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you see me standing there

"Well, I've asked everyone I could. Not even Dean knows where she's gone." Hermione's hair was curling out of her bun, her cheeks flushed from running out to the Quidditch Pitch to meet Harry after practice.

"Should we tell Dumbledore?" Harry asked, unbuckling his wrist guards.

"I think the more important question is should we tell Ron." Harry's fingers slipped on the buckle before he undid it.

"Tell me what?" Ron asked. Hermione jumped visibly.

"N-nothing."

"Tell me what?" he repeated, looking from Harry to Hermione with an mixed expression of apprehension and curiosity. Hermione tucked a curl behind her ear and Ron followed the motion.

"We can't find Ginny," Harry said, breaking the uncomfortable staring contest that had begun between Ron and Hermione.

"She's probably just with Dean."

"We've already asked him…" Hermione began hesitantly. Ron looked at her expectantly before he realized her implication.

"She…she can't have gone far. She can't have left the castle."

"We think she may have," Harry said, gathering up his Quidditch guards and beginning to walk back to the castle. Ron and Hermione followed.

"But why?"

"We don't know. Maybe she left on her own –"

"– She'd never –"

"– or she might have been taken."

"But…how?"

"Well – Ron you've got to promise me you won't blow up at me or Ginny when we find her, no I mean really promise…ok – she and Dean have met a few times in the Astronomy Tower – Ron, you promised – and someone sent a note, in Dean's handwriting, telling her to meet him last night. And she hasn't come back yet," Hermione explained.

"And there's more," Harry said.

"There is?" He explained his dream and his confrontation with Dumbledore.

"Then we should definitely tell Dumbledore. Whoever kidnapped Ginny goes to school here – he's probably a Slytherin – and he works fast. Who knows what other things they've done since."

"Ron, be reasonable. First of all, it might not be a he, and second, it might not be a Slytherin."

"But you think it is, don't you?" Ron countered.

"Well…yes…"

"And the voice I heard was definitely male."

"Harry," Hermione said suddenly, "If you heard the voice again, do you think you could tell who it was?"

"Maybe, most likely yes but then again it was a dream and we don't really know how reliable this connection between Voldemort and me is."

"You say you never saw who it was V-Voldemort was speaking to?"

"Yes."

"Pity," Ron said, a bit too aggressively to be wistful, "but what should we do?"

"Like you said Ron," Hermione said, heaving the door to the main entrance open, "we talk to Dumbledore."

~~~~~

It was dark when she awoke. It frightened Ginny, it was never dark when she awoke. And then there was the slight breeze on her neck and the warm pillow behind her and the arm draped across her middle. The arm draped across her middle! Ginny jumped, startling the person that slept behind her.

"Wh–" she croaked, attempting to speak but find her throat as dry as an Egyptian desert. Draco lay still, looking up at her with innocently clear, gray eyes. He blinked twice before rubbing the sleep out of them.

"Good morning."

"It most certainly is not," she replied moving away from him and into the unwarmed portion of the bed. "What do you bloody think you're doing?"

"Well I was sleeping," Draco yawned, "and I think I'll continue to –" he rolled over "– and if you know what's best for you, you will too."

"Not with you in the bed," she said defiantly, staring daggers into his back. But it didn't do any good because he was already asleep. She moved to get out of the bed and felt his hand clamp around her wrist.

"Sleep," he commanded, his voice muffled by the pillow.

"No." He rolled over and in the darkness his eyes glowed eerily. She wondered if he was part veela.

"Fine then, you've got me awake. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"I…" her thoughts trailed off with her voice. A crack of light slit through the curtains and hit his face, slashing a section into view. He turned his face more into the down pillow, away from the light and stretched out an arm to pull the curtains together and they were once more consumed in darkness.

"Sleep," he breathed gently into her ear. She kept still although she had no intention of sleeping and felt his body slacken slowly around her. Carefully, she extricated herself from his arms and inched over to the edge of the bed. The arms came back to her and he inched closer, resting his head in the crook of her neck. It was funny feeling his head there. His hair felt as soft and fine as silk threads and his breaths tickled the hollow between her breasts. She nearly laughed out loud at what he would say when he found himself this close to her. Or maybe that was what he would have said a year ago.

~~~~~

Dumbledore sat silently after the three had explained the situation, gnawing on a knuckle while he thought. They had never seen him do it before, but then again they had never seen him do any hard thinking. Dumbledore seemed to just be Dumbledore, with a mind that worked beyond the speed of light and a solution for every problem.

"As you can see, I was mistaken when I assumed Ginny was safe in the castle." He paused again and his knuckle returned to his mouth. Dumbledore's face was impassive, but Harry thought he could see the clicking and turning of his brain behind his eyes.

"We should go after her," Ron said.

"Yes, the problem is we don't know where she is. I assume she is wherever Voldemort is, but we don't know where Voldemort is. I'll ask the staff to search Hogsmeade, but I can not let any of you wander beyond the boundaries of Hogwarts. It's already dangerous for you walking these fortified corridors, but to let you out would be putting your lives at risk. Now, if you'll excuse me." Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, his knuckle once again in his mouth and they left quietly. Over his shoulder, Harry looked back at the great wizard who was now nearing the end of his life. He knew Dumbledore could feel it; there was a slight weariness in his presence like he had been denied sleep for a long time and caffeine could no longer keep him awake. Harry wished he could help, maybe defeat Voldemort more quickly and ease Dumbledore's troubled mind, but Voldemort would seek him out in his own time. Harry only hoped it was before it was too late.

"Now I know how Sirius felt," Ron muttered, breaking Harry's thoughts as they went down the spiraling staircase.

"Something's bugging Dumbledore, I wish I knew what," Harry said, his voice sounding oddly stretched.

"It wouldn't do any good to know, we probably wouldn't be able to help if we did. And don't even think about going into Hogsmeade, you two, if you're right, Harry, that something is bothering him, we don't need him worrying about us as well. We might as well get some homework done," she finished cheerily, shifting the bag on her back and heading off to the library. For lack of anything better to do, Ron and Harry followed. Hermione chose a table near the window and began working immediately. Ron sat nearby, but Harry wandered off, meandering through the stacks of books until his nostrils were full of the smell of old tomes and ancient ink before settling to do homework as well. In the setting sun, the Slytherin Quidditch practiced over the pitch; he had an almost perfect view. Distracted by the bane of a witch's existence, he followed the swerving and diving green specks. Suddenly the all slowed and stopped in midair, and then he noticed they were a player short. Not only were they a player short, but the tall, thin, blond that usually stood out among his teammates wasn't there to stand out.

"Ron! Hermione!" he whispered quietly, "Look at the Quidditch pitch!"

"The Slytherins are practicing," Hermione said blandly, glancing up briefly out of the window.

"No, look closely."

"They're a player short," Ron said, "but why's that important."

"Malfoy's not there," Hermione exclaimed.

"D'you think…"

"Come to think of it…the Death Eater in my dream did sound like Malfoy." They all looked at each other then bolted from the library, leaving behind their books and bags and a chastising Madame Pince.

~~~~~

            "Are ye blind? Can't ye see it?" Jimmy argued, stirring the oatmeal as Tommy made coffee.

            "Of course I can see it. I just don't think we should push them. They're only children after all."

            "Don't ye remember what it was like to be a teenager? Sure, it was a long time ago, but how could ye forget the awkwardness and the fear? They're both scared to death o' each other yet you can see the longing in their eyes."

            "But they're only children…"

            "How can ye say the boy's just a child when we ken better than most what he's gone through. What he's going through? I wasn't going to bring it up but when Reb–"

            "Don't! I cannae let you!" Tommy yelled, dropping the container of coffee on the ground, his repressed accent coming back forcefully. Luckily, the container was sealed.

            "Then don't make me remind ye."

~~~~~

"Professor," Harry said, panting as he burst into Professor Dumbledore's office, "It's –"

"Haven't you heard of knocking, Mr. Potter?" The icily polite voice of Severus Snape spoke, cutting him off mid-sentence.

"Er…sorry, Professor."

"Maybe it would be best if you waited outside," Professor Snape reminded coolly.

"But this is important!" Ron argued.

"We'll wait outside, Professor Dumbledore," Harry said forcefully, backing out and closing the door behind him.

"Why didn't you tell Snape to go pull the stick he has up his arse out!?!" Ron asked furiously.

"Ron, do you really want the entire school to know that Malfoy has kidnapped Ginny? Not only will everyone be petrified that they'll be kidnapped too, but you might bring your family into danger because you're saying Malfoy's a Death Eater," Harry said quietly, "Plus we still don't know whose side Snape's on."

"Harry, Ron, how many times do I have to tell you: Dumbledore trusts Snape."

"Without any reason," Ron muttered. Hermione gave him a glowering look before pulling a book from her overstuffed book bag and beginning to read. The three of them waited impatiently in the ill lit hallway; Ron and Harry discussed Quidditch. A draft came through the skylight that provided the sole lighting a blew Hermione's pages so that she had to keep her hand clamped on the edge as she shivered. A few minutes passed before Snape came out, and gave them a calculating glance.

"You may now go in."

They walked in quietly (Hermione last because she had to put away her book), their footsteps covered by the gentle snores of the headmasters portraits.

"Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?" Dumbledore said, feeding Fawkes birdseed from his hand. Ron and Hermione looked at Harry, pressuring him to speak.

"We know who kidnapped Ginny."

"Oh?" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "Who?"

"Draco Malfoy," Ron supplied bitterly.

"He wasn't at Slytherin Quidditch practice. He's not here anymore, is he, Professor?"

"No, he is not. His family requested him to return home urgently," Dumbledore explained, partially amused.

"And the voice in my dream. I think it was Malfoy." Dumbledore stroked Fawkes' feathers, lost in thought.

"It does seem to follow…you want me to do something?" It wasn't a really question, it was a statement.

"Why wouldn't we do anything?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"If you were Draco, what would you do?"

"Take Ginny to Voldemort as soon as I could," Harry replied.

"Precisely. We wouldn't be able to get to her. They'll have her hidden away where he is, and we have know idea where Voldemort is."

"Couldn't we investigate the manor?" Ron asked.

"Not without a warrant and a good reason," Hermione responded, catching on to Dumbledore's logic. "But Draco left today. He would have headed straight for the manor to throw off the trail and then to wherever Voldemort is hiding. And if he did, couldn't we have lookouts stationed around the manor."

"The Order already does," Ron said, "Bill talked about it."

"And I've already spoken to them. Lucius Malfoy returned to the manor alone, but no one else has entered." Dumbledore sat in his chair and folded his hands on the table

"So they must know we're watching," Ron said.

"If they did, wouldn't Malfoy had gone in with his dad? By not going in, we know he's not there –" Harry began.

"– and could be anywhere else," Hermione finished.

"But the lookouts don't catch everything. The manor is big, and the circumference of the property too large to properly monitor. Something could get in and out without us noticing," Dumbledore introduced.

"And if they knew we were watching, Malfoy's entrance would have been obvious," Harry deduced.

"Which proves they don't know where watching," Ron said, "But that means we should check around Hogwarts. He might still be here."

"He might," Hermione agreed, "but he and Ginny could be anywhere by now. They wouldn't have Flooed – that can be checked – or have used and illegal portkey but by flying or the train…they could be anywhere."

"But that doesn't give us less reason to look. So what if the odds are against us; the possibility's worth the effort." Ron was almost pleading now, his worry evident in his posture.

"None of the staff I sent looking have reported anything out of the ordinary," Dumbledore informed Ron gently.

"There really isn't anything we can do?" Ron looked so pitiful, Hermione felt the urge to go over to him and hug him gently, rocking him and whispering to him until he fell asleep. The urge was so strong, Hermione was surprised. She didn't think siblings felt so strongly about each other, and Harry and Ron were the closest things to brothers she'd ever had.

"I'm afraid all we can do is wait." They said their goodbyes and thanks and left Dumbledore's office solemnly. Ron looked down as they walked back to Gryfindor Tower, speaking only when spoken to. The Common Room was noisy, so Harry suggested they go to the boys' dormitories for some privacy and Harry and Hermione sat nearby as Ron brooded, staring blankly at his blank piece of parchment. Making sure Harry was busy, Hermione reached her hand out, inching slowly towards Ron's before taking it within her own. He looked up at her and she squeezed his hand, giving him a small smile which he returned. He squeezed back and her stomach gave an alarming flip flop before she gently tugged her hand away to return to her homework. She almost wished she hadn't.

~~~~~

They sat in front of the fire, Ginny bundle up (due to Draco's insistance) in five blankets, sipping the soup and eating the grilled cheese the Jimmy had given them. Draco had tried to pay extra for the room and food, but Jimmy wouldn't accept it and smiled toothily at him as he shoved the money bag away.

"My silence isn't bought, lad, it's given," he had said. Luckily for Draco's conscience, Tommy took the money behind his brother's back.

Draco looked at her, a pair of thin arms poking out from beneath the swirl of blankets that covered her that fed a head the seemed to float, a blanket of a rather nasty mustard color wrapped around her neck like a thick, flannel scarf. She always took small bites, he noticed, swilling the food around in her mouth like she was sampling a fine wine before swallowing. She looked back at him and stopped, mid-chew, to give him a small smile. He looked away.

"Why did you bring me here?" Draco stared into the fire intently, wondering if he should answer and if he did, what would he say? Somehow, the truth felt like a bad idea. The flames licked the logs greedily, cracking every once in a while when it gnawed a particularly wet piece of wood. A few hours ago, a few fire lizards had crept into the fire through a crack in the hearth. The place must have an infestation.

"Why did you bring me here?" she repeated, jarring his thoughts.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," he said blandly, into his bowl. Ginny laughed.

"Seriously."

"You want a straightforward answer?"

"Yes." She leaned over precariously and placed her bowl and spoon on the floor before her.

"I can't tell you." He stood up, walked over to the bowl, picked it up, and walked out of the room.

"Some answer," Ginny muttered.

~~~~~

"Hold on! Couldn't we–"

"I can't believe it, Dumbledore won't let us do anything!" Ron interpolated, cutting Harry off.

"Oh, stop it, Ron, you've been sulking all day," Hermione snapped as they walked back up to Gryfindor Tower after dinner.

"You'd sulk too if you're sister was kidnapped and you can't do a bloody thing about it."

"Thank goodness I don't have a sister then," she huffed and strode ahead, leaving Ron and Harry behind.

"Hermione…" Ron hurried to catch up with her.

"Look, you two, if you'd stop fighting for just one minute!" Ron and Hermione froze and swiveled to look at Harry. He hadn't realized how loudly he'd said that.

"What I was trying to say was maybe we could look for Ginny ourselves." They stared at him and he continued. "We could sneak out to Hogsmeade next weekend and–"

"Harry, are you sure it's safe for you to be going out into Hogsmeade?"

"I'll be fine, Hermione, I'm bloody sixteen years old. I can take care of my self."

"All the same, Harry–"

"–not you too, Ron–"

"–maybe you should go under the cloak," Ron finished. Hermione looked like she wanted to disagree but she kept her mouth shut. Harry looked at Ron, then Hermione, then Ron again, then Hermione.

"Oh all right, I'll go under the cloak," he mumbled.

~~~~~

Sorry about all the slow updates, and thanks SOOOOO much for reviewing. It's you guys who keep me motivated, you know.