Author's Note for this chapter: Well, it took me long enough but here's another yummy chapter to satisfy your taste buds. I should warn you...there is a lot of snarling, swearing and bitching in this chapter (the word "fuck" gets used more than 5 times), a couple of death threats and an actual death. Accordingly, I've upped the warnings and rating for this story because of it. Enjoy!

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Harry didn't know how long he'd been a prisoner. The days and nights seem to blend into one entity. Every day, Dudley would torture him, beat him senseless and intimately fondle him, hinting he'd like to continue where he'd left off years before, smiling in glee when Harry would burst into tears.

He took a chance one particular morning to decided to ask a question.

"Dudley?"

"What?" the man snapped. He was sitting near the fire, whittling a piece of wood he'd found.

"How long have I been here?"

"Why should I tell you a thing like that?"

"I-I just wanted to know." Harry stated in a small, meek voice.

Dudley stared at him for the longest time. Harry resigned himself to not getting an answer when Dudley finally grunted a reply.

"2 weeks."

"Oh." Harry mumbled, curling into himself to try and get warm.

At least the man has been feeding me. He thought to himself, even though he was a little bitter about the whole thing. It's not every day a person gets kidnapped and nearly raped.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the lone door of their little hideaway. Harry hitched in a breath to scream for help but was abruptly cut off when Dudley shoved a foul-smelling rag into his mouth. Harry had to choke down the urge to vomit. He didn't want to die in his own filth.

"Not a fucking peep out of you or I'll kill you!" Dudley hissed, throwing a blanket over Harry to hide his body. Harry nodded, too frightened to do much else.

He heard Dudley move to the door and a creak of a hinge as it was opened.

"Where the bloody fuck have you been? I've been holed up here for two weeks waiting for your blue-blooded arse!" Dudley yelled.

"Don't yell at me! I had appearances to keep. My bloody father kept sending notes to the Nuns to check up on me and I couldn't get away as soon as I liked." came a feminine voice.

I know that voice. But where? Harry wondered.

"Do I look like I give a shite?" he heard Dudley say in a low voice.

There was a sharp sound and a deep intake of breath. Followed by a small scream of pain.

"Bloody bastard!" the unknown female screeched.

"Slap me again and I'll break your fucking arm." Dudley growled. There was the sound of someone stumbling. Harry assumed the woman had been shoved or something.

"So...where is he?"

"He's around."

"Dead?"

"Alive. For the moment."

They're talking about me. He realized.

"What do you mean 'alive'?" she shrieked. It was the shriek that jumped to the forefront of his mind. He now knew who the woman was.

That crazy bitch who kissed Draco! What was her name, again? Parsley? Panser? Pansy! Yes! That's her! Harry growled low in his throat. If he could get free he would rip her heart out and stomp it into the dirt.

"I mean 'alive' as in not dead yet. My god, you're a dumb one, aren't you?"

"Why the bloody fuck is he still alive? How am I supposed to get Draco to turn to me with grief if the little fucker is still breathing?" she shouted.

I wonder why no one's come running with all the shouting going on? Unless we're in the middle of nowhere. Harry thought.

"Parkinson, I don't give a ruddy fuck what Malfoy does with you. I've had time to think about it and I'm changing the plan."

"What do you mean by that?" she demanded.

"Well, I think Potter is worth more alive than dead. I mean to make some money out of this."

"Money? What money?"

"Malfoy money, of course." Dudley answered as if that was the most easiest answer in the world. Harry had to hand it to the big lug. He was not as dumb as he looked. If he could get out of this alive, even if Draco had to buy him back to do so, then Harry wasn't one to complain. Anything was better than being dead and not seeing Draco anymore.

"That's my money you're talking about!" Pansy shrieked in outrage.

"You could make spiders go deaf with that voice, you know." Dudley chuckled.

"You dirty, filthy pouf!" Pansy snarled. It wasn't a pretty sound to Harry's ears.

"I'm not a pouf." Dudley said in a low, dangerous voice.

"You are so! I bet you were rutting between his legs before I came here!"

"Shut your mouth, you bloody bitch or I'll gut you where you stand!" There was the distinct sound of a knife blade being unsheathed.

"Bastard!" Pansy snarled again, a tint of fear coloring her voice. Harry resisted the urge to smirk.

Serves her right! He nodded in satisfaction.

"I know who my parents are so I suggest you not repeat that."

"But I paid you to kill him!" She sounded like she was crying.

"Oh for fuck's sake! A roll in the hay, and a bad roll it was, too, is not enough to guarantee my co-operation."

"What?" she whispered.

"You were simply a means to an end, Parkinson. A pity fuck, if you want to get to the bare tacks of it."

"I'll have you know that plenty of men and a few women as well curry my favor!" she shouted.

"Oh ho! Now who's a dirty, filthy pouf!" Dudley cackled with glee. "Or should I call you a dirty, filthy carpet muncher?"

There was another slap, the sound echoing off the walls. What followed was a scream so horrendous, Harry nearly wet himself in fear.

"Bitch!" Dudley spat after the scream was abruptly cut off. There was nothing but silence after that.

Harry heard Dudley's lumbering gait coming toward him and he trembled with fear. Dudley yanked the blanket off and Harry's eyes betrayed him as he saw the bloodied body of Pansy Parkinson on the floor near the fireplace. Dudley ripped the gag from his mouth and Harry dry heaved, spitting out saliva along the way.

"Time to go, Potter!" Dudley smiled. He grabbed Harry around his middle and tossed him over his shoulder like a sack of wheat. As Dudley marched out the door, Harry could not resist looking back at Pansy, feeling a bit sorrowful for what happened to her. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw she was still breathing, looking at him with pain and regret in her eyes.

Dudley rounded the corner of the house (cottage?) they had been holed up in and Harry lost sight of her. He was unceremoniously tossed into the back of a horse-drawn cart and winced in pain as his arms throbbed painfully from being tied around his back for so long.

Dudley brandished a bloodied knife in his face and Harry sucked in a deep breath.

"One small sound, even a cough or a sneeze from you and I forget my plan of keeping you alive and I will drive this straight through your neck. Is that understood?"

Harry's throat locked up and he quickly nodded. Dudley, satisfied for the moment, made him lay on his side before covering him with another blanket and then large bales of hay to hide him under. He felt the cart move as Dudley hauled his considerable weight into the seat before urging the horses into a fast trot.

Draco, I need you so badly right now! Please, please find me before it's too late! He prayed, tears leaking from his tightly shut eyes.

- - -

Draco was frantic. There had been no sign of Harry for over two weeks. He wasn't eating, he wasn't sleeping, and he was worrying his mother to death.

Narcissa felt helpless. Her son was slowly wasting away in front of her eyes and she didn't know what to do. He needed Harry. She could see that being apart was killing him.

Remus was ushered into the house and he pulled her into his arms as soon as he spotted her.

"Any news?"

"No, Remi, and I'm afraid for Draco's mental state. He's not eating or sleeping." Narcissa told him, tears leaking from her eyes. He framed her face with his hands and brushed the tips of his thumbs across her cheeks, wiping away her tears.

"We'll find him, love. Please don't fret. Everyone is doing all they can to find him."

Narcissa's heart warmed at the endearment and she gave him a small smile. He saw the change in her demeanor and his heart lightened a little.

"Remi, I-I have something to tell you."

"And I you, and if I'm right, it's the same thing. We will talk about this Cissa, but we must concentrate on Harry for now." He brushed his lips across hers in a solemn promise and she melted just a little bit more.

Albus burst into the study where they had all congregated, Aiden Parkinson beside him.

"Aiden? Albus, what is it? Why is he here?" she demanded.

"It seems that Aiden's daughter has gone missing." Albus stated.

"Yes. I've been conversing with the Nuns and it seems Pansy missed a bed check a few nights past. She was spotted purchasing a ticket home night before last and was seen departing the boat here in town earlier this morning." Aiden explained.

"Where would she go?" Draco demanded.

"I don't know. But the person who was watching her said she rented a carriage and headed toward the outskirts of town."

That was all Draco needed to hear. He tore from the room like the devil was after him, running for the stables.

He had just bridled Dobby when Remus and Aiden came in behind him.

"We're going with you, Draco." Remus stated in a tone that brooked no argument. Draco nodded and the two men quickly saddled and mounted two other horses. With a kick to the horse's flanks, they were off.

- - -

The approached the dark cabin at a trot, seeing no other signs of life. Draco noticed the front door was open and a pale object that was just visible over the threshold. He approached cautiously, his heartbeat sounding loud in his own ears. As he drew closer, he saw that the pale object was actually a human hand.

Oh God! No!

He ran, nearly tumbling over his own feet in his haste to get to the door. What he saw nearly made him gag and he took a deep steadying breath.

Aiden Parkinson looked down into the lifeless eyes of his only child, numb.

Remus looked at the young woman, pity in his eyes for the Parkinson patriarch. He placed a gentle hand on the man's shoulder.

"Aiden, please come away. Just for a moment." Remus whispered. Aiden let himself be moved away from his daughter's body.

Draco stared down, hardly believing this was the same woman he had wanted to marry some time ago, before Harry came along.

He carefully stepped around her, moving into the room. It was completely bare save for a small cot in the corner of the room. Sighing, he turned to leave when he spotted something in the dirt near Pansy's other hand. Apparently she had use the last of her strength to leave a message.

Ha r y

- - - - - -

- - - - - -

riv

Draco could have shouted with glee. She was letting him know where Harry had been taken. He ran out of the cabin, calling for Remus.

"I'm going on! Harry was taken toward the river. Whoever has him must be getting on a boat somewhere."

"Be careful, Draco. I'll send someone along after you as soon as they arrive."

"I will. Mr Parkinson, please accept my deepest condolences for your loss." Draco bowed to the man beside him. Aiden looked up at him, tears staining his cheeks.

"Find Harry, Mr Malfoy. And kill the bastard who did this to my Pansy."

"On my honor as a Malfoy, I swear vengeance." Draco intoned. He steered Dobby toward the river and was gone.

I'm coming, Harry! Just hold on a little while longer!