With a quick flick of his wand, his robes were gone leaving him in the muggle appropriate trainers and shirt. Instead of attempting to force his way through the doors, he walked to the side of the room. He'd never make it in time to get the delivery if he had to bombard every door between here and the front. Instead, he blasted a window with a wordless spell and without a second thought jumped. The library sat on the second floor and extended several stories up. The same devil's snare plant at the outside of his bedroom extended its reach to the entire perimeter of the house.

Since the original planting was on this side of the manor, it was much thicker here. The plant snagged him within a second of his jump. Relaxing, it delivered him to the lawn. He made his way at a quick jog to the front of the house, waving down the muggles that were attempting to drive away. He signed their contracts of delivery and then helped them lift the coffin from the bed of the black painted vehicle onto the ground.

"Want us to help with the new burial location?" One muggle asked.

He attempted to ease their minds, discussing his family was coming up in an hour and wanted to do an official pole bearing, leaving the coffin at the bottom of the stairs would suffice for their needs and he didn't want to waste any more of their time. He thanked them and they went on their way.

Once they were out of the driveway, he relaxed his magic, and the anti-muggle wards flew up.

And then they dropped again, the manor realizing there was no need for them. It was angry.

With a sigh, a feeling of exhaustion overcame Draco. He leaned against the coffin. He could feel it. The wards that had been drawn in his own blood called to him with the sorrow his heart still felt. He recognized the magic. The feeling of power in the earth in the graveyard had come from this, not from the graveyard itself. No wonder he returned with such frequency.

He watched where he felt Jiffy would appear, and with a pop he came. The elf's ears were all the way back and touching. The large eyes took in the coffin it hadn't seen since they'd snuck it out of the back of the house and through the Malfoy Forest.

The elf seemed to gather his wits then, he looked at Draco, his expression hopeful. "It is good to have the little lady home."

Draco closed his eyes, feeling what the elf must be feeling. Half of Aquarius's power came out as song and from the manor, he could hear the other half of it singing back like harmony. He realized then, why the manor had attempted to lock up the house. The moment he brought the coffin in, the two powers were likely to join. When he lifted the runes, the whole of his daughter would be there, nothing divided or lacking - as perfect as he remembered her. He closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation.

He felt their emotions before he heard them. They were irritated, concerned, and frustrated. His tension returned at the sound of dragonhide boots on gravel, followed by Greg's heavy treads and then the soft crunch of Filius' feet. He could feel the others, they were still in the library. Draco could taste agitation from there. Something was wrong. Before he could assess more, Severus stopped right in front of him.

Draco opened his eyes and looked up at him.

The man crouched, becoming eye level. "Filius is right. You've done a cleaning ritual; your eyes are too pale. Which means you intended to do this without us, and that you know who exactly to get the blood from. What death eater are you still in close contact with, despite your parents warning to stay away?"

Anger filled him, bubbling like a cauldron filled to full and set to the flame without attendance. He glared at Severus. At his nerve. Nobody could just stop prying. He looked up, feeling the power behind him, his own runes felt powerful against his back. He turned to Jiffy. The eyes of the elf flicked between him and Severus. Maybe Jiffy's concerns about finishing the ritual had some weight. If he failed to finish, then they'd be stuck halfway, halfway whole. Close but not quite.

Greg was a noble, but he wasn't known for his strength. He let his anger ebb away.

"Get Potter to take my mother away and have everyone else leave, and I will tell you all you want to know." He lowered his voice to a whisper, so only Jiffy and Severus could hear him. Slytherins bargained for power and gave finality. "Otherwise, I promise you will always be left wondering."

"Filius and I," Severus said, making an amendment, "but I will send everyone else away."

Draco looked at the little professor, the half-blood, who had taken better care of Slytherins than Slughorn had. He was trustworthy, even if he had bad blood. "And both of you will take a vow to not speak of what I tell you. An oath breaker vow." Draco countered. They wouldn't lose their magic on breaking the vow, but they would be marked as oath breakers visibly on their faces. Draco would know he'd been betrayed at the very least and would have to be satisfied that their honor would forever be in question by those around them.

Severus hand balled into a fist and Draco raised his brow. After several minutes of staring at him, Severus seemed to realize that any more bargaining and he would be unlikely to gain a foothold. "Very well."

"Are you really alright in swearing an oath breaker vow?" Draco asked, standing.

"I am willing to make the oath breaker vow as long as you word in a loophole that if you are harboring a fugitive of the ministry, I can alert the proper authorities," Severus said, his dark voice having an edge.

Flitwick on the other hand seemed to be contemplating the situation. But then he straightened his back and looked Draco in the eye. "I am willing to swear a vow with no loopholes, and if you are uncomfortable with a vow of honor, I will swear it on my magic."

Draco blinked at the level of trust the man displayed. Very few would offer their magic to a death eater, especially under the circumstances. Draco only shook his head though. "An oathtaker vow will suffice." His eyes went to Severus, "No loopholes."

For a moment he was certain Severus would leave, but he narrowed his gaze on him instead. "Very well," Severus said.

Draco turned to Filius. "Filius Flitwick, do you swear on your honor and the honor of all of your descendants hereafter, that you shall not pass on through word, action or deed, that which concerns the child that was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange that has been given to you in confidence. That whatever knowledge you uncover on your own concerning her, you will not discuss in any external company."

"Modify the vow, such that you may release me from it in the future outside of duress," Filius said. "But I will agree to your terms thereafter."

Draco clenched his hands into fists. But that was a fair wording for a vow, it was typical that one of honor be undone by the requester. Draco repeated the vow, with the modification.

"So mote it be, I have taken this oath of my own free will and under no risk of my life and will uphold it with my honor." Filius said, and a binding strand came from Severus's wand and onto Filius hand and glowed gold.

Draco repeated the vow to Severus. And Filius sealed the vow on Severus's agreement.

"Greg," Severus called the last man over. "Are you ready to take the vow or are you leaving?"

Greg raised a brow. "I've no need to give a vow."

Severus blinked at that.

Draco gave a sigh, "He is well aware of the information."

Severus's eyes narrowed and Draco wondered if Severus was scheming to get Greg to part with the information in front of company.

Draco stood and began assessing the coffin. The spells he'd placed on the outside to prevent deterioration had held wonderfully. It would have been disturbing to lift the thing and the bodies fall through. The muggles had been a bit concerned on that front.

"Well, whose blood are you intending to use?" Severus asked, his foot tapped with impatience.

His heart pace quickened, and part of him was tempted to back out of the deal to send them away. Jiffy was looking up at him, and Draco knew that getting their help would likely be the only way to successfully undo the spell. He took another deep breath, eyes glancing at the vow markers on their wrists. He closed his eyes, for a moment, and saw the babe in the bassinet. Tiny hands grabbing for butterflies he'd charmed to fly above her bed. She was stuck in this house due to him, and he would not let his own pride cause her anymore suffering. "My own."

Severus seemed to be taken aback and Flitwick's brows closed together in thought.

"So you really do not know where Rodolphus is."

Draco almost bit his tongue, but the idea of Lestrange still brought anger. "If I did, he would be dead." Draco meant it.

"This will be pointless," Severus said, "A close relative's blood will do nothing."

With a deep breath Draco continued with an explanation. "Rodolphus was sterile. I was the parent to the child. Like I mentioned to my mother, Bellatrix taught me all her knowledge, and she believed the best knowledge was gained through experience. There are only some torture spells that can be used in the moment."

He'd never seen the man speechless before. His mouth hung open; he gave a choke. "If you—"

Was the man going to blame him for this? "What would you have done in my circumstance?" Draco countered.

The man reached out a hand, but then thought better of it, the hand dropped between them. "I am sorry."

At that Draco gave a bitter laugh. "For what? There was nothing you could have done."

"I could have tried to help."

As if feeling the temper rising from the young man, Filius then spoke. "I've heard of some of those spells. You must have been under the imperius curse multiple times."

"If only we could fight them off like Potter," Draco snapped.

Filius continued, "It is near impossible to throw off an imperious curse of a close blood relative. You would have been entirely at her mercy. There have been many studies done since the war. Especially on the imperious."

Draco twitched, and lowered his gaze, feeling a bit foolish at snapping at the old man when he needed his help.

"We will need to assemble supplies," Greg said, changing the subject.

"I've already retrieved what was needed, all that is remaining is blood." Draco told them.

Filius's head turned then, his gaze inspecting the coffin. He touched one of the rune etchings, then removed his hand. He gave an odd chortle, much like a goblin scoff. Filius then turned to them. "This whole time, we've been worried about how to undo the spell," Filius then raised his hand and showed them, blood - blood had come off from the coffin. "You casted the preservation spell right after you did the runes, it looks like it is fading."

Draco blinked, eyes focused on the rich red imprint on Filius' fingers. It hadn't dried - it hadn't been damaged by nature.

The others seemed to be trying to take in the information as well.

When Filius realized they didn't understand, he gave them a goblin like grin, "The ritual never fully completed. The stabilizing of the spirit and placation is there, yes - but the Sethcoria ritual itself and the permanent binding to the final resting - that never completed. That explains why the spirits are here. They were stabilized, held here because this was their final tie. An alteration to the real ritual."

Draco's gaze immediately sought the caster of the preservation. Jiffy looked up at him, eyes holding his stare. Jiffy had been the one to help him, and had led him through all the steps. Jiffy had been particular about the order, and ensured it was done to his satisfaction. He'd asked that during the ritual he be able to cast to preserve their bodies as a form of honor. "You knew."

Jiffy's ears tilted. "Jiffy did what was right."

Right? His stomach dropped. He leaned in, towering above the creature and then became nose-and-nose with it. "What did you do?"

"Jiffy wouldn't let the little master be taken to muddy, muggle dirt."

"She wasn't a master," Draco told him. She hadn't been. He hadn't declared her his.

"The second you thought her name into existence, she was. Jiffy knew the moment it happened. Jiffy is a Malfoy elf." And then Jiffy bowed, low, deep. His nose touching the dirt and Draco's feet. "Jiffy failed to save the little master. So Jiffy made sure the little master stayed where she would be loved." The house-elf looked up then, "All Jiffy needed was the name."

Fear struck Draco's heart then. What had Jiffy done? Draco's hands quivered. He'd given Jiffy her name a week ago, what had the elf done with it? Half of him wanted to throttle the neck of the old elf, but the other half resisted, he would not become what he hated. Before he could gather his thoughts to speak, the elf apparated away.

"Jiffy," Draco yelled, but the elf did not reappear. "Jiffy!"

Draco turned toward the manor, but a hand grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back.

Flitwick had grabbed him, and the man pointed at the coffin. He saw something Draco did not. "Oh dear, see how the runes are lighting up. The fading of the preservation spell is causing the runes to alight. We do not have time. A Sethcoria ritual is usually done within the first year of death - there is no research of the impact this might have on either Hermione, or the child should we allow the preservation to fade completely and the original spell to complete."

"Can we recast the spell?"

"None of us can recast house-elf magic, and a wizard preservation spell of this magnitude would require far too much time to recast." Filius spoke quickly, his fingers touched a rune just as it lit up. "How the elf was able to preserve the thin layer of blood on the runes before coagulation occurred, he must have casted it on each one-"

"We don't have time," Severus cut him off. "Greg, levitate the coffin." Severus then looked at Draco. "Is there still residual magic in the ritual room?"

"Yes, but the other one is fine."

Severus turned his attention to the coffin, he leaned close, watching one of the hundreds of runes light up. He gave one long blink. He pulled back, pulled out his wand and casted a cleansing spell and then another. "Then we go to that. We need remove the blood, but it can only be done when the preservation has faded from the area. We will only have seconds to clean it. We need to get to that ritual room, the runes that have been set - the runes that we are unable to cleanse, we will need to undo. Who knows what impact having some and not all will have, but it will be better than all. If we can get to the room before all the runes have settled, we might be able to undo this mess."

Filius began casting the cleansing spell as well.

Draco could feel it then. A tightening came in his chest, a roar in his ears. Unbridled fury. His gaze fell to the doors of the house, to the manor. He could no longer feel Vega' tranquility - the dragon's leash was gone. The wards felt sickening, like chains wrapped around his ankles. He'd be unable to apparate them to room, just like he'd been unable to get the library doors to reopen.

Draco raised his wand to the manor. With a snap of his wrist, he blasted the entry way door down. It splintered and shattered under the weight of his magic. He steeled himself with one quick breath, "Let's go."