Excuse Me?

A/N: First off, thanks to all who reviewed, including everg8ter23, Rose J Lupin, Dream Phantom, Sunny Girl, stopmeplease and it's me. Cyber cookies and left over coffee/cocoa from Photo class for all of you! Second, suggestions are a BIG help, so any constructive criticism or ideas are welcome! Again, don't own anything HP related. cries uncontrollably

The bright morning sunlight cascaded through the small window in the room. Sounds of nature could be heard outside; the scent of fresh pine needles wafted past her nose. Cold moist air could be felt on her tongue as she lay on the on the soft mattress. The softness of the sheets below her hand was comforting and inviting. The last of Hermione's 5 senses catalyzed when her eyes opened to see her surroundings.

A foreign ceiling of gray and bed sheets that didn't belong to her caused to her to stir. Sitting up quickly, Hermione glanced around the average sized room. It contained the bare minimums, a closet, a bookshelf and a full length mirror. At the foot of her bed, Hermione noticed the dress she had been wearing neatly folded into a square. Hermione looked from herself to her dress in shock, realizing her clothes had been removed and replaced with a bathrobe. She clutched herself and tapped around her shoulders, arms, chest and head; no bruises, cuts or any sign of injury was apparent.

"I'm alive. No injuries, but…why?" Hermione thought to herself.

Nature could be heard outside again as Hermione turned her attention to the window at the head rest behind her. Seeing as it was the closest exit that lead to a porch, Hermione gently opened the window and crawled out. She felt the full extent of her fatigue as she dizzily made her way to the ledge of the porch. There was a long drop from the cliff where the building was residing to the canopy of the forest below. Pine trees intermingled with oaks and maples; Bright colors of red, yellow and orange spotted the evergreen forest. The forest below was sharply cut off by a large field of seemingly endless grass. Am I going to be able to run that far, thought Hermione to herself.

"I wouldn't bother jumping off the edge if I were you," a snide voice called from her left. The all too familiar figure of Draco Malfoy was seen leaning up against a door adjacent to her room. "So, you're finally awake."

Hermione decided that not only was she too groggy to lunge at him; she was also unarmed.

She glared as she snapped, "Why did you bring me here? Answer me."

"As if I have any idea. I'm never told anything," growled Malfoy. "Now let's go."

He opened the door but noticed Hermione wasn't following.

"He wants to see you."

It wasn't Malfoy she was scared of but the inhuman red eyes she had seen scared her more than what Harry's words had described. Knowing that resisting would do no good, Hermione followed in trepidation.

No one was in the hallways. Hermione surmised that the people might still be sleeping. It was deathly silent, like the middle of the night. The blank hallways made the place seemed more muted. Nothing was there except for the ornate gothic architecture; no paintings, no statues on pillars, so sign of civilization.

Malfoy stopped in front of a pair of large mahogany doors, banging the knocker on the right door twice.

In the awkward wait, Hermione momentarily looked around the hallway. The sight of a candlelit room caught her eye. Captivated by the light, she crept towards to room to peer inside. All the civilization that was missing was found in that room. Rows and rows of books lined the walls, the untouched parts covered in art work. The candle she saw from the hall lay old and used on a desk piled high with hand-written papers.

Before she could take another step in, a voiced called. "Oi, you, girl!"

A large red haired fellow stood at the frame of the door next to Malfoy. "You, girl, get in here!"

"Her name is Hermione," scolded Malfoy.

Both the guard and Hermione stared at him questioningly. Did he just stand up for her?

Much like her bedroom, the study she walked into had barely anything, save a desk, several chairs and window that allowed little sunlight in. Nothing the room screamed egotistical maniac as she expected, but the emptiness and lackluster of the building made it seem more forbidding. The room cleared, and only 2 of the 16 people packed into the room remained. There were two chairs in front of the desk which Voldemort stood behind.

"Child, have a seat," he urged, indicating the chairs.

"I—I prefer to s-stand, thank you," hesitated Hermione, near frozen at the sight.

Several feet from the desk, Severus Snape's voice warned, "I suggest you take a seat, Ms. Granger."

Hermione continued to stand, ignoring the advice of her former teacher.

Voldemort's scarlet eyes focused on her. "Sit."

More insistent than Draco tugging at her robe was Voldemort's sudden glare of exacerbation. Hermione continued to stare at him with her wide brown eyes on her trip over to her seat.

"I'm going to ask you this once and you have better have a good answer," he spoke with demand. "Where is my horcrux?"

All of the color left her face. Barely audiable, she whispered, "Excuse me?"

518 Oxfordshire Drive is what the slip of paper Harry held in his hands read.

Behind Ron and Harry, Tonks began to shiver and complained, "It's freezing and it's not even winter yet. We'll freeze out here."

"You can thaw out later," Harry snapped as the made their way up the walkway.

"Harry, are you sure this is the right way to go about it?" Ron said hesitantly. "What if Remus is wrong? It was just a hunch he had."

"Any hunch is a good hunch right now," replied Harry.

He then rang the door bell.

A brown haired woman with the bright smile of a dentist popped her head outside, inquisitively looking at the three figures standing outside her door.

"Can I help you?" inquired the woman, with slight reservation. She looked around for any sign of suspicious activity, a van, cameras, Ashton Kutcher. Nothing seemed harmful except three strangers.

Harry approached her first, "Mrs. Granger, I'm a friend of Hermione's from school. I'm—"

"Oh, you must be Ronald, the one she always talks about."

"No, this is Ron," Harry indicated to Ron. The whole situation just got more embarrassing. Pointing behind him, he noted Tonks. "And this is our friend, Tonks. I know this might be…um, odd to say the least, but do you happen to have anything that would belong to a man named Tom Riddle?"

Mrs. Granger took a step back, her eyes in shock and her mouth agape. Her voice was hardly a whisper when she suspiciously asked, "Excuse me?"

End A/N: Yeah! thanks again to all who reviewed. Remeber, flames roast my toasty marshmallowsand saves the heating bills at my house!