Harry Potter Horror: The bitch is back part 1 The large mansion loomed over the trio menacingly like something out of a gothic nightmare. High towers, menacing gargoyles, intricate carvings into the wooden structure frame of the large building gave it an imposing and creepy atmosphere. The large graveyard in the front garden didn't help either. "Are you sure that this is the place?" Ginny asked nervously as she shivered slightly. She was wearing a tight black top, a black skirt and matching black stockings. "It's freezing." Hermione nodded. "Yes, unfortunately. By the way, why are you dressed like that?" She couldn't understand why Ginny was dressed up like that on a mission. Hermione was wearing a t-shirt, a pink sweater, pair of blue jeans, black socks and black trainers. Ginny scowled. "I was halfway through a date when Kingsley sent me an owl, he said get here immediately so I couldn't go home and change." "Still ... " "Just leave it Hermione." Hermione frowned. "Fine," she said as she tried to ignore Luna's Lovegood's humming. Luna was wearing a blue-grayish shirt, covered by a matching cardigan, a gray plaid short skirt and red pantyhose. Even though the war was over, there was still a lot of clearing up to do. That included hunting down the Death Eaters that were still on the run and investigating any possible hiding places. This included safe houses, hideouts and the Death Eater's family mansion. In this case Ginny, Luna and Hermione had been dispatched to search the Lestrange mansion. Rabastion and Rhodulus Lestrange had been captured and given the Dementors kiss two months ago and Bellatrix Lestrange was dead by Molly Weasley's hand so they weren't concerned about running into the psychopathic family. They still had to be on guard just in case any Death Eaters were using the place to hide plus there were sure to be traps waiting to catch unsuspecting victims. It had taken them an hour to break through the wards surrounding the mansion that had been layered with various curses and hexes, all of them vicious and deadly. "So," Ginny said trying to sound confident, "do we go straight into the mansion or scout the grounds first?" Hermione frowned. "We'll search the mansion first and then the grounds, I doubt anyone would want to hide out here for very long." "Except the Fuzzing Dinors," Luna chimed in, "They would love this atmosphere." Ginny and Hermione exchanged a look but refrained from saying anything as they took cautious steps towards the mansion. "Honestly," Hermione said a few minutes later as they stepped into the mansion, "Who wards their front door so that it shreds your arm when you touch it?" "Psychopaths," Ginny muttered darkly as she gazed along and down the dimly lit hallway. "So, how shall we do this? Floor by floor?" Deciding to act as leader, Hermione spoke up, "I'll search upstairs, Ginny you search this floor and Luna, you search the basement. We'll meet back here in an hour." "Yes madam," Ginny said giving her friend a playful salute, laughing as Hermione attempted to give her a swat around the head in return. Giving her wand a twirl, Luna conjured a fedora hat and placed it on her head before she began skipping down the stairs leading to the basement. "See you later Luna," Hermione muttered under her breath as she ventured upstairs. Looking down the hallway, Ginny decided to start with the nearest door on her left. She smiled slightly, this shouldn't be too difficult. Half An Hour Later: Ginny cursed as she came across yet another locked door. She couldn't understand why a house that was supposedly empty would have so many locked doors. What made it even annoying was that even her most advanced locking charms couldn't open. She had considered blowing the door open but she didn't know what kind of curses might be waiting. Her scans hadn't detected anything but it was better to be safe than sorry. She'd discuss this with Hermione later. As she turned to move down the corridor, her eyes were drawn to a door a few meters away. She wasn't sure what it was but something was drawing her attention to it. Moving forwards she immediately began casting sensor charms and found nothing on the door. Going for an unlocking charm, she was surprised when the lock clicked open and the door swung slightly ajar. After poking her head around the door, Ginny gasped and her eyes widened in horror. Hermione was lying unconscious on the floor in the center of the room, hogtied and gagged. Her wrists and ankles had been bound together and a single rope connected the bound appendages together. A thicker rope had been pulled between her teeth and tied around her head, gagging her. As Ginny crouched down next to her friend, she noticed Luna was lying on the other side of the room in the exact same state as Hermione. Panicking, she ran over to check on her. Just as she was about to undo the bonds, she heard what sounded like footsteps behind her. Ginny spun around just in time to see a flash of red light before she collapsed to the ground unconscious.