The Kill Shot

Chapter Two





Hermione sat across the desk from Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic, taking in the cool demeanor of the tall, ebony-skinned wizard. Hermione felt very comfortable in his presence; the current Minister was known as much for his scholarship as for his ability to act quickly and competently under fire. He steepled his fingers in front of his face and looked directly at her.



“First, Miss Granger—” he began.



“Please call me Hermione; Miss Granger makes me feel as though I should still be in school.” She blushed slightly as she said this, wondering if she had just inadvertently highlighted the fact that she was recently graduated from Hogwarts, and under Special Circumstances, no less.



If he was worried about her educational background, however, the wizard showed no sign of it. “Hermione,” he smiled, “the Ministry is truly honored to have you among our staff.” His smile broadened. Hermione held back a gasp. Did this mean the job was hers? Just like that? “Arthur Weasley says you are interested in helping us identify and catalog Dark Arts items.”



Hermione nodded and spoke with confidence. “I confess, when Mr.—Arthur told me Malfoy Manor—and particularly the library at Malfoy Manor had not yet been cleared of Dark Arts items, my interest was piqued.” She looked squarely at the Minister and continued, “As I am sure you are well aware, the Malfoy library is considered to be one of the best private collections in the entire wizarding world. I’ve always been interested in what has been rumored to be housed in that collection, and when I found out the opportunity to go through the library was available, well, that was a chance I didn’t want to miss.”



Kingsley nodded, his own interest apparent on his face. “Hermione, it pleases me that you are interested in helping out the Ministry. So many of our regular investigators are still occupied with sorting out the messes left behind by Voldemort, and, frankly, no one has wanted to tackle the Malfoy house. For a number of reasons.” His eyes were honest, Hermione noted. “And there aren’t too many people who could be enticed by a library. It lacks a certain, ah, glamour.” Hermione was about to tell him she wasn’t interested in glamour, but she didn’t get a chance, as the tall wizard continued. “However, I expect it’s likely you will accomplish more in Malfoy Manor than most of our investigators and Aurors will in the rest of the countryside combined.”



“Erm. I’m certainly not looking to make a name for myself,” she started.



The wizard smiled again. “After the Glen, I don’t imagine that would be a problem for you. If you were inclined that way,” he added.



Hermione smiled in return. “No, that’s definitely not a problem. I want to continue to help the Ministry in any way I can, and it seems to me that my talents would be best applied to the, ah, issue of Malfoy Manor.”



The wizard stood up, his earring glinting in the sun. He extended his hand, “Welcome aboard, Hermione. Malfoy Manor is yours. Please let me know if you feel you need additional assistance. I will attempt to find extra staff to work under you, if necessary.”



Hermione shook his hand firmly. “Thank you, sir. I’ll make arrangements to get to Malfoy Manor and make an initial assessment. I’ll give you a detailed plan of action after I’ve evaluated the situation.” Kingsley Shacklebolt nodded his approval. “I hope I won’t disappoint you,” Hermione finished.



She stood up to leave, and smiled at his response: “I don’t think you could ever disappoint.” Still, she couldn’t help wondering if that would hold true if she started espousing her belief that Lucius Malfoy had made the first strike against Voldemort.

---

She Apparated to the large driveway in front of Malfoy Manor. She could have asked the Ministry to lift the wards that prevented her from Apparating directly into the Manor, but she hadn’t seen the need. Looking at the expanse of driveway that swept up from the gates at the entrance to the estate, she was glad she hadn’t appeared at the far end of the drive. She carried a small rucksack that contained extra clothes and some food, as well as a few Dark Detectors and several scrolls of parchment and a variety of quills and ink. She had debated just using parchment, quills, and ink that could be found at Malfoy Manor, but after briefly flashing on the source of Tom Riddle’s diary, Hermione vowed to not use anything at the Manor that she hadn’t previously evaluated.



Much to her great surprise, the great oak doors of the Manor swung open when she approached them, and she was greeted by the excited, high-pitched voice of—it couldn’t be—but, yes, it was. “Dobby!” she greeted him enthusiastically, afraid to touch him and upset the precarious stack of knitted hats perched on his head.



“Miss Hermione Granger, friend of Harry Potter! Dobby welcomes you to his home of former enslavement.” He opened his arms expansively before glancing at Hermione’s rucksack and giving it a quick nod. Hermione heard a faint *pop* as her bag vanished. She pushed away the thought that she might never see it again; Dobby was many things, but incompetent was not one of them. Not usually, at least, she amended. “Come in, come in!”



“Dobby,” Hermione began again, her voice calmer now. “What, ah, are you doing here?” She followed the house-elf into the grand entryway of the manor.



“Dobby heard that Hermione Granger, friend of Harry Potter, the most powerful wizard in the world—” Hermione grinned at Dobby’s accolades for Harry— “was coming to Malfoy Manor to help rid the wizarding world of the Dark Arts items the Malfoys have had for generations. Who better to help Miss Hermione Granger than Dobby, former house-elf to the Malfoys? Dobby, who knows all the secrets of the Malfoys. For generations,” he added at Hermione’s thoughtful twist of her lips. “Since Dobby is not in service to the Malfoys any more, thanks to the great wizard Harry Potter, Dobby can share his secrets with those who Dobby wants to know them.”



Of course. Dobby would know all the Malfoy secrets. “Thank you, Dobby!” She looked at him, wondering how she could best express her appreciation for this sudden and unexpected gift. “Erm, do you need any hats? Or socks?”



“Miss Granger has always been generous to us house-elves.” He looked at her shyly, pausing. “Of course, Dobby could always use another hat.” Hermione smiled. She’d owl for wool and knitting needles immediately.



“Dobby has prepared rooms for Miss Granger. Dobby did it all by himself,” he added proudly. “As soon as Dobby heard you would be here. But does Miss Granger want to tour the Manor first?” At the witch’s nod, he started skipping through the entranceway, barely giving Hermione a chance to take in the grandeur of her surroundings.



“Dobby,” she asked, somewhat breathless from keeping up with him, “are there any other house-elves here?”



The small elf stopped suddenly, forcing Hermione to make a few quick steps in order to avoid tripping over her guide. “They is in hiding. No Malfoy has freed them, so they is still bound to the family; since no one is here, they has hidden themselves away.” He noticed Hermione’s frown. “But Miss mustn’t worry; they is got plenty of food and they keeps themselves busy making sure the house is in order, in case their master comes home.”



“If someone bought the house, would the elves be freed, or would they go to the new owner?” Hermione mused out loud.



“They would belong to the new owner. Some doesn’t take too well to new masters, but if the sale is legal, they is bound to the new owner,” Dobby replied with certainty.



“Hmmph,” Hermione muttered. The ghost of an idea was forming in her head as she looked around the corridor they had stopped in. Thick carpets covered dark hard-wood floors, while rich tapestries covered the stone walls. From what she had seen as she dashed through the entry, the formal entrance was a tasteful combination of dark wood, stone, and marble. “Hmmm,” she muttered again, not wanting to even fully acknowledge the thought that was trying to germinate. It was ludicrous, she decided firmly. “Lead on, Dobby!’



Dobby gave her a quick but fairly thorough tour of the Manor, pointing out but not stopping at sections of the house he felt she shouldn’t have any interest in, such as the kitchens and the laundry. He also merely glanced at the door that led to the dungeons. “Miss might want to be going down there, but Dobby won’t.” He shuddered involuntarily. “Dobby won’t go down there,” he added firmly, but unnecessarily.



Okay, then, Hermione thought. I guess we’ve got that cleared up. Still, with the house uninhabited, how bad could the dungeons be? She caught herself immediately. This is Malfoy Manor, after all. There are likely to be horrors down there that I can’t even begin to imagine. Thor’s balls! Why did I agree to take this on? I’m barely out of school. The fact that Aurors and Dark Seekers with decades of experience didn’t want to tackle the Malfoy stronghold should have been a clue, Granger, she chided herself silently. Still, you said you’d do it. Besides, this might be the only way to find out why Lucius cursed Voldemort. And if you helped face Voldemort in the Glen, you can certainly face whatever lurks in the Malfoy dungeons, the other voice in her head added.



“But, Miss,” Dobby continued, unaware of Hermione’s inner turmoil, “Dobby still has access to the Malfoy wine cellars.” He jingled a key in his hand. “And Dobby doesn’t mind going down there,” he added with what must have passed as a smile among house-elves. “One of the best stores of scotch and brandy in all of England. And the wines?” Dobby smacked his lips in obvious pleasure. “Just you wait; Dobby will make sure Miss has only the best with dinner.”



Dinner. Rooms. How long does Dobby think I’m going to be here? I’d better make it clear that I’m just here for a cursory visit, and then returning to the Ministry with my report as to how I plan to proceed. Hmm.... The more she thought about it, the more she realized it was going to take at least a couple of days to put together a plan of action.



She sighed softly. “What’s for dinner, Dobby?”



The house-elf cackled with glee and promised her “something to bewitch the palate and ensnare the senses”. Hermione stifled a giggle; it sounded an awful lot like Snape’s description of Potions. Which didn’t bode well for dinner, she thought, briefly reflecting on the taste of the Polyjuice potion. Good thing she had some energy bars in her rucksack. And there was the Malfoy store of scotch, she reminded herself with a wry smile. “Sounds great,” she replied, forcing enthusiasm. “I’ll be in the library. Can we have dinner about six or so?”



“Of course. Of course. Anything for Hermione Granger, friend of Harry Potter.” Hermione smiled for what felt like the hundredth time and thanked the elf before heading down the corridor that led to the great library. Once inside she pointed her wand at the large fireplace and murmured, “Incendio!” She watched as a crackling fire began burning, adding palpable warmth to the room. The young witch immediately felt better. On a whim, she sat down in one of the wing chairs facing the fireplace, resting for the first time since she had left the Weasleys’ house that morning. She settled back into the chair, enjoying its comfort and the warmth of the fire. I could get used to this, she thought as she shut her eyes briefly, the hissing and the popping of the fire soothing nerves she hadn’t even realized were raw.



Hermione woke with a start about half an hour later, her heart racing, with an intense feeling of being out of place. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the Malfoy coat of arms and the family motto carved in the stone over the fireplace: Ex obscurum adveho intelligendo. Hermione couldn’t help but smirk, feeling as though she was looking at something both public and very private at the same time. Roughly translated, the family motto was, “Out of Darkness Comes Enlightenment.” The darkness part was definitely right on. But enlightenment? Or even “understanding”, if you translated it slightly differently? Interesting. Not that it was going to provide any insight into Lucius’ actions, but definitely a unique family motto. And one that pretty much assured her that she’d find Dark Arts items in the Manor, if she looked.



Slowly getting out of the wing chair, she turned toward one of the locked book cabinets and waved her wand at it with a silent “Alohomora”. Surprisingly, the cabinet unlocked itself. Doing a quick sweep for Dark charms that would impede an unwanted reader and finding none, she took a stack of books out of the cabinet and headed to the large desk behind the wing chairs.

---

“Will you join me?” Hermione spread her hands to indicate the empty expanse of the formal dining table. Apparently there was no informal dining room in the Manor.



“Dobby? Miss Hermione Granger would like Dobby to join her to eat dinner? Dobby is honored by Miss’s request. But—”



“No ‘buts’, Dobby. I refuse to eat here all alone. And this place is positively cavernous.” She pulled out an ornately carved dining chair. “Sit.” Dobby scrambled up into the chair and sat.



The elf snapped his fingers and soup appeared in blue-and-white porcelain dishes. Not surprisingly, the dishes were of the finest china, with a very subtle snake motif on the lip of the dish. Hermione rolled her eyes. Were these people serious? I guess when you come from generations of Slytherins, you can’t help but advertise it. Still, the soup was as good as Dobby had promised.



“Erm, Dobby, you mentioned that you know secrets about the Malfoys—things that only immediate family—or house-elves—” She blanched, wondering if that sounded insulting, but when the elf didn’t react, she continued. “Ah, that only you and the Malfoys would know. What kinds of things are we talking about?”



Dobby gave his elfin grin. “Dobby’s former Master has Dark Arts items throughout the house. Dobby can show Miss many of them. Others Dobby has hidden in secret chambers. If Miss Granger would like, Dobby can show her these chambers tomorrow.” His voice trailed off into a question.



“Could you? That would be wonderful!” Hermione breathed a mental sigh of relief. Maybe, with Dobby’s help, this task wouldn’t be quite as overwhelming as she had initially thought. She still wasn’t certain how she’d gain any additional insight into Lucius’ actions. But maybe there was a way to get at Lucius directly. She filed the thought away and tucked in to the soup.



Dobby begged off after dinner, and Hermione retreated to the library. She poured herself a scotch and settled in the right-hand wing chair in front of the fire with The Golden Tractate of Hermes, a classic alchemical text of dubious origin. It wasn’t technically a Dark Arts text, but the marginalia was proving to be very interesting. It was also a sheer joy to be able to read an original edition of the work. She took a sip of her scotch and as the amber liquid snaked down her throat, she thought—not for the first time—that she could become very used to this lifestyle.

---

Any hope of identifying the Malfoy Dark Arts collection was demolished the next afternoon, after several hours of exploring the Manor. “Dobby, how do you get into these secret chambers? The ones where the Dark Arts items are?” Hermione had received floor plans of Malfoy Manor from the Ministry and had sketched in the locations and entrances to the four secret chambers as Dobby had shown her. The one under the drawing room floor wasn’t exactly a secret any more—Hermione had known of it since her second year at Hogwarts. The other three had been identified by Dobby. One was behind an ornately framed portrait of “Great-Uncle Bertonius, 1414-1497”; Bertonius seemed to sleep more than a Kneazle, which made it a perfect portrait to conceal a hidden chamber. The second chamber was behind a bookshelf in a small study off the guest wing; judging by the cobwebs and dust in the room, it hadn’t been used in decades. Unless the dirt and neglect had been simply added for effect, which was entirely possible given the number of house-elves on staff at the Manor. The third secret chamber was in a dilapidated turret at the back of the Manor. Dobby was very clear on the locations. Unfortunately, he had no idea of how to actually enter the chambers, and he wasn’t sure what the chambers contained.



Dobby looked stricken when he had to admit this to Hermione. “Master Lucius, ah, did not tell Dobby the passwords. Master Lucius was the only one who knew them. He didn’t even tell Master Draco, he didn’t. Dobby swears it. It was only Master Lucius who knew how to get into them.”



“Damn it,” Hermione muttered. Dobby’s eyes instinctually widened in fear, and Hermione immediately felt guilty. “It’s not your fault, Dobby. I was just hoping it would be easy.” She sighed. She would have to go back to the Ministry and tell them what she had found. And the Ministry would probably be quite happy with the information; without Dobby’s tips, the chambers would likely have remained undiscovered forever. Not knowing how to actually enter the chambers, however, would give her a valid excuse to see Lucius. And maybe she’d be able to find out a little bit more about what he’d done and why he’d done it on the night of the Final Battle.

---

“Minster—” Hermione started, a sheaf of parchment in her hands.



“’Kingsley’—or ‘Shacks’, please. ‘Minister’ is fine for formal occasions, but the rest of the time it has me looking over my shoulder for someone else.” He smiled broadly, his very white teeth in contrast to his dark skin. Hermione couldn’t help but recognize how classically handsome he was.



“Kingsley,” Hermione tried out, still feeling a bit uncomfortable with it. “I’ve done a preliminary survey of Malfoy Manor, and I’ve seen a couple of main areas of focus. The first and probably largest task is the library, of course. I’ve been selecting books at random out of various shelves and cabinets, and so far I’ve come across a great deal of marginal material, including some alchemical texts and a highly questionable charms text. But that’s only after a very cursory look at a few cabinets. It’s going to take a great deal of time to sort through the library—but I anticipated that,” she added hastily. “I guess the most interesting thing is the identification of the locations of the secret chambers in the Manor.”



Kingsley sat up a little straighter. “Secret chambers?” he asked with obvious interest. “One of the key priorities of the Ministry is to recover Dark Arts items. It’s as much a matter of public relations as of security.”



“Yes. Dobby—the Malfoys’ former house-elf—met me at the Manor and, well, because I’m a friend of Harry’s Dobby decided to share with me what he knew about the Malfoys’ hidden chambers.” She pulled out the floor plans of the Manor and showed the Minister where the chambers were located. Kingsley came around his desk and looked over the plans while Hermione pointed out each chamber. “The only problem is, Dobby doesn’t know how to get into the chambers. He thinks Lucius is the only one who does. I’m not sure that’s true, but in the time I’ve been there I haven’t been able to determine a way into any of them. So I see a couple of options.” Kingsley nodded, encouraging her to continue. “One: If Lucius is the only one who can get into them, and he’s locked away in Azkaban, the items will remain there for all eternity. I’m not really happy with that option, but it may be the only one, in the long run. Option number two is for me to keep working at it, seeing if I can open the chambers. I’m fine with that, except I have no idea how long it could take so I’m not sure if it’s the best use of my time.”



The Minister nodded understandingly. “Continue,” he encouraged, curious to see where she was going with this.



“Well, one other option—I’m not sure if you want to even consider this—is to enlist Lucius Malfoy’s assistance. If what is hidden is worth it, we could offer him some sort of deal in exchange for obtaining the Dark Arts items.”



Kingsley looked at Hermione with renewed interest. “What, exactly, did you have in mind?”



“Well, ah, if retrieving the Dark Arts items is so important, and if we are able to retrieve important Dark Arts objects from the Manor, then maybe we could work out something—reduce his sentence in Azkaban, or move him to another facility or something. I’m not really sure—I don’t know if we’d be able to get Lucius to cooperate, or what would motivate him to do so,” she finished.



The tall wizard looked at her for a few moments before speaking. “If we could come up with some evidence that Lucius Malfoy was not an immediate threat to the wizarding world, we might be able to make some type of arrangement.”



Hermione’s heart skipped a beat. Lucius’ actions in the Glen would be proof that he wasn’t a threat. Maybe. If he didn’t curse Voldemort in an attempt to make the way clear for himself to take over the role of Leader of the Dark Forces, that is. Not that she really thought that was why he had done it. The problem was, she didn’t know why he had done it. And she wasn’t sure the Ministry would want to hear that Harry might not have been the one to take down Voldemort. “If he could be persuaded to give up the secret chambers, would we—uh, the Ministry, that is—be able to remand him to some other facility?” she asked tentatively.



“There aren’t any other facilities.” The Minister paused. “Typically, if someone isn’t in Azkaban, they are either in St. Mungo’s or they are returned to their home with magical restrictions put in place to ensure they aren’t able to leave the confines of their property.” He looked directly at Hermione. “You would, of course, have to be able to retrieve a significant number of Dark Arts items to make such a deal possible. Actually, since we’re theoretically talking about returning Lucius Malfoy to Malfoy Manor, you would have to remove all dangerous items.”



Hermione’s heart sank. Clearing Malfoy Manor would take ages; she didn’t see how she’d be able to make an offer the Ministry could come through on in this lifetime. “I’m not referring to the library, of course.” Kingsley chuckled at her expression. “I don’t expect that task will be completed in a short amount of time. Nor,” he paused significantly, “do I necessarily expect that we will be removing books from the Manor; unless there is something that is immediately dangerous, the books could simply be catalogued. If Lucius were returned to Malfoy Manor, we would certainly monitor him and the house to ensure that nothing untoward occurred.”



Hermione looked at Kingsley, not entirely believing what she was hearing. The older wizard laughed at her grimace. “What? Did you think we’d seize the books and burn them?”



“Well, uh, I, uh, was meaning to ask you about that,” she faltered.



“Perhaps another Minister in another time would have burned books and pretended it was a solution to Dark texts, but not me. No, I firmly believe the only way we can learn to counter the Dark Arts is to study them and learn from them.” Hermione was silent, in spite of her racing brain. Wow. How times have changed! And Shacklebolt is definitely no Cornelius Fudge, thank the gods.



“Because of the size of the Malfoy collection, I think it’s probably best to keep it where it is. However, a comprehensive catalogue of the collection would provide scholars and researchers with the opportunity to study texts as desired.”



Hermione nodded. “A very restricted lending library, of sorts?” she asked.



“Exactly.” The Minister nodded. “I would feel comfortable with Mr. Malfoy being in his house if he were supervised, and if the other Dark Arts objects were removed from the Manor. And if you were at the Manor working on the library, well, that would certainly give us the opportunity to have someone—you—keeping a close eye on Lucius. Hypothetically, of course,” he winked, unsettling Hermione.



“Really.” She laughed nervously. “Wow. I mean, I don’t know what I expected from this meeting, but I can honestly say it wasn’t this. Don’t get me wrong,” she continued quickly, “I think this is great. Especially with the library. I guess I did expect the Ministry would want to see the Dark materials destroyed. Not that I think they should be—I completely agree with you about having the books available for study. I guess I’m just not used to the Ministry actually, erm—” She blushed, unable to continue the thought.



“Not used to the Ministry actually being practical, you mean,” Kingsley said knowingly, grinning and erasing Hermione’s embarrassment.



“Yeah. Something like that.”



“So, are you comfortable approaching Lucius Malfoy? I could certainly have someone else meet with him if you’re not. The reports out of Azkaban about his demeanor are conflicting; not surprising, of course.” Kingsley leaned back in his chair, stretching his neck and shoulders.



Charon’s paddle! This is perfect; not only might I be able to provide the Ministry with Dark Arts items, but I can also talk to Lucius about the night in the Glen. Assuming that he’s willing to talk to me. But maybe the enticement of his release from Azkaban will loosen his tongue. “Um. Yeah. I mean, I would definitely be willing to see if I can get any information from him.”



“And what about—hypothetically—monitoring Lucius at home?” Kingsley raised his hand and shook his head. “Let’s not worry about that now. First let’s see if you can make any progress on the Dark Arts items, and then we can worry about what to do with Lucius and who will do it. Does that sound reasonable?”



“Certainly.” Hermione could barely contain her excitement; this was unfolding even better than she had expected.



“Excellent. I will make arrangements for you to meet with Mr. Malfoy in a visitor’s room at Azkaban. There are some security issues that have to be dealt with, so I’ll owl you in a day or two with specifics.” He paused, making a few quick notes on a parchment on his desk. “How are you finding Malfoy Manor?” he asked conversationally.



“Surprisingly pleasant. I don’t know what I expected, but Dobby’s done a great job of making me comfortable. And I’m glad he’s around; it’s a pretty big place to rattle around in all alone—he makes me feel like I’m not alone there. And,” she smiled, “he’s got the kitchens and the wine cellars well in order.”



The Minister nodded. “The wine cellars, eh? Maybe I should come for an ‘inspection’; those cellars are at least as legendary as the library.”



“Any time, sir, any time. And yeah, the cellars are definitely on a par with the library.” Hermione grinned.



Kingsley stood up and extended his hand. “Thank you, Hermione. The Ministry—all of us—appreciate the magnitude of the task you have undertaken, and you have our undying gratitude.”



“Thank you; it’s nice to have a job that isn’t tedious,” she replied as she shook his hand. “I’ll be working at the Manor until I receive your owl.”







A/N: As always, a big thanks to Mamacita-san who is willing to beta this for me and correct all my grammatical mistakes, remove extraneous “that”s, and generally make this whole thing actually readable (proof, yet again, that having a Ph.D. doesn’t mean you can actually communicate!). A brief note on the Malfoy family motto; as far as I know, one doesn’t actually exist, but I came up with this one for one of my other fics, and decided that it is a perfect motto for the blonds from Slytherin, particularly the way I see Lucius. Also, my Latin is a little rusty, but I translated it myself anyway, so for those of you who are actually current in your Latin (is anyone actually ‘current’ in Latin? Maybe if you’re in the Vatican, I guess…. But if you are in the Vatican, what are you doing reading this? *grin*) please don’t give me too hard a time. (And yes, this author’s note is pretty much indicative of my unedited writing style – so you should REALLY thank Mamacita-san!) Read and enjoy!