Chapter 5 - Mayhem at the Manor

The blond man watched the silvery light make it's way up the hill towards the castle with a frown, wishing his Patronus could move faster. He was glad he'd learned this spell, it had proven itself useful. His breathing was ragged, his fists were clenched and the occasional blood drop fell from his cheek, landing on the grass. He had to get into the school now, he had to find Hermione Granger and warn her. Something was coming, his father had told him, and now it was here.

Draco continued to watch, peering into the darkness for some sign of movement. He frowned when finally faced with Professor McGonagall and that old oaf Hagrid. He stared at them expectantly, waiting for them to open the gate.

"We cannot let you in, Mr Malfoy. We've had orders to contact the Auror office should you turn up here," Minerva stated calmly.

"But you have to, it's important! I need to see Granger, quickly."

"Not until we've heard from the Aurors, Draco. I'm sorry."

"But-"

"Yeh'll just have teh wait, Malfoy. Won' be long," Hagrid told him firmly.

The second he had finished speaking, a loud crack ripped through the air, bringing the sound of panting with it. Draco turned to see none other than Harry Potter himself standing beside him, breathing hard. There was silence for a moment, while Harry caught his breath. The dark haired young man stood up straight, fixing Malfoy with a furious glare.

"Where the hell have you been? We've been hunting everywhere for you, Malfoy. We came to help, do you even-"

"Yes, Potter. I know what happened. My father told me that I should come straight here to warn Granger if the worst should happen."

"Harry, what's goin' on here?" Hagrid interrpted, quelling the argument.

"There's been an attack at Malfoy Manor. The place is virtually destroyed. Something's going on, perhaps we should talk." Harry's answer was more directed towards Professor McGonagall.

"Should I wake Miss Granger?"

"Yes, please. Ginny as well, I need to speak with her." Harry replied. "Ron and Neville will be arriving once they've finished."

"I'll wait here for 'em, Headmistress, so there's no delay." Hagrid offered.

"Very well," Minerva said, nodding to Hagrid and opening the gate to admit the two young men and lighting her wand to aid them in walking back to the castle. This allowed her to catch a glimpse of the pair. "Are you sure you don't wish to visit the hospital wing first?" she asked, nodding towards a deep looking gash on Harry's arm. Draco rolled his eyes but oddly Harry grinned.

"I do miss Madam Pomfrey's lectures about getting myself into trouble, I'll go straight there while we wait for the others," he said wryly, shooting Malfoy a look that clearly said 'You're coming with me.'

"Feel free to proceed to my office when you are finished. The password is 'Butterscotch.' "

Harry grinned, "I like it, it's very traditional." He ignored Malfoy's curious look and headed off towards the hospital wing. Draco followed, frowning mutinously.

"What's traditional?" he demanded after a moment.

"Professor Dumbledore always used sweets as passwords. Especially muggle sweets." Harry told him.

"Why am I not surprised. Why have I got to stay with you? I can find the hospital wing on my own." Draco snapped.

"Because I don't think it's safe to let you wander around this school without Auror supervision. Something serious is going on and your family seem to be at the centre of it."

"Not anymore, now that my father is..."

"I know," Harry said kindly, "And I'm sorry. Believe me when I say that I understand. I am sorry that Lucius is dead, and I intend to do all in my power to find out why and catch whoever did it. That doesn't mean that I trust you, or him. Just because... it doesn't change what he did. Or what you did. I won't forget, Draco."

"What about forgiving?"

"That remains to be seen. Come on, you're in a bit of a state." Harry said, pushing him gently through the doors to the Hospital Wing. He quickly explained the situation to Madam Pomfrey, who immediately launched into a tirade about dangerous pursuits while fussing over the pair of them, healing cuts and deciding on potions.

"I'm an Auror, it's a risk of the job," Harry insisted, getting frustrated but also rather enjoying the lecture. It felt almost like home.

"Harry Potter, you would end up with a job that'll get you into trouble, honestly. You need a quiet life." the matron chided him before walking off to root around in a large cabinet.

"So why are we waiting for Weasley and Longbottom?" Malfoy demanded after a moment.

"Because, they're helping me round up the Death Eaters and re-organise the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Will you ever stop being a hero, Potter?"

"Shut up, Malfoy, and count how many times I saved your sorry a-"

"No swearing, Mr Potter, this is a hosptal." Madam Pomfrey interrupted again, pushing a glass of some green, bubbling potion into his hands. "And no arguing either, Mr Malfoy," she added, cutting off the blond man's response with a blue potion. "Right, that gash was awfully deep, I don't know what did it but it will take a day or two to heal completely. Aside from that, you both ought to be fine. Why are you here anyway?"

"We need to see the Headmistress about something, that's all. Thanks Madam Pomfrey, as always." Harry said quickly, getting to his feet and grabbing Draco's arm.

"I'm sure this won't be the last time, Mr Potter."

* * *

Harry knocked on the door of the Head's Office, opening the door when he heard the Headmistress call. Malfoy was behind him, the quietest he'd been the whole way up from the hospital wing. Harry ignored him for the most part, feeling a mixture of guilt, anger and sorrow for the young man. Harry knew what it was like to lose family, friends, people he cared about. There was nothing he could say that would help, there was nothing anyone could say. So he left it. It was far too complicated right now.

"Harry!" Hermione squeaked, pouncing on him and enveloping him in a tight hug. Harry returned the hug, wondering if he would ever breathe again. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine-"

"What happened to your arm?" Ginny demanded, inspecting the wound. Harry pulled away sharply with a small hiss, his arm stinging where she'd touched it.

"Got into a scuffle with a dining table, but don't worry. It'll heal by tomorrow," Harry explained, putting his arms around her and taking comfort from her familiar scent. He kissed the top of her head, then let her go and took a seat.

"Take a seat, Mr Malfoy, have a biscuit," Minerva said quite sharply. Draco was frowning as he watched the exchange, jealous not because of who it was, but because it was something he'd been missing. He sat down and took a Ginger Newt from the tin on the desk, thinking it was a great excuse to avoid speaking.

"So, Harry, what is going on?" Professor McGonnagall asked, turning her attention back to the others. Harry sighed, he knew he'd have to fill them in before Ron and Neville arrived.

"We were called out to Malfoy Manor tonight, someone had reported an attack, although they did so annonymously. We arrived to find the place in semi-ruins, and had to battle with enchanted furniture and a few nasty creatures. We got inside, found our way to the drawing room. We found..." Harry paused and glanced sideways at Draco before continuing, "Lucius Malfoy's body on the floor. We searched but couldn't find Narcissa or anyone else. Neville spotted Draco just before he disapparated, and we checked again. Then, as you know, I heard from Hagrid that Draco had turned up here, so I made my way here immediately."

"I see. Who might have done this? You yourself gave evidence that Lucius had... changed," Professor McGonnagall said, a small frown on her face.

"I don't know. I have my suspicions that it might have something to do with... there's something else. About a month ago, Lucius came to see me at the Ministry, to warn me of a new danger. He didn't know much, but he said that a teacher was involved."

"A teacher? Here? In what way?"

"We don't know. Nothing strange has come to your attention, Headmistress?"

"Nothing. Is that why Mr Malfoy came here tonight, demanding to speak to Miss Granger?"

"Yes," Draco answered, realising it was time for him to speak, "Last week, my father told me that if anything happened to him, I was to come straight to Hogwarts and speak to G- Hermione. I'm not sure of the meaning of his message, but he said it was important. I suppose it'll be fine to tell you all what he said. He told me that there were questions being asked about Regulus Black. And... they wanted to know how he was connected to Harry Potter."

"Who's 'they'?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know. Father hears things, being who he was, he's still in touch with several people. Not Death Eaters," he added quickly, looking alarmed, "Just people with contacts underground. They wanted to find out everything about... about the war. About how a seventeen year old wizard could destroy the most powerful Dark Wizard of the times." He stared at Harry for a moment, wondering if he would get any answers to this question. Harry, meanwhile was staring at the portrait behind Professor McGonnagall. For all intents and purposes, Albus Dumbledore appeared to be asleep in his frame. Harry had a feeling that he was listening.

"A lot of people want to know that," Ginny said, "But I think some things are best kept secret."

Harry nodded his agreement, but he couldn't help wondering... "Why?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think they'd want to bring him back, I doubt he could be," Draco said, shuddering at the thought.

"Definitely not. He's definitely gone. I think the waiting is over, Hermione, we're going to have to look into this more seriously now." Harry said.

At that point, Ron, Neville and Hagrid arrived. The Headmistress quickly filled them in on what Draco had said. The group sat in silence, pondering everything.

"So, where do we start Harry?" Ron asked.

"What about Regulus. That seems to be a strong link."

"We need to find my mother as well," Draco interrupted indignantly.

"You've no idea where she might have gone?" Hermione asked.

"No. I'd have said she'd have gone to her sister, but Aunt Bella is... gone. I didn't even know I had another Aunt until recently."

"She's not likely to have gone to Andromeda, and good thing too. Andromeda's got a toddler to look after." Harry said, thinking sadly about his godson.

"She always said that she felt safest at her Uncle's place, when I was younger. He guarded his home well, so she said."

"Her uncle..." Ginny repeated, then it hit them.

"I know where we need to go." Harry announced.

"Will it be safe, Harry? You always said that you didn't want the Death Eaters sneaking in and smothering you with your pillow." Ron said.

"I'm not planning to move back in just yet, Ron. If we all go... we should be fine."

"Uhm, Harry, our exams start a week on Monday." Hermione reminded him gently.

"Okay. You don't have to come, in fact it might be better that way. If we get into bother, you can come and rescue us, Hermione." Harry said with a grin.

Hermione rolled her eyes, and Ginny looked annoyed. "You better not be getting into bother, Harry Potter. I won't have it!" the red-head snapped, startling everyone.

"Ginny, we'll be safe, I promise. You just focus on these exams for now, " Harry assured her, feeling a squirm of guilt.

"Fine, but if you end up dead, I'll kill you," she replied sharply.

"It's a deal."