This summer was not meant to be peaceful. The Dark Mark burned once more on their forearms, and the wizarding world once again groaned under the weight of Voldemort's name. War had not yet broken out openly, but everyone felt it in the air—in whispers, in glances, in the fear that clung to their skin like ash. The summer before their sixth year at Hogwarts brought confinement instead of rest. Malfoy Manor became a fortress, a prison, and a battlefield all at once.