Disclaimer; I own nothing!

A/N Hi all. I am so glad you like where the story is going! I thought I would have a harder time fooling everyone with Draco's captor's identity. But some have guessed (you know who you are) and I hope you enjoy this chaper. Happy reading and don't forget to review.

A Lead…

Another week passed. No sign from Draco or whoever kidnapped him. The entire ministry was in an uproar about it. Every Auror was on the job. And they had recruited help from other departments to follow up on leads. Harry looked frazzled as I sat by his desk, occasionally looking over his shoulder. His eyes were red and bloodshot, his hair stood up more untidy than ever. Piles and piles of papers sat in huge stacks around him. Some were marked with leads that had been owled in. Ever since Rita Skeeter's report, owls flew in almost hourly with some lead or another. Harry assigned lower ranking Aurors and office personnel to check on every single lead, no matter how stupid it sounded.

Harry's red eyes closed as he laid his head on a pile of papers. He was clearly exhausted.

"Harry, take a break. You can't do it all." my eyes were just as red as his. I had not slept for more than an hour or two a day since his disappearance. Every time I closed my eyes I saw his blue and silver ones staring back at me. I missed his soft lips on mine and I always woke up with a jolt, realizing that he was still gone.

"I am going to get some coffee Hermione, I will bring you back some." he stood up and stretched. Several people buzzed in and out of his office while he was gone. One dumped a huge pile of papers right in the middle. A few were flagged with colored marks. I picked up one and read through it. Some middle aged woman had seen a blonde man in a store in Diagon Alley. I laid my head on the desk again. I just wanted to see his face, hold him, and tell him how much I loved him. Harry returned moments later, with two cups of coffee. I took a drink and the caffeine perked me up a little. I grabbed papers and began to scan through them. Nothing, paper after paper. Every crazy wizard and witch in Britain had sent an owl with some reported sighting. It took hours and hours to sort through the nonsense. We were on our last stack when Harry's eyes widened.
"Hermione, I think we might have something here." he was holding a paper in his hand. I grabbed it quickly and read it.

Mrs. Annabelle Dodder of Hogsmeade reported seeing a hooded figure dragging someone into the storm cellar of the home next door to hers. She also says she hears screaming every once and a while, and then loud shouting.

"Do you think it's him?" I asked hopefully.

"I don't know Hermione, but I think we should check it out ourselves." He owled Ron and Blaise to tell them to come right away so that we could go question Mrs. Dodder. Minutes later they appeared, ready to go. We apperated to Hogsmeade immediately and found Mrs. Dodder's home. The small cottage was surrounded by woods and a small cottage flanked both sides. We knocked lightly on the door and Mrs. Dodder answered.

"Yes?" she asked. She was an older witch, with steel grey curls and a wide face.

"I am an Auror from the ministry; we are here to follow up on your report of seeing someone dragging someone into the cellar next door. Can you point to which house you were referring to?" Harry asked with a calm firm voice.

She pointed to the rickety cottage to the right of her house. Harry looked out the window and observed a wooden door leading to the storm cellar. He nodded and turned back to Mrs. Dodder.

"So, you saw a figure wearing a hood drag someone down the cellar? When was this?"

"Almost two weeks ago Monday." she said. "I hear some loud noises coming from there at about 8 pm every night. It sounds like screaming and yelling."

"Have you observed anyone else coming or going from that house?" Harry asked writing everything on a small piece of parchment.

"No, not since that night." she said firmly. Harry looked at his watch. It was 7pm. "Do you mind if we wait here until 8? We can see if we hear anything."

"Not at all sir." she motioned for us to sit in her parlor until then. We sat in stone silence, drinking tea. Eight pm rolled around slowly and Harry made his way towards the kitchen window, which was closest to the neighbor's house. He cracked the window and pressed his ear to it. Crickets and birds were the only thing he heard. He sat there, unmoving, listening. I mouthed to him 'hear anything?' He motioned for me to hush, and he crooked his ear to the window again.

Sure enough at just after 8, a hooded figure walked slowly towards the cellar doors. It was carrying a tray, and used a wand to open the doors. Minutes later we both heard yelling coming from the area of the cellar. Harry tried to hear what was being said. He distinctly heard a male voice yelling, but nothing else. Ten minutes later the figure came back up, waved a wand locking the doors and walked into the house.

Harry stood up and motioned for us to go talk in the living room.

"Well, something fishy is definitely going on over there." he said with a solemn face.

"Let's go get him!" I said pulling his robes towards the door. If Draco was there I was going to get him now.

"We have to wait." Harry said. "Mrs. Dodder, can I borrow a spare bit of parchment and your owl?"

"Of course dear." she handed him the things and pointed towards her grey owl in a cage by the window.

Harry scribbled something quickly and sent it off.

"Now we wait. We need to stay here tonight, to make sure whoever is over there is safe. We can't go barging in there or whoever is being held captive might be harmed. I have written to the other Aurors, they will arrive in the morning. I will take the first watch, Ron; you will be next, Blaise third. Hermione, get some rest for Merlin's sake." he sat by the kitchen window and stared at the dark cottage next door.

I had no intention of waiting till tomorrow. As soon as the others were asleep I was going to get him. I sat up in the chair and waited for Ron and Blaise to nod off. After an hour, they complied. But I knew Harry was still up. His Auror training would not let him sleep. I snuck into the kitchen and looked at Harry, his heavy lidded eyes were half open, but every so often they closed all the way. 20 minutes later they closed long enough for me to sneak out the back door. I crept as slowly as I could, tiptoeing out the lightweight screen door. The cold night air hit my lungs, and I instantly wished I had worn a cloak. The cellar door was hard to find in the snow, but the footprints the mysterious cloaked person left led me right to it. The falling snow had covered the doors. I pulled my wand out of my jean pocket and pointed it at the lock.

'Alohamora' I said quietly. The lock popped open. I looked around quickly to make sure no lights appeared in the cottage. When I was sure no one was watching I pulled open the large door and walked slowly down the stairs. It was dark, damp and cold. I whispered 'Lumos' and the tip of my wand lit up brightly. I held it high and looked around. All I saw was a large stone room. I squinted my eyes to see if there were any clues as to what was going on. Suddenly I heard a strange coughing noise. There, in the corner opposite the stairs, bound and gagged was my husband.

I ran down the rest of the way and sprinted towards him.

"Honey, honey are you all right?" I unbound his mouth first. He coughed up a little blood. He looked dirty and slightly swollen around the face.

"Get out of here!" he said hastily. "She could come back at any moment."

"I am not leaving you here!" I said. "Who is keeping you here? Why?"

"Why you ask?" a cool voice echoed behind me. Hair stood up on the back of my neck. I knew that voice.