Chapter 23: Warehouse in Cornwall

"What have you found?" Hermione demanded of Dean as he stepped through the floo in Harry's office at the DMLE. The search teams, consisting of DMLE workers and civilian volunteers, had been out scouring the grounds at Hogwarts and the castle itself had come up empty handed in the two days since the twins had gone missing. The staff at Hogwarts were baffled at how it was possible someone had slipped through their security, assuring Hermione and Draco they'd gather a list of visitors who were allowed access to the castle to figure out who might have taken the children.

Anita Greengrass was still in St. Mungo's and unresponsive, unable to help any more than she already had, and Winston Greengrass had mysteriously disappeared from the face of the earth. Dean had been in contact with some of his more questionable informants, and still no one had seen or heard anything of Lord Greengrass.

"Everything has disappeared. His accounts are on lock down, the estate is in shambles, the physical records for his company have all gone up in flames. Honestly, it's a disaster, and as if he knew that his wife was trying to betray him." Dean explained, pouring himself a refill of coffee into the paper cup that looked to just be holding on.

"Theo said his investment that he had with them has been withdrawn and the funds are missing," Draco commented, shuffling through a stack of papers on Harry's desk. "He opened a small account with Greengrass and Sons – they work in investments and trade – when I first got married to Astoria. He didn't give them much, but it was one of their larger accounts at the time. Now all those galleons are gone," Draco explained. "Theo went to Azkaban to speak with his father and see if he knew anything, but his father was worthless."

"What about your father?" Hermione asked, her eyes watering from not having been able to sleep since her children had gone missing.

"Granger, Potter has been interrogating him since the twins–" he sighed, unable to say the words aloud. "He hasn't left that bloody island and Lucius hasn't given up any information, even with veritaserum, the smug bastard." Draco muttered the last part, slamming his fist against the heavy oak desk, "there's no way he doesn't know something that could be helpful, but he doesn't outright know what happened."

"Your mother?" Hermione pressed, tears brimming in her eyes, "surly–"

"Knows nothing, she's actually sent the elves out to look hopeful the familia magic will help them locate the kids. The most they've been able to detect without ever having met them is that they are somewhere in England, so that at least limits the search somewhat." Draco said, collapsing into Harry's seat. "There's no sign of them, and I can't help but feel that it's all my fault. If I'd never–"

"Absolutely not," Hermione snapped at the man, "you will not blame yourself. What good does that do right now? Winston Greengrass is the sole person who is responsible, and he is going to pay for ever thinking that he could get away with attacking our children." Hermione stated firmly, keeping a steady gaze on her partner.

Hermione and Draco stayed in this standstill for a moment, neither looking away, not even when the door to the office burst open. "Is Potter here?" A voice that Hermione didn't know spoke.

"No, if you don't mind coming back, you can write down a message and we'll pass it along," Hermione said, finally turning to look at the small female Auror who looked like she was fresh out of the academy.

"Oh, well, I'm not sure that it can wait, Ms. Granger," the woman said, pulling at the sleeve of her maroon robes, "you see it's about the missing children, we think we might have a lead."

Draco sprang from the chair, his wand raised, while the coffee cup Dean had been drinking from slipped from his hand, the lukewarm liquid splattering on the stained carpet and his boots. When the girl didn't continue, Hermione could feel her hair beginning to spark as her temper turned towards the person withholding information about her children from her.

Sensing the danger, she was in, the little Auror backed away from the mother with her hands held up, "there's a warehouse, in east Cornwall. It was registered to Albert Selwyn, uh, Anita Greengrass's maternal grandfather. The place hasn't been used since the late sixties, and a few muggle squatters were reported to have explainable burns after trying to break in. The muggle police brushed it off as drugs, but the burns have traces of magic in them, and they were transferred to St. Mungo's for treatment."

Hermione walked towards the girl, who only shrank away as the mother got closer. Reaching out, Hermione squeezed the younger witch's shoulder, not enough to be painful, but enough that she would understand the unspoken threat. Hermione was after all still well known for her part in the war, not to mention her curse breaking days.

"I'm going to need you to write down the exact location of that warehouse… I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," Hermione nearly purred at the girl, making her appear even more frightened.

"M-Mabel, Ms. Granger, my name is Mabel," the girl's voice shook, her eyes wide.

"Alright, Mabel, I'm going to need you to get me those coordinates." Hermione told her, giving another squeeze.

"Ab-absolutely, right away," Mabel said, scurrying out of the room as quickly as she'd come. Hermione turned back towards Draco and Dean who were staring at her with their mouths opened.

"I forgot how bloody terrifying you can be," Dean muttered, blinking as he registered what had just happened. "They never tell me anything that quickly."

"Yes, well, you never get between a mother and her children. Now, are you coming or not?" Hermione asked as she walked out the door following behind where Mabel had gone. "We have a warehouse to raid."

ooo

Hermione swayed on her feet as they landed where the Auror in training had instructed them to apparate. Draco quickly reached out, steadying the witch as she gulped for air, putting her hands on her knees bending over before she began to empty what little contents was in her stomach. Not even a moment later, Dean popped into existence beside them. As soon as he spotted Hermione, he looked at Draco, raising a questioning brow.

"Maybe we should wait for Potter," Dean mused, looking over his shoulder at the abandoned building. "I know they have to get a warrant and all, but it's a rushed process because of it being a kidnapping case, won't be more than a half hour, if even that long."

Hermione looked up, still bent over, and if looks could kill Dean would have been a dead man. "Start working on the wards, Draco, I can feel the magic from here, it's toxic and feels diseased." She said, still gulping for air after having been sick.

"Keep an eye on her," Draco instructed Dean, rolling up his sleeves as he stepped forwards pulling his wand. As Draco slowly began to deconstruct the wards, he felt what Hermione was referring to. The wards, while strong, felt as if they were imbedded with the same illness that had slowly killed Astoria. It was clearly a foreign object and not so much something from the caster, but something that had been used in addition to.

However, even with the extra boost of the cursed object, Draco's curse breaking training came to the forefront of his mind and he was able to work on disassembling the wards with ease. This had his father-in-law's magical signature written all over it, the rush and panic that had been present when he set these made the magic even more unstable, but Draco was able to contain it all.

Sweat was beading at his forehead, but Draco could feel when the wards finally dropped, allowing them access to the property. Turning around, his stomach dropped at how pale Hermione appeared after having been so sick just moments before, but he didn't dare say anything. Her face was set in determination, and Draco knew that trying to stop her from rescuing her children would be a pointless endeavour.

A silver dolphin swan in front of them before darting away with whatever message Dean had given it, most likely to inform Potter of what they were about to do. Draco stepped beside his witch, keeping close to Hermione before they began forwards. As soon as they crossed onto the private property, a wave of magic that worked as a barrier began pushing them backwards.

"I don't think so," Hermione growled, her jaw clenched as she raised her wand. An explosive use of magic that Draco had never seen before, came from the tip of her wand, obliterating the invisible wall. However, with that motion, the excess of magic rushed towards the building causing it to shake.

"Well, I think that's our que we're in the right place. Now, shall we? I'd bet that with that little display Mr. Greengrass is aware of our presence," Dean said, rushing forwards and ahead of them.

Not wasting another moment, Draco and Hermione hurried behind the former Gryffindor until they reached a small door on the side of the building. "The place is massive, we're going to need to split up to search," Hermione stated, her tone offering no room for argument. "Revelio," she said, flicking her wand. Three golden globes appeared, and Hermione nodded her head in understanding.

"So, the twins and who else, Greengrass or maybe it's a hired hand?" Dean replied as they stepped through the door that Hermione blasted open. "I can't imagine the bloke is stupid enough to have stuck around, especially if he had someone kidnap the kids from the school."

"He's desperate and making mistakes, it's only him," Hermione said, sounding so sure that Draco had to agree that Winston was the third person lurking inside this building. "Quickly now, I think that blast made the building unstable," Hermione finished, rushing forwards and going to the right. "Send a patronus if you find anything," she called over her shoulder as the tip of her wand lit up, casting a nearly blinding light around her.

"You're going with her, right?" Dean asked looking after the furious witch, "her magic isn't stable and chances of her dropping the building on herself–"

"Yeah, just stay alert, I'll let you know as soon as we find anything," Draco told the private investigator as he took off after Granger. He didn't have to travel very far before he found her blasting open every door in a corridor, the warehouse rattling with every spell she cast.

Sticking her head in the now opened doorway, he heard her casting another revelio, but when nothing came up, she stepped back out. Jumping at the sudden sight of him, Hermione raised her wand ready to attack, but stopped when she realised who was in front of her.

"What are you doing? You're supposed to be looking for our kids," she scolded, moving along to the next room. "Babysitting me isn't going to find them any faster."

"Your magic is running rampant, not sure if you noticed," Draco pointed out, unlocking the door before Hermione had a chance to do anything. "Not sure how safe it is to let you go off on your own, yeah?" Draco told her.

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but quickly snapped it shut seeing his reasoning. "I suppose you're right, anyway, we need to move quickly. The magic in this place is making me feel worse, I can only imagine what it's doing to the children," Hermione said, looking up at Draco.

Suddenly, a spell whooshed right past the couple, causing Draco to tackle Hermione to the ground, shielding her with his own body. "You'll never find them, the half-blood bastards that you disgraced your line with!" A voice called out as another spell shot over the top of them. "We did this for you and for your family's legacy, but this is how you repay me? The sacrifice my daughter had to make, giving her life to give you a proper heir, and now you're playing house with a mudblood and her spawn!"

Draco shot a spell towards where the others had come from, but he only hit a wall, causing the building to shake. "Give it up, Winston!" Draco shouted, still trying to conceal Hermione. "You're not getting out of here, the DMLE is on their way, we know about the obliviation, the German Charms master, the potion, everything. You're going to Azkaban to sit in the cell next to my father for your crimes."

"My crimes?" The elder wizard asked, barking out a laugh from the shadows. "My only crime is trying to provide for my family and to keep our lines pure! Sticking with my beliefs is not a crime, but the dishonour you've brought down on both our families, that's a crime worthy of death!"

A flash of green light came hurtling towards Draco, and would have hit its mark, had Hermione not been faster. With practised ease, she had Draco flat on his back, protecting him from the impact of the spell, but with her magic misbehaving, when Hermione returned a counter curse, instead of simply disarming her opponent, the entire building began to shake.

Just as the walls began to crumble, Draco grabbed Hermione and pulled her into his chest, casting a protego, shielding them from the building as it collapsed around them. "We've got to move!" Draco shouted over the noise, his arms shaking as he held the shield charm in place.

Hermione lit the tip of her wand, illuminating the space around them. A pale hand wearing a signet ring had blood streaking down the tips of the fingers was all that could be seen of Winston Greengrass. Draco glanced at Hermione to gauge a reaction, but her face was set as she gripped his hand, and they began to manoeuvre through the wreckage as it came down around them.

Draco struggled to keep the shield up, Hermione helping, blasting away pieces too large before they could make contact. It seemed never ending, and as the foundation began shaking, indicating the building's impending demise, an opening in the wall gave way to the outside.

"The kids," Hermione sobbed, looking behind her as if she were contemplating rushing back into the danger. "My babies are still in there!" She screamed just as Draco dragged her through the wall.

"No, they aren't!" Draco exclaimed looking forwards where he could see his son pulling his daughter across the ground. "Hermione," he yelled, grabbing her shoulders and turning her around, "Hermione look!"

When Hermione saw her children, she took off towards them, just in time for the warehouse they'd been inside only moments before to fully succumb to the damage and topple to the ground. Draco didn't stop running as he watched his children be thrown with the force, even after stumbling and righting himself, his legs couldn't carry him fast enough towards his kids. They were safe and they were alive.

ooo

One hour prior…

Mila heard a groaning next to her, and she understood why such a sound was coming from her brother. Her head was pounding, and her entire body ached, feeling even worse than when she'd fallen off her broom during quidditch practice. Blinking her eyes open, Mila could see the white curly head of her brother tied to a chair sitting next to her, still appearing to be unconscious.

When she opened her mouth to scream, she felt the cloth tied in place, even though there was a silencing charm on her, rendering her mute regardless. Breaths came in rapid panic as she tried to scoot herself closer to her twin, but Mila was stuck in place, unable to move and get closer to him. Looking around, she hoped to find any clue of her whereabouts or anything that might help her out of the situation she found herself in.

The clicking of shoes behind her was the only sound that echoed off the bare and peeling walls of the room she was in. A small light flickered above her, bathing the room in an orange light that made the space even more hideous than it had previously been. A haggard looking man came into her line of sight, and Mila couldn't help but flinch away at him. He had no hair, and his face was sunken in. A small bruise appeared on his cheek, but otherwise he looked healthy all things considered.

Even so, the man looked familiar…

"You're awake, it took long enough. I'm afraid Avery might have overdosed you," his pale blue eyes were narrowed and looked frightening in the way he was studying her. "I was worried he might have killed you, can't have you dying, then I can't get Malfoy to agree to the unbreakable." The man said, now speaking to himself instead of to Mila.

He stood back up to his full height, pacing around, wringing his hands. His behaviour and mannerisms made Mila think of a caged animal that was backed into a corner, and that made him seem even more dangerous.

That's when the realisation hit her. This was Winston Greengrass, Scorpius's maternal grandfather, the man who had basically sold his youngest daughter to save himself. Now the man could add kidnapping to his list of crimes that made him even more insane and unhinged. Honestly, now that she knew who had taken her, Mila wasn't even remotely surprised. He cared for no one beyond himself, and she and Milo were a threat to the carefully crafted life he'd made for himself.

"Avery should have delivered the letter to that blasted manor by now. Honestly, how long does it take for someone to get through those wards? I had him take some of the boy's blood, so he should have had no trouble." The man was muttering, and with Mila still silenced, he was clearly not expecting a response.

At his words, Mila looked over at her brother where she could now clearly see the blood-stained sleeve of her brother's white oxford. There was a rip in the material where the gash to his forearm was visible, and the sight of him injured began to churn a response in herself that she'd never felt before. Turning to glare at the person who was behind everything that had happen, Mila could feel the magic under her skin begin to flare to life. A gasp slipped from her lips as the silencing charm she'd been under broke, making the girl look up quickly to make sure the madman hadn't noticed her.

Luckily for her, he was still pacing the room talking to himself, completely unaware of what was happening right behind him, his faith in his magic misplaced, and his biggest mistake of all was underestimating her.

Closing her eyes, Mila focused on breaking the sticking charm that had been used to keep her in the chair. Taking a breath, Mila focused all her efforts, until the cracks began to form in the spell.

A wave of magic rushing through the room was all the push Mila needed, and the sticking charm fell away. Winston turned just at that moment, but Mila was able to stay still enough that it seemed the older wizard didn't even notice her renewed freedom. He rushed from the room, the door slamming shut behind him, and Mila was out of her seat running her hands over her brother almost instantly.

She felt a pulse, but it was weak. Whoever had cut into his arm, whoever Avery was, must have caused too much blood loss for the young teenage boy. Mila felt as if she were going to be sick as she ripped the bottom of her shirt, tying it around his bleeding arm. Her magic began churning again, as if sensing the danger, the twins were in. Pressing her hands to his chest, Mila let her magic send a jolt to Milo, making him wake with a gasp.

"Mila?" His tone was tense and vice shaking, even though he had said her name, he hadn't looked down where she was. "Mila!?" He called out again, making the little witch jump up from her crouched position.

"It's okay, I've got you," she told her brother, taking his hand. Whatever she'd done had broken the bonds that were holding him hostage, allowing Mila to pull her brother to his feet. Unfortunately, he was unsteady from his injuries and unable to stand on his own. "We've gotta get out of here before he comes back," Mila whispered to her brother, stumbling under the weight of him leaning on her.

"A man, one of the school governors, attacked me when I was coming out of the common room." Milo said as the twins shuffled towards the door. Mila sighed with relief when she found it to be unlocked, Winston having rushed from the room must have not thought to lock it behind him.

"Avery," Mila said, guessing that's who had also attacked her. "He's working for Greengrass or something like that. I'm really not sure, the nutter kept going on, but he wasn't making much sense."

"Greengrass? As in–"

"Our brother's loving maternal grandfather, yeah. It's no wonder Draco refuses to let him come around. There was some magical energy, so I'm guessing someone has figured out we're here." Mila explained as the pair continued through the halls, the building shaking every now and then as if it were just holding on. "We've gotta get out of here before this place comes down on itself."

"Seems like that might be sooner rather than later," Milo commented, limping beside her, making Mila even more worried about the extent of his injuries.

A dim light ahead of them shone through a crack about halfway up the wall at the end of the corridor they were in. Hurrying along as the building shook again, the twins toppled into the wall, falling into a heap on the floor as dust and debris rained down from the ceiling.

"Quickly, come on!" Mila urged, grabbing her brother, heaving him off the floor and pulling him along. Tears were falling from her eyes as they moved as fast as their injured bodies would allow towards what Mila suspected to be a window. The fear of being crushed alive or having to watch her brother die kept replaying in her mind, urging her to move forwards with a strength she wouldn't have known she possessed.

"Hurry!" Milo shouted as the building shook again, this time a large piece of cement falling, missing them by millimetres.

"If you weren't so heavy!" Mila complained, grabbing Milo by his shirt and pulling him to her with all her might. The pair ran as quickly as they could, with evidence of the building's impending collapse happening around them. When they reached the window, Mila picked up a piece of stone and began to break away the glass, trying to give them the largest opening she could.

When she'd done her best, Mila got on her hands and knees, making her body a stool for her brother. When he didn't move she looked up and glared at the boy she knew better than she knew herself. "You're hurt, I can get out on my own. Now move you bloody idiot before we both die!"

Any argument that he might have had died on his lips as Milo nodded and stepped onto Mila's back. She grunted with the weight of him, and his cries of pain from the broken glass cutting into his palms could be heard as he lifted himself through their escape. When the weight disappeared, Mila looked up in time to see his shoes disappearing from sight.

Jumping to her feet, Mila gripped the broken window, the pain from the glass cutting into her hands causing even more tears to fall from her eyes. The knowledge that if she didn't keep going she would die had her lifting herself with what little strength she had left. As she heaved herself through the opening a particularly long piece of glass caught her calf, cutting into the muscle of her leg as she dropped from the opening and into her brother's open arms.

"And you call me heavy," Milo grunted as he began pulling Mila to her feet. The pressure on her leg after being cut open was too much though and she fell back to the ground. Looking down, the injury seemed to be worse than she'd thought, blood pouring through her sock and pooling on the ground around her was the only indicator of how deep the cut was.

"I don't think I can walk," Mila told her twin, as she tested her foot. It was limp, only pain shooting through her leg when she attempted to move it. "Go get help, I'll be fine here," she promised her brother even as the building continued to rattle. She was too close to it, and knew that it was unsafe, but her leg wouldn't allow her to move.

"If you bloody well think there's even a chance I'm leaving you behind, you're even more foolish than I thought." Milo yelled, grabbing his sister by the arm and pulling her across the gravel they were on. The small rocks were imbedding themselves in her exposed thigh, but Mila couldn't feel it as the panic of what was coming filled her. Her heart was racing and as another burst of magic came towards them, the building fell, the force sending the twins flying through the air until they came into contact with a chain link fence.

As the world began to fade, Mila looked up just in time to see her father rushing towards her, her mother hot on his heels. And as her eyes shut, the only thought that crossed her mind was, they were saved.

A/N: Hello, thank you for reading! I wanted to let you know that this story will be completed by the end of next week. Just have a few loose ends to tie up after this. Also, really quickly, I wanted to say thank you for those who have left wonderful comments and reviews, they really mean the world to me as that is the only compensation I get for writing.

Also, side notes, if you enjoy my work you can always check me out on twitter, my handle is sarahfhickman, I post a lot of drabbles that only appear there. Also I can be found in the facebook groups Sarah Fraser's Forest (this is for discussing all my works and to see the artwork I've had commissioned for my stories) and also in Dreomione Appreciation as they are my favorite triad of all time.

If you're looking for more WIP, I have a few that are happening right now. Transfer Student, with an American Hermione (Dreomione), Draco is a twin, and Kingsley is Theo's step father. Wild story. My other newest piece is Maelstrom of Time. That is a Regulus/Hermione pairing with Hermione being thrown back in time during the battle of the department of mysteries. A head injury causes her to forget who she is, and slowly she'll have to piece everything she'd known back together.