Avada Kedavra!
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" So I was hoping you'd be up for it? If there's something in that house, you'd have to know, you could help, " Ron said, as they sat in their muggle flat. Ginny was still at St. Mungo's, and the Weasley brothers, along with Hermione decided to have a little talk. Only Percy and Charlie weren't there. Fred and George arrived there a short while after Hermione and Ron came back to St. Mungo's.
Bill sighed and smoothed a hand over his already smooth long hair. " Ron- look, it's not that simple. I'm starting to get back logged with all of the expeditions already, and now- to plan this? And we have the baby, Ron. If mum and dad were attacked because it had been planned, then it isn't safe for my family to be unprotected, " Bill reasoned, as if torn with the choices.
" I could get Gringotts to let go of you for awhile, " Ron said. " We'll get a special permit, Come on, Bill, we need you and we need your wand. You know your wand's got special stuff there, finding hidden vaults and stuff- "
Bill sighed again and looked at Hermione. " You think I should go? Leave my family behind? "
" We'll have protection for mum and dad and Fleur, Philip and Ginny, they'll have to stay here, " Ron piped up.
Hermione shrugged. " Your decision, Bill. But it's only for one night. We'll be with Lupin and Lee Jordan. Perhaps Tonks would come along too, if she can find the time…"
" Sounds like you want me to go. Hermione, look, you can solve it- find it, if there's anything there, if there's any vault or secret room- "
" The problem is, we don't know where to look. The goblins came to that house, years ago, Bill, after Harry defeated he-who-must-, well him! " Ron said. " They found nothing, but somehow, I've got a hunch- well, we've got a hunch that there is something there. "
" Fine, " Bill resignedly said. " But after we do find something there, I'm out, okay? I don't want Fleur worrying. "
" Who said you were going to tell her? " Fred quipped.
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" Fleur is going to kill me, " Bill muttered as he rubbed his hands to ward off the cold. It was three days after the attack on their parents and he found himself at the edge of Great Hangleton at twelve-something in the morning.
" Look, take it easy will ya? " George sighed. " We had to leave a good day of selling just to plan this whole affair, and you won't leave until we're certain nothing's there. "
Hermione wrapped her sweater around her tighter than ever. It was a cold night; the end of October was coming. Fallen leaves were everywhere now. There were six of them, Fred, George, Ron, Bill, Lupin and her, who had come in the protection of the night to investigate once more. She wondered what was in store for them. It could be anyone's guess tonight. She was sorry Tonks couldn't come. She was the only female after all, but it didn't really matter. Auror business was Auror business.
" Feck it's cold, " Fred muttered, sniffing. " I need a cup of mum's hot cocoa. "
" I need to be with Fleur and Philip, " Bill snapped.
" Shut up! " Ron hissed. " You agreed. "
" By force! " Bill hissed back.
" Look, just- just do what you promised and you can go back home and change diapers all you want! " Ron said.
The rest of them giggled.
" Daddy's being temperamental, " Fred teased.
" Shut up, Fred. "
" Daddy's being a bad example, " George said.
" Come on! Stop that, will you? " Bill sighed.
" Fine, daddy's being a party pooper, " George said, sticking out as tongue.
Giggles and laughter again as Bill frowned and threw his hands up in the air. They walked quietly, near the edge of the woods, away from the populated areas to avoid suspicion.
" What do you reckon is there? " Fred asked thoughtfully.
Lupin shrugged. " Merlin knows. If there've been lights there almost every night, well at the wee hours of the morning, there's got to be something useful there, right? "
" Perhaps it's something to do with Voldemort's resurrection…" Hermione said in a quiet voice.
" Perhaps…" Ron said.
They arrived a few minutes later, outside of Great Hangleton, into Little Hangleton, where there were lesser houses and lesser street lamps. The Riddle house loomed in the distance, its once stately grandeur now reduced into a sinister looking place.
" Why wasn't Gringott's able to repossess it? " Ron asked Bill.
" The Riddles left a will and it couldn't be contested. They were selfish, if you ask me, " Bill replied. " It stated there that the house and everything in it would be relinquished to the muggle British government within 50 years if no blood related heir is found. Fifty years has been an awfully long time and it's going to end soon. They just found that this will existed at the muggle archives in Great Hangleton, and it's also been stated that the discovery of the will- will start its fifty-year countdown, so Gringott's has to wait and then make their move. "
" If we find anything there, does that mean it'll belong to Great Hangleton? " Hermione asked.
Bill shrugged.
" Perhaps- we should be on the illegal side for awhile…but for anything magical, it's going to belong to the Wizarding society, and not to the muggles, " Lupin said.
" I agree, " Fred said with a nod.
" You agree with anything illegal, " George quipped.
" Like you don't? " Fred countered with a laugh.
They finally got to the back façade of the Riddle mansion, by way of the woods. Their steps were lighted faintly by the tips of their wands so as to avoid any notice.
" Do you smell anything? " Ron asked Lupin.
" Don't push it, " Lupin told him with a grin. He sniffed the air twice. " No, I don't smell anything Deatheater-like. My nose goes highly alert when the full moon is days away, you know. I'd say it feels safe to go in. "
" Will someone guard the exterior? The back door? " Hermione asked. The twins volunteered readily as the rest of them entered the kitchen door which seemed more like a prop against the house. They stepped inside carefully, but no matter how careful they were, almost everything swayed and everything creaked, to their dismay.
" Gringotts has searched the house for any magical artifacts, the goblins who ventured here found none. They even went underground. There was nothing here. So it stays on the muggle market, " Bill whispered as they came into the living room.
Remnants of a large carpet were on the floor, gathering up more dust than they could breathe in. The chandelier on the ceiling creaked and swayed little by little as well, a few wires jutting out of its cable, the light bulbs broken and some were scattered on the floor. It seemed like it would fall down on them anytime now. Large scale portraits loomed all over them, especially a family portrait of the Riddles.
" He's quite handsome, you know, " Hermione said hesitantly. " Tom Marvolo Riddle's father, that is. "
Ron jabbed her elbow. " Hermione, we're looking for something valuable, " he told her grinning. " Not someone dead for fifty years? "
" I was just saying it, " Hermione hissed. Then she stepped forward. " Bill- did they check the portraits? " she asked suddenly.
Bill shook his head and smiled. " Well, we're going to. " He flicked his wand toward the family portrait and it was whisked into the air. The wall behind it was empty. He frowned. " Nothing's behind this wall, my wand's not detecting anything. "
" Crap, " Ron muttered. " Where's Jordan and- "
" I assigned them somewhere near where your parents were attacked, " Lupin quickly butt in. " Don't worry, they'll handle themselves fine. " Lupin approached the fireplace, filled with ashes and dust and a wooden chair leg, broken twice. The windows were broken, obviously done by vandals and curiosity from kids in the town- heightened by the 'massacre' sensation that had taken place fifty years ago.
Ron gave a startled gasp as he found himself face to face with a very large spider's web. " Damn it! Bugger! " He eyed it viciously as he stepped back, looking for any spider near him or in the web.
The rest of them laughed.
" Still haven't gotten over your fear for spiders, eh? " Bill teased.
" It's been traumatizing, " Ron snapped with red ears. " If Fred and George hadn't done that, I'd even sleep with spiders right now! "
Hermione bent down on the floor and rummaged through some pieces of wood using her wand to lift them one by one in the air. There was a large whole below the pile of stacked wood. " I'm going upstairs, " she announced.
" I'm going with you, " Bill said.
So they went up with Bill leading, and carefully, for the stairs still screeched and some areas missed a few steps. The banister only reached halfway, and now they had to do some balancing act so as to avoid a bad fall. They reached the landing and Bill looked around warily. Then he proceeded to enter a room, presumably, the room of Tom Riddle's father for it had his portrait in the center wall. A large bed was in the corner of the room, a mattress still on it, and its feathers as stuffing, lying about on the floor.
" Now if I were Lord Voldemort, " Hermione said with a whisper. " What would I need to do some evil deeds and where would I hide it? "
" What are you doing? " Bill asked with a frown.
" I'm internalizing. "
" Like that's going to work, " he said.
" To catch Voldemort, you have to try and think like him, " she responded.
" No one can think like Voldemort, Hermione. "
" I can always try, " she replied, closing her eyes. Now if she was Lord Voldemort, where would she hide something that everybody who was obsessed with him, need? Would it be something hidden at the simplest places that would go unnoticed by the careless observer? Or would it be in a vault type of thing? Hidden away, making it hard to find or distinguish with Bill's wand? Where would she hide it if she thought like Lord Voldemort? It had to have something to do with what Voldemort was obsessed with, right? Like being pureblooded? Power beyond control? If Pansy and Marko kept coming here, if someone kept coming here, there had to be something of value, right? Would Snape have known too? Where would Voldemort hide it? There had to be something here…
Hermione walked up to a desk, an old one, with missing drawers. One drawer had gone untouched. She held the handle and pulled. It wouldn't budge. She turned to face Bill who was busy scouring the walls with his wand. " Um, Bill could you-? "
Bill pointed his wand. " Nothing there, " he sighed. He spun around again to scour the walls.
Hermione continued to internalize. She had nothing to lose anyway. She had this deep inkling that Draco was hiding something from her, but she just didn't know what it was. Perhaps…he had something to do with…? Hermione peered outside of the broken window. Her eyes narrowed. Did she just see something move down there?
" Bill, " she whispered. " I think something's down there…"
" Hmm? What? " he began.
All of a sudden they heard a shout. It sounded like Fred or George. " Damn it! " he hissed as they both ran for the first floor. They just saw Ron and Lupin leave through the back door. There was a shout, and the sound of a spell being cast. They finally arrived at the back garden and saw the rest of their comrades fighting against black hooded wizards.
" Deatheaters! " Bill gasped as he shot a counter spell. " Ron watch out! "
Ron lay flat on the cold ground to avoid a hex. Ron grit his teeth. " Oh no you don't! " he shouted as he saw one of them attempt to go into the house. " Get back here! "
Lupin ducked to avoid a hex, hiding behind an old gardening tool shed for a few seconds to catch his breath. He raised his wand and successfully knocked out another hooded wizard with a good hex.
Ron scrambled up to chase after the wizard. There were seven of them, and Ron knew that it was anyone's game right now. The damned hooded bastards weren't going down without a fight! He saw a hooded wizard looking for another person to hex; the reflection was distorted against an old piece of tin. With one move he shot out a spell and knocked the feet off of the wizard.
Hermione raised her wand. " Relashio! " She had managed to knock out the wizard and she ran for Ron, seeing another wizard aiming at his back without him noticing. " Ron! " she screamed out, raising her wand.
Ron spun around to see the wand now aimed at Hermione. " Hermione! " he shouted out.
" Avada Kedavra! " the wizard screamed.
Hermione gasped seeing a green flame burst for her like an arrow from a wand, moving too fast, moving in to slaughter her.
" No! "
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Draco's glass dropped on the floor. His heart thudded painfully. He felt nauseated and he wanted to faint terribly all of a sudden. The room was swimming before him as his hands edged for a table as support for his frame.
" Something wrong, old chap? " Theodore Nott asked with a frown as he put his glass of brandy down on the elegant mahogany table. He looked at Draco Malfoy standing a few feet away from him. " I just mention that and you let your drink get the best of you? "
He stared at the floor, the glass shards swimming against the little pool of brandy. It was thumping against his ribcage painfully, and he felt it would go on perpetually. " I- I…"
" Don't tell me you can't hold in your brandy? " Nott smirked.
He shook his head slowly. " No- I- "
" I knew it. A Malfoy who can't hold in his brandy. This should be a good laugh when I share it to the others, " Nott said. He eyed Draco's pale face. " You okay, man? I was joking about that, you know…"
He shook his head again and slowly sat down, his breathing had gone shallow and he blanched further. Nott flicked his wand to repair the crystal glass.
" Draco, " Nott said, louder this time.
Draco looked up.
" Is something wrong? Are you alright? " Nott asked, his eyes tinged with concern.
He took a deep, shuddering breath and tried desperately to recollect himself. I'm okay. I'm okay. Nothing's wrong. Nothing's wrong. Oh god, what just happened? Something's wrong, I feel it. I know it! Damn it! What the hell-
" Draco! "
Draco looked at Nott with shocked eyes and a half open mouth. " Wha-? What? " he stammered. " You were saying something? "
" What's wrong with you? " Nott asked, frowning even more. " You're spacing out in front of me. "
" Nothing, " Draco replied. " Nothing. "
" You blanked out for a few minutes there…" Nott eyed him suspiciously.
" I- must be- I'm tired. Stressed out, sorry Nott, " Draco said lamely. He brushed a hand over his hair repeatedly as he stared at his restored crystal goblet. " It must be all these sleepless nights. " He gave a hollow laugh which caused further creases on Nott's forehead.
" Are you sure? I hate saying that, but you're a pathetic liar, " Nott said dryly.
" Yes, I'm sure. It's just the bloody things Blaise wants me to come up with. The man's got no imagination. He moves like he's truly evil, thinks he's evil, but to call him evil? If there's such a thing as an evil coward, he's one, " Draco said.
Nott burst out in laughter. " Good god, man! You're effing hilarious! I never thought of that you know…thank Merlin's balls I've got a man of words like you. "
" Yeah, you couldn't really move without me, " Draco retorted.
" Au contraire, of course I can. The only problem is; I think it's always better to have another head, well according to the silly muggle adage which happens to be correct in some ridiculous way. How does that go again? Two heads are better than one, " Nott gave a little click in his tongue. He rubbed his chin.
Draco gave an amusing smile. " Updating yourself with muggle proverbs? Still haven't gotten over your fascination for them? "
He shook his head. " I might end up marrying one, you know. "
Draco laughed. " Highly unlikely. "
" Well then, you could do it for the both of us. "
" What? "
" You're going to marry Hermione, most likely. "
" You're behind. It's ended. "
" The relationship? " Nott laughed. " That may be true, but you still like her. And don't you effing lie about that. "
Draco shook his head. " Well, why don't you marry her? You're more interested of her than I am. "
" True. I am interested with the muggle-witch character that is Hermione Granger. I still don't understand why a woman like her from a purely muggle ancestry inherit such a brain for sorcery and wand work. It defies the laws of humanity! Well- wizard society, for that matter. She still took Muggle Studies because she wanted to see what it was like from a wizard's point of examination! I'm afraid to acknowledge it, but she's probably as smart as the Dark Master if she were in his time. "
Draco said nothing. He just nodded his head, satisfied with saying nothing at all. But he thought about a hundred things. Thought about Hermione again. Thought about her laughter, her smiles, her kisses, her conversations…Nott continued to seethe about how unfair it was that some Slytherins in their batch were as dense as rocks, well except for him and Draco and…
" Draco, " Nott's voice said.
Draco looked up.
" How does it feel- how does it feel that you house the eighth horcrux? " he asked with a little bit of hesitation, almost as if he were troubled to even voice out the question.
Draco blinked, surprised. " I- don't know. Really, Nott. I don't know…" And in silence, Draco pondered on why his chest still thudded rapidly against his ribcage.
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A/N time! tada! another fast upload eh? i expect more reviews! hahaha. anyway, onto the reviewers:
Gab Ghost (thank you so much for saying that!), GangsterGurl and Bloody Nikki (mwah!), jadede11omega (i update kinda fast!), Lunatic Lover (hey, i'm only 5'2!), xoAppleJuice (don't fall off your computer chair!), angelraine (you're always sweet!), Purely Hufflepuff (get well soon from your sneezing!), darkangel313 (haha. i actually have more time to do fanfiction, while enjoying my classes!), cemicool (love the suspenseful music!), silverstorm93 (thanks for the uber great comment!)
Someone commented that the story is fast paced, well is it really? I know this chapter is kinda short too, only 2000 plus words (haha!), so i guess Ron has now regretted about allowing Hermione to go huh? hehe. What's going to happen next? More action? more deaths? more pain for Draco's heart! Keep this story on alert! hehehe. mwah! love ya all for reading!