Draco's head was spinning. Half the day had passed, and there wasn't a single response from his mother. Sometimes she took a day or two to reply to his notes, but a letter like that? His mother would have portkeyed right into Hogwarts to check on him.

Before dinner, Draco went to Professor Snape. "May I use your fireplace? I need to make a floo call to my mother."

Professor Snape granted the request easily, and Draco spent the next forty-five minutes desperately calling his mother. The floo was open, but he didn't hear anything from the other side. Finally, he had to give up.

He stumbled back into Professor Snape's outer-office and took a shuddering breath. "I can't reach her, Professor. I can't reach my mother."

"What is it?" Snape asked. "Why do you need her so urgently?"

Draco haltingly explained his dream, and explained how Constantine had sometimes been guiding his dreams, and mistakenly opened the route for him to spy on her. He didn't know if it was merely a nightmare over the past few days, or if something truly had gone wrong. And now – his mother wasn't answering him.

"Narcissa isn't one to simply disappear." Snape mused. "I can't imagine that she wouldn't respond without a good reason. Go back to your dormitory, Draco. I'll speak with the Headmaster and send a few aurors out to Malfoy Manor."

Draco sighed in relief. Even if he was simply overreacting, and his mother turned out to be vacationing in France, the aurors would do a thorough check.

At dinner, he took note of Snape and Dumbledore's absence. He stared at the empty seats, as though he could see read the minds of their owners if he only concentrated hard enough.

"Hello, Draco." Luna Lovegood chirped. She slid into the seat next to him and glanced at his plate. "Are you going to eat that?"

He wordlessly slid the plate toward her and propped his chin up on his hands.

"Are you worried about the shift in the air, too?" Lovegood asked. "It feels as though it is going to rain."

He was silent, so she reached over and poked his shoulder lightly.

"I don't care about the weather." Draco snapped. "Don't you have someone else to bother? Why are you even sitting at the Slytherin table?"

"Hmm…" She murmured softly. "Yes, something is very wrong. Even you can feel it."

That piqued Draco's interest. "What do you mean? What is wrong? Are you still talking about the weather?"

Lovegood gave him a wry smile, which looked odd on her normally impassive face. "I can hear the mimbledrops. They're crying out for help, and they only ever cry when dark magic is near. In fact, the last time I heard them this loud…"

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was entering Hogwarts." Draco finished for her softly.

She nodded and popped her spoon into her mouth.

Draco put his head in his hands. He felt as though his stress was a wave that was minutes away from overwhelming him.

"Oh, do you have Hermione's homework for Potions? I heard Harry mentioning that you were going to get it for her." Lovegood added breezily. "I could give it to her, if you'd like. I have this strange feeling that you won't be available tonight."

At that exact moment, Professor Snape stepped into the Great Hall. He eyed Draco, and Draco immediately stood up.

Draco shoved his pack to Lovegood without a second thought. "It's in there. Tell her I can't make it, but I'll see her soon."

"I will." Luna Lovegood promised. "But Draco?"

He didn't want to, but he tore his gaze away from Snape for a second to look over at her. "What?"

"Be safe, Draco."

He swallowed hard and gave her a nod. Then he turned to follow Professor Snape out of the Great Hall.

Draco wanted to vomit, though he kept up a fairly steady expression. Snape had brought him to Dumbledore's office and dumped him here, promising that the Headmaster would be out soon. That was almost thirty minutes ago, and Draco had half a mind to just grab his broom and fly to Malfoy Manor himself.

Two seconds before he made the final decision, the door creaked open and Dumbledore strode into the room. He froze for a moment, making eye contact with Draco.

"Wha – Professor, what's happened?" Draco asked, not even caring that his voice broke in the middle of his sentence. "Is my mother alright?"

"Sit down, my boy." Dumbledore said gravely. "I'm afraid I don't have good news."

He felt like his whole world was about to come crashing down at his feet. Draco gingerly took a step back and lowered himself onto the chair.

Dumbledore took a deep breath. "The aurors we sent could not find your mother. She was not home. But – they found traces of dark magic…too much. It was as though someone had performed several Unforgivable curses in your home. Not the killing curse – there was no evidence of that, and that leaves a mark. But…as of right now, your mother is missing. And given the amount of dark magic we found and the information you gave Professor Snape, she is likely accompanied by Miss Constantine Lestrange."

Draco put his head in his hands. "I have to find her. I have to find her before Constantine does something!"

"Calm down, Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore said gently. "I understand your concern –"

"Concern?" Draco leapt up from the chair. "This isn't concern, you old man! This is panic! Do you even understand how bad this is? Constantine Lestrange kidnapped Hermione Granger, a war hero and the brightest witch of our age, tried to steal her magic, and nearly killed her! My mother – my mother…she doesn't stand a chance. I have to get to her!"

"I do understand, but the aurors are already crawling all over Malfoy Manor. They will find where your mother went, Draco, and you will have her back. We are doing everything in our power."

Draco took a deep breath. He tried to give Dumbledore a smile, but he just barely formed an impassive expression. Stiffly, he began, "Thank you for the information. Please let me know if you find out anything else."

"Draco…" Dumbledore started, but he didn't bother to listen. He exited the office and headed straight for his dorm.

Blaise and Theo were hanging out together in the common room. They called to him as he passed by, but he ignored them. Vaguely, he was aware that they stood and followed him into the dorm.

"What's going on, Draco, is everything alright?"

"I need to go home." Draco grit out. "It's an emergency. Constantine…she has my mother."

Theo gasped and Blaise grabbed Draco's arm. "What do you need from us?"