She had been lounging in bed all day reading her book for what seemed like the 100th time. It was three hours past noon and not a single soul had come down to see her.
She was used to this by now, it's happened quite a few times already but at least she wouldn't have to clean today. Still she was left looking like a mouse and that just wouldn't do. Something had to be done about these god awful ears.
Hermione wished she could sneak out and seek some help from Ditzy or someone. This tail was the most uncomfortable and made it hard to rest. It was too irritating to get used to, she was surprised she fell asleep with it because apparently it had a mind of its own.
It was just then a thought had occurred to her, was the door even locked in the first place? She hadn't actually tried since the first few days she was here. She was smart enough to assume he would lock the door so she couldn't escape. Not that she could in the first place without an escort up the cellar stairs.
She fiddled with the door handle, tugging, twisting, and pulling with all her might. It took quite a few tries but she finally got it.
Suddenly there was the sweet sound of creaking wood, the door finally budged open.
"Finally!" she couldn't help but to say out loud.
The cellar was still as desolate and decaying as it ever was, grey and lonely, uninviting and damp. This was quiet literally a prison more than it was a cellar. How anyone was intended to stay down here willingly was beyond her.
She looked around the cellar unsure of what to do, there really wasn't much at all except pillars, a couple rotting tables that lit lanterns sat upon. But something caught her eye in the farthest corner of the cellar. A door hidden in the dark.
It looked almost like her own door, except much more clean. It was seemingly untouched by the weathering and overall neglect of the cellar. Not even the spiders webs would dare touch it.
As always, curiosity overcame the mouse and she thought it was only her duty to explore. She had nothing better to do anyways.
The girl gripped the handle and pulled, but to no one's surprise it didn't move. She tried a few more times, but still nothing. It didn't seem locked, it just seemed stuck, perhaps the hinges had rusted.
She stepped back and jolted hard into the door. It swung open and Hermione fell to the floor hitting hard and ripping the skin of her cheek on the rocky broken stone floor. Bum-rushing the door wasn't her ideal choice but at least it worked. She moaned as she felt the beginning on a bruise start on her upper arm.
It was ironic the floor had hurt her more than Lucius had, but she'd never tell him that, she was certain he'd find a way to prove her wrong. She caressed her sore cheek and looked around the room.
It was incredibly dark, it was almost impossible to see inside the room that smelled like damp mold and pond moss. It was much too hard to see, she'd have to go back and get a lantern from inside the cellar, it was the only way.
Hastily she walked out and grabbed the nearest lantern which was already lit with some sort of eternal flame just like the rest of the lanterns in the cellar. It wasn't very bright but at least it would make things visible just enough for her to see where she was stepping.
Hermione picked up the lantern and felt a thick layer of rust crusted onto the handle underneath her palm. Upon picking it up she could hear the scrapping sound of its joints moving after years of rest with each sway. This lantern was probably older than Lucius himself.
She entered back into the mysterious black room and raised the lantern in front of her. Things were considerably clearer but it that wasn't saying much. She'd have to really watch herself, the slightest slip up could be disastrous.
With baby steps she carefully stuck her foot out slowly and moved forward, shifting the lamp every which way to make sure she would not bump into anything. This was a stealth mission, if anything were to go wrong she was sure that eventually Lucius would find out.
She made her way enough to stop at the first obstacle, a round table which she guessed which signified that this might be the middle of the room. She placed the lantern down and looked at all the things scattered on the table.
There were some very odd objects, things Lucius had no business owning.
There were a couple magazines stacks ontop of each other, some recent and some old. Fashion magazines, to fishing ones, cooking, homecare, and even a playboy from 1980, which at the sight of, made her cover it back up immediately.
"Well okay then…"
What would he be doing with Muggle magazines? Her eyes wandered to the rest of the table's odd assortment of items.
A packet of mint chewing gum (unopened), some rusting coins, an ipod which seemed to be stolen considering it was covered in stickers, and a small child's bank shaped like a pig.
What in the world was he doing with these things? Why was he stealing stuff from the Muggles? These surely weren't hers; she'd hadn't been carrying them in her school bag prior. She thought it was odd he'd just leave them sitting out here, not that they were expensive treasures that needed beautiful boxes and cases but it didn't seem like him to just leave them laying around.
She picked up the lantern and moved on around the table continuing forward. Maybe further ahead might lie an explanation.
Once again she stopped when something blocked her way. She brought the lantern forward and saw that she had made it to the end of the room. At her feet was a large black wooden chest that was covered by stacks of folded blankets and quilts.
Hermione crouched down and placed the lantern beside her on the floor. She carefully removed the dusty stacks and placed them behind her, far enough so she would not bump into them. Sure the room was dusty but she had a feeling that it wasn't completely abandoned. She had to be careful not to break or ruin anything. If she had to leave in a hurry there was no way she could fold all those heavy blankets.
She gripped the top of the chest and struggled to push it open. The wood was very heavy but she managed to open it all the way so that the hood of the chest could rest against the wall.
She gazed inside the box looking around at all the things it held. Plenty of old papers and documentations that held no significance to her, but there was a large stack of photos inside. She removed the pictures from their twine and flipped through them.
These pictures moved just the paintings in his house did, but these ones were slower and more grainy like an old time movie.
The first couple pictures were of a baby and his parents. The mother cradled the baby gently in her arms and next to her stood a unemotional older man. When Hermione saw the man it became apparent that these were Lucius' parents. He looked just like his father it was almost too remarkable. But he looked far more bitter and she could sense the overbearing hate he held in his heart. His mother seemed to be a lot gentler than her husband, she was battered and bruised around the edges but she still seemed like a strong intelligent woman.
Hermione thought Lucius was kind of cute as a baby with his rosy petal cheeks and small curled hands, hard to believe he'd grow up to be such a monster.
She continued through the photos.
Hermione could see the progression of his growth through the photo, in a matter of minutes she watched him go from a baby to a toddler to a preteen. She knew she shouldn't be smiling right now but it was funny to see already at 12 years old he already had begun growing his signature long platinum hair. In one of the photos she could see him and one his little friends jokingly braiding it, they looked so happy. It was odd seeing him smile so widely, so innocently.
She continued again, onto the next few photos. Most were of other people, like his relatives. She was half way through the stack before she saw him again. He seemed to be 18 years old now, very handsome and pristine, completely different from his younger photos. The girl found herself slightly flustered at the sight of this young Malfoy.
He was sitting at a table with funny looking man next to him, and three other students behind them. Everyone in the photo looked so happy like they were having a great time at their little get-together. They all laughed and leaned on each other like friends would do.
Yet Lucius himself seemed rather intimidating as always, looking directly into the camera the entire time. The overall atmosphere was cheerful but his glare brought a sense of melancholy. It was clear to see who he was growing up to be.
Draco less looked like his father but more like his mother instead, she didn't know Draco very well or who he might be 10 years from now but she was certain he would never been Lucius. Even if she had to stick around, she wanted to help him makes forge his own path and guide him through the dark.
She pulled up the next photo.
It was him and Narcissa together inside the Manor, they sat is opposite chairs holding hands. Her smile was big and wide, her perfectly white teeth showing through her ruby red lips, and his was small and controlled. He was the product of a forcefully molded aristocrat.
She seemed to truly be happy with him, but something didn't sit right with her looking at this photo. Lucius seemed like he didn't want to be there.
What did she care? They didn't matter at all to her at all. Still she couldn't help but to feel sorry. She was just unsure of who it was exactly she felt sorry for.
It seemed at one time Narcissa had loved Lucius for who he was, and maybe Lucius had loved her that way too. But it seemed that whatever the circumstances were, to her it was apparent he didn't want to be there.
…
She had finally made it to the end of the stack and was brought back with his baby picture. She tied the photos back up carefully and placed them to the side of the box and kept digging.
There was really nothing more than various objects. Such as a well-used thick forest green scarf with white greyish stripes and some old bottles with unreadable labels. She kept poking around at the bottom of the chest.
When she moved an old letter out of the way she had found something unexpected.
It was a long elm wand with a tarnished silver handle, embellished with gold at the end. It was gorgeous despite its age, the craftsmanship withstood time.
Just holding it made a sharp chill run down her spine. It felt perfect, like it belonged to her. But this was too ancient.
She twirled it in her fingers and swished it around. In her head she mocked Lucius wand wielding Mannerisms.
"Abracadab-"
Hermione jolted up, there was a loud sound above her. It was so muffled but it could only mean one thing. Lucius was home and he was furious. Even through the thick floors his voice made her adrenaline flow.
Her heart raced as she closed the chest as quickly and as quietly as she could, stacking the blankets back on top of it. She prayed she put the piles back in the right order.
She had to get out of there quickly before Lucius returned. He'd be here soon enough to dish out his unbridled rage upon her, if she wasn't back in her room by the time he got there she was as good as dead.
She picked up the lantern and made a rush for the door. It was just then she remembered the wand, she never placed it back. Something that beautiful must me important, it wasn't something he'd just leave laying on the floor.
"Oh, Hermione you idiot," she scolded.
Hermione rushed back and grabbed the wand, she tried to reopen the chest but she couldn't any longer. The massive quilts and blankets weighed it down like bricks. She could barely grip the hood of the chest, her hands just weren't strong enough.
"There's no time for this…"
She couldn't afford to waste to keep trying, she'd just have to hold onto it for now. If she could hide the chocolate frog and the pink book from Lucius it wouldn't be much harder to hide just a little wand.
Out from the darkness she rushed into the dim light of the cellar, sliding across the cold floor on her heels, and placing the lantern back down on the table so quickly it almost fell. She only had a few seconds to align it with the mark it had left from the dust. It wasn't perfect but in the lighting it wouldn't matter.
In the distance she swore she could hear the clack of his leather shoes and the bottom of his cane come closer and closer with each second. There was no time to debate if it was her imagination or not.
With her heart pumping out of her chest, she entered her room and softly shut the door, still she wasn't in the clear. She had to stash the wand. She couldn't hide it with everything else, if he found that she'd be in less trouble than stealing such an expensive looking wand.
She looked around furiously, contemplating every possible place it would be safe.
Where's one place Lucius wouldn't bother looking? The toilet was too disgusting and she already had her other things under her mattress.
She rushed to the opposite bed she did not use and shoved the wand into the pillows casing. This would have to do for now, she'd move it later where it would be safer.
There was no question about it now; Lucius was differently right outside her room. She could hear the door open.
….
In a matter of moments she had gone from the dark chamber to lying in her bed staring up at the ceiling as if she had been there all day.
She casually looked up at him as he stood in the doorway.
"Good Evening, Muggle."
"Good Evening, Sir."
Lucius was dressed nicer than usual. It looked like he had been somewhere extremely important. His hair was tied nicely in a pristine ribbon, and he wore a nice ink black suit underneath his best wool cloak that was long enough to almost drag on the floor.
Even the silver snake broaches on his cloak looked like they had been thoroughly polished.
"What happened to your face?"
She touched her cheek and felt the large scrapes had already scabbed over.
"That's right," she thought, "the cuts…"Somehow she must have forgotten she fell so hard. Now that she wasn't in an adrenaline filled daze, she could feel how sore her upper arm was and how badly her cheek stung.
"I fell… this morning."
He scoffed.
"There's hardly anything to trip on, how you've managed to do that is beyond me."
She turned away, cupping her cheek. Hermione had to let him take this stab, there would be no point in blowing her own cover. Even though she was holding down hard breaths and her face was moist with sweat despite the freezing temperatures of her room, he'd be as oblivious as she had hoped.
"Come here," he commanded.
She made her way from the bed to Lucius, who as always towered over her intimidatingly. He slipped his silver sneak head wand out its case as he spoke.
"My, My… Bellatrix really did a toll on you. If I hadn't intervened any sooner, you would have been deformed completely."
She almost scoffed, he spoke as if those words were supposed to be comforting. Yes she was thankful but she still couldn't believe the nerve of him.
He swished his wand over her quiet gracefully and quickly she began to feel an enormous weight being lifted off her. The mousey ears and tail had receded and her teeth formed back to normal, even the fur had seemingly vanished completely. It was nice to be back to normal, being an actual vermin wasn't anything she wanted to do again anytime soon.
His gloved hand lifted up her chin and he eyed the cuts on her face. He clicked his tongue under his breath, and cocked his brows.
"Your stupidity never seizes to amaze me."
Lucius pressed his wand to her cheek and the cuts faded away like they never existed at all. He rubbed his thumb over her cheek, and admired his own handiwork, healing scrapes and cuts were beginner's magic but he'd do anything to commend himself.
Hermione almost mentioned her arm but that would require removing her dress so she stayed quiet.
She swore she was about to hug him again from relief but refrained. They didn't need a reminder of yesterday's awkward exchange.
"Thank you."
He nodded, "I have brought something for you."
Instantly she was wide eyed, he had never given her something before. At least something wasn't a bucket and mop to clean a mess he purposely made. She hoped it would be a new book to read or something from her book bag he stole.
Out from his cloak he pulled out a small wooden box that he had seemingly tucked away from nowhere. It wasn't beautiful or expensive looking but it intrigued her nonetheless. Underneath it was small leather bound booklet.
"As you know I've been more than reasonable with you, I've treated you well and shown you kindnesses you did not deserve. Because you handled yesterdays….incident… so well, you were able to make up for your little outburst from earlier. As a reward I'm entrusting you with the gifts. Do with them as you see fit but do not think I won't destroy them immediately if you defy me."
He set the presents down on the broken vanity by the door.
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. Thank you for the -"
"Good. Ditzy will bring you down your meal in an hour. Tomorrow its back to work, understood?"
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy."
He left quiet immediately after not having anything else left to say to her. She didn't even get to finish her entire thank you but she could see why he'd want to leave this disgusting place.
As the door shut behind him she grabbed for the box, excited to see if it was exactly what she thought it was.
Inside was beautiful raven feather quill with a brass tip and a generously sized glass bottle of dark violet colored ink. She was in complete awe of such a lovely gift. Out from underneath she pulled out the leather book and flipped through its ivory pages. All the pages were blank, fresh, and had that relaxing smell of a brand new book.
She couldn't wait to start writing with her new set, but where should she start? There were so many things crammed into her mind and now all he thoughts were struggling to come out at once.
A diary was a nice thought, but she didn't trust him or herself. While she was upstairs cleaning he could creep down here at any time and intrude on her person thoughts. Not to mention if she did write it, she couldn't write anything that happened to her or it might make him furious.
Although…
If curiosity got the best of better of him, and she knew it eventually would, she could use this book against him. How she would execute this properly would be the real challenge. Realizing what she could do with this diary was almost as if he had handed her a sword.
If she played her cards right it would be a huge step forward in regaining her freedom.
-ooo-
She didn't waste time.
Hermione sat back on the vanity seat and admired her work, it seemed innocent yet realistic enough to fool him.
February, 1997
Today I received this book as a reward for good behavior. I've decided to use it as a diary and document my days here. I'm losing track of time and the only way I can differentiate the months is with the changing weather. I hope I can make good use of this diary in hopes of stopping myself from going mad.
It is truly a blessing to have received this gift, I've had too much on my mind for far too long and now I have a proper outlet to express myself.
Today had been a rather calm day, except for when I fell and scraped my face on the bathroom wall. I need to be more careful, everyday it seems I'm falling apart faster than I thought I would last. The last thing I need is to fall while cleaning something important.
I've been thinking more and more about my family and friends each day and I've come to realize other than my mother and father I don't really miss them as much as I thought. Yes I would give anything to come back to them but I have a feeling they are getting on just fine without me. I really am replaceable.
How soon will it be before Mr. Malfoy tiers of me too?
We've had our indifferences, he prefers physical discipline more than verbal, but he has helped me more than once and for that I must give him proper credit.
I know I'm trying his patience and I fear it might run out soon enough.
It trailed off into the rest of her thoughts, but she thought it was good enough. It praised him enough while not exactly putting him on a pedestal.
She hoped this was good enough to fool him or else she would be ruining a perfectly good journal. It was already hard enough to write down all these lies, so she had to pretend she might be someone other than herself.
She took inspiration from Sarah Crewe, the little peasant girl from the book she stole. It was easy to relate to her struggles of being worked to death and being starved after days' worth of cleaning. Miss Minchin and Mr. Malfoy were a lot alike weren't they?
This made Hermione take a breath and really realize where she was… in the cellar of a man's manor writing about how she might die soon. This was becoming all too livid for her.
She closed the diary and packed the kit back into its box to avoid accidently breaking it. The girl knew she had to be extremely careful with her ink and quill as it wouldn't take a genius to know Lucius would never replace them if they broke.
Ditzy knocked on her door three times and walked into the room. He looked as sad and frail as ever, she gave him a warm smile in a small effort to raise his spirits. Spirits she knew he would get slapped out of him by Lucius once he returned back upstairs.
"Good Evening, Miss. I have brought you your dinner."
He snapped his fingers and on the vanity appeared a tray that held a cup of water and a bowl of left over soup. It looked so bland and dry, she was starving but wasn't really sure she wanted to eat this. It was food for the rats.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, Miss. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
Hermione was just dying to ask Ditzy about the wand, she would have waited for Draco but she was too curious to wait.
She thought about it for a second, could she really trust him with her secret? It was a gamble with Ditzy, it's not his fault for being someone she couldn't tell secrets too. They both knew all too well what would happen if he tried to lie.
"Actually…"
She got up from the built in vanity seat and walked over to the unused bed.
"Ditzy….. Promise me you can keep a secret."
He shook, "A secret? Can't say I can miss."
Hermione was worried but still continued, "Well you don't have to tell anyone unless they ask you to?"
"Correct, Miss…."
"If it's a secret than Mr. Malfoy will never know to ask."
"Correct again…" The way she raised her voice made him back away further. Sure she was quiet and innocent but when something needed to be said or done she could become quiet frightening.
She took the pillow and dug into its case. The house elf stood up on his toes and curiously tried to see what Hermione could possibly have to show him.
Slowly and meticulously she pulled the old wand out from inside the pillow.
THUD.
Ditzy recoiled so far back in fear he slammed his own head against the door.
"That's…. That's…!"
"Whose wand is this Ditzy?"
He started hyperventilating as if he told he was going to be killed. He continued to slam his head against the door over. She had to drop to her knees and grab his head, holding it in place to avoid him from more self-harm.
"Calm down! Lucius is going to hear you and we'll both be in trouble!"
Ditzy shook widely underneath her hands, in an effort to remain clam. He was already in a full blown panic, it was a wonder to as why he wasn't incoherently screaming too.
"It's… It's….. Mr. Malfoy's wand!"
"Lucius'?"
"No, Abraxas Malfoy. Master's father."
She looked down at the wand in her hand. It was no wonder it looked so lavish. If Lucius ever found out he had his father's wand she'd and everyone she ever loved or looked at would be sentenced to death.
"How did you get it Miss?"
"I found it in an old chest-"
Ditzy widen so large his eyes almost popped out of his skull. He fell limp in the girl's hands.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"Abraxas was buried with that, Miss!"
She almost dropped the wand as if it had singed hand. It was right about now she had wished Lucius hadn't dug up his father for that thing. In her mind she could see him prying the wand out of his brittle decomposing fingers.
"Then what was it doing in the room next to mine? He had it lying at the bottom of a chest like it was nothing."
"I don't know Miss… But please be careful with it."
"Why? Is it dangerous?"
"Oh yes. It was extremely powerful. It shouldn't be in the hands of a young witch."
"Young witch? …What do you mean."
Ditzy diddled with his fingers and looked at her pathetically. The gaze of impatient anticipation made him shudder even more.
"Y-you're… a witch Hermione."
Her hands dropped from the side of his face and she pulled back slightly. She gripped the elm wand even tighter.
"You can't be serious…. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
The house elf started mumbling trying to think of something to say.
"I don't know, you never asked, Miss."
She liked Ditzy and felt bad for him but all she wanted to do was punt him against the wall. How could he keep something so important from her?
Her mind seemed to shut down and she stared at Ditzy, completely dumbfounded. A second ago she was almost in a rage but now she didn't know what to say.
"Are you absolutely sure?"
"I'm utmost positive, Miss."
"Please don't lie to me about this, It's not funny."
"No, Miss. Ditzy would never lie to you."
Could she have really been a witch this entire time? She wondered how long she had been one, since birth or maybe when she hit puberty? It was different in every book she read. If Ditzy wasn't lying that means her studying wasn't useless.
"…Does Mr. Malfoy know…?"
"I don't think he does. Only house elves can tell-" She didn't even bother letting him finish. The light in her eyes came back so quickly, the way they do with Hermione Granger gets a wonderful idea.
"Good let's keep it that way."
If he didn't know that's the only thing that was important to her.
She shoved the wand into the side of her boot, she wasn't going to let this thing out of her site. She pushed open the door with no effort at all, pushing the little creature out of her way slightly.
"Ditzy?"
"Yes, Miss?"
"I need one last favor…."
-ooo-
SORRY, Again I'd like to remind everyone this is my first time writing ever. So please excuse any grammar or typos
Im trying to learn as I go
Sorry also if it seems the story is going fast, T_T
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