Author's Note: Sorry this has taken so long to get up. I promise another chapter later this week.
"We will be leaving at Midnight," said Albus Dumbledore, standing at the head of the largest table in the kitchen of Number Twelve Grimmuald Place.
"Why so late?" Asked Sirius.
"I would like to maintain the element of surprise," said Dumbledore. "As you all know, the Malfoy's are Death Eaters, and if we should chance upon a few more of their kind, it would be in our favor."
"I see," Lily spoke up. "If there are Death Eaters in the Malfoy Manor, then we have reason to bring in the Malfoy's. But Professor, what are we going there for? You said we're not looking for people but for an item."
Dumbledore smiled kindly. "I am sorry Lily, but I cannot tell you just yet. When the time is right, I believe that Jonathan be more than willing to tell you what you would like to know." Dumbledore clapped his hand on Harry's shoulder.
"He's going?" Moody asked, surveying Harry up and down, his magical eye whizzing around in his head.
"Yes, Alastor," Said Dumbledore. "I am afraid that I cannot say for certain what we are looking for, and without his help, the entire night would be a bust." Dumbledore smiled kindly at the confused faces in the room.
It was obvious that Moody didn't want to trust Harry, but he growled his approval.
"Who else is going?" Remus asked.
"I believe that a medium sized party will be best," Dumbledore said. "Along with myself and Jonathan, we shall take Lily, James, Sirius, and Alastor."
Remus looked disappointed. Dumbledore seemed to have noticed it. "Remus, I believe that you may indeed end up playing a role. However, tonight is not the night for it." He paused for a moment, waiting for another person to speak. When no one did, he continued. "I will see you in a few hours then. I must get back to the school as I hate leaving my students." He smiled before stepping into the fire and disappearing in a swish of green flames.
Harry had gone back to his room after Dumbledore left. He felt a lump in his throat and a feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was his nerves. Fate had handed him a cruel hand by throwing him back in time, but once he figured out when he was, he thought things would be different. But once again, he found himself caught up in the hunt for the Horcruxes. He knew that a long road lie ahead of him, and he found himself wishing that Ron and Hermione were there with him.
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"There's the house, Ron," said Hermione, pointing to the bottom of a hill. The Burrow had never looked more welcoming to her than at that very moment. "We need to be careful though. It's under surveillance."
"I wonder who's home," said Ron, taking in a deep breath and smelling his mother's cooking wafting up the hill.
"If you two untie me now, I may spare your lives when I do get free," said Snape. His voice was colder than it had ever been before, sending a chill down Ron's spine.
"I thought you silenced him," Hermione said, rolling her eyes and walking over to Snape.
"You two do not know what you are messing with. That potion was not merely some transportation, you idiot girl." His mouth opened and closed breathlessly. Hermione had placed a new silencing charm on Snape.
"About time," Mumbled Ron as they began the decline down the steep hill. The sun had just about disappeared, leaving behind only rays of purple and orange light.
They stopped a few yards from the house. "I brought the invisibility cloak," Hermione said, now reaching into her bag to grab it. "I managed to grab it at the last second."
"Why do we need it?" asked Ron. "The house is right there."
Hermione looked at him and sighed loudly. "The house is being watched," she said. "Put this on." She draped the cloak over Ron, his tall frame disappearing.
"What about you?" asked Ron.
Hermione sighed again. She whipped her wand hard over Snape and then over her own head. She had cast a Disillusionment Charm.
They reached the front gate, pushing their way through. The familiar squeak as it opened and closed gave Ron a rejuvenated sense of feeling. He looked around, happy that the cloak was keeping him hidden. He looked to the spot where he believed Hermione to be and took a deep breath.
Knocking on the door gently, he heard a few people shuffling around inside. He knocked again, this time hearing someone rushing to the door. His mother opened the door slowly, her wand at the ready.
"Who's there?" she called, not seeing anyone.
Ron threw off the Invisibility Cloak and smiled at her. "Hello Mum," he said, his smile bright.
"ARTHUR!" She screamed. "Stupefy," she yelled, her wand pointed at Ron.
"Protego," Hermione yelled, and an invisible wall erupted between them. Mrs. Weasley's spell rebounded back on her, and Ron was thrown a few feet back. Hermione ran to him, making sure to have a good grasp on Snape as well. With a small pop, the three vanished.
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The small group of five people appeared with several pops outside a large gate. Manicured hedges were on either side of the menacing gate. Dumbledore drew his wand. A small beam of light came from the end as he pushed his way through the gates.
Harry looked around. The house looked menacing from the outside. He thought it strange that he would be seeing the place where Draco Malfoy was to grow up. They walked slowly, seeing a few dim lights on through the dark windows.
The walked up the front steps, their feet making little noise as they made their way. "Wands at the ready please," Dumbledore whispered. Harry's hand dove into his robes and pulled out his wand.
Dumbledore mumbled a few spells before they entered. Harry assumed they were to stop apparition. With the most casual flicks of his wrist, the door burst open and he strode inside.
"Alastor, I'd like you to stay close to this door in case anyone tries to escape," Dumbledore said. Mad Eye didn't look too excited about being kept on guard duty, but he stood by the door nonetheless.
They proceeded quickly through the house. Harry was almost at a run, trying to keep up with the long strides of Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore!" came a voice from behind them.
They turned and saw a much younger looking Lucius Malfoy coming out of one of the rooms. His wand was drawn and there was cold fury in his eyes. He looked at the group in front of him, wondering if he should fire off a spell or not.
"What are you doing in my home? How did you get in?" He asked.
"We have a warrant to search the property," said Dumbledore.
"Warrant?" He looked Dumbledore up and down as he handed over the piece of paper. "After all the money I have donated?" He mumbled something under his breath. "I'll see about this!"
"Please do," said Dumbledore slowly. "In the mean time if you would be so kind as to point us in the direction of your library."
Again, surprise crossed Lucius' face. "The library?"
"I don't believe I stuttered," Said Dumbledore.
They continued on, making their quick strides to the library. Lucius had gone back to his bedroom, no doubt to contact the Minster or even Voldemort.
The Library in Malfoy Manor was quite large. A large wall had two bookshelves, each going from ceiling to floor, filled to the brim with books of varying size and color. Another wall had two large windows, showing the moon and trees just outside. The other wall had a fireplace with a very small fire and two large arm chairs in front of it.
"What are we looking for?" asked Lily, staring at the many books.
Harry looked to Dumbledore who nodded. "Er…we're looking for a diary. It looks like an ordinary book and its blank inside. You'll know its the one we're looking for if you write to it and it writes back"
James and Lily exchanged a look. If they found the instructions strange, they didn't voice their concerns. Harry stood back and pulled out his wand.
"Accio Diary," he said. He wasn't surprised when none of the books on the shelf came down. He picked an area off on the other side of his parents and began pulling books from the shelf, looking through each one. Dumbledore was checking books as well for a little while before leaving the room. All he said was that he would be back.
Harry continued searching, making his way through several shelves of books without much luck. The house was eerily quiet. He found himself hoping to see a glimpse of the young Draco Malfoy, though he didn't know why.
"This is it," Whispered Lily from the other end of the room. Harry stopped his search and ran to her, taking the book from her hand and examining it.
"I think you're right," he said. "Do you have a quill?"
She ran to the desk and grabbed a quill and a bottle of ink. Dipping the quill in ink, she handed it to Harry. He held it in his hand before scribbling something down.
My name is Harry Potter, he wrote. At first, nothing happened, but soon small neat handwriting appeared just underneath his.
Hello Harry, my name is Tom Riddle.
Harry slammed the book closed and smiled.
"Is that it then?" asked James.
"Yeah, we can go," said Harry. He was about to ask did either of them know where Dumbledore went off to, but the door opened and Dumbledore walked back inside. Before anyone had a chance to ask him about what he had been doing, he clapped his hands together and smiled.
"You've found it," he said and his periwinkle eyes tinkled.
"Sir, where did you go?" asked Lily.
"There is not enough time to explain right now," he said as he opened the door once more and began walking down the hall, closely followed by Lily, James, and Harry. The reached the front door quickly. Mad-Eye was standing in front of the door. Three people were unconscious in front of him, each of them held by ropes.
"What happened?" Asked Harry, looking down at the unconscious body of Lucius Malfoy. His eye was swelling and darkening, apparently the work of a well aimed fist.
"He tried to lead them out," Moody growled. "I stopped em."
"Looks like he did a lot more than that," James whispered in Harry's ear as Lily and Dumbledore levitated the body of the unconscious Death Eaters outside.
"Let's take them in," said Dumbledore. He and Mad Eye levitated the body, opening the front door.
"Sir, what about his wife and child?" asked James, peering down the hallway at the attractive figure that was Narcissa Malfoy. Though she was still quite some ways down the hall, the sneer on her face was obvious. She was wearing a nightgown and her hair was flowing over her shoulders. Harry got a look at the young Malfoy. He was in his mothers arms. There was a look of sorrow in his eyes though no tears. Harry wondered if he knew what was going on or if it was a permanent fixture on his face.
"Leave them be," said Dumbledore. He peered down the hall, his periwinkle eyes twinkling.
"But sir, she'll contact Voldemort?" Lily said.
"I have no doubt that she will," said Dumbledore. "But that is not our concern. We came to get what we came here for, and lucked out on getting a few Death Eaters as well. I hope that some sort of questioning will be able to help us."
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"Where are we?" asked Hermione after they had apparated a few miles away from the Burrow. They were in a clearing in a forest. Ron was trying to get a fire started while Hermione had Snape leaned up against a tree. She pointed her wand at him and removed the silencing charm. Now that he was able to talk however, he didn't say a word. A smirk formed on his lips and he merely stared at her.
"Where are we?" Hermione asked again. Ron joined her after starting a roaring fire a few yards behind them.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"He won't tell us where we are," said Hermione. She rounded on Ron. "Have you set up the tent yet?" she asked.
He tried to stammer something but she continued.
"And what about protective spells? Have you double checked them? Is there fresh water around? I don't have my sack anymore so we don't have much food."
Ron marched off, mumbling something under his breath. Hermione turned back to Snape. "Where are we?"
He finally spoke. "I tried to tell you earlier, but you would not listen you insolent little girl."
"You have my attention now," said Hermione and her voice softened.
"I would hope so," muttered Snape, now trying to keep himself sitting up. The ropes that bound him were not helping. "Remove these ropes."
Hermione looked apprehensive.
"Ms. Granger, If I wanted to do you harm, I would have spent my night chanting a jinx on either of you."
Hermione seemed to be reasoning with herself. She finally decided that it would be better to let him free. She released the ropes that were holding him. He stood and stretched, relishing in his new found freedom
"My wand?" he said, holding out his hand.
"You get it after you tell me what I want to know," Hermione said.
Snape nodded begrudgingly. "Well?"
"Where are we?" she asked.
"It is not a where, Ms. Granger," said Snape slowly. "It is a question of when.
For the first time in her life, Hermione Granger didn't know what to say.