A/N: Thank you for the favorites, follows, and reviews!

It was so nice getting back into the swing of things. See you all next Saturday!

12

Previously:

"Why are you here? He wants me to deliver a message. What does he want from you?" Bill asked Luna.

"I have a message for Abraxas Malfoy."

"Isn't he dead?"

"He used to be."

**HGHG**

Draco had threaded his fingers with Hermione's and was pulling her down another hallway. After Lucius had left, Hermione had sat alone on the balcony for nearly an hour before Draco joined her. She had smiled at him briefly before turning back to the landscape in front of her.

Now, they were on their way to an unknown destination that had Draco excited. He was going to show her his favorite place in the Manor. Hermione smirked to herself. It seemed as if the Malfoy men had a compulsion to show her the best parts of the Manor in an effort to have her like it too.

Draco stopped and turned around, a playful grin on his face. He bit his lower lip and grabbed her other hand so that they were facing each other, holding both of their hands. He began to walk around the next corner backward, watching her face as if it was the most riveting show ever.

When they turned the corner, Hermione's confused gaze flicked to his laughing one. They were standing in front of a set of iron doors that looked straight out of the steampunk era.

"Your favorite place is in front of metal doors?"

"Of course not, Granger. It is what is behind the iron doors that I love."

"Okay…" She trailed off, confused why he wanted to see the reaction to a set of doors.

He leaned against the doors and a clanking, groaning sound filled the corridor. The door swung open of its own accord and they were blasted with a higher than normal humidity. The sound of running water and birds filled the air. The higher her eyebrow rose, the bigger his grin stretched. He let her hands go and watched her as she walked slowly into the room. It was an indoor rainforest, but even that description was inadequate. It looked like she had stepped into the Amazon. The ceiling was magically hidden, the walls- nonexistent. The large pond in the center was fed via waterfall, the tropical flora, and fauna in full bloom. The calls of various birds and insects filled the area.

Hermione looked around in wide-eyed wonder. Never had she seen magic used in such a way.

"Exquisite isn't it," Draco whispered in her ear as he slid his hands around her waist and pulled her body back onto his. Hermione nodded, unable to articulate the feeling of how utterly insignificant she felt in that moment. This is what magic can do. Magic applied just for the wonder and beauty of it. After another moment of silence, a burning thought entered her mind.

"How did the birds and wildlife survive the destruction of the property?" Hermione asked. Draco chuckled. It did not surprise him that the wheels of her mind were still turning even after seeing something so breathtaking.

"I have no idea. If you ever talk to Sigurd, you can ask him. He is the reason that the Manor was restored like this. We thought we would have to rebuild from scratch, so when you find out, let me know too. I am glad it did though. I can't imagine never being able to see this again. Do you want to swim?"

"I am not wearing a bathing suit."

"We don't need one." He said as his fingers began unbuttoning her robes. He kept dropping little kisses on her neck and shoulders that made her stomach clench with need. Hermione leaned into him.

He slid the robes off her shoulders and let them pool on the floor around her feet and hooked his thumbs in her knickers and pushed them down over her hips to land on top of the pile. He smirked against her skin.

"What a naughty witch, no Muggle clothes under your outer robes?"

"I didn't see the need."

"Nor do I," He murmured. Hermione reached behind herself and unhooked her bra as Draco dragged the palms of his hands over her stomach and ribs.

Hermione danced out of his reach and turned to face him as she stood out of his reach.

"Your turn," she said, her attention drawn the obvious erection he sported, still hidden by his robes.

Draco toed off his boots and made short work of his clothes and dropping his wand on top of it all before lunging after Hermione and catching her easily. He pulled her against his naked body and kissed her lips.

Hermione had just let herself go and leaned into his kiss when he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He was quickly at the edge of the pond before he tossed her in. She wasn't alone for long, he jumped in, swimming to where she was and devouring her lips again.

Hermione ran her fingers lightly over the muscles in his back. She felt a rush of confidence as he moaned into their kiss, water gently lapping around their bodies. Draco held her hips, pulling her into his body. His erection brushed her stomach and she moved her body against his. She couldn't get enough of him.

Slowly, she trailed her fingers down his body, feeling the dips and valleys of his muscles. Hermione followed his treasure trail, lightly before cupping his erection and wrapping her wet hands around him.

His fingers were not idle as he caressed her breasts. When his thumb ran over her nipples, they stiffened into twin pebbles. Hermione arched her back. His light touches were driving her mad. It was like he was strumming a cord that was connected directly to her core.

Hermione slid her hand over his length and pumped. He sucked her nipple into his mouth, the faster she stroked, the harder he sucked. Hermione was in a haze of want and need, her body burning hot and frenzied.

Draco must have been feeling the same because he lifted her so that she could wrap her legs around his hips. He moved further into the water, the buoyancy of their bodies making their grinding and thrusting easier.

Hermione reached between them and lined him up, sinking onto his cock. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she brought him close enough to kiss, rolling her hips against him. His neck was flushed and his hands were delightfully groping her bottom turning her into a quivering mess on the edge of orgasm.

With a small smirk, he pulled away from her walking back to shore. Draco dropped her legs and reached for his wand that he had dropped on top of his clothes. In moments, there was a monstrous fluffy pillow that was large enough for three grown men to lay comfortably. Hermione giggled, wondering where in the wondrous mansion of Malfoy Manor he pulled this from. With a cute smile, he dropped his wand and pulled her wet body onto the pillow and ran his fingers over her legs and up her torso until he was caressing her face. The answer to the mystery of the freakishly large pillow would have to wait.

He leaned in playfully licking her from sternum to chin, making Hermione laugh even more. His eyes went soft as he looked at her, watching his own fingers trace her face. For a moment, she could have sworn that he wanted to say something but instead, he leaned in and kissed her lips. He ran his tongue against the seam and she opened- eagerly- excited to taste him again.

Draco spread her legs with his knees, taking himself in hand and entering her ready body. He rocked into her, hitting her clit with each thrust. His pupils were blown wide and he made her stomach quiver with the way he was looking at her. As if he wanted to eat her and if the last time was any indication, it was an experience she would never turn down.

Hermione was at the precipice when she shattered, her walls clenching around him. Groaning with ecstasy, Draco came with one more thrust. Rolling his hips into hers.

Draco laid down next to her and pulled her into his chest, closing his eyes. A sappy smile on his face.

"Draco?" Hermione asked, her fingers tracing invisible swirls over his pectorals.

"Mmmm?" He turned his head to look at her, a contented smile on his lips.

"How did Lucius get into Hogwarts to help me escape?"

"Sigurd's door."

"His door?"

"Yes. If you put your palm to it and bring an image of another doorway to mind, it will take you there. Sigurd warns against using the door too frequently though. Lucius didn't say what happened when he went through. In fact, he was very tight lipped about it and had quietly advised me never to use it. You should leave it alone as well if it unsettled even my father."

"It's the door that you use to get into the room?"

"Uh huh,"

Hermione nodded and the burn of discovery coiled in her stomach. She desperately wanted to go and test out that magic.

**HGHG**

Luna and Bill apparated to the front gates of Malfoy Manor and looked around nervously. Neither Luna nor Bill had been outside Azkaban prison in over two years and was justifiably apprehensive at Voldemort's promise of freedom for the low price of delivering a message. If something sounded too good to be true, it probably was. Although, neither had the fortitude to not walk directly into the trap that was already set and waiting for them, whatever it was.

Luna wrapped her tiny hands around the bars and whispered to the iron gates, so low that Bill couldn't hear.

"Let us in, we aren't here to harm anyone but we have messages to deliver to the masters of this property," Bill shouted at the still closed and locked gates.

"Really, and what pray tell, would be these messages that you supposedly carry?" Abraxas asked. He stood behind the gates in front of them but on the other side of the bars. His hands were behind his back, a cocky expression on his face.

"Voldemort sent us," Bill said baldly. He had met this man before in the course of his work with Gringotts a lifetime ago and suspected that it didn't matter how much a person knew about Abraxas Malfoy because he was only showing one well-tailored façade to the world. The enigmatic but overtly fair Malfoy. Bill had walked away from his working encounters with the man has developed a profound respect and had mourned when he had been told of the man's death.

Abraxas smiled and said, "Naturally. I didn't think you had gotten yourself out of Azkaban." He pointedly looked at the tattoo on Bills neck, indicating his incarceration.

"Yeah," Bill said awkwardly. He shifted his weight from foot to foot as silence fell on the group and Abraxas didn't move to let them in.

"Please let Hermione know that if she doesn't speak to us, the wrackspurts won't ever leave her alone. They are terrible menaces when manners are forgotten."

"I will let her know," Abraxas' mouth twitched with amusement. He turned away, leaving them standing outside of the gate.

"You are just going to leave us out here?" Bill demanded angrily. Abraxas stopped and his wand twirled in his skilled fingers over his shoulder before the solid iron bars of the gates became as inconsequential as smoke. Bill stood frozen, shock making him immobile. He hadn't actually expected Abraxas to let them in. Luna, however, was half way between them before Abraxas stopped again and looked at him quizzically.

"Are you going to come in?" Abraxas inquired.

Bill nodded dumbly and walked cautiously through the smoke gate, not entire trusting either of the responsible parties that put him in his current situation. One being Voldemort and the other, this not-dead Abraxas Malfoy. It was hard to get over that fact especially since he had attended the man's funeral. Granted, he had been half hidden in the back and left as soon as it was over. After all, Lucius and his she-witch mother were not high on his list of people that he would consider friends with, the Weasleys being blood traitors and all. The whole world probably sighed a breath of relief when that harridan kicked the bucket. Abraxas was probably relieved when he came back to life and she was dead. He would be.

Luna waited for him and threaded her fingers with his, probably feeling the trepidation of Bill as he approached the Manor. The place that had been Voldemort's safe house for years. She smiled up at him and he wondered how she pulled it off, looking so innocent and childlike when he knew of some of the horrors that she had endured over the years of her enslavement. She intrigued him, this blonde waif that impossibly seemed like the strongest woman alive.

Once Abraxas brought them into the house, he called the elves to bring refreshments and let Bill and Luna sit on something that wasn't grass or a lumpy cot in a lonely prison cell. Bill couldn't deny he was grateful for this. His bones ached with a perpetual weariness that seeped in during the first few months in Azkaban. Maybe it was the solitary confinement that fueled the feeling of decay inside himself but he had a feeling that living with the fear for his family and pregnant wife's safety and her ultimate demise was the real cause of his petrifying soul.

"You mentioned a message?" Abraxas asked as he poured tea for his new guests. Luna smiled gratefully as she savored the hot beverage. Bill looked at her as silence filled the room and shrugged. He would go first.

"My message is for Hermione," Bill said watching as Abraxas nodded almost distractedly.

"Abraxas," came a deep voice from the hall. Lucius stuck his head in, searching for his father. His eyes narrowed at his company. Distrust openly displayed, his eyes flicked to the tattoo on the necks of both Bill and Luna.

"Hmm?"

"I was going to tell you that I am leaving but if you need me to stay…" he let the offer hang in the air before Abraxas exhaled deeply and waved him away.

"I will handle this. You take care of what you need to and come home."

Lucius inclined his head and left the room, his footsteps ringing out on the marble floors.

"Why don't you tell me your message and if I feel it is necessary, I will pass it on," Abraxas said.

"Voldemort told me to tell her and that is what I intend. I don't care if you are there or if you listen but I am not going to sacrifice my sister for a technicality. So, if you wouldn't mind,"

"Hermione would be furious if you didn't tell her we were here." Luna rebuked.

"Emmy," Abraxas called. A tiny elf in a silk pillowcase popped in. She twisted the delicate material in her hands, as she bowed before her master.

"How can I serve, Master?" She asked.

"Find your mistress and ask her to join us. We have guests."

"Yes, Master." She bowed again before popping back out, no doubt to wherever her mistress was.

Abraxas did not seem inclined to continue the previous conversation with Bill and turned to the girl next to him. Bill bristled, already feeling protective of her.

"And what about you?" Abraxas asked Luna. "What message do you bring?"

"I was instructed to give it to you in private."

"Very, well. Follow me." He stood and without a backward glance left the room, Luna trailing after him. Bill sat on the divan quietly but his lip was curled. He didn't trust the Malfoys, he didn't trust Voldemort, and he surely didn't trust the messages that they were forced to deliver.

**HGHG**

Harry wrapped his hand around Narcissa's, startling her as she waited in the darkness of the wood at the edge of the camp. She had said she wouldn't leave without him, and she didn't. She wasn't sure why she waited and had spent the better part of the afternoon arguing with herself about it. She would be better off on her own. But Harry had said they would get her a wand. It was an attractive enough offer to entice her to wait.

The last time she had a wand of her own, she had shoved it into Hermione Granger's hand right before Voldemort came and killed her family.

"Are you ready to go?" Harry asked jovially as if they were just going to Diagon Alley for some treats.

Narcissa nodded and wrapped her long thin fingers around his forearm. With a start, she saw a dark shadow move among the trees near them and before she could turn and see who had spotted them, Harry Potter apparated them out of there and to a small cottage on the edge of the sea. It had been neglected, a thick layer of dust settled over the house that looked as if it had been abandoned in a hurry.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Shell Cottage. It was where Bill and Fleur Weasley used to live before they were captured at a skirmish. Once it was secret kept but sadly, it's not anymore."

"I'm sorry." Narcissa murmured, looking around the small cottage.

Harry moved into the next room and brought up the floorboards beside the fireplace. A large metal box was hidden there, a hefty muggle lock secured the whole thing. Harry nonverbally disabled the wards that were put on the box and fished around in the small cavity and triumphantly pulled out a hairpin that had seen better days. It was twisted and bent as if it had been used and manipulated many times.

Harry picked the lock and set it aside opening the lid to show a large pile of wands.

"Where did you get all of these?" Narcissa breathed.

"Every time we had a battle and we killed or disarmed someone, we brought their wand back here and put it in the cache. For a while, we kept them with Hermione in her bag but we decided that would be a poor idea if it was ever taken." Harry muttered. "I do wonder where Draco, Lucius, and Abraxas got the wands they are using now."

"They kept a spare hidden in one of the rooms and Abraxas' wand was kept in the family crypt. I suppose they could have also looked through those wands."

Harry handed Narcissa wands, one after another until she found one that felt comfortable enough to use. Red and purple flowers erupted out of the tip of a blond oak wand and she smiled at the obvious affinity.

"This is the one," she murmured happily. The handle had a pair of initials carved onto the end. A.T. Narcissa wondered who it could be.

Harry smiled a little shaky. "Perhaps that shouldn't have surprised me. Andromeda was your sister, after all. I was there- you know- when she died. Hermione and Ron and I went to her home to tell Tonks that Lupin had died in a battle. When we got there, the house was on fire, Teddy was missing, and Andromeda and Tonks' dead bodies were laying on the front garden. We never did find Teddy.

Tears had sprung in her eyes and her fingers covered her trembling lips. She missed the opportunity to ask her for forgiveness for all of those years that she cut off her once beloved sister. All the things she wanted to say to her… it didn't matter anymore but she was thankful that the wand recognized in her something worth being allied to. She had something of her sister.

"Teddy was never brought to the school, nor did they say anything within my hearing about the boy," Narcissa mumbled.

"I don't know if that is good news or not," Harry sadly said. He pushed his hair out of his face, the black hair had grown nearly to his shoulders. It had been a while since Hermione had given him that haircut while they were still in Albania. "Where to next?"

"Why don't we do something productive and find my nephew."

Harry smiled, a glint of approval and admiration breaking through.

"Just because I wasn't in Voldemort's select group, doesn't mean I am not extremely skilled in battle. The wife of a Malfoy must be intelligent and powerful so that the next generation will reap the benefits. Had I not met the criteria, pregnant or not, I wouldn't have been allowed to marry in the family. Bunch of arseholes, the Malfoys." She gave him a lopsided smile and he helped her up off the floor.

"Where to first, Narcissa?"

"The place where Andromeda and my niece died."

"Hold on tight." He said as he offered his arm for her to take. She did and took a deep breath before Harry apparated them to the former home of Andromeda and Ted Tonks. The shadow moving out of the corner of her eye.

**HGHG**

Abraxas left the table unsettled. The Lovegood girl had given him the message she was bid by Tom Riddle. 'Say goodbye to your witch, because she is going to come to me willingly and once I have her. I will not let her go so easily.' Abraxas snorted.

Riddle was an arrogant berk, and it wasn't an unusual thing for him to make threats and lies to manipulate all of the people he needed to use. Abraxas knew that Riddle wasn't interested in her the way he was. It was her power and Merlin's name that drew him to her. Not that he could blame Riddle. After all, isn't that what the Malfoy family had been doing for generations?

If that was the only message, he was sure that he wouldn't give the threat any weight, however, there was a second message, Bill's message to Hermione. The message that Luna had heard and relayed to him in the other room, separate from Bill.

Riddle was known for using underhanded methods and endeavored to get a hold of Hermione and that was not something that he could allow. With the threat of her friends lives hanging in the balance, there was no way that she wouldn't try to go. She wouldn't try and leave the wards in the normal way, she was too smart for that. No, she would try and sneak out of the Manor and there was only one way that he knew of that wouldn't alert the wards and that was Sigurd's door. He was desperately hoping that she hadn't been informed of the new mode of travel but he didn't bank on it. She would try and leave at night when it would be harder for them to track her. Abraxas resolved to lie in wait for her at the prophecy room. He would see her coming a mile away.

Abraxas walked into the torture chamber and curled his lip in disgust. It stank in there. Sweaty bodies, human waste, and an oppressive heat made it all unbearable. As if the room heard him loud and clear, the air in the room was replaced with new fresh air; the piles of refuse and waste were magically cleared, and the unbound prisoners were given food and water.

He wasn't a monster. He was properly appalled. The room was as sentient as the rest of the house but this room was specifically built to break its prisoners. The conditions would match the greatest need and apparently the room was playing bad cop to Abraxas' good cop if that was even possible.

It was quiet in the room, not a single noise could be heard. It reminded him of the way the glade sounded after the meadow was blanketed with snow. There was a hush over everything.

Abraxas looked over at the reddened body of Dolohov and curled his lips again with disgust. He was Lucius' special project, therefore would be left alone. Abraxas walked to Bellatrix's table. Her face was puffy from the magical burns and frostbite that he had used to give her a copy of the artwork she left on Narcissa's face. The only differences were the color. Where Narcissa's face was a pretty lilac and silver color, Bellatrix's was red, bright red. Her tears had coursed down the sides of her cheeks which were swollen with infection, the area obviously causing her great pain.

"Water," She begged blindly, her face was so swollen hat she couldn't open her eyes.

Abraxas conjured a simple silver cup and filled it with cold water. He slid his arm under her head and supported her as he raised the cup to her lips. She gratefully drank the water with large desperate pulls until she began to choke.

He waited until she was settled and pulled away the cup, vanishing the cup into thin air. Bringing his wand up to her face, he sang a healing spell. The scars were deep and set, he knew because he had cursed them, ensuring that she could never be rid of them. He gave her a permanent reminder of what she had willingly done to her sister.

Bellatrix cried with relief, she tried to bring her hands up to her face so that she could feel the whirls that were burned into the dermis of her face.

"Bellatrix, are you ready to answer some questions for me?" He asked softly, conjuring a chair to sit in next to her. After another second of thought, he conjured a second chair and released her from the restraints. She sat up slowly and brought her wrists together to rub them. She had laid prone for three days. Three days of being tied to the table. Three days of excruciating pain. Three days of her faith in Voldemort breaking.

Abraxas was looking at her kindly. Out of all the torture, the pain, the inhumane treatment, this was perhaps the worst of it all. Using aftercare and twisting around logic, Abraxas was going to turn her mind against her former master to become his willing and devoted slave. Abraxas knew that death would be kinder. He was literally going to destroy her with kindness.

"Do your wrists hurt?" He asked. She nodded her head like a tiny child and held them up for inspection. He healed them nonverbally and patted her head, earning him a small trembling smile in return.

Suddenly he wasn't so sure this was the right trek to go. How twisted was he that he was coldly and willingly breaking her mentally? Wasn't this crossing a line that he could never return from? War was ugly, yes, but this…

"Will you tell me about your master?"

"He didn't come for me,"

"No,"

"He won't."

"You don't know that," Abraxas said, crossing his legs.

"I do. He considers you his biggest obstacle. Even after you died, you were the one that got away. He will try and cut you off at the knees and he will consider his lost followers a worthy sacrifice if taking you down is the end game."

"What do you want then, Bellatrix?" He couldn't go through with it, emotional manipulation was in many ways much more damaging than physical torture. How could he look Hermione in the eye? He changed track hoping that within Bellatrix was a burning passion that wouldn't endanger Hermione in the ongoing war.

"I don't know… power. Enough power so that no one will ever belittle me again."

"Have you considered that Tom Riddle will not win against us? What will your life look like if that is the case?"

"He has already won, he is just working on cleaning house. Harry Potter has to die. Until that happens, we are still at war."

"He will never be satisfied with Britain alone, you must see that. Tom has no interest in your pureblooded politics. His goal is to be the uncontested leader of all the magic communities. He doesn't care about you or anyone else. If you had no more ties, were no longer bound to the Lestranges, if you could do anything, what would it be?" Abraxas asked.

"If I only had to do what I wanted and throw everything else to the wind, I would like a little girl. I always wanted to be a mother."

"There are many war orphans who need loving homes." He said. He grimaced, someone would have to be crazy to give Bellatrix a child to raise.

**HGHG**

Hermione walked into the sitting room, a smile still on her lips from her little jaunt in the rainforest room with Draco. Abraxas and Luna were still indisposed in another room. When she walked in she froze, not knowing at first why she was summoned but the moment Hermione saw Bill, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a hug, her arms tightening to the point of Strangulation.

"Hermione," He mumbled into her neck.

"We thought you were dead!" She cried. "When Nagini was killed, Voldemort said he killed twelve of the prisoners of war. Your name was on the list."

"As far as I know, he didn't kill any of his prisoners, although, I have to admit that I was rather cut off in my cell." His cheeks were hollowed out with hunger, his once athletic and muscled frame was now ravaged by what he had to endure in prison. There was a haunted look in his eyes.

"And Fleur? Ginny? Did they make it?"

Bill winced, tension coiling under his skin. "Ginny is in Azkaban still but Fleur… she didn't make it."

"I'm sorry, Bill. Do you know how she died?"

"Greyback. She was pregnant, you know. She should have never gone with me. She should have stayed at Shell Cottage. Maybe if I had insisted, she would still be alive."

"Bill, no. You can't think like that."

His lips twisted and said, "He sent me to you. Told me if I didn't do as he wanted, he would give Ginny to Greyback. I couldn't let that happen. He also is giving me this freedom, but somehow, I doubt the validity of that claim. He has something in mind, and it probably will get everyone I love left, dead."

"Why did he want you to find me?"

"He has a message for you."

"Oh?"

He wants you to meet him in Godric's Hallow tonight at midnight, alone. If you don't, he is going to execute a POW each day you fail to show. My personal opinion is that you shouldn't go."

"And let all of our people die? You know I can't do that Bill."

Bill pulled away from Hermione and put some space between them, sitting back down on the divan. Abraxas walked in, agitated, barely being civil and deep in thought. Luna was supremely uninterested in such mundane things such as messages, and death threats.

"Hello, Hermione! Welcome to the family."

"Family?"

"Abraxas's sister is my grandmother on the Lovegood side."

"That's nice," Hermione mumbled, her thoughts whirling as she tried to make a plan. There were two truths here, the first, that she would have to meet Voldemort alone, and second, that she had to leave the Manor without Abraxas and Draco. The latter being the trickiest part.

The wards would clue them in the moment she attempted to leave and she knew that neither one of them would ever consent to stay behind. She bit her lip, her mind a million miles away.

Abraxas seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts and turned to Bill. "I will have one of the elves prepare a room for you both. In the meantime, would you like something to eat?"

Luna smiled and said, "That would be great. Some broth and crusty bread. I don't think I can handle anything more until I am used to eating again. It was one of the punishments they would give to me when they felt like I needed to be punished. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to keep anything else down." Luna sat next to Hermione and began petting her curls. Hermione tried to stifle her uncomfortable feelings at being pet like a cat. It didn't appear to bother Luna at all.

"Emmy," Abraxas called. The house elf popped in, bowing low.

"Master, how can I serve?"

"I need two guest rooms prepared and some broth and bread."

"Yes, Master." Another bow before she popped away again.

Hermione caught Abraxas looking at her and not in the way that she was used to. He wasn't looking at her tenderly, nor was he thinking naughty things. No, he looked focused as if he was trying to figure out whatever that she was planning. How could that be possible, she thought. It wasn't like he had heard Bill whisper his message into her neck. She looked down at the floor. She knew that he was a Legilimens, but was unsure if the spell could be nonverbally done. Wouldn't it just be her luck that he already knew her plans?

Her head snapped up as an idea began to form. Maybe she could get around the warding issue. She wasn't sure but Sigurd's door could be used in an emergency. If this wasn't the perfect reason, she didn't know when there would be one. Once the thought entered her head, she shoved it back, hoping that Abraxas hadn't seen it.

Emmy popped in and announced that lunch was served in the formal dining room and the group followed the tiny elf. Hermione had a long while to go before she needed to leave. After all, it was only midday. She would need all that time to figure out the logistics of making her plan happen. How to get to Sigurd's chamber without being caught was the main one. Perhaps she could meander to the prophecy room and see if the Manor was replacing those memories too. Hermione rather thought that if the elves could reestablish the Manor with even the birds and wildlife in the Rainforest room, they could restore all of the memories too.

Draco joined them a short time later and their lunch was served, a simple tomato risotto for Hermione and the Malfoys and beef broth for the two former Azkaban inmates. Lunch was a quiet affair. Abraxas was withdrawn and often shot Hermione confusing looks from his place at the head of the table.

It was dreadfully uncomfortable for Draco. He kept shooting Luna worried looks. She was serene and unbothered as if it were every day that people who were confirmed dead were once again alive. Hermione surmised that Draco was feeling guilty that Luna had once been held by them in this very house.

Not one of them hid their relief as luncheon ended and Emmy showed them to their rooms. Abraxas wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin and set it aside. He kissed Hermione on the cheek as he left, but continued with his silence. Draco gave her a shaky half smile before going off to his room, leaving Hermione behind.

If there was any time for an escape plan to be hatched, it would be then. Not wanting to call attention to herself, Hermione slowly meandered the maze of corridors headed in the general direction of the observation room. She wondered if walking in there would set off any alarms. If Abraxas didn't come running, she could be sure that she would be able to leave through Sigurd's room.

When she pushed open the door, she immediately caught sight of Sigurd's ruined painting. The spell made the oils bubble and run together, looking for all the world like an unexpected convergence of colors.

Her lips thinned. She wished the painting hadn't been ruined. She could have used some council. Wondering if his painting could even be fixed, Hermione ran her hands over the canvas. It would be a shame if it couldn't be.

She had studied the painting for a while and relaxed as neither of the Malfoys came to steer her away. She willed her churning stomach to behave before leaving the room in favor of her own. She spent the rest of the afternoon ensconced in her room organizing her beaded bag, refilling all of the perishable contents with the help from Gilkey. Just in case. Hermione wryly surmised that this elf was planning on ratting her out to Abraxas and kept the elf busy so that she would be unable to report Hermione's movements back to her master. Going so far as to make up inane tasks. There was a shrewd gleam in the elf's eyes that made Hermione nervous. She wondered if the elf was keeping Abraxas apprised of the situation in between completing Hermione's requests. There was no way to find out unless she asked and she was not about to bring up the very thing she was trying so hard to hide.

It was much later when Draco knocked on her door. She smiled at him, setting the book aside that she had been trying to read with relief.

"Hi," Hermione said.

"Hey," Draco murmured.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked, watching as he walked into her room and kicked off his shoes and climbing into bed with her.

"When she was kept in the dungeons, I would sneak her food. She was so thin and small and looked as if one missed meal would be the end of her."

"She doesn't blame you, Draco. When Dobby took them out through the wards, they were taken to Bill's house. It is where I recuperated from the torture and the confusing feelings I had regarding your death. We talked a lot since we shared a room and neither one of us could sleep. She told me how kind you and your family was to her. She was very saddened to hear of your death."

"I should have helped her escape."

"Could have, should have, would have. It's easy to second-guess yourself now that it's all over." Hermione smoothed the hair back away from his face and dropped a kiss on his cheek.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down. Hermione turned so that Draco was curled around her back. He brushed her curls out of his way, and nuzzled her neck, running his stubble along the tender skin. He pulled her closer and sighed.

His breath began to deepen and even out, falling asleep while holding her tightly. Hermione rubbed his forearm, lightly playing with the hair that covered them. Hermione laid like that for as long as she dared.

It was harder than she anticipated, getting out of his grip because every time she wiggled, Draco would pull her in tighter. If it wasn't so sweet, Hermione would have been exasperated. After successfully extracting herself from Draco's arms, she tiptoed across the room, opening and closing the door with a stealthy care. She felt like a ninja, staying pressed against the walls and tried to keep hidden in the shadows.

She was nearly in the observation room when a highly amused deep voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Going somewhere?" Abraxas asked.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep so I decided to walk to the prophecy room and make my way through the remaining memories." Her eyes were wide with fake innocence.

"Well in that case," he said smirking. "it would be ungallant of me to leave you alone. I can watch with you and help you with context as I have seen all the memories before."

"That's not necessary. I don't want to keep you from your sleep."

"It's much too late for that, Love." He purred as he sauntered over to her, encroaching on her personal space. He ran his finger up her arm and she shivered. His pupils grew. "If you don't want me to watch the memories with you, I have a proposition for you. You can come to bed with me and I will make sure you aren't bored and I promise to wear you out enough so that you easily fall asleep in my arms. I feel that this offer is a win-win for both of us."

"Abraxas,"

"Yes, Love." He purred, much too close. His breath was ghosting across her temple and it made her heart race.

"Wait for me," She breathed before whipping around and throwing the door to the observation open. She felt his hands reach for her and meet air. Twirling her wand in her hand, she slammed the door closed, Abraxas's furious pounding filling the room.

"Emmy!" Hermione summoned frantically, knowing that the spell she used on the door wouldn't last long with Abraxas determined to get inside.

"Yes, Mistress. How may I serve?"

"Please open the stairway to Sigurd's chamber."

The elf bowed and pushed the tiny button. Hermione was startled with the crash of the door violently opening and slamming against the wall behind it. For a moment, she stood like a deer in headlights as Abraxas's magical aura proceeded him into the room. His eyes were wells of fire. She ran into Sigurd's ruined painting, cutting her hand in the process. She didn't have time to deal with it now.

Panicking, she ran for the passageway and closed the door behind her, unwittingly sealing the door in her need to ditch Abraxas. She was going to be in so much trouble when he finally caught up to her.

Hermione ran down the spiral steps as fast as she could, her feet occasionally slipping on the too small stones. Blood was dripping from her hand where she had cut it on Sigurd's destroyed painting as she ran into it before Abraxas could catch up to her. She couldn't allow him to stop her when so many lives were on the line. She didn't care so much about what Voldemort claimed to have for her but more than that, she knew he would make good on the threat to kill one of her allies every day that she failed to show. She owed her allies and friends better than that. The message had been clear. Come to Godric's Hallow at midnight, alone.

The moment her feet hit bedrock, Hermione launched herself at the door. It swung open and she stumbled through, catching herself with her hands, on Sigurd's encasement. The moment she got her body back under control, she turned around, slammed the door, and pressed her uncut palm to the buttery wood- chanting her destination over and over- hoping she had enough lead on Abraxas so that she could leave. When she returned, she was going to have to face his undeniable and justified wrath. She shuddered as the door pulled her into the dark abyss, the only light was a candle illuminating an old crone.