I stayed up late reviewing the data my team had collected from the first day. Secret passages, nooks, and traces of old and dark magic were popping up in various places—things to explore further, sure, but nothing overtly dangerous or paramount to the investigation. Today, we'd start on the first floor where Lucius' body was found; this is likely where we'd find something useful for the case.
Again, I arrived early, fuck Malfoy and his shirtless breakfast time; I wouldn't be spending much time on that floor anyway.
I started mapping out the drawing room as quickly as possible, then the attached smoking room, lavatories, and pantry. Then I had the sudden urge to go to the South Wing, so I did. I mapped out the walkway Malfoy had watched me from before and found what appeared to be the Master Suite. It was actually quite lovely, complete with a large family room, office, and bedroom. Despite not including a kitchen, the Master Suite was twice the square footage of most houses I'd been in.
After ogling the master bath and closet, I meandered down a hallway that led to rooms where the Malfoy children likely slept. Before long, I had a lovely sketch of the family living quarters covering the entire south wing of the first floor.
Finally, I exited the children's rooms and found my way to the area I'd been waiting for. The South Wing first-floor landing. The place from all the crime scene photos.
I sketched it on my homemade blueprints and even included a body outline.
It looked like Lucius was likely trying to escape from something in the Master suite; going through the children's area is the fastest way for him to get to the stairs… otherwise, he'd have no need for anything in those rooms. They all looked like well-decorated display rooms at a dark, eerie, Victorianish furniture store, as no children had lived there for some time.
As I began to wonder where Malfoy was holding up, I came face to face with him, standing on the first-floor landing of the North Wing opposite me. I was feeling rather bold this morning, Gryffindorish, if you will, and he was precisely the person I needed to see.
"Oh good, I see you managed to find your clothes in a timely fashion today; well done." I patronized as I began to walk down to the ground floor.
"Well, given that you are unable to follow basic instructions and schedules, I've generously made an adjustment to accommodate your deficiencies ." He quipped, descending the stairs in line with me.
I rolled my eyes in response but quickly followed as we faced each other.
"Since you're in such a generous mood, now would be an excellent time for you to introduce me to Trixie."
"No." Instantly, all jokes were off, and he was walking toward the dining room.
"Okay, then… let's talk about your mother." I pressed, following him into the kitchen.
No response. He simply went about the kitchen, pouring a cup of coffee and grabbing an apple as if I wasn't there.
I was taking no prisoners today, and I did not care one bit about his mood or feelings; I needed him to start helping me with this case.
"I understand she's been at some sort of spa for quite some time; I'd like to arrange a visit and ask a few questions. My French is okay, but not great; it'd be much easier if you… cooperated ."
He'd just gotten comfortable in his seat in the breakfast room and taken a bite of his apple. Seated across from him, I watched fire build in his silver eyes as he chewed.
"Fuck off, Granger." He finally spat after swallowing.
"That's the thing, Malfoy, I can't, and I won't ' fuck off ' because I am the only hope this case has left right now. You may not care, you may not like me, you may not like anything about this situation, but be warned, I am really good at what I do, I'm well-connected, I have a great team, and I will not stop until I have some answers." I take a breath before leaving him to finish his apple. "Think about that while you finish your breakfast, and decide whether you want to do this the easy way or my way."
Xxx
By 6 o'clock, my team had finished and gone home for the day, and I was utilizing the dining room table to organize the data we'd collected. I laid out the blueprints I'd made so far, ready to start an outline of the 2nd floor for tomorrow.
"What the—?" I muttered as I realized there was a whole section of the 1st floor that I hadn't entered or mapped. It was like that section of the building didn't exist.
Either I was losing my mind or…
Fucking Malfoy . He must have used a mix of concealing and repelling charms to keep us from noticing. The bloody prick didn't want us going into his room!
I marched out of the dining room and up the stairs, determined to give him a piece of my mind and to break through his wards.
As I made my way to the drawing room, voices I didn't recognize filled the air. I quickened my steps.
"I told you not to come." Draco's annoyed voice rang out.
"And you thought that would work?" A snarky, unknown male voice followed.
I rounded the corner just as another male spoke.
"Really, you have no one to blame but yourself, staying away for so long. Luckily, the prophet was so kind as to let us know our best mate was back home." I quickly recognized him to be Theodore Nott.
"No, no, absolutely not—" I start as I recognize the other Slytherin visitor, Blaise Zabini.
"Now you've done it." Draco quipped with mock concern.
"My my, my, are my eyes deceiving me, or is that-?" Blaise spoke, assessing me up and down.
"This is still an active crime scene under investigation by the CBD; you two cannot be here!"
Theo, paying my words no mind, wraps his arm around Malfoy's shoulder and eyes me as well.
"Draco, you scoundrel, how dare you keep this beautiful witch all to yourself in this dark and dreary Manor." He tutted before using his spare hand to take mine and lift it to his chin. "Theodore Nott, although I'm sure you already knew that, it is a pleasure to officially make your acquaintance, Miss Granger."
Malfoy shoves him to the side, rescuing my hand from Theo's lips in the knick of time. Blaise snorts at the scene and swoops in to take a closer look.
"Apologies, Theodore's pencil skirt fetish renders him nearly brainless most days; however, I must admit, your style has come a loooooonnngg way since our school days. Well done. I'm Blaise Zabini." He smirked, holding out his hand.
Malfoy, clearly miffed by his visitors, simply walks away with his fingers on the bridge of his nose.
"I know who you both are," I admitted, quickly shaking Blaise's hand. "And I'm sure there is a part of me, a small, small part, that's flattered, but… right back out you go. Now."
I laid on as much charm as I could stomach before motioning them back towards the fireplace.
"Draco, you lucky bastard, you! I get it now; I'd keep this Gryffindor all to myself, too. In fact, if you don't, I—" Theo exclaimed before a quick flick of Malfoy's wand shut him up with a silencing charm.
"He never did like to share," Blaise remarked before Malfoy turned his wand towards him threateningly. "Everybody calm your tits; we're simply here to kidnap our lovely blonde friend here for a round of drinks. You should join us; I imagine after dealing with our pretentious prince, you might need a shot or five."
Theo, still silenced, takes this opportunity to wrap an arm around my back and tries to guide me to the fireplace.
"No, thank you. Absolutely not." I manage, shrinking away from Theo and back toward the safety of the doorway.
"Fine, I'll go," Malfoy says at last, shoving Theo into the hearth as he does. "Another second, and she'll likely have you both hanging from the railings by your toes."
"As much as Theo would enjoy that, I'd much prefer a few pints." Blaise chuckles before nodding to me. "Next time, you'll join us."
"I—uh—I—" I started to protest.
"That wasn't a question," Blaise replied before disappearing with Theo into the flames.
Malfoy steps into the hearth after giving me a mischievous cock of his eyebrows, then disappears without a word.
I just stood there for a moment, stunned at what just occurred. Blaise and Theo's faces were an interesting blast from the past, but more interesting was that they were absolutely nothing like I'd ever expected. Nothing like Malfoy and nothing like the rotten Slytherin meanies they were at Hogwarts.
After I recovered, it didn't take me long to realize I'd been left with a perfect opportunity to map and enter the rest of the North Wing of the first floor. Now that I'd realized it was charmed and Malfoy wasn't here to try and stop me, I could easily remove it and enter uninterrupted.
I nearly squealed in delight as I whipped out my wand and got started. I didn't know if I was excited about getting around Malfoy's tricks or potentially finding something to help this case, or was I simply nosey and eager to see my bully's bedroom?
Once I'd broken through his charms, I was able to go past the stairway that led down to the laundry and enter a narrow hallway with a single door. It opened into another narrow hallway with a doorway on the left and another on the opposite end.
The doorway to the left opened up into a living suite complete with an office, large bathroom, king-sized bed, and walk-in closet. It was a teenage boy's wet dream, a private oasis all to oneself, complete with old quidditch posters and even a few Slytherin memorabilia. Honestly, it lived up to the hype I'd given it in my head. Malfoy was a lucky kid, at least with this hidden bedroom.
I stepped out of the suite and to the door at the end of the hall. I was intrigued to find it opened onto the first-floor northside landing, but it was completely camouflaged in with the wall. A secret entrance, touché Malfoy, touché.
Once I'd mapped out the space on my blueprints, I decided I might as well complete the scanning process. I'd never let a member of my team do it alone; it's dangerous and incredibly draining, but I invented the process and was confident in my abilities. It would take me longer by myself, but I couldn't resist, and I didn't want to miss this Malfoy-free opportunity.
I started with the protective spells; since I was alone, I'd have to recast them between each scanning spell, plus take notes.
" Salvio hexia, protego totalum, protego maxima, protego horribilis, fianto duri ."
Then, one by one, I cycled through each wall of each room with the scans and tests.
" Aparecium ."
Xxx
" Salvio hexia, protego totalum, protego maxima, protego horribilis, fianto duri ."
" Appare vestigium ."
Xxx
" Salvio hexia, protego totalum, protego maxima, protego horribilis, fianto duri ."
" Revelio ."
Xxx
" Salvio hexia, protego totalum, protego maxima, protego horribilis, fianto duri ."
" Specialis revelio, " I managed to say before everything faded into darkness…