A/N: I know, I know, this has taken a ridiculous amount of time to write, but you can blame it all on my Italian and Maths teachers for that, they keep heaping stupid amounts of homework on me nearly every night. I hate it. There is also a little thing called, I had no idea how to write this chpater! Nothing I wrote sounded good, so I'd write it again or delete stuff, or stuff like that. I like it now though, so all is good. Please leave a review!

Finding Hermione

Draco was furious. How could his father just steal her away like that? That bastard!

Draco turned to face Kaz, who had a look of complete worry on her face.

'Who was that?' She asked quietly.

'My father.' Draco growled back.

'What? Why would you father want to take Hermione? I mean, what has she ever done to him?' She asked; she still had that same worried sound in her voice.

'Because she's with me.' Draco replied in that same cold voice. He turned on his heel and headed back towards Hermione's house. He had to tell her parents.

At the Granger house, Draco opened the door and went straight up to his room. He had to at least try and look presentable.

On the long walk back (made even longer without the company of Hermione), Draco had just sat on the side of the road and buried his face in his hands. She was gone and he had no way of getting her back without telling Harry and Ron what had happened, and that surely would end in his demise. He had started crying at his lost Hermione, but had gained his composure after about 5 minutes. He had gotten up and kept walking; keeping his head down if a car passed and making it back quickly.

While in his room, Draco washed his face, trying to rid it of the red, puffy eyes that he had after crying.

Seeing that his face was back to normal, he walked down stairs, his eyes downcast.

He saw her parents sitting down in the living room, reading the paper and books. Draco took a deep breath and walked down to stand beside the couch.

Mr. Granger looked up first and saw the fidgeting boy.

'Draco, what's the matter?' He asked the boy worriedly. Draco cast a scared look at him.

'Well, when Hermione and I were out in town, we met up with Kaz and we started talking to her and then her sisters showed up. They started teasing Hermione about being a witch; she absolutely lost it and exploded their sodas before storming off. We went after her, but we where too late; as soon as we got there he apparated away with her. Father, he got her, and I couldn't do anything to stop it.' By the end of his story, Draco was crying freely and looking at his feet. He just let the tears slide down his face.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger were also in tears from what Draco had told them and had their heads in their hands.

Mr. Granger lifted his head up.

'So, Hermione, she's . . . she's . . . gone?' He asked between sobs. Draco nodded and sat down with them.

After a few minutes of mourning, Draco heard a tapping on the window outside the house.

He looked up and saw Hedwig sitting on the windowsill outside and tapping lightly on the window to get noticed.

Draco got up and went to let her in and she flew in and onto the coffee table between the couches and held out her leg for Draco to take the letter.

After taking the letter off her leg, he sat on the couch to read it.

Hey Draco, Hermione,

How are you all? How are your holidays so far? I hope everything is alright. Has Mr. Malfoy found you yet? Please let me know if everything is alright.

Harry.

Draco's eyes started watering again and he walked up into his room to go get a quill and ink, and told Harry exactly what had happened and that he wanted to go back to the Head Quarters and start working on how to get her back..

He walked back downstairs with the letter and tied it onto Hedwig's leg.

'Hurry.' He said to her when letting her out.

After she was out of sight, Draco went to sit back on the couch with Hermione's parents and awaited the reply.

After an hour, Draco got a reply that was sharp and to the point.

What!! I can't believe it! Where were you in all of this? You should have gone straight after her! Right, we're coming to pick you up now. Don't move, don't go anywhere. We're coming.

Harry.

Draco looked at it and read it twice over before hearing a knock at the door. He looked over to her parents. He nodded to them and went to the door, taking out his wand.

When he reached the door, he looked through the hole in the wood and saw Harry standing rather impatiently outside the door. Draco opened the door to let him in.

When Harry quickly came through the door, he embraced Draco. The blonde could see the tears staining Harry's face.

'Go get your stuff. We're leaving. A few others are standing guard just at the edge of the driveway. Hurry up, I want to get out of here and start trying to make plans on getting Hermione back safely.' Harry said; anyone could tell that he was trying to hold back tears.

Draco nodded absentmindedly and went up to his bedroom to collect his stuff and came back down quickly.

The atmosphere around the house was tense and upsetting.

Draco dropped his stuff at the front door and went back to Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

'I'm sorry that this has happened. I should have been quicker, but it just happened. All of us are going to help bring her back. Many - no, let me rephrase that - everyone will surely die, if it comes to that, to bring her back. Now, I really hope it won't come to that, in fact, I'm sure it won't, but, we will bring her home. I'll make sure of it.' Draco promised them.

They both nodded their heads and started silently crying again.

Draco hugged Hermione's mother and shook hands with her father before following Harry out the door and down the street.

After finding an alleyway close to Hermione's house, they apparated to the parkland right outside number 12.

They entered quickly and went straight into the kitchen where everyone else was waiting for them to turn up.

Upon entering, all eyes turned to look up at the incomers. All the eyes held sympathy when they turned to Draco, and Sirius even got up and embraced him.

'I'm sorry Draco. I know you would have tried to save her.' He mumbled as he held the boy.

Draco nodded and broke away before sitting at the table and looking down at his fidgeting hands.

The other all took their seats and Harry started off.

'So, to start off, we're going to need a full account of what happened. Draco, can you tell us?' Harry asked.

All eyes turned to Draco as the boy looked up and at everyone at the table. Draco nodded his head and started off his tale. By the end of it, heads were in hands and Harry and Ron were both red in the face with fury.

'Bastard!' Ron yelled, thumping his fist on the table.

'Calm it down Ron, we'll get her back, don't worry.' Ginny soothed, rubbing his back and trying to make him calm down. Draco again had tears flowing down his face, and so did Sierra, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley.

Harry calmed down soon after and turned back to the room at large.

'So, what do we do?' He asked. They all looked thoughtful for a few moments before Draco spoke up.

'We can't do anything until we know where she is. Then we can try and make up a plan. But, until then, we work out where.' He said with defiance.

Harry looked into Draco's eyes and could see not only determination, but hurt, fear and sadness. He swore he could also see self-loathing in those brilliant silver eyes.

All around them, they heard murmurs of agreement at what Draco had said.

'Where do we think she is?' Remus asked.

'She could be in the Malfoy Manor dungeons, which would be my first guess.' Draco answered. They nodded thoughtfully at what he said, but still looked a little hopeless.

Harry clapped his hands together and leaned forward.

'Well, we can't do much until we hear where she is. Until then, keep your ears open and try and find to find out everything you can about it.' He told everyone.

For the next hour, they talked about how to find information out on Hermione's whereabouts.

After finishing the talk, Draco immediately left the Kitchen and made his way up into his room, which now had a sign on it saying his name, and had his stuff put into it, and laid down on his bed. Draco cried that night. He lost Hermione, and he considered it his fault.

If I had only got there sooner! Draco cursed himself. After an hour, Draco fell asleep.

Over the next few days, no one had a clue how to find out where Hermione was.

Draco was in a state of soberness. He talked to no one, stayed in his room most of the time and only came out to eat, then would retreat back.

No one could get him into talking with anyone and they found this particularly annoying. They needed him.

The next day, most of the Order was sitting around the table when Harry heard a tapping on the window.

He looked at it curiously, wondering how it knew where to go; he hadn't seen this type of owl around the Order Headquarters before.

He went over to the window and opened it. The owl swooped in and landed on the table in front of Sirius.

Sirius looked at the owl curiously, before his eyes widened in shock.

'This is a Malfoy owl.' He announced. They all turned very alert ears to the unwelcome bird as Sirius untied the letter. The bird flew off at once and Sirius read the name out on the letter.

'Draco Malfoy. It's for Draco.' He said.

'I'll go get him.' Ron offered, leaving the table and walking up to Draco's room.

He knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

When none came, Ron tried again.

'Draco, mate, come on out, there's a letter for you out here, it's from one of your parents, it might have something to do with Hermione in it. Come out!' Ron yelled through the door. He heard Draco get up and come to the door quickly.

Said door opened quickly and a very dishelved Draco stood in the doorway.

'Which parent?' He asked simply, pleading with his eyes to get the right answer, one that Ron didn't know.

'We don't know, since it was for you, we didn't open it.' He answered. Draco nodded and raced downstairs in his baggy pants and no shirt.

When he got down the stairs, he saw everyone in the Kitchen, just staring at the letter in front of Sirius.

To make himself known, he cleared his throat and spoke.

'Did anyone read it?' He asked. They all looked up at the sound of his voice, which had been very scarcely heard over the past couple of days and shook their heads.

'Can I have it?' He asked, walking forward to the table.

Sirius handed him the letter and Draco sat down on the other side of Harry where a seat was free.

Ron came in and took his seat back beside Ginny while Draco nervously opened his letter with everyone watching him.

Draco looked straight to the bottom for the person who had sent it to him.

'It's from mother.' He announced curiously. Everyone looked at him in surprise. He didn't sound scared, merely astounded that his mother had sent the letter.

Draco read the letter quietly to himself.

Dearest Draco,

I'm sorry about what has happened, but there is something I must tell you. The Granger girl was brought into our house a couple of days ago and I overheard Lucius talking to her about you. Is it true that you fell for her? Do not worry my darling, I do not mind. In fact I am happy that you were able to break free of all your fathers' prejudices. She stays in the dungeons beneath your old room. I must be the one to feed her every night and morning, so do not fear, she will be fine.

She cries every night for you darling, help her soon, I fear she might die of grief.

There is something else I must tell you also. For ever since I have been able to research back, there has been a curse, passed down from male Malfoy to male Malfoy; this is why the Malfoy's always have sons; the curse. It is that by the age of seventeen, you must produce an heir with the woman you are truly in love with, or else you will bleed to death by gashes made in your body every night.

I'm sorry to tell you this Draco, but your father plans on keeping Granger here until you turn seventeen, he is trying to punish you.

Hurry and you may be able to save yourself and Granger. Remember what I told you.

With all my love,

Narcissa Malfoy.

Draco sighed and rested his head in his arms on the table. He handed the note to Harry.

'Read it aloud.' He instructed. Harry took the letter from him and read it aloud to everyone in the room.

By the end of it, Ginny and Sierra were in tears and Sirius, James and Remus were furious at Lucius Malfoy.

When Harry finished reading the letter, he looked up at everyone.

'Well, now we know where she is. How do we get her back?' He asked the room at large.

For the rest of the morning, they went over and produced plans to save Hermione from the clutches of Lucius Malfoy and get her back safely.

Hermione woke from unconsciousness to find Narcissa standing in front of her with a tray of food.

Hermione groaned slightly from the pain that coursed through her body as she tried to move. The chains that Malfoy Senior had placed around her wrists to hold her up onto the wall had sharp edges, but only just sharp enough to take off a layer of skin.

She whimpered slightly and looked up gratefully and helplessly at Narcissa, as the older woman walked forward and started feeding her the food that she had cooked herself without Lucius knowing.

Hermione ate gratefully. It was not often that she was fed; in fact she was tortured more frequently than she was fed.

Narcissa was a huge help though, she would talk to Hermione and tell her that everything would be fine; that Draco would come and find her any day now.

Hermione had asked her how she knew this many a time, but she would only get a smile and a shake of her head. Hermione would frown at the woman if she found the strength within her, because Narcissa would mostly come after Lucius had left and Hermione was tired and lethargic after being hit with the cruciatus, or Lucius would sometimes use more effective forms of muggle torture on her; he found them to get a better reaction out of her.

Hermione would often come out of the torture sessions with bad cuts, gashes and holes in her body, from all the types of torture the evil man inflicted on her. Narcissa would heal some of the minor ones that Lucius wouldn't notice, but had to keep the other major ones, for Lucius would notice those ones.

'Here.' Narcissa offered, holding a spoon to her mouth for her to take a sip of.

Hermione carefully sipped the scolding soup and moaned again, betraying the awful amount of pain that she was going through.

Narcissa smiled painfully at her, and took in the sight of the new tears to her robes and the new wounds that showed through a vibrant red compared to her pale skin. She found the very minor wounds on her wrists and healed them quickly before moving to other parts of her body to check for them.

Quickly healing what she could, she turned back to the soup that she had left discarded on the floor.

Picking it up, she helped Hermione finish it before putting the tray back on the floor and helping her drink some of the water that Narcissa had brought with her for the parched girl. Hermione's voice was usually hoarse after screaming from Lucius' "sessions".

'Are you feeling better?' She asked kindly. Hermione nodded and tried talking.

'Do you have any news about how Draco and my friends are doing?' Hermione asked hoarsely. Narcissa smiled gently at the girl.

'Don't worry, Draco and the others are all okay. Draco is still as worried about you as ever. They are all fine.' Narcissa answered. Hermione sighed in relief and hung her head.

'I think I might try and get to sleep. I might need it for tomorrow.' Hermione whispered. Narcissa nodded her head and picked up the tray, taking it with her out of the door and slipping away quietly.

Hermione fell into a restless sleep, dreaming of Draco, and of dying in this hell-hole.

Where is he? She thought.

Over the next few days, they all planned what was to happen and received frequent updates from Narcissa about what was going on with Hermione's physical, emotional and mental health. Over all, she was fine, but missed Draco terribly and sometimes wouldn't eat because of it.

Narcissa told them that she was the nicest that she could be with Hermione with Lucius in the house, but was able to get her to eat and told her reassuring things.

Draco had the sense that they would soon have to hide his mother from the clutches of his father because of all the help she gave them with Hermione.

After about a week, Hermione wasn't sure really, she hadn't been counting, and there weren't any windows in the dungeon, so she could only guess that Malfoy Senior came in once a day to hurt her. She figured that he would be entering soon.

She was right.

Lucius Malfoy walked through the door and swept over to where Hermione was hung against the wall.

Coming up to her, he took her chin in his hand and looked into her eyes.

Hermione stared back with an odd defiance for someone that had been reduced to tears by this man and roughly pulled her chin away from him.

He slapped her hard in the face and Hermione whimpered slightly at the hard contact and felt him place a knife to her throat.

'Shall we begin from where we left off yesterday?' He asked quietly, but with a no-nonsense tone that was deadly. Hermione glared at the man and lifted her head.

Lucius slowly ran the knife lightly across her throat, but hard enough to draw blood from her throat.

Hermione winced at the pain of the wound and felt the tears forming in her eyes already, even though it was still early in the "routine".

'You are weak mudblood. If I wasn't planning on keeping you so Draco would not be able to fulfil the curse, I would kill you now. But, as it is, I need you. But I will let myself just have the fun I need.' Lucius said, lowering the knife and putting it to her stomach. He pushed it in lightly, but soon it was being pushed in harder, and Hermione could barely suppress a painful gasp and the tears flowing down her eyes from the pain.

After a week of planning, they finally had a plan that they deemed virtually fool proof.

Apparently they found out that Draco's animagus was a snake, so they put him as the person to go in the house first and tell them if the coast was clear using Harry's skills with being a pastlemouth.

They would sneak into the house and find the dungeon where Hermione was held in, with invisible Order members scattered down the halls and all over the house to keep look out. They used a special type of coin that Draco had cast charms on to send each other messages about what was going on and whether Death Eaters are heading their way.

They would try to get Hermione out as quickly as possible without that much trouble and without having to fight that much.

That night, everyone got ready for the plan that would take place the next day.

A/N: Now, please let me thank all those special people out there:

kxmalfoy

wasu

Raina Darlig

The Queen of Confusion

Liz Storm

Lya Darkfury

Silver Rose-17

Marla1

TaimaHawk12

AnaDry

audrhole

milly125

rawrrchristinaa

I love you all so very much! Thank you for reviewing, it really made my day to know that you enjoyed reading my last chapter!