THE MANOR

Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, not mine, not mine, not mine, not mine … all JKR's of course.

Chapter 12 – Kicking, Swearing and Missing

Hermione kicked the door in a burst of anger.

'Is anyone out there?' she yelled futilely.

She and Ron had been kicking and screaming through the window in the door, wanting a response of some sort from their abductors. And getting absolutely nothing. Nil.

'I want out,' Hermione kicked the door again. The door did not even show so much as a dent from Hermione and Ron's efforts to seriously batter it. It stood as straight as it had before. 'Bastard,' she muttered, referring of course to Draco Malfoy.

Ron had heard her every opinion about Draco. She had been swearing rather vocally, actually, ever since she had revived a little from being so ungraciously knocked out, and after about half an hour of insults, had begun repeating herself. Then, she tried swearing in some of the Ancient magical languages she'd picked up a bit in Ancient Runes, even spitting a bit when it came to swearing in Dwarvish. For some reason, she also swore a couple of phrases in what sounded like Ancient Greek. Ron never knew that Hermione had such an extensive, dirty vocabulary, and felt rather relieved that he didn't understand the Runic curses. The English ones were bad enough already. He, of course, was also angry, but somehow, he felt that Hermione took it more personally.

'Lying bastard,' she added for the forty-seventh time since Ron had started counting that favourite phrase of hers, lashing out at the door with her foot again.

'I wish we could have some case of spontaneous magic now,' Ron said thoughtfully. 'I mean, we're angry enough,' he said, also adding another kick to the valiantly standing door.

'The room's probably magicked against any form of magic,' Hermione said, scowling blackly. 'We could have been doing spontaneous magic, but it wouldn't possibly react if it'd been spelled against it.' She kicked the door again, a little too hard, and gave a slight grunt with pain. 'This door is going to ruin my feet,' she said darkly.

'If it got us out of here, I wouldn't mind ruining my feet,' Ron said, giving the door an extra hard kick. He sat down abruptly. His foot also hurt now.

Hermione looked a little more rational now. She only swore once every two minutes or so now, so after a few more minutes, Ron prudently judged it safe to talk. He had never imagined a situation like this, where he was being sensible, and she was enraged beyond thought.

'Why do you think we're here?' Ron asked her. He had been wondering about their abduction, and wondered why, and hadn't really figured out a reason really. It wasn't like either of them were rich, so there wouldn't be much of a ransom. There was another thought that nagged at his mind, that it could be because of Harry, but he pushed that away firmly. That thought made him worried, and he didn't like being worried about that.

'Why do you think?' Hermione snapped. She kicked the door again.

'Hermione!' Ron said sharply. 'You've got to stop doing that!'

'Stop doing what?' Hermione retorted.

'Being so stupid,' Ron said lamely, trying to think of a better word. Calling Hermione stupid usually wasn't the wisest thing to do. 'You're not thinking sensibly and logically,' he added. 'And that won't help. Swearing and kicking won't help, but some practical logic would. You're usually good at that.' Maybe complimenting would work.

Hermione looked at Ron. Her busy brown hair was a complete mess, giving her a rather wild and fierce appearance, but she calmed down. Ron never spoke to her like that, and it brought her back down to earth. Draco Malfoy was a lying bastard, yes, but she realised quickly that she would never outwit him if she behaved like this.

She sat down opposite Ron, calming down a bit.

'I think we're being used to trap Harry,' she said. She hesitated about using Voldemort's name. She had a bad feeling he wasn't that far off, and using his name could give him a power over her. She wasn't as strong a witch as Harry or Dumbledore. 'He-who-I-usually-name-but-won't-right-now is probably using us as a form of bait. He doesn't give a shit about us, but he does about Harry. And we're Harry's friends. It's too hard to capture Harry, but we're much easier prey. So Harry will come and try and rescue us, and get caught, once he's out of Dumbledore's protection,' Hermione finished gloomily.

Ron's mild brown eyes went wide. 'We have to get out!' Ron said. The little nagging fear had come right out into the open, and didn't make him feel any better.

'I think that's the general idea, Ron,' Hermione said helplessly. 'Can you think of anything, though?'

Ron sighed, shaking his head. Things were worse than he had thought. 'All we can do is wait,' he said gloomily.

'And kick the door,' Hermione got up, but Ron pulled her back down.

'How can you escape if your feet are bruised and painful?' he pointed out reasonably.

Hermione considered his words. They were sort of true. 'Okay,' she said. She breathed in and out deeply, trying to centre and focus herself. 'Let's do some revision instead!' she said brightly, hitting on a wonderful alternative.

'We don't have our textbooks,' Ron said, voice troubled as he regarded his studious friend.

'We can go through 1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi,' Hermione said firmly. Now that the idea had come to her head, it was suddenly very appealing. Anything would probably be a good substitute to door-abuse and incessant fretting. 'It can be quite relaxing if you just recite it,' she added. 'I tried studying it in my head while we were waiting for the plane to Australia.'

Ron grimaced.

'Just repeat after me,' Hermione assured him. And began. 'Monkshood is a plant with purple flowers, and can be used in both poisons and …'

***

'Exactly where are we going?' Harry demanded for what must have been the umpteenth time.

Draco wanted to scream. Harry was worse than a little kid on a car trip. He had always known Harry Potter was annoying as hell, but he had thought that maybe there was something admirable about him, since he always managed to get out of such remarkable situations where his life was on a line, but on second thoughts, maybe not. Maybe Harry Potter just had pure dumb luck.

'Look, just trust me,' Draco gritted out.

'You've been saying that too much,' Harry said testily. He was very uncomfortable. They had been flying non-stop since they had started, and now that the day had dawned, the sun had beat swelteringly upon them. Although the rushing wind as they flew sought to cool them, they could still feel the sun, since they were so high up.

'Well I'm sorry,' Draco snapped. He touched his hand to his chest again in a curious gesture he repeated so often, then jerked his head left. 'That way.'

'How would you know?' Harry questioned, but obeyed and swerved left.

'Because I just do, okay?' Draco scowled. 'Don't you ever trust anybody, Potter?'

'Yes, but not you,' Harry said angrily. 'I don't usually go around trusting the sons of Death-Eaters,' he said, irritated as he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.

'I am not a Death-Eater,' Draco said automatically. 'You should stop assuming the worst about people,' he added sarcastically.

'How should I know what you say is true? For all I know, you could have kidnapped Hermione and Ron, and now you're just trying to trap me so you could hand me over to Voldemort and get into his "Inner Circle" or something,' Harry said, frustrated.

'Potter, if I wanted to get into the Inner Circle, I wouldn't have to do anything this extreme,' Draco retorted.

Harry bit his lip, wondering what Draco had meant. He really had no idea what he was doing, and had a feeling the only reason he had believed Draco initially was because he was a) foggy from sleep, and b) trusting Hermione's trust in Malfoy. But now, he was much more awake, and much more alert to the fact that he may have been duped.

'How much longer?' he asked Draco finally.

Draco cocked his head, considering. 'Maybe we'll get there by tonight,' he said.

Harry groaned. This was a long trip to do by broomstick, especially in the company of Draco Malfoy, his official arch-nemesis.

***

Ginny Weasley woke up on Monday morning and, as was usual, her thoughts turned to the face she had dreamt about that night, as with all other nights. She sighed. Harry Potter.

It was a curse, she had decided long ago, to be so completely infatuated with him. When she wasn't near him, she felt completely fine. Confident, likeable, and quite popular. Even though she would doodle his name over and over in her notes. However, when he appeared, she found it difficult to formulate words and listen to the voices of others. It was like nothing else existed, and it wasn't healthy behaviour.

This is not right, she scolded herself. And you should stop behaving like a lovestruck idiot, she added mentally. Harry obviously wasn't interested in the likes of her. He knew, she was mortified, that she was nursing the biggest crush there ever was, but did nothing about it. She still shuddered at the memory of the first year Valentine she had sent him when she had been young and inexperienced. Her ears still burned when she remembered Fred and George singing the words to the Valentine over and over … she would never ever do something like that again.

It made it no better that he was her brother's best friend. She had to see him all the time. Even in the holidays.

Frowning, Ginny sat up. There were many other people in the school who liked her, she decided resolutely. Colin Creevey for example, even though Ginny wasn't crazy about him although she did go to the Costume Ball with him. He was just a bit short, and too admiring of Harry for her taste. Matt Nicholson from Ravenclaw, although he was a little too tall and skinny for her taste. Or Evan Daniels from Hufflepuff, but his nose was terrible!

Harry Potter

Ginny swung out of bed. This was unwholesome. She wasn't a foolish first year any more, for crying out loud! She lifted her chin determinedly. She could live her life without Harry Potter and act like the mature fifteen-year old girl she was.

But he was so dreamy …

That was it! Infatuations were stupid things, and never amounted to anything. Ginny bustled into action, changing out of her pyjamas into her robes, washed herself, and went down, through the common room, into breakfast, all in one speedy move.

'Hi, Ginny,' one of Ginny's best friends, dark-haired, short, Jane Nicholson, twin sister of Matt Nicholson of Ravenclaw, greeted her.

'Good morning,' another friend, Chloe Smith said. She was a short, chirpy blonde, who tended to be a bit mad about anything boy-related. 'We've got Herbology first thing, with the Hufflepuffs,' she said cheerfully.

'I hate Herbology,' Jane complained. Ginny nodded as she sat down. She found the subject rather boring.

'But David Arlington is in that class!' Chloe protested. 'And since that new hair cut? Phoaw!' She pretended to fan herself.

'You can have David Arlington,' Jane said firmly. 'And Herbology. I could do without either of them.'

'But I bet you can't wait to get to Charms,' Chloe said slyly.

Jane's face went pink.

'What's this?' Ginny asked, feeling completely out of it.

Another Gryffindor fourth-year girl, Olive Dendy, leant inwards. 'Ed Buchanan is in that class,' she said giggling, twirling a lock of her glossy, dark, curly hair about a finger.

'What about you, Gin,' Jane hurriedly turned to Ginny, trying to veer the conversation away from her and Ed Buchanon.

'Oh, she's still got the hots for Harry Potter,' Chloe said, eyes sparkling with laughter.

Ginny's face just went bright red at the mere mention of Harry's name.

Chloe rolled her eyes in response. but in her opinion, four years was a bit too long for anyone to go having a crush on somebody else for. Ginny felt it was probably better not to tell her that the infatuation had begun the year before, when she had glimpsed Harry at the station when seeing Ron off for the first time.

'Ginny, sweetie, Harry Potter's a bit out there. He's quite good-looking, yes, but he's too busy saving the world,' Olive said concerned for her fellow fourth-year.

'He mightn't be able to commit,' Chloe couldn't resist giving her well-meant advice.

Ginny sighed inwardly. She was fully aware of that fact, and even as they spoke, she looked about automatically for Harry, all the while, telling herself she ought to get out of that habit. Not catching sight of him, she forced her eyes back to her porridge, and the conversation of her friends. But after a while, she tuned out again, and her eyes began wandering again. Where was he?

Maybe she could ask Hermione casually. Except there was no sign of Hermione either, or Ron, for that matter.

'Hi Lavender,' Ginny said to the fifth-year girl who came in on the arm of her fair-headed boyfriend, Seamus Finnigan. 'Have you seen Hermione?'

'Hermione? No,' Lavender yawned as she sat down a couple of seats away. 'I thought she came down earlier. She usually does. Don't know how she wakes up at that unearthly hour,' she added, smiling wryly.

Ginny bit her lip. Ron too was missing. There was no sign of the famous trio. She wondered if she should be worried. Well, she was worried, but was there a plausible reason for her fears?

'Ginny! Are you alright?' Jane asked. Ginny blinked and focused on her friends.

'Yeah,' she lied. 'What do we have next?'

The other three girls gave each other hopeless looks. 'Herbology, remember?'

'With David Arlington,' Olive added artfully, shooting Chloe a mischievous look.

'Oh, right,' Ginny said.

'We're going now,' Chloe stood up. 'Are you done?'

'Yeah,' Ginny stood too. 'Got to get back to the common room first though,' she added. 'I don't think I've got all my books.'

'See you at class,' Olive called back, as Ginny darted upstairs to her common room, and headed straight to Hermione's dormitory. There was no sign of the Gryffindor prefect, and she came back out into the common room, biting her lip nervously.

'You look concerned, sister dear,' Fred said, coming into the common room at that moment, speaking grandiosely.

'Tell us all, we allay your fears,' George added in a bad attempt at rhyme that made both his siblings wince.

'Nothing's wrong,' Ginny said, hurriedly. She didn't want Fred and George teasing about fresh-pickled frogs again. She had long ago decided that Harry's eyes looked more like brilliant emeralds. And that sounded so much more romantic too.

Fred stuck his face before Ginny. 'Something surely is amiss,' he announced, again with his ridiculous style of speech.

'As certain as I am a …' George continued, hesitating. He visually racked his brains for something to rhyme with "amiss."

'Piss,' Fred filled in.

'Stop it, George,' Ginny begged. Bad rhymes peeved her off no end. 'You too, Fred.'

'So what is wrong?' George asked, making a face at his twin.

Ginny sighed. There was no escaping the twins, it seemed. 'I'm just wondering where Ron, Hermione and Harry are,' she admitted. 'I didn't see them at breakfast,' she said quickly, providing her justification.

Fred snorted with laughter, especially at Ginny's attempts to hide by naming Harry last, but George considered his sister's words, brown eyes serious. 'You're right,' he agreed. 'They weren't at breakfast. Maybe they're in their dorms,' he suggested.

Ginny shook her head. 'I checked Hermione's dorm, and she's not there,' she told the twins.

Fred looked just a little more serious when George jabbed his ribs hard. 'We'll check Ron and Harry's dorm,' George told Ginny. Ginny smiled, relieved. The twins, or George at least, were actually taking her seriously for once!

In moments, George was back with Fred. Their faces were grim. 'Neither of them were there,' George reported flatly.

'But we found this,' Fred brandished a scrap of old parchment. On it, to Ginny's amazement, was a complete map of Hogwarts, with moving little dots labelled all over with the names of students. She could see herself, Fred and George in the common room, and smiled to herself to see Chloe already in the greenhouse cosily next to the dot labelled David Arlington.

'Where is Harry Potter?' George commanded the map as he tapped its ragged edges with his wand.

There was a moment's pause, then a balloon appeared in the middle of a map, an answer scrawling itself in the balloon. 'Messrs Moony, Padfoot, Prongs and Wormtail regret to inform you Harry Potter is not on this map. Don't bother telling us when you find him, because we don't really care. Have a nice day!'

Author's note: Sorry this above chapter was so short, but I couldn't really make it longer without complicating matters too much, so please put up with this short chapter length. This chapter also doesn't really establish much - it's sort of an in between chapter, but I promise, the next chapter will be up soon! I hope you don't mind all the new characters too much - they're not too important, just there to make it more … real. I mean, if you take Ginny's p.o.v. (hopefully nobody's too anti-Ginny), you've got to have other characters as well. And it was a bit of fun inventing Jane, Chloe and Olive and their corresponding male counterparts.

Cinnamon - Ron's not going to become an Einstein, but he does have some sense. His urge to punch does come out at times though, but don't worry. His sanity is intact. As for Harry, he hasn't turned into Mr Dumb. He's just a bit tired, and panicky, and that can do things to people. I've experienced it myself. Besides, a lot of that was sort of semi-Draco p.o.v, which would be more than a little biased.

Underscore - Thank you for a lovely review!

Lady Prongs - yes, it is rather uncomfortable isn't it.