Hey guys…I've decided to surface again…just a little sooner this time. But before I go onto the next chapter…
Lilly- Where would I be without your dry sense of humor? All right, then, I official knight you my one and only. Happy?
AnglxDevl05- Do you honestly think I should do that? I mean, I'm sure lots of people pester her with stories, but I might…its an idea.
CHAPTER 44
'The doors opened,' Lisa breathed.
Draco rolled his eyes. 'Thank God you're here. We never would have noticed otherwise.'
'That's why I have follow you around, you baby, making sure you don't bump into chairs and-.'
She cut off abruptly, seeing as how Hermione was glowering at the both of them.
'One more word from the two of you, and I'll chuck you off the edge, boyfriend and best friend or not.' She said, threateningly. Both immediately shut up.
'Thank you,' she said.
Draco smirked. 'You're welcome. All right, I think that if Adrian Chadwick or any of his evil cronies had been in there they would have come out by now, what with our stupid bickering. Or at least her stupid bickering.'
'Hey, baby, I wasn't the one who-.'
'QUIET,' Hermione roared.
Her voice seared through the darkness, and echoed all around them. All three clamped their mouths shut, and looked fearfully around.
The noise faded. The echoes vanished. The air became still and chilly once more. The three were alone in eternity.
'Okay,' Lisa muttered, 'Now we definitely know if someone had been in there. That shout would have woken a dead hippo.'
She pointed at Draco.
'Since you're the macho man around here, you have the privilege of going in first.'
'Who me?' Draco started, staring at her.
'Actually, that's a good idea,' Hermione said, thoughtfully. 'You're the person knowing most of the Dark Spells around here.'
Draco glowered.
'So it's a girl thing. Pick out the innocent boy and make him face the danger all alone. Oh, all right, don't pout, I'll go. Be careful.'
'You be careful,' Hermione told him.
Draco inched forward, and pushed open the door with his fingertips. With a low creak, it swung open, revealing its interior.
At first, Hermione couldn't see anything, because the shack was dark. But the minute the door opened, a strong musty smell seemed to waft out. She shivered.
'Lumos,' Draco muttered. The tip of his wand immediately began glowing. It cast a semi circle of steady light around them. Hermione began to feel a little better, seeing the comforting light.
'Come on,' Draco whispered, 'let's get in.'
He began creeping inside, and the two girls followed him. His wand lighted up the small shack as they entered it, and Hermione was able to see many sacks, filled and bulging stacked in a corner. Another corner had a thick pile of dusty leather bound books. There was a table in the centre, with a few papers in it.
'Not too interesting,' Lisa remarked. 'What's in the sacks?'
Draco walked up to one of the sacks, and began to untie the string tied around its neck.
'Careful,' Hermione warned.
'He'll be fine.' Lisa said, impatiently.
Finally, Draco managed to get the string undone. He pulled the neck a little wider, and thrust his arm inside.
A moment later, he yelled.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The cloaked figure was standing a few steps above the floating podium, staring in utmost astonishment.
The door to the shack was ajar!
They had gained entry.
That could mean only thing.
He slid a finger across his jaw. They had the Death Repel. There was no other way they could have got into the shack. The filthy traitor who had taken the Death Repel was inside at this very minute.
This was definitely good. Getting the Death Repel meant more power over the Dark Lord, which ultimately, was what he wanted. With the Death Repel, he knew victory was not far off.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Narcissa finished the incantation.
She knew what would happen now. In about five minutes, Draco would begin to feel the pain. His limbs would be pulled at, his muscles stretched, his eyes would tear up. It would be agony, she knew. Bit by bit, his essence being torn apart, he would be pulled right in front of her, in the perfect pentacle she had inscribed on the floor. He would lie, near dead, at her feet. It was the ultimate weapon that a mother wielded over her son- the power of Summoning.
The only way Draco could counteract the pull would be to exert a will stronger than hers.
She laughed, low. She already knew that was not possible. As did the Dark Lord. In all his dabblings with magic and power, he had never found a will stronger than Narcissa's.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
'What is it?' Hermione demanded, her voice filled with alarm. Draco brought his hand back up quickly. Entangled in his fingers was something puffy and misshapen.
'It's a feathered boa!' Lisa screamed, losing her head.
Hermione took a step closer. A smile lit up her face.
'Sorry to disappoint you Lise,' she said, shaking her head, 'But it's a fake mustache.'
The look of terror on both Draco and Lisa's faces evaporated.
'Well, duh,' Draco said, in an annoyed voice.
'I knew that.' Lisa told her.
Hermione shook her head, smiling to herself.
'Right,' she muttered. 'But what the hell is a fake mustache doing in that sack?'
Lisa pushed her hand in, and pulled something out. In her hand was some sort of pencil, with a cap over it.
'Show me that,' Hermione said, and Lisa handed it over to her.
Hermione removed he cap, and saw that underneath, the pencil had a sort of whitish-gray lead. She stared pensively at it for a few moments, and then scrawled over the back of her palm with it.
'Careful,' Draco admonished. 'You don't know what it is.'
'It looks…' Hermione tilted her head, still staring thoughtfully at it. Then, her eyes lit up.
'Of course! Lisa come here a minute.'
Lisa cautiously approached her. Hermione held out her hand.
'Does this look familiar?' she asked.
Lisa looked at it for a moment.
'Well,' she said, slowly, 'Now that you mentioned it...it does…something I've seen just a few days back.'
'You'll get it in a few minutes,' Hermione encouraged, a big grin plastered on her face.
Lisa gazed at it for a bit, and then a look of recognition flashed in her eyes.
'Of course! Fudge's chauffeur! The one who took us to malfoy's house during your reception.'
'Bingo,' Hermione said, smiling.
'What?' Draco asked, looking confused.
Hermione turned to him. 'When we were coming to your place for the reception, Fudge had this guy driving the car, who had these weird white veins all over his neck. I remember noticing that and asking Fudge about him.'
'And Fudge said that he hardly ever turned up for duty,' Lisa said, excitedly, 'and that the pay didn't bother him.'
'Yep,' Hermione said, smiling. 'I think this is Adrian Chadwick's little private shack. Now that I know about the chauffeur, the mustache looks familiar. It was on the face of one of them men we bumped into in the ministry. He was hurriedly going into the Men's room the night of the Death Eater attack, when we had to spend the night there. I think this is where Chadwick keeps the little disguises that helped him stay hidden for so long.'
'I don't get it,' Lisa said, 'why didn't he just use an Illusion charm.'
'Because the magical traces can be pulled back to him,' Draco said, softly, 'and if someone found his wand and did a repeat spell, they would know just who to look for.'
Hermione rummaged in the bag, and felt her hand hit something rubbery. She pulled it out, and stared at the pair of huge dark fake lips in her hand.
'Ew,' Lisa said.
'I remember this,' Hermione murmured. 'It was on one of the security guards who came to clear the reporters out of Fudge's office…remember? Chadwick must have let the Death eaters in, in his fake mustache man disguise, rushed into the men's room when we came in, changed and came out as a security warden, so even if anyone had seen let them in, the mystical man with the mustache would be gone.'
'Ingenious,' Draco mused. 'The man's clever.'
'Very clever,' Hermione murmured.
As Draco and Lisa began rummaging some more in the bag, Hermione moved towards the pile of books. She selected the one on top, and lifted the heavy cover. She gasped as she saw what was in it.
'Guys,' she called, 'I think you should come and see this.'
Draco and Lisa walked up to the book that Hermione was holding.
'Oh my god,' Lisa murmured.
Inside the book, were many scrawlings and notes, written in the spidery handwriting with a light quill in black ink. Most of the notes were to do on creating and managing Death Repels. They were accompanied with several illustrations of the formation of the skull and the ring.
'I think that dissolves all doubts on whether we have the right guy or not,' Draco said, his jaw hanging open in awe.
'How to Manage the Death Repel…uses of the Death repel…warnings…this is amazing.' Hermione said. A deep voice in the corner startled her.
'Too right it is…and now you've found out my secret.'
