"Are you sure you're all right?" Harry asked two days later as Tonks emerged from the bathroom after dashing out a few moments ago when Harry had opened a packet of vinegar crisps.

"I'm fine" Tonks dismissed looking rather pale and distinctly relieved when she noticed Harry had put the smelly crisps away

Harry looked at her sceptically, now that he thought about it Tonks had looked a little more drawn than she had done when she and Lupin had arrived at Privet Drive earlier in the month.

To his surprise she grinned at his expression "We did want to tell you together, once I was a bit further along but well…" she put her hand to her stomach "Remus and I are going to have a baby"

Harry's eyes widened considerably as he tried to think of something to say "That's…" he spluttered.

"Reckless, dangerous, irresponsible… highly impractical given the circumstances" Tonks offered with a large smile of her face.

"Wonderful" Harry said firmly "Congratulations"

"Thanks" Tonks grinned "I won't say it was planned but I have to admit I am quite excited." She shook her head grinning stupidly "Can you imagine me with a baby? I'll probably drop it."

"Don't be silly" Harry said "You and Remus will be amazing parents" he said confidently. Tonks' eyes shone warmly at this statement.

There was a noise that came up above them as the tree trunk door opened. The mood changed instantly as Harry and Tonks leapt to their feet with their wands out; there were two sets of footsteps coming down the staircase. Hermione Harry thought happily.

There was a sharp rap on the door and they heard Lupin's voice "Nymphadora, what was the first thing I ever said to you?"

Tonks smiled "'Mind the Troll's Leg, what happened next?"

There was a short silence and then Lupin "You tripped anyway and then I caught you" Harry noted with some shock that he almost sounded bashful.

Tonks said an unlocking charm and the door opened to reveal Lupinbut instead of Hermione he was accompanied by a middle aged tubby man Harry had met only once before.

"Dad!" Tonks cried and ran over to hug her father.

"Hello pumpkin" Ted Tonks said holding his daughter close

"I thought he would be more comfortable here than roaming the countryside" Lupin said

"Yes I'm afraid building an underground hideout never occurred to me but I suppose Remus has to think about these things when he's well…you know" Mr Tonks smiled although Harry noticed it didn't quite reach his eyes.

There was an awkward silence before Tonks said "Come on Dad, I'll show you your room, I'm afraid you're in with Harry."

"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked as soon as the Tonks and Ted had left the room.

Lupin's face fell "Sit down Harry"

"She's dead isn't she?" Harry hoarsely voiced his worst fear begging Lupin to contradict him.

"I don't know" Lupin admitted

A sharp pain hit Harry in his chest and he staggered back a step, "Well what do you know?" he demanded

"Sit down and I will tell you" Lupin told him forcefully and for a moment Harry felt as though he was back in his third year Defence Against the Dark Arts class.

"I'm sorry Harry" Lupin said rubbing his temple "I'm afraid you're not the only one who finds this frustrating. Please sit, once Nymphadora and her father come back I'll tell you everything."

Tonks and her father did not take long, after all it was a very small dwelling and all they had had to do was move Harry's bed to the left and transfigure a spare pillow into another twin bed. They all sat down in front of the fire and Lupin began his tale.

"I went to Kingsley first, with Mad-Eye gone, Kingsley has now become the defacto Head of the Order and he had previously let me know where I could find him if we ever had to go 'underground' so to speak" Harry noticed Lupin did not say where Kingsley was "From what Kingsley discovered the night of Scrimgeour's murder and from those still in the Ministry we now know it is in the hands of the Death Eaters, the new Minister for Magic is a man called Pius Thickness who we strongly believe to be under the Imperius Curse from You Know Who. The most important thing however is that we can no longer use You Know Who's name" he told them

Harry frowned "We can't call him Vol…"

"Harry" Lupin hissed in warning before telling him "You must not say the name, somehow the Death Eaters have found a way to make it taboo."

"What does that mean when it's at home" Mr Tonks asked "Not that I'm about to spout off You Know Who's name"

"It means if you say the name it will break all magical enchantments, the Fidelus charm, the concealing charms hiding this place will be useless right Remus?" Tonks said and her husband nodded.

"It also casts an anti-disapparation jinx in an attempt to trap the witch or wizard. They almost caught Kingsley and I," Lupin said "Luckily we got away in time. He's in hiding now as are the Weasleys."

Harry took an intake of breath at this news.

"Arthur tried to free Ron but he was spotted before he could get down to the holding cells, they didn't capture him but it has forced he and the family to go into hiding." Lupin said "I can't tell you where as I am not the secret keeper for their location."

"What about Ron?" Harry asked desperate for news.

"Well he is at the Ministry as we suspected. They took several wedding guests, most of whom were released once it became clear they did not know anything but Ron they are keeping; whether for information or as bait for you Harry we're not sure" Lupin told him "From what we have heard Ron doesn't appear to have told them anything and doesn't intend to."

Harry bristled at the implication that would be a possibility "And Hermione?" he said through gritted teeth.

There was a long pause "We don't know where she is. I'm sorry Harry it appears she was taken at the wedding as well but certainly not to the Ministry" he said gravely "The Weasleys thought she was with us…nobody's heard from her."

Harry gripped his hands very hard and got up striding towards the front door. "Harry where are you going?" Tonks asked in alarm.

"To the Ministry" he said shortly

"Harry!" Lupin stopped him by grabbing his arm "You cannot go marching into the Ministry, don't you see that's just what they want you to do. They have accused you of Dumbledore's murder, every witch and wizard in the land has been told you are Undesirable Number One. There is a price on your head!"

"I don't care!" Harry shouted "I've already lost Hermione; I'm not losing Ron too!"

"And how do you propose to get him?" Lupin shot back "You have no idea where they are keeping him, what the new security measures on the Ministry are, you can't just go into the telephone box anymore and announce your name."

"I'll…I'll think of something" Harry said "I've got my wand and invisibility cloak, I don't need anything else."

"Yes you do, please think about this Harry" Lupin begged "I'm not going to let you get yourself killed!"

"I can't leave him there" Harry protested

Lupin placed both his hands on Harry's shoulders and stared at him straight in the eyes "I told you we will get Ron back and we will" he said forcefully "But you have to trust me, let me find out more information, give us time to form a plan and I promise I will go with you to rescue Ron."

Harry reluctantly nodded.

oOoOoOo

Hermione lay shivering in the dark cell of Crabbe Castle. Since her first day she had not left it. The voiceless house elf who brought her food and Mr Crabbe who brought a whole new kind of pain were her only visitors

She pressed her legs together in a defensive mechanism and because she didn't want to see the dried blood on her inner thighs. She would wash it off but it was so rare that the house elf would bring water that Hermione could not help but drain every last drop to relieve her parched throat.

Over and over in her mind she tried to look for a way to escape. The door looked to be a foot thick with a great iron lock and the small hole in the wall opened out to a sharp drop straight down to waves crashing at the jagged rocks below. She remembered in The Count of Monte Cristo when Dantes had tunnelled to his neighbour's cell in his quest for freedom. But Hermione had no tools, no strength and no time, it couldn't be long before Crabbe found out she was here and told his father who she really was.

Hermione wondered if they would bring her directly before Voldemort or if somebody else would torture her for information. She certainly knew a lot about Harry but would she be considered important enough. She would need to avoid going in front of him at all costs; Hermione had played around a little with Occlumency but would undoubtedly be hopeless against a real Legilems.

If it came to it Hermione decided she would have to provoke Mr Crabbe into killing her first. She was quite surprised at the ease at which she made this decision, of course she had been prepared to die for Harry for a long time, almost since first year in fact but now it wasn't just a possibility it was an almost certainty.

She just hoped she was dead before any information about Ron, Harry or the horcruxes escaped her mind. Ron and Harry would find them she reassured herself, they would find them and destroy them and this would all be over. She hoped they would visit her grave.

oOoOoOo

"Crucio" a gravelly voice shouted out from above him.

A thousand hot knives pierced Ron's skin at once and he screamed out, sweat and tears pooling on the floor as he writhed in agony.

"I'll ask you again Mr Weasley, what do you know of Potter and the Order?" Runcorn's false politeness had long since evaporated as he questioned Ron for the fifth day in a row, the third since he had started using the Cruciatus Curse. They were in Runcorn's office on Level 2 of the Ministry and all Ron could think was why didn't somebody help him?

"Mr Weasley" Runcorn warned.

Ron lay panting on the marble floor biting his tongue until it bled. Let them try and get anything out of me he thought with a sudden savagery, just let them try.

"Once more time then" Runcorn spat in irritation "Crucio"

Ron opened his mouth but his senses were so dulled he could not tell if he was actually screaming or not. It felt as if every bone in his body was breaking and somebody was running a red hot poker under his skin.

Death he thought with comfort, maybe that would come soon…or madness. In his more lucid moments Ron wondered about Neville's parents and how long they may have lasted, if he was very lucky he might join them soon.

That would be convenient for Neville Ron had thought in dark humour, he could visit both parties in one go.

Someone was lifting him off the floor Ron registered and he heard muffled voices as though they were coming from the inside of a padded room. Dully he realised he was being dragged back to the lift.

Somebody, Stan, or Flint maybe, levitated his body back to his cell and closed the door with a muffled clang. Blurry shapes floated in front of his eyes as he tried to regain his vision. Every muscle in his body cried out for death and soon he felt the coldness of fear as the dementors passed him in their patrol.

Saving him the agony of sinking into his own misery Ron instead sank into unconsciousness.

At some point during the night Ron dreamt of silver light that lifted the coldness. "'Ermione" he croaked as cool liquid was poured into his mouth alleviating the aches in his weary body.

"Love you Hermione" Ron murmured not registering that the dream like phantom had placed something in his jean pocket and he closed his eyes as the silver glow left and the frost of the dementors returned.

So not the happiest chapter but things do get better I promise. Draco Malfoy will make his first appearance in the next chapter.

Please review and let me know your thoughts, I'd really like to know what you think of the story so far - thanks