Just a Kiss

Chapter 30

     The manor is hauntingly silent when they appear at the front doorstep. With the dark sky as a backdrop, it seems more frightening than it ever had in the past. Hermione suppresses a shiver and does her best to keep down the memories fighting to make themselves known in her head. 

Never in her lifetime had she imagined she would return her, but her curiosity had driven her to do it. She fully intends to get answers from Draco, who she still can't quite believe is alive, and if that means entering the manor, then she can bury her fear for a little while. 

Even still, when Draco pushes open the front door, Hermione can't help but to shrink back. The darkness inside is worse than outside and a perpetual chill seems to be seeping out of the home, if one could even call it a home. To her, it seems more like a torture chamber, and she hasn't even gone inside. 

Draco looks back to her, waiting until she meets his eyes. "There is nothing left here that can hurt anyone," he murmurs, knowing exactly what she needs to hear. She scoffs and crosses her arms. Cracking a grin, he adds, "unless you count the paintings of my ancestors. They can be pretty verbally ruthless, but all you have to do is threaten to toss them into the cellar and they'll go quiet." 

It startles a laugh from her and the tension dissipates. "I'm not afraid," she sniffs, keeping up appearances. "It's just a house." 

"Alright miss I'm-not-afraid-of-anything, you can go ahead of me." He gestures towards the door. 

Hermione glances inside and swallows. Taking a deep breath, she steps over the threshold. With eyes squeezed tightly shut, she waits for any number of curses to attack her. When none come, she opens her eyes and peers around. Now that she's inside, it doesn't appear nearly as dark and her eyes are slowly adjusting. Nothing is visible that could possibly cause her any harm. 

She moves farther into the front room, searching out a light source while keeping half her focus on watching for danger. Eventually she finds an  candle on a small table against the far wall and lights it with her wand. The shadows recede to the far edges of the room, dancing in the light as Hermione continues her way around the room. 

It feels vast, with a high ceiling and an unlit chandelier hanging overhead. There are two ornate staircases, one leading to the left and one to the right. On the left wall is a large, open doorway that leads into another room. At the right is a long corridor that leads farther into the manor. The walls, unlike how they had been in the past, now seem a light cream color, bordering on white. In the warm glow of the candlelight, the place doesn't seem as awful. It's almost pleasant, truthfully. 

Nodding her approval, Hermione turns around and finds Draco watching her. 

"Finished with your observations of my front room?" He asks as he moves closer to her. 

Shifting to the candle holder to her other hand, she smirks up at him. "It's not as horrid as I remember. Then again, I never really had the privilege of viewing your entire home. My viewing pleasures were limited the last time and mostly tainted with dark magic." She isn't intending it to be a jab at him, but Draco flinches nonetheless. 

"Hermione, I-" he starts what she supposes would have been an apology, but she interrupts before he can finish. 

"What's done is done. It's in the past, and I don't blame you," she reassures. "The person who did it is gone. Let's just discuss what we came to discuss, alright?" Her words a clipped and she wants the topic to change quick. 

Draco eyes her for a moment, brow furrowed. He tilts his head, considering. "Something's wrong," he says after a while. "What happened while you were gone?"