Hermione held both Harry and Ron tightly, not wanting to let them go. She was afraid they'd slip away from her if she did. When she finally did let them go, they were both smiling at her. The sight alone brought tears to her eyes.

"You have to listen quickly, Hermione," said Harry. "We don't have a lot of time. You have to keep Voldemort from finding out the truth at all costs."

"I'm trying," said Hermione. "I don't know what to do."

"We're here to help you," said Ron. "Don't worry."

"So what do I do?" she questioned.

"You're going to tell him what he wants to hear," said Harry.

"What?" shouted Hermione. "Have you lost your mind? He can't know about you or the time traveling. It would ruin everything. You have to know that."

"You're not going to tell him about any of that," interrupted Ron, "you're going to tell him what he wants to hear."

"And what he wants to hear is that you're a spy," finished Harry.

"He'll know I'm lying," said Hermione.

Harry nodded. "I know, but you just have to keep him from finding out the truth long enough for help to come."

"What if nobody comes?" asked Hermione.

"They're coming," Harry reassured her. "Remus will come for you."

Tears immediately popped into Hermione's eyes and she quickly brushed them away. "I love him so much," she whispered.

"We know," replied Ron.

"We want to get married," she said hesitatingly. Neither Ron nor Harry answered so she pressed on. "I want to have a family with him." Again neither of them responded. "Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" she asked.

"Are you looking for our approval to stay with him in this time?" asked Harry quietly.

She nodded.

"Is that what you really want?" asked Ron.

"I think so," said Hermione. "But I don't know how I could ever let you two go. The thought of never seeing you again, never being able to talk to you, it scares me to death. I never knew how much I needed both of you until I didn't have you anymore."

"We'll always be with you, Hermione," assured Ron.

She started crying harder and both boys approached her, hugging her from both sides.

"Don't worry," said Harry. "My dad and godfather will watch out for you, just like Ron and I did."

Hermione smiled through her tears. "And I'll watch out for them." She turned her head so she and Harry were looking into each others eyes and an understanding passed between them.

"Thank you," he mouthed and then to her horror, his face began to fade away.

"Wait," she said. "Don't go, not yet." She could feel herself slipping back into reality. "Harry, Ron," she called out, but her voice sounded far away. Her vision blurred further and then she plummeted into silent blackness again.

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Hermione woke up in her cell, feeling bruised. She opened her eyes, but didn't have the energy to move so she just lay on the floor and stared up at the ceiling. She wondered why Voldemort had put her back into the cell. She didn't think he had gotten any information out of her but she couldn't be sure.

Hermione wished she knew how long she had been out. It was terribly disconcerting to lose track of time. She didn't even know if it was morning or evening or how long had it been since the Death Eaters had brought her here.

She heard a noise to her left and turned her head, but made no effort to get up. A Death Eater came in carrying a tray. He opened her cell and placed the tray on the floor. Hermione did a double take when she realized who the Death Eater was. She sat up quickly.

"Wait," she called out as the Death Eater was leaving.

Severus Snape turned back to her, but said nothing.

"Snape," she said in a hushed voice.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Yes," he replied icily.

Hermione met his gaze, pleading with her eyes.

"Did you want something, Granger," he asked.

Hermione knew it was now or never. She stood quickly and went to the edge of the small prison cell. "Will you help me?" Snape's expression didn't change. Hermione wondered if he had even heard her. "Please," she begged quietly. "I know it's in you. You're not one of them. I know you're not."

"You don't know anything," he said, before turning away again.

"Snape," Hermione called out. "Severus, please." Hermione clenched her jaw in frustration. She was glad Harry and Ron weren't here to see her beg Snape. For that matter, she was glad James, Sirius, and Remus weren't here either. Thinking about everyone only made her want to cry and crying was not going to help her now. She needed her mind focused now.

Hermione took the tray of food that Snape left and ate its contents quickly. Then she sat down and took a deep breath. Voldemort was coming back for her eventually. Of that, she was sure and when he did, she was going to be ready.

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James's house was abuzz with activity. Members of the Order were constantly entering and exiting. James and Lily were doing their best to fill Moody in on what had occurred.

"So he took her?" Moody asked.

Lily nodded.

"But he wasn't coming for her," interjected James. "He said he was coming for Lily."

Moody nodded. "That's not surprising. Voldemort seems to have developed a sort of obsession with you Potter's."

James tightened his grip on his wife's hand. "Do me a favor and not act so casual when you say that," he said angrily.

"James," said Lily quietly. "He's not being casual. It's the truth. We can't hide from the truth."

"Smart wife you've got there," commented Moody. "But all of this is beside the point right now. We have to concentrate on finding Hermione."

"Just let us know what you want us to do," said Lily.

"I want you to stay right here and not leave this house," said Moody sharply. "Last thing we need is to worry about you two."

"Wait a minute," interrupted James. "I'm an Auror. My job is out there. Now, I agree Lily should stay put..."

"Hey," interrupted Lily.

"But I can't do that," continued James, ignoring her. "It's my job and I'm going to do it."

"James, I'm not going to sit here while Hermione's out there. I want to help," said Lily.

"Absolutely not," said James firmly. "You heard Moody."

"Enough, both of you," said Moody angrily. "Neither one of you is going out there." James opened his mouth to protest. "No more arguments, Potter," said Moody. "I'm ordering you to stay put. I don't need to worry about two more people right now."

James was fuming, but didn't respond.

"Now, where's Black?" asked Moody.

"He went to go take home Laura," said Lily quietly.

"The muggle?" asked Moody.

Lily nodded.

"I'll have to send someone by and take of that," said Moody in exasperation. "Black should have taken care of it himself."

"I don't think she wanted her memory modified," said Lily.

Moody stared at her. "Since when do we allow muggles to choose these things?" he asked.

"Sirius and Laura are sort of involved," said James.

"That may be," replied Moody. "But the Ministry's has made this matter very clear. No muggles are to know about the existence of Voldemort or the Death Eaters, no exceptions."

Neither James or Lily said anything.

"Where's Lupin?" asked Moody, continuing on quickly.

"He's just there," said Lily, turning and indicating behind her. "Oh no," she breathed.

James and Moody turned in the direction she was pointing, but Remus wasn't there.

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It hadn't been hard for Remus to sneak away. Once the Order members started arriving at Godric's Hollow, he merely patiently waited for everyone's attention to be diverted and slipped out the front door.

A few hours later he was sitting in the Hog's Head with a glass of Ogden's fire whiskey. Every so often he lifted the glass of whiskey to his lips and took a very small sip to give everyone the impression that he was relaxing at the end of a really long day when in actuality he was listening.

The Hog's Head was always known for its shadier clientele. Remus had no idea where Hermione had been taken. His only hope was finding a Death Eater. He hoped a few drinks might loosen someone's tongue and then he would pounce. If he could get a Death Eater alone, he knew he be able to force them to reveal all the information they knew.

Remus had already been sitting at a table in the far corner of the pub for over an hour and was no closer to his goal than when he first walked in the door. The barkeep kept shooting him curious looks. He clearly felt that a man who ordered one drink within the span of an hour and then only drank half the drink was clearly up to something.

Remus realized that he was wasting his time and stood dejectedly. He didn't know what to do next. Hermione was out there, in the hands of the enemy and he was powerless to help her. He felt the bile rise in his throat and wished he hadn't drunk the half glass of whiskey.

He dropped a few sickles on the table and wearily left the pub. He walked determinedly through Hogsmeade, refusing to give up. The Hog's Head wasn't the only place shady characters hung out. He could still walk around Knockturn Alley and any number of other places dark wizards met.

He was halfway between the Hog's Head and the Honeydukes when he heard movement behind him. During the day, the noise probably wouldn't have bothered him, but it was well after midnight and the streets of Hogsmeade were virtually deserted. He turned slowly, tightening the grip on his wand. There was no one behind him.

He pulled his cloak tighter around him to block out the chill and began moving again, this time more cautiously. He had only walked about twenty feet when he heard what sounded like footsteps approaching quickly from behind.

Remus whirled around, his wand out, but he was too late. An arching red light flashed in front of him, knocking him off his feet. His wand clattered some ten feet away from him. He tried to get at it, but was almost immediately hit by a second stunner and fell heavily to the ground.

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Nothing in her life had prepared Hermione for the feeling of complete powerlessness that she felt sitting on the cold concrete floor of her prison cell. All her life she had been used to fighting her way out of situations. She wondered why they didn't teach a course at Hogwarts in what to do when one was captured by the enemy. She had a sinking suspicion that she might have been one of the few people who the Death Eater's captured that had actually been kept alive.

The small amount of food they had brought to her before was already a distant memory and she wished she had saved some of it, rather than inhaling it all at once. Then at least she would have had something to do, rather than count the tiny fissures that ran along the floor in intricate webbed patterns.

It felt like at least a day had passed since she had been brought to see Voldemort, but there was no way of really knowing. She had drifted off to sleep a few times, but every noise jolted her awake and she knew she wasn't getting any real sleep. As a result she was feeling very lethargic, so much so that she didn't lift her head when she heard people enter the room she was in.

When they opened her cell, she held her breath, expecting them to pull her roughly to her feet, but they didn't. After a few seconds she lifted her head to see two Death Eaters dragging a body into her cell.

Hermione stood quickly. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"Visitor for you," said one of the Death Eater's meanly. They dropped the body and it fell heavily in front of her. Hermione dropped to her knees and rolled the body over carefully. Her gasp of anguish when she realized it was Remus delighted the Death Eater's.

"Stubborn, that one," commented one Death Eater.

Hermione cradled Remus's head gently in her lap. He had obviously been beaten severely. Both of his eyes had been blackened and there was a nasty cut and bruise on his cheek that was already beginning to purple. His knuckles were bloody as if he had struck back at his attackers and his clothing was torn.

His breathing was hitched, as if every inhale was painful. "Oh Remus," she cried, doing her best to make him comfortable on the floor. He lifted his hand slowly and touched her cheek and she pressed into its warmth. "What did they do to you?" she whispered.

The Death Eaters closed them in the cell. "The Dark Lord wants you to know that you can expect more of the same the longer you choose to be silent."

"I would suggest you tell him everything he wants to know," said the second Death Eater, as if he were a dear friend offering another friend some sound advice. "I'm not sure how much more your boyfriend can take."

Hermione glared at both Death Eaters as they left the room. Then she immediately returned her attention to Remus.

"Are you okay?" he asked groggily. "Did they hurt you?"

A fresh wave of tears fell down her face. "I'm fine," she choked out. "Don't worry about me, just lie still."

Remus didn't even have the energy to nod. He had been captured by the Death Eater's hours ago. They had told him Hermione was near and if he didn't want her killed then he had better tell them everything they wanted to know. When Remus had insisted on having proof that she was alive, the torture had begun. When the Cruciatus Curse failed to loosen his tongue, the Death Eater's had resorted to the more barbaric muggle types of torture. Secretly, Remus would have taken the punches and kicks to the Cruciatus Curse any day. He knew the evidence of his beatings had been for Hermione's eyes only.

"Why did you come?" she asked, every word sorrowful.

He opened his eyes and met hers, as difficult as it was through the bruises. "I couldn't leave you here," he said as if the answer was obvious.

"Oh Remus," she sighed. She placed her hand on the side of his face and he winced. "I'm sorry," she whispered, removing her hand.

"No," said Remus quickly, reaching for her hand. He placed it back on his face and closed his eyes. They sat in silence, momentarily forgetting the world around them.

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"Damn that boy," shouted Moody.

Sirius entered James's house quickly, seeking out his best friend. "What happened?" he asked James.

"It's Remus," said James under his breath. "He's run off, probably out looking for Hermione."

Sirius shook his head. "By himself?" he questioned.

James nodded.

"Damn," muttered Sirius. "Why didn't he wait for us? What does he think he can do by himself?"

"Black, it's about time," Moody called out when he spotted Sirius. "I need you to meet up with the Prewitt's. They're going to be making a search of Hogsmeade."

"The Prewitt's?" questioned Sirius. "But James is my partner."

"Potter and his wife are confined to the house," said Moody curtly. "If I'd have known what a fool Lupin was, I would have made sure to do the same with him. As it is, we now have two Orders members unaccounted for."

Sirius knew better than to argue with Moody. He wasn't the head of their department and the best Auror ever because he knew how to keep his temper.

Sirius gave a sympathetic look to James, knowing how difficult it was for his best friend to sit the search out.

"Don't worry James," said Sirius. "We'll find them, we'll find both of them."

Lily came up and stood by James' side. "Be careful Sirius," she said.

"I will, Lil," returned Sirius, before pulling his cloak on and leaving the house.

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A/N: You are all so patient and I love you for it. I had a fabulous time on vacation, but now it's time to return to regular life.

I am very sorry to those of you who thought Hermione had made it home. I have such a clear idea of where the story is going that it didn't occur to me that some people might interpret the cliffhanger that way. I should have realized. No, it was another dream/out of body experience for her, like when she nearly drowned in the lake at Hogwarts. I don't really want to define too specifically what happens when she see Ron and Harry. I'll just say that when Hermione is closest to death or in times of great need it happens. Whether you want to call it a dream or a vision or something else entirely is up to the reader. It will probably happen again so watch out for it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. By jumping from scene to scene rather quickly, I was trying to establish tension. Did it work? Also, I love everyone who reviews to tell me how much they love the story (you have no idea how much I love it), but I also appreciate those of you who give well thought out critiques of the writing, plot, characters, and I have used many critiques to improve the writing, so please feel free to let me know if anything can be improved.

Thanks again for your patients and I hope to be updating with more frequency in the coming months. I don't usually get too personal, but just so everyone knows in the past couple of months I have been in two weddings, a musical, and have gone through four major hurricanes, yes I am a Floridian, so it has not always been easy to sit at my laptop for long periods of time. I am looking forward to a nice quiet holiday season (I think that's an oxymoron).