A/N

Hey guys! Another chapter here, woohoo!

Enjoy :)

[Disclaimer- I do not own the Harry Potter series. I just write fanfiction.]

Chapter 13

DPOV

'Granger!' he called from the hallway.

'I'm coming!'

He waited another minute, beginning to get impatient.

'Granger if you don't get out here-'

'I'm here! Shut up!' she exclaimed as she appeared out of her bedroom.

'Right, come on then.'

He held out his arm to her for side-along apparition.

'Remember, don't let go of me and keep the destination in mind. Malfoy Manor is extremely hard to enter by apparition.'

He felt her grab hold of his arm.

'Ready?' he asked.

'Ready.'

Suddenly they were being pressed through an uncomfortable sensation. He knew it would be even worse for Granger, due to her blood status. The Malfoy wards made it very hard for someone like her to enter.

The sensation was soon over, and they appeared in one of the parlours in the manor. As soon as they appeared, he felt Granger collapse against him, panting slightly.

'You alright, Granger?' he asked, holding her as she steadied herself.

'What on earth is wrong with your wards!?'

'Sorry about that. The Malfoy wards are really old, and they affect you more depending on your blood status.'

'And you didn't tell me before because…?'

'I did! I said it's extremely hard to enter by apparition.'

'Well you could have specified the blood status bit.'

'I just didn't want you to panic before we apparated. That makes it even worse.'

'Oh.'

Just then, his mother came sweeping through the doorway.

'Draco. Would you like to explain why you've been standing in this room for the past few minutes? Is there something you're not telling me?'

He rolled his eyes at her overreaction.

'Good morning, Mother. May I introduce you to Granger?'

His mother only seemed to notice Granger at that moment.

'Oh! Miss Granger, pleasure to meet you! But still Draco, why have you been standing here for the past few minutes?'

'Mum. Calm down. I'm not hiding something drastic from you. We only took a few minutes because of the apparition wards.'

For a minute his mother looked confused, but then she seemed to put the pieces together in her head.

'Ah. Of course. Well, come on in then.'

As his mother swept out of the room, he realised that Granger was still holding his arm. She seemed to realise too, and they quickly separated their limbs.

'Thanks for the help.' she muttered.

'No problem.'

'Draco?' his mother called from in front.

'Yes?'

'Why are you here?'

Could she have been any blunter?

'We have to find some references to some things in the library.'

His mother suddenly turned around and pursed her lips.

'Draco, if I could just have a word? Miss Granger, would you mind waiting in the parlour over there for a few minutes?'

He frowned. What was his mother up to?

'Of course, Mrs Malfoy. This one here?'

'Yes, that's the one.'

As soon as Granger was out of earshot, his mother turned to him with a concerned look in her face.

'Draco, why is she here?'

'What do you mean? Do you not like having her here?'

'It's not me that doesn't like her. You don't like her. And if you are trying to do anything petty out of spite, I want you to stop right now.'

Well that was offensive.

'I am genuinely offended that you think I would do that, Mother. And I don't dislike her.'

'Then why is she here?'

'Because we need to research something.'

'Oh? And what would that be?'

'Some stuff.'

He sighed.

'Considering that what you're looking for is in our library, it must be something that is not in others. Which means it's probably dark. Why on earth are you looking for dark references with a muggle-born?'

'Granger and I need to research some things to do with our work.'

She looked at him for a few moments before relaxing her features.

'Alright. I believe you. Just be careful. There are still a few places in this manor that don't take kindly to blood like hers.'

'Yes, we'll be careful.'

And they walked over to the parlour where Granger was waiting. He opened the door for his mother and they walked through the double doors.

Granger wasn't in the parlour.

'Granger?'

No response was heard. He turned to face his mother.

'Are you sure you told her to go to this one?'

'Definitely. I saw her walk in.'

Oh Merlin. Where on earth had she gone?

His mother suddenly gasped.

'What if she's gone to one of the ancestral corridors?'

Horror flooded through him as he thought of the implications.

'Shit.' was all he said before sprinting to the other side of the parlour to the other door.

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HPOV

Hermione was hopelessly lost. She probably shouldn't have left the parlour. But the thing was, she couldn't have stayed in there. As soon as she had step foot in it, she had realised that it was the one from seventh year. The one where Bellatrix had tortured her. She couldn't wait in there. Not while she was still upset about a more recent memory.

So then she had walked out the other door, not wanting to cause a fuss when Malfoy was talking to his mum. She had decided to wait outside the parlour door, knowing that she would hear them when they came back in.

But then suddenly, the bit of floor she had been standing on had risen, twisted and moved, and now she had no idea where she was.

'Mudblood… Sullying the air in our house…'

She instantly looked around to see who had spoken. She couldn't see anyone. The word mudblood made her panic slightly, but she calmed herself down with a few deep breaths.

'Who said that?' she said out loud, trying to sound confident.

'Get out…Get out…'

Okay. Now she was scared. There were no paintings in this hallway, so that wasn't the source. She couldn't make out any ghosts either, but then again, the place was very dimly lit. So what could it be?

'Lumos.'

Tentatively, she began walking down the corridor, hoping she would be able to find her way to the entrance of the manor.

'Out… Leave… Filth…'

She carried on walking, ignoring the whispers.

All of a sudden, she was accosted by a number of grey spirits, flying at her with angry looks on their faces. Her wand flew out of her hand and she fell to the floor screaming.

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DPOV

A scream was heard from the upper floors of the manor. He swore as he realised where the sound was coming from, and turned on the spot.

A/N

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