Pain blossomed behind her eyelids as she slowly came to, stifling a groan at the pulsing at the back of her head. What in the world? Hermione tried to get a sense for herself but felt tight magical bonds on her arms and ankles, her toes cold now that the shoes were no longer covering them.
She stifled her panic and the memory rushed back to her. The ball, the dancing, Malfoys, bathroom and then- nothing.
Despite the headache and what she suspected was a mild concussion where she was hit, she tried to open her senses and understand where she was. Damp, cool, concrete and rusting iron. She could hear dripping water in the corner and voices outside but they felt distant. The sound of the water drops echoed, as if she were in a large space. Not a basement or anything too enclosed then. Maybe an abandoned building?
The distinct horn sounded in the distance. Good, a ship or a boat. She was somewhere at or near a dock area. Was she still in London? A different country? Or Merlin-forbid a different continent? She was feeling nauseous, like she did when traveling by floo or portkey, but that could just as easily be just the concussion.
She wanted to open her eyes and look around but in case someone was with her, she didn't want to give away the fact that she was awake. But she couldn't sense anyone close so she decided to risk it.
Taking her time to flex her fingers and feet, she slowly blinked her eyes open and looked around. A table, two chairs, one she was tied to and another one across from her at the table. And several large crystals on the floor. Why? She turned her head left and right as far as she could see and spotted more of the crystals on the floor.
An energetic or magical field. They knew she was a creature, and what more effective barrier than a magical grid to keep her contained? Very clever. Whoever took her was well-informed and well-prepared.
Looking further out, she saw bare concrete walls and a leak in the corner, just as she suspected. The ceiling was tall, this was clearly some sort of an abandoned building for storage of goods or containers. Something else caught her sight though towards the corner. A red blinking light. That could only mean one thing.
"I know you can see me! Some water would be nice!" she called, trying to draw out whoever has taken her to show their face.
Nothing happened for a few minutes before a heavily-armed man in black combat gear came through the metal sliding doors with a bottle of water. His face and head were covered by a balaklava to completely hide his features.
He stood before her, steady, calm, as he unscrewed the lid of the bottle and offered it to her lips.
"Well hello to you too," she quipped and sniffed the water. "How do I know it's not poisoned?" she asked, hoping to get and answer.
He didn't speak however, merely shrugged his shoulders and held the bottle up for her. She took a thirsty sip and swallowed it carefully, hoping the water wasn't tainted or drugged. There was little else she could do those and it was her only option to stay alert and hydrated. The man left the bottle on the table and walked away.
"Is that it?" She called after him but got no response other than the sound of the metal doors sliding shut.
She closed her eyes and tried to keep calm. If her kidnapper wasn't showing themselves, she would wait them out. For now, she needed to plan how to survive this, and most importantly, how to get to get back to her mate.
She felt a pang of worry. Did they take Pansy as well? If they knew about her being a creature, did they know about Pansy being her mate? She worried for a moment, the harpy within her chest trying to push through, but she took a deep breath and shook her head. No, this felt targeted. They were after her and her alone. She would just have to get through this.
Pansy sipped her champagne and chuckled at Astoria's latest story about little Scorpius when she felt...something. Like a tug on a part of her magic. Sitting up a bit more alert, she took in their surroundings, searching the crowd for a familiar tux.
"Have you seen Hermione?" she asked, turning to Draco who just joined them with more drinks.
"She went to the bathroom last I saw her, but that was about twenty minutes ago," he frowned, his gaze scanning the crowd.
Pansy excused herself and went to the bathroom to check if everything was alright with her partner. Something didn't feel right.
The bathroom was just emptying out from the latest break in dancing and she looked around, calling Hermione's name without response. She reached into her clutch and dialed Hermione's number but it went straight to voicemail. The feeling that something was wrong was growing in her chest. Hermione wouldn't have left, she always kept her phone on her and would have joined her straight after coming out of the bathrooms.
Returning to her friends, she noticed their mood sobered considerably when they saw her expression of worry. "I can't find her, can you help me search for her? Something doesn't feel right," she asked, surprising the couple by actually asking for help despite her pride.
"Of course," Draco stood and nodded towards the entrance. "I'll check outside the ballroom and towards the floo chamber just in case."
"I'll take the right side and the way to the elevator," Astoria suggested. "You check in here and towards the cloaks?"
Pansy nodded and they separated to go off in different directions. She made her way around the whole ballroom, even cast a locator charm to point her towards Hermione, but her wand lay still and straight on her palm without movement. It was as if she wasn't even nearby at all. She met the couple back at their table but they both shook their heads. Pansy gathered her purse. "I'll check at home and if I can't find her, I'm contacting the Aurors."
"I am an Auror," Draco reminded her.
"Let us come with you," Astoria offered.
Pansy hesitated but nodded, glad for the company. Maybe she was just overreacting. Hermione might have felt poorly, her phone died and she went home. It didn't sound like her at all but maybe that's what had happened. Or so she hoped.
"Pansy, how lovely to see you," a familiar voice spoke up beside her and she nearly ground her teeth at the self-assured drawl.
"Claude, I wasn't aware we would be seeing you this evening," she accepted a kiss to her knuckles, her skin crawling at his touch and the sleazy twinkle in his watery eyes.
"Oh how could I possibly miss it? Are you having a good time?" he inquired.
"I was actually on my way out, it has been a long evening," she tried to shut down the conversation as soon as possible.
"Ah, of course. And Miss Granger, is she here by any chance? I was hoping to introduce her to my colleague-"
"She went ahead already. Apologies Claude, I shall catch you another time," she excused herself and he stepped aside to let them pass.
Draco didn't like the look of the man one bit and turned around to look at him on their way out, not missing the pleased grin on his face. What a sleaze.
It felt like hours had passed but it very well could have been minutes for all she knew. Sitting in the silence surrounding her, Hermione found herself very tired and still aching but she refused to fall asleep. She clung onto her consciousness and tried with all her might to feel her mate.
Was Pansy alright? Did she know she was missing?
She tried once again to reach for the bond but it felt distant, her head too fuzzy. At some point, she must have fallen asleep because she jolted awake at the sound of the metal doors opening.
She blinked blearily and noticed just how dark it was outside, surely the middle of the night by now. It must have been a few hours since she'd been taken from the ball.
"Ah Miss Granger. Apologies for the delay, I had a ball to attend," a very familiar voice grated on her senses.
"Gilmel," she growled and spat at the floor at his feet.
"Tut-tut, such savage manners. But then again what can one expect from such a harpy? And quite literally in your case, my dear," he grinned and took the chair across from her like he had all the time in the world.
She tried the magical bonds on her limbs again but they held fast as she sunk back into the chair. "Well this is risky, showing your face. I would have expected you to be a bit more careful with your identity since I will be found very shortly," she responded, deciding that keeping him talking was the best approach for the time being.
"Oh but hardly! They have only just noticed you are missing and this place is so well hidden it is in plain sight. They will never find you. Once your transfer is arranged, and we ship you to your next location, they will have no chance of tracking you," he smiled in that smug, self-pleased way. If there ever was a perfect example of a cartoon villain, Gilmel was certainly textbook. Seemingly smart but over-confident, positively cocky and pleased to boast about his smarts. To Hermione, that wasn't smart at all.
"I see. And what is it you intend to do with me once transported?" she asked calmly, not giving him the pleasure of seeing her worry.
"Well, to study you of course! There is so much we don't know about harpies, and the potential is just so grand. I mean, I have considered harvesting you, those feathered wings of yours, your blood perhaps, and your talons would be quite valuable. But who knows what a prize you could be in the world of potions? In the world of beauty? What potentially ground-breaking magical properties does your blood have?" he mused, his gaze scrutinising her scarred face. "Though not much of a beauty yourself, perhaps there is potential in your creature attributes."
"Why not 'harvest' me then and leave me alone?" she asked, unflinching under his gloating scrutiny.
"Well, as far as we know, you are yet unmated. Or perhaps your weekend away with Pansy was fruitful and you completed the bond? Hmm, I wonder. Perhaps we should have brought in Miss Parkinson here with you and see what torturing her would do to you," he mused casually.
At the mention of her mate being tortured, the harpy within her surged and her wings came out sharply, the magical bonds on her breaking at the sheer magical surge in her blood. She stood and reached for him across the table but he was already being hauled back from her by his bodyguards.
She ran at them but was thrown back by the forcefield, the bright ruby crystals glowing as she came into contact with the protective circle. She landed harshly on her side, feeling the impact on her hip and gritted her teeth as she held her body protectively.
Gilmel stood outside the circle of the crystals, looking at her with a large grin. "Impressive, but try that again and this will end very quickly, and that would be such a shame. I have plans for you, Miss Granger. And if you do not comply, we will go after your mate," he promised.
She sat up, glaring at him with her dark gaze hatefully. "You reek of fear despite your threatening words and bravado. I will be found, and you will pay for this," she hissed, gasping when a dart hit her shoulder with a sharp pinch.
She pulled it out, trying to find the culprit with the gun but the world spun before her eyes and she slumped to the ground into the darkness once again.
"And there is nothing else you can tell me that could point us in the right direction? Did Miss Granger have any enemies that you know of?"
Pansy shook her head. "I don't know if there is someone in her previous life. We've been together a few months, and in the time we haven't built any adversaries as far as I'm concerned. But this feels targeted. Whoever did this knew we would be there and either planned this or took their chance when she was alone," she repeated once again, looking the Head Auror straight in the eyes.
Gawain Robards was a solid man, the silver strands at his temples and permanent frown only adding to this stern appearance. Draco stood behind him, hands in his pockets as he listened carefully as well.
"Sir, let me take this case. I know Pansy well and it's technically not a conflict of interest as I have no familial ties to Granger but we went to school together. I know her magical signature and movements from this evening to start with," he offered.
Robards stood and nodded. "You would be best placed to investigate this but I want a report as soon as you have anything. Inform me when you've assembled the team, and I will have your partner investigate the bathroom at the ballroom for initial clues in the meantime," he gave his final instructions before bidding them all goodnight and taking the floo back to the Ministry.
Draco waited until the flames died down before sitting down across from Pansy. He looked at the German Shepherd who rested his large head across Pansy's knees mournfully, as if he knew his mistress was missing.
He whined softly and Pansy reached down to smooth his head and ears gently. "I'm sorry Byron, mama isn't coming home tonight, you'll have to stay with me," she sighed, and rubbed her eyes tiredly, uncaring for ruining the perfect sharp line of her eyeliner.
"Pans, listen," Draco reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. "I know we haven't been as close lately as we once were, but I swear to you I am in full support of your relationship with Granger and will do my utmost to find her. But you must think again, is there anything, absolutely anything that we need to know that could be the motive for her being taken?" he asked carefully.
Pansy looked at Byron lying across her lap and wasn't sure whether to share her thoughts or not. What if they had been seen? What if someone knew? What if Hermione was taken exactly because of not just being the famous war heroine but because of her rare creature nature? And what if she decided to keep quiet and her withholding this crucial information led to Hermione being harmed, or worse, killed before they could find her.
She took a steadying breath and prayed to Morgana that her mate would forgive her for disclosing her secret to her friends. "What I'm about to tell you needs to remain between the three of us, and I will need a magical oath that it will remain the case," she said quietly, hoping that the information would help find her Hermione...