"The House Elves," Severus Snape shook his head, pacing the small space between Professor Dumbledore's desk and the fireplace. "I can't believe we did not think of it before."

The Headmaster brought the tips of his fingers together and stared into the fire with a firm frown, "It never occurred to me that House Elves would be employed."

Pale and with heavy bruising beneath her puffy eyes, Hermione looked to Dumbledore, "Professor, could one of the House Elves here perhaps-"

"No, Ms. Granger," Snape cut her off mid sentence. "Without any form of knowledge of the family who sent them or the coordinates of where they have gone, there is no way for us to follow."

Harry hit his fist against the Headmaster's desk, "There has to be something we can do. There has to."

After they had arrived in the Kitchens, Harry and Professor Dumbledore had wrangled their way through the confused myriad of Dobby's speech as he explained to them what had happened, how Ron and Draco had disappeared. Upon arriving at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Weasley children and Draco had gone directly to the Kitchens on orders from Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Malfoy. No one had been able to have a bite to eat in the early hours of the day, rushed by the Headmaster to leave Grimmauld Place for the safety of the school. From what they gathered, the twins and Ginny had rushed their own meal in favor of bringing the grown ups an armful of muffins and croissants, eager to listen in on their conversations regarding the continued attacks being mounted by Voldemort's Death Eaters. Draco and Ron had remained alone, waiting for Hermione who was seeing their trunks into the Gryffindor common room before heading for breakfast herself. In the short time between Ginny and the twins' departure and Hermione's arrival, the entire thing had begun. A House Elf not recognized by the rest of the Hogwarts staff had apparently been working alongside them quietly, beginning on the day that Draco had taken his examinations and thought he had been seen. In fact, he had, but it had not been by the Slytherins who they had come across.

Instead, they had finally come to the startling revelation that House Elves from an unknown origin had been partaking in jobs in Hogwarts for an unspecified period of time. It was so simple and it made so much sense that everyone was shocked, completely bewildered at how it could have gone on for so long without any of the Hogwarts House Elves thinking to notify the Headmaster. However, with Draco's stint in his new quarters came his request from several of his own House Elves for food, favors, and things from his home, including the Malfoy marriage stone on Harry's finger. Though no one liked it, none of the House Elves were of the mind set to allow their discomfort with the circumstances to be known, especially not to Dumbledore. They wanted Draco to be comfortable and accepted the new additions with a grain of salt. In so doing, however, they unknowingly allowed for Draco to be poisoned and, now, captured. The Headmaster had been able to piece the puzzle together within moments of finding out what had been happening under his very nose. They could find no one in the castle responsible for poisoning Draco, because the responsible parties were able to leave Hogwarts quietly after they had done what their masters bid them.

It was clear to everyone present that someone in Voldemort's camp was responsible, that some Death Eater or Voldemort himself had found an inconspicuous way to sneak enslaved House Elves into the castle under their bidding. If no one knew what to look for, the House Elves were able to go about their business without being noticed; it was clever beyond words, the plan's cleverness lying greatly on its simplicity. Of course Voldemort had known that Draco was still alive, had managed to learn that he and Harry Potter had become something more than enemies, something more than even friends. How convenient it must have seemed to him then to wait patiently for a chance to strike, a chance to goad Harry into doing something stupid, a way to finally murder him. With no one around, Ron and Draco were free for the taking leaving behind a trail of blood that led nowhere but to a dead end. The Headmaster had questioned the entire staff, had scoured the entirety of the castle for any other signs of sabotage. He had immediately sealed House Elf access into Hogwarts and had not heeded either Harry or Hermione's warning about perhaps losing a means to find the two boys if their persecutors could not come back to lead the Order to them. Every person on the side of the Light had been warned about the threat and a meeting was to be held late into the night, when everyone could come. The Ministry had been notified, though with Fudge in charge it was merely a means to warn the wizarding world rather than to expect any help or resutls. In the mean time, no one could do anything, and the helplessness pooled heavily in the room, settling with great weight on the shoulders of the Weasleys, Narcissa, Hermione, and Harry's ruminating thoughts.

Snape regarded Harry sternly, "Whatever idiotic ideas you have coursing through your miniscule mind, stop them. You will do nothing but make things worse if you rush off like some two cent fool without any plan or sense. Potter, we have been working hard to shape you into a powerful wizard, and it will do no one any good, especially not Weasley and Malfoy, if you go and throw it all out the window. Control your emotions."

"Professor Snape is right," Hermione said softly. "We aren't alone on this one, Harry. For Ron and Draco's sakes, I think it would be best if we listened to our elders."

Harry turned to her, "Hermione, I-"

"No," she settled in an unarguable tone. "You will do nothing, Harry, because you could very well get them killed. R-Ron and Draco deserve more from us than to act without using the resources available to us. I- Harry, I know what you're thinking, because I'm thinking it too, but we can't allow ourselves to be the reason why this morning we might have seen them without ever having the chance to te-tell them how much-" Hermione was unable to continue and instead glanced down at her fisted hands as she swallowed convulsively to stop the tears that would do no good from coming.

"Hermione is right," said the Headmaster. "It is the reason why I called for us four to converse without the others, because I know you both and know what you would be tempted to do."

Harry pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes, "Professor-" but it led nowhere. He didn't know what to say, did not know what to do, felt nothing but the shaking of his hands against his legs and the sickening drop of his stomach when he remembered the blood splattered on the floor.

Hermione turned her attention to Snape, "Professor, excuse me for asking, but have you had any insight as to what has caused this? Has V-Voldemort called a meeting or told anyone why now of all times he would do this?"

"No," Snape shook his head. "Why precisely, I cannot tell you, though I have some guesses as I'm sure you all do. Why now is easier to understand."

"What do you mean, Professor?" Harry asked looking sharply at him.

"I mean, Potter, that it is no coincidence that at this moment the Dark Lord is choosing to show everyone his power. No; he has not told anyone what the ultimate plan is, because he is waiting until it cannot go wrong. However, I can assure you that taking hostages, the children of members of the Order and of Malfoy who had betrayed the Dark Lord, not to mention your best friend and boyfriend, has been done with nothing but the most meticulous attention."

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed. "It is of no question that they will be used against us, but we cannot lose our heads. We will do our best to get them back, will stop at nothing until we achieve that goal. However, Harry, Hermione, we will do it together and in a thoughtful manner."

"Nothing will be kept from us, then?" Hermione asked.

"No," the Headmaster shook his head. "In fact, you will both be imperative not only for this but for the war itself."

Harry nodded and turned to Hermione, "Then there's something you need to know."

iIiIiI

"Quiet, Weasley," Draco cautioned in the dark, pausing his own movements to listen to the faint swish of a cloak somewhere above them.

Ron stopped his attempts to free himself and winced when the ropes dug into the cut on his leg, "What is it?"

Draco shook his head when he heard the retreating steps, "Nothing. I thought I heard someone coming. Are you still bleeding?"

Ron shook his head getting back to his bindings, "Not too badly. What I want to know is who did this and where the hell we are."

"Actually, I think we're in my father's home," Draco avoided Ron's eyes.

The red head went wide eyed, "You mean you father-"

"What? Weasley, no. Use your brain, man. My father is stuck in St. Mungo's; what I mean is that I recognize this part of the house. I only came down here once when I was able to sneak away from my parents and the nanny at the time," said Draco.

"But then, do you mean that You-Know-Who took over your house?"

"Yes," Draco glanced about them, searching for something sharp with which to cut the ropes. "That's exactly what I mean."

Everything had happened in a confused hurry. One second they were eating companiably waiting for Hermione and Harry, and the next a set of House Elves had attacked them. In an effort to make those loyal to Dumbledore keep their distance, Ron's leg had been cut with a wave of one of the House Elves' hands and Draco had been knocked into the far wall by the fireplace. His head had hit the stone harshly and he had scraped his cheek on the way down. No one had been able to help them, including Hermione who had shown up seconds before they were taken away. She had attempted to get near them, but they had been dragged away into the fireplace before she could reach them. One of the House Elves had shot magic at her and sent her sprawling, leaving the path clear for them to disappear.

Ron and Draco had not gone without a fight, but upon arriving in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor, a cloaked and masked Death Eater had greeted them, bound them, and released the House Elves of their duty. The man had punched Ron in the face when the redhead would not quiet and finally convinced them to walk towards their holding cell without further fuss. The experience had been intimidating, both of their hearts beating extra hard and more quickly than usual, thrumming with adrenaline. For hours now they had been left alone with only the far off sounds of scuttling feet as any indication that they weren't completely alone.

"Alright," Ron began strategizing. "First of all, how spoiled rotten can you be? A nanny, honestly, Malfoy," he said making Draco grin. "Secondly, we still have the advantage. If we can manage to get out of here, then you will be the only person in the entire house who can get us out of here the fastest."

"Brave but stupid, Weasley," Draco shook his head. "There's no way we will be able to get out of here. Guards will be sent down here, even if they aren't here to stay. Obviously, no one thinks we're smart or dangerous enough to warrant round the clock watch. Without our wands, they might be right. However, we have something they don't know about."

"What's that?"

"My mother's lucky family inheritance," Draco inclined his head. "I have a photographic memory."

"What good will that do us?" Ron frowned.

"Stop your grunting, caveman," Draco hushed him. "We can't get out without our wands, and we can't make any noise, but there's something here that might be able to help us."

"What is it?" Ron asked watching him concentrate.

Draco's eyes roamed the room past the bars, up to the far left in the ceiling, "There."

Ron turned his head to look, "What?"

"I remember coming as far as just past this cell, and I noted something strange on the ceiling. See my father has this strange obsession with our home; he likes everything to be perfect, a show of our wealth and social standing. I found it odd, then, that he would allow two faint lines to mark a spot without having it immediately corrected," said Draco.

Ron squinted in the dim light of a burning torch in the wall furthest to them, "I can't see anything."

"That's because I imagine it drove him crazy. During that time we had been visited on and off by a set of foreign wizards, very sketchy, who disappeared for hours and then left. However, I saw one of them come out of nowhere just from below the dining room. I think they created a secret compartment big enough to fit several grown wizards," Draco said rubbing his hands together to see if he could get one through. No luck.

Ron shook his head, "But why would your father want another secret compartment? I mean, your house is ancient. It must be riddled with spaces no one but people in your family know about."

"Ron," Draco said significantly, "your face reminds me of a rat's ass. Also, it was just before the start of our Fourth Year. My father knew something was beginning, something very important with regard to the war. For one reason or another, I think my father believed it a good idea to create a safe place for his family if something went down. It makes sense if you think about it. I'm sure he knew that the Dark Lord would eventually grace our home. Slytherins by nature will double cross, Weasley. Now, I don't imagine my father would look to double cross the most dangerous wizard in recent history, but I do imagine that he trusted him only as much as my father ever trusts anyone, which is not at all."

"So you think-"

"I think," Draco looked around to make sure no one was coming and lowered his voice, "I think that if we can somehow get out of our bindings, overpower our captor, get his, or even better, our wands back, then we can try and get into the room. No one will know of it; of that I'm sure."

"How can you be positive?" Ron asked, green with pain and the idea of what it seemed they were going to try to do.

Draco swallowed, "I- alright, not sure, then, but it's our best guess."

Ron nodded, "It's the best we've got. By the by, at least I don't look constantly like a constipated prat, just saying."

iIiIiI

"You- you're a what?" Hermione's face had lost it's color, her eyes wide with shock.

Harry closed his eyes, avoiding looking at Remus, Narcissa, and the Weasley parents. Snape had been informed earlier by Dumbledore and looked unmoved in a corner; it seemed only Hermione was able to draw breath to string words together, "Please don't ask me to repeat it again."

Remus stepped forward, preventing Hermione from saying anything further, "What's the plan, Headmaster?"

Professor Dumbledore nodded, all business, "As of twenty hours ago, Lord Voldemort dropped out of our radar; I mean, he completely disappeared. Severus has not been called since then and even if he were, we would probably have no idea of his whereabouts if he conducts the meeting indoors. If he does, Severus, please take note of the architecture, or the furnitures, the style and approximate time they were made. We have to take everything into account. That being said, Severus believes that Ron and Draco are being held in one of the major Death Eater's homes."

"What makes you think that?" asked Mr. Weasley, ashen faced.

Severus stepped forward, "It will be an honor bestowed on whoever secured them. However, I have also expressed that I think that it is also likely they are being held in Malfoy Manor."

"But," Narcissa shook her head, "my husband is in the hospital, and there is nothing there for them. Why would they-"

"To shame you," Severus said pursing his lips.

"Alright," Harry interjected. "We think they are at Malfoy Manor. Now what? What are we going to do?"

Professor Dumbledore's eyes strayed to Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Malfoy before straying away, "Now we bide our time."

"What?" Harry jumped out of his chair.

"Potter, the place is crawling with Death Eaters. I need more time to figure out where and when they will be placed at their stations," Severus said.

Hermione shook her head and said shrilly, "They don't have time."

Mrs. Weasley took in a shuddering breath, putting her hand against her chest, "Professor, that is my child."

"Molly," Dumbledore looked upon her kindly.

"No," Mr. Weasley put his hand upon his wife's shoulder. "You are right, Headmaster. We do this right."

iIiIiI

"It's about every forty-five minutes," Draco said under his breath, watching a Death Eater disappear up the stairs.

They had been timing the number of times they were checked upon, hours after their arrival in to Malfoy Manor. Neither had watches and without their wands, they had no other way to really know how long they were taking. However, they had been able to figure out that Death Eaters came at least once within the space of an hour. Thirty minutes was too short, and sixty minutes did not sit right with Ron. He insisted that it was too long, sure that they were looked to sooner than that. This was the fourth time now since they had started counting, and Draco finally agreed with him. They both knew that what they were going to do was stupid, but it didn't change the fact that if they attempted nothing, they were both probably dead.

"Okay," Ron said glancing around the room. "There's nothing here that's going to help us knock him out."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Thanks for the good news, Weasley."

"What I mean, Malfoy," Ron glared at him, "is that we are going to have to get the bloke close enough to the cell so we can somehow overpower him."

"Hmm, alright," Draco cocked his head. "There's this slight problem, you see. We are currently fucking roped."

"Thanks for that," Ron rolled his eyes. "Look, we have forty-five minutes to figure this out. If one of us can get free, we can do this. If we can't knock the Death Eater out by force, then we have to get to his wand."

Draco nodded, "Alright."

Ron shook his head looking down at his still bound hands, "This would be so much easier with Hermione here."

Draco grinned.

"No, not- shut up, Malfoy. She's brilliant; she would be able to get us out of this."

"Well, we're lucky Harry isn't here," Draco said, his face going slightly harder. "He would be dead the moment he walked here."

"They will figure it out," said Ron. "We just have to stay alive long enough for them to find us."

"Right, then," Draco said, scooting forward. "Let me see your hands; maybe I can undo the bindings."

iIiIiI

"Are you ready?" Draco asked, breathless. He was having a hard time drawing in breath, what with the anticipation bubbling in his belly and the horror of knowing that if they fucked this up they were as good as dead.

Ron looked a little green, but he nodded, "Yeah."

"There," Draco said quietly watching the cloaked figure walking towards the. "Oh, shit."

"Fuck," Ron said; it was a woman. They had sent a woman to check upon them. His thoughts were becoming a little fantric with this revelation. Of course, he was willing to do whatever it took to keep both himself and Draco alive, but to attack a woman was- it was something he had never expected to have to do.

Shaking his head to clear it, Draco proceeded with the plan, making sure to avoid Ron's eyes so that he would not lose his nerve, "Excuse me. Excuse me. Could you please tell me where we are?"

The witch came closer, shining her wand on them, "Shut up."

"Well, that's not very nice," Ron frowned standing up.

The woman pushed her wand beneath his neck and pressed it down, hard, "I said shut up."

"And I say you are a very stupid woman," Draco said, bringing his arms around and letting the loose ropes drop. Kicking off, he rushed to the bars and hung on to the woman, pushing his hand on her mouth to stop her from screaming out for help.

At the same time, Ron grabbed the wand, catching her unaware and stunned her, stepping back with a wide eyed look when she crumpled to the floor. He turned to look at Draco and let out a laugh too shrill in the echoing, empty dungeons, "That just worked."

Draco nodded, "Unbelievable. Come on; we have to get out of here, fast. It won't be long before they figure out something is wrong."

"Malfoy, leave your robe behind."

"Why?" Draco asked, already taking it off. They had not time to lose.

"I can transform them and put a temporary glamour charm that will make it like you're laying down and we can glamour her to look like me. It will buy us time," said Ron, heaving the stunned woman into the small cell after bewitching the door open.

Draco watched in silence as Ron worked and sighed with relief when it was over, an extra stunning charm in place to make sure that the witch stayed put. They hurried to the end of the hall where Draco took out the wand and aimed it at the ceiling, where the smooth surface cracked. He sliced his finger open with a grimace and sent the gush of blood up with the wand. There was no way that his father had not put a blood charm to make sure that no one but a Malfoy got in. With a smirk of triumph, he watched as a small silver ladder came down silently. He scampered forward and started climbing, helping Ron up through the small opening when Weasley came in through the trap door. Draco put his finger down on the door and dashed the blood on it, watching with anxious happiness as the floor became solid once again, completely hiding them from their captors. Glancing at Ron, he was not surprised to see the redhead shaking.

"We did it," Ron said as if he didn't believe it. "I was sure there was more chance of me getting a diamond than doing this."

"Wait a minute," Draco said, plunging his hand down into the pocket of his pants. "After Harry and I-"

Ron made a face and held up his hand, "I don't want to know about your sordid affairs with my best mate."

"No, you idiot," Draco said, ignoring him. He threaded his fingers through the necklace and put it on, watching it shine once it hit his skin, "We were in a hurry to get back to Grimmauld Place and I stuffed it in my pocket. Weasley, Harry has one just like it, and I know he has it on." He grinned and kept on, "You know, because we fucked."

"Oy," Ron said going scarlet.

Draco laughed, "Weasley, this might just be our ticket out of here. However, we have to keep calm for a bit. Harry can't just come here without some type of plan or help from the others, which is exactly what will happen if the necklace thinks I'm in mortal danger."

"Not to be a downer," Ron said, sitting down on the cold floor of the small room, completely bereft of anything but a series of potions and magical objects, "but we are in mortal danger."

iIIiIiI

Harry clamped his hand on the necklace as soon as he felt it burn against his skin, "Professor!"

They were all centered around Dumbledore's desk, planning. They had it all set out, knew the formations that would help them, Hermione proving to be surprisingly helpful and clever. The atmosphere around the room was tense and worried, everyone doing their best to keep calm. Mrs. Weasley was having a harder time than all of them, scrunched in a corner doing her best to calm down. Draco's mother, however, was steely and concentrated on doing her best to get her son back. If they were in Malfoy Manor, there was no one that knew the mansion better than she did. It was now one o'clock in the morning, and dark bruises were beginning to stain everyone's faces. Yet, no one seemed willing to give up. They had no idea what was happening to the boys, and Harry's stomach kept clenching every time that he thought about what could be happening to them. The necklace burning, however, was the first sign that they were still alive.

Professor Flitwick looked at Harry and turned to Dumbledore, "Headmaster, I can get whoever wears that necklace to its companion. However, depending on the distance, I may not be able to get them back here. Without another necklace to tie them together, it will be like fishing in an ocean."

Snape glanced apprehensively at the Headmaster who was busy doing some quick thinking, "Professor, what if one of the Death Eaters managed to-"

"No," Harry interrupted him. "Draco put the necklace in his pocket this morning. I really doubt that someone was going to go fishing through his things looking for jewelry of all things."

Narcissa stepped forward, "We could give you a Portkey."

"No," Dumbledore shook his head. "Portkeys take time, time which we do not possess."

Tiny Professor Flitwick shook his head sadly, "I cannot promise that I can get them back here."

"No," Hermione said, then turned her attention to Professor McGonagall, "but you can."

"What could you possibly mean, Ms. Granger?"

Hermione pulled Narcissa to her side, "Professor, remember what you told us, that if you have genetic of physical markers for someone or something, it becomes much easier to do magic on them, because it forces your own magic to concentrate on changing those particular markers."

"Yes, but-"

"Why can't that apply to Apparating them back here?" Hermione asked excitedly. "We have Mrs. Malfoy, who has fifty percent of Draco's genetic information, and we have Ron's parents. As for Harry, the necklace has recognizable and unique physical magical characteristics."

Professor McGonagall had gone pale but at Professor Dumbledore's questioning glance, she gave a stiff nod. They gathered around the desk once again, debating in low heated tones what was about to occur. Obviously Harry had to go, but he could not go alone. As they argued over each other to get their points across, Snape rolled his eyes and gathered his robes around himself. "I will go," he said with a finality to his voice that quieted everyone down. "I will go," he repeated watching Harry as the Gryffindor stood and threw his shoulders back, ready.

iIiIiI

"Harry!" Draco gasped when a sound like a vacuum sucking air through a straw startled them, stopping only when Harry and Severus had been slammed into the ground in front of them.

Harry rushed forward and threw his arms around Draco, his fingers shaking as he clung on to the back of the blond's shirt before moving and going to Ron who looked absolutely horrible. They had been too afraid to heal the cut without making sure that it was clean. Draco was no mediwizard and knew only crudely how to heal a wound from the times he had been in the Hospital Wing, and Ron knew even less. They had stemmed the flow of blood with Ron's shirt, which was bunched up around his thigh, a deep crimson color staining the white.

Snape stumbled to his feet and rushed to Ron, "We have to move quickly and get you out of here."

Ron looked at his hand strangely, feeling a rippling sort of tickling along the tips of his fingers. Before he could get a word in, Snape had gathered him forward and they were vanishing with the same sucking sound bouncing around them.

Draco crashed his lips against Harry's and thrust his tongue into the Gryffindor's mouth, "I'm so glad you're here."

Harry pulled back and looked at him, stroking Draco's cheek, "Are you okay?"

"No, but I will be," Draco responded, pushing his body against Harry's.

Snape suddenly appeared once again, looking grim, "Alright, go. Both of you."

Harry frowned, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Potter. You're wasting time. Go now."

"What about you?" Draco asked. "Are you going to Apparate after us?"

Snape gave him a steely gaze, "You are wasting time, Draco. Your necklaces will be called back any moment."

Even now Harry could feel the familiar tug at the end of his belly button. Something was wrong. Snape wouldn't be able to get back without Draco or a necklace. He couldn't Apparate directly to Hogwarts and Death Eaters were stationed around the school's perimeter, ready to take him the moment he showed up. The man had been so kind in coming, Harry could not- he could not do this to him. Kissing Draco one last time, Harry pushed the blond into Snape's arms and tore his necklace, thrusting it in Snape's hand, hearing Draco yell out a strangled, "NOOOOO!" before they were gone.

Staring down at this shaking hands, Harry was left alone.

iIiIiI

Sorry about the long wait. This one was hard, because it has to move the plot along. I hope you like it. I also took the time to write the first chapter of a new story, a MARCUS FLINT/ HARRY POTTER story. If you like Draco/ Harry, I promise you will like this one. It's a little more naughty and explicit than this one, which you will see off the first chapter. Okay, it's way MORE EXPLICIT. It's called Kind Of An Accident! PLEASE READ MY NEW ONE AND REVIEW. I PROMISE YOU WILL LIKE IT. REVIEWWWWWWWWWW!

Aly