The Lunacy of Lupin
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, all this stuff does not belong to me. Everything that is in any way related to Harry Potter or the Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling.
A/N: I'm back, baby! Yes, it's been a while--a loooong while--but I am back to finish off The Lunacy of Lupin shortly. I'm not counting on any reviews...before I took my looooong break I only had three. But I decided it must be finished. So here I am, once again sitting in front of my computer typing, prepared to upload this document and two others as soon as I have completed them. I really don't care about the reviews...but maybe someday some unwitting peruser of will stumble across this story and will be able to soak up its stupidity entirely, rather than just five chapters of it. So enough chatting--here you go.
Chapter Six: The Expedition/ PartTwo
It appeared they were standing in inside something like a gazebo on the Malfoys' front grounds. There was a high wrought-iron gate far to their right, to which a long, gravelly path led. A light breeze played about them, riffling the leaves of the tall beeches nearby. Hermione glanced over at Harry to see his reaction; his face remained unchanged.
"C'mon, Hermione, we'd better be quick if we want any sleep later tonight," he said resolutely. His eyes were determined and face was set. He seemed to be on a mission. She gripped his wrist again and followed him up the long path towards the Malfoy manor, Harry mumbling, "Trap door, drawing room. Trap door, drawing room..."
They made their way up the wide front steps and up to the large carved oak doors. Stone snakes rose from short pillars on either side of the stairs and a silver knocker was shaped like a snake on the door. Hermione squeezed Harry's wrist tightly as he pulled open the giant panel of solid, polished wood.
The two of them slipped through and Hermione closed the door behind them. Two huge sweeping staircases would take them to the upper floors should the need arise. A large set of doors was under the left-hand staircase and another set of stone steps led downstairs from under the right-hand. Right before them were two enormous double-doors with silver handles. Harry supposed this would be the equivalent of Hogwarts's Great Hall.
"Where d'you reckon we should go?" Harry whispered to Hermione. Although the only thing surrounding them was the dead of the night and all resident Malfoys were likely asleep, it seemed prudent to hush their voices. The place had a prestigious air that stole the volume from their voices and fed it to the roaring silence between them.
"Probably upstairs, that's where the drawing room in Grimmauld Place was...," Hermione supplied. Harry winced at the sound of his godfather's last place of residence.
"Yeah, you're probably right," he said.par tab He took her up one long staircase to the second floor. Green and silver carpet embroidered with serpents were laid out across the floor. "Ugh, this place reeks of Slytherin...," Harry said. Hermione stifled a laugh.
"Lumos," he said, igniting the tip of hs wand to guide them towards the rooms. Hermione looked at the doors in front of them and chose one concealed by a family tapestry similar to the Blacks'. The places of several burned-out names were visible in the wand-light.
"All right," Harry said. He crept quietly over to the door and pushed it open, then stood back to let her peer into the dark room. "Looks like a drawing room to me, what about you?" Hermione nodded and they sneaked in, shutting the door behind them.
"Hold this, please," Harry said, handing Hermione his wand. "Thanks. Now...trap door. Well, that's really not a trap door. Kind of obvious, really."
He walked over to a large, heavy silver ring in the floor and pulled it. Sure enough, a chunk of the floor lifted up to reveal a dirty, dust-infested hole.
"Not even a half-crocked weasel would fall for that..."Harry muttered. "I don't see any book...Hermione, do you?" There was nothing in the hole...Hermione shook her head. Suddenly a sharp voice came from outside the room.
"Who's there?" it said. They were thankful they had shut the door, but it had not been locked. A couple of seconds would render them caught, having broken school rules, and at the mercy of a not-so-nice sounding person. The doorknob was turning. Hermione gasped, panicking, and grasped firmly onto Harry.
"Apparate on three," he hissed in her ear. "One, two, three!" A loud cracking sound echoed through the room and they were gone, leaving a disgruntled Mr. Lucius Malfoy staring at the spot where he was sure he had just seen two school-age wizards he knew very well. Things would soon be turning sticky for them, indeed, he thought maliciously.
Miles away, Harry and Hermione stood in Hogsmeade, eyes wide at their narrow escape. But more present than their terror was a sense of disappointment at their fruitless escapade
So what will happen next? Hmm. Next chapter is back to Lupin's themes, ok? If I don't change my mind, and I'm pretty sure I won't, the story will take a little turn and will probably come to an end soon. Anyways, sending my love to your barbarian camels, uraniumbombz.