Well, here's Chapter two. Sorry it took so long, but one, it's longer than the chapters in my other stories and two, I kinda have a busy schedule right now. I hope you like this chapter. The next one will introduce my original character, who will be as original as they come. He'll be something...unexpected. And just so that no questions arise later on, this story will never be slash. Sorry, but it is just not going to happen this story.

ENJOY!!



Ron Weasley sat in his room reluctantly going through his old Famous Wizard card collection. It was a sunny, breezy day outside with seemingly every bird in all of England singing brightly their favorite merry song. Ron looked up and out from his cards every now and then to stare at the sunshine that spilled into his room to torment him with the knowledge of what he was missing while his mother forced him to clean his room.

"That room is a cluttered haven for pigs," his mother had exclaimed when she'd demanded it be cleaned this morning.

Personally, Ron didn't see her point. It wasn't a pig sty, just a little unorganized. He just needed to separate his dirty clothes pile from his clean clothes pile, put them away and find somewhere to put his comic collection that had somehow managed to take over the room.

Thankfully, he was almost finished. All that was left now was for him to find somewhere to put his card collection that was now displaced from their old area for the growing comic collection. But that was after he'd managed to finally separate them from his comics. It seemed that they had lost their battle for their space to the comics long before then.

With a deep sigh, Ron gave up his search, knowing he'd find the last three cards when he'd least expect them and put the rest in a drawer in his bedside table. He looked around his room and decided that the only thing left for his mother to complain about was his unmade bed. He shrugged and flopped into it, feeling that she couldn't complain about it if he was in it napping.

He'd almost fallen asleep when a high pitched scratching at the window brought him back from the warm clutches of darkness. Ron looked up and back over at the window where Hedwig flew desperately trying to get in.

Ron grinned and cried, "Harry," excitedly before racing over to throw open the window. Hedwig flew straight in and began hooting almost as excitedly as Pig was wont to do. She dropped a letter in Ron's hands before settling onto Pig's currently empty perch and continuing to hoot regretfully. Ron watched her, surprised by her unusual antics.

"What's wrong, Hedwig," he asked, reaching out to pet her. Hedwig hooted sadly and looked up at him with eyes full of sorrow.

Ron shook his head and looked down at the letter. It was the same one he had sent to Harry two days before.

"You brought me my letter back," Ron gasped, his eyes wide as fear gripped his stomach. "B-b-but..."

Before finishing even the thought, Ron turned and raced from the room to his mother.

"Mum," he called, running into the kitchen, looking for all the world as though Voldemort himself was on his heels. "Mum, my letter to Harry! It came back! Hedwig brought it back!"

Mrs. Weasley watched her son in surprise, "You wrote a letter to Harry?"

Ron nodded vigorously, "Yeah, but it came back unopened. I don't think Hedwig ever got to deliver it."

Mrs Weasley eyes lit with worry as she turned over the obviously undelivered letter in her hand. Quickly she moved past her son and up the stairs to Ron's room where Hedwig still sat hooting sadly on Pig's perch. She pet Hedwig's feathers back and looked the sad snowy owl over.

"Couldn't you find Harry," she asked the poor creature.



Hedwig hooted a negative softly while fluffing her feathers to show her irritation at her failure.

A worried look passed over Mrs Weasley's face as her mind finally grasped the idea that Harry may be missing. She turned quickly to her wide-eyed son who had followed her up.

"Ron, I'm going to Harry's house to find out what has happened. Watch your sister and tell your father where I am," she told him before disapparating away.

Ron nodded and, giving Hedwig a treat she refused to eat, ran back downstairs to the fireplace to try and contact his father.

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Mrs Weasley apparated to just in front on the Dursley home, thankful that was sun was just beginning to set. She had forgotten any need of secrecy in her worry for the boy who seemed like another son to her. With a quick look at her surroundings, she hurried up to the Dursley's front door and knocked loudly. A few moments later the front door was opened to reveal a very large boy.

"Hello," Mrs Weasley said to him as calmly as she could manage. "Is your mother home?"

The boy looked her over carefully, his eyes widening with growing terror as he noted the tattered robes she wore and long wand she carried. He squeaked in fear and stumbled back, knocking the door wide open as he did so. He stumbled back up as quickly as his ponderous body would allow and ran screaming into the kitchen, "MUMMY!"

Mrs Weasley stood stunned on the doorstep, her mouth hanging open and her robes blowing gently with a soft, cool breeze. After a moment she began to step into the small home and politely closed the door behind her. She turned back around and followed the boy's hurried path into a small kitchen where he stood crying into a woman's chest who looked like she would be engulfed in his fat folds at any moment.

The woman looked up at that moment and noticed Mrs Weasley standing in her kitchen. Her long face grew even longer as her mouth dropped open and her blue eyes opened wide to shine fear out at Mrs Weasley.

"What do you want," the woman, Mrs Dursley, demanded of Mrs Weasley.

"My son sent Harry a letter," Mrs Weasley told her, "but Hedwig couldn't deliver it."

"I can't help that," Mrs Dursley told her sharply, moving in a useless attempt to block her overly large son from the witch in her kitchen. "I'm not his keeper."

Anger at the other woman's callousness exploded in Mrs. Weasley, coating her vision in a crimson hue. She took a dangerous step toward Mrs Dursley, her very being seeming to radiate her furious state. Mrs Dursley shrunk back from her with a little cry that was echoed by her son.

"What do you mean, 'You're not his keeper,'" Mrs Weasley asked, her words clipped and dripping with the threat of death. "You are his aunt? He does live with you? Where is he!"

Mrs Dursley began to shake with fear and she whimpered before answering, "I-I don't know. T-t-two men from your ministry came and took him. Said it was for his protection."

Surprise flooded into Mrs Weasley as she digested this information. They couldn't have taken Harry, could they? She hadn't heard anything about it... She had to ask her husband about this.

"Did they tell you their names," she growled at Mrs Dursley.

Mrs Dursley shook her head, blonde hair flying about her plain, pale face, "N-no. J-j-just that they were Ministry of Magic. I-I-I don't think Harry wanted to go, but what could I do about it."

"Tell them no," Mrs Weasley growled at her, causing her to flinch. "He was your nephew! If anything's happened to him, it will be your fault."

Mrs Dursley open her mouth to protest, but Mrs Weasley had already disapparated away.

Mrs Weasley apparated straight into her husband's office, surprising him as he seemed to grabbing his wand.

"Molly," he cried, surprised. "I just heard from Ron. Did you find Harry?"

Mrs Weasley shook her head, tears forming in her eyes, "No. His aunt said the ministry came and took him."

Mr Weasley's mouth opened in a large "O" as he gasped. He shook his head and sat down in a nearby chair.

"The ministry," he repeated breathlessly. "But I never heard anything about it. When did it happen?"

Mrs Weasley shook her head sadly, "I don't know. That horrible woman made me so angry I never thought to ask."

Mr Weasley nodded, understanding what his wife meant perfectly. He'd never liked Harry's family and liked them even less after he had met them the summer before.

"Go find Dumbledore and tell him what's happened. He needs to know what has happened. I'm going to see what I can discover here," Mr Weasley told his wife. He stood and walked over to enfold her in a comforting hug.

Tears began to overflow in Mrs Weasley's eyes as her husband hugged her. She leaned into his chest and wrapped her own arms around him.

"How could anyone be so callous about their own children," she mumbled.

"He's not their child, Molly," Mr Weasley told her gently. "He never was. They were just where he lived."

"But how could she just let him go, not even TRY to protect him," she cried confused. "He's just a baby, Arthur!"

"We'll find him, Molly," Mr Weasley told her. "And then he'll never have to go back to them."

Sniffing, Mrs Weasley nodded. She stepped back and wiped her tears away.

"I'd better get to Dumbledore," she said. "Be careful, Arthur."

Mr Weasley smiled grimly at his wife, "I will be."

He watched his wife disapparate before grabbing his wand and hurrying out the door. Whoever had taken Harry was not going to be happy when Arthur Weasley found them.



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Severus Snape walked briskly down the hall, determined that this year he would be named the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. If he was going to spy for Dumbledore, not to mention spend days at a time in the Infimarary, then the least Dumbledore could do was give him his dream job.

He'd just stopped in front of the Gargoyle blocking the entrance to Dumbledore's office when he heard it. Someone was running through the halls of Hogwarts and panting heavily from their exertion. He turned and barely avoided being run over by Mrs Weasley.

"Oh," she said, panting and leaning against the wall. "Professor Snape! Is Dumbledore in? It's urgent."

Just then the gargoyle jumped to the side, startling both Snape and Mrs Weasley. Mrs Weasley's grip on the wall slipped and she slid forward, falling onto Snape, who looked rather indignant to find a plump, middle-aged woman in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Mrs Weasley," Dumbledore said with a grin as she struggled to right herself. "I didn't mean to startle you, but I thought I heard someone down here."

Snape gave a long-suffering sigh as Mrs Weasley finally finished righting herself and turned to Dumbledore.

"Harry's missing," she told him, the fear in her voice leaving no room for disbelief.

Dummbledore's grin left his heavily whiskered face, his blue eyes widening with sudden concern, "Are you sure? How did you find out?"

"My son, Ron, sent him a letter with Harry's owl, but Hedwig returned with the letter. She wasn't able to deliver the letter. So I went to his home and his aunt told me that the ministry came to take him. But neither I nor Arthur knew anything about that," she told him quickly, panic obviously beginning to rise in her.

"Calm down, Mrs Weasley," Dumbledore told her. "Let us continue this in my office. Are you coming, Severus?"

Snape nodded, masking his concern for the foolish boy with a scowl. Dumbledore turned and began to climb the stairs to his office, Mrs Weasley at his heels and Snape followed them both.

Once in Dumbledore's office, the three sat down and a deafening silence ensued. Dumbledore looked thoughtful, while Mrs Weasley looked tearful and Snape looked rather irritated. The silence continued for a few moments, broken only by Fawkes the pheonix's sorrowful cooing. He finally left his perch and flew over to stand on Mrs Weasley's lap.

"When did you discover that he was missing," Dumbledore asked as she lifted a hand to pet the beautiful fire bird.

"Just this evening," she answered. "I was about to start dinner when Ron came running downstairs to tell me his letter had been returned."

"Do you know when he went missing or who the men were that took him," Dumbledore asked, stapling his hands together on the desk.

"His aunt didn't know who they were. They only said they were from the Ministry and had come to take Harry somewhere safe. I was a bit angry with her by then, so I forgot to ask when it happened," Mrs Weasley told him, her face flushing.

"You forgot to ask," Snape repeated incredulously. "How could you forget such a ridiculously simple question?"

"You weren't there," Mrs Weasley told him hotly. "That woman didn't even attempt to protect Harry! She didn't seem to care that her only nephew might be in danger!"

Snape snorted and opened his mouth to retort when Dumbledore held up his hand in a gesture for quiet. Obediently, Snape quieted and turned a furious glare on the headmaster.

"When it happened makes very little difference. Now we simply have to find him," Dumbledore said. "Mrs Weasley, does your husband know yet?"

Mrs Weasley nodded, "He's going to ask around the Ministry for anything, but do you really think he'll find something?"

Dumbledore shook his head, "I doubt it, but we do need to explore every option." He looked meaningfully at Snape as he said the last.

Snape sighed, but nodded his assent. This seemed to satisfy Dumbledore and he turned back to Mrs Weasley.

"Mrs Weasley, could you please return here tomorrow night with any more information you are able to find? About 9 o'clock," he requested.

Mrs Weasley nodded, "What are you going to do?"

"Find Harry Potter, Mrs Weasley," he answered soberly. "At all costs."

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Snape walked slowly through the chill dawn air back up to the castle, feeling as numb as he had ever felt. And it wasn't just the two times he had been subjected to the Cruciatus curse. He had seen something that night that would most likely haunt him for days to come.

Dumbledore was waiting for him by the castle doors, his face set in a look of patient vigilance. He smiled grimly as he saw Snape stumbling toward him. Moving quickly, he closed the distance between them and pulled some of Snape's weight onto himself. He helped him inside and up to the Infirmary.

"What happened, Severus," he asked gently, worry for the younger man eating at him. Snape had never allowed himself to be brought to the Infirmary without a fight before. "How many times?"

"Only two," Snape told him gruffly, finally realizing where he was. "I found him, Albus."

Dumbledore blinked, surprised, but understanding who he meant immediately. He sighed and sat down next to his former pupil.

"He tortured me for being late and then he called out two of his other Death Eaters. They came immediately, dragging Harry between them," Snape told him. "He was beat up pretty badly, but he seemed to be conscious. The Dark Lord tortured him before commanding he be hidden away."

Snape looked Dumbledore in the eyes now, his normally intense gaze becoming three times as intensive as usual. Dumbledore looked back with calm, though worry-ridden eyes.

"Albus he plans to-to-" Snape looked back down, seemingly unable to continue.

"Yes, Severus," Dumbledore prompted after a moment. "What does he plan on doing?"

Snape watched as Madame Pomfrey walked sleepily into the room, jumping at the sight of the two men and gasping, "Oh my!"

Dumbledore ignored her and continued to regard Snape with a kind, but stern look, "What does he have planned for Harry, Severus?"

Snape took a deep breath and told him in a stony voice, "He plans to use him as a sacrifice in the Mijobor Ritual."



Next Chapter: Discussions of the Serious Kind