Chapter 2:

Author's Note: This is my second Chapter, for all those blonde covered dunderheads out there!( No offense, I'm partially blonde, too.) Thanks to all those wonderful people who reviewed, that huge number of one!!! But thank you very much Aragorn/Ravenclawizard/Hayes. I very much appreciated your review.

Disclaimer: This belongs solely to J.K. Rowling, except for my plot and the concept that Draco Malfoy doesn't always have to be bad. Don' sue me, Warner Brothers, you bbbaaaad people, you! By the way, call me at 555-5555, area  code 555, Extension 5, if you want to join my secret rebellion against owning book rights. People's imaginations should be shared among all people! Bwahahahahaha!!!! Just kidding, of course. Please R and R!

The Domino Effect

            The next day, Hermione felt much more relaxed. She knew she probably shouldn't be, since Harry was missing, but she couldn't help thinking that with her and Ron together, they'd find him in no time. It'll be great, having him as a friend again, she thought. What (or who I should say) she was worried about was Draco Malfoy. He was only doing this for the work, but Hermione figured out why Dumbledore chose him. He probably wanted to get Malfoy exposed to good things, and be steered away from becoming a Death Eater. It was smart of him to do that, she thought, that will be good for him.

            But when she got to work, the only one there was the object of her thoughts. Malfoy.

            " Where's Ron?" Hermione asked.

            " He wants to talk to you," replied Malfoy, handing her a slightly damp newspaper, " he's busy drowning his sorrows in the Leaky Cauldron."

            She glanced at the paper, and fainted, Malfoy catching her in the fall.

            The paper had said: 21-YEAR OLD GINNY WEASLEY KIDNAPPED BY DEATH EATERS. Under this was an old school picture of her. She was smiling and waving, with her flaming red hair standing out.

            "Ennervate," muttered Malfoy. Hermione's eyes fluttered open.

            "Ginny," she shouted," I can't believe it! Why her? How did they find her? Why did you do this?!" She said suddenly, turning away from staring into space. She glared at Malfoy, with her soon-to-be-patented Stare of Death.

            He looked a bit surprised, but quickly regained himself.

            "Me? You think that I, am a Death Eater?"

            "Well, your father is, isn't he? I thought that you, would follow in his footsteps!" Hermione said this while shaking uncontrollably.

            " I can assure you, I am not a Death Eater. First of all, I hate my father. Second, if I was a Death Eater, I would have killed you and Weasley already, wouldn't I? I mean, they aren't the most discreet things, are they?"

            Hermione was speechless, struck with a piercing guilt. She didn't understand anything. What relief she had felt that morning seemed to suddenly disappear. But Malfoy didn't say anything more. He just gently took her hand, and led her to that old pub they all knew so well.

            She felt empty. How could ALL this happen to her? She remembered that she thought she was sad when Viktor died! No, somehow this is much worse, much more serious. How could both Harry and Ginny both be kidnapped at the same time? And why does this have to happen to me? Two of my best friends are gone, and I don't even have time to be sad about it! They immediately have to recruit me, to save them. It isn't fair. And it's not only that, my colleague/arch enemy is taking me to the Leaky Cauldron, to see my old enemy/best friend! This is all too confusing!

            By this time, they had gotten to the pub. Hermione sat down next to Ron, not saying anything. The only sound she seemed to hear was Ron's sobbing. Draco sat comfortably across them, picking up the newspaper to skim through the article. Hermione felt a small stab of hatred for him, or was it jealousy?

            Ron looked up. His face was pale, and his freckles seemed to have awkwardly rearranged themselves, because they looked as though they didn't belong to his face. He picked up his glass and drank it in one gulp. He then looked over at Hermione, and broke down again. He embraced Hermione with a helpless hug. She hugged him back, unable to cry. All she could do was to say, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Ron."

            "Bloody heck," said Malfoy calmly, "you're talking about her as though she's already dead!" They turned and glared at him.

            "I mean, all I meant was that now we have two jobs to do, and I'm sure that if we find Potter, we'll find little Weasley nearby. Uh, have you read this article yet?" He added hastily, his brow furrowed.

            "No." Answered Ron roughly, vaguely reminiscent of his father, after the Death Eater attacks after the Quidditch World Cup.

            "Well, it says here that the last time she was seen, she was telling her mother that she was off to see you…" They all furrowed their brows at this. Why would she do that? It looked as though that's what the other two were also thinking.

            "Ron, does Ginny have a job?" Hermione asked.

            "Um, yeah, she worked part-time at Fred and George's joke shop. The rest of the time she'd spend with Mum and Dad. They wanted someone around the house to take care of things. Why?"

            " I say we send an owl to Dumbledore about what we should do, and research while we wait for his answer," said Malfoy, matter-of-factly.

            "I'm going to get a drink, and a book." Said Hermione, while Ron and Malfoy started talking. She went out the backdoor of the pub, and found herself facing a brick wall. Three above the trashcan, and two to the right. There. Tap, tap. Diagon Alley opened in front of her, and she stepped in.

            Hermione strode down the cobblestoned street, staring at the stores she remembered. Oh, dear. All those happy memories. Where've they gone? Oh, there's Flourish and Blott's. She stepped into the store that held books as large as paving slabs, and ones as small as postage stamps. The shelves of books beckoned to Hermione, so she walked down the rows, running her finger across the bindings of the books.

            Finally, one book caught her eye. It was a handsome blue and black volume. Across the front it stated The History of the Dark Lord and His Supporters. She picked it up and while flipping through it, walked up to the sales clerk.

            "Yes?" Inquired the short man.

            "I'd like to buy this book," she said, and handed the man a few galleons.

            With her nose in the book, Hermione walked back up the street. She wasn't watching where she was going, and into what seemed to be a small mountain.

            "Hermione! S'that you? Well! It is you! How've you bin' doin'?" Hagrid said, smiling ear to ear as he pulled Hermione to her feet.

            "Hagrid!" She cried, burying her head deeply into his moleskin coat, trying to give him a hug.

            They walked back to the Leaky Cauldron, while Hermione explained everything, well, everything she knew. When they reached it, Ron and Malfoy were still talking. When they heard her talking, they looked up, confused. Ron smiled. It was the first true smile she had seen from him in a long time. Malfoy just rolled his eyes.

            "Did you send that owl to Dumbledore yet?" Hermione asked.

            "Just did," said Ron, breathlessly. He got up, and gave Hagrid a big hug. Hagrid leaned over and somewhat whispered something into Ron's ear, causing Ron to get a grin reminding Hermione of Gred and Forge. I mean Fred and George. Then he walked over to Malfoy. His face turned grim. Malfoy looked scared, and gave Hagrid a wide-eyed, pale stare. Hagrid gave a great booming laugh, and gave Malfoy a hug, too. Ron and Hermione had to laugh too, at Malfoy's ruffled, bewildered look.

            "So, Hermione tells me that yeh've got a lot on yer plates right now. Harry's missin'? I'll beat the livin' daylights outta whoever did it! An' Ginny! She's such a nice, sweet girl. Always seemed a little squeamish to me, but nice. I know yeh'll find 'em, I've no doubt about it. An' you were smart about owlin' Dumbledore. Great man, Dumbledore."

            They all had gotten drinks (well, about five for Hagrid), and sat down, discussing what had happened. Ron and Hermione couldn't help but smile. Hagrid could lift anyone's spirits, as long as he didn't involve any of his pets.

            "You're right, Hagrid." Said Ron, a look of determination on his face. "We will find them, but not if we're just sitting and moping about it. We should get to work."

            "Now, tha's the spirit! I'm gonna go now, I gotta get my classes on Demiguise ready for this year," said Hagrid, causing all three to flinch. When they remembered the Blast-Ended Skrewts, they were glad that they were no longer in school.

            They all said good-bye, and then finished their drinks, picking up all the latest newspapers as they left.

            Back at the office, they got busy. Malfoy researching ancient Death Eater meeting places, Hermione researching Death Eater habits, and Ron studying the newspapers.

            "It doesn't give any examples of famous people being held hostage by Death Eaters, this doesn't help at all!" Hermione said, frustrated that she couldn't find anything more useful. She was so frustrated and distracted, that she found herself reading the same sentence several times. She was so frustrated and distracted, that she found herself reading the same sentence several times. She was so frustrated and distracted, that she found herself reading the same sentence several times.

            She closed her book, and sat at her desk, thinking about what they could do to get a lead.

            "Says here that the Castle of Blarney is being haunted, that's a good bet," said Ron.

            "One of the old meeting places was near there, in Ireland, that could work," added Malfoy, not taking his eyes off his book.

            A trail…a trail… somewhere Harry would usually be…commonplace…aha, his house…maybe his master's house, too…She thought a little bit more about it, and decided to run it past them.

            "You guys? How about we take a look at Harry's house? I don't know how often he was there, but we could try his master's house, too," Hermione said. They nodded thoughtfully. "Send an owl to your Mum and Dad, and ask them if Ginny did or said anything unusual that day, before she left. And maybe we can search her room."

            "Why don't we send Dumbledore another owl? Then he'll actually know what we're doing, and can help us," said Malfoy, with mocking wide eyes, idiotic expression, and his patented sarcastic drawl. Hermione rolled her eyes, and responded just as sarcastically. "What a great idea, Malfoy! You can send it to him!"

            "Speak of the devil," said Ron, as an owl swooped in the window, and landed in front of them.

Malfoy took the letter from the owl and read out loud, "

Dear Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Malfoy,

I am extremely sorry about what has happened. I encourage you to work quickly, before any further attacks are made. Thank you for helping in this great time of need.

Sincerely,

Professor Albus Dumbledore

Well, that was certainly informative, wasn't it?" Malfoy said, folding the letter in half, and giving it to Ron, who read it over again.

"He said move quickly," Hermione pleaded, "let's go! We can go to Harry's house first, and then to the Burrow.

Malfoy gave them a confused look when she mentioned this, but said nothing, and apparated along with them to Harry's house.

~Evyfleur