𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍-𝘏𝘈𝘙𝘙𝘠 𝘗𝘖𝘛𝘛𝘌𝘙

Chapter 39

Lovesbitca8 TAKES CREDIT THIS IS HER WORK - FOUND ON AO3

Stepping through the Manor doors and into the entryway was like slipping into a familiar dream. The chandelier glittered, reflecting light onto the pale marble and high arches. The stairs beckoned her up, where she could crawl beneath the covers and wait for the nightmare to end.

A distant boom pierced Hermione's eardrums, and she slammed the door with a jolt. She sagged against it, struggling to think.

Lucius was dead. George had killed him. Lucius was dead, and the True Order was trying to enter the Manor to kill Narcissa, and she had to find her and make sure she was safe.

Breathing deep, Hermione locked her shelves into place.

"Narcissa?" she called out. "Mippy?"

She moved swiftly down the hall, her wand drawn as she twisted around corners and peered into dark rooms. Narcissa's office was empty — her letters scattered, her bookshelves overturned. The master bedroom looked empty. Hermione stepped through the broken lamps and strewn clothing, but found no one in the bathroom. Nothing in the Conservatory except the flowers wilting in the sunlight.

Hermione broke into a run as she headed to the library, racing down the corridor lined with marble men who looked too much like Draco. The doors were covered in slashing cuts, like someone had tried taking an ax to them to get inside, but the handles warmed beneath her touch before they gave way.

The room was empty and untouched.

Her shelves trembled as she flew to the dungeons, finding the door open and the cells unlocked. A cot lay against the stone pillar, looking freshly slept in — a small blanket folded carefully atop it.

The panic in her chest spiked when she burst into the kitchens and found vegetables half-chopped, the pots bubbling over. A stool had knocked to the floor, a cigarette next to it — still smoking.

"Plumb?" Hermione tightened her grip on her wand. "Remmy?"

Silence.

She put out the stove and the cigarette, and moved back to the hallway. Her head felt dizzy as she looked both ways down the sun-dappled corridor.

"Homenum Revelio." The tip of her wand lit — and then extinguished.

A twisting dread crept over her. Narcissa had to be here. That had been Lucius's plan all along—

A faint thunder crackled in the distance.

She stalked down the corridor, trying to breathe through the growing tightness in her lungs. Her eyes roved the carpets and walls for clues, flicking past the paintings and tapestries—

The Manor has many secrets.

Her feet paused. She blinked over her shoulder — staring at the tapestry Lucius had shown her months ago when he'd forced her on a tour of the Manor. Her neck stretched to gaze up at the lush landscape, the fields grassy and the clouds high. A solitary mare grazed in the distance.

Hermione lifted her wand. "Dissendium."

The mare lifted her head and stared at her through dark eyes.

"Aparecium," said Hermione, her heart pumping faster. "Revelio. Appare Vestigium—"

The mare chewed before turning and loping away, deep into the background.

Hermione's arm dropped. She stepped to the wall, peering behind the tapestry and recasting her spells. Nothing. An ache pounded at her forehead. She'd thought— she'd been certain—