-Incendio-

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Don't sue, I'm poor. EXCEPTION: I own the Witches of Trane, the Crystal Orb, the flying carpet idea for the story (kinda), the idea that the forests of Albania are next to the Dead Sea, the Door of Serenity, Fabrisia, home of the nymphs and Amethyst Cove.

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CHAPTER 28: Malfoy Manor (Chapter rated PG-13)

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Hermione and Draco pondered for quite some time. Every second Hermione was more and more aware of the danger she and Draco were putting Ron in, by doing nothing. They had already wasted enough time here. They need to leave. Now. Eventually, the continuous ticking, like a clock, in her head was unbearable, and she stood up in a fit of rage from the bed she was sitting on.

"We need to go, Draco! NOW!" she shouted, glaring at him, and pulling the sheets off the bed in her fury.

Draco remained calm, and nodded his head, deep in thought.

After a few more seconds of this, Hermione demanded, "Well?" she asked, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Her body was giving off unpleasant shoots of pain, coming from her lower abdomen, but she ignored them.

"I think we should go to Malfoy Manor." he said quietly.

Hermione was shocked. Malfoy Manor? Where her dad was? Where his mother was killed? The one place she did not want to go, was the place he was suggesting? They could be killed! They could be slaughtered, and Ron, too, for their stupidity.

But she knew he was right. They had no other choice. They needed to re-group, get supplies, and think things out.

"But... but... your... father!" said Hermione, whispered the last word like a deadly course.

Draco nodded, knowingly. "He won't be there. The Manor is the last place he'll expect us to go." he said, smoothly and swiftly.

Hermione sighed, and took a last look around their forsaken fence. The entire city was so quiet; it made Hermione's skin break out in small goosebumps. She hugged her arms to her chest and nodded.

"Let's go."

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After saying long goodbyes to both Karissa, and Laurel, Draco and Hermione were on their way. They were hundreds of feet above ground, soaring through the sky at an amazing speed. The nymphs had kindly donated a broom to the duo, the newest of the Nimbuses.

Hermione was desperately holding onto Draco's back, as he expertly maneuvered the object, like a seeker would.

His blonde hair was tickling her ear, and she sat up straighter. Now the pesky strands of hair were on her forehead. The pushed them behind Draco's ear, and he made a small giggle.

"What was that for?" he asked in a husky tone.

"Your hair was bothering me." said Hermione.

"Oh. I actually quite like it. It's not brown and boring like someone I know." he replied, smirking where Hermione couldn't see him.

She swatted him playfully. "If you're going to act like that, I'll just leave here." They were now soaring over high mountains, and Hermione could almost feel the freezing snow on her feet.

Draco laughed, and the laugh reverberated in the mountains, making it seem as if a thousand gods were laughing with him, instead of just one teenage wizard.

She sighed, and pulled herself closer to him.

As they swooped and swerved over rivers, plateaus, forests and mountains, Hermione was distracted. What would they see at the old mansion? Would Lucius be there, expecting them? But above even all of that, she was also thinking about Ron.

After a few more minutes of deep thought, and flying, the sky was now a darker blue then it had been at the height of the day. Hermione didn't have a watch, but she guessed it was about five o'clock.

Just then, a small black dot on a green horizon was visible. At the sight of this, Draco forced the broom to slow down, until Hermione could almost make out what it was. It was Malfoy Manor, in all of its glory. The mansion was huge, with tall stone walls and towers. There was a long row of huge, old, red trees behind it. The house gave off an unpleasant feeling, like there was evil resting inside. The house was in Wiltshire England, not too far from the ancient stones of Stonehenge.

Draco sighed unhappily. Hermione found his hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"It's gonna be okay." she reassured him, thought she felt like she was the one who needed the reassuring.

They soon landed on the green grass in front of the mansion. Hermione was surprised to find it still so green and luscious, even after weeks of under-care.

Draco saw her confused look, and said, "The grass was planted by my great-great-great-great grandfather, who was extremely lazy and cheap, and cast a spell on the grass so it would never rot, or decay, or need up keeping. Dirty old bastard."

Hermione sighed, and looked up at the mansion. It was dark, and uninviting. But she knew they had no choice but to go in.

Hand in hand, the couple quickly walked up to the mansion. Draco was holding the new Nimbus in his other hand.

They soon reached the door, and Draco shook his head.

"We can't enter through the front." he said. "We'll have to go through the back. Come on, I have a secret entrance."

Hermione nodded, and followed him as he crept along the high walls, looking around suspiciously for a moment, before continuing, then repeating the process.

Soon, they were almost all the way around half of the mansion, when Draco leaned into a certain part of the wall, and pulled Hermione close to him, as they magically dissolved into the wall, and out the other side. They were in a kitchen of some sort, with clean and scoured pots and pans hanging from the walls and ceiling. There was a large stove in the center of the room.

Hermione pulled back from Draco, who was still holding the brand-new Nimbus broom, and walked around the room, admiring the brick walls, and old stove. She noted that there was nothing cooking, which made her feel a little better.

Then she saw it. It was a knife, with a long blade. The knife seemed to be stained with a green goop of some sort. It also looked like someone had tried scrubbing it off, but with no effect. The knife had the Malfoy insignia near the handle.

She took a few steps back towards Draco, who was watching her carefully. She turned towards him and looked up into his eyes.

He nodded, understanding her without words, and took her hand in his, pulling her towards a small make-shift door in a wall. Hermione was surprised. Another trap door?

"This is an old house." said Draco, sullenly. "There are a lot of secret passageways that no one knows about but the Malfoy's."

Hermione sighed, and followed him into a dark, cramped hallway. They had to crawl on the floor, and Hermione took out her wand, and said Lumos to spill a little light. There were cobwebs on the ceiling, and small spiders and other creature's carcasses littered the floor. She shuddered involuntarily.

Soon they came upon a light, after twists and turns in the corridor. Draco was the first to step out of the passageway, and shook his body, flexing and stretching his cramped hand, and bruised knuckles that were still holding the broom.

Hermione then exited too, and found herself in what she guessed was Draco's bedroom.

There was a large bed in the center of the room, which donned green satin sheets and a fur blanket covering them. It was a four-poster bed, with a large black piece of silk hanging over the bed. There was a single window in the room, and a nightstand by the bed. There was also a door to a closet, which was partially open. Hermione was apprehensive of the closet, so walked over to the bed, and felt the fur blanket. It felt heavenly.

Hermione also noted a muggle television across from the bed, and a small stereo system. She had those in her small bedroom at home, as well. Draco's room was about the size of an average person's living room. It was all breathtaking.

Draco stood the broom against a wall, and closed the door to the small passageway, that matched the crimson wallpaper of his room. Then he locked it, and quickly deposited the key into his pocket. Then he proceeded to lock the door to his bedroom, with a dead vault, and locating his wand, cast a silence spell on it. There was another door close to the closet door, which he opened and peered inside.

"This is the bathroom." he explained to Hermione. "Feel free to use it. Oh, and by the way, the closet and the bathroom switch places occasionally, so if you find yourself up to your head in knickers and shirts, you know you're in the wrong room." he smirked, and Hermione chuckled.

Draco swiftly walked to the window, and pulled the black drapes closed, but no before lighting a few candle lanterns on the wall. The room looked eerie, like a dungeon of some sort.

Hermione stretched and fell back onto the bed, savoring the plush feeling under her exhausted and sore body.

Draco stood uncomfortably for a moment, until Hermione moved a little, and Draco lay down next to her. They turned towards each other and locked hands.

"Now what?" asked Hermione quietly.

"Well," said Draco, caressing her hands, "tomorrow I'll try to find something... anything, a way to help save Weasley."

"Not Weasel?" inquired Hermione.

"Not Weasel." he replied.

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My new favorite chapter. It's longer then my regular chapters, but I like how it turned out. I changed it once. Before I was gonna go through this whole big process of them making a list, and buying stuff, and going on a quest, but that was bad so I rewrote this! I like the outcome much much better. Theres still alot of action and stuff ahead, so get ready! I also plan to have some more.. detailed... romance... stuff. Not explicit... but, detailed. I still feel weird writing it though because I'm so inexperienced. Haha. Well, review and enjoy. Pink fluffy unicorns!

XX-Dracos-Dark-Queen-XX - Oh.. hmm! Haha. Mad Eye Moody is awesome. These children need to be taught a lesson... BUWAHAHA

Cold-eyes-for-you - Teehee. Thanks! Have fun with your homework. :P

londonmalfoy - Shame on you! Lying to your father. Tsk tsk. Glad you're back, though.

Lestatlover1784 - Oh! Bummer. Thanks!

Lestatlover1784 - The unicorns are coming, I PROMISE. I was thinking of having them come after the last lines of the chapter, like:

"You have a nice room." said Hermione after a moment.

Draco smirked. "All it needs now are pink fluffy unicorns!"

But that was too weird. They'll be here soon.