-Chapter 19-

Eight figures appeared outside the gate of Malfoy Manor.

"Everyone all right?" Bill asked.

Hermione clutched her stomach. "Fine…just been a while since I did that at a distance."

Bill looked over the gate and tapped it with his wand a few times.

"Harry is the only one that should go through the gate," he said. "I'm sure they've got something that alerts them if someone comes in or goes out, all of us coming in will surely set them off."

Harry opened the gate to the manor grounds and slipped inside. Charlie, Hermione, Aislin and George went to the right around the tall hedges, Bill, Willow and Ron to the left.

Harry walked calmly to the grand front doors and rang the doorbell. Narcissa opened the door and looked at him like he was a ghost. She peered around him looking for signs of anyone else.

"Mr. Potter, what a surprise. I told you at the Ministry this morning, I know nothing of Ginny's whereabouts. And to be honest, I was rather offended when I was called in." Narcissa's right eyebrow twitched.

"I understand your being offended, Narcissa. That wasn't because of a personal vendetta, you were just one of the last ones to see her aside from all of us at the Burrow. I apologize if you felt threatened." Harry's stomach churned.

"Thank you Mr. Potter. I would invite you in but dinner is just being served, surely you understand."

"Of course. Oh I do have one more thing for you." Harry dug into his pockets. "A letter from the Ministry about Draco's trial…" quickly he pulled out his wand before Narcissa had time to react she was under the body bind curse and crashed to the floor. "Voldemort would have a laugh at this one," he said, stepping over Narcissa's body.

...............

Hermione, Charlie, Aislin and George ran along the hedge. Charlie burned a hole in the hedge but several serpents quickly slithered out of the bush and started snapping at them. They cast Reductor curses but the serpents kept coming.

"Let me try something …" Charlie said, standing back and aiming his wand at George. "Protego totalum." George was encompassed by a light blue bubble. Charlie took a swing at him and yelled when his fist hit the wall around George. In only a few second though, the bubble disappeared. "It's the only way but I think that only lasted about half a minute so we'll have to be quick. The minute I cast the shield, jump through the hedge. Got it, George?"

"Got it. Shield me!"

Charlie aimed his wand at George again and the blue bubble appeared again. George jumped through the hole, several serpents tried to attack him but the shield held strong.

"It worked! Send the girls through!"

Charlie aimed his wand at Hermione and after the bubble appeared she quickly jumped through the hedge, same for Aislin. Charlie then aimed the wand at himself and jumped through. The four ran to the large structure that was towering in the dark. They ran along side it, looking for a door.

"Hey, look!" Hermione pointed up to the second row of windows on the side of the house.

"Yeah, windows, so what?" George tried to pull Hermione along.

"No! Look! There is a gap in the windows! The windows are perfectly symmetrical from one edge of the house to the other on every floor except for that gap two windows from the right! If you wanted to conceal someone in a room you would certainly get rid of the windows, wouldn't you?"

"I thought we agreed that she was probably in the dungeon," Charlie hissed as he dragged Hermione along.

"We'll ask Bill when we get inside."

"Whatever, let's just get going."

They snuck around the house until they found a door, it was locked but quickly remedied with a flick of Hermione's wand and one of the first spells she ever mastered.

"Alohomora!"

There was a click and they slowly opened the door. The room inside was barely lit by beams of moonlight from outside, there were couches and tables all over, much like a Hogwarts common room. The four navigated through the room to the doors on the other side. They pressed their ears up against the door and heard voices echoing. Hermione pulled an extendable ear out of her bag and George slipped it under the door.

"…dinner is just being served, surely you understand."

"Of course. Oh I do have one more thing for you…a letter from the Ministry about Draco's trial…"

There was a thud. Charlie quietly opened the door into the hallway and the four ran to the foyer…