A/N: I've done it! I was able to sit and finish up this story. Well, for the most part. Still need to go through and edit. Fingers crossed that I'll be able to wrap this up by the end of the week.

Other news, I have been brainstorming my next Dramione, so if you've enjoyed this give me a quick follow to watch out for that.

Malfoy Manor

Hermione could feel the chill as she stood at the gate of Malfoy Manor. Looking up the path lined with finely trimmed hedges, the imposing building was the last place Hermione ever envisioned herself coming to be. How could it be that this was the place where so much pain and suffering had been caused, but it still looked so stunning and grand.

Looking over to her side, the team of MLE officers who was going to accompany her today to help with the raid. Hermione's task was to uncover any of the hidden rooms in the Manor, while it was the officers' job to raid the spaces. It was going to be a long and trying day, but Hermione was determined that this wasn't going to be a waste. They were going to complete this raid.

Shaking off the nerves that threatened to take over her body, Hermione squared her shoulders in preparation as she gripped the warrant Harry had issued for her in her hand, allowing her to pass through the wards without an invitation. In her bag, Hermione had thrown a few tomes of different runes that she might have to use to uncover all of the Manor's secrets. She was as ready as she would ever be to return to the place that was the backdrop to her worst nightmares.

Looking up at the large oak doors, a deep breath to steady herself, Hermione rapped on the wood to announce her presence. Knuckles hardly brushed the wood before they were opening wide to welcome her arrival, before her stood the smallest house elf that Hermione had ever laid eyes on. The large batlike ear and the wide brown eyes wearing a silk violet dress.

Before Hermione could say anything, the elf let out a gasp, her already wide eyes going even wider. "Mistress!" The elf squeaked out, giving Hermione a low bow. "Carwen at your service mistress, how may I help you?" She asked standing up as tall as she could, lovingly watching Hermione with her twinkling eyes.

"Er, hello Carwen. Um, yes, I suppose, are the Lord and Lady of the Manor home? We're here on official business with the Ministry." Hermione watched at the little elf's eyes widened even more than they already had been, making Hermione wonder just how large this little elf's eyes could grow. With a quick nod, the elf cracked out of the entrance hall. Hermione wasn't left to wait very long to wonder what that strange interaction was before she could see a furious Lucius Malfoy sweeping down the grand staircase with a potentially murderous glare on his features.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion, Miss. Granger?" Lucius hissed at her as he came close enough to Hermione that she could smell the faint hint of fire whiskey on his person. Hermione glanced down at the watch adorning her wrist to see that it was in fact only eight in the morning. Nowhere near an appropriate time for any normal person to dive into a bottle.

"It's actually Mrs. Granger-Weasley, and I'm here on official business. Here's the warrant, Mr. Malfoy. Now, if you'll excuse me, we'll be in your library. Could you possibly show the way? The last time I was here the only room I got acquainted with was the drawing room." Hermione let a smile play at her lips as she antagonized the wizard in front of her. She even was so bold as to let her left forearm drop so that he could easily see the scar left by his deranged dead sister-in-law.

Lucius didn't speak as his eyes were glued to the warrant that she had handed him. Harry had gotten permission for Hermione to essentially search the entire property for any hidden rooms and carve whatever runes she wanted into the enchanted halls of the Manor.

"You can wait right there until I've gotten ahold of my solicitor before anything happens on these grounds. You cannot just raid a wizard's home or defile it by carving runes into the structure." Lucius gave Hermione what she supposed was supposed to be a hateful sneer, but it just made her chuckle because it looked all too much like the ones that Malfoy used to give her when they were in school together.

"Mr. Malfoy, you won't be allowed to leave my line of sight for the entire time that I am here today. If this takes longer than today, that means that I'm going to have to keep coming back here and you won't be allowed to be in your home. Now, would you rather get this done now, or do you want to drag this out?" Hermione asked him, feeling like she knew she was about to be drug back through the house to sit in his study while they wait for his solicitor to appear.

"Come with me, Miss. Granger, we will wait in my study for my solicitor to get here to look over this warrant." With another flourish of his robes, Lucius began to walk away from the front door. Rolling her eyes, Hermione followed along behind the infuriating man. The MLE team had all filled the entrance hall looking around. Hermione turned to the ranking officer and quickly whispered to him that she needed him to join her, since he would be required to sit with the family during the raid to ensure that they didn't tamper with anything before or during the raid. With a nod, he joined her as they made their way up the staircase to head towards Lucius' study.

"Mistress, can Carwen get you and Master tea while you wait while you wait for Mr. Zabini?" Hermione was alarmed when she heard the small elf pop in briskly walking beside her. Lucius had clearly heard what the elf had said, because before Hermione could respond he had rounded on her.

"What did you call Miss. Granger?" He asked looking down at the elf and back Hermione with his eyes squinting and looking between the elf and Hermione.

"She's Mistress, Master. Elf magic tells Carwen that she is Mistress." Carwen gave a startled explanation as she quickly looked between Hermione and Lucius again as if it should be obvious what was going on. Hermione, however, was at a complete loss of what was happening. Lucius, on the other hand, seemed to have an idea of what was happening and did not look very happy about it.

"Carwen, I'm going to need you to go find Draco and bring him here as well. I'm going to need to speak to him this morning. Miss. Granger, it seems that you brought more with you than just a warrant this morning." Lucius stated with a raised eyebrow, letting his eyes travel down Hermione as if he were looking at her in a new light.

"Mr. Malfoy, the only thing that I want to do is start my day's work and get this whole ordeal over with and leave your wretched home and never come back." Hermione snapped at him, feeling very exposed with the way Lucius's eyes lingered on her stomach, as if he were looking for something.

Eyes traveling back to her face, and without another word, Lucius whipped back around to continue his path towards his study. No sooner had the group entered, Lucius had withdrawn an unopened bottle of fire whiskey, Hermione had known she had smelled on him, and poured himself a glass, before throwing back the entire drink in one go.

At the same time, the fireplace roared to life with green flames, the door to the study also slammed opened. Blaise Zabini closely followed by Malfoy exited the fireplace while Narcissa Malfoy came storming into the room through the open door.

"What is the meaning of this, Miss. Granger?" Narcissa demanded of her.

Hermione was too busy giving Malfoy a quick glance, before adverting her eyes from the man. He was wearing sharp charcoal grey dress robes and looked good enough that it made Hermione have to shift in her seat when she felt the pool of desire dampen her knickers. Acting like a lustful teenager every time she saw him was not helpful when she had work to get done.

"Mrs. Granger-Weasley, I received an urgent call that you have come to my client's home with a warrant. I'll need to see this warrant before I can allow you to begin any search of the Manor or the grounds." Zabini held out his hand towards Lucius for the warrant that was still in his possession. Hermione struggled to contain the urge to roll her eyes at the man. He was the same stuck-up prick that he had been when they had been in school.

He was the most infuriating person that she ever had to go up against in the court room in front of the Wizengamot. It never failed that he always managed to fluster her. It also didn't help that he was a shameless flirt and would make all the witches on the court puddy in his hand, even had that effect on some of the wizards as well.

"Well, Zabini, as you can see everything is line and it's already nearly nine. I'd like to get this finished today, if at all possible." Hermione snarked at him letting him know that she was not in the mood to play games with him today.

Zabini ignored her, reading over the parchment in silence looking to see if there was anything missing. He even went as far as to touch it with his wand a few times muttering different spells under his breath. After what felt like a considerable amount of time, Zabini finally looked up, still not at Hermione, "Lucius, it looks like Potter was very, thorough with his warrant. She can set runes into the foundation to reveal any hidden rooms on the property and is also able to go anywhere. There's nothing I can do." Zabini handed the warrant back to Hermione as she shoved it into her beaded handbag that she still carried with her everywhere she went.

"If that will be all, could someone show me to the library so that I can get started. Anyone who's in the house will have to be with one of the members of the MLE that I brought with me. That includes the house elves." Hermione let them know as she stood up and stretched after sitting for such a long period of time.

Malfoy was standing with a smirk on his face long before Hermione had finished what she was saying and holding out his hand towards her. "I'll happily show you to the library, Granger." Hermione couldn't resist the urge to roll her eyes at him this time, but a chuckle still slipped from her lips.

"Draco, I need to speak to you, privately, at your earliest convince." Lucius stated before they were able to leave his study together. Draco didn't give any indication with his facial expressions as to what he was thinking at his father's words. Hermione assumed that showing any sort of emotion was not something that the Malfoy family would engage in.

Of course, father. After Granger and her team are done for the day, why don't we have dinner together." Malfoy still hadn't given any indication of emotion or what he was thinking, but turned on his heels with Hermione and walked away.

Malfoy's escort of his family home was more like he was giving a tour instead of showing someone with a warrant to search the property. Hermione couldn't help when she saw the magnificent gardens through a large glass door that led out to a balcony overlooking it. She squealed with delight at the sight of the vast greenery and collection of flowers on display. A laugh escaped her lips when the white peacocks went strutting past the entrance to a hedge maze.

When they passed through the hall of portraits Malfoy had flicked his wand before the door was even fully open, closing curtains on all of his ancestors. He explained that his family's prejudices were deep in their family history and he wasn't going to subject her having to listen to the ramblings and screeching of dead men and women.

At last, reaching the library, Hermione's jaw dropped at the sheer size of the room. Three stories up and going back further than she could see lined with the vast number of texts that the Malfoy family had managed to collect throughout the years. Hermione's fingers were itching with the need to just dig into some of these tomes to see what she could learn from them. Oh, she had known that the Malfoy library was something to behold, but seeing it first hand was something entirely new experience that she hadn't expected.

"After the deaths of my deranged aunt, her husband, and his brother, we were left with all the possessions from the Lestrange family, including their own library. We've actually been working on expanding our library, so there is construction going on in the third and second levels." Hermione's head whipped towards Malfoy, who had a smirk on his face. He knew that just the sight of the library was enough to impress, but knowing that it now contained even more ancient knowledge was enough that her entire body trembled in anticipation.

Perhaps, if she finished her work quickly enough, she could skim through the directory.

"Thank you, Malfoy." Clearing her throat, and willing the flush to leave her face, "if you don't mind, I need to get to work." Malfoy just gave a quick nod in response to her and went to sit and read in a leather chair not too far from her. He pulled a book off the shelf without even looking at what he was grabbing and flipped it open.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Hermione turned away from him and began to mutter spells under her breath as she got to work to uncover whatever secretes Lucius thought he could hide from her. It took roughly a half hour, but Hermione was finally able to detect the magic that Harry had described to her. There most certainly were hidden secretes on this property.

Pulling out the tomes she had brought with her, Hermione flipped through them until she found what she was looking for. Sitting on the floor next to one of the exterior walls, Hermione began mutter spells and waving her wand in complicated motions again. She could feel as her magic was attaching to the property and how it was sliding through all the defenses that were in place.

It was close to another hour had passed of Hermione's spell casting and tracing runes with her magic into the Manor's foundation, when a large booming sound came from the wall she was in front of. With a rumble, a crack in the floor appeared under her. Turning on the spot, Hermione watched at the crack branched out with one heading towards the depths of the library. As if it were leading the way. Hermione couldn't help but notice that two more cracks had branched off the original, each exiting the library.

Hermione jumped to her feet, and quickly cast a patronus with the message that the MLE officers were to come straight to the library and investigate where each of these cracks were leading to. Before her otter was even out of sigh, Hermione was up on her feet and racing after the line that had stayed in the library. She was so entranced in her pursuit, that she hadn't noticed the footfalls of Malfoy following her towards the back of the lowest level of the library.

She ran until she had come to a bookshelf that had books that looked as if they were some of the oldest that were still kept in the library. Ignoring the texts, Hermione pulled out her wand and began waving it in front of the shelf until it pulled away from the wall, reviling behind it a large stone door.

Without a second though, Hermione jumped with glee and ran to the door. Using both hands to push it open. With a gasp, a frigid breeze blew past her. It was the feeling of dark magic washing over her and it only made her pause for a moment before she was walking towards the entrance. Reaching her hand out, Hermione could feel the hum of magic from the wards keeping anyone from entering the room beyond.

Without another hesitation, Hermione flicked her wand at her palm, slicing it open and pressed the crimson blood onto the stone. Her offering was absorbed by the entrance, dropping the wards and allowing her to enter.

"HERMIONE, STOP!" It was too late; she had already crossed the threshold and the torches burst into life. Turning her head, she saw an even paler Malfoy standing with his mouth gaping at her. He quickly recomposed himself and entered the small sitting room that held the books filled with some of the world's darkest magic.

"Malfoy? What are you doing here?" Hermione couldn't help but ask as he stepped up beside her, resting his hands on her waist. Looking around the room, she could tell that he was surprised by what she had found. Feeling slightly smug, Hermione patted the hand that he still had laid on her waist and gave it a squeeze.

"What is this place? I've never seen it before in my life." Malfoy was speaking out loud, but Hermione knew that it wasn't really directed towards her. Nudging him in the ribs with her elbow, Malfoy was startled out of the dazed trance that he had been in.

By that time, the MLE officers were standing outside the doorway looking in to see Hermione and Malfoy together. Realizing that Malfoy's hand was still holding her waist, Hermione quickly extracted herself from his hold and put a little distance between themselves.

"You all, begin searching this room. I'm going to go find the other teams and see if they need help. Gibson, you're in charge." Hermione was quick with her instructions and exiting the room to go and try to find the rest of the MLE officers.

Hermione hadn't made it very far in her retreat when the long pale fingers that she had admired so greatly just a little over a week ago for the first time were wrapping around her wrist in an attempt to stop her. Turning slightly to face him, Hermione gave a smile as she pulled her arm away. She quickly explained that he needed to go join his family while she finished working and took off at a run leaving a stunned and speechless Malfoy standing among the maze of his family library.

Following another crack, she was led towards what at first appeared to be the dungeons of the Manor. With a shake, Hermione pushed onward until she found a group of MLE officers gathered around a blank wall down a corridor that appeared to actually lead to a wine cellar. One of the witches was standing at the front of the group tapping her wand in an intricate pattern speaking in French attempting to access what was hidden behind the stone.

"The room in the library required a blood offering, I'm willing to bet that all the spaces are the same." Hermione informed the group as she stepped forward while slicing her hand open again. Pressing her palm to the wall, the stone shifted until it was an open passage, leading into a potion's lab. Hermione stepped inside and scanned the space.

A wall lined with shelves were filled with different sizes and types of cauldrons. There was a massive cabinet that she assumed would hold a number of different ingredients for potions that Lucius knew he shouldn't be brewing in his spare time. At least from the looks of the lab, it didn't look like it had been used in a long time.

The MLE officers filled the room and began collecting everything that they could see to test for dark magic. Hermione didn't waste time lingering as she knew there was still one more crack that she was going to have to follow.

Hermione was surprised to find that the final crack led her outside and towards a greenhouse. "Mark, the other two were protected with blood wards!" Hermione called towards the leading officer of this team who had just cast a Bombarda towards the glass of the greenhouse, causing the entire structure to shake, but no damage was done to the glass.

"Sorry Hermione, I tired giving some blood and it didn't work. I'm not sure what I did wrong and sort of lost my temper." Mark looked a bit embarrassed to be caught having outburst like he was a child and not a grown man.

"Honestly, out of my way." Hermione pushed her way through the group of wizards that were gathered behind Mark, watching him make a fool of himself. Opening the cut on her hand once more, Hermione pressed it against the glass causing it to turn into a liquid that she fell through.

The first thing that Hermione noticed when she started pushing herself up was the Devil's Snare that had creeped out and started to wrap its way around her ankle as she laid sprawled out on the ground. Rolling her eyes, she flicked her wand casting Lumos Solem and effectively driving the plant away from her.

"Oi, Hermione, you alright?" Mark asked rushing through the glass looking down at Hermione sprawled out on the ground taking deep breaths.

"Yeah, Devil's Snare. I'm going to guess there might be a handful of highly deadly plants in here if you want to look around. Fuck…" Hermione hissed as she looked down and saw the red marks that the Devil's Snare had left behind that were causing her some pain.

Mark was reaching down offering her a hand to get up, when seemingly out of nowhere, Malfoy appeared lifting her into his arms bridal style. A bit shocked by his actions, Hermione's hands naturally wrapped around his neck before she thought about what she was doing.

All the MLE officers that were with Mark just moved out of the way as he carried, he back through the glass and towards the Manor. Once they were clear of earshot, Hermione released her grip on Malfoy and began to struggle trying to get out of his grip.

"Honestly, Malfoy, put me down. I am perfectly capable of walking." Hermione said as she tried to wiggle out of his hold, but it was no use. Malfoy's grip on her only tightened.

"The blood wards on the house will only work for a Malfoy, Hermione. We need to talk." He said, refusing to look down at her as he continued his steady pace towards the Manor.

"Malfoy, that's ridiculous. I'm not a Malfoy in any sense. The blood wards on all of those spaces opened with no issues being offered my blood. It probably had something to do with the fact that I enacted the runes that relived them." Hermione hadn't thought too much about Mark saying that he had tried offering some of his blood for the greenhouse and it not working.

"No, Hermione. Even offering your blood, if a Malfoy wasn't the first to enter any of those spaces and invite the MLE officers inside they wouldn't have been able to enter." Malfoy stated, his face still giving nothing away.

"I don't understand what you're trying to say Malfoy." Hermione had a feeling she did though.

"Being born a Malfoy, being bonded in marriage, or being pregnant with a Malfoy's child are the only ways the Manor would recognize one as a Malfoy."

"Fuck."