This chapter is going to be switching POVs, so don't get confused…I'll try to make it obvious when I switch it.
Chapter 18: Malfoy Manor
The group instinctively crouched low to the ground the moment they felt their feet touch the bottom of the fireplace; wands extended into the room. It was dark; the only sound that could be heard was the breathing of the students. Harry slowly moved out of the fireplace, Ron close behind him. The room they were in was enormous, but not much else could be seen about it as it was pitch black. Harry twitched his head; it was time they look around the house, not only for Percy, but also for Death Eaters.
They split up into smaller groups. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Neville were the first group; their mission was to mainly find Percy and get back to Hogwarts. Ernie was to head the second group: Hannah, Cho, Luna and Parvati. They were to protect Harry's group from behind, making sure no one snuck up on them while they searched for Percy. Lastly, Hermione's team, she was leading: Dean, Seamus, and Lavender. She was to go through as much of the house as possible, looking for anything that could give them an idea of Voldemort's plans.
Harry moved forward, it had been decided that the basement would be the most obvious place to keep Percy. The only problem was finding it. They were in a large sitting room; the fireplace they had entered in was made of white marble. The crystal chandelier that hung above them twinkled softly, but it gave no illumination to the mahogany furniture beneath it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hermione's group move to the staircase going to the second floor. Not knowing where to start, he made his way down a narrow hallway that was in the left corner of the room. Many small lights hung from the ceiling and expensive looking paintings lined the walls.
The hardwood floors creaked quietly as Harry stepped, he saw a door coming up on the right. He placed himself just beyond it, Ron stood at the other side, and Ginny planted herself right in front as she opened the door. It was a dining room; there was another chandelier and even more paintings that surrounded the large table that could easily seat fifty people; there were no other doors that led out of it. Seeing nothing of importance, the group moved on. Harry looked down the hall the way they came; he could see Ernie's team down near the end of it. Harry turned back, and continued down the hall.
Hermione was scared; that much she knew for certain. As she led her team up the marble staircase the only two things she could think were: the Malfoys love marble and that this is the most terrifying thing she's ever attempted. At the top of the stairs she could go either way. To her left, the hall was lined with many doors, to her right, the hall was lined with many doors; it seemed that the Malfoys loved doors as much as marble. Taking a deep breath, she went to the right. The first door Hermione came to was to her left. Like Harry, she walked just beyond it, Dean at the other side, and Seamus opening the door. He opened it slowly, for all they knew, Mrs. Malfoy could be sleeping in there. The room was empty and Hermione let go of her breath that she hadn't even realized she was holding. It was a spare bedroom; the group went inside ready to search for clues.
Harry came upon another door, once it was opened he peeked a look inside. It was the kitchen; and it was huge. It was for certain that this kitchen was designed for the use of a house elf; everything was low to the ground. Harry made his way inside, his group close behind him. The floor was made of tile, and as each step was taken, it echoed throughout the room. They split up once again to effectively search the entire kitchen. Harry and Neville were one pair, Ginny and Ron the other. Harry and Neville were searching for another door when they heard Ginny's soft voice.
"Harry, come get a look at this," she whispered. Harry found Ginny and her brother; they were standing next to a door. The door opened to a staircase leading down. Harry nodded his head and they started to descend the stairs.
Ernie Macmillan thought he got stuck with the worst job for the operation: protect another group. What kind of fun was that? He knew that this wasn't supposed to be fun, but come on, there had to be something else he could do. However, he told Harry that he would loyally follow his orders, so here he was, following Harry down a staircase in the kitchen. This set of stairs was nothing like the rest of the house; it was not made of marble and there were no chandeliers in sight. It looked as if it belonged in the Shrieking Shack more than anywhere else. It was dark, but then again, the entire house was. Ernie saw Harry stop, it was clear that he had reached the bottom. Harry went to the left, and as Ernie made his way down, he found out that there was no other way to go. They were now in what seemed to be an even darker corridor; there were no paintings and no doors. It was long, very long; Ernie began to wonder if when it did end that if they would still be in the house. Suddenly a door appeared at the end of the hall; he could see Harry stop outside of it, look back, and turn the doorknob.
Hermione had been through half a dozen doors and she had still found nothing. She felt completely useless, she knew Harry had put her on this job to protect her. Heaving a sigh, she opened a door without even thinking, and inside laid Mrs. Malfoy asleep in her bed. Hermione suppressed a scream as she fell back into the hall, closing the door. Lavender was at Hermione's side in an instant. 'You okay?' she mouthed. Hermione nodded. 'Mrs. Malfoy' she mouthed back, indicating the door. Lavender nodded in understanding, she looked down at Hermione; they were thinking the same thing: if there were any information in this house, there would undoubtedly be some in that room.
Hermione slowly opened the door again, and poked her head in. Mrs. Malfoy was sound asleep, completely unaware of Hermione creeping into her room. It was a magnificent bedroom; clearly much amounts of money had been poured into it. The bed was no doubt mahogany, and the bedspread was most likely fine silk. The paintings that were on the walls were all portraits of Mrs. Malfoy, all of which glared down at Hermione. Hermione signaled to the others that it was safe to enter, and together they looked through the desks and cabinets around the room.
Lavender was looking through a desk while Dean and Seamus searched a large walk-in closet. Hermione crept to Mrs. Malfoy's bedside table; there was a small drawer. Hermione pulled it open, and inside laid one piece of paper; it was a letter.
Narcissa,
Your husband will be free soon enough. The date has been set, but I dare not tell it in this letter in the events that it falls into the wrong hands. Others will be freed on that date as well. Take care.
It was signed with the Dark Mark. Hermione stuffed the paper in her cloak, and as she turned to leave, a hand grabbed her wrist. She looked down; it was Mrs. Malfoy.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Mrs. Malfoy sneered. Hermione felt her limbs snap to her side; for a moment she swayed slightly on her feet, then she landed on the floor with a loud thud. But that time, Lavender, Dean, and Seamus were already aware of Mrs. Malfoy waking up and acted as quickly as possible.
"Expelliarmus!" Lavender cried. Mrs. Malfoy's wand flew into the air; Dean snatched it before it hit the ground. With a small laugh, Mrs. Malfoy turned and hit what was obviously an alarm. The alarm was deafening, Hermione wished she could cover her ears; as if reading her thoughts, Seamus muttered the counter curse to release her.
"We have to get out of here! Now!" Hermione bellowed. The team nodded, and started to run to the fireplace they had arrived in. They burst into the hall, and were shocked when well over a dozen Death Eaters rushed in front of them from the stairs. Hermione gave one last glance to her group; it was time to fight.
As Harry opened the door he could hear an alarm sound from above him; Hermione was in trouble. Not knowing what to do, he looked to Neville.
"Ernie," said Neville. Harry nodded.
"ERNIE, GO HELP HERMIONE!" he shouted down the hall. Harry watched as Ernie's team dashed back down the way they had come. Harry turned back and went through the door. The walls on the inside were lined with portraits of the entire family…Harry knew he had come to the right place. The room had what were clearly objects used for Dark Magic, though Harry couldn't name them. It looked more like a dungeon than anything, shackles hung from the walls and there were smears of blood every so often. Harry rushed inside, and in the very center of the room, he saw Percy. He raced to his side.
"Percy…Percy! We're here…we have to run!" Harry yelled, shaking Percy's shoulder.
"Harry…you came…you really came for me…" he said, his head lolling side to side.
"Can you walk?" Harry asked. Percy looked up at him, sudden determination in his eyes.
"What kind of Weasley would I be if I couldn't walk?" Percy said. Harry smiled, and untied Percy. Percy slowly rose from the chair and stretched. "Ready," he said. Harry nodded and they started the run back to the sitting room. As they climbed the staircase they heard a rumbling of feet that meant that Death Eaters were on their way. Harry pushed open the door; he was right, the kitchen was filling with Death Eaters with each passing second.
"Disoptencia!" Harry bellowed at the nearest one.
"Reflecto!" the Death Eater used a shield and the spell bounced back, hitting Ginny square between the eyes.
"I'm blind!" she cried, her hands over her eyes. Neville placed himself in front of her, protecting her from everything she could no longer see. "Stupefy!" she shouted, she managed to hit a Death Eater. Percy ducked to the stupefied Death Eater and snatched his wand.
"Impedimenta!" he yelled. The group fought their way back into the hall and ran as fast as they could back to the sitting room; Neville guiding the now completely blinded Ginny as they went. Bright lights could be seen flashing from that end of the hall; apparently, the fight was still going strong for both Ernie and Hermione.
Hermione's group was being pushed back. The Death Eaters were effectively putting them in a dead end, and Hermione couldn't think of a way out of it. As the end of the hall drew nearer, she saw that there was a window.
"Follow me!" she yelled, making a dash for it. She could hear the rest of her team running behind her. Taking a deep breath, she threw herself through the window, at the same time realizing that she was on the second floor of a very large house.
Ernie had gotten the order to go help Hermione, and raced back up the stairs from the cellar and down the hall. Death Eaters were already in the sitting room, and Ernie could see no way of getting to Hermione.
"Attack!" Ernie shouted. The group started using all the spells they could remember from the DA. Death Eaters were dropping left and right, it looked as if they had no idea if what was happening. Ernie made a run for the stairs; he had to help Hermione. Out of nowhere, a Death Eater came and used a curse from behind him. Ernie saw the light of the spell out of the corner of his eye but had no time to react. He felt it hit him between the shoulders and, blacking out, he slowly fell to the ground.
Hermione felt the glass shatter around her, cutting deep into her skin. She heard Lavender shriek while Dean and Seamus hollered. They were all falling to the ground and none of them knew a spell to slow them down. They landed with a sickening crash. Hermione could feel her own bones break and could hear the bones of the members of her team snap as well. Lavender cried out in pain, clutching her leg. Hermione's eyes stung with tears as a terrible amount of agony made it's way through her body from her legs. Hermione clenched her teeth; she had come too far to stop now. Forcing herself to stand, she grabbed Lavender's hand and made her get up. The two girls helped Dean and Seamus get to their feet, it was clear that their legs and ankles sustained injury as well. Hermione looked back to the house, they were directly in front of the window to the sitting room. Hermione watched as Ernie fell to the ground in front of the stairs.
"Come on, we have to help!" she shouted, going through yet another window.
Harry heard a crash of breaking glass when he and his team arrived in the sitting room. He looked over and saw Hermione picking herself up from the floor, her team stepping through the now broken window. Harry motioned for his team to gather the rest of the group.
"It's time to get out of here!" he said. They nodded, and raced to help the others get to the fireplace. The room had almost been completely destroyed, bits of furniture lay scattered about and the chandelier was shattered on the floor. Harry scanned the room, looking for anybody his team had missed. Through the haze, Harry saw Ernie lying in front of the stairs and sprinted to get to him. The Death Eater that had struck him was still standing next to him. Harry quickly stunned him, and without any second thoughts, Harry picked up Ernie and ran to the fireplace. The room was now clear of Death Eaters; the team tried to huddle in the fireplace once again. Harry threw down the Floo powder and he said "Hogwarts!" As the green flames devoured the students, Mrs. Malfoy appeared at the bottom of the stairs; she was laughing.