"John, this is Draco Malfoy," Hermione says, "We went to school together."
John stands up and greets the man. He comments, "The magical school?"
Hermione nods. Draco whispers to her, "Muggle?"
"Yes," she replies.
"If you plan to lecture us about stars and constellations, I am not interested as John would tell you I deleted the solar system from my brain long time ago," Sherlock drawls.
Hermione stifles laughter as pure confusion colours Draco's face. He even asks, "Umm, what?"
"You don't want to know," John speaks.
"No, I am not here to lecture anybody," Draco scratches his neck, "But yeah, I was stargazing on my terrace with my son when he discovered there were lights flashing in the abandoned mansion, about a mile from my mansion," Draco says.
"So?" Sherlock asks.
"The mansion in question is the old Zabini abode."
Hermione whips her head around to look at Sherlock, who had jumped from his chair. He says, "Mr. Malfoy, we need to go there at once."
John says, "But—"
"If the mansion had been uninhabited this long, and now what with Lestrade missing..." Hermione left off for John to fill in the blanks.
As comprehension dawns on John, it gets soon replaced by dread. He rubs his face and says, "We are doing that again, aren't we?"
Hermione sadly nods. She says, "Since I don't know this place, we are doing a side-along apparition. Ready?"
She links her arms with Draco and Sherlock. John grudgingly comes forward and links his arms with Sherlock and Draco. Hermione says, "John, hold your breath this time, okay?" She also mentally sends a prayer to all Gods that nobody gets splinched.
She nods at Draco. It is lift-off.
Lestrade is dreaming. Or so he thinks. This could be reality but he does not really know. It is peaceful though. He is in a meadow, a rather beautiful meadow. The weather is great. The sky is clear. He sees his children racing around. He sees Molly seated beside him, a wine glass in hand. She smiles beatifically as she sips her wine.
Lestrade smiles, as happiness fills his senses. He had thought that the closing darkness would have swallowed him. But that had not happened. He is happy, he is alive, and he is free.
The pressing darkness will never get him.
The four of them appear in a wooded area. John feels relatively better. Holding breath was great advice.
Hermione asks, "John, you okay?"
"Yes. Thanks," he smiles.
"Anybody feel queasy?"
When all of them confirm that they are in no way splinched, she exhales in relief.
"It is through there," Draco points towards a small clearing in the wood. A narrow trail could be seen winding through more trees. The night looked even more solid. An involuntary shiver passes through Hermione. Draco notices it. So does Sherlock. However, Draco says in a soft, private voice, "Hey, it is okay." He touches her hand and entwines his fingers with hers.
Sherlock scowls a bit and scowls some more when she does nothing to take back her hand. Hermione sneers, "Excuse me, I am not afraid, just not fond of dark place. What is this place anyway?" Sherlock's scowl erases when she finally takes back her hand.
"The woods separating the Malfoy and Zabini mansions. It was much less woody when they lived here. But then they left. I sealed the back garden doors and nature took its course," Draco answers.
"A mile long then?" John asks, "We forgot torches!"
"It is all right," Draco says, "Lumos Maxima," his wand tip glows bright, covering almost the whole area in white silvery light.
John smiles on, thoroughly impressed. Hermione however had other concerns, "Uh, Draco? These woods, are they safe?"
"I, well, I don't know. It was safe when I was a kid."
She just sighs, "Okay, you lead."
Draco goes first, followed by Sherlock, then John and finally Hermione, with her wand raised. She did not like the darkness, or the creepy stillness. Not even a night bird could be heard. The eerie silence is heavy. It feels like as if the entire wood were holding its breath. Her discomfort intensified. She hurries forward and stands beside John.
John whispers, "I think Sherlock bought his gun."
Hermione whispers back, "So that is why it was taking him so long to fetch his coat?"
John solemnly nods, "I forgot mine."
"Don't worry, I am quite adept with this," Hermione twirls her wand.
Suddenly she bumps into the person in front of her. It is Sherlock. She had not noticed before, but she realises that both Sherlock and Draco have stopped in their tracks. She exchanges a look with John.
John asks, "What's wrong?"
"Do you hear that?" Sherlock whispers.
Oh Lord, Hermione thinks, just what I feared. As if on cue, she too hears rustling footsteps. Draco whispers, "Uh, I forgot to mention, Blaise's father was involved in a black market creatures trade, that he used to conduct out of his own basement."
Hermione furiously says under her breath, "You forgot to mention this?"
"Sorry. It escaped my mind."
Sherlock brings out the gun from his pocket. John looks around and finds a sturdy branch. He whispers, "Uh, what kind of creatures?"
"Magical ones," Hermione replies.
John nods, not fully grasping the concept. He looks down at the branch, his improvised weapon of choice. How screwed are they? He wonders if he is going to meet a dragon or something.
The footsteps increased. Sherlock says, "Whatever it is, it now bought a friend."
Hermione mutters, "Lumos Maxima."
The area gets almost as bright as day between her and Draco's wands. Still nothing could be seen, only the sounds were heard.
Then out of the blue, a huge creature walks out of the shadows and up at them. John cannot believe his eyes. Sherlock is rendered immobile. They cannot fathom what they are seeing. A lion-like creature with a humanoid face and a scorpion tail?
Hermione screams while Draco shouts, "That is a Manticore!"
Sherlock turns his head around in the opposite direction from where the first lion-like creature appeared. He says loudly, "As I said, it has a friend."