Hi…it's me.
I know it's been a while, I'm really sorry (again). I had a bunch of life changes happen this year that really took a lot out of me. If you remember, I had a family emergency last year that was really, really bad. It's still ongoing, and it's still pretty bad.
There's a long way to go before things become easier for me in my personal life, but until then, this story has brought me a lot of comfort. Getting back into writing it reminded me a lot of some of the better times in my life.
Hermione ducked from another spell as she stumbled out of the Manor. The boys behind her moved inhumanly fast and she was running out of energy.
There was no way she would be able to physically outrun or match three Quidditch players. Stupid Quidditch, Hermione thought to herself. She turned a corner and ran down the path, narrowly avoiding another spell. And her friends wouldn't get here in time, not without the aurors to lower the wards.
She needed an escape, or a place to hide…or some way to lift the Imperius Curse. Hermione tried to focus – what did she know about Unforgiveables? If Constantine wasn't controlling them directly, the spell would wear off after some time. That wouldn't help her now, though.
Hermione ducked through some hedges and burst through the side of one of the smaller gardens.
They shouldn't be able to follow her, not with the Invisibility Cloak wrapped around her. But without wavering, all three consistently kept pace, their wands flashing with spells and Ron's arms still outstretched as though he wanted to give her a hug.
Hermione gasped for air as she ran. This was not sustainable. Think – what did she know about Unforgiveables?
If they lost consciousness somehow, that would stop the curse unless Constantine immediately re-did it. As far as Hermione could tell, Constantine wasn't nearby.
Okay…so she just had to knock them out.
Easier said than done.
"Stupefy!" Hermione shouted, shooting a spell wilding behind her. It didn't hit anything, but even worse, it helped the boys zero in on her location.
She had no idea what to do. Short of just stopping and turning around – wait!
Hermione dug her heels into the ground and twisted around. She clutched the cloak close to her body, careful not to let it pool around her. Then she started running in the opposite direction – toward the boys.
Just like before, they seemed to be able to sense her, even with the cloak. She had to jump in and out of a zig-zag pattern to avoid all of their spells.
Until she ran right passed Ron's open arms.
Ron shot a stupefy.
Blaise shot a stupefy.
Theo shot a stupefy.
And there was a thud as three bodies hit the ground behind her.
Hermione kept running, sprinting down to the nearest tree to hide behind, just in case her plan didn't work. As soon as she rounded the tree, she stopped to catch her breath.
The three bodies were still on the ground, which meant that Constantine wasn't nearby to keep controlling them. That was good, though Hermione worried about what that meant for Draco.
One thing at a time, Granger…
Hermione nervously returned back to her friends. She couldn't tell if the spell had worn off yet.
"Hermione!"
Hermione turned to see Ginny Weasley sprinting down the side of the Manor. She was closely followed by several aurors, most of the Order, and half of Hogwarts.
Relief flooded her, leaving her nearly dizzy. The aurors swarmed past, diving into the Manor and checking up on Blaise, Theo, and Ron.
Dumbledore was there too, rushing over. "My dear, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Hermione insisted. "Check on these three, I don't know where Harry is, either. Find him. Constantine took Draco and his Mum, I have to go after him."
"Let's get everything sorted before you head off." Dumbledore suggested. "Can you come inside? Tell us what's happened."
"Professor," Hermione shook her head. "You don't understand. Constantine didn't bring back Voldemort. She brought back Lucius Malfoy."
Dumbledore seemed stunned. For a second, fear gripped Hermione – if Dumbledore was taken by surprise, what hope did the rest of them have?
"Nevertheless." Dumbledore said finally, finding his voice. "Let's go inside. Tell us what happened."
Hermione didn't want to – but she didn't know where Draco could be. Her only option was to follow the adults.
Thankfully, everyone knew enough to hurry. Less than an hour later, Hermione was sitting in the kitchen of Manor, accompanied by her friends and the Order. Blaise, Ron, and Theo had woken up, completely normal. They were heading off to St. Mungo's to get checked, but they didn't remember anything besides entering the floo and immediately losing control.
Harry had been found in the basement of the Manor, where the dungeons were. He was still unconscious, but Hermione was certain he would be alright. He was just starting to get color back in his cheeks as they carried him away.
"It's because he can withstand the Imperius." Ginny said quietly, and Hermione knew she was right.
Constantine had done her research.
Once everyone settled, Hermione recounted her version of the events. She repeated herself several times as questions sprung up – mostly about Lucius Malfoy.
"We should've seen it!" Pansy was gripping Daphne's hand. Out of everyone here, they were the ones who knew Lucius the best. "'Lord of the Manor', from Draco and Hermione's prophecy! He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named isn't lord of a manor. He wanted to be lord of the world."
"Where could he be?" Hermione pressed. "Where would he have taken Draco?"
Daphne shook her head sadly. "There's so many estates in the Malfoy inheritance. He could be anywhere – France, Egypt, America, Italy. There's no way to know."
Hermione squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't do this. No. No, she could not lose Draco Malfoy again. Not so soon.
Ginny put a hand on her shoulder, and Hermione took a deep, shuddering breath. "Keep thinking. Your insights are valuable. I'm just – I'm going to go out into the garden for some air."
"I'll go with you." Ginny said quickly.
Hermione shook her head. "You stay here, Gin. I'll be back in a minute."
She was acutely aware of everyone's eyes on her back as she exited the room, but she didn't care.
The air outside was crisp and clear, which helped to clear her head a bit. Hermione had no idea what to do.
She'd been in worse situations than this. There was that time that Voldemort had Harry, of course. Or that time Peter Pettigrew nearly killed Ron.
She loved both of them, so dearly. If anything had happened to Harry or Ron, nothing would ever have been the same again.
But this…this was different.
Hermione let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes. There had to be something, some clue she was missing.