Redamancy (d.m)

Chapter eighty six-the midnight visitor

Later that night at the burrow, trunks were packed and the house was silent. An entertaining game of exploding snap had ensued after dinner, which involved several matches between two opponents, with a new player facing whoever triumphed from the last round. I had lasted fairly far into the game, victorious against Hermione, then Bill, then Ginny, and then Harry, but was eventually bested by Ron. Though we were unified in our vote for another game, Mrs Weasley had sternly ushered everyone to bed with the reminder that our journey back to Hogwarts was waiting the next morning. The current downside of rooming with Harry was his adamant fixation of Draco Malfoy ever since that trip down Knockturn Alley. And with my complicated relationship with Draco, I was less than eager to join Harry in his obsessive conspiracies.

"For the last time, Harry, I don't know what he could be doing with Borgin" I said exasperatedly, which wasn't entirely a fabrication, as Draco had indeed denied me of any information on his dealings at the shabby antique shop
"It must have something to do with an object though-no, two objects, because he said to keep that one safe, remember?" Harry rambled, almost to himself in his bed on the opposite of the room, "and it must be pretty big, because he said something about how stupid he'd look carrying it down the street, so it must be large enough to draw attention to him"
"Harry, we've been over this a couple dozen times since dinner" I groaned as I shuffled under the covers to shoot him a look of annoyance, "repeating it again won't give you any answers"
"Well do you have a better idea?" He said with a tired sigh, "repeating it is all I can do unless-"

He ceased his talking as a loud pounding boomed from downstairs, both of us bolting up in our beds as a flurry of footsteps sounded outside the door. As we both deserted our beds, Harry squinted his eyes at me as if to ask me what was going on, and I shrugged my shoulders in cautious oblivion in response. I snatched my wand from under my pillowcase as we crept stealthily towards the bedroom door, our uneasy breaths mingling fearfully. I clawed my hand onto the doorknob, casting him a fleeting glance before swivelling it and allowing the door to swing open, the hallway just as dimly light by the dusky moon as our room. Along with muffled thuds of movement, a hushed couple of voices could now be heard clearly from the front door. I jumped slightly as a number of figures emerged from the other bedrooms

"Calm down, it's only us" Ron whispered as low as he could, tailed by Hermione and Ginny
"What's going on?" Hermione's anxious voice could be heard behind him, all of us gripping our wands tightly
"Let's go find out" I muttered as we made our way uneasily towards the source of the midnight disturbance

As we inched closer, distinctive voices could now be detected

"You're not welcome here" Bill's tone was uncharacteristically rough as he addressed an invisible form
"We don't want any trouble now" Mrs. Weasley's words was shaking with distress as we neared the end of the hallway
"Neither do I" this unprecedented voice made us all freeze in our tracks, the temperature seeming to plummet as we struggled to comprehend the occurrence

It could not be...and yet, it was. Our fears confirmed as we rounded the coroner and peaked into the entrance hall. A gruff man stood taller than everyone except for Bill Weasley, who had a strong arm around his fiancé as their backs faced us, their fronts turned to their unwelcome visitor.

"I simply wish to speak with a resident of your house" Igor Karkaroff looked, if possible, more frightening than the last time I had laid eyes on him, during the summer, when death eaters had located the traitor in the northern mountains.

He had been held in the basement of Malfoy Manor for a week until he had mysteriously broken free, never to be caught again. His hair was matted to his large head, his long beard contained dirt and there were bulging circles underneath his eyes