Murder at Malfoy Manor

"You slept with my father?" Draco made a face of pure disgust.

Pansy was mortified that Blaise had announced her secret. "Well..." she wasn't sure what to say. "Oh, come on! Look at the man! He's fine as hell. Who could blame me for wanting to have sex with him?" She was red-faced and suddenly sweating up a storm. "It was well worth it too! He is the best lover I've ever had."

"But he's so old!" Ginny said. "Surely Draco..."

Pansy turned on to her, anger evident on her face. "Lucius might be old but he's still a sexy beast of a man, and he's a thousand times better in bed than Draco!"

"Hey!" Draco said. "I've never heard you- or any other woman complain before!"

"Please Draco!" Pansy said with a tiny laugh. "After our first year of marriage, I could barely stand to have you touch me. You are a lousy lover with a small penis who only cares about getting yourself off." she rolled her eyes. "Plus, I got sick and tired of being called Hermione in the middle of it all!"

Hermione blushed deeply and averted her eyes to the floor.

"I had to cheat on you all the time because you never satisfied me," Pansy continued. "I've slept with hundreds of men since we've been married including Longbottom, Weasley, Zabini over there, and your father!"

"I..." Neville backed up against the wall. He was sure Malfoy was going to kick the shit out of him for sleeping with his wife. Malfoy..."

Draco looked over at Neville with a crooked smile. "Relax Longbottom, I'm not going to kill you." Draco got up from his chair and walked over to Pansy, who stood to face him. "I want a divorce, you lying, cheating whore."

"No fucking way, Draco!" Pansy said, poking him in the chest with her long red fingernail. "I will never divorce you. I may have cheated on you physically, but you've cheated on me in your mind and your heart since the beginning!" She looked over at Hermione. "I have feelings whether you think so or not, Draco. I loved you and now I find out that you've loved Granger all along? I won't let you free to be with her- ever."

"I WANT a divorce." Draco said through clenched teeth.

"If you think I'll let you go that easily, then you're as stupid as Weasley looks!"

"What the hell!" Ron said. "I'm so sick and tired of..."

"Shut up Weasley," Draco warned.

"I have proof that you are an adulteress, Pansy. The courts will grant me a divorce and better that that, I'll make sure you won't get one fucking knutt of my money!"

"Why are you arguing?" Harry asked. "Pansy, just give him the damn divorce. Malfoy give her some of your money just to shut her the hell up. Go your separate ways and be happy for piss sakes!"

"Well said, Potter," Blaise said and clapped softly. "Of course in order for Draco to be happy, Hermione will have to divorce Weasley and then they can be one happy little family; after all, they do have two children together already."

Ron's face turned so red it looked as though his head was going to explode. "That will never happen. Hermione and I will work out our problems and stay together, won't we, Hermione?"

Hermione looked up from the floor and saw Ron's pleading eyes. She really didn't want to stay with him after what she had learned tonight. He had gambled away all of their money, slept with Pansy of all people, and put her and the children's lives in danger. How could she forgive him? Then there was the fact that Draco, the man she had secretly loved, had admitted that he loved her as well. What should she do?

Draco knew Hermione was struggling with her conscience. She always wanted to do the right thing. She had made vows to stay with Weasley through the good and bad, and it was probably killing her to even think of not honoring her word. "She doesn't have to think about that right now. We have more pressing issues to deal with here, tonight, don't we?"

Hermione gave Draco a grateful smile and he returned it. Never before had she seen him smile so warmly at anyone and it brought tears to her eyes. Right then and there she made up her mind- she wanted to be with him.

"Draco is right," Blaise said. "Where was I before I was so rudely interrupted?" He stroked his mustache thoughtfully. "Ah! Yes. I have a proposition for you all." He grinned at them, his shockingly white teeth almost glowing in the firelight. "Well, actually, it's more of a threat."

"I don't how much more I can take," Ginny said. "All these insane secrets and now you're issuing a threat. Let me guess," she pretended to be deep in thought. "You want money from us or you're going to expose us for the lying, stealing, cheating, raping, murdering good for nothings we obviously are?"

"What a great idea, Mrs. Potter!" Blaise said in mock astonishment. "Here I was just going to..."

There was a knock at the door and Blaise paused for a moment in confusion. He decided he would try to ignore it. "Anyway, that is what's going to happen. Either you pay me or I will expose you."

"But I have no money to give you!" Ron said.

"Then you and your wife will spy for me. There are so many opportunities to blackmail out there!" He rubbed his hands in glee. "For instance, did you know that Oliver Wood..." There was much louder knocking this time and Blaise stalked over, totally annoyed, to the door and wrenched it open. "What?" he screamed at the surprised house elf that was standing there carrying yet another box.

"Begging your pardon sir," it squeaked. "I was told to bring this down to you right away."

"Told by whom?" Blaise asked, his hands shaking as he reached for the box.

The house elf whispered something and everyone in the room strained to hear what it was. Blaise whispered back, not really to the elf, but to himself.

"Up too?" Was all the others caught before Blaise dismissed the elf, shut the door, and turned around looking even more confused.

"What is it?" Draco asked walking over and peering inside. "Presents?" he said incredulously. Pulling one from the box, he read the name on the tag. "Harry Potter."

Harry was quick to catch the gift Draco threw at him. He held it in his hands, turning it over and over. It was quite heavy, wrapped it dark purple shiny paper with a satin ribbon and bow of a lighter purple attached. Harry noticed the look of pure fear on Blaise's face and realized that this was not something he had planned.

Draco passed out the gifts. There was one for each of them- except for Blaise. All were wrapped the same, although they were of different sizes, and some seemed heavier than others. Draco took the empty seat next to Hermione instead of the one across from her. His fingers accidentally brushed the top of her thigh as he sat down and she jumped slightly.

No one moved to open them. They all sat with them in their laps as if waiting for instructions from Blaise. He was clearly frightened about something. They could tell by the way he kept fiddling with his mustache, picking non-existent lint from his jacket and clearing his throat but not saying anything.

It was too much for Neville to take and he blurted, "Well, aren't you going to tell us to open these?"

Blaise shrugged his shoulders, trying to act as if he was indifferent. "Go right ahead."

Draco slowly removed the ribbon. It was soft and silky and he couldn't help but think about using it to tie Hermione's hands to the bedpost and then licking his way down her naked body, making her moan with want. He put it into his pocket for safe keeping and then looked over at her. Her legs, cased in those sexy fishnet stockings, were crossed, and her foot was shaking to some rhythm only she could hear. He watched as she slipped off the ribbon and bow, putting them on the sofa between them. Draco snatched up the ribbon and put in into his pocket with the other.

"What are you going to do with those?" Hermione asked him, smiling, her eyebrow raised.

"Perhaps later tonight, I'll show you." He reached out and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.

"I look forward to it."

The presents were forgotten as they both leaned in, Draco putting his hand gently on the back of her neck; Hermione resting her's high up on his leg. Their lips were close, so close that he could feel tiny wisps of her sweet breath on his face.

"What the bloody hell is this?" Ron's voice echoed through the room.

Draco closed his eyes and sighed in exasperation. Hermione rested her forehead on his, smiling. "Leave it to Ron to ruin the moment," she said.

"Who would give me a knitting needle?" Ron asked, pulling it out of the lavender colored tissue paper and holding it up. "I don't even know how to knit!"

"Well I got something even more bizarre- a brick," Neville said. He turned it over in his hands, felt the weight of it and then put it back. "What did you get, Harry?" He asked, putting his present down on the table.

Harry pulled a very shiny and extremely sharp dagger from his brightly colored box. "A knife." He held it up and the firelight glinted off the steel blade. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this. Is there a turkey around here that needs carving?"

"Yes, he's sitting to your left," Draco said, pointing at Ron.

"Ha fucking ha, Malfoy. You better watch it or you might just find this knitting needle accidentally jammed up your ass."

"Kindly stay away from my ass, Weasley. Isn't it enough that you've buggered my wife? Do you have to come after my ass as well?" He smirked at Ron, who was brandishing the huge needle, looking as if he wanted nothing better than to kill Draco with it. "Put that away before you accidentally trip over your giant feet and impale yourself."

"What the shit?" Pansy said, taking out a piece of piano wire and holding it up. She looked around for answers that no one had to give.

"What's in your box?" Draco asked Hermione.

"I'm afraid to find out."

"Would you like me to open it for you?" He reached for it before she could answer. He tore off the paper and lifted the lid. "What are these?" he asked.

Hermione took the small item from Draco's fingers and frowned. "A book of matches from something called the 'Hot Sands Hotel' in Egypt." Hermione turned it over and read, "Honeymoon Suite."

Blaise's head snapped up but he said nothing, instead, he headed across the room to the window.

"What are matches?" Draco asked.

"You pull one off, strike it on the back here and it makes fire."

"Clever muggles! What WILL they think of next?" Draco took the book of matches and looked them over. "A hot gift for a hot woman." He handed the matches back, and when she reached for them; he took her hand and pulled her towards him. "Playing with fire is dangerous."

"So is playing with me."

"Who said anything about PLAYING with you?"

"What mysterious article did you receive?" Hermione asked, suddenly noticing that everyone was staring at them. She picked up Draco's gift and quickly opened it. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, "A gun?"

Everyone stood and rushed over to the sofa.

"Is it loaded?" Harry asked.

Hermione checked the revolver. "Five live rounds, one empty chamber."

"This is so damn weird! Why would anyone want to give me a muggle weapon? I don't know how to use it!" Draco took the gun. "What's this?" he asked.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Harry and Hermione screamed.

Draco jumped and dropped the gun on the floor. "What? What did I do?"

"That's the safety, Malfoy! Never touch that unless you want to kill someone, and since no one in this room wants to die, I suggest you just put it back in the box." Harry was clutching his heart in fright. "We don't want any accidents do we?"

Draco decided instead to put the revolver into his jacket pocket. "Has everyone opened their gifts?" he asked, looking around.

"Everyone except Ginny," Neville said.

"What are you waiting for? Granger to grow some tits?" Pansy asked, with a mean laugh. "You'll be waiting for eternity."

"Shut up, Pansy. The only reason your's are big is because Longbottom paid for you to have them magically enlarged!" Draco sneered. "Yeah, I know all about that, don't look so surprised."

"Open it Gin," Ron said, trying to ignore the bickering taking place next to him.


Ginny, who hadn't even started to unwrap her gift, hesitantly removed the paper, ribbon and bows and as everyone watched, she lifted a tiny bottle from the tissue paper. The liquid inside was a violent green and had the consistency of olive oil. She pulled out the stopper and sniffed it. "It smells like death," she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "Does anyone know what this is?"

"Let me see," Hermione said and Ginny placed the small crystal vial in her hand. "I might be wrong but it looks and smells like Manitcore venom." She handed it to Draco, who had always gotten top marks in Potions.

"That's exactly what it is," he said placing the stopper back in tightly. "Who would give you a vial of deadly venom?" He looked around for Blaise, who was staring out the window at the approaching storm. A flash of lightning lit up the side of his troubled face. "Zabini, what is this all about?"

Blaise slowly turned around. "I assure you, Malfoy; I had nothing to do with this."

"What do you mean?"

"This was not in my plan."

"Then if you didn't send these, then who did?"

Blaise shut the drapes and turned from the window. "What does it matter?" he said, strolling over to the fireplace. He picked up the poker and moved the logs around, sending glowing embers into the air, which thankfully, were safely behind a screen. He put the poker down and gave them a fake loving smile. "Now tell me, what will it be? Will you give me what I want, or will you force me to expose you to the world?"

Draco got up and walked courageously over to Blaise. "I will not tolerate being forced to do something I don't want to do, and neither will they." Turning away from a seething Blaise, he addressed the room. "I suggest we kill Zabini and thereby rid ourselves of this blackmailer. We bury him, burn all the evidence, and then walk away- simple."

Blaise's eyes were huge. "You wouldn't!"

"You've made plenty of enemies here tonight, Zabini. I'm sure more than one of use would love to murder you. I know I would." Draco took the revolver from his pocket and aimed it at Blaise's head.

Blaise was about to plead for his life, when there was another knock on the door.

"Answer it," Draco said after a moment of intense silence.

Blaise sighed in relief and hurried to answer the door. "What is it now?" he asked the purple clad elf.

"I'm to show the guests to their rooms."

"Huh?" Blaise asked in confusion. This was not in his plan either and he was becoming increasingly frightened by the second.

"Rooms? To sleep in? For the night?" The elf was looking at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Riiiightt," Blaise said. "We will all be staying here this evening and maybe by the morning, you will have realized what a mistake it would be to go against me. Remember, I have evidence. Not all of it was shown here tonight. Some of it is hidden where only I and one other person can find it. Should anything happen to me, that person is instructed to take that evidence and expose you all." He was trying to make it seem as though this was all his doing. Something strange was going on and until he found out what it was, he had to make them think he was behind it all.

"Now I will be showing you to your rooms. Please follow me," the elf walked away and slowly, everyone filed from the room and headed for the stairs as lightening flashed, thunder rumbled and rain poured from the dark night sky.