The Family Jewels

Chapter 39
Days go by

Blaise, Draco and Harry stood in the Head common room in a state of panic. Hermione was gone, and they could only assume at this point that Draco’s father had taken her by Portkey. No one else would have been able to open the chest but him, and they could not have left a guarded room in Hogwarts castle by any other means. Unfortunately, that also meant that they could be anywhere. Not a comforting thought. Thorough interrogation of Crabbe and Goyle had only revealed that they had believed that they were following Draco’s orders, and had no further knowledge of Lord Malfoy’s plans.

Harry wanted to get Dumbledore, Blaise wanted to get Snape, and Draco wanted to get his mother. Blaise was actually the calmest, and thought that they should have all three if they were going to get Hermione back in one piece.

“Dobby,” Harry said aloud. The house-elf immediately appeared in the Head Dorm.

“Yes, Harry Potter Sir,” the house-elf said.

“Please inform Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Snape that the Head Girl has been abducted by Lord Malfoy,” Harry instructed, although it seemed that his mouth was having a hard time forming the words.

“Miss Hermione has been hurt by former Master?” Dobby asked, while wringing his hands. At Harry’s nod, Dobby disappeared on his mission.

Snape was the first to arrive in the Head Dorm. He had brought a satchel of supplies with him, not realizing that Hermione was gone, only that she had been attacked by Lord Malfoy. “Draco, what is going on?” he asked his godson.

“Uncle Sev, thank Merlin you’re here. The chest was left open, Hermione is gone, and Crabbe and Goyle were standing guard outside on my father’s orders.” Draco looked at Blaise, “Did I leave anything out?”

Blaise shook his head. “Is there any way to tell what happened here, or where he might have taken her, sir?” Blaise’s mind was going a mile a minute, but nothing was coming to him. ‘I need to calm down and think,’ he thought ruefully.

Severus began to climb the steps to the bedrooms of the Head Dorm. “We need to call the Aurors, but let’s see what we can discover without compromising any evidence.”

Severus walked to Hermione’s bed and observed the semen and blood stains on the sheets. “There are stains on the sheets. Was this here when you left Draco?”

Draco moved very quickly to the bed. “I would never have made Hermione bleed. The um, other stains, could be mine,” Draco ducked his head a little.

“Now is not the time for embarrassment, Draco. The Aurors will be here soon, and I want to tell them something about what went on here,” Severus stated clearly.

“I slept with her last night, as well,” Blaise said.

“I see,” was all Severus had to say on that point. He had his wand out and several vials half filled with a light yellow potion. He spent several minutes charming small amounts of the stains into the vials, and then muttering spells over them. “I will need small amounts of blood from each of you to rule you out,” he said to Draco and Blaise.

They each held out a hand, and Severus drew a small knife from his bag. He made shallow cuts across each palm, then dripped a few drops of blood into separate vials also half filled with potion.

“I have the magical signature of each of you, but there is another signature here that is very close to yours Draco. I have to assume that it came from your father.” Severus sighed when he saw the anger and hurt on all their faces. “The blood is Miss Granger’s. It is impossible to tell how badly she is hurt. We would do well to find her, and quickly.”

“Uncle Sev, would my mother be able to tell us if Father is hiding in any of the Malfoy properties? Most of them can only be entered by a member of the family.” Draco was trying to think logically of where his father would have taken her.

“Actually, Draco, your mother has spent considerable time trying to find your father without revealing her whereabouts to him. There has been no trace of him anywhere,” Severus said. “Is there anywhere else he might have gone? Anyone who would be hiding him?”

“In France, perhaps, there are places he could hide. The Malfoy name has not been dragged through the mud quite as badly there,” Draco said slowly.

“She visited the properties in France first, knowing that the Aurors here were keeping on eye on them. Is there a friend, perhaps, who would hide him?” Severus tried to keep his voice low and comfortable.

“My father doesn’t have friends, you know that,” Draco said impatiently.

Professor Dumbledore chose that moment to enter Hermione’s room. “Miss Granger has been taken, Severus, is that right?”

Severus nodded, “Yes, Headmaster. Her blood has been found on the sheets of her bed, as well as the semen of Lord Malfoy.”

Dumbledore’s eyes were not twinkling now. All in the room felt the force of his anger. His voice, when he spoke, was deceptively mild. “And do we have any idea how he managed to enter Hogwarts in broad daylight and enter the Head Dorms, which requires a password?”

“I’m afraid that would be my fault, Sir,” Blaise admitted weakly.

“Yours, Mister Zabini?” Now the laser sharp gaze of the Headmaster was turned to him.

“Crabbe and Goyle drugged my coffee with Veritaserum this morning, and I’m afraid I told them whatever they wanted to know.” Blaise wouldn’t meet any of their eyes.

“Mister Zabini, I hardly think being drugged classifies as your fault. I will deal with the members of my house as I see fit, with your permission, Headmaster,” Severus said.

“Of course, Severus, of course,” Dumbledore said, “however, the problem remains that Lucius was here at Hogwarts, and no one seems to have seen him.”

“Crabbe and Goyle saw him, they said he was me,” Draco said. “But I can’t imagine how he would have gotten one of my hairs for a Polyjuice potion.”

“You resemble your father greatly, don’t you Draco? Severus, perhaps you can refresh my memory,” Dumbledore said.

“Sometimes, when I look at you Draco, it is like seeing one of my memories from my own days at Hogwarts. I have never known a father and son that more closely resemble each other than you and Lord Malfoy. There is a potion, a Belvoir, that will take a specific number of years off a person’s physical appearance, but it is highly illegal,” Severus said, looking pensive.

“But still available, for a price, I assume?” Dumbledore asked.

“Oh yes, in Knockturn Alley, certainly,” Severus agreed.

Narcissa Malfoy chose that moment to walk through the open portrait to the Head Dorm. “Draco. Severus,” she called. “Are you here, darling?”

Knowing that Severus was about to respond to his mother, Draco called out, “Yes, Mum, we’re up here.

“I Flooed into your rooms, Severus, and you weren’t there, so I thought I best try Draco’s. I would have thought the portrait would have been closed, though,” she gave them all a severe look at this lapse in security.

“No sense in guarding an empty henhouse, Narcissa,” Dumbledore said.

At Narcissa’s look of confusion, Severus said, “Lucius was already here, and has apparently abducted the Head Girl.”

“Oh darling,” Narcissa said, wrapping an arm around Draco’s waist. “Where is she?”

“We were hoping you might help us find her,” Dumbledore spoke for the group. “I know you have been trying to locate your husband.”

“Yes, he is not in any of the Malfoy properties, so I have moved on to trying the homes of any old friends or employees. A friend in the French Ministry of Magic has been checking the Floo records for any suspicious activity relating to known associates of the family, and he came across a house in Dordogne that has had recent activity, although the old man who lived there is now dead,” Narcissa informed them. “That is what I was coming to tell you.”

“What are we still standing here for then?” Harry asked, ready to get to the nearest fireplace that was connected to the Floo network.

“I would have thought that we would have heard from Lucius by now. It is Draco that he wants, after all,” Severus said.

“I am sure that Lord Malfoy will be contacting us shortly. Have the French Aurors go to the house and try to ascertain if he is there,” Dumbledore instructed Narcissa. She nodded, gave Draco a kiss on the cheek and disappeared down the stairs.

“We’re just going to wait then? He could kill her at any moment,” Harry shouted.

Draco and Blaise had identical looks of fury on their faces. “We all want her back, Harry. But we want her back alive. Racing headlong into a trap isn’t going to help Miss Granger,” Professor Dumbledore said calmly. “I agree that time is of the essence, though. An hour, shall we say, gentlemen? If we haven’t heard from Lord Malfoy in an hour we will go to the house. She might not even be there, Harry. We need to keep our options open.”

“An hour,” Draco said grimly, pivoting on his heel and going towards his bedroom.

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A/N – Thank you for your kind reviews. Not too many chapters left.

KageMage15 – I agree that Hermione can defend herself with her wand. Lucius had both wrists pinned when she realized he wasn’t Draco, then he gave her the potion.

Padfoot the Marauder – Prince Philip the Awful wouldn’t have responded to being called a mutt. Quite proud of himself, he was.