Don't own anything recognisable from JK Rowling's Harry Potter books.

Chapter 12

Kidnapped!

"Okay Pat, you can't spend all day down here!" Sirius called out as he entered the classroom. "I know you aren't still down here because of Snape so…"

The room was empty. The potion Pat had been brewing had turned a yellowy-green shade of sick and was emitting a disgusting spell.

"That can't be right." Sirius murmured to himself.

"What are you doing in here?" Snape had arrived after Sirius.

Ignoring the fact that Snape was Sirius' worst enemy he asked his opinion. "Do you think that's right?"

"What the…" Snape wandered over to the cauldron, holding his nose to stop the obnoxious fumes getting in. "Terminus" He said waving his wand over the potion.

It immediately stopped bubbling, the smell decreased in intensity. "No, she hasn't finished it. Stupid girl, if it had been left for a few minutes more, then a fog would have swept round the school killing everyone in it!"

"She wouldn't have left it!" Sirius growled, he wandered around the classroom, looking everywhere.

"Hoping to find something?" Snape asked obnoxiously.

"She wouldn't have left it." Sirius hurried out of the room, Snape following him to reprimand the Auror when he saw her. They went to Pat's bedroom first, but there was nothing. Then rushing to Dumbledore's office, they said the password.

"Toad-in-the-hole".

"Albus. Something's happened to Pat!" Sirius got the words out in a rush. He turned to Snape. "I have an idea. You stay here and tell Dumbledore what happened. I want all lessons to be cancelled. I want Harry to be protected by Hagrid and Minerva. Severus, you know how to do the spells that Pat was doing?" Snape just looked at him as if to say 'Of course! What do you think I am, stupid?'. "Right then, you and Flitwick are to do the spells again. I want to know what Pat knew. Everyone else is to meet me in the potions classroom. We'll find her." He stalked from the room.

~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~

Pat was in a room she hadn't been in before. It was dark and dank. The walls were covered in mould and condensation, and a green glow. The condensation was caused by the bubbling cauldron on a fire in the centre of the room. She could see the bowl of Gniwiev sat on a table in one corner, and what looked like a gilded cage in another. She was propped up against one of the walls, her back dripped with the wet running off of the walls. Sybill was sat in one corner, her eyes glazed over with the Imperius curse.

She tried to move again, but it was no good. The spell hadn't worn off yet. If she hadn't been in this situation she could have laughed. Her whole rescue, maybe even her life depended on Sirius reading her diary, and finding her.

~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~

Sirius went to the Gryffindor common room, Sir Cadogan was guarding it again, much to Sirius' annoyance.

"You scurvy cur! You'll not get farther than me! On guard!" Sir Cadogan raised his painted sword and looked menacingly. "If you are the one that has been threatening beautiful damsels I will have your guts for garters!"

Sirius had no time to think of the humour in that sentence (thinking that the Fat Lady was a beautiful damsel indeed!).

"Open up! I'm here to see Harry."

"You'll never get past me!" Sir Cadogan attempted a few practise lunges at the grass in the painting.

"Open the door now!"

Sir Cadogan danced a little jig, thrusting his sword to emphasise the beat.

Sirius growled menacingly. He got his wand out and said. "Ignius".

A corner of the painting started to burn slowly.

"You Sir are no gentleman!" Sir Cadogan exclaimed, while attempting to climb a tree in the opposite corner to the fire. The weight of his armour kept making him slide down the tree.

"I can make it burn faster!" Sirius warned.

"Professor Black!" Hermione cried out as she approached the common room. "What are you doing!"

"Do you know the password?" Sirius asked brusquely.

"Yes!"

"Aqua!" Sirius yelled, the fire was immediately doused. "Get me in there!" He yelled at Hermione.

"Damsel in distress" She whispered to the knight, who was looking a little flustered.

"Of course dear lady!" The painting swung open.

"Harry!" Sirius yelled as he went up the stairs towards the boys dorms, Hermione following him. "Harry!"

"What's up?" Harry arrived at the door, but Sirius pushed past him and began searching his room.

"I need the Marauders Map! Pat's in trouble and I don't know where she is!" He continued searching when Ron came into the room. "Ron! Hagrid and Minerva should be here soon, let them past that...." No matter how much he was worried he couldn't use expletives in front of kids. "… Knight. They will protect you Harry."

"Sirius!" Harry eventually got a word in edgeways. "Filch confiscated the map! We were using it to get to the kitchens when he saw us. We managed to get rid of the writing on it, but he still has the parchment!"

~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~

Pat's hands were beginning to twitch. She could just about flick a fingertip, and her voice could just about manage a whisper. "Sybill?" She said to the Professor who was in the cage.

She could no longer see the cat who had followed her body through the passages.

"She can't hear you." A deep-throated growl came from behind her. "I would have thought that an Auror would know about the Imperius curse."

Pat tried to turn around, but her head was still paralysed. "Yes, but you can't keep her under the curse for a long time. It takes a lot of energy out of a wizard." She rasped.

"Of course, which is why I need the cage." The voice was getting closer to Pat's back. "She goes in there at night."

A tall, wizard, with flowing black robe appeared in her vision. He had brown hair and a brown beard, both of which were covered in dust. His eyes were a deep blue, and he had a short stubby nose.  "Please excuse my bad manners. I am Egan Parsifal."

"Pat Carver." She decided to play along with him, hopefully that would give Sirius enough time to save her.

~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~

"Filch, you bastard! Let me in!" Sirius had had enough. "Alohomora!" He yelled, forcing the door in.

He went straight past Mrs Norris' empty cushion and went straight to the filing cabinet. He searched through The Marauders first, dropping everything on the floor as he went through it.

"What are you doing?" The nasal tones of Filch hit him. "You are messing with private property."

"Yes, and its not yours." He said tipping another file he had searched on the floor. "I don't have time to mess around Filch. Pat has vanished. You have a piece of parchment which you confiscated form Harry, and I need it!"

Filch grimaced at Sirius. "You won't find it in there so leave it."

Sirius went over to Filch, lifted him by the front of his robes. "Where is it? If you don't give it to me I will…"

Filch drew the parchment from his robe. Sirius let him down. "Go to the potions room now!"

~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~

Pat searched her memory for an Egan Parsifal, she usually had a good memory for faces. "I ummm… don't seem to recognise you." She said finally.

"No, you wouldn't." He agreed. "When the other deatheaters were rounded up I skipped the country, went to live amongst muggles in china. I knew that as long as I didn't use my magic I would be safe."

Pat saw a movement in the corner. 'Sirius?' she thought, hope rising in her body. Until she saw the real figure. 'Mrs Norris. She'll be in on this as well.'

"What are you going to do to me?" She asked, keeping eye contact with the wizard.

"Well, Voldemort didn't specifically say to me that he wants you dead, but you've seen me now. I can't have you going back to the ministry and getting more Aurors after me. I've looked at your file as well. You are half muggle, a mudblood. I'll probably get extra points for you."

~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." He touched the map with his wand. Searching through the names on the map… He checked again.

Pat wasn't on there. He marched off to the potions room.

"Pat isn't on the map." He said to everyone who had shown up.

"What?" Snape asked him rudely.

"The map, it's a magical map which shows where every passage is and every person is in Hogwarts. She's not on it."

Dumbledore looked at the parchment. "Doesn't mean to say she isn't still here. A charm could be used to repel the map."

"We must find her... we have no time to lose."

Sirius was just about to leave the classroom when Professor Sprout accidentally knocked against the table Snape was working on. Everything fell to the floor.

"Whoops!" She said and then frowned. "What's this?" There was a red book in her hand. "How marvellous! A diary that writes by itself!"

"Pat!" Sirius yelled and grabbed the book off of Sprout. He read it. "There's a panel in the wall behind Severus' desk, they went that way!"

Author's Notes:

Argggh!! 2 months away from a computer does a lot to a person, namely driving them insane!! The course that I am doing has driven me away to a placement with no internet access!!! I have been reliably informed that fanfiction has not been working recently (thanks squizz) so I would not have been able to post anyway. For the next few months I will get my sister to post my stories so there may be a bit of a time delay. Plus I may not reply to all of my reviewers, but I do appreciate you all!!

Anyway to the job at hand.

Thanks to Rugi and Gwena. Glad you think my story is exciting!

Mrs Grim. I have instructed my sis. To post me (by snail mail) any chapters you post, so there will be a time delay between you posting and me reviewing but keep up the good work!!!!

Delonariel thanks for the review, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last one.

And finally thanks to leigh for reviewing!

See you soon!

Love to you all!

Krusty.

xxx