A Mistress in Her Manor

A/N: Again we face a situation where most of what happens is in the seventh book. You can assume, if I didn't write it differently, events took place as JKR intended them to. I don't feel the need to write something you already know in a way that could never measure up to the was JKR wrote it originally.

Also, I apologize for this story becoming so sporadic. My goal is to finish the entire thing by August. I only have a few chapters left and things will be wrapping up. This chapter is rather long, so hopefully you enjoy it. Thank you for sticking with me and I promise I will finish this. Love you all.

Songbook presents the next chapter in Amor, A Mistress in Her Manor.

Hermione looked outside the tent where Harry and Ron were sitting around a fire. It was dark outside and she could barely make out their faces, but she could tell they were laughing. Ron had rescued Harry from the water two months ago. The locket had been destroyed. But it wasn't just the locket. The sword of Gryffindor had also come with the pieces of a tiara.

Since then, they had been to see Xenophilius Lovegood. That had been a disaster. Although, learning about the Deathly Hallows had opened a lot of doors for them. But after their little skirmish with the Death Eaters, they were back to hiding in the woods and no closer to finding anymore Horcruxes. Harry and Ron found the Deathly Hallows far more interesting than the Horcruxes at the moment. Which was good in some ways; not having any idea where the next Horcrux is was becoming very tedious. At least the Deathly Hallows were distracting them from the frustration of the mission Dumbledore had left them.

Right now she didn't have time to figure out if Voldemort had gotten closer to finding the Deathly Hallows. Hermione was trying to find out the significance of the tiara. Well, they were all supposed to be using her small collection of books to discover what the tiara meant. However, Harry and Ron had given up about an hour ago under the pretense of cooking dinner. All three of them had decided it had in fact been a Horcrux. That was enough for both boys. Hermione on the other hand was curious about what the tiara meant to Voldemort. It had to mean something.

As much practice as she had researching information in books, she had come up with nothing. Or at least, she had not gotten very far. She was beyond distracted and it had nothing to do with their current mission.

It was Ronald.

First he had the nerve to leave them; to abandon them in the middle of this war. Then he waltzes back in like a hero, saving Harry and destroying the Horcrux, with some poppycock story about hearing her voice over that ridiculous Deluminator. She had no idea how Harry could just forgive him like this. There they were, laughing as if the last couple of months hadn't even happened.

"Hermione! Dinner is ready." Ron's voice called from where the boys were sitting.

"I'll be there in a minute. I just want to check one more book," she shouted back. Running her hands through her tangled hair, she sighed. She had no idea why the idea of Ron being back bothered her so much. After she and Harry had run into all the trouble they did in Godric's Hollow, she would have thought she would have welcomed back any help she could get. And after their little adventure with Luna's father, she should be appreciating the fact that the trio was back together again.

But for whatever reason, no matter what Ron did, it just angered her. And the fact he had been nothing but pleasant and helpful since his return, angered her even more. All the tears she had cried since the day he walked out on them to last night thinking about his return confused her. He had been back for two months, for goodness sake! She had no idea why she was feeling like this. Then again…

It was Ronald.

Why was it always him? Out of all the things that should be keeping her up at night. They were trying to find the final pieces to destroy Voldemort for good. They were trying to save the Wizarding World. Harry literally carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. She should be losing sleep over that, not Ron.

Sighing, she pushed the book away. Her stomach was insisting she join the boys and have a bite to eat. As she got closer to the fire, she realized they were listening to Potterwatch. A bittersweet smile played at Hermione's lips. At least Ron could still make Harry laugh with the program, even if it sometimes brought bad news. But most nights, they didn't recognize the names of the missing. She waited to join them until it was over.

"How's the research going?" asked Ron almost hesitantly when she took a seat across the fire from them. Harry handed her a bowl of whatever they had managed to cook tonight. She really shouldn't complain. Between the two of them, they could actually cook a decent meal.

"It would be going a lot better if I had some help from you two," Hermione replied tartly. She spooned the liquid into her mouth to keep from berating them further.

Ron had the decency to look slightly abashed, but Harry just shook his head and said firmly, "This isn't just about Horcruxes anymore."

"We don't even know if the Deathly Hallows are real, Harry!" It was a days old argument. Ron lowered his head; he busied himself by drawing small circles in the dirt by his side.

"We aren't any closer to finding the Horcruxes-"

"Nor are we any closer to discovering the Deathly Hallows," she bit back. The bowl of soup lay forgotten on the ground. "Wizards have been searching for them for centuries! What makes you think we can find them?"

Harry rose to his feet in a heated rush. "What makes you think we can find the Horcruxes? We only have a guess at what they even are! For all we know, the cup isn't a Horcrux. And something that belonged to Gryffindor? But it doesn't matter does it? We can't even find it."

"They have to mean something to him. If we can figure it out what they mean, we can figure out where he hid them." Hermione was exhausted and grimy. The dirt never seemed to end in this Merlin-forsaken forest and she needed a relaxing shower to clear her head. And the precious Chosen One wasn't doing anything to calm her nerves. All she really wanted was to curl up in a ball right here on the hard ground and cry. Harry didn't seem to be concerned as he continued to shout.

"Oh, it means something to him! Well, that's bloody great. For any normal person, that might mean something. This is Lord Voldemort we're talking about- he doesn't care about anything!" Hermione's head snapped up at his words. If she only had the energy to stand.

"That's not true and you know it! Didn't McGonagall's memories teach you anything?"

"Harry…"

"Are you suggesting that she has the rest of the Horcruxes? Let's just go back to Hogwarts and ask her, shall we?" Sarcasm coated his tone. This time Hermione really did stand up in disgust. She was sick and tired of teenage boys. She threw up her arms and headed back for the tent.

"Harry…"

"Look, Hermione, all I'm saying is maybe we should pay attention to this Deathly Hallows idea," Harry shouted after her. He obviously realized he had hurt her feelings. This was taking its toll on all of them, but they shouldn't be taking it out on each other.

Hermione turned and raised her hands in surrender. "You do what you want. I'm going to figure out what was so important about the tiara."

"Harry…"

"What, Ron?" snapped Harry. To his surprise, his best friend was hurriedly packing up everything in site into Hermione's magical bag. "Ron, what's going on?"

Nervous eyes met his. "You said his name," was all he said before rushing into the tent.

Silence fell like ice over the trio. Harry and Hermione quickly followed him. Ron was shoving all the books he could get his hands on into the bag. The other two started to pack as well, but a loud bang from outside stopped them dead in their motions. Someone was trying to break through their defenses.

Hermione gripped her wand tightly. She had a sinking feeling they were not going to be getting out of this one. She had to think fast. If they realized they caught Harry Potter…

-BREAK-

In Wiltshire, the mistress of a manor answered the door to her home. Narcissa Malfoy cracked the door a sliver and immediately pulled back in disgust. Fenrir Greyback bared his filthy teeth on her front steps. His entourage of Snatchers were lined up behind him looking rather pleased with themselves.

"I thought you were supposed to take your prizes to the Ministry," she stated coldly. She refused to budge the door open any more than necessary to speak to the werewolf.

"Not if we brought 'Arry Potter," crackled Fenrir.

Narcissa fixed him with her best disapproving glares, but the expression soon faded as her eyes went wide at the sight of the prisoners. There was a goblin, a tall dark skinned teenager, a ginger young man, and a dark haired young woman. There was also a young man with a very unflattering disfigured face.

The ginger and the dark haired woman she recognized: the Weasley and his Muggleborn friend. They were known to be traveling with Harry Potter these days. None of them had returned to school. There was a slight chance that this ugly gangly young man with them could be the Chosen One. Her chest tightened. This could be it. Everything could be over if this was really Harry Potter.

A voice from behind her broke her out of her frozen contemplation. "Who's at the door, Cissy?"

Bellatrix sauntered up to the door. Upon seeing Fenrir, her face contorted into a look of disgust similar to the one her sister wore just minutes before. And like her sister, her expression changed as soon as her hooded eyes laid sight upon Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

"They say they've got Harry Potter." Bellatrix's face broke into a wicked grin and she moved her sister out of the way to open the grand door to them. With a sweeping motion of her arm, she motioned them into the foyer. Fenrir bowed at her feet before entering. His minions pushed and shoved their prisoners into the Manor.

Narcissa stood silently to the side as she watched the filthy Snatchers trample into her home. Her lips pulled thin and she turned her head down at her polished shoes. She locked her fingers together to keep from grabbing her wand and cursing the lot of them. Her sister danced madly in front of them, calling for Lucius.

"Mom?" Narcissa turned sharply at the sound of her son's voice. Draco's pale face appeared from around the corner. "Who was that?"

"Don't worry about it. Go back upst-" The look on Draco's face stopped her midsentence. It was times like these that she remembered the man he had become. No longer a child, no. He had grown before her very eyes and now he was a stronger person than she could ever hope to be.

His hand brushed the small of her back to guide her after his Aunt. "We have to do something."

"They don't know if it's him…" Narcissa whispered back. It was then that she noticed she was shaking and he was trying to steady her as they walked down the overly decorated hallway.

"Narcissa?" Lucius met them at the entrance to the sitting room where Bellatrix had led the werewolf and his companions. Wordlessly, she reached for his hand and as a family, they entered the room.

Fenrir and his Snatchers were standing off to the side rummaging through their loot. The five prisoners were standing in a awkward group as Bellatrix circled them like a hawk. The disfigured young man who could possibly be Harry Potter stood behind the Weasley boy. Wand drawn, the darker sister bounced to meet her sister's family.

"What are they doing in my house?" Although he was worn down and disgraced, Lucius looked down on the present company.

"They brought-"

"I don't care who they brought, I want them out of my house," he snarled back, using the last bit of dignity he had left. Narcissa watched as her proud husband marched over to Fenrir, head held high, and got within spitting distance. "I'm only going to say this once: Leave. Now."

Fenrir took an aggressive step forward, but to Lucius' credit, he did not flinch. "Not without our pay."

"I don't think you understood me." He slowly reached into his dark green robes and pulled out a wand. Not his wand of course. But Fenrir wouldn't know that. The Malfoy's had met disgrace, but that didn't make him any less powerful. The Snatchers looked nervously to their leader.

"We just want our pay." Fenrir repeated.

"Then take whatever was on them and I will be sure the Ministry compensates you!"

The werewolf smirked. "I didn't think you 'ad that kinda pull with the Min'stry anymore."

There was a quick flash of purple life and Fenrir was clutching his face. Lucius picked up one of the bags and shoved it in one of the Snatcher's chest. "Take this and go!" A clattering sound met their ears. Bellatrix let out a strangled gasp. The goblin also muttered a note of surprise.

The Sword of Gryffindor lay glittering on the stone floor of the Malfoy Manor.

Bellatrix slowly stepped forward and pushed her seething brother-in-law out of the way . Each word was slow and deliberate when she spoke. "Where did you get that?"

"It was in the girl's bag," said one of the Snatchers, because Fenrir was unable to speak from whatever Lucius had cursed him with. Fenrir growled and reached for the sword.

"NO!" This time Fenrir found himself face down on the cold floor. Bellatrix turned on the other Snatchers. "Get out of this house! Go now- get!"

The dirty lowly wizards quickly picked up their leader and all they loot they could carry, sans the sword, and scurried out of the Malfoy family's judgmental sight. Bellatrix bent down and gently lifted the sword from the ground. Then the witch bellowed into the hallway, "Wormtail!"

"Should we call Him?" asked Lucius. Narcissa's back stiffened. What if they were wrong? Could they fall any farther into shame? Luckily, her sister had the same thought.

"No, you fool. Not until we're sure it's him." Bellatrix seemed distracted though. In fact, Draco seemed just as distracted by the sword as she did. This was odd to Narcissa, being as the possibility of having Harry Potter seemed to have greater precedence than a sword. Before she could ask, Bellatrix's eyes glinted darkly. "We could call her. His great lady. She would know if it was him."

"No," spoke Narcissa firmly. Tucking her shaking hands behind her back she stepped toward the circle of fugitives. If Minerva McGonagall was willing to protect her son, so help her Merlin, she was going to protect the good Professor's children. "There is no need to bother her at Hogwarts. We can deal with this."

Fortunately, the sword was distracting her sister. Bellatrix hissed as Wormtail scurried into the room, head dipped low, "Take them down with the others, but leave me the girl."

"No!" snapped Ron. Hermione shot him a glare and bravely stepped away from the group. Wormtail led the others away at wand point.

"Now you filthy little Mudblood, you're going to tell me where you got this sword," spat Bellatrix.

Narcissa closed her eyes as the screaming started.

-BREAK-

Gasping for air, Hermione rolled over on her side. Her entire body was shaking and she could hear Bellatrix's manic laughter from behind her. Tears streamed down her face and she tried to blink them away. She never imagined she would be back her again. Back at the end of Bellatrix's wand. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the staircase that led to the room where she knew Harry and Ron were being held. Suddenly, she saw a flash of red.

It was Ronald.

They must have escaped the dungeon when Bellatrix sent Wormtail went down there to fetch Griphook. She tried to gather her strength, because she knew she would need it. If the boys were trying to save her, that meant there was no plan and all hell was about to break loose.

And it did.

Harry and Ron had procured a wand from somewhere, most likely Wormtail, and managed to disarm Bellatrix and Lucius in their surprise. It looked as if the boys may succeed until Hermione felt the cold metal of a knife at her throat. Bellatrix forced their wands over to Draco. In her ignorance, she thought she held all the cards now. For Harry and Ron, maybe, but she did not could on one thing. Dobby, the house elf that used to serve her sister's family.

Elfish magic seemed to be the only thing on their side. Where Dobby came from, Hermione hadn't a clue, but she was glad he was here. Scrambling towards her friends when Bellatrix was forced to release her, she allowed Ron to catch her. Bellatrix's intrusion of her body left her weak, but she knew they had to fight.

Ron dragged her back toward Dobby. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry and Draco in a scuffle on the ground. Here they were, in the house that Voldemort was using as a home base and Harry Potter was trying to win a skirmish against Draco Malfoy in a fist fight. They needed to escape. They weren't going to be able to fight their way out of this one.

Bellatrix was hurling all of her rage at Dobby, but without a wand, she could do little but yell. With Draco otherwise occupied by Draco, that left Narcissa. And the mistress of the manor was holding her wand low, kneeling by her husband. Hermione's eyes met Narcissa's for a brief second before Harry managed to subdue Draco and join them, wands in hand. All Hermione needed was a second to understand Narcissa's inaction. She was letting them go. Their escape was in her hands.

Hermione soon felt the pull of apparition. It was Dobby, he was getting the Golden Trio out of the house he used to serve. She closed her eyes, willing herself to be somewhere safe. With a thud, they landed on wet sand. Shaking, she stood up to face the ocean. A soft wind blew through her hair. Just when she thought she was at peace, she heard Harry cry out. A panic seized her. Could they have been followed?

She turned to see Harry cradling Dobby's dead body on the beach. Bellatrix's knife was sticking to out of his chest. Hermione felt her knees weaken beneath her. They had escaped, but at a price. Hermione could feel the pit in her stomach rise to her throat and she had no way of stopping the tears from falling. Her weakening knees finally gave out from under her, but instead of meeting wet sand, strong arms pulled her shaking body into a warm form. Comforting hands held her close and rocked her gently. Through tearstained eyes, she looked up at her companion.

It was Ronald.