Supplying Hermione, explaining to Harry
Voldemort stared in surprise at the girl. 'So this was the infamous Hermione Granger?' He could see the appeal she held for Greyback. The wolf's late mate, Mary, had also been a brunette. He'd not thought he'd take on another mate. He so enjoyed all the female captives so much. He moved closer to better inspect her, ignoring the warning growl from the wolf. It was Greyback's best quality in his eyes. 'The wolf wasn't the least bit scared of him and couldn't be bothered to grovel, even when he had him under the Crucio!'
"Best friend of Harry Potter, you say?" he considered that fact. The Trio was said to go everywhere and do everything together. Where one was, the other two would show up soon after. It had certainly proven true the night of the failed mission to retrieve the prophecy. Harry Potter had been lured to the Ministry of Magic. Unfortunately, his two besties along with a few others had shown up as well! Severus had implied that Dumbledore was giving the boy special lessons this year. He wasn't sure what they were but he said it was almost a guarantee that whatever Potter learned was being passed to the other two members of the Trio.
He had Greyback to hold her chin as he stared into her eyes. "Legilimens." He said, not bothering with a wand. Hermione's eyes widened in fear. It was too late to block her thoughts. He was in before she could even attempt to repel him. Voldemort looked at all her thoughts. Everything that Harry had told her and Ron, his hatred of Snape, his suspicions of Malfoy. He cocked a brow at first, wondering why Dumbledore had so many childhood memories of him. Then when it showed his father, grandfather and uncle, he seemed to realize exactly what Dumbledore was telling Harry! He withdrew violently from the girl's mind, causing her to shriek in pain. Rowle had slipped back in and was silently watching the interaction, along with the rest of the Death Eaters.
"Greyback. You are more than welcome to disappear with this girl. I never want her found! Keep her hidden very well! She'll make a very good mother, I think. Keep her arms and belly full of pups. I'm thinking, with her out of the way, young Potter will be very much at a standstill as will the rest of the Wizarding world. Especially as he's lost both the girl and that demented old man! As Severus said, I owe you a huge reward for this. Anything you want, all you need to do is ask." Voldemort told the wolf. Greyback had Hermione cradled again and was rubbing his face on her hair.
"Thank you. All I need is right here in my arms. For now. If I need anything else, I will definitely let you know." He told Voldemort.
"Wait. I know something she might need. Narcissa, dear. You have a house elf that sews, yes?" Voldemort turned to Narcissa. Looking pale at Hermione's plight, the woman stepped forward and nodded.
"Yes, my lord. Muffy, my personal house elf, sews and repairs my clothing." She stated quietly.
"Call her down, Narcissa." He ordered firmly. The men were looking at him quizzically. He held up his hand and smiled. Narcissa snapped her fingers and a little elf popped into the room, dressed neatly in a pillowcase.
"Greyback, place the girl on her feet, please." He spoke politely, knowing that would work better than giving orders to the wolf. Greyback reluctantly lowered Hermione to her feet. They could almost see her gauging the distance to the door, trying to decide if it was worth risking an escape attempt. Almost as if he'd read her thoughts, the werewolf clamped his huge hands onto her arms. They could see now the outfit she was wearing. It was the school shirt and skirt. Whereas the skirt had reached below her knees as a first year, now it stopped just shy of her knees. Her Mary Janes shone brightly under the lights of the drawing room. The red tie proudly proclaimed her as a Gryffindor.
"Muffy. Please take Miss Granger's measurements. She'll need a new wardrobe, one suitable for farming in the countryside. Be sure to make a few expandable dresses. She'll need them while she's carrying their pups." Voldemort ordered the elf. She snapped her fingers and a measuring tape appeared. She took all the relevant measures and made notes on a parchment floating beside her.
"Measurements taken, my lord. Wardrobe will be finished in three days. That will work?" the elf asked politely.
"Greyback?" Voldemort looked at him. Greyback nodded and picked her back up. Hermione hung limply from his arms, realizing that escape was futile.
"Good. If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to send you a note. Now, take your captive and enjoy her." Voldemort watched as an eager smiled spread across Greyback's face. The werewolf walked out. They heard the crack as he Disapparated.
At Hogwarts, Harry was sitting in the Gryffindor Common room. He was blaming himself for Hermione's disappearance. Ron, Ginny and Neville were sitting around him. Luna had been given special permission to join them. They'd known as soon as they told him what would happen.
"Merlin, please let her still be alive!" he prayed. Hermione was his best friend. She'd stuck by him through thick and thin. "There was a task that Dumbledore wanted me to do," he met Ron's eyes. "But I won't be doing it. Not yet. Not until we get Hermione back. I can't do it by myself. You and I together can't do it by ourselves." Speaking to Ron. He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We need Hermione!"
"Ok, Luna. Take us through it again. What happened to Hermione?" Ginny asked the blonde girl. Luna blinked back her tears.
"We were running through that narrow corridor that goes to the Astronomy Tower. We heard voices and people running towards us. We hid in an alcove. The big blonde man and the werewolf came through first. He stopped, the werewolf, and sniffed. Then he came right to us. He picked me up first. I wasn't the one he wanted, though. He threw me off to the side and grabbed Hermione. He was so strong. She tried her best to get away from him. He silenced her and disillusioned her and threw her over his shoulder. Then they were gone!" she said shakily. Her short encounter with the notorious Greyback had left her far more shaken than the entire adventure the year before at the Ministry.
"But she WAS still alive the last time you saw her?" Harry asked, with hope shining in his eyes.
Luna nodded. She knew Hermione wasn't dead. She'd seen her struggling too hard before she was disillusioned. She had also observed Greyback himself. She wasn't sure why Greyback had taken Hermione. She didn't think the wolf would just take a girl he could just as easily have killed right there. Not without a good reason. She thought back to everything she'd learned about werewolves her third year. There was one reason she could think of that would explain Greyback's actions. She didn't think Harry was going to like it, though.
"Harry. I think I know why he took her. When I was learning about werewolves, it talked about certain things that happened. Ginny, do you remember?" Ginny's eyes had widened with realization.
"No! Oh no! No! Luna, you don't think-?" she gasped with dismay. Luna nodded as tears popped back into her eyes.
"It's the only thing that makes any sense! It has to be why he took her! His actions fit the pattern perfectly!" Luna whispered.
"Um, could you let us in on the story?" Ron cleared his throat pointedly. Neville and Harry were staring at them. Ginny wiped tears of her own away. She looked at Harry sadly.
"What Luna is talking about is a mating ritual. When a werewolf finds his mate, he picks her up to make sure of what he's smelling. If the female is, in fact, his mate, he'll take her with him. He won't leave her somewhere he's not at. They are very reverent of their mates. They'll do anything to protect them. Luna said Greyback practically got weak in the knees when he put his face against Hermione's shoulder. He had a shielding spell on her, too. I think he discovered that Hermione is his mate. THAT'S why he took her, Harry. And he will not be inclined to give her back!" Ginny told him.
"His-? His mate? Like bonding with her? Marrying her? That type of mate? Damn! He really won't let go of her then!" harry muttered. He ran his hand through his messy hair.
"That's ridiculous!" Ron snorted. "There's no way Hermione can be Greyback's mate! Bloody hell! She'd have to be a werewolf-? Oh, no! That bloody blighter! He's going to bite her! We got to get her back before he bites her!" Ron yelled.
"Only problem is, we don't know where he lives when he's not with the Death Eaters. Remus says he moves around every few weeks and doesn't let hardly anyone know. If we're going to catch him before he turns her, we'll need Remus. Fortunately, he's just down in the infirmary with Ron's mum and dad." Harry told them decisively.
"Come on, Harry! Let's go get him!" Ron jumped up and ran to the door. Harry raced after him.
Neville, Ginny and Luna looked at each other. They didn't want to burst the boys' bubble but it would be practically impossible to get Hermione back. Even if they went to Greyback, he'd have to release Hermione of his own free will.
If she really was his mate, there was no way in bloody hell the werewolf would give her up. In werewolf culture, true mates were very rare. Most wolves mated a female just to be able to have children. More times than not, the female wasn't their natural born mate. It was very rare to find their natural born mate. Greyback had struck it very lucky. He'd been mated to a woman who wasn't his natural born mate. She'd died in the midst of an attack on his village by the ministry. It was the very reason he now moved his people every few weeks. Now that he'd found his natural born mate, he'd be even more cautious about keeping his people hidden. Luna knew about his former mate because the attack had been hailed in the papers as a 'huge success' by the ministry in keeping the werewolves in their rightful place. Neville rolled his eyes at that. 'And they wondered why Greyback had allied himself with Voldemort!'
Harry and Ron raced down to the infirmary. They stopped outside and peered in. Remus was talking to Ron's parents just inside the doors. Dora was standing beside him, chewing on one of her nails. "I'm not sure what effect this will have on Bill, seeing as how Greyback wasn't transformed and it's not the full moon yet. We'll just have to wait and see. He might transform. Then again, he might only gain wolfish tendencies only." Ron paled.
"That's right, Bill was slashed through the face by Greyback!" he hissed angrily. His parents looked around. Seeing him and Harry, they waved the boys in.
"What can we do for you boys?" Arthur asked kindly. Molly looked too distraught to talk at the moment.
"We need to know if Remus can find Greyback. We have to find him, the faster the better!" Harry told him, looking at Remus.
"And why would I be needing to find Greyback, Harry?" Remus asked curiously. Harry looked at him somberly.
"Because he took Hermione, Remus. We need to get her back." He watched the surprise shoot across the face of the other werewolf.
"Why did he take her? Why was she anywhere near where he was anyway?" Remus asked, frowning darkly.
"You know Hermione, Remus. When have we ever been able to keep er away from a fight? She and Luna were caught in the corridor just outside the Astronomy Tower. Luna says Greyback acted like he'd just found a mate. He scooped Hermione up and took off with her." Harry told him. Remus was already shaking his head.
"Boys. Boys. If he acted like he'd just found a mate, then there's no need for me to even try and find him. He WILL NOT give her up. The most I could do was see if he'll allow you to visit her. There. In his village. He wouldn't let her leave, especially if he were to impregnate her. She definitely wouldn't be setting foot outside his wards. They would be almost impossible to get through." Remus told him. Harry dropped his head and sighed.
"Then all I want is to be able to see her. Visit her. I just need to know she's ok and he's not mistreating her!" he looked at Remus pleadingly. Remus sighed and nodded.
"I'm not his most favorite person. I'll do my best." He smiled as Harry hugged him.