Chapter Thirty-One:

(A/N. So I'm really happy about how many people have been looking at this story. I have 335 hits recorded. However, I'm not happy about the amount of reviews. I mean 10? For maybe 300 people viewing it? I need some encouragement folks! Really it's not that hard to add a comment. Just be like " : )" if you want to. If I don't see more reviews I won't be motivated to write more. Seriously, I'm really busy and I write for the readers. And if the readers don't put in a little effort with some feedback. Well, you get the picture.)

The Malfoy Manor loomed in front of him like a menacing tower of doom. The wind and rain beat around him making his cloak flap wildly. Draco sighed and straightened his shoulders visibly. Then he picked up his trunk and walked up the stairs. The doors sensed a Malfoy's approach and opened grandly and three house elves popped into view. They scurried forward to take his trunk and cloak and disappeared without a word. Dripping onto the expensive green Persian carpet, Draco didn't move from the doorway. It was here in his house where it finally sank in. Lucius Malfoy was gone.

A sharp wail interrupted his thoughts and he glanced up at the opulent black marble staircase that led upstairs. It took another high pitched scream to get him moving and he hurried up the stairs to his parent's wing where the sound had come from. His boots clicking on the dark floor he followed the sobbing and hysterical noises to his parents bedroom. Two giant doors with large silver handles faced him and his hand hovered over one of the handles. Fear gripped him as his mind flashed back to his dream. Shoving his fear aside, Draco swallowed hard and yanked the door open. His mother was sitting on the floor of the room in a dirty nightgown playing with a porcelain doll. Narcissa's hair was in a disarray and there were pieces of her hair scattered around her from where she had fisted her hands in her hair and yanked it out. On her cheeks and arms were deep lacerations and from the blood under her fingernails, Draco could tell she had scratched herself. Her eyes were red and swollen from tears and mucus dripped from her aristocratic nose. It was a disgusting and pitiful sight. Draco turned and walked away.

The door shut behind him and Draco leaned against it as he slid to the floor. Cradling his head in his hands he swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He knew she'd been informed of her husband's disappearance, and apparently it had broken her. How could she love a man who had never cared for her? His mind felt like it was caught in a maelstrom. He hated her for loving him and yet he wished he could take her pain away. He raged and sobbed on the inside but on the outside the only thing that showed his thoughts were his eyes. Finally he regained control of his emotions and he stood up and quietly stepped inside. His mother looked up at him and stared at him with unseeing eyes.

"Lucius, is that you? Oh I've been worried sick about you…"

Again Draco had to force down the building tension in his throat. "No, Mother, it's me. Draco."

"Draco? You're not my little boy! Who do you think you are? This is the Malfoy Manor you can't just waltz in here! How dare you?" she roared standing up. Every line on her face was regal and haughty but somehow it only made her seem more lost. Her hands shook and she stared off into the corner of the room. "They're staring at me. Why are they staring at me?" Draco followed her gaze and saw nothing.

"Mothe—" he began but she rushed over and covered his mouth with her hand which felt damp and sticky and her foul odor left him nauseated as he was forced to breathe through his nose. He wretched away and she didn't pursue him.

"Shhh, you mustn't make a noise! They'll here you," she whispered her eyes fixed on the corner of the room. Suddenly there was a sharp crack as the doll slipped from her hands and onto the floor. The shattered head rolled to his feet and the plastic eyes stared up at him and he took an involuntary step back. "Oh how the dolls will cry now…" his mother whispered her attention having now fixed on the shattered remains. Her words froze him and his eyes slowly rose to look at Narcissa and for a second he saw something in her eyes, some intelligence or awareness. Then it was gone and she was crying about her invisible monsters and throwing vases and other shattering objects into the corner of the room. Draco walked out and blocked out the terrified screams as he had done so many times in his past, it did not matter that this time it was his mother.

The shadows stretched along the walls of the cave as the night grew darker. The frigid air beat at the small fire which was melting the layer of ice on the floor. A darker shadow crouched a little away from the fire and the five stones in his hand danced with the light from the flames. Quiet words in a dead tongue echoed around the room. A dull throbbing noise emerged from the stones which were slowly growing darker. The flame flickered as if something were sucking at its warmth and light.

"Yes….yes…." a voice murmured, a cracked hoarse inhuman voice. In the man's hand the stones grew heavier in the man's hand. Suddenly one of the stones flickered strangely and there was a backlash of dark power that send the dark figure hurtling into the depths of the cave. The creatures that heard the man's monstrous scream cowered in their lairs.

Lucius Malfoy's study looked exactly the same as it always did; a giant mahogany desk and dark green walls and a giant black chair. Draco forced back memories that flooded to him and stepped over to the desk. Finding the key hidden in a small black vase, Draco opened the drawer of the desk and began riffling through the papers. A small piece of parchment fell to the flower and Draco bent over to get it. On it was scribbled a spell in a slanting hand and underneath in his father's flowing script were the words "spell to bring down Hogwarts barrier. Activate the Five Crystals of Set." Draco stared at it knowing that this spell had killed many children. Folding it carefully, he tucked it into the pocket of his robe, her would take it to Dumbledore when he could. He continued to go through the drawers filled with papers but could find nothing of interest. As he was about to slam the main drawer close his fingers bumped against something. Kneeling down he peered under but could see nothing.

Drawing his wand he pointed it and whispered, "Aparecium." Nothing happened. "Alohamora." Once more nothing happened. "Finite Incantatem!" There was a shimmering and then a black envelope appeared. Draco went to touch it but was jolted backwards and he hissed at the pain. He closed his eyes and tested the barriers on the envelope with his mind his wand hand held out before him. At the same time he thought of his father and what kind of magic he would normally use. Whispering a dark spell he opened his eyes and reached for the letter a second time. This time it didn't shock him and he ripped it away from the wood. Ripping the envelope open he pulled out a piece of folded parchment. His eyes skimmed over the page and saw that it was from a old book talking about some stones, the stones of Set.

Thousands of years ago, a pharaoh named Neferkara lived in the land of Egypt. He was a selfish man, and a power-hungry man and his wish was to conquer the world. To achieve this, the pharaoh made an unholy alliance with the dark god, Set. His wish was to conquer the world for all eternity. The dark god was eager to bring chaos and death to this world and he endowed five stones with his power and offered it to the pharaoh. The power in the Five Crystals of Set, was incredible. Using the blood of five virgins, which was spilled on the altar of Apep, the destroyer, the pharaoh unleashed the power of the stones. The crystals gave Neferkara dark powers and he ruled over Egypt with a terrible wrath. For many years Egypt lived in a time of terror until Horus, son of Osiris, struck down Set from the throne and restored order, and when he did this he killed Nerfekara. The crystals were too powerful to be destroyed so he ordered his wife, Ta-Bitjet, to take the crystal sin her scorpion claws and hide them. To this day the crystals remain hidden…

On either side of the print of the book his father had made notes and though Draco squinted at the writing he couldn't decipher what they said. Frowning Draco refolded the paper and shoved it back into the envelope. He would research it in the library at Hogwarts when he went to give the spell to Dumbledore. Leaning back in the chair he steepled his fingers as he let his thoughts drift. So his father had somehow found these crystals and found a way to use them to break the Hogwarts barriers. But then, where had they gone after the fight? Had Lucius taken them with them? If so, what would he do with the five crystals that were so powerful a god had not been able to destroy them? In his mind flashed the image of the leathery claw pulling from the shadows to try and kill him. Draco shuddered and stood up, trying to get away from the eerie quiet that had settled over the house.