A/N: As always, thanks to all reviewers. Thanks especially to Katy for her
help with this chapter and all of you should check out her story; Forbidden
Love. It's really cool. Her pen name is FallenFlower, but don't run away
just yet. Read this story first. This chapter is told in third person.
Hermione will take over again later.
The next morning, everyone having breakfast when Tonks asked if anyone had
seen Hermione. The whole table got quiet and then they all answered
simultaneously.
"Not since lunch yesterday," Harry and Ron had said in unison while Draco
said, "I talked to her yesterday when she was doing school work."
Draco got up from the table and left the kitchen. Snape didn't seem at all
bothered and kept on eating. Draco had gone upstairs and knocked on the
closed door of Hermione's room but there was no answer. He cautiously opened
the door and looked in. He found Hermione's bed had not been slept in and
the books she had used yesterday were stacked neatly. Her paper for the
History of Magic assignment lay untouched beside them. It didn't look as if
she had run away. He moved aside the books on her desk to see if she had
left a note behind. He found Nadia's invitation and guessed what had
happened.
"Tonks, Snape!!" he shouted. getting really worried. How could have Hermione
leave, knowing something happen to her?
Tonks rushed upstairs. "What is it…" She stopped talking when she gazed
around the empty room and saw only Draco there.
"Oh my!" she cried, realising what this meant after Draco showed her the
note from Nadia.
Then she got mad. "This is partly Nadia's fault. She knew Hermione wasn't to
go out alone."
Snape, who had followed Tonks spoke up, "It's Miss Granger's fault. She, like
Potter and Weasley just can't obey rules. They think they're…."
Harry and Ron who had also immediately rushed upstairs, looked as if they
wanted to protest.
"Enough, Snape. This is not helping us," Tonks cut in, annoyed. She quickly
left the room and returns a few minutes later.
"What did you do?" Harry asked, looking worried.
"I sent an owl to Nadia. I want to see her right away," Tonks answered.
Tonks blinked and changed her hair colour to plum. "That look better," she
said, glancing at a nearby mirror. She was worried if Lucius Malfoy or any
other death eater had Hermione. She couldn't bear to imagine what they were
capable of doing.
Minutes later, Nadia arrived. "What's wrong, Tonks?" she asked innocently.
Of course no one could see through her false attitude that she often put on.
"Hermione's missing," Draco spat out before anyone could answer. "And its
your fault."
Nadia looked down, feigning shame. "I know I had that party and…"
"And you told her to come alone, you twit! Did you think that was safe?!"
Draco shouted, his face red with fury.
"Draco, please stop shouting at Nadia. We're all annoyed with her too but
this isn't going to help either," Tonks said exasperatedly. She turned to
talk to Nadia. "When was the last time you saw her?"
"I saw her last when she left my party," replied Nadia, sitting on the bed
and looking away so that no one could see she was lying.
Hermione's three friends realised something was amiss by Nadia's actions and
they all came to a similar conclusion that she wasn't telling the whole
truth.
"I don't believe you! You know more than you're saying," Harry said angrily.
"I'm telling the truth!" Nadia shouted back, standing up to leave.
"I don't lie," she said firmly and then left.
"Great. You just had to yell at her. We were really going to find a lot
that way," Tonks said, leaving the room and cursing, "Damn it, that little…"
They didn't hear the rest she said because Snape and her immediately left to
go one of their meetings. Tonks had already sent an owl to inform
Dumbledore.
Harry, Ron and Draco just stood there, not saying anything for a few
minutes.
Finally, Ron said, "We all know Nadia was lying."
"Yeah, but we can't prove it," Harry sighed.
Draco said nothing, looking lost in thought. He was trying to think of how
to contact his father. He knew an owl would be pointless. However, he had an
odd feeling that he knew exactly where Hermione was but just having a
feeling about where she was wasn't good enough. They could do little except
sit around and wonder what Tonks was doing to find here.
Later that afternoon, there was a knock on the door.
"Who could it be?" asked Ron.
Harry opened the door cautiously and found a girl about their age standing
outside in the cold.
"Can I help you?" he asked, motioning her to come inside.
Nisha, Hermione's new friend came in out of the cold.
"I'm Nisha. I met Hermione at Nadia's party last night. Is she here?" she
asked.
They didn't answer right away, looking uneasily at each other.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Well yeah. We think she's missing," Harry answered.
"Missing? but..." Nisha looked confused. They looked reluctant to tell her
anything else but she assured them that her mother was part of the Order so
they filled her in as much as they knew so far.
"Oh my gosh, have you talked to Nadia?" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, why?" asked Draco.
"Well then, didn't she tell you about the ring?" she asked, puzzled.
"What ring?" Harry asked suspiciously.
"The ring Nadia got her at the mall. The one that can trace her
whereabouts," Nisha explained.
"Anywhere?" Draco asked.
"Yeah. They've just been introduced and Nadia bought Hermione one," she
answered.
Draco realised what would have happened since ring probably had a simple
trigger spell. His father would have would found it very easy to locate
Hermione.
"Do you know what the spell is to trace Hermione?" Ron asked hopefully.
"No, I don't," she replied disappointedly. Then she brightened up. "I'll run
over to the a nearby wizarding mini mall. I think I know which store it came
from," and she ran out into the falling snow. "Be right back!" she shouted.
The door closed. They boys stood around, feeling slightly better that they
were getting closer to finding Hermione.
Almost half an hour later. Nisha returned with the spell written on a slip
of parchment.
"I got it!" she announced. The boys sighed with relief.
"I had to buy a ring to get the spell," she said breathlessly as she
collapsed on the couch.
She pulled out her wand and said "Lavenalix."
Nothing happened.
"Oh wait, I've got to add her name to it," she said, smacking herself on the
forehead.
"Lavenalix Hermione Granger," she said and the end of her wand glowed in a
violet colour.
Then suddenly, a tightly rolled slip of parchment shot of her wand. Draco
deftly caught it and unrolled it, reading aloud her name and location.
A/N: So evil. I'm so evil that I didn't say where she is. I'll leave you all
to wonder. Please read and review.