A few carriages away from where Harry Potter and his friends were sitting on The Hogwarts Express sat Draco Malfoy and his friends. Draco had especially chosen a carriage near to the group of Gryffindors so it would be easier to pay them a visit later on.
For the majority of the journey Draco hadn't even thought about his nearby rivals as he enjoyed spending time with his friends. Draco had been friends with Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle since childhood but in their first year the trio had become friendly with the other two male Slytherins in their year, Theo Nott and Blaise Zabini. Since then the five Slytherins had formed a solid friendship and always rode together on The Hogwarts Express.
While most of the journey had passed smoothly there had been an earlier incident with Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin in their year. Pansy had been obsessed with Draco since their early school days and despite Draco repeatedly telling her he had no interest in her the raven haired witch just wouldn't give up.
Earlier in the afternoon Pansy had visited the compartment and just wouldn't leave, despite all the boys' best efforts. Eventually Draco had snapped and told Pansy in no uncertain terms that even if she was the last witch alive he still wouldn't sleep with her. Pansy had left in a huff vowing never to speak to Draco again, although all the boys knew that by the beginning of next year she would had forgotten all about her anger and would be all over Draco again.
Draco's brutal dismissal of Pansy kept the boys entertained for a while as they debated if he had done the right thing in being so harsh with her. While Crabbe and Goyle understood that Draco didn't want a relationship with Pansy they were bemused he would turn down the sex she was clearly offering. Neither Crabbe nor Goyle were very successful with women so they didn't understand how their friend could just pass up the opportunity to be with a girl so easily. Blaise and Theo, who were both more successful with girls than Crabbe and Goyle, understood Draco's motivations perfectly. Despite the many rejections she had received over the years Pansy was still obsessed with Draco so if he actually slept with her he would struggle even more to get rid of the annoying witch.
The boys were still talking about Pansy when the train suddenly ground to a halt. Draco, who knew exactly what was about to happen, grinned and moved so he was standing in the doorway of the compartment. The other boys didn't know exactly what was about to happen but they all knew something important to the war effort was about to take place.
With an air of excited expectation the group of Slytherins watched and listened as the train doors suddenly opened and dozens of Dementors boarded the train. The Dementors ignored the compartment of Slytherins as they spread themselves about the train. Less than a minute after the Dementors entered the train all the lights suddenly went out and blackness fell.
"Shit, what's going on?" Theo asked. "I can't see anything."
"Relax, the lights will be back on in a minute." Draco replied. He was trying to spot some movement in the corridors but it was so dark he couldn't see a thing.
After another minute of darkness the lights suddenly turned back on and the train's engine restarted. As Draco watched people spill into the corridors he hoped everything had gone to plan.
"I'll be back in a minute." He said to his friends. "There's something I've got to do."
As Draco stepped into the corridor he spotted the red head of Ron Weasley sticking out of his compartment, looking frantically from side to side. Confident the plan had worked Draco carried on walking until he was standing outside the compartment containing Harry Potter and his friends. Draco quickly scanned the compartment, double checking there was no sign of Hermione Granger, before he made his presence felt.
Draco spent a few minutes winding Harry up before he turned and left. Draco grinned to himself as he left the compartment, he'd done exactly what was required of him and let Harry know that he knew about the disappearance of his friend. Between the presence of the Dementors and his words and actions it wouldn't take the Order long to work out that the dark side had Hermione Granger.
"What's going on?" Blaise asked as Draco re-entered their compartment.
"Sit and enjoy the show." Draco smirked at his friend as he settled back into his seat. "By the time we arrive in London the whole train will know what's happened."
It didn't even take ten minutes before the noise on the train had risen spectacularly as the news of Hermione's disappearance started to leak out. There was also a search underway although Draco was amused to notice that no-one dared enter their compartment in search of the missing girl.
"What do you know about this, Draco?" Theo asked. He and Blaise were standing in the doorway watching the action unfold. "Has Granger been kidnapped?"
"She's no longer on the train." Draco replied. "The whole point of the Dementors boarding was to distract her idiot friends."
"I can't believe you knew this was happening." Crabbe said, sounding envious.
Everyone knew the Malfoy's were held in high regard by The Dark Lord and all the boys were slightly jealous that Draco knew about a high profile kidnapping. The whole group knew they would be expected to join Voldemort once they had finished school but obviously the rumours were right about Draco and he was destined to join the Death Eaters even earlier.
"I didn't just know it was happening, I helped plan it." Draco couldn't help boasting slightly, although he wouldn't dream of revealing everything he knew. "I also made sure that Potter and his cronies know that I know what's happened to Granger."
"How did you do that?" Goyle asked. "Is that what you were doing earlier?"
Draco nodded. "All it took was a few well-chosen words and looks and Potter was immediately suspicious."
The other Slytherins were highly impressed by Draco's involvement and they spent the short remainder of the trip enjoying the chaos that was swirling around them. When the train reached its destination Draco was ready to depart the train and after saying a quick goodbye to his friends he alighted the train seconds after Harry and his group of friends.
As Draco walked over to where his mother, Narcissa Malfoy, was waiting for him he kept a close eye on the group of Gryffindors. Within minutes there was a flurry of activity and Draco was confident the adults now knew of the missing witch.
"Hello, dear. Have you had a nice year?" Narcissa greeted her son.
"It was okay." Draco shrugged, his eyes still on the group of Gryffindors that were slowly leaving.
"And how was the ride home?" Narcissa asked, following her son's eye line.
"Eventful." Draco replied, smirking and winking as Harry turned round and spotted him watching.
"Come on, your father's waiting at home, he wants to speak to you." Narcissa said as she watched Molly Weasley dissapparate with her son and the Potter boy.
Draco turned his attention back to his mother and the pair apparated home. Home for the Malfoy's was a lavish manor house in Wiltshire, the Manor had hundreds of rooms and acres of surrounding gardens and land. Because the property was so large and in the middle of the countryside the Malfoy's had no neighbours so they didn't have to conceal their magic like some people who lived nearer to muggles.
Narcissa and Draco arrived in the front entrance hall and barely had time to catch their breath when two house elves appeared in front of them. One of them was Draco's personal elf, Dinky, who grabbed Draco's school trunk and whisked it away. Draco knew by the time he got to his room the trunk would have been unpacked and everything neatly sorted to where it belonged. The second elf, Mitzee, was in charge of the meals and had come to ask Narcissa what she wanted making for dinner.
While Narcissa went with Mitzee to organise dinner, Draco headed in the direction of his father's study. Following a complicated labyrinth of corridors Draco arrived at the door to his father's study, anyone who wasn't extremely familiar with the Manor would struggle to navigate their way around the large house. Draco knocked once on the door and awaited his father's command to enter, he wouldn't dream of entering Lucius's private study without first receiving permission.
Less than a minute after knocking the door was opened and Draco found himself face to face with his father. Lucius smiled at the sight of his son and beckoned the teenager to enter his domain. Draco silently entered the room and settled himself in one of the chairs by the fire, it was where Draco and Lucius always sat when they were together in the room.
"How was school this year?" Lucius asked, settling in the chair opposite Draco. "I expect you got good exam results."
"Of course, father." Draco nodded. "All O's and E's." O for outstanding and E for exceeds expectation were the two top grades in the wizarding education marking system and Draco had received the marks through his whole academic career.
"Good, that should lead to some impressive marks next year." Lucius replied.
Lucius was aware that he pushed Draco pretty hard to succeed at school but he knew his son was very intelligent and could easily be one of the top students. Unfortunately Draco was often content to coast through school and without Lucius's constant badgering he would be an average student at best. Lucius wasn't content with his son being average so he pushed to him reach his full potential.
"Did everything go alright this afternoon?" Lucius asked, changing the subject to the real reason he wished to see Draco.
"Everything went according to plan. Potter knows I know what's going on." Draco said. "Was everything all right on your end?" Draco knew his father had been around earlier that afternoon, even though he hadn't seen him.
"Everything ran like clockwork." Lucius smirked. "The plan worked perfectly."
"We always said it would." Draco replied. He'd been instrumental in organising the plan so he was relieved it had gone so well.
"I never doubted you for a second." Lucius reassured his son.
"Do you have any idea how the Order are reacting?" Draco asked.
"Not yet, it's too soon." Lucius shook his head. "Severus will be in touch later tonight."
Severus Snape was the Potions Professor and Head of Slytherin at Hogwarts, he was also a Death Eater and member of the Order of the Phoenix. For years Severus had worked as a double agent and had Dumbledore and the Order convinced he could be trusted while his true loyalties lay with the dark side.
"Do you think they'll try and raid the Manor?" Draco asked. He was worried that now Harry knew of his involvement the Order would target the Manor.
"They'd never get in." Lucius scoffed at the idea. "Malfoy Manor is the securest private residence in the country. Even The Dark Lord isn't be able to enter without permission so I doubt Dumbledore and his do-gooders would fare any better."
"If you're sure." Draco said, sounding less confident than his father.
"I am, you have nothing to worry about Draco. The Order will not be able to gain entry to the Manor." Lucius said as he stood up. "I have some work to finish so I suggest you go and freshen up before dinner."
Draco immediately stood up, recognising that his conversation with his father was over. After saying goodbye Draco left Lucius's study and started making his way to his bedroom. Draco's bedroom was situated high in the east wing and it overlooked the Manor's stunning rose gardens.
When Draco entered his room he noticed that as expected his trunk had been unpacked and all his belongings were exactly where they belonged. Draco's room was extremely large with an en-suite bathroom, a large walk in wardrobe and an adjoining sitting room. The room was very much decorated in celebration of his school house, with dark wooden furniture and silver and green being the main colours of decoration.
As Draco walked through his bedroom to the bathroom he stripped off his clothes, throwing them haphazardly on the floor. After a quick shower Draco returned to his room where he dressed in black trousers and a grey shirt. After making sure his hair was perfectly in place Draco left his bedroom and walked to the one next door to his.
The door to the bedroom was open and Draco walked straight in without knocking. The layout and size of the room was identical to Draco's but where Draco's décor was Slytherin based this room featured light wooden furniture and the colour scheme was cream and plum.
Walking through the empty bedroom Draco stopped at the doorway to the adjoining sitting room and leant against the doorframe. For several minutes he watched the occupant of the room as they sat curled in a chair by the window, their nose buried in a book. Deciding to make his presence known Draco cleared his throat, causing the witch sitting by the window to look up in shock.
Draco watched with a smirk as the witch recovered from her surprise and closed her book, placing it on the arm of her chair. Slowly she stood up from her seat and walked towards him, when she stopped Draco found himself standing incredibly close to Hermione Granger.