The Light

Chapter 69

Chapter 69

September 1979

There was silence.

Apart from the creaking of the floorboards underneath their feet, there was no sign of life in the manor house. The ends of their wands were ignited, illuminating a metre or two in all directions, but the darkness quickly swallowed that light up as they moved on. They were cautious, careful; despite the fact that this wasn't the first mission they had been on, the way their hearts were beating erratically, jumping up their throats- it may as well have been.

Hermione welcomed the thrill of war that spiked her blood. She hadn't even seen her boys since they had found the spell, and she was grateful for the distraction this mission gave her. Only Peter had bothered to come and wish her luck. He had been holding Mary's hand tightly and had given her a big hug. Hermione knew he was saying everything he couldn't physically say.

Come back and we'll sort this out. We love you. You won't lose us. You can't.

Hermione led the group with Caradoc, with the twins bringing up the back. Dorcas and Moody were scoping the grounds, and Edgar (a bumbling dwarf of a man who had sourced the information for the raid) bulked up the middle of their formation. They walked quietly, frigidly.

Caradoc muttered a spell under his breath, paused and then said, "There's no magic in the next corridor. It's clear."

"Shouldn't we have stumbled across him by now?" Edgar asked, frowning. His voice was a high wheeze.

"It's fine," Caradoc replied but he sounded unsure. "He's here."

The man they were searching for was reported to have been asking about the cup in Knocturn Alley. It wasn't much, not at all, but it was more than they'd had in a long time. Missions were scarce at the moment, so it seemed Datner had wanted as many people on the field as possible, without raising suspicion. The manor house was large as well; the more fighters, the better.

"Someone's here, at least," Caradoc muttered. Hermione caught the last bit, but it seemed the others hadn't for she was the only one who looked at him. He shot her an easy smile.

They continued their venture with calculated steps. The place seemed abandoned, like nobody had even visited for centuries. Cobwebs shrouded the walls and ceiling. Rotting wood rattled in the slight breeze that slipped through the unreliable foundations of the building.

Hermione shivered slightly, craning her neck back to whisper into the open space in front of both twins, "Lovely home, wouldn't you agree boys?"

They both grinned.

The house was oddly vacant, even though a quick scan of the place told them that there was someone here. Hermione glanced sideways on at Caradoc, whose face was taut with concentration. He must have felt her eyes on him, for he raised an eyebrow and met her gaze.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm fine. It just feels like we should've found something by now."

Caradoc looked at her properly then and said, "It's all good. This old man is just a bit harder to find than what we anticipated."

Hermione nodded, flicking her eyes away. He lowered his voice and said, "Heard you and Lupin fell out."

"Yeah."

"How did that happen?"

"I don't know," she said blandly. "I suppose he didn't want to listen to what I had to say."