The gravel of the driveway outside the mansion crunched as the wheel's of a muggle car drove up and stopped in front of the open gate. A moment later Hermione, Draco, and Hermione's father stepped out. They were visiting Malfoy Manor so that Draco could get some of his old stuff.

"We'll have to walk up to the house," Mr. Granger said, "Last time the car completely stopped, remember that?"

"My dad must have put spells to keep out muggles, and electric stuff," Draco said as they started walking towards the large stone building. Hermione stepped up beside him and he put an arm around her waist pulling her closer.

Like the gate, the main doors to the mansion were unlocked, and partially opened. Mr. Granger went first pushing the door fully open letting sunlight shine into the darkened hallways.

"I'm getting a creepy feeling," Hermione said as they peered inside.

"I guess the magic that lit the whole place faded," Draco said taking a step inside pulling out his wand, feeling a chill settle on him, half expecting to see the place littered with dead house elves or something. It had been creepily empty the last time they'd come.

"Lumos," he said and Hermione copied his example. Mr. Granger stepped back to follow them, having no magic of his own.

"My room is this way," Draco said leading them down a hallway and up a flight of stairs. They passed only a few windows, scarcely giving enough light to see by, with heavy metal bars on them.

Finally Draco pushed open a smaller wooden door and they entered a large room, a few sofas a fireplace were in one corner and a desk with a few shelves were in the other half. Two doors were on the wall opposite from the door they entered.

"That door leads to the bathroom, and this one," Draco walked across the room and pushed the left one open, "Is my bedroom."

"Rich," Hermione said as Draco pulled his trunk out of a large walk-in closet. Draco shrugged.

"I'm rich because my dad did illegal stuff," Draco said a frown passing over his face, "As did the generations before him. It built up."

"A lot of my other stuff is in another room down the hall," Draco said flipping open his trunk, "All I need from this room are my robes."

"I'll go check out this floor," Mr. Granger said, "Make sure everything is sound."

"Okay," Hermione said looking around Draco's room. Her father's footsteps quickly faded giving Hermione a sense of the great emptiness in the mansion.

"I wonder what happened to all the house elves," she said then asked, "How many house elves did you have?"

"Enough to do laundry, cooking, cleaning," Draco said and closed his trunk again, "Probably, I don't know actually, 10, 20, 50? Somewhere around there. Dobby was one of the personal assistance elves. Like you clap your hands and ask for a butterbeer."

"Clap your hands?" Hermione asked, "Seems like you could have turned out pretty spoiled and snotty."

Draco frowned, "My dad pushed me really hard, required a lot of me. He wouldn't have allowed me to become spoiled. That's old stuff though, over now."

Hermione's father stepped back into the room then and said, "I'm going to go check on the car and give your mother a call to let her know everything's good."

Hermione nodded and he left once again. Draco, finished with his trunk, looked around the room. When his gaze landed on Hermione she smiled softly. He grinned then took a step closer to her and kissed her softly on the lips as she wrapped her arms around him. The kiss turned more passionate as Draco pulled her closer. A moment later Hermione pulled away glancing towards the door.

"Did you hear something?" she asked as a hushed whisper of a voice or voices drifted down the hallway. Draco shook his head and pull his trunk out into the main room. Hermione stuck her head out the door into the hallway, which was completely empty. She was about to step back into the room when she heard more voices, slightly louder this time.

"I heard that this time," Draco said stepping out into the hallway.

"I'm hoping right now you have ghosts in your house," Hermione said taking his hand and peering down the hallway for any movement.

"A few I think," Draco said, "Normally they just rattled the chains in the basement, I don't think my father let them wander the house too much."

Draco glanced at Hermione, a little relieved to see she looked as jumpy as he did. He bit his lip then asked, "Let's go find your father then."

Hermione nodded quickly and Draco stepped back to grab his trunk, pulling it down the hallway towards the room Draco had mentioned before. Hermione stopped suddenly and Draco nearly bumped into her. He turned to follow her gaze down the stairs.

"Do you see a faint light?" she asked then added, "The voices are a little louder here too."

Draco squinted his eyes then decided it did seem a little lighter down there, "Let's get my stuff from the other room then get out of here."

"I agree completely," Hermione said and they hurried down the hallway turning into the larger room with doors leading out into a porch of sorts. Shelves lined the walls, a few broom sticks, ranging from a few smaller, older brooms, to the larger nimbus 2001, leaned against the wall in one corner.

Draco pulled several books, his broom, and a few other things and put them in his trunk then closed it again, latching it this time.

"The rest of the stuff I need I'll get at Diagon Alley," Draco said.

They stepped back out into the hallway and Hermione opened her mouth to yell for her dad when Draco covered her mouth with his hand, whispering, "You don't want to let them know we're here."

"If there are, people, here and its not our imagination," Hermione whispered back taking Draco's hand off her mouth and turning to face him.

"I somehow don't think we are," he said taking her hand in his own wondering if they should go and see who or what it was, or simply leave.

"We have to go downstairs anyway to get out," Hermione said reading his thoughts. Draco nodded and then did a lightening spell on his trunk and pulled it behind them as they carefully went down the stairs. Their hearts pounding they reached the bottom of the staircase after what seemed like ages. Hermione froze hearing the voices, louder this time. Draco's eyes widened seeing a light coming from one of the rooms down the larger hallway.

"What do we do now?" Hermione whispered almost so softly Draco couldn't hear her. He shook his head to say he didn't know.

"Did your dad make it to the car?" he asked his lips barely moving.

"I didn't hear any yells," Hermione replied as they both stood rigidly, rooted to the bottom of the stairs. She hoped fervently that he had made it, that he hadn't been captured by them.

"It might not be," Draco started but in his heart he knew that surely they were death eaters, gathered here in the home of one of Voldemort's main, and now dead, supporters.

"Why are they here?" Hermione breathed.

"The only remaining ones I suppose," Draco said, "And no one is here anymore. Pretty much abandoned. Good hideout."

"They weren't here last time," Hermione argued though she knew what Draco said was true. A cold feeling sat uncomfortably in the pit of her stomach.

"We can't stay here forever," Draco said, accidentally saying it out loud.

"No, I don't think you can," a voice drawled from behind them.

A/N: Mwahahaha.. cliff hangers... fun fun.

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