Dolohov Manor

DOLOHOV MANOR

Harry twiddled his thumbs as he stared at Kingsley, whose perfectly prepared speech was flowing gracefully from his lips. It was the 20th anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts and a special ceremony was being held at the school for the fallen and the demise of Voldemort.

Despite wanting to support the cause and mourn his old friends, Harry couldn't help but want the speech to finish. He and the others only had one more house they needed to investigate and they were certain that it belonged to Dolohov. Ginny was sat next to him, her foot tapping impatiently. Kingsley had agreed that after the speech; Harry, Ron, Draco and a group of Aurors could go and inspect the house and Harry couldn't wait to find his best friend.

Every day that Kingsley insisted they wait a week or so to gain more intelligence; Harry grew more and more worried about his missing friend and her saddened family. Ginny and Pansy had managed to get Draco to start eating again and he was beginning to put on a bit of the weight he had lost when Hermione had first disappeared.

He looked over at his blonde friend. He was chewing on his lip nervously, his foot also tapping against his chair. He had been without his wife for nearly four months and Merlin knows what conditions Hermione had been kept in at the Manor.

Hyperion and Eva still hadn't returned to school, McGonagall was sending work home that Ginny and Pansy could teach them. Hyperion had wanted to go back, just to have something to take his mind of Hermione, but Eva had abolished the idea, stating that Draco needed them more than they needed him at the minute so they should stay. She also looked after Quinn and Astrum whilst the adults were busy with the rescue mission.

When Kingsley was finished he stepped down from the podium to rapturous applause. The Minister then sent Harry a quick smile and nod of the head, administrating that he and the others could leave to find Hermione.

Pansy, Ginny and Blaise were heading home to make sure the Manor was secure and the children were safe. After the incident a month ago there had been no more raids from ex-death eaters. However, that didn't mean there weren't any more to come. The escaped convicts were now safely inside Azkaban once again, with double the security, but there were still some criminals on the loose and it was unknown whether they would strike or not.

"So are we heading off then?" Ron asked from beside him, standing up and looking around for him fellow Aurors who would be joining them. Zacharias Smith and Dean Thomas were among the few and, being students at Hogwarts during the battle, were already here with their families.

"We bloody well better be," Draco commented from his seat "I've had to sit through this crap knowing that Hermione could be somewhere being tortured by Dolohov right now,"

Ron was about to make some snide remark about how that's probably been happening to Hermione for months but thought better of it, he knew he was only feeling defensive because he knew people who had died in the war and Draco had just criticized the ceremony.

Ginny kissed Harry goodbye and told him to look after himself, 'I don't want you to get kidnapped as well', before disappearing with the Zabini couple back to the Manor.

Once the trio had been grouped with the Aurors, Harry produced the piece of paper that held the list of ten addresses. Nine had been crossed off but one remained. 17 Rowena Court had no house name like the others but Draco had mentioned that the Dolohov's had never been the richest family. They were certain this was the house otherwise it was back to the drawing board and Draco would most likely lose the will to live. Harry knew they had to find Hermione immediately. Not only to save her, but to save her family.

Harry showed everyone the address and they planned to meet at the bottom of Rowena Court so that they didn't raise suspicion if Hermione was inside number 17. Then they all drew their wands, in case of an ambush when they arrived, before disappearing one by one.

When Harry landed he was surrounded by expensive looking townhouses. Dean and Zacharias were up ahead with the other Aurors and seconds later, Ron and Draco appeared either side of him. Although the street looked muggle enough, he could sense the magic in the surroundings and figured this was some part of wizarding London he hadn't come across before.

"Stay close together," he ordered to the others "There are still escaped Death Eaters and they could be guarding Dolohov's place if they're working with him."

They headed down the road together, keeping a good look out for any suspicious behavior. The street was strangely quiet, despite it being late afternoon. Harry was also surprised by the normalness of the street. It didn't look like any of the other homes of Death Eaters he'd been to. They were usually dark, gloomy and gothic looking manors with turrets and iron gates. These houses were built with a pale stone and some even had flowers and plants growing on their windowsills. He couldn't imagine a murderous family living here.

17 Rowena Court was not unlike the others on the street. There were also signs to show that they were keeping somebody hostage in there. Pushing his way to the front of the group, still keeping a lookout for traps or charms, Harry sent an innocent 'Alohomora'. He wasn't surprised when the door didn't budge set about to open the door another way.

"Stand back," he demanded, pushing his accomplices back in order to blow the door down.

"They're gone," a voice called, interrupting him from exploding the front of the house. He looked up to see an elderly wizard hanging out of the neighboring upstairs window. "Bloody hell, you're Harry Potter!"

"What do you mean 'they're gone'?" Draco growled. There was a mix of both fear and anger in his eyes as he glared at the old wizard.

"The Dolohovs," the wizard replied "I know you must be looking for them, what with all the stories about their son breaking out of Azkaban," he stage whispered the last bit but Harry heard him clearly.

"Do you know where they went?" Harry called up, trying to stay calm and polite as to not scare the innocent wizard. However, inside his brain was whirring with where Hermione could be and whether they would ever find her. Draco had already broken down, having collapsed onto a wall with his head in his hands. Ron was looking down at him worriedly whilst also paying attention to the conversation going on between Harry and the man in the window.

The man shook his head but then shrugged "Somewhere abroad I presume. They only stayed here for about a year and a half. Abandoned their traditional home and moved here about twenty years ago. They disappeared when Antonio was charged guilty and put in Azkaban, don't know where exactly."

But Harry had zoned out the second the man had brought up the Dolohovs' traditional home.

"Did you say 'Traditional home'?"