𝐌𝐎𝐂𝐇𝐀 | 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦

fourteen

Tilly Disapparated with a squeak of fear. Draco crossed his arms, resigning himself to his fate. Natalia was the first to move, upon Draco with a wand at his neck. "Where did they go?"
    "I don't know," he snapped. Abraxas was the picture of calm, save for the rage in his eyes.
    "You've freed Tilly, have you? I'm surprised that you managed that... something on that dagger, wasn't it." It wasn't a question. Draco was silent.
    "Listen to me, dammit!" Abraxas shouted, a wave of magic lashing out and hitting Draco directly in the head. He staggered backward despite Natalia's hold on him, gasping for air. It felt as if the oxygen had been sucked right out of his lungs, the water out of his body. Suddenly he was parched, his mouth like sandpaper.
    Natalia's eyes dimmed, then narrowed again, her wrathful glare directed at Draco. Abraxas straightened his suit, a smile appearing on his face. "Apologies. I seem to have lost my temper for a moment there."
    Draco lifted his chin, but remained silent still, knowing that it was a bad idea to provoke him but doing it anyway. Abraxas's expression tightened, but the smile remained fixated on his face. "This is just a temporary setback. A temporary setback!"
    He ran his hands down his shirt again, but Draco noticed that they were shaking. He turned on his heel and walked up the stairs, calling back, "Do what you'd like to him, Nat."

-

    Just as they reached the outside of the Ministry, about to enter and head to Astoria Greengrass's office, Harry and Pansy's cells rang in unison. Pansy had it up to her ear before Harry could fumble to answer his. "Pansy. Hi, Mrs. Malfoy, what makes you- oh, Merlin. Yes. We'll be there right now."
    Breathlessly, she clicked off and said, "Narcissa said that they all just arrived at the Malfoy Manor. Hermione's all roughed up, and there's an elf screaming her head off about Draco."
    Theo put his arm around Pansy and they Disapparated. Harry followed seconds after, and they met just outside the Manor doors. Lucius Malfoy was waiting for them there, a troubled look on his face. Harry hesitated briefly as Lucius's eyes skipped over all of them, but still he hurried after him when he said, "Come this way."
    Pansy gave Theo a look that couldn't mean anything good. Unease was boiling up in Harry's stomach, and only increased as he set foot in the Malfoy Manor- a place that he had last been in during the war. He shuddered as Hermione's screams from those awful nights came back to him, at the memory of Dobby, how they had to bury him.
    He was reduced from his own mind by Hermione, who shouted, "Harry!" and rushed toward him, enveloping him in a tight hug. She started crying quietly, and Harry, taken aback, patted her head. "Hermione- are you all right?"
    "No, she's not alright," Pansy said, rolling her eyes.
    "I is a horrible elf! Mister Draco Malfoy set me free and Tilly could not do the same!"
    Their attention was captured by the wailing elf, sitting next to Luna. Luna was trying to console her, but she evidently wasn't having it.
    "Dear Merlin, can't Draco shut it up?" Pansy murmured. Narcissa, who was standing over Ginny, turned to Pansy.
    "Draco is not here," she said quietly. Despite the volume of her voice, her tone still carried authority, and even the house-elf shut up. Pansy's mouth opened slightly, before she whispered, "Where is he?"
    "Abraxas has him," Blaise said gravely as Hermione started crying harder. "We were right- he took Hermione and put Natalia in her place. Polyjuice."
    "Merlin," Harry whispered, hugging Hermione tighter. "I'm sorry I didn't realize in time, 'Mione, we could have-"
    "No," she choked out. "no, don't- you were a target. You and the Weasleys and the Malfoys- you were their target. You were smart to get out while you could."
    "We have to go and get Draco, then," Pansy said, her voice confident despite the obvious terror in her expression. Theo put a hand on her arm, and Harry noticed that her hands were shaking.
    "Yes. We will need to get the Ministry involved, however- they are dangerous," Lucius spoke up. "Miss Weasley has been permanently blinded by Natalia, and Hermione has cursed wounds that will take a very long time and the help of an accomplished Mediwizard to heal."
    "They aren't playing around," Blaise muttered.
    "Why do they want you?" Pansy asked despearatly, shocked at the diagnosis of her two closest friends. Ginny shook her head, and Narcissa indicated for her to hold still.
    "They want Harry and the Malfoys because they lied to Voldemort," Luna said, holding the house-elf's hands between her own palms. "And the Weasleys because Molly killed Bellatrix."
    "I never thanked your mother for that," Narcissa murmured to Ginny, who cracked a smile.
    "We were just at the Ministry," Theo told Lucius. "Astoria heads up the Missing Persons division- she would help us."
    "Why don't you contact her? We can meet with her tomorrow- I'm sure that it would be hard to get things moving this late," Narcissa said. 'Meanwhile, you four can make a sort of diary of everything you know. I'm sure that Miss Granger can be in charge of that." She smiled warmly at Hermione.
    Harry was surprised. He was under the impression that Draco wasn't very close with his parents- maybe even disliked them. Hermione had told him that he had never taken her to meet them. He wondered why. They seemed perfectly pleasant to him.
    He decided that he would ask Pansy later.
    At the idea of a new project, Hermione transformed into her no-nonsense 'I am in charge' headspace that he'd hated so much back at Hogwarts (but looking back, it had really been the reason why they'd finished all of their projects). "I'd be happy to, thank you," Hermione said to Narcissa, wiping off her face and straightening her clothes.
    "Of course, dear- Lucius has lots of parchment in the study, and of course you're all welcome to use the washroom."
    "I would recommend that you all stay here. There are enchantments on the house, and it is best for everyone to believe that you are still missing- Abraxas and Natalia, I mean."
    "Certainly," Hermione said. "Blaise, Ginny, Luna- we should write down everything as soon as possible. We don't want the details to be all muddied up by us thinking about them. Where's your study?"
    "This way," Lucius said, turning down a long hallway. Hermione nodded and followed, her head high despite the dirt and blood all over her face.
    "Merlin, I hope this works," Pansy sighed, sagging back against Theo, who held her tight. Harry walked over to Luna and the little house-elf. "Hello, Luna."
    "Hello, Harry," she said calmly. "How are you doing?"
    "Fantastic, really," he said dryly. She laughed. "You know, some say sarcasm is the poor man's wit."
    "The only people who say that are the ones who aren't funny," Harry responded.
    "I suppose," Luna hummed. She looked down at the house-elf. "This is Tilly."
    She looked up at Harry with wide, frightened eyes. Harry said, "Hello."
    "Hello," she replied hesitantly.
    "Are you hungry or anything?" he asked her. It was what Hermione would have asked if she weren't preoccupied.
    "Oh, no, certainly not," Tilly said quickly. "I is not a hassle."
    "It really wouldn't be a problem," Harry insisted.
"No, no," Tilly began to shake her head. Luna whispered to Harry, "Perhaps a group dinner would make her feel more comfortable."
Harry nodded and walked to Narcissa, glad to make himself useful. "Mrs. Malfoy- where's your kitchen? I don't think any of them have eaten in a while."
"'Them' is right here," Ginny grumbled.
"Sorry, Gin," Harry said sheepishly.
"I didn't even think of that! Down the hall to the left, I'll be in to help shortly-"
"I'll go," Blaise said abruptly, standing. He put a hand on Ginny's arm. "You okay if I leave?"
"Yeah," Ginny said. "Go on."
Blaise and Harry walked down the hall in silence. Blaise turned the corner and started to open cabinets with easy familiarity- Harry supposed that he knew that place well. He and Draco had been friends since they were young.
"What're we making?" Blaise asked.
"Dunno. Depends on what they have."
"Is that a joke? They have everything," Blaise said with a laugh.
"Well, sandwiches, I guess," Harry said. Blaise began to take out the things they needed, and Harry rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands. They worked together in comfortable silence, and loaded up all of the things in a big basket that Harry found in a cabinet. They brought it out into the living room, where Hermione had set up camp. She had papers spread around her, floating in the air to meet her face, pens scratching along the parchment of their own accord. Ginny sat next to Narcissa, and Luna and Tilly sat across, forming a sort of half-circle around Hermione. Lucius wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"Where's your wand, Mione?" Harry asked, setting the basket down next to her and opening it.
"Abraxas took it," she said shortly, not to be distracted from her work. "Luna, describe everything about the first place again."
"Sure," Luna replied, launching into an elaborate description of a place unfamiliar to Harry. He and Blaise handed out the sandwiches they'd made, which Harry had used magic to wrap individually. Harry gave one to Luna, and held another out to Tilly. After a moment of hesitation she took it, haltingly, as if she thought he would snatch it back. He smiled at her and moved on.
"You two should open a restaurant," Ginny said teasingly.
"No thanks," Blaise murmured, sitting next to her. He opened hers for her without her having to ask, and she touched his palm in unspoken thanks.
-
    Hermione had a full, detailed account by 3 am, binding it like a book- nearly as thick as Hogwarts, a History. She had drilled every possible detail out of every person, from their going-away party to the moment Pansy, Harry and Theo had arrived at the Manor. Finally giving herself a rest, she went up to shower and gratefully found clothes laid out for her. She found Narcissa and Lucius to be very charming and kind, and wondered why Draco hadn't taken her to meet them beforehand. But that was neither here nor there, and was certainly not the most important issue at hand.
    Harry was sitting on her bed, looking through the account that she had written. He looked up as she entered. "This is more detailed than a textbook."
    "All the better. Every detail will help them find Abraxas and Natalia."
    He closed it and gently set it on the nightstand. Hermione said, "What is it?"
    "I can't believe that I fell for it," he said after a moment of silence. "Natalia posed as you and I didn't even realize. I thought something was off, but I didn't- I feel like a horrible friend."
    "Harry," Hermione said, moving to sit next to him. "You're not a horrible friend. You knew something was off, that proves it. Just because you didn't realize that she was using a Polyjuice doesn't mean you're a bad friend."
    "Yeah, but Blaise and everybody else realized it," he said. "Maybe they just know you better."
    "Aw, Harry," Hermione said. "Natalia and Abraxas were hiding it from you, specifically. The whole posing as me thing- it was supposed to be real to you, and fake to everyone else. It was a way to lure you in, make you feel comfortable. They realized because Abraxas wanted them to, because he knew that it woud make Draco come to him."
    "I don't know," Harry murmured, fidgeting.
    "Come on, Harry, we've been friends since we were eleven. You know me better than anyone."
    He grudgingly cracked a smile. "I don't want to lose you because of something stupid that I couldn't realize."
    "And you won't," Hermione said. "Here, why don't we come up with something we can say- like the Order of the Pheonix, you know. If you think something's off, say it to me, and if I don't say the right reply, you'll know something's wrong."
    "Okay," Harry said, growig enthusiastic at the idea. "That's smart."
    "I know," she said primly, smiling back at him. "Don't worry. We'll get through this just fine."