McGonagall managed to get her hands on two different wands for Hermione. The first one worked flawlessly, but the second one was a bit picky. Hermione kept both just in case and spent all of Wednesday evening drawing up plans with her new wand to get a better feel of it. Ron, Ginny, and Harry stayed until late that night so that Draco could fully explain what they needed to do and how to do it. He even procured a detailed map of the Manor and explained what would happen in each wing once they triggered the ley lines. It was more complicated than it seemed as Draco had to be the one to do it and it was very likely the curse could fall on them as well, but Hermione had done enough research to know there was a spell that would allow for them all to share the blood of a Malfoy and not be attacked in return.

"Not sure I want to be a Malfoy," Ron grumbled. Hermione reminded him he didn't have to join, and he promptly stopped arguing.

"It will only last for an hour and while that should be long enough, we don't want to risk it," Draco explained, glancing at Hermione who nodded in confirmation. "Hermione will perform the spell before we apparate there and then right before we break off into our groups."

"Speaking of groups," Ginny said, raising her hand slightly. "How are we planning on doing that? You're the only one that knows the layout of the Manor and there's an odd number of us."

"Since Ron and Harry can't be trusted alone or with Draco, you'll go with them," Hermione told her. "I'll go with Draco. As far as getting around, once the ley lines are triggered, the Manor will destroy anyone who doesn't share Malfoy blood."

"It's possible the Dark Lord put his own blood into the Manor grounds as well," Draco reminded them.

While he and Hermione took care of the ley lines and blood magic, it was up to Ginny, Harry, and Ron to find the Dark Lord and kill him as soon as the magic was triggered. Everyone else would be trapped, even his Aunt Bellatrix as she did not share Malfoy blood or the name.

"Can't promise I won't just kill them all," Ginny grumbled, twirling her wand beside her. Draco shared a look with Hermione who shrugged. "So, anyone we should target in particular?"

* * * * *

When the next morning came, Hermione met Harry downstairs with their food and she and Draco ate in comfortable silence. They'd fine tuned their plan even further and Hermione had practiced the blood sharing spell several times after Harry, Ginny, and Ron had left. All that was left for them to do at this point was wait.

"Have you ever actually researched the wards and blood magic used to protect your Manor?" Hermione asked, her feet in Draco's lap as they sat on an old sofa.

"Of course," Draco replied. He ran his hand up her leg and smirked when she kicked him lightly. "My father was always proud of the Malfoy magic and how deep it ran into the earth. I don't remember a summer he didn't tell me about the ley lines."

"And when did you learn about the blood magic?" Hermione asked. Draco paused, thinking a little longer.

"Three summers ago," he answered quietly. "After I took the mark, I wanted to know if the Manor used blood magic too. It wasn't as hard to find out as I thought it would be."

"The dark mark uses blood magic?" Hermione asked. Her hand moved over his arm and she softly touched his mark. Draco's fingers twitched involuntarily but she didn't pull away.

"Yeah," he replied, his voice quiet once more. He turned his arm over and Hermione's fingers moved to lace through his as the room fell silent.

While they continued to talk all day, the day moved past slowly. Ginny brought them lunch but apparated out quickly and they had until dinner before they saw anyone again. By the time Harry, Ginny, and Ron did arrive, Hermione and Draco were hungry enough they hardly bothered greeting them.

"You're the ones that said come later," Ron grumbled after Hermione had snatched the two plates from him.

Neither of them bothered replying as they quickly ate all of the food on the plates then sat back in their seats. A quick glance at the clock told them there was only fifteen minutes before they had planned to leave, but no one said anything for several minutes.

"We're sure this will work, right?" Ginny asked, glancing between Hermione and Draco.

"Yeah," Hermione said, nodding to herself. "Yeah, because we've planned it down to the second and Draco's done enough research for all of us."

"Will we be able to leave if it goes wrong?" Harry asked, looking at Draco. He pursed his lips and hesitated.

"If you still have Malfoy blood, yes," he answered. If not, the Manor would trap them inside even if the ley lines hadn't been triggered yet. "If you feel like something's wrong, apparate."

"Merlin, we're gonna die," Ron muttered, looking away from the group. Hermione scowled at him, but she was forced to look away when the clock alerted them to the time and they knew they were to get going.

Without a word, Draco held out his arm and Hermione murmured the spell to draw out his blood. He swayed slightly and Harry settled a hand on his shoulders to steady him while they all watched Hermione. The large pool of blood floated above them and split into four sections. At Hermione's word, it dove into the bare arms of her, Ginny, Ron, and Harry. The area glowed for a second or two then faded.

"That's it?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded. "Seems simple."

"It's actually very complex magic," Hermione said, choosing to refrain from mentioning that it was based in the dark arts. "We should hurry before it starts to wear off."

Draco held out his arms and they all grabbed hold of his robes tightly. Once making sure they were all secure and there was no risk of splinching, Draco closed his eyes and apparated them all directly into his bedroom. They stayed still until they were sure no one had heard the apparation and they hadn't triggered any wards. Even though Draco's blood should work, there was always the risk the dark magic of the Manor would refuse to recognise someone deemed a traitor by his family.

"So this is where we wait now?" Ron asked, glancing around the large room. Draco nodded.

"You'll know when the ley lines have been activated," he promised, adjusting his hold of Hermione's hand. "When they do, go straight down the stairs, down the hall, and the dining hall is the third door on your left. If he isn't in there, he's in the drawing room which is—"

"We know," Harry interrupted, glancing at Hermione. Draco squeezed her hand and she gave Harry an awkward smile. "If he's not there, he'll be in your father's study, down the second hall, fifth door to the right."

"Good," Draco said. He glanced at Hermione then and asked, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," she replied. He nodded and they both smiled at the remaining three before Draco apparated out of the room with Hermione clutched tightly to his side.