the last verse ; harry potter [2]

twenty one ; the manor

Malfoy Manor was a maze of dead-end corridors and disappearing hallways. Voices got louder and quieter with distance with no reason, halls twisted and ended and she was only now walking in circles, back and forth through halls she'd already been through, past portraits that were now familiar and doors she had already seen. It felt like hours until she finally could hear voices somewhere to her left, and a portrait whispered, "You wandering buffoon, they're right here!" The portrait seemed to melt away until it was a thin curtain, and the large dining hall full of people was now in view.

"---we have to be completely sure, Lucius, that it is Potter before we summon the Dark Lord. They say this is his," Narcissa pulled a blackthorne wand into view, "but it does not resemble Ollivander's description. If we are mistaken, if we call the Dark Lord here for nothing. . . remember what he did to Rowle and Dolohov?"

Narcissa was speaking to the group of black-clad Death Eaters. Three figures were on their knees, their hands bound behind their back.

One was Hermione, the other was Ron, and the last was a disfigured version of Harry. Diana's heart clenched in fear, and she looked to Narcissa with hope that she might help her.

"What about the Mudblood, then?" growled Fenrir Greyback from the corner. They all looked to Hermione, and Diana bit her tongue until she tasted blood.

"Wait," said Narcissa sharply. Imperceptible to everyone but Diana, the woman glanced around. "Yes--yes, she was in Madam Malkin's with Potter! I saw her picture in the Prophet! Look, Draco, isn't this the Granger girl?"

From beside his mother, Draco paled.

"I...maybe...yeah..."

"But then, that's the Weasley boy!" shouted Lucius.

Diana pulled her eyes from the scene down below and began to quickly and quietly wade her way through the house in the direction she thought the dining room might be, but again it proved fruitless. She wandered with no avail, weaving her way through maze-like halls.

It felt like hours when suddenly screaming filled the entire house, a horrible, blood-curdling scream that made Diana's hair stand on end. It was female, and she were in pain, and the thought of Hermione being hurt made her insides boil. Next, muddled yells from somewhere below echoed around, but she couldn't tell what they were saying.

All of a sudden someone came around the corner. She hurled herself into them, pinning them to the wall, one hand over their mouth and the other with her wand pointed at their neck. Draco Malfoy watched her with terrified eyes.

"I swear on all things holy I promised I'd protect you but if you do not tell me right now where your friends are I'll make sure you're doomed to live a life worse than death," she spat in a low, almost inhuman voice. Anger couldn't sufficiently describe her feelings: she felt rage, red-hot and burning, coiling around her heart like a snake. She could only see red and she felt like murder and she felt like torture, all in the hopes of saving her friends.

"Tell me where they are!"

"HmmFmm, Hmmfmm!" he said, and then she uncovered his mouth. "Potter and Weasley are in the basement and Bellatrix is--is with Hermione!"

She let go of him abruptly, and oddly, he stood without reaching for his wand.

"Thank you," she told him. "Now how do I get there?"

She wasn't entirely sure that he'd even answer, but he did.

"Down there, from where I came from. There's a portrait with a bright red background. Take a left at that."

She did as he said, trailing down the corridor he had just come from and then a left at the portrait. Ahead, an oak door was cracked slightly and she could hear Hermione's screams as if she were right next to her.