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Chapter Twenty-one

Taken Away

By the end of the month Draco was not so sure Hermione was going to be that hard to crack open. Each night, after she got Abby and Aria off to bed she would sneak into his bedroom. There were only two things about the current arrangement that did not settle well with him. The first was that she would leave him soon after they were done making love and the second thing was that she refused to talk to him about anything but the mundane.

Last night she had come much later then usual and Draco suspected that she had actually tried to stay away and failed. After they had made love he had brought up his marriage proposal again, though he had not really meant too, it had sort of just come out of him. He had not gotten out the entire sentence though, before Hermione had gathered her things and left without a word. Draco did not see it as a set back though, since he felt that her reaction said that she was afraid of what she was feeling and was therefore afraid that she would cave in and marry him.

Thinking about it he started to doze off once more. A loud pounding on his bedroom door though made him growl low in his chest. He shouted, "Go away."

Abby shouted from the other side of the closed door, "We will not."

The threat reminded Draco of another time she had said the same thing. That time she had simply waltzed into his kitchen. Draco was thankful that he had pulled his pajama bottoms back on last night.

He called out, "Come in then."

The door swung open and crashed into the wall. It was on the rebound when Abby stopped it with a raised hand. She stormed into the room, Aria and Wicker right on her heels. Abby's expression was just as stormy as her entrance which had Draco sitting up in bed and taking notice. He did not have to wait long to find out why the two young girls were so fired up.

"Where's my mum?" Abby snapped nastily sounding very much like Hermione. "What did you do to her that made her go away?"

Arai nodded once and added, "What did you say to Hermione to make her so mad, Draco?"

Confused Draco asked, "What the hell are you two talking about?"

Abby balled up her fists and placed them on her hips in a fighting stance. Aria followed her friend's actions, glaring at Draco.

Abby yelled, "You may be my father but that doesn't mean I have to like you. You better not have hurt my mum because that will mean that I will have to get revenge and you won't like that."

"And," Aria chimed in, "you may be my favorite brother and all, but I'm gonna have to side with Abby on this."

"Okay, that's it," Draco rumbled as he climbed from the bed to tower over the two girls. The intimidation technique might have worked on other little kids but it was powerless on these two. The held their ground, identical frowns on their faces. Draco sighed, "I really don't know what the hell you two are talking about so unless you want to clue me in I can't answer your questions." He stopped them from jumping all over him verbally by holding up a hand. "Before you accuse me of anything more, why don't you try telling me what it is, exactly, what I did?"

"I'll tell you," Abby hissed between clenched teeth. "You did, or said something to my mum to make her leave and leave here with out me. That's what you did. I want to know what you did to make her so upset that she left without me."

"What do you mean that I-"

"She's not here," Abby screamed at him. She angrily tossed a small, crumpled piece of paper at him. "This was on her pillow this morning."

Taken back a little by Abby's hostility Draco reached out and snatched the paper before it floated to the floor. He read it.

I have to go. I cannot remain here with you, not after what has happened.

Draco's first instinct was to get angry because of Hermione's seemingly selfish actions, but before the emotion could completely take him over he read the note again. Hermione, no matter how hard she felt things might have been going for her, would have never left Abby behind. It was also unlike Hermione, in Draco's opinion, to leave only a cryptic message. She would have been more likely to leave a ten page report on what she was feeling and why she had felt compelled to leave.

The rage that had been starting to build up was rapidly replaced by fear. Without another word to the two girls still standing in front of him Draco raced around them and out of the room. He went to his office where he quickly sent off two notes, one to Harry and one to Leo. Harry would receive his in moments but Leo's would be at least an hour. Without waiting for a response from Harry, Draco once again ran from the room, this time he went to Hermione's room.

It was when he was racing back out of his office that he realized Abby and Aria were still with him. He ignored both even as they started badgering him with questions. He opened Hermione's bedroom door and stepped inside. Draco went only a few steps in before he looked back at the two girls. They no longer looked angry but worried and scared. Thankfully they had also fallen silent.

Wicker was at Abby's side as usual but when Draco glanced his way the dog whimpered softly and trotted over to the glass doors that led to the terrace. Draco ignored the dog and turned his attention onto the room. Nothing appeared out of place. The only odd thing was that the candle-lamp was still burning on low. Other then that one thing, the room looked as if Hermione had simply left for the day. The closet door was open and her clothes were still hanging there. Draco was sure that if he checked the dressers her belongings would be there also.

Just then Wicker gave a low growl, drawing Draco's attention. The animal was now pawing at the glass doors. Draco asked Abby, "Does he have to use the outdoors?"

Abby shook her head, "I took him to the room only a little while ago."

Draco had magically transformed one of the spare rooms into a park area for Abby and Wicker to play in and for Wicker to use as animals did. Draco was still watching Wicker. Something about the animal was pulling at Draco but he did not quite now what it was. He walked over to where the dog was and opened the terrace doors. Before he even had them open, Wicker was out, making Draco follow him.

Draco immediately spotted Hermione's shawl, it was batting around in the wind, hanging off one of the railing poles. Cold fear filled his stomach as he went to the railing and pulled the shawl free. He was terrified to look over the rails, fearing the worst. He took a deep breath, braced himself and looked over. Nothing was there.

Wicker placed his front paws on the top of the railing and started howling in low tones at the morning sky. Draco frowned. He looked up but there was nothing but stone and brick. He looked out to where it appeared Wicker was looking but saw only sky with a few wispy looking clouds.

"What are you trying to tell me?"

Wicker turned those startling clear blue eyes on Draco and whimpered.

Suddenly Draco was struck with an idea. He spun away from the railing intending to go inside but when he turned he came face to face with Harry, Ginny and Neville. All three of them looked worried but Harry looked as if he would like to tear something apart.

"Where is she?" he asked, his tone harsh with fear.

"I'm not sure," Draco said with a quick shake of his head. "I think Justice has her but I don't know for sure. I think I have an idea though."

"What would that be?" Ginny demanded.

"Wicker," Draco replied without elaborating. He pushed past the three of them and left Hermione's room. He went down the hall, with the others following him, to the room Hermione had set up as her potion lab. The three other adults and two girls stopped short of fully entering the smaller room, content, for now, to stand in the entrance and watch as Draco began searching the shelves for ingredients.

"Harry?" Draco said, looking around for a measuring cup.

"Yeah?"

"Can you please find some alihosty among the ingredients," Draco asked as he found the measuring cup and began measuring out the powdered lacewing he was holding. "I'll also need some ginger and wormwood."

"Okay," Harry drawled and began looking for the ingredients among the many jars and bottles. As he did he asked, "What exactly are you making?"

"The Narro Sententail potion," Draco answered as he tipped a drop of dittany into the cauldron.

"Er, huh?" Harry asked. "I was never really that attentive in potions."

"It's a potion that allows animals to talk," Ginny answered for Draco.

"To talk?" Harry questioned skeptically.

"Not exactly like what you're thinking Harry," Draco explained. "It's more like hearing the animal inside your head."

"Will this potion hurt Wicker?" Abby asked worriedly from the doorway.

"No," Draco assured Abby with confidence. "It can't possibly hurt Wicker since it's not your pet that has to drink it."

"Who has to drink it?" Neville asked making a face.

"We do."

"I was afraid of that," Harry muttered with a look of disgust. In his experience, potions of any kind normally did not taste all that great.

"Won't Wicker have to drink some too?" Abby asked curiously. "Or we might not be able to hear him, right?"

Draco looked her way briefly then turned back to the cauldron. "Very astute thinking Abigail, but Wicker won't have to drink this potion. There's a spell that accompanies the potion that is placed on the animal." Draco sighed then, "I'm just not sure if it will work."

"Then why are we wasting time making the potion?" Ginny wanted to know.

"Because right now, it's all we have," Draco snapped.

Harry ignored both of their annoyed tones and asked, "Why aren't you sure it will work?"

"The potion is designed to work on magical creatures," Draco explained. "I've never heard of it working on, er, for lack of a better term, a muggle animal such as a dog. Normally the potions used for unicorns, dragons, owls and such. Though, to be honest, I never thought I would have a need for the potion. After all, who really wants to know what a dragon or an owl might be thinking?"

"Oh, I don't know," Harry mused as he placed the ingredients Draco had asked for next to him, "Sometimes I wonder what Hedwig is thinking."

Draco shot him an odd look but did not comment, instead he said, "I'm almost done. I just hope it works because I think Wicker knows something."

"It will work," Abby said with certainty.

"How are you so sure?" Neville asked though he did not seem too interested in the answer. Draco had a feeling he was trying to distract Abby. Abby's face was pale and they could all see the worry in her eyes.

"Wicker's a special dog," Abby replied evasively.

Draco saw something flicker in her eyes. She knew something but was not saying it. Draco stopped stirring the potion and looked at Abby. "What makes Wicker special?"

She shrugged, "He just is."

Harry caught on to what Draco had noticed and took a different approach. "If you know something, tell us Abby. It might help us find your mum."

Everyone waited while Abby considered first Draco, then Harry, before looking at Wicker and then back to Draco and Harry. She sighed, "I think Wicker's a Cadejo."

"A-" Harry shook his head. "Sorry, have no idea what that is?"

Ginny was also shaking her head but for a different reason. She was not as clueless as her husband seemed to be. "Abby, Cadejo's are nothing but myth and legend, even for the magical world. They don't exist and even if they did and Wicker was one, he wouldn't be helping you, he'd be trying to harm you."

Abby gave Ginny a sour look. "I know what a Cadejo is and you're wrong. Wicker would never hurt me Cadejo or not. Plus, if you know about Cadejo's you know that not all of them are supposed to be evil."

Ginny did not take offense to Abby's tone. She muttered, "Like mother like daughter."

Abby ignored the comment and turned back to Draco and Harry. "Aunt Ginny is right that the Cadejo, it is considered a myth but I don't think they are."

"What exactly is a, er, Cadejo," Harry asked.

"The myth or legend says that a Cadejo is a wolf spirit that appears to people to either guide them to safety or to kill them," Draco replied, looking at Wicker hoping to see something there to tell him if Abby was right in her belief, but all he saw was a dog that had some characteristics of a wolf.

"Well," Harry said slowly, "then I guess Wicker can't possibly be a Cadejo since he's definitely not a spirit."

Abby rolled her eyes, "That's what the myth is but I researched it and there's more to it then that."

"What else is there?" Neville asked, interested now.

Abby smiled briefly at him and then started telling them about the mythical animal. "A Cadejo is supposed to be what Draco told you they are but after I did some research I found out a bunch of other things about Cadejo's and what people believe about them."

"A Cadejo is a wolf spirit and they can be either good or bad," she told the room in general. "A White Cadejo is the good kind and a Black Cadejo is the evil kind. The Cadejo can become substantial though, if the spirit animal decides to become the socius rector of a person. That goes for the evil and good kind, though normally the evil ones choose only to corrupt and kill the person they attach themselves too, therefore returning to spirit form and doing it all over again."

Abby sucked in a breath and continued knowledgably. "A Black Cadejo does this for, er, fun but normally only to witches and wizards because in doing so they gain power. On the other hand the White Cadejo rarely chooses to become a socius rector since they have no desire for power and no need for it. Instead, they remain true to their nature and only guide people to safety and protection when needed."

"Are you quoting this stuff?" Draco asked, half amused, half amazed.

"Sort of," Abby shrugged. "If a White Cadejo decides to become firmus vultus, which means solid formed, it can, but like I said before it's rare."

"Alright, I have two questions," Draco began. He knew something about the Cadejo also since the mythical beast had once, long ago, fascinated him. "My first question; if Wicker is a White Cadejo as you believe then why did he choose to become your socius rector?"

Harry interrupted at that point to ask, "Exactly what is a socius rector?"

"Roughly translated it means, companion guide," Draco answered briefly. He turned back to Abby. "My second question is why do you believe Wicker's a Cadejo? Actually, answer this question first."

"I believe Wicker's a Cadejo because he looks just like all the paintings and pictures I could find on the animal," Abby said. "I also think he's way to smart to be a regular dog. He seems to know things and sometimes I think I see him doing strange things but when I really look he's back to looking normal again."

Draco did not ask Abby to explain what she thought she saw Wicker doing because he had a feeling she would not be able to answer very well. Instead he said, "Okay, what about my other question?"

Abby shrugged, "I don't really know why he would have decided to become my socius rector." She spread her hands out in helpless gesture. "I couldn't find anything on a White Cadejo becoming one to anyone so I couldn't come up with a reason. There was information saying that it has happened but no real references to who, how, or why."

Draco had become used to Abby's smarts but it still amazed him that a girl of nine would take time to research something so extensively. He did not say why he suspected Wicker might be a White Cadejo or why he might have chosen Abby though. He thought it better to find Hermione first and discuss it with her when they had caught and taken care of Justice.

"Well, there's one way to put all this speculation to rest," Draco said into the silence, "and that's to finish the potion."

The room fell silent again as Draco went back to work on the potion.

Hermione woke in slow degrees, the pain from the back of her head making her woozy and nauseas. When she was completely awake she remained laying where she was, with her eyes closed, trying to will away some of the ache at the base of her skull. When she felt that she had some of the pain under control she opened her eyes only to realize that she was still blind. She blinked, rubbed her eyes and tried to get a better view of where she was but it was no use.

The only light in the room was coming from a grimy, dirt streaked window set high above her head. What light came through the window did nothing more than cast everything into black and grey shadows, making it impossible to distinguish anything for what it was. Hermione sat up, taking her time because movement of any kind was sending her stomach into rolling fits of sickness. Once she was fully up she reached up with one hand and gingerly felt the back of her head.

She winced and made a hissing noise of pain when her fingers met with the large bump that had formed there. She pushed past the pain and felt the area. She could feel something sticky and drying so she knew that whatever she had been hit with had broken skin and had caused some bleeding. She let her hand drop back into her lap. There was nothing she could do fore her head right now so there was no point in irritating the spot by touching it.

Once again she tried to see where she was but the room was still as shadowed as it had been upon her first opening her eyes. She gave the notion of seeing where she was up and instead, started feeling all around her. She was on something soft, a bed, a cot or something similar but that was all she could discern. She tried moving to the edge of whatever it was she was on and that was when she heard rattling and felt the tug of something around her ankles.

Frowning, she felt down her legs until she reached iron shackles bound around both her ankles.

The shackles were connected by a thick chain and from that chain; she followed a second chain, this one thicker, to the wall. Though she was not able to see it, she felt a metal ring that, as far as she could tell, was embedded in the wall. The chain and shackles made her plans to investigate the room an impossible option. It also made her job of planning an escape more difficult.

Hermione was without her wand and though she was able to do simple spells without her wand, she doubted that she would be able to open the locked shackles or break the chain that kept her bound. Even so, she had to try. She whispered into the darkness, in the general direction of her feet, "Alahorma."

Of course, as she had expected, nothing happened. She refused to give up that easily though and so started rattling off every opening, freeing and unlocking spell she could think of. "Obviam. Aperio. Eximo. Erumpo. Laxus. Ereptum. Licens. Solvo." None of them did anything but annoy her for not working.

She changed tactics and decided to try and break the chain that held her to the wall. "Effrego. Scindo. Abrumpo. Quasso."

Once again nothing happened. She was not sure if it was because the spells simply were not strong enough, if the chains were magically enhanced or if she was just not concentrating hard enough. She tried a few crushing spells, hoping to crush the chains into dust. "Frendo. Fragor." Nothing. She tried chopping and cutting spells. "Conseco. Incidere." She tried to vanish the chains. "Abeo. Expello. Sepono." Then, as a last resort to simply tried to remove the chains and shackles. "Aufero. Extraho."

Hermione tried harder, using the same spells and when, after what felt like hours of trying but was only minutes, the chains and shackles remained in place she sat back against the wall, exhausted. In pure frustration she yanked on the chain that held her to wall hoping to shake it loose. Of course nothing happened except she scraped her fingers, making them tender. Growing irritated with herself and just a little fearful of her situation Hermione grabbed a hold of the chain between the two shackles and yanked with all her strength. She cried out in pain as the metal edges scraped and tore her skin open.

She held her ankles, hoping to ease the pain but it continued to throb. She let go and ribbed off two narrow strips from her nightgown. She wrapped the pieces around her ankles, cushioning them from the metal a little. When she was done she lay down on the bed and calmed herself down so that she could think. She took slow, deep breaths and cleared her head. When she was sure she had everything back in control she let herself look her situation over.

She knew that Justice was the one who had her. At this point she did not care who the man was or even why he was holding her prisoner. What she did care about was getting away because she knew that she was on borrowed time. Justice wanted her dead, his letters had said as much, why he had not killed her, the first chance he had was not something she wanted to think about since she was grateful to have this chance to find a way out. Her only problem was that, without her wand, she was pretty helpless and at the moment, completely alone.

She closed her eyes tightly shut as the tears started to come. She would not give into her emotions, later when she was safe and free she could cry all she wanted but right now she had to concentrate on getting away. She had to get away; she refused to leave Abby as a motherless child. She would not allow someone to take her away from Abby.

Thinking of Abby made her think of Draco. She had thought, only last night that she could live her life alone, without him, but that had been a lie. She had never been able to forget him and she had lied to herself over the years, trying to make him out to be the bad guy but in reality she could have made him listen. She could have stopped him from throwing her out but the truth had been that she was terrified of how she felt about him. Draco had been her enemy for so long that when he had joined the Order and they had become lovers she had been confused and lost. She had been wrong in keeping Abby from him but that had not been her only mistake.

She should have, after learning that she was pregnant, gone back to Draco and fought for what she wanted. Instead, she had run away like a scared little girl and by the time she came to realize her mistake it had been too late. It was, one regret that she would never be able to forgive herself for.

Just then Hermione sensed that she was not alone. She slowly surveyed the room but she saw nothing that caused her alarm. Even so, the feeling of forbidding remained. She sat up and pushed her back up against the wall. If there was someone in the room with her then she did not want to be surprised from behind. Her eyes darted from shadow to shadow but nothing moved. She was starting to think that her mind was paying tricks on her when she heard a soft swishing noise.

"Who's there?"

No one answered her weak call. She cleared her throat, hating that she sounded so sacred and asked again, "Is someone here?"

Another swish sounded from the dark, reminding Hermione of robes billowing about in the wind. A thin, whispery voice asked, "Are you scared, Hermione?"

"Who are you?" Hermione asked, ignoring the question.

"Tsk, tsk," the voice replied. "I get to ask the questions, not you."

Sounding a lot braver then she felt she said, "Fine, but I don't have to answer."

Something crashed, causing her to jump and shrink back further, thinking that something was about to hit her. Nothing did and when she looked up she could just make out the shape of a robed, hooded figure, dressed in all black so that he blended in with the surroundings.

"I'm the one who has the control here, Hermione," the figure snapped harshly, keeping his tone just below normal levels. "I want answers and I will have them or you'll die now instead of later."

"Well, if you're going to kill me anyhow, then why should I answer?" Hermione asked slightly annoyed, though fear was just below the surface.

"Because your silence means Abby's death too."

Cold terror dripped down her spine. "Don't you dare touch my daughter. Don't even go near her."

A sinister chuckle issued from under the hood. "I will do as I please and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

Losing control Hermione yelled, "Who the hell are you? What did I ever do to you?"

"You know me," was the whispered reply. "You stole my life."

"How can someone still a life?" Hermione asked bewildered. "I don't know you so tell me who the hell you are."

Her question only enraged the figure under the robes. Screaming now he said, "YOU KNOW ME! YOU TOOK WHAT WAS MINE! BLOOD FOR BLOOD! FLESH FOR FLESH! BONE FOR BONE!"

"My God, you're flipping nuts," Hermione muttered.

Suddenly the man lifted a covered arm and shouted, "Lux Lucis." The room was filled with bright light. The figure swept forward and towered over Hermione. Two white hands reached out, Hermione flinched but all that happened was that he began pulling back his hood.

Hermione watched in fascinated horror as the face of Justice was revealed. She screamed once before falling back in a dead faint.

A/N The Cadejo is a mythical beast that appears in spirit form to travelers to lure them to into danger or safety, that much is true according to legend. Most of the rest is my imagination at work. I wanted a animal that resembled a wolf/dog that was mythical and never mentioned in the HP books so I did a little research and came across the Cadejo. According to the legends it can appear as a white wolf or a black one, the white being the good one and the black being the bad. That's as far as I read since the idea of what I was looking for was gained from just that little information. If you want to know more about the actual legend, myth and origins of the Cadejo you can do so by going to and typing in Cadejo or go to As for Wicker actually being such a beast…….