Disclaimer: Unfortunately, they don't belong to me. If they did, I would be rich.
A/N: This story was beta'ed by the wonderful Thevina. Many, many thanks to her for her time and help. :o)
Wake me, Chapter 1 (Forcibly Taken)
Oh God, those lips. She's saying something so insistently, repeating the same words over and over again, but I can't force my mind to pay attention. My whole world spins in the periphery; silence and stillness are central as I watch her mouth move.
Suddenly she is touching me, grasping my shoulders. Could this be the moment? Is she finally going to take a step toward me and we can stop this exhausting dance? She is shaking me. I force my eyes to see her whole face, focus on what she is telling me.
"Help me, Ron; Help me, Ron; Help me, Ron!"
Help her? Why is there terror in her eyes instead of love, desire, yearning?
I reached out to grab for her, but she disappeared before my eyes as I awakened.
Fuck, I'm hot and sweaty and it was just a dream.
Trying to shake off the dream, I decided to get a cold glass of water. Maybe a cold shower. I can't keep doing this to myself. I want her so badly, but she's like the dream- she feels so real, but so completely out of my grasp.
To satisfy myself that she was safe, I stole quietly off the couch to her bedroom. Why isn't she in her bed? Why is her bed still made?
Beginning to become alarmed, I told myself she must be in the shower, though I didn't hear the water running. Looking at the clock, I realized it's already 11:30 and that I was asleep on the couch for three hours waiting for her to come home. She wasn't in the bathroom, not in the kitchen, not in Harry's room- where is Harry?- not outside on the balcony.
"Hermione? Hermione? Damn it, if you are here, answer me!" Oh shite, oh shite, oh shite.
With a flick of my wand and a pop I Disapparated from the flat we all share to the Burrow. She must have come to see Ginny after work and forgotten to owl. I can't believe she would forget to owl in a time like this! Does she want me to have a heart attack?
"Hello dear, what are you doing here?" As Mum looked expectantly at me, I absentmindedly went to hug her and kiss her cheek.
"Where's Hermione?"
"She's not here dear, I imagine she's back at your flat."
"She's not there, I've been waiting for her. Are you sure she isn't here?" Oh shite, oh shite, oh shite.
"No, I haven't seen her all evening. Maybe she's with Harry?" Mum said, barely concealing the fear and anxiety in her voice.
"I'll check at the Ministry next- maybe she decided to wait for him to finish up before coming home. Don't worry Mum, I'll owl as soon as I find her." You prat, now you've worried her for something which- well, which better be nothing.
"Please do. You know I worry so about all of you. Goodbye love."
Mum disappeared from my sight with another flick and pop. Once at the Ministry, I automatically walked toward Harry's office, certain they would both be there, getting ready to row with her for not owling me to say she will be late. As my temper began to flare, I walked straight into Harry.
"Sorry mate, I was just coming to see you." Where is she?
"Are you all right? You look like hell. Is it Hermione? Is she okay?" Oh shite, oh shite, oh shite.
I felt horrified as true panic set in. "You mean she's not here? She's not at home, not at the Burrow. I thought for sure she was with you."
We sprinted toward her office, believing against hope that she will still be there. Her office was askew and immediately I knew something was horribly wrong. Signs of a struggle were everywhere: papers strewn haphazardly; an ink bottle broken on the desk surface; a scorch mark on the wall.
"What the hell happened in here? How long has this office been this way? Where is Hermione Granger?" Harry bellowed at the top of his lungs.
Several people appeared immediately and looked shocked at the state of the office. No one uttered a word.
"I said, what happened here? Where was everyone?"
"We've all been here Mr. Potter, working around the clock. I heard nothing at all, nothing…" an employee stammered.
"Damn it, someone must have gotten in here and cast a silencing charm before she even noticed. Oh Merlin, we need to start the search immediately before any more time passes," I said ferociously. Don't panic. Don't you dare fall apart.
Harry instantly went into Auror mode, barking out orders, running throughout the halls of the Ministry and notifying everyone who can help. "You need to go home and wait for her," Harry insisted. "One of us needs to be there."
"Over my dead body. If you think I'm going to go home and wait for her, you're barking mad. I'm not going to sit on my hands, especially since I wasn't able to help her, save her earlier." I said the last part quietly, pain breaking my voice. Please don't send me home, I'll die.
"Ron, this isn't the time to be self-deprecating. You couldn't possibly have known that anything would happen to Hermione. Although I'm surprised you didn't check on her earlier if she should have been home four hours ago. Sorry, I didn't mean that, I'm just worried. Bloody hell."
Don't lash out, don't lose your head. You know what you need to do; you do this every time a member of the community goes missing. But this is different. It's never been her before.
"She's in trouble Harry, I just know she is. I had a dream about her. I was asleep and she was asking me to help her. She kept asking me over and over again to help her, but I couldn't wake up and when I did it was too late. They've taken her." My voice broke again. Don't lose it. You'll be no help if you break down.
"Ron, you've done nothing wrong, but I need you to go back to her office and see if there is any evidence of what may have happened- besides the obvious. I need to know anything that might tell us where to find her. And then go home. Check one last time and make sure that this isn't just a horrible mistake. See if there have been any owls with demands or threats. Then come back here and you can lead the sky team, so don't forget your broom. I'll lead one of the ground teams, have Charlie lead another ground team and Moody lead another. I'll also start Ginny to work on locating her with that new spell she's been working on. Ron, we'll find her. Get going. I expect you to be back here and ready in 15 minutes."
Harry and I rank equally in the Auror department, both with a lot of pull, but I gratefully accepted Harry giving me something to do and pointing me in the right direction. I tore through Hermione's office, finding nothing of help. Home was the same. Breathe, breathe. No notes, no Hermione, no chance to wake up from this nightmare.
"Fuck," I said to no one in particular before grabbing my broom and Disapparating again. Dread set in once I found myself back in the Ministry.
"Any news?" Please. "Anything?" I'm going to die, please don't let this be happening! At seeing the apprehensive expression on Harry's face, I lost hope of waking up and set my jaw firmly. "All right. Well, we have precious little time. Let's get this started. Good luck Harry, and send word if you find her. I'll do the same."
Harry and I exchanged a glance before I gathered the Auror sky team and gave orders. We will find her. We need to.
As the teams took off swiftly, I felt sure the horror setting in was just beginning.
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