AN: So sorry for the wait. We've had a lot of things happening around here this last week. My husband wound up in the ER (he's fine now no worries) and we found out he will be leaving this coming Wednesday on a two and a half week long trip. Not to mention preparing for an outing this weekend with our children. Just a minor warning for this chapter it does start with a flashback.

Chapter 6

Welcome to Malfoy Manor

Draco's breath quickens until it is coming in short quick bursts, the pressure weighing down on his chest making each draw of air painfully shallow. The light in the room brightens only slightly as the flames of the candles in the chandelier joins that of the fireplace. The sound of his Aunt's maniacal laughter fills his ears accompanied by familiar screams. His vision tunnels to the dark rug in the center of the room, the shadowed images of his aunt and his curly haired schoolmate appearing as they had years ago. He can feel the pressure of his father's hand at the nape of his neck and the frightened energy of his mother at his side.

His hands tighten into fists to stop their shaking as he watches the scene unfold before him. Sympathy pains shoot through his limbs as he remembers the feel of the cruciatus curse flowing through his own body as he watches the smaller witch before him stiffen from the pain as screams continue to fall from her lips.

The faint whisper of a small voice reaches him, nearly drowned out by the sounds around him. The sweet smell of lavender surrounds him as he feels arms wrap firmly around him. "You are safe now Draco." The voice comes again, this time stronger, breaking through the screams.

Draco blinks slowly, his eyes adjusting to the now dimmer light. The silence around him is almost deafening. He hears his mother's voice whispering to him. "Mother," he gasps, his eyes widening as he registers her presence.

Her arms tighten around him slightly before she pulls away and stands up. Draco watches her stand, unaware of when it was he wound up kneeling on the floor in the center of the room. Remembering the other occupants of the room, he gracefully pushes himself up off of the floor, using a nearby serving table as a means to steady himself. "I see you've been busy today, Mother," he declares, glaring over at the older woman," and I see you have brought...guests."

Narcissa stares back at her son, unmoved by the coldness of his voice. "Cibney," she calls out. The elf appears almost instantly and she continues, "Please escort my guests for tea. I will be along shortly. I do believe my son wishes to speak with me in private."

"Yes Mistress," Cibney replies with a short nod. "If you will be following me please," she continues, turning to look over at Harry and Hermione who still stand near the doorway. "Cibney is having tea served upstairs." The pair follow her out of the room, Hermione pausing to look back at the pair at the center of the room she had once hoped never to reenter before following her friend and the elf out.

"What were you thinking," Draco growls out once the door has shut behind the others.

"I was thinking that we need assistance with our little problem and Miss Granger offered to come and help."

"I told you I was handling it," he exclaims, his voice rising in anger. I have enough to deal with as it is without having the boy who lived and his golden girl traipsing all through my home."

"If you insist on yelling rather than talking this through with me," Narcissa responds calmly, "then I must insist that you, at least, silence the room so that our guests do not hear you behaving as a mannerless dolt."

Draco's mouth opens silently and he stares at his mother in shock. "Y-you did not just…"

"Truly, Draco dear, this behavior is beneath you."

"Beneath me," he stutters in return. "How dare you. This is my home. I shall handle my personal matters in a way that I deem fit. It is bad enough that I have to put up with the people who detest me when I venture out for work, now you have decided to bring the two people with the most valid cause to do so into my home."

Narcissa walks up to him, placing her hand gently upon his cheek. "My son, you are struggling. Miss Granger has offered her help and Mr. Potter found it within himself to come along and assist her. Surely that shows you that they do not detest you as much as you assume they do."

"I am not struggling," Draco pouts, his gaze falling from his mothers face to look down at the table he is leaning against.

"Remove yourself from the side table."

"Pardon?" he looks back into his mother's, now narrowed, eyes in surprise.

"You had quite the ordeal last evening; I am certain you have not fully recovered the energy that you expended at that time before you were pulled into a flashback after I returned home. From experience I understand the drain that can come from such an experience. However, if you are in such perfect condition you shall be able to remove your weight from the side table with little issue." When Draco's only response is to narrow his eyes at her, she leans forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders. "You are my son. You have always done everything to protect me." She pulls back to look into his eyes as she continues, "This time, I shall do my duty and do everything within my power to do the same for you."

For a moment, Draco rests his forehead against his mother's shoulder, enjoying the rare closeness. He pulls himself up to his full height, a cool mask settling over his features. "We shouldn't keep our company waiting," he says with a sigh.

"I know they would not be your choice, but the Granger girl volunteered and, from what I know of her, she is very bright. Mr. Potter may have been brought along grudgingly but we both know just how powerful he can be." She smirks down at him before dropping her arms and schooling her features. "A Malfoy knows when to use the abilities of others to his advantage."

Draco nods silently before turning to move away. "One moment," Narcissa states before calling out, "Cibney."

"Yes Mistress?" the elf inquires as she pops into the room.

"Our guests have been settled?"

"Yes Mistress. They is in your study with tea and Cibney is providing cakes and scones."

"Perfect. I do believe my son will require one more round of his potions before we join them."

"Of courses." Cibney disappears only to reappear a moment later with the necessary vials held tightly in her small arms. "Master Draco sir, I is bringing one of each."

"Thank you." Draco takes the vials with a small smile before downing them in quick succession, grimacing at the foul flavor. "Shall we?" He sets the vials on the small table and extends his arm to his mother.

"Best not to leave the guests waiting," Narcissa replies gently, taking his arm in hers.

"Especially those two. Merlin knows how long those two will behave before they start getting nosy." A light slap to his arms follows his words he turns to his mother with a grin, "What?"

"Manners, Draco."

"I make no promises."

"Having the two of them in your home can do nothing to make the situation worse. Perhaps their presence can even help in improving the image of the Malfoy name."

"Doubtful," Draco mutters.

Narcissa pulls him to a halt at the top of the stairs, "Nonsense."

"I spent my school years with them, mother. Granger may be intelligent but she is insufferable in the way the lords it over others and you know how well my relationship with Potter went before."

"I am sure they have grown since your school days, Draco."

"Oh yes, they're famous now," he responds with a sneer. "You do realize that, if anything were to happen to them while they were here, the public will be after my head."

"Then we simply must ensure that nothing happens to them."

Before Draco can reply, she turns and walks into the room to her personal study. "I do apologize for the wait. I'm afraid my son and i had much to discuss in regards to your presence in our home."

Hermione stands to greet her as they enter, placing her cup back on its saucer on the table. "Of course, however, I must insist that we get started. I'd like some time for a walkthrough of the manor. Especially the areas where the manifestations have been occurring."

"The cellar," Draco replies. "The spirits have been centralized within the cellar."

"In the old cells?" Harry asks, speaking for the first time since entering the manor.

Draco clears his throat softly before answering, "Yes. It's where the Dark Lord…"

"Voldemort," Harry cuts in.

Draco glares over at him before continuing, "the Dark Lord kept his captives while he stayed here.

"I remember."

Draco looks back over at Hermione, "Potter has been down there once before with Weasley during your last...visit to the manor." He rubs subconsciously at his left arm as his hands shake slightly. "Though I'm sure he does not remember the way. The guards weren't always gentle when escorting the prisoners below ground." Ignoring the cold stare from the dark haired man, Draco continues, "I can have Cibney show you to them once we are finished here."

"And the formal dining room as well."

Draco looks over at his mother in surprise as she speaks up, "The dining room?"

"Yes. Last night the spirit of Miss Burbage appeared while you were downstairs."

"My apologies Mother," Draco sighs, rubbing his eyes to stave off the oncoming headache. "I would have never left you in there if I had known."

"I know dear." Narcissa waves him off and walks over to an empty chair. "Please Draco, Miss Granger, have a seat."

"So the cellar and the dining room. Have there been any disturbances anywhere else in the house."

"None."

"How long has this been happening?"

"Just over a month."

"A month?" Narcissa exclaimes softly. "Yet Cibney only informed me of it yesterday."

"Cibney was under my orders not to inform you Mother. You may chastise me for it later."

"So one month?" Hermione asks, bringing the attention of the other two back to her. "Is it consistent?"

"Relatively. There have been few nights where they haven't appeared at all."

"Aren't you exhausted?"

"I get by," Draco shrugs, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair, ignoring the look he receives from his mother for his posture.

"I do believe I will assist Cibney with supper." Narcissa cuts in a hard look in her eye as she examines her son. "Draco I trust you will answer Miss Granger and Mr. Potter's questions to the best of your ability."

"Of course."

She eyes him for a moment longer before turning to the other occupants. "I thank both of you for coming and offering your help. I'm afraid that I know even less of the situation than I had previously thought and will, therefore, be no real help in ascertaining it's cause. I do insist that you stay for supper after your meeting is over."

Once the door closed behind her, Hermione turned back toward Draco, "Did I say something?"

"No this time it was me." He leans forward in his chair before continuing. "Look, I don't know what my mother said to get you to agree to come here but…"

"Look, Malfoy," Harry cuts in. "I'm here for Hermione, not for you. Whatever is going on here seems to have caught her attention and I won't let her alone here for you and your family to take advantage of."

"Take advantage," Draco exclaims, "I didn't even want her here in the first place."

"Look," Hermione cuts in, setting her teacup harshly down on the table. "I understand that someone like me is likely the type of person you would least want taking this case. However, the situation appears unique and it has piqued my interest. I have every intention of following through with my decision to investigate the spirits haunting your manor and the two of you acting like children will not change my mind."

"Someone like you? Granger I never…"

"Of course someone like me." She reaches in the satchel at her side and pulls out a book setting it on the table. "You dropped this the other day in Diagon Alley. I had every intention of returning it to you but you took off the moment you noticed it was me. If my touching your book made you decide you no longer wished to keep it, then I can only imagine how you feel about me being here."

"That's not what happened at all."

"I was there, Malfoy. We both know how you've always felt about me and my dirty blood. I assure you I did not contaminate your book. For someone who is willing to read Gatsby, I had hoped you had grown some in the past few years."

"I did leave but it had nothing to do with your heritage Granger."

"Sure it didn't Malfoy," Harry replies darkly. "I'm sure the mere sight of Hermione made you just so excited that you couldn't stand it."

"I've no problem with your blood, Granger. That's a lesson I learned the hard way years ago."

"Then why did you leave?"

Draco's eyes dart between the two of them before he sighs and calls for his elf. "Cibney can you please show Miss Granger and Mr. Potter the way to the cellar. They wish to investigate the hauntings we've been experiencing." He doesn't wait for her to respond before standing and walking swiftly from the room.

"A Malfoy not having a problem with blood status my arse," Harry mumbles. "And I'm a bloody golden unicorn. What does the prat think he's getting at trying to make us believe such a thing."

"Oh Harry," Hermione sighs, following the quiet elf from the room. "That actually went quite a bit better than I expected." She turned to look down at their companion and smiled. "They called you Cibney?"

"Cibney is being my name, yes."

"How long have you been with the Malfoys?"

"Cibney is being here since Master Draco is a baby miss."

"I wasn't aware the Malfoys were allowed to keep house elves any longer. I was under the impression that they had all been freed."

"Cibney is a free elf. Cibney is here of her own choices."

"Why would you choose to stay with the Malfoys? Weren't they horrible to you?" Harry cuts in, remembering the way Lucius had once treated Dobby.

"Master Draco has always been a good Master to Cibney. Mistress is never being cruel to Cibney either." Cibney turned and looked up at the two her eyes narrowed. "Cibney is a good elf. She knows who you to is being. She knows what yous is doing to help in freeing the elves and she is being grateful for your wishing us to being your equals. Cibney will not take kindly to cruel words about Master Draco no matter who is being saying them."

"Sorry." Harry's muttered response is so soft that Hermione almost misses it completely.

"Malfoy says the hauntings have been happening for a month now?"

"Yes Miss," Cibney responds, continuing down the steps toward the cellar. "One month."

"Has there been any changes? Have things gotten worse or are they the same as when they started?"

"Oh they is constantly getting worse, Miss."

"How so?"

"The screaming are getting louder, Miss. And Master Draco is...oh Cibney should not be speaking of Master Draco as such. Miss is going to have be asking him herself she is."

"I'm sure you could just tell me."

"It is not being Cibney's place." She stops at a door and gestures to it. "This is being the entrance to the cellars."

"Are you not coming?"

"Oh no miss. Master is being forbidding Cibney entrance to the cellars."

Hermione's eyebrows raised at the elf's words but she turned and reached for the door handle. "Wait," Hermione freezes at her friend's voice, turning to look back at him. "What if this is some sort of elaborate trap?"

"A trap for what?"

"I don't know, but it's Malfoy. He's probably up to something."

"Oh Harry you always say he's up to something."

"At least check the door for curses before you go touching it."

Hermione rolls her eyes at her friend. "The Minister of Magic knows we're here. If anything were to happen they'd know exactly who to go after. Malfoy may be a right git but he's no idiot." She grasps the door handle, letting out a breath she had been unaware she had been holding. Turning the handle, she opens the door before looking back at him with a smile. "See? Curse free."

"There still could have been something," he mumbles in reply following her down the darkened steps.

"Malfoy may be a bully and a prat but you and I both know he's never been a very good killer." She counters before casting a spell to light the sconces on the walls. She glances down the hallways before turning back toward Harry. "I think it's pretty obvious why the hauntings would be centralized in the dungeons. The question is what would make it start after all this time?"

"That is odd."

"Most spirits I know of appear shortly after death, not years after the fact." She begins to walk around the hall examining the items along the shelves. "There must have been some kind of catalyst. An object of some sort or…"

"We should probably get Malfoy down here to tell us if anything is missing or appeared shortly before the hauntings started," Harry cuts in from the other side of the hall near the entry to the dungeons. "Or if he had any visitors around that time."

"Or if anything unusual happened. Obviously whatever is happening, the spirits are not present at all times." She enters the dungeons behind Harry, her eyes skimming over the empty cells around her with a shudder. "How many people do you think they had down here?"

"At one time or all together?" Harry peers into the cell at the end of the hall, eyeing the dark red stains along one wall. "I don't think we want to know."

"The cells themselves are all empty," she states, walking up beside her friend. "I'm not seeing anything down here that may be causing it."

"Maybe they're just pissed off and decided Malfoy deserved to be punished so they came back from wherever they were."

"That's not how hauntings work, Harry."

Harry shrugs, turning back toward her. "You said yourself that this isn't a typical haunting. If I died down here I'd certainly want revenge."

"I guess we'll have to wait until we can witness the actual activity before we can try and figure out more about what's going on here."

"Are we even sure anything is actually happening here?" He gestures to the cells around him. "We have seen absolutely no evidence of anything and the only thing that we have to go on is the Malfoy's words that anything has even happened here at all."

"Why would Mrs. Malfoy come all the way to the Ministry about it if there wasn't any actual activity. It makes no sense, Harry."

"Attention? Sympathy?"

"I don't think so. It doesn't feel like that's what this is."

"I don't think we're going to find anything down here. Let's head back up and check out the dining room."

"I guess you're right." Hermione sighs, casting one more glance around the cells before turning and walking back toward the main hall.

As they start up the stairs a shrill scream rips through the hall. "What was that?" Hermione exclaims, turning back to look down at Harry as more screams join the first.

"Bloody hell if I know." Hermione races back down the steps followed closely by a less willing Harry. "Hermione, wait!"

Hermione turns back toward him at the landing, a smile on her face. "I told you they weren't lying Harry." she exclaims before disappearing back down the hall.

"I don't see anything," Harry yells, hands coming up to cover his ears against the sound.

"It seems the screams are merely auditory," Hermione replies, looking through the cell block once more. "Oh Harry this is absolutely fascinating."

"I don't think we have the same definition of fascinating," Harry mumbles to himself.

"It's so loud the sound must reverberate throughout the manor. Its a marvel that Malfoy has been getting any sleep at all in this." Hermione walks back up to Harry, pulling one of his hands away so he can hear her. "Do you think a silencing charm helps?"

"I certainly hope so. Having to listen to this every night would drive me bonkers."

"I'm still not seeing anything and with the echo down here I can't pinpoint the location of origin."

"I don't think that's an echo," Harry hollars, glancing around him. "I think it is actually coming from everywhere."

"Fascinating."

The screams cease as suddenly as they started and Hermione jumps slightly at the sudden stillness of the room. "What happened?"

The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs pulls the pair back into the main hall in time to see Draco descend, casually undoing the buttons of his shirt. "Find what you were looking for?" He asks once he reaches the bottom of the stairs.

"You have to listen to that every night."

"They tend to stop once I'm on the stairs," he replies with a casual shrug as he moves to undo his cuffs.

"Every time?" Hermione asks before taking in his appearance. "Why are you taking your shirt off?"

Draco quirks a brow at her, removing his shirt and laying it gently atop one of the shelves. "I like this shirt."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Mending charms may repair fabric but silk never lays right once it's been ripped."

"Ripped?"

"You may want to head upstairs now." Draco ignores her question and starts toward the cells. "Mother has instructed Cibney to serve dinner in the family dining room this evening."

"What do you mean ripped?"

"That reminds me," he turns around, sarcastically spreading his arms and giving a mock bow. "Welcome to Malfoy Manor." He gives his trademark smirk before turning and disappearing down the hall.

Hermione moves to follow just as a strong wind rushes through the hall distinguishing the candles and plunging them all into darkness.

AN: Reviews are always appreciated and I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has stuck with this story thus far. I'm having quite a bit of fun writing it so I hope you all enjoy reading just as much!