Sold-Chapter 25-Conspiracy in the Air

By Marmalade Fever

A.N. I finally have a plot idea! Yay!

Harry's search through the house proved fruitless. There was no evidence that Hermione or the two children had been there. Many of Malfoy's possessions were left lying out (not that that was surprising, considering it was his house). In the kitchen he found some bread crumbs, an open jar of peanut butter, and a knife covered in jelly, which didn't exactly scream Malfoy.

"Is sir needing any help?" Kobby asked. He'd been following him around.

"Is there anywhere I might have missed? People generally don't just disappear." (Granted, he had.)

Kobby looked thoughtful and, for a moment, Harry was sure he was going to hurt himself for what he was about to say. "Follow Kobby, sir," the elf said, banging his head with his fist.

Harry followed the elf down a hall, a flight of stairs, and toward a door. "This is where we is keeping the Mudblood, sir," Kobby announced.

"A dungeon…" Harry said, "I should have known." Gingerly, he pushed the door open and took a look around. There was a chair, the remains of some rope, some peanut butter and jelly crumbs, and a few blankets and pillows, all in a front of a large cell. "Curiouser and curiouser." He leaned down and took a look at the pillows. His heart stopped. One of the pillows had a very long, shiny, black hair on it. Harry's fingers were shaky as he performed the paternity test. The hair belonged to his daughter, all right. Her mother seemed to be muggle, a fact that greatly confused him because muggles had become almost entirely extinct. Harry wrapped the hair into a loop and placed it inside the locket.

"Look, sir," Kobby said, "there are hairs from the others as well, sir." The elf laid three more hairs in his hand. One was long, blond, and straight, one was short, brown, and curly, and the last was dark blond, short, and curly. Harry nimbly performed a second paternity test. Exactly as he'd feared, the hair belonged to the child of Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger.

…

"Father?" Draco's counterpart said, knocking on the door to the old man's office.

"Enter," was the flat reply.

Carefully, the married Draco opened the door. "Father, there's someone here who wants to talk to you."

Lucius Malfoy swung around in his chair. "Oh? And who might that be?" he asked.

Short-haired Draco took a step in and long-haired Draco stepped into view. "Hello, Father," he said, smirking. The old man stood, wand in hand.

"What sort of trickery is this?" he asked.

Short-haired Draco stepped out of the room, clearly unwilling to participate in the explanation. Draco pulled a chair forward and sat down, leisurely. "Relax, Father."

Lucius did no such thing. "Who are you?" he growled.

"Haven't you figured it out yet? I'm Draco."

"Explain yourself," he grunted.

"Very well," and he told him about the world ruled by the Dark Lord.

…

Hermione sat quietly in a guest-bedroom. Marmalade, a cat that looked almost exactly like old Crookshanks, had come to a rest on her lap, purring good-naturedly. It was peaceful here. She was finally able to sleep in an actual bed, after all of these years, without fear. So why did she have this sense of foreboding?

…

"Very well," Lucius replied, calmly. "I'll help you."

"It's excellent to hear that," Draco said, smiling.

"But what, pray tell, do you plan to do about Miss Granger? I doubt she would be willing to impersonate herself." Lucius' long hair was swept into a pony tail with a long black ribbon to hold it in place.

"Father, I'm afraid this goody-goody dimension has made you lose your touch. Just leave it to me." Draco smiled, fingering his own blond tresses.

"I must admit, Draco, I had my worries about you, or should I say, the other you. Marrying that filth… but here you are, strong, confident, treacherous. Your parents must be so proud."

Draco's smile quavered. The question of whether or not his parents were proud of him was a difficult one for him to answer. This version of his father seemed to suffice with his cunning and Malfoy-like tendencies. His own parents only seemed to care about one thing: grandchildren. Well, if all went well, both sets of parents would be proud, to a degree. This Lucius and Narcissa would have a Machiavellian villain for a son and his own Lucius and Narcissa would get a nice little half-breed granddaughter. It all worked out so well. "Proud? Oh yes, I'm sure they will be."

…

Harry began to examine the insides of the cell. There certainly wasn't much to find. There was an empty bowl and a spoon, a water goblet, and a grubby old pair of overalls. It was what he found in the pocket of the overalls that was interesting. It was a map with various mathematical figures on it. There was a circle, two points on it, and a dot in the center. Then there were distances labeled. One point was at Malfoy Manor, the dot in the center seemed to be right at Voldemort's Lair, and the other dot… was in the woods where he'd found the locket. Harry threw the paper down in aggravation. There was a mystery going on and he felt like he'd been dropped into this elaborate plot without reading the earlier chapters, as if he were up a river without a paddle. Just then he turned around and saw a very bright light, as if a ball of pure energy had just exploded in the dungeon.

…

Hermione Malfoy smiled as her husband came into the kitchen. "Back so soon?" she asked. He shrugged. "Where's the other Draco?"

"Don't worry about him, Love," he responded. He smirked.

"Did you just get a haircut?" Hermione put down her shopping list and stepped toward him.

"Depends… do you like it?" He had a twinkle in his eye.

Hermione giggled. "I like your hair at any length, you know that." Draco leaned forward and kissed her. Hermione smiled as he pulled away, but then she frowned a little. "You call that a kiss?"

Draco smirked. "No, I call it a farewell. Good-bye, Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione screamed as Lucius Malfoy stepped into the room and stunned her.

A.N.: Whoo! I like it so much when I have a direction in mind. Don't feel bad if you're confused. I meant for you to be. Thank you to all those who reviewed "Blind Date." Also, I shan't be updating on November 11th.