Ron was glad he arrived at the Burrow in one piece. Ginny and Harry were already waiting for him outside the front door. Ginny opened the door slowly and they all stepped in.
"We cannot tell mum or dad about anything of this," Ginny whispered and Ron agreed. Harry was more sceptical but agreed in the end. Their parents were too busy with the Order and if they told them, they would definitely be told to stay at home and wait for the grown-ups to sort it out. Ron would by no means sit still and do nothing when Hermione was in danger.
Mrs. Weasley was working in the garden and Mr. Weasley out on Order business, so the three of them tip-toed upstairs and locked themselves in side Ron's room.
"Ron," Harry said and sat on Ron's bed, "tell us what happened." Ron tried to tell us much as he could about Hermione's inability to do magic and the two men that had kidnapped Hermione. Harry filled Ron in on their encounter with Draco and Snape in the forest.
"Where do we start? We need to find Hermione first, unless.." Ron stopped. He had almost said the words "she's dead." She couldn't be. He needed believe that Hermione was all right. He would go crazy if he thought anything else.
"We need to go back there and look for clues," Ginny said confidently and sat on the bed next to Harry.
Harry was looking at Ron's fist and noticed something odd. "Why are you holding your hand in a fist? You've been doing that since we arrived here." Ron looked down and saw indeed that he was holding his hand in a fist. He hadn't noticed it before. Ron opened his hand and they saw that he had been holding on to a piece of material.
"This is a piece of the man's suit that got Hermione," Ron said dully. "I accidentally ripped it off." Ron threw the piece at the wall and it hit the floor.
"We could use that. I think I read something somewhere," Ginny said contemplatively. "I have to go and look. You two wait here." Ginny returned with a map, crystal and the latest issue of Witch Weekly.
"I read in Witch Weekly that there is a spell you can do if you want to know a person's location," Ginny said as put her things on the floor and sat down.
"It doesn't really work, does it? Most of the stuff in that magazine is just pure rubbish" Ron said. Ginny chose to ignore the comment from Ron and spread the map on the floor. Harry went to sit next to Ginny. He picked up the crystal and studied it.
"How exactly does it work?" he asked.
"According to Witch Weekly, all you need is a map, a white crystal and something from the person you are trying to locate." Ginny took the piece of material and tied it around the crystal. Ginny waved her wand around the crystal and muttered something that couldn't be heard. A circle of dust appeared around the crystal. The crystal flew from Ginny's hand and landed on the map.
"Berkshire," Ginny read on the map. "So now we know where Hermione is." She had barely finished her sentenced before Ron had disappeared out of the room.
Harry and Ginny saw Ron fly away with his broomstick. Harry had left his Firebolt in Ron's room. It leaned against the wall in the corner of the room.
"Ginny, wait here. I'll follow him," Harry said and grasped his broomstick.
When Hermione's kidnappers weren't putting needles in Hermione's veins, she liked to pretend that she was asleep. That way, she hoped that the kidnappers would hopefully leave her alone. She didn't know how long she had been locked in the cell, but days must have gone by.
Upstairs she heard the kidnappers arguing with each other. Doors were slammed shut and she even thought she heard glass breaking. She was weak and tired and didn't pay much attention to what was going on in the house.
The basement door opened and the man named Mark was pushed in.
"Watch the girl," said the woman in the group.
"Bailee, please don't let me watch her," Mark said pleadingly. "It's so boring." Bailee only hissed at him and shut the door with force.
Mark walked down and sat on the stool placed in front of Hermione's cell. He crossed his arms and looked at Hermione with dislike
"Looks like I'm stuck with you," he said and then continued in a conversational tone, "It's Bailee's birthday soon. On Wednesday. That's in two days. Did you know that? I don't know what to get her. I know what it sounded like. She's a bit mad at me right now, but I have to give her something nice, so she can forgive me and I can show her how much she really means to me, you know." Hermione despised his voice and wished he would stop talking. "You don't happen to have any present ideas? No, of course you don't. You are just a stupid…witch, is it?"
Hermione closed her eyes and tried to shut out his voice. She collected all her the strength she had left and said, "I know something you can give to her."
"I didn't catch that? What did you say? Is the little witch talking now?" he said in a mock voice.
"I know a present you can give to her," she repeated.
"I'm all ears," Mark said and motioned at Hermione for her to continue.
"There's a store. In London," Hermione said and paused. "They sell jewellery. There is this ring that supposedly makes you remain forever young. I don't think that particular ring is on sale, but it's in the store if anybody wants to look at it. I think a clever thief like you would have no problem removing the ring from that store."
"Bailee likes jewellery," Mark said. "Especially jewellery with mystic powers." Mark thought about it for a while and then stood up from the stool. "Witch, don't go anywhere." Mark mounted the stairs and left Hermione alone in the basement. Hermione heard Mark lock up the basement door, then the outer door and leave.
Hermione wondered if she had met a dumber person, but didn't really care. This was Hermione her chance to try to escape. She moved slowly against the bars and shook them. She was locked in and there was no key. She saw a rock on the floor, just within her reach. She grabbed it and began to bash the lock. Suddenly she became dizzy and her image became blurry. She couldn't sit up anymore and fell to the floor.
Ron flew above a meadow. There was a single wooden house in the middle. It had to be the were they had taken Hermione. Ron flew a little closer to the ground came down from his broomstick. He hid the broomstick behind a bush of yellow and white roses.
Ron peered through a window and saw the house was empty. He walked to the front side and wiggled the handle on the door. The door didn't open at first, but when he tried a little harder it flew open.
There was a weird smell in the air like someone had burned plastic and then tried to hide the burning smell with perfume. Ron walked past a kitchen and a bedroom. One of the rooms was filled with paper and in the back stood a shelf with rows of labelled folders.
He saw a hand written letter on the floor and picked it up. It was addressed to a Mr. Clarent at Illusion Magazine. It read; "I'm writing to you about the story we talked about. Magic exists and I have proof! Call me." It was signed Gordian Walters. Ron dropped the letter. He needed to find Hermione now.
He walked through another room. This one had weird equipment in it and on the tables lay rows of glass bottles and tubes, some had liquids of different colours in them.
There was only one door left, and Ron was sure that it led to the basement. It was closed so Ron took a step back and bashed down the door. Steep stairs descended into darkness.
Ron found Hermione in a cell in the basement. She was lying lifeless on the floor. Ron yelled "Alohomora!" and the cell door swung open. Ron shook Hermione and she slowly started to come out of unconsciousness. Hermione was weak and Ron helped her sit up.
"You know I love you," Ron said with his hands touching Hermione's cheeks, "right?"
"Yes," Hermione said faintly. It hurt to speak. "I love you too."
Draco: Dumbledore was right. Killing someone isn't easy. Dumbledore was wrong. I am a killer. He was on his knees on the dirty ground, begging for his life but I did not hear him. Tears fell from his eyes as he cried for his fiancé, I only lifted my wand. Life drained from his eyes in a second as his body fell to the ground with a thump. Before I put an invisibility cloak on him, I looked once more at him. The scars on his face were fading away and he was now recognisable as the Weasley he was. Freckles and hand-me-down clothes. Soon the ground would swallow him. Master will be pleased.