View Single Post
Old 05-12-2012, 05:15 AM   #28 (permalink)
Ivana R
Hufflepuff
ICW Ambassador
Billywig
 
Ivana R's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Brazil
Posts: 3,433
Default 9. The Malfoy Manor
Portuguese Hippogriff Harrys Schokofrösche

Flora and Harry reached the main gates of the Manor by Apparition, Harry was hidden under his invisibility cloak. Flora almost threw up, although she would not be able to tell whether it was due to her anxiety or to the backlash in the stomach she felt at every Apparition – she suspected she would never get used to it. As they walked forward, the gates opened up to them and they walked with their wands in hand through an alley flanked by carefully trimmed hedges. Harry’s cloak swept the ground and together with the evening breeze made the leaves rustle. Flora’s uncle seemed to be waiting for them in the driveway. He looked more insane than before.

“You’ve come back, as I had anticipated. I’ve always known you would.”

“I can’t escape my destiny.” Said Flora, firmly. “Call the others .... How did my father do it?”.

Lucius reached out and showed her his black mark. He went to touch it, but Flora held his hand and did it herself. She felt something strange, a non-visible quiver of the sort, run through his arm. It was as if a lot of magic ran through her veins and went out through her wand hand. She thought Lucius must have felt some pain as he trembled a little with her wand touch. Right away the mark became more intense, Flora was somewhat impressed with all those black shapes that almost immediately began to appear in the air: one by one Voldemort's followers started to come. After all of them had arrived, Flora gave them her back, to disguise her amazement and slowly marched to the dining room where she waited for them.

This time, she sat at the head of the table and waited for them while playing with the snake between her fingers. Harry stood right behind her, just in case….

She waited till all of them had sat down. Lucius sat by her side. Narcissa got in the room and was startled by her presence. Flora commanded her to sit by her left. Resigned, her aunt did as ordered, but when she got near Flora she whispered:

“Stupid me that believed you ... Power corrupts even those who seem to have a good heart. My son is taking risks for your sake!

Flora kindly held her aunt by the arm and whispered:

“I’ve always honoured my word.”

She thought her remark would reassure her aunt. However, what she said and the strange words she chose to say it frightened Narcissa even more, "Everything about her reminds me of the Dark Lord. How could I have been so foolish?" Thought Narcissa. Flora turned to the other Death Eaters and their sons and daughters that were either sitting at the crowded table or standing around it. All of them looked at her with great attention. She spoke slowly, with the serenity of one that is saying a prophecy:

“It took me some time to accept my fate. But now I know my father left an unclosed work, which I intend to finish. Unfortunately, the world is taken by stupid and dumb Muggles. They must know their place. I understand that I am not like Lord Voldemort, my father. He failed to recognize your value., He was weak so that he was killed by a 17 years-old boy...” At that, she pretended a face of contempt slight wrinkling her nose as if disgusted by something. “I have come to win; whoever is next to me will be a winner as well.”
She smiled. Some of them whispered. She glared at them:

“Is there something I should know? What did you do in my absence?”

A skinny Death Eater on her right trying to show himself as servant, said:

“Well, on Lucius’ command, my lady, we brought Draco back and...”

“Hum...Lucius’s command…”

She repeated as turned to her uncle with a scolding look. He tried to explain:

“My son has proved to be a traitor, trying to avoid the establishment of the natural order of things, an order which will prevail with your return.”

Without hesitation, Flora plunged into his eyes. In horror, she saw it was not just Draco that Mr. Malfoy had brought to England, but her family as well. They were all locked in the cellar. Both Draco, and Felipe, her husband, had been tortured by the Cruciatus Curse to give away her whereabouts. She could also see that Mr. Malfoy had lied, as he was not interested in submitting to her, but in subduing her to use her powers to take over the wizarding world. She had seen that in the back of his sub-consciousness. She said that to Harry through parseltongue by pretending to sing a strange lullaby to the snake that was in her hand:

“Make my uncle forget what I’ve just seen in his memories. We need to rethink our attack. Draco and my family are being tortured in the cellar. There are other Death Eaters there that will come as soon as we begin the raid. We are outnumbered.”

Harry whispered in her ear, while Flora kept talking nonsense words in Parseltongue so no one noticed any strange noise coming from their conversation:

“It’s done. Your uncle has forgotten what you’ve seen in his memories I'm trying to send the DAs a message through the galleon, but it’s not working, they simply don’t reply. I think the house is under some sort of protection. As we are late, they will think we got caught and they will break in. I know Ginny, she won’t be able to wait any longer.”

“Can you keep Draco from feeling the effect of the Cruciatus if I cast the curse? I’ll call him, and tell him to pretend his suffering. We must attract the other Death Eaters up here. Then we will have a chance of not being ambushed.”

“Yes, of course. It sounds like a good idea. Also use the Levicorpus I taught you. Shake him in the air; it always causes a ‘good’ impression.”

Flora nodded, and disguised she had been talking to an invisible person by combing her hair with her hands.

Then she asked the skinny Death Eater who had told her about Draco, noticing that he inflated his chest in satisfaction:

“Where is Draco?”

Mr. Malfoy, demonstrating uncomfortable with Flora's sudden preference by another Death Eater, stood up and sent Goyle for him. To Flora’s surprise, Goyle fetched not only Draco, but her husband too. Some Death Eaters that were watching from the cellar followed him hoping to see some demonstration of power, since Lucius had spread the word about his niece’s ability. Harry tried to Apparate to the cellar. But like twenty years before when he was imprisoned in that same cellar, it was not possible as it was shielded. Then he went to the staircase to walk down it. However, he remembered he had forgotten to protect Draco due to his worry about releasing Flora’s children that were unprotected.

Then, he went back and whispered in Draco’s ear what he was about to do, and casted a shield spell that also protected Flora’s husband. Draco blinked to Felipe hinting him.

Flora announced that she would personally torture the ‘traitors who had tried to divert her from her fate in order to keep her from assuming the power meant to her’ would. Her husband looked at her as if he did not recognize her. That helped a lot in the act she was putting on. Waving her wand twice, she managed to unite Draco and Felipe by their right feet and suspend them upside down by an imaginary rope. She shook them like a grandfather clock pendulum, while she laughed too loud - a forced and nervous laugh, since she felt guilty about doing jinx on them. Then she move her wand back and asked the "audience" - which filled their eyes in wonder, as if facing the eighth wonder of the world:

"Shall I manage cursing the Cruciatus both of them at the same time?"

Her eyes widened and forced herself to look more insane way she could:

"Crucio!"

For a moment she was nearly unmasked, because by seeing her husband and her cousin writhing in pain on the floor, she felt a strong urge in dropping her wand running to help them, but this time Harry took her hand and said:

"They are protected, be quiet."

Flora, feeling backed by Harry's information, repeated the curse. Narcissa, with tears in her eyes and wand pointing Flora's chest, screamed for her to stop. Flora pretended to ignore her aunt’s pledge, while Lucius grabbed behind his wife. But because her cry was too loud, the doors and windows burst open: Ginny and the others broke in. Then, they had no other option than to start battling. Flashes of coloured light start coming from everywhere. In the middle of the turmoil, Flora was momentarily mesmerized watching Ron who Disapparated taking Draco and Felipe with him away from the house. As soon as she had assimilated his departure, Ron returned right away to help in the fight; he had left the two men in a safe place.

Untrained for combat, Flora mixed up the spells and made water shed from her wand. This wetted some combatants on both sides. The unusual scene came in handy, and while everybody was distracted by it, Harry held five Death Eaters at once. He did it as he was bending down dodging from a Cruciatus Curse, Flora was amazed with his agility and almost fell when the ground beneath her feet began to crumble.

One by one of the Death Eaters were being stunned, but not without fighting On the other hand, some Death Eaters, unable to understand Flora’s betrayal, spared her from their attacks, which helped her to get time to cast some spells against them.

Hermione went to the cellar. She surprised two Death Eaters that kept guard over it and knocked them out.
She took the kids to her parents-in-law’s. As she expected, Arthur, her father-in-law, and George, her brother-in-law, asked what was happening. After her explanation they complained for having been left out of the fun, and begged to come with her to the Malfoys’. Some time and a lot of broken furniture later, the Death Eaters were rendered.

As Narcissa kept her husband under her wand; tears streaked down her stern face.

“Where is Draco? What have you done to him?”

“He’s outside, Mrs. Malfoy. He's fine.”

With the news brought by Ron she relaxed and dropped her guard. It was then that Lucius tried to steal her wand. Nevertheless, Neville, who had just arrived, petrified him at once and also declared that:

“The dementors are being taken back to the north by the Aurors. McLaggen is already aware of what has happened and thanks you, Harry. He also wonders if you can lead some additional Aurors to herd the remaining dementors up north to their reserve."

While her uncle was being arrested, Flora supported her aunt. Harry, as the head of the Aurors, said:

“Mrs. Malfoy, I'm sorry. Your husband isn’t in his right mind. I don’t mean that because he longed for Voldemort’s return in the figure of his daughter, but rather because he tortured his own son for this. He will be taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for evaluation. But that doesn’t mean he’s coming home soon. He either shall be arrested or stay at the hospital.”

“I understand that, thank you. I know Lucius isn’t well at all. I’d realized this long ago. But I didn’t believe he’d do any harm to anyone. How wrong I was! I'm so sorry for Draco and Flora!”

Then Ron brought Draco and Flora’s husband back to the house.

“Felipe, my love! I didn’t mean to scare you. Please forgive me.”
Flora hugged and kissed lingeringly her husband. Draco turned to Harry:

“I owe you this one.’

Ron shook his head:

“It’s me that lifts him safely away from the hustle and it’s Harry that gets the fame ...

George approached and patted Ron on his head:

“Poor Little Ronny. Let's go home for you to cry on mommy’s lap... By the way, Angelina must be going crazy with all her nephews besides Flora’s children. They must be gulping down Grandma Weasley cookies.”

“My children! I need to see them.” Yelled Flora, as if waking from a trance.

Ginny quickly went to fetch them. They went back to the house through the Floo Network.

Flora and Felipe greeted their children with lots of hugs and kisses. Later on, after everybody else had gone, Flora and Felipe said they were going to a hotel with their children. Narcissa, though, looked at Flora’s children with the sweet expression of a grandmother and asked that they stayed, so she would have something good to fill up her mind. She also asked Draco to bring Scorpius to spend the last days of his holidays with her, so he would not feel so alone and would meet his next-of-kin cousins. He accepted his mother request and promised he would return the next day with his son. Narcissa, Flora, Felipe and the kids go to the upstairs. The children were talking loud, filled with excitement and curiosity to know how it was a real wizarding battle. For respect her aunt, Flora tried to settle down her kids, promising them to tell everything then. She left her children and husband in the guest room and went along with Narcissa to her room, which embraced Flora and recommended her to rest, for it was a long battling day and they would tidy up the whole mess the next day.

Last edited by Ivana R; 06-29-2012 at 10:05 PM. Reason: a little this, a little that
Ivana R is offline