around. Theodore is the only one I trust. He is Draco's Counselor but he isn't involved in whatever else they do. Blaise is probably one of the most agreeable, but I trust him the least. He's a devious man. He's as smooth as Lucius and as slimy as Rodolphus. But, no matter how sweet his words, he's always in it for himself. He's truly a Slytherin snake if there ever was one. The others…well…they're no better. Their only winning feature is that they like to be followers. They do anything Draco asks of them and, it seems, rarely think for themselves. Though, if I were you, I'd give Rodolphus and Rabastan a wide berth, neither are to be trifled with."

Hermione shuddered inwardly at the thought. One of the men had been the husband of Bellatrix; it would take a certain type of man to even want to be with her, a man with a proclivity for cruelty. She would most assuredly heed Narcissa's warning.

The women grew quiet again and Hermione drifted into her thoughts. "He was such a quiet boy in school…. Nott I mean."

"Theodore is probably the smartest of them. He's never had any desire to be involved in any of it, even before…during the war. It's such a shame all he's been through."

When Hermione looked at her curiously, she continued.

"His wife died when she gave birth to their son. He's been raising the boy on his own all these years."

"Oh, that's terrible," Hermione said, genuinely sad for the Slytherin. "Who did he marry? Anyone from Hogwarts?"

"Yes, I believe she was in your year, Pansy Parkinson. Their boy is four now."

"Parkinson? I didn't know they were married. Wow. That's really…sad."

They rode the horses around the far side of the lake, the house up the hill to their left, the dark forest only meters to their right.

A thundering sound had them both turning to look. Lucius was speeding towards them from the house on one of the other white horses, his face red with fury, his white hair flying angrily behind him.

"How long have we been out here?" Hermione murmured as confusion, worry, and fear washed over her.

"I don't know," Narcissa said as she turned her horse around and rode slowly towards her husband. Hermione followed.

"What the hell are you doing, woman?" Lucius demanded furiously as he pulled his horse up beside his wife.

"What the devil is the matter with you?" she asked, completely confused by his outburst and sudden appearance.

He leaned close and whispered to his wife, his eyes wide with anger and his jaw set. Hermione could only hear pieces of what he said, "I told you…too close…it's too dangerous…"

Narcissa whispered back to him, much quieter than he had to her in his anger. Hermione sat waiting patiently, wondering desperately what they were discussing.

A rustling in the woods behind her caused her to spin around and look for the source.

All light ceased at the edge of the trees. Beyond the thick trunks, nothing could be seen. She was certain, though, she could hear something, something moving and breathing. The only things to give away whatever was there were the soft crunching of dry leaves or the light snap of a twig.

She was forced from her investigation when her horse was roughly pulled away. She spun around to find Lucius leading her horse back towards the Manor; Narcissa was already up the hill ahead of them. She looked over her shoulder once more to the woods; her curiosity had awoken and demanded to know what evil thing lurked there. It was calling to her, like a siren. She had to know.

Whatever it was, something was most definitely hiding in those shadows; something beastly, some monster; something that had been watching them, perhaps waiting.

Waiting for what?

Hermione shivered. She looked back at her would-be rescuer and felt more than ever like Alice.

Rescued by Lucius Malfoy? What on Earth was the world coming to?

She glanced over her shoulder again at the retreating tree line. Yes, something was in those woods, something dark and dangerous. She could feel it watching her, calling to her, even as they retreated.

Mudblood or not, it was something not even Lucius Malfoy would leave her at the mercy of.

They returned to the Manor, Hermione still scared out of her wits and thoroughly shaken. She withdrew to her room, took a warm bath and changed into comfortable clothes.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about what had happened; why Lucius had reacted the way he had, why she felt the strong need to return to the trees and enter the darkness. It was like a silent song, she could feel it, like strings tied to her heart pulling her. She knew from her studies that those types of feelings were not natural; in fact they were very unnatural. They were the results of dark magic, magic usually associated with dark creatures.

She wracked her mind. She knew vampires could call their victims in such a manner; but no matter how dark it had been in the trees, it was midday, which ruled out vampires.

She was pulled from her thoughts by a hammering on her door. She had not even the time to cross the room to it before it flew open and Draco entered her room and shut the door behind him. She backed away from his angry form. She bumped into her bed and sat on it.

He paced in front of her for several minutes while running a hand through his hair as he thought deeply about something. He finally stopped and faced her.

"Stay away from the woods," he said simply.

She gave him a bewildered look.

"Why? What's in there? What was that?"

He shook his head crossly. He was obviously trying hard to restrain his anger for his chest heaved heavily and his face was set in a scowl.

"Just…stay away from the woods, Granger."

She was quickly growing tired of his obscurities. She stood and stepped in front of him.

"Why?"

"Damn it! For once can't you just do as you're told?" he bellowed at her, his voice rising for the first time since he entered her room.

"Not without a reason," she said stubbornly.

"You're not getting the reason. Stay away from the woods, Granger, or I will make you." He accentuated his words heavily, driving the point home and glowering at her furiously.

She nodded her head meekly, though still insanely curious.

He doubted she'd comply; it was only a matter of time before she wandered back to the trees in search of her answers, answers he couldn't, at that time, give her. He had his reasons for holding his tongue, but they were his reasons and she would have to wait.

He shook his head and sighed before he turned and quickly left the room.

Hermione was left standing in front of her bed, staring at the place he had been standing. Her mind was reeling with even more unanswered questions than before.