Secret Love; My Escape

Chapter 28: Malfoy Manor


"You going is out of the question" Draco slammed his fist on the table top. I glared at him, my eyes narrowing.

"Oh really? Is it?" I growled. Trust him to play protective boyfriend now.

Draco paled slightly but held his ground. "Yes. Yes it is"

"She's my fucking sister. I'm going" I glared at him for a second longer before looking around the table. No one argued with me, not even Sirius.

"Sirius really? Are you going to let her do this!" Draco sounded exasperated, but I ignored him.

"I am" He nodded. "I have faith that Rosalie can do this" He held my gaze and I nodded.

"Then I'm going too" Draco sounded defeated. I looked from him to Sirius and then back again.

"No"

"Yes" He hissed immediately. "You'll need someone who knows where to go"

"And I suppose you do?" I snapped, running a hand through my hair. His expression softened and he pulled my hand from his hair and pressed it to his lips.

"I have a feeling she'll be at the Manor" He murmured against my skin. "We have dungeons at the manor, she'll be there" He closed his eyes. I gritted my teeth against my tears and looked at the Order around the table.

"Well, any arguments?" I asked. No one argued.

It was decided within a few hours that Draco, Harry and myself would be the three to take on the mission. We even had special outfits that were made of a sort of magical-reflective fabric and adjusted to fit our shapes perfectly. Butterflies fluttered around my stomach but I pushed them down and focused on breathing and listening to Dumbledore as he briefed us.

"The Malfoy estate backs onto an orchid. The apples have just been picked so you won't have a chance of losing your apple – it will just look like one that got left behind. This is, of course, your portkey" Dumbledore held out a red apple to us.

Draco took it and nodded.

"If it looks to dangerous, leave Riley there" Sirius said gruffly. "At least we'll know where she is and the layout of the place"

"We'll get her. I promise you, we will get her" Draco muttered darkly. Harry murmured in agreement.

"Be safe" Molly said quietly, then kissed each of us on the cheek. We each held the port key and counted down.

"OMPH!" We landed in the orchard with a thud. It was dark and cold and visibility was minimal. I hid the apple under a tree.

"Let's go" I whispered, ignoring the ringing in my ears.

We followed Draco around a windy bend when suddenly there was the Manor, just up on the hill. It was amazing, truly amazing. I reached forward and linked my fingers with Draco's and squeezed. He glanced at me but didn't say anything.

"Which side do we take?" Harry asked.

"The left... there's a small hole in the wall that I used to use when I was a child... It's never been patched up" He sounded gruff. This couldn't be easy for him, breaking into his childhood home.

We nodded and made for the left side of the building. I aimed my wand at the two boys and muttered a disillusion charm. I did the same for myself. At least it was some protection from wandering eyes.

We made it to the hole in the wall.

"Shit it's smaller than I remember" Draco grunted as he forced himself through.

"Or your bigger" I muttered. I slid in arms first once his feet were gone and he pulled me through. Harry followed me and suddenly we were standing on the magnificent grounds of the Malfoy Manor. The lawn was perfectly manicured and peacocks were slumbering near perfectly trimmed trees and bushes. As we neared the house I could see a beautiful patio set, set-up as if waiting for a party to arrive, yet the cobwebs laced upon the chairs and tables suggested they had not been used in sometime.

My heart broke thinking about how much Draco had left behind, but I forced myself to remember the reasons why. One of them being that my sister had been taken by the scum inside.

"My room is that one up there" He pointed to the highest corner. "It's the furthest away from anything in the house, but there are several wards to get through so no one will be expecting it to be used... there are several weak points of entry on this old place so they'll all be overly protected" He murmured. "The lattice should hold our weight"

"It won't hold us and Rosalie" Harry shook his head. He paused and stared up at the house. He raised an eyebrow. "Roe, levitate me" Harry turned and looked at me.

"Harry I was only mucking around that day" I shook my head and bit my lip. "Levitating you into that tree was a total accident"

"I'm serious, Roe... Levitate me until I'm near the window so I can unlatch it" He urged.

"Harry I can only levitate you so high before I lose control" I shook my head again. "It's not a good idea"

"Come on babe, if you can do it, try" Draco urged me, placing his hands on my shoulders and squeezing. I sighed and pointed my wand at Harry.

"Wingardium Leviosa" I murmured. As if he was on strings he rose into the air. I gripped my wand as tight as I could and concentrated on keeping him steady. Exactly one minute later I heard the window being pushed open.

I wanted to whoop with joy. I did it!

"Well done baby" Draco held me tightly and kissed my head. "My turn now" He winked.

I took a deep breath and repeated the process. Then I climbed up the lattice work. Harry pulled me into the window.

The room was exactly how I'd imagined it. Huge with a large bed, two bedside tables, a couch, a closet and an ensuite bigger than any of the bathrooms at home...yet the room did not look like someone's bedroom. There were no photos or personal items of any effect. It looked like somewhere you'd let your guests stay.

Draco crept through the room, not looking at anything. He opened the door a fraction and listened intently. "Let's move" He murmured. Harry and I followed.

Everything was so silent- it was eerie. The hallways were just as Malfoy's room – cold and impersonal. It sent shivers down my spine. I felt Harry brush up against me but I didn't say anything, I had a thousand things running through my mind at that time and they all revolved around Riley. The portraits of older Malfoy's adorned the walls, the figures sneered down at us as we past.

"This seems almost too easy" Harry murmured.

"This part of the house is seldom used" Draco murmured back. We came to a staircase and I was just about to step down it when Draco pulled me roughly back.

"Stop! Stop!" he hissed into my ear "Don't touch the stairs. They're like the stairs in the Gryffindor dorms... They'll turn into a slide if someone unwelcome touches them"

"That's how you knew how to get up them" I stated. He nodded. "So we just stun them?"

"Yes, but objects don't stay stunned as long as people" He whispered.

"Stupefy" Harry murmured. Quickly we made our way down the stairs and regrouped at the bottom.

"We have one more level and this is where it gets tricky... There's a conference room down the hall, and right at this moment it's probably full of Death Eaters"

I took a deep breath and followed behind Draco. This floor seemed more personalised than the others. Half the stock of Borgin & Burkes was somewhere within the house's hallways and cold rooms. No wonder Draco had wanted to leave this cold, dark place behind. It was depressing.

Suddenly, Harry stopped and I almost walked into him. "Voices" He breathed.

We shrunk against the wall as two house elves made their way toward us.

"Shit... Shit... Stay still... the Disillusion charm will work if we stay still" I muttered, pressing myself as flat to the wall as I could get. The two house elves passed us without even looking and as soon as they were gone.

"How did we not get caught ages ago?" I breathed.

"Luck" Draco shrugged.

We began moving again, this time more aware of third parties.

"Which is the conference room?" Harry muttered.

"This one coming up on our left. Be quick when passing" Draco muttered. "The room we need is two doors down from that" He nodded for us to move again and we did, quickly. Inside I could hear the murmur of voices. I shivered.

Harry stepped forward and slowly reached for the doorknob. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and, realising he was about to scream, Draco rushed forward and clamped his hand over his mouth. I froze as she watched Harry's obvious agony.

"Rosalie, grab his hand" Draco hissed.

I just stared. I couldn't move out of fear.

"Rosalie!" Draco snapped. "Grab his HAND"

Slowly my brain ticked into action and I pulled his hand from the door. Instantly Harry stopped screaming and collapsed. Draco went down with him, making sure he didn't hit his head as he fell.

"Rosalie we need to get out of this hallway, in case they heard us" Draco said urgently. "Open the door"

I nodded and turned to the door. This was putting my NEWTS study to the test better than the actual exam. "Spell revealio". Nothing happened. I swallowed.

"Rosalie, if a spell can't be revealed what would it be based on?" Draco murmured.

"Uhm... OH! Physical characteristics, like blood" I paused and groaned. "Blood"

"My blood" Draco whispered.

"Your house" I nodded. He held out his hand and I put my wand tip against it. "I'm sorry" I murmured before I made a slice across his palm. I pressed my hand against the blood that pooled and then placed my bloody palm on the doorknob.

It sizzled slightly and soaked up the blood. For a few seconds I thought it wouldn't work. Then the door clicked open and swung forward. Draco grabbed Harry and dragged him into the room. I closed the door softly behind him.

"We can't stay here Draco" I whispered.

"I know, this way" Draco murmured. Together we carried Harry down the stairs. Once at the bottom we moved into a dark corner.

"Oh god... Oh god" I finally looked at Harry. Panic welled in my chest and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Breathe baby. Please... You need to be calm. I need you to be calm" Draco soothed, gripping my hand tightly.

I took a deep breath and nodded. I checked Harry's pulse and found it normal – good sign. It meant he hadn't been poisoned. His breathing was fine and nothing appeared to be burnt, broken or affected at all. He was just unconscious. I pointed my wand at him.

"Evernate" I muttered.

Slowly, Harry's eyes fluttered open. He seemed groggy and disorientated but fine. He was just a bit weak.

"Harry" I sighed with relief. He tried to move but couldn't. He was so weak.

"Leave him here" Draco pulled on my shoulders. "He'll be safe in the dark and he's going to need to be able to move when we leave"

"We'll be back" I murmured to him and left him in the corner to try and recover.

I wrinkled my nose as I realised we were walking past cells.

"Why haven't we been met with more Death Eaters?" I whispered.

"They weren't expecting us to move so soon I don't think... that or their waiting for us" He glanced at me. I held my breath and hoped it was the former not the latter.

I gasped when I finally saw Riley, shackled up to a wall. She had her head buried in her knees and was sobbing.

"Riley" I whispered. Her head snapped up.

"Oh my god... Rosalie... oh my god. Roe. Please... please.. help me" She sobbed loudly.

"Baby shhh. Please. Shhh" I hushed her.

"Help me" She sobbed, resting her head on her knees again. I gripped Draco's hand tightly.

"How do we help her?" I murmured.

"Stand watch, I'll do it ok?" He kissed me lightly and went over to the cell. "Riley, I'm going to slide my wand under the cell door... these shackles are designed to freeze if someone else tried to unlock them, but not if the person wearing them does... it's their biggest flaw" He spoke slowly and clearly to my sister. "Riley please look at me so I know you understand"

"I'm crying Malfoy, I'm not stupid" she said hotly. He chuckled and muttered something about her being just like her sister. "They thought I was Roe" She whispered "Lucius was furious when he saw it wasn't her... Then someone pointed out that I was Harry's girlfriend. They're planning right now to use me against him" She swallowed.

"That's why we're getting out of here now... here's my wand" Draco slid the wand to her. She wiggled around and pulled it toward her with her foot.

"Alohamora" She murmured. The locks sprang open and she ripped them off her. "How do I get out of the cage" She stood and ran to the bars.

"The same way. My father didn't expect that the person inside them would have a wand" Draco nodded to her.

"Alohamora" She said again. The door sprang open. She fell into Draco's arms and sobbed. "I'm so sorry. So very sorry" She sobbed into his chest. "I didn't mean to be such a... such... so..."

"So like your sister?" He supplied with a laugh.

"Hey!" I said indignantly. "That's not –"

"Well, well, well. The prodigal son returns" a smooth voice sent shivers up my spine. Lucius Malfoy descended the steps to the dungeon, completely stepping over Harry. "I knew it wouldn't be long before they sent someone, but I didn't think it'd be this quick. Why, we're so unprepared..."


Plea's Note:

Well here it is. Sorry for leaving it on a cliff hanger haha again. I'm liking these things. Cliff hangers I mean. Anyway, reviews will make the cliff hanger end quicker.

Xo Plea