Friendship, Loyalty, And Love

Friendship, Loyalty, and Love

Chapter 8:

Storming the Manor

The trip had been a long one, as Draco had warned it would be. The boys had left Hogwarts around 10 p.m. the night before, and flown all-night and past dawn. Breakfast was eaten on their brooms. Noon found them a ways north of London and Draco called a halt. They settled themselves under a tree in a field somewhere, none of them exactly sure where, and had lunch, then, at Seamus’ insistence, and with Draco’s reassurance that they were only a few hours away they had all napped to recover their strength. Harry was the first one up, and Ron soon after him. By the time Dean woke Seamus all of the other’s were getting their things ready to head out for the last leg of their trip. Draco was talking quietly with Harry, presumably about where they were going, and Ron was scowling at the blond boy.

The five of them mounted up again and set off, now bearing farther west. It had been about 3 when they set off the second time and by the time the sun started to sink Malfoy was already angling his broom down toward the ground. They broke through the clouds they had been using to guard them from Muggle sightings and Dean heard Malfoy say ‘There it is.’ He looked down and saw, rising above a small town like many they had flown over today, an expanse of green hills and a collection of trees which he knew, given their perspective, was probably a reasonably sized forest. Around all of this there was an even and regular line, presumably a wall, and at the end of a road leading away from this wall was a large Manor house, seated on a hill looking down on the town.

Draco pulled his broom up and hovered while the other’s drifted in closer to hear what he had to say.

"There you go Potter, Malfoy Manor. What do you think?"

"I think I want to know how we get in," Harry’s voice was raised to be heard across the distance between the brooms.

"We’re going to have to wait at least until the sun’s farther down," Malfoy said. "Right now, with us flying into the sun we’re pretty easy to spot. But come on," he gave a small gesture to his right, in the direction of the forest. "The easiest way over the wall is there. We can get into position now and head over when dusk hits."

Harry nodded and motioned for Malfoy to continue to lead the way. Seamus and Dean followed close behind, with Ron behind them, shaking his head as though he still didn’t trust the Slytherin.

***

The five of them settled to the ground a few feet from the wall, under a large oak. Seamus could see a few other trees on the other side of the wall, and knew from the view he’d gotten coming in that they were fairly close to the forest.

Once they were down they had a quick dinner of the leftovers from lunch, then began prowling around. Malfoy warned them not to touch the wall, then left them to wait while he climbed the tree. Watching him go up Seamus saw him come level with the wall and scrutinize it, being careful not to touch it, then the blond pulled himself up onto the branch above him and looked over the wall, scanning the ground for something.

Whatever he saw seemed to be what he was looking for, because he soon made his way back down to where the others were waiting.

"Ok," he said, after dropping the last 4 feet to the ground. "I’d say it’s about dark enough. We can probably head over. Leave your brooms here and follow me." He had already propped his Nimbus2001 against the tree, facing so no one passing by would notice it and Seamus laid his broom down on the ground, trying to make sure the tree continued to block the view.

He looked up and saw Malfoy scrambling back up into the tree, Harry and Dean close behind him. Seamus hurried over, settled the straps of his bag on his back, and reached out for the grips he’d seen Malfoy using before, hoisting himself up into the branches and Ron followed him.

Eventually the five of them came to rest on the branch level with the top of the wall. Malfoy started patting his pockets, then suddenly scowled. "Damn," he whispered. "My knife must have fallen out during the flight." He turned to face them. "Have any of you got a knife, or something sharp I can use."

"Here," said Harry, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his penknife. "Use this, but I want it back."

"Thanks," Malfoy took the knife, then turned to face the wall. "Let’s see," he muttered, then, gripping the branch above them for balance he edged out away from the trunk of the tree. About two body widths away from the others he stopped, steadied himself, and then slid the penknife against his finger, hissing a little at the pain.

"What?" Dean started, but the blond paid him no mind, carefully laying the now bleeding finger against the top of the wall, then turning back and walking along the branch to where they stood. He considered the wound on his finger, then seemed to decide it wasn’t enough because he sliced at it again, opening the cut further. Holding tightly onto the branch above them he leaned out as far as he could past Harry and again laid the wounded finger on the wall. Now Seamus could see that the blood from Draco’s finger stained the wall next to a number of other similar stains.

Draco started to pull himself back to a standing position, but suddenly swayed, losing his balance. Harry’s seeker reflexes shot his hand out and grabbed the other boy’s arm, pulling him securely back onto the branch.

"Thanks," Draco muttered, giving Harry a considering look, then turned back to the wall. "Securitas familias, nul securitas!" Draco called out, and the wall seemed to glow faintly between the two bloodstains he had made. "Ok," he said, glancing over his shoulder at them. "Go directly down from here, and don’t touch the wall outside the edge of the spell, you’ll set off alarms." He then reached out, placed both hands on the wall and hoisted himself up and over, dropping straight down the other side.

Harry quickly followed suit, and Ron, after scowling at the bloodstains on the wall also hoisted himself over. Dean glanced back at Seamus then shrugged and placed both hands on the wall. "See you on the flip side," he joked, then swung out and over.

"Right," Seamus snorted, and reached out to the wall. Realizing he was the shortest of them he scowled at the distance between the tree and the wall. He could get his arms securely placed, but didn’t have the leverage to hoist himself. Breathing in deeply, he gave a small curse then leaped out from the branch, trusting his arms to hold, which they did. Lifting the rest of the way he swung his knees up onto the top of the wall, then dropped over the edge, falling the 11 feet to the ground.

Dean was there to steady him as he stumbled, for which he was grateful. And the two of them looked up to where Draco seemed to be discussing something with Harry.

" . . .back when the wall was built, far as I know. Generations of Malfoy’s have learned that spell, in someway or another," he paused and glanced back, to where Seamus and Dean were standing, then to where Ron was peering toward the Manor up on the hill. "Ah, you’re here then are you Finnigan? All right, let’s go. Be careful where you step, and don’t touch anything if you can avoid it." Malfoy set off, leading them off to the left, around the forest, although not directly up to the manor. "I found my father’s old journal which described the Familius spell, and he apparently learned it from his father after a night of, um . . . entertainment, down in the village."

"Oi, ferret boy," Ron called out. "Why are we going this way?"

Malfoy flinched at the name, then rounded on the red head. "You think you can find your way through all the traps and wards, be my guest. Head out on your own. Gods know I won’t miss you."

"Look," Dean said. "I’m sure you do know the way, but I wouldn’t mind knowing the reasoning myself. Why don’t we just go directly to the Manor?"

"We’d be seen," Malfoy answered shortly.

"Well, if we’re worried about getting cover, why aren’t we going through the woods?" Harry asked.

Malfoy gave a snort. "With all the creatures, nasty plants, and little surprises in there, we’d never make it. Hell, I’d have trouble getting through with a fast horse and an enchanted crossbow. There’s no way you lot would make it, unarmed and on foot. Look," he said with a sigh. "Just trust me. There really is a method to my . . ."

"Madness?" Seamus put in with a grin.

"Plans," Malfoy finished, trying to scowl at the Irish boy, although Seamus’ smile made it hard for anyone to really get mad at him. "Come on," he sighed, and started off again.

Unfortunately the discussion had distracted Harry from where they were, and he stepped forward without checking the ground first. His foot bumped a rock and all of a sudden he pitched forward, as though he’d been tripped.

Malfoy, hearing his gasp, spun and reached out his hand, somehow managing to keep the black haired boy from hitting the ground and pulling him back upright. This turned out to be a very good thing as Seamus noticed 2 darts shooting past at an angle which would have put them right in Harry’s side if he’d fallen all the way.

Malfoy gave a little sigh. "I told you to watch where you stepped," he said.

"What was that?" Dean asked, sounding worried.

"A Footloose spell on the rock to make you fall, and a pair of poisoned darts, probably barbed, to keep you down."

"Poisoned darts? You’re father’s certainly got it in for anyone wandering around on the grounds, doesn’t he?" Harry asked. "What if you or one of your friends tripped one of these traps?"

"Well, then it would pretty much serve us right for having been out here, according to the grand Malfoy tradition." Draco snorted. "Did you know there’s a torture museum in southern Germany?"

The one liner took Seamus by surprise, but Ron shot back "One of your father’s favorite vacations spots?"

"You think you’re joking Weasley," Draco answered. "He gets some of his best ideas down there and has a collection in the dungeons to rival the displays. Oh, come on." And the blond headed out again, although Seamus noticed that Malfoy hadn’t let go of Harry’s arm where he’d grabbed him until then.

***

Soon the boys had crossed away from the forest at an angle, moving closer and closer to the front of the manor. Malfoy signaled a halt and gestured Harry toward him.

"We need to make a decision," he said. "We’re getting too close to the Manor and the defenses get a little tougher here. We can either go straight up the drive," the blond gestured toward his left where they could just make out the even stretch of ground which was the Malfoy driveway, "or we can cut across the grounds to the back."

"Which way is better?" Seamus asked.

"Well," Malfoy said deliberately, "the thing about coming up the drive is, a) they’ll see us, and b) we’ll set off alarms. The thing about crossing the grounds is a) there will be traps, and b) we’ll probably set off alarms."

"You Malfoy’s are real big on paranoia, aren’t you?" Ron asked.

"We’re not real big on uninvited guests," Malfoy shot back. "You have to admit, it cuts down on the traveling salespeople."

"And by cut down you mean cut off at the knees, right?" Seamus joked but Ron continued angrily.

"Cuts down, mows down, it’s all the same to a Malfoy." Ron snarled.

Harry raised his hand in front of Ron, stopping the developing fight. "We go across the grounds," he said. "We’re working in secrecy guys, so keep quiet and don’t start bickering. You’ve got to work TOGETHER!" Harry scowled at his friend, then nodded to Draco to have him start on again. The blond nodded back and set off away from the road but towards the building.

"Come on, this way," he said quietly, and the others followed him.

"Hey Malfoy," Seamus said, stepping quickly and catching up with the other boy. "Can you tell me something?"

"Maybe," came Malfoy’s short response. He scowled for a second, then glanced back at the Irish boy who was pouting at him. "Oh, all right," he sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"Well," Seamus began, grinning, "I was just wondering if you could give us a tour of the sights while we walked? Seems a shame to travel all this way and break onto one of the oldest wizarding homes in England and not even learn anything about it."

Malfoy snorted at this; even he seemed to find it hard to ignore Seamus’ charm and wit. "Right Finnigan," he said. "So you want a guided tour of my childhood home, which we’re breaking into in order to rescue your kidnapped friend. Tell me, are you ever serious about anything?"

"’Course," Seamus sounded offended. "I’m very serious about getting ‘Mione back. But in the mean time there’s not much we can do besides be careful and the distraction . . ."

"Could be fatal," Draco answered, cutting him off.

"Oh," said Seamus, looking thoughtful. "Right." He fell silent, slowly dropping back from where Malfoy was leading.

Before he got very far though, Malfoy gave a small sigh. "Fine," he muttered to himself, then raised his voice a little so they could all hear him. "Well, on your left you can see we are passing my mother’s rose garden, and behind that is the poisonous flower collection, the largest collection in England and containing many specimens not normally found in Europe. On the right we have the man-eating topiary . . . "

Dean, looking off incredulously toward where Draco was gesturing interrupted him at this point. "There’s a pikachu in the man-eating topiary!" he gasped out. "Why is there a Muggle cartoon character that eats people in your garden?"

Draco glanced back at him and grinned. "My father," he answered dryly, "has a sick sense of humor."

"Clearly," came Dean’s quiet answer.

"Is that enough of a tour for you Finnigan?" Malfoy asked.

"Um, yeah," Seamus said, a touch of chagrin in his tone.

"Good, cause we’ve reached the brook," Malfoy replied, coming to a stop.

Seamus gave a look forward and gasped, his sense of humor overriding his chagrin. "It’s a moat!" he exclaimed.

"Don’t be ridiculous," came Malfoy’s voice. "It is not."

"It is, it is!" Seamus seemed to be almost dancing in place. "It’s a moat! I’ve always wanted to see a moat."

"It’s a brook." Malfoy said, slowly enunciating each word.

"Does it go all the way around the building?" Seamus asked.

"Well, yes," Malfoy answered somewhat sullenly.

"Can you swim, well, wade across it?" Seamus snickered, looking down at the curving, bubbling moat.

"Not unless you want to be eaten by the ravenous gold fish."

"Why the hell do you have ravenous goldfish in your moat?" Ron’s voice was incredulous.

"It," Malfoy replied, "is a brook."

"And that bridge over there," Seamus gestured to where a bridge was visible in the light of the moon. "It has a tendency to not be there, doesn’t it?"

"Only because it blows up under you," Malfoy was clearly annoyed.

"It’s a moat!" Seamus crowed.

"How do we cross?" Dean asked, trying to distract them.

"We don’t," Malfoy answered. "The secret entrance is on this side of the brook."

"Moat!"

"Quiet you," Dean said then, smacking his friend affectionately upside the head. "Lead on," he gestured to Malfoy. The blond just looked at him for a second, then shook his head at the Irish boy’s antics and turned away from the bridge they could see, leading them further around the back of the house.

After a few seconds Harry spoke up. "So, about these ravenous goldfish?" he asked.

Draco gave a sigh. "When the Manor was originally built there was a moat on the other side of the wall. Several generations ago they had it filled in to make life easier, especially since it wasn’t all that useful anymore. When I was little my father decided he wanted one, mostly for fun," he paused and grimaced. "My mother didn’t agree. She thought it would be obnoxious and they fought about it. Finally they compromised on having the brook go all the way around the building. Yes Finnigan," he said before the Irish boy could interrupt. "It is supposed to be a moat. Get over it. Anyway, my father had originally wanted a moat monster, because you can’t have a moat without a moat monster. When my mother made him settle for a brook he refused to give up the monster idea. But it’s not like a full sized monster would fit in that little brook. So," he gave a shrug, "goldfish."

"I see," Harry’s voice held the hint of a grin which he had managed to keep off of his face.

"Look, there’s the entrance." Malfoy pointed ahead. "We can get into the manor through the gazebo."

Following the young aristocrat Dean soon perceived the building he had referred to. A small wooden gazebo painted white which shone in the moonlight. It was covered in carvings of small fruit with a statue Dean couldn’t make out carved above the roof. They reached the little building and Draco had them all climb into it, gesturing that they should stand near the circular walls.

"Now, where was it . . ." Draco crossed to the far side of the gazebo and considered the carvings. "Oh, right, the horn of plenty." Draco stepped back two paces and pulled out his wand. Pointing to the carving he had selected he muttered "Zweimal Waffenschlag." Two short light bursts that seemed like arrows shot out of the end of his wand and into the carving. At first nothing seemed to happen but suddenly the center of the floor swung open, revealing a flight of stairs dropping into the darkness.

Harry walked over and peered down. "Awfully dark, isn’t it?"

"Yeah, we need to use the Lumos spell down there, but don’t light your wands until you’re underground. We don’t want the light to be seen." Draco made a motion to get them to move down the stairs but Harry looked back at him for a second.

"After you Malfoy," Harry sounded suspicious and his tone had grown a little cold, but Draco just brushed it off.

"Nope," he said. "After you. I need to go down last and close the door behind us. To the best of my knowledge my father doesn’t know about this tunnel, but I don’t want anyone to just stumble over it when the sun comes up." He paused but no one moved, and suddenly he sighed. "Look, it’s all right. There are no traps in the tunnel, it goes almost directly to my suite. Just go on!"

Finally Harry nodded and he went down, followed by Seamus and Ron. Dean looked at Draco for a second then snorted. "I see a gazebo," he said. "I shoot the gazebo. No affect."

Draco looked confused. "What?" he asked.

"Sorry, it’s just this joke I learned before coming to Hogwarts. The way you opened the trap reminded me." Seeing Draco’s look he added, "don’t worry about it." Grinning to himself he made his way into the tunnel, Draco came after him and closed the trap door.