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Albus, Lily and Rose stared at the large mansion in front of them. Rose had never actually been to Malfoy Manor before, but she had imagined it much differently. The house was large and ornate, but it had the distinct air of having seen better days. The color on the outside was fading and the large stretch of grass between the gate where they stood and the house looked slightly overgrown. The hedges on either side of them looked as if they had been pecked away at by something, probably some kind of bird. All this and the fact that dusk was rapidly turning into dark made the three of them feel very uncomfortable.
“You’re sure about this Albus,” Lily asked tentatively, “You’re absolutely positive, because I don’t want to go crashing in on the Malfoys for no reason,”
“I’m sure,” Albus replied, still staring up at the massive house.
“Alright then,” there was a strange determination in Rose’s voice, despite the fact that she was terrified, “Let’s go,”
She started to walk forward. The gate in front of them creaked and clattered as she pushed it open, adding to the ominous feeling of the excursion. The three of them walked up the gravel path, being careful not to make to much noise. When they reached the large oak front doors, Albus made his way in front. “You two stay behind me,” he said in his most official Auror voice. Lily looked as if she was going to protest, but Rose shot her a ‘don’t push it’ look and they both stepped behind Al. He tried the door, which was locked. He pointed his wand at the lock and whispered “Alohomora,” The door clicked open and they crept inside.
There was something oddly familiar to Rose in the interior of Malfoy Manor. She was certain she had never been there before. As a teenager, she would have rather have hung upside down in the Hogwarts dungeons than been in the house where Scorpius Malfoy slept. But as they moved through the foyer to down the hall, she couldn’t help but think she had been there before. Silently as possible, they made their way through the house, past large, tattered paintings and worn tapestries. Luckily, most of the portraits had decided to call it a night and were either contently sleeping in their frames or not there at all.
They made their way to the end of a long hall. The door there was cracked open and light could be seen coming from the other side. Rose heard muffled voices and quickly rushed to the door. She peered through the slight opening. There was a large fire casting eerie shadows on the opposite wall. She could make out four figures standing; one was pacing back and forth. She could also make out a figure crouched on the ground. This one wasn’t moving at all. Just as Rose gripped her wand tighter, ready to barge in and attack, she heard a voice behind her, “Expelliarmus,” For the second time that day, Rose had been unexpectedly disarmed. She whipped around to see who had her wand.
She saw Al and Lily had also been disarmed, and three faces sneered back at them. “Look what we’ve got here boys,” Scorpius Malfoy’s slimy voice oozed, “Two Potters and a Weasley, interesting,” Rose glared up at Malfoy, “Breaking and entering Weasley? I didn’t think you had it in you,” the three boys laughed, “And Potter,” he glanced at Albus, “I thought you were supposed to be an Auror. This would go under the category of failed mission, wouldn’t it? Maybe next time take some actual backup,”
Al made to pounce at Malfoy, but was caught by the big burly arm of Bryan Goyle. “Not so fast little guy,” Goyle laughed. Al struggled futilely against Goyle’s grasp. The tall, lanky form of Curtis Nott came up next to Lily and grabbed her by the upper arm. She also fought against him, but she was no match for the tall man’s grip. Scorpius sauntered in front of Rose.
“Don’t you dare touch me Malfoy,” she shot him the most frightening stare she could manage.
“And let you run away and miss the fun? Not a chance,” he took a step forward and grabbed a fistful of Rose’s bright red hair, “I’m gonna be honest with you Weasley,” he pulled her hair back, forcing her head to tilt up towards him, “I have, on occasion, wondered what all this shiny, red hair felt like. Everyone always made such a big deal about it. I’m disappointed. It just feels like hair,”
“You’re sounding creepier than usual Malfoy,” Lily spat from the clutches of Nott.
“Shut up Potter!” Scorpius snapped, “Let’s go, there’s someone who wants to see you Weasley,” he sneered down at Rose’s upturned face and tugged her through the door.
When they entered the room, the four standing figures turned to face them. Rose saw the familiar face of Draco Malfoy, along with two other vaguely familiar faces, which she decided were the older Goyle and Nott. There was a small, round man that she didn’t recognize at all.
Draco Malfoy turned to see who was interrupting their meeting. His lips curled into an evil grin when he saw his son entering with his captives. “Ah, well that didn’t take long, did it?” He glanced back and forth between Rose, Albus, and Lily before settling his stare on Rose, “And that’s who you brought Weasley? The most inexperienced Auror in the department and a sadder, less talented version of yourself?” At this comment, all three of them tried again to free themselves from the grasps of their captors.
“Shut up!” Rose lashed out, jerking back when Scorpius pulled her hair again. The elder Malfoy just laughed.
“You really think you are so much better than everyone else,” he slowly shook his head, “Well how could you not. Your parents thought they were so special, still do. That filthy, Mudblood mother of yours, thinking she can tell everyone else what to do,”
Rose ignored the pain of her hair being ripped from her head and lurched toward Malfoy again, “I told you before, DON’T talk about my mother,”
“And what are you going to do about it,” Malfoy sneered, “You see Weasley, I hold all the cards in this situation. I seems as if you don’t have a wand and let’s not forget why you came here in the first place,” he stepped to the side so the slumped figure in the corner was fully visible.
Both Rose and Lily let out audible gasps when they saw Kenny lying on the floor. Crumpled in a ball, his chest was faintly raising and falling, indicating, to Rose’s relief, that he was breathing. An evil smile spread over Malfoy’s face as he stalked over to where Kenny was laying. “Time to wake up, we have company,” he drew his wand and pointed it at the limp form, “Crucio,” he boomed.
Screams filled every inch of the large room. Rose watched as Kenny writhed in the floor in agony. An odd combination of rage and guilt welled up inside her. It was her fault he was here in the first place. It was because of her that Malfoy had got to him. It was because of her that he was being tortured. In what some would call a moment of clarity and what others would call a moment of pure stupidity, she throttled her free hand into Scorpius’s nose. He was more stunned than hurt, but it had the desired effect. His grip loosened on her hair just enough for her to break free. She sprinted toward the elder Malfoy, who turned toward the commotion, breaking his focus on Kenny.
“Crucio!” This time Malfoy’s wand was pointed square at Rose. Every inch of her body exploded in pain. As she was thrown onto her back, her brain finally registered why Malfoy Manor was so familiar to her. As her body seared, her mind flashed back to the dream she had in her mother’s office. Malfoy flicked his wand and instantly the pain subsided. She lay on the floor, still throbbing, with her eyes squeezed shut. Slowly, she opened them and had the most intense episode of déjà vu. And it was there, laying on the floor of Malfoy Manor, with cackling faces swimming above her, that she knew she was not the first person to be in this situation. She knew that dream hadn’t been a dream, it had been her mother’s real life.
“You look just like her you know,” Malfoy’s harsh voice pierced her ears. She turned her head so the man was in full view. It was almost as if he knew what she was thinking. “Laying there, helpless, tortured, funny how things work out, isn’t it?”
Rose heard Lily’s voice from somewhere above her, “What are you talking about?”
“That’s right,” Malfoy drawled, “No one ever told you that story,”
Rose rolled over, her body still engulfed in pain, so she could look at Malfoy. “My mother, she was here,” she almost whispered, “You did this to her,”
At her comment, the elder Goyle and Nott shared a silent chuckle. However, they were not discrete enough. Malfoy whipped around and glared at the two amused men. “Like you two have the right to laugh,” They quickly quieted at Malfoy’s glare, “I would have if I needed to,”
“C’mon Malfoy,” Goyle appealed to the angry man, “We were all scared back then. None of us would have been able to do some of that stuff,”
“I was not SCARED!” Malfoy boomed, “And she deserved every second of it. Even after all that, all she did was try and arrest me. The moment they gave her that job in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement she made it her job to get me on something. Then all those stupid Weasleys had to be a part of it, and nobody cared. Whatever they said was automatically true. Nobody thought to actually check their facts,”
Lily continued to struggle against Nott, “But you are breaking the law. This is kidnapping,”
“We weren’t at the time!” Malfoy snapped back, “But once all you Weasleys are out of the way, we’ll be able to reclaim our place at the top of wizarding world,”
“You were going to attacked all of them at once!” Albus, who had been extremely quiet until then, cried. “That’s why all of you were with one of us! Bryan,” he looked up at his captor, “You were supposed to get James,” he turned to Curtis Nott still handling his sister, “You were in charge of Aunt Fleur and Victiore. You,” he turned his attention to the elder Goyle, “were with Aunt Audrey. Nott, you were with my mom,” he glared at Scorpius, “You were supposed to take care of Rose, weren’t you?” Scorpius didn’t answer, “And you Malfoy, were with Uncle Ron,” Al faded into a thoughtful silence for a moment, “But I don’t get it. Why hire strangers to kill the one person you really wanted dead?”
“It was the most high profile hit,” Rose answered in a strained voice from the floor, “But it went wrong, so you scrapped the whole thing. You wouldn’t have the assassination of the Minister to overshadow the other ones. But it did give you all pretty solid alibis because, like you said, everyone believes us,”
“But why those Weasleys?” Al piped up again, “I can see Aunt Hermione, and even Uncle Ron, but Aunt Audrey and Aunt Fleur. Why not my dad?”
It was Scorpius who answered, “They were supposed to get him right after Rose’s mom,” Draco shot him a deadly stare and he focused on his feet.
“I don’t need to explain myself to the likes of you,” he snarled, “I was in the middle of something,” he pointed his wand at Rose again and her body once again erupted in pain. “I think I like the idea of killing you myself. That will just devastate her won’t it?”
Suddenly, Malfoy’s concentration was broken yet again by a struggle. Al had managed to wrestle out of Goyle’s grasp and reclaim his wand. Both Goyle and Scorpius quickly drew their wands and began firing spells at Al, who expertly blocked them. As Al finally got his sights on Malfoy, he saw him grinning down at his tortured cousin. Al raised his wand, and Malfoy winked at him as he pointed his wand back at Rose.
“Avada Kedavra!”
“You’re sure about this Albus,” Lily asked tentatively, “You’re absolutely positive, because I don’t want to go crashing in on the Malfoys for no reason,”
“I’m sure,” Albus replied, still staring up at the massive house.
“Alright then,” there was a strange determination in Rose’s voice, despite the fact that she was terrified, “Let’s go,”
She started to walk forward. The gate in front of them creaked and clattered as she pushed it open, adding to the ominous feeling of the excursion. The three of them walked up the gravel path, being careful not to make to much noise. When they reached the large oak front doors, Albus made his way in front. “You two stay behind me,” he said in his most official Auror voice. Lily looked as if she was going to protest, but Rose shot her a ‘don’t push it’ look and they both stepped behind Al. He tried the door, which was locked. He pointed his wand at the lock and whispered “Alohomora,” The door clicked open and they crept inside.
There was something oddly familiar to Rose in the interior of Malfoy Manor. She was certain she had never been there before. As a teenager, she would have rather have hung upside down in the Hogwarts dungeons than been in the house where Scorpius Malfoy slept. But as they moved through the foyer to down the hall, she couldn’t help but think she had been there before. Silently as possible, they made their way through the house, past large, tattered paintings and worn tapestries. Luckily, most of the portraits had decided to call it a night and were either contently sleeping in their frames or not there at all.
They made their way to the end of a long hall. The door there was cracked open and light could be seen coming from the other side. Rose heard muffled voices and quickly rushed to the door. She peered through the slight opening. There was a large fire casting eerie shadows on the opposite wall. She could make out four figures standing; one was pacing back and forth. She could also make out a figure crouched on the ground. This one wasn’t moving at all. Just as Rose gripped her wand tighter, ready to barge in and attack, she heard a voice behind her, “Expelliarmus,” For the second time that day, Rose had been unexpectedly disarmed. She whipped around to see who had her wand.
She saw Al and Lily had also been disarmed, and three faces sneered back at them. “Look what we’ve got here boys,” Scorpius Malfoy’s slimy voice oozed, “Two Potters and a Weasley, interesting,” Rose glared up at Malfoy, “Breaking and entering Weasley? I didn’t think you had it in you,” the three boys laughed, “And Potter,” he glanced at Albus, “I thought you were supposed to be an Auror. This would go under the category of failed mission, wouldn’t it? Maybe next time take some actual backup,”
Al made to pounce at Malfoy, but was caught by the big burly arm of Bryan Goyle. “Not so fast little guy,” Goyle laughed. Al struggled futilely against Goyle’s grasp. The tall, lanky form of Curtis Nott came up next to Lily and grabbed her by the upper arm. She also fought against him, but she was no match for the tall man’s grip. Scorpius sauntered in front of Rose.
“Don’t you dare touch me Malfoy,” she shot him the most frightening stare she could manage.
“And let you run away and miss the fun? Not a chance,” he took a step forward and grabbed a fistful of Rose’s bright red hair, “I’m gonna be honest with you Weasley,” he pulled her hair back, forcing her head to tilt up towards him, “I have, on occasion, wondered what all this shiny, red hair felt like. Everyone always made such a big deal about it. I’m disappointed. It just feels like hair,”
“You’re sounding creepier than usual Malfoy,” Lily spat from the clutches of Nott.
“Shut up Potter!” Scorpius snapped, “Let’s go, there’s someone who wants to see you Weasley,” he sneered down at Rose’s upturned face and tugged her through the door.
When they entered the room, the four standing figures turned to face them. Rose saw the familiar face of Draco Malfoy, along with two other vaguely familiar faces, which she decided were the older Goyle and Nott. There was a small, round man that she didn’t recognize at all.
Draco Malfoy turned to see who was interrupting their meeting. His lips curled into an evil grin when he saw his son entering with his captives. “Ah, well that didn’t take long, did it?” He glanced back and forth between Rose, Albus, and Lily before settling his stare on Rose, “And that’s who you brought Weasley? The most inexperienced Auror in the department and a sadder, less talented version of yourself?” At this comment, all three of them tried again to free themselves from the grasps of their captors.
“Shut up!” Rose lashed out, jerking back when Scorpius pulled her hair again. The elder Malfoy just laughed.
“You really think you are so much better than everyone else,” he slowly shook his head, “Well how could you not. Your parents thought they were so special, still do. That filthy, Mudblood mother of yours, thinking she can tell everyone else what to do,”
Rose ignored the pain of her hair being ripped from her head and lurched toward Malfoy again, “I told you before, DON’T talk about my mother,”
“And what are you going to do about it,” Malfoy sneered, “You see Weasley, I hold all the cards in this situation. I seems as if you don’t have a wand and let’s not forget why you came here in the first place,” he stepped to the side so the slumped figure in the corner was fully visible.
Both Rose and Lily let out audible gasps when they saw Kenny lying on the floor. Crumpled in a ball, his chest was faintly raising and falling, indicating, to Rose’s relief, that he was breathing. An evil smile spread over Malfoy’s face as he stalked over to where Kenny was laying. “Time to wake up, we have company,” he drew his wand and pointed it at the limp form, “Crucio,” he boomed.
Screams filled every inch of the large room. Rose watched as Kenny writhed in the floor in agony. An odd combination of rage and guilt welled up inside her. It was her fault he was here in the first place. It was because of her that Malfoy had got to him. It was because of her that he was being tortured. In what some would call a moment of clarity and what others would call a moment of pure stupidity, she throttled her free hand into Scorpius’s nose. He was more stunned than hurt, but it had the desired effect. His grip loosened on her hair just enough for her to break free. She sprinted toward the elder Malfoy, who turned toward the commotion, breaking his focus on Kenny.
“Crucio!” This time Malfoy’s wand was pointed square at Rose. Every inch of her body exploded in pain. As she was thrown onto her back, her brain finally registered why Malfoy Manor was so familiar to her. As her body seared, her mind flashed back to the dream she had in her mother’s office. Malfoy flicked his wand and instantly the pain subsided. She lay on the floor, still throbbing, with her eyes squeezed shut. Slowly, she opened them and had the most intense episode of déjà vu. And it was there, laying on the floor of Malfoy Manor, with cackling faces swimming above her, that she knew she was not the first person to be in this situation. She knew that dream hadn’t been a dream, it had been her mother’s real life.
“You look just like her you know,” Malfoy’s harsh voice pierced her ears. She turned her head so the man was in full view. It was almost as if he knew what she was thinking. “Laying there, helpless, tortured, funny how things work out, isn’t it?”
Rose heard Lily’s voice from somewhere above her, “What are you talking about?”
“That’s right,” Malfoy drawled, “No one ever told you that story,”
Rose rolled over, her body still engulfed in pain, so she could look at Malfoy. “My mother, she was here,” she almost whispered, “You did this to her,”
At her comment, the elder Goyle and Nott shared a silent chuckle. However, they were not discrete enough. Malfoy whipped around and glared at the two amused men. “Like you two have the right to laugh,” They quickly quieted at Malfoy’s glare, “I would have if I needed to,”
“C’mon Malfoy,” Goyle appealed to the angry man, “We were all scared back then. None of us would have been able to do some of that stuff,”
“I was not SCARED!” Malfoy boomed, “And she deserved every second of it. Even after all that, all she did was try and arrest me. The moment they gave her that job in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement she made it her job to get me on something. Then all those stupid Weasleys had to be a part of it, and nobody cared. Whatever they said was automatically true. Nobody thought to actually check their facts,”
Lily continued to struggle against Nott, “But you are breaking the law. This is kidnapping,”
“We weren’t at the time!” Malfoy snapped back, “But once all you Weasleys are out of the way, we’ll be able to reclaim our place at the top of wizarding world,”
“You were going to attacked all of them at once!” Albus, who had been extremely quiet until then, cried. “That’s why all of you were with one of us! Bryan,” he looked up at his captor, “You were supposed to get James,” he turned to Curtis Nott still handling his sister, “You were in charge of Aunt Fleur and Victiore. You,” he turned his attention to the elder Goyle, “were with Aunt Audrey. Nott, you were with my mom,” he glared at Scorpius, “You were supposed to take care of Rose, weren’t you?” Scorpius didn’t answer, “And you Malfoy, were with Uncle Ron,” Al faded into a thoughtful silence for a moment, “But I don’t get it. Why hire strangers to kill the one person you really wanted dead?”
“It was the most high profile hit,” Rose answered in a strained voice from the floor, “But it went wrong, so you scrapped the whole thing. You wouldn’t have the assassination of the Minister to overshadow the other ones. But it did give you all pretty solid alibis because, like you said, everyone believes us,”
“But why those Weasleys?” Al piped up again, “I can see Aunt Hermione, and even Uncle Ron, but Aunt Audrey and Aunt Fleur. Why not my dad?”
It was Scorpius who answered, “They were supposed to get him right after Rose’s mom,” Draco shot him a deadly stare and he focused on his feet.
“I don’t need to explain myself to the likes of you,” he snarled, “I was in the middle of something,” he pointed his wand at Rose again and her body once again erupted in pain. “I think I like the idea of killing you myself. That will just devastate her won’t it?”
Suddenly, Malfoy’s concentration was broken yet again by a struggle. Al had managed to wrestle out of Goyle’s grasp and reclaim his wand. Both Goyle and Scorpius quickly drew their wands and began firing spells at Al, who expertly blocked them. As Al finally got his sights on Malfoy, he saw him grinning down at his tortured cousin. Al raised his wand, and Malfoy winked at him as he pointed his wand back at Rose.
“Avada Kedavra!”
