Catch Me If You Can

Chapter One - The Letter

(IMPORTANT NOTICE: PLZ PLZ PLZ READ! I POSTED THIS STORY TONIGHT, BUT UNFORTUATELY I ENDED UP POSTING AT AT A REALLY BAD TIME. I WON'T BE ABLE TO UPDATE FOR ABOUT A MONTH TO A MONTH AND A HALF. I WILL NOT ABANDON IT. I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT THIS WHEN I CREATED MY ACCOUNT AND ADDED MY FIRST STORY. AGAIN, I'M REALLY REALLY SORRY ABOUT THIS. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS STORY, PLEASE SAVE IT AND/OR LEAVE A REVIEW AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE AN EMAIL WHEN I UPDATE IT, JUST SAY SO AND I'LL GLADLY NOTIFY YOU. I'M SORRY IF I UPSET YOU.)



Hermione stepped inside her house. She smiled broadly as she smelled the warm summer air that lingered inside the house. She hadn't been home for ten months, as she stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas vacation. She had a somewhat enjoyable year, even though the scare of Voldemort had loomed over the castle like a dark cloud. But it was all right now... she was home....

She went upstairs quickly, threw her trunk on the bed, and started unpacking it, thinking about everything, including Ron. They had gotten together at the end of the year. She blushed as she thought of him... she really cared for him, and knew that Ron felt the same way.

She also thought of her parents, who were away in Ireland for the next three weeks. She loved her parents with all her heart, definitely, but she was happy at the thought that she could have the house to herself for a while, to think.

She turned on her heel and fell on her bed, putting her hands behind her head; she gazed at the ceiling. She was drowning in happiness and no one could take that away from her. Everything was just right -

Hermione sat upright in a flash. What was that? She heard footsteps coming up the stairs slowly. But how can that be? No one is supposed to be here except for her...

"Hello?" she called.

There was no response, but the footsteps died away instantly.

"Hello?" Hermione called again. "Hello? Who's there? Mum? Dad?"

No answer. She got up and opened the door.

At the speed of light, someone forced her on her heel and marched her over to her bed, throwing her face down onto it. The person sat on her and held her hands behind her back.

"What - what are y-you doing?" she stammered. She was terrified.

"Quiet!" hissed a voice, a very familiar voice. "Now... you're going to come with me and follow my directions. We're getting ready to play a little game...."

"Fine - fine. Just don't hurt me!" Hermione pleaded as she began to cry.

"If you listen to me, I won't have to, will I?"

"No."

Hermione was pulled to her feet, and she looked at her kidnapper. He marched her out of her room, and down the stairs.

She now knew that this summer was going to be the longest summer of her entire life... if not her last.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ron Weasley stared open-mouthed and petrified at the letter in his hands, which he had read five times consecutively. Time had seemed to stop while he read it; Ron felt as if he wandered out of reality, into a place of no existence. Everything and everyone around him seemed to be floating - there, yet not there at all.

This can't be happening, thought Ron wildly. This isn't real; this is a dream - no, it is a nightmare. A nightmare that he would surely wake from, wouldn't he? This did not exist, like everything else did not exist.

Ron was deep in thought. So deep, in fact, that he did not hear Harry, who was now screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Ron! RON!" he yelled furiously. "Can I please see it now?!"

Ron jumped, and then he handed the piece of parchment to Harry. There were several minutes of tense silence, while Harry read, and Ron just stared out the window.

"This can't be happening... it - no…." said Harry after he read, eyes wide and fearful.

Ron said nothing, but continued to stare out the window.

"You don't think she's - well, you know..." Harry lowered his voice considerably. "Hurt, do you?"

Ron, again, said nothing.

"Are you just going to stand there? Stand there and do nothing while this is happening? Because it is happening, whether you want to believe it or not! Now, you can come up with a plan with me, or you can sit there like a moron while she could be -"

"Alright!" hissed Ron, whipping himself around to look at Harry. "Alright, you're right, you know you are."

Some sense had come back to Ron as he started to formulate a plan of action in his head.

"I'm just so angry!"

"Well, I am too! But standing around here isn't going to do any good - in fact, it's going to make things worse!" Harry retorted.

"I know, I know," said Ron, as calmly as he could. "Just... give me a second to think"

Harry reread the letter.

"There's absolutely no hint whatsoever of where they might be in here, so what do we do?" asked Harry quietly.

Ron took the note from Harry and read it again:

Weasel,

I have your stupid mudblood girlfriend Granger with me. Yes, I have taken her. Don't worry; she's safe - at this moment anyway. Do you want her back? Then you're going to have to comply with my demands, and heed my every warning. We'll play a little game of cat-and-mouse, shall we? You had better play, because the safety of your sweetheart depends on it.

Draco Malfoy

P.S. Catch me if you can, Weasel...

Ron yelled loudly and spun around. He gritted his teeth and threw the letter in the fireplace, watching the flames go up in smoke. He saw a burning hell in the fire, and grinning, he imagined the thought of Malfoy going there.