Thanks to everyone who wished me well. I'm feeling a little better today and was even able to attend my children's swim meet tonight. I am nearly at the end of this so enjoy the next few chapters. Everything about Harry Potter and his world belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Harry walked through the door and was assaulted by three pairs of legs running towards him at full speed.
"Daddy!" his three children shouted.
James reached him first wrapping his arms around Harry's legs. He was followed quickly by Albus. Harry ruffled both of their hair.
Lilly brought up the rear, her arms outstretched to him. He smiled at her as he lifted her into his arms hugging her tightly. "How's my sweet Lils?" He kissed her freckled cheek. She looked so much like Ginny at the moment.
"Alright you guys let me get my cloak off and in the door." The boys released his legs as he set Lily down pulling his cloak from his shoulders. "Where's your mother?"
James pointed towards the kitchen, "She's on the phone."
Harry hung up his cloak and picked Lily back up. He led the boys into the kitchen. He kissed Ginny lightly on the cheek.
She looked very serious, "Hold on one minute Jean, Harry's just walked in. Let me ask him." She covered the phone with her hand and whispered to Harry, "It's Hermione's Mum. Hermione was suppose to be there over an hour and half ago and never called or showed up. Is she still at work?"
Harry glanced at the clock, seven fifteen. He shook his head, "I saw here leaving an hour ago. She was heading straight over to pick up Rose and Hugo." He motioned for the phone taking it from Ginny.
"Jean, it's Harry."
"Oh Harry," she sounded so worried, "do you know where Ron and Hermione are?"
Harry took a deep breath trying to keep calm. "Ron left early and Hermione was on her way to you. She must have run into some work stuff. Give me a half hour or so to track them down."
"I just know something bad has happened. Hermione always calls if she's going to be late. Can you check that St. Mangoes place? What if she had a complication with the pregnancy?"
Harry smiled slightly at her mispronunciation, "Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll check St. Mungo's and a number of other places. Do you want Ginny to come and get Rosie and Hugo?"
"No we'll keep them here. I'll tell them we're having a sleepover so they don't worry."
"That's a good idea." Harry lowered his voice, "Don't worry Jean we'll find them." He said his goodbyes and hung up.
Harry turned to his family as he replaced the phone. Ginny looked worried. James was staring at Harry, "Is Aunt Hermione okay?"
Harry forced a smile, "Of course." He clapped his hands together, "Listen James take your brother and sister upstairs and brush your teeth. Your mum will be right up to read stories."
The three Potter children could sense something was going on and didn't protest as they left the room.
Ginny crossed her arms. "What's happened Harry?"
He shook his head, "I don't know." He filled her in on Ron and what had happened that afternoon.
Ginny was really worried now. "Something's happened. Rose and Hugo are Hermione's world. She wouldn't forget about them. What if she's collapsed somewhere or been in an accident or something?"
Just then and owl clicked against the kitchen window. Harry rushed over and opened it. The owl sat on the ledge holding it's foot out. There was a roll of parchment attached. He removed it and the owl immediately flew away.
Unrolling the parchment Harry began to read the letter:
Mr. Potter,
We have Hermione Weasley in our possession. At this moment she is
unharmed. Follow our instructions and she'll remain so.
We are demanding the immediate release of Jack Ferguson. Once we have
confirmation of his release and safe departure we will let you know where
you can find Mrs. Weasley.
We know you're a very powerful man, Mr. Potter. We also know you have
an entire Ministry at your disposal. So we figure an hour should be enough
time for you to procure Ferguson's release.
For Weasley's sake we hope you take this very seriously.
The Dark Knights
He passed the parchment to Ginny. He saw her eyes widen as she read the letter. Her brown eyes we're glistening with tears as she looked at Harry. "Oh my God." She handed the letter back to him. "Who are these people? And where in the hell is Ron? He was suppose to be with her."
Harry rolled the parchment back up securing it with the tie. "I don't know who these men are and blaming Ron isn't going to help. You need to take the children straight to the Burrow. I don't want you guys alone. Inform the rest of the family about what's going on. See if Bill and George can track down Ron. Tell them to start with every pub they think Ron knows and work their way out from there." He hugged her to him tightly. "Whatever you do Ginny don't leave the Burrow. Promise me that." He kissed her gently.
She nodded, "I promise. What about Hermione's parents?"
Harry thought a moment. "Don't mention anything to them yet. I'll think of something. Rose and Hugo are better off not knowing anything is wrong. I'll send a couple of Aurors over to guard their house."
He left the kitchen and walked into the hall grabbing his cloak. He wrapped it around his shoulders and clasped it at his throat. "Tell the children I love them."
She nodded, "You're going to Azkaban then?"
Harry shook his head putting the parchment in the pocket of his cloak. "We don't bargain with criminals. It's policy."
Ginny looked angry. "To hell with policy. This is Hermione we're talking about."
He put his arms on her shoulders. "I know but we can't negotiate. If we do then you, the children and the rest of the family will always be a target. I need to get to the Ministry and gather everyone together. Hopefully we can figure out where she is and we can rescue her. That is our only option at this point." She started to protest and he shook his head. "I love you and I'll be in touch. Call if you find Ron."
She agreed as she wiped her tears. He gave her a final kiss and then wand in hand turned on the spot and was gone.
Hermione very slowly became aware of her surroundings. The first thing she realized was a pain in the middle of her back. She slowly opened her eyes. She knew immediately that she was not in any room she'd ever been in before. What she could see in the dim light was a room that had been neglected for a long time. The wallpaper was faded pink flowers and it was peeling away in a number of places, the carpet was threadbare and moth-eaten in several places. There was dust and cobwebs everywhere.
She then realized that she was sitting on a very old bed. There was a strong smell of must and mildew. She had a fleeting thought of Molly taking one look at the place and immediately starting to clean it.
It was then that she became aware that her arms and legs were bound by some kind of magical, invisible ropes. They were impossible to remove. Panic began to set in. Why was she here? How would anyone find her?
Then she started to think of Rose and Hugo. Were they safe? What if these people got to them as well? She started to try and free her hands. Even though she knew it was useless. She then started to cry.
The door of the room was suddenly pushed open and a large man entered. He was tall and solid with long black hair that looked as if it hadn't been washed in at least two weeks. He smiled down at her showing his yellow, gnarled teeth.
"Nice of you to finally wake up and join the party, Mrs. Weasley." He crossed the room holding a lantern in front of him. He looked down at her as Hermione continued to struggle. "It's no use those ties can't be removed without a wand and we took the liberty of removing yours earlier."
She was starting to feel anger now. "What do you want with me?"
He pulled a wooden ladder back chair to the side of the bed and sat down on it. "We just want a fair exchange. You for Ferguson."
Hermione snorted. "Harry won't do it. It's the department's policy. We don't negotiate with scum."
He backhanded her so hard and fast her head snapped back hitting the rusted headboard behind her.
"You better watch your mouth bitch." He was leaning over her now. "And you better hope he does exactly what we told him to do or we're going to take it out on you." He pushed a strand of her hair back off of her forehead.
She cringed at his touch. She could taste blood in her mouth and her cheek throbbed where he had smacked her. He smiled down at her in a very sinister way. "You're rather pretty in a plain sort of way."
She closed her eyes and turned her head away. He laughed. "Don't worry we're not going to hurt you yet. Potter has forty minutes after that all bets are off." He continued to laugh as he walked out the door.
Hermione immediately began to struggle again. She was in a state of panic now. She frantically searched the room for anything that might help her but she was helpless without her wand.
She started to cry again. Would she ever see Rose and Hugo again? And the baby, her fate would be his. Then she thought of Ron. They were connected so deeply that if anyone could find her it would be him.
"Please, Ron find me. Please," she begged the room at large.
George pushed open the door of the Toad Spawn Pub. The smell of stale Firewhiskey and Ale assaulted his senses. It was dark and dank inside and it took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. This was the fourth pub they had been in tonight. He was frantic now to find Ron and when he did he would strangle him himself.
He slowly began to circle the room. His feet were sticking to the filthy floor. This really was a disgusting place. His eyes fell on a very familiar form slumped over a glass of Ogden's Firewhiskey at the end of the bar. He certainly couldn't mistake that red hair that was for sure.
He marched over to Ron and grabbed him by the back of his robes.
"What the fuck?" Ron tried to throw him off but in his altered state it was useless.
George heaved him off the stool reaching into his own pocket he threw a Galleon on the bar. He nodded to the barkeep. "That should cover it."
The man, in a very dirty apron, picked up the gold coin and bit into it nodding, "Awright mister."
George led Ron out of the pub none too gently. As they entered the street he threw Ron against the opposite wall. "What in the name of Merlin are you doing Ronald?"
Ron just stared at him. He was more than a bit tipsy and his head was beginning to spin.
"You have really fucked up this time. You have everything, a wonderful wife, two beautiful children. Not to mention a great career and home. And what are you doing with it? You're throwing it all away on drink." George put his hands in his pockets and sighed, "Fred would be ashamed of you wasting your life like this."
That was it. He had said the one thing that would hit Ron the hardest. He looked at his little brother, Ron's head fell forward. "I know," he whispered.
George took a breath, "You're alive and you're here. Don't you think that's enough. All this other crap doesn't matter. What really matters is family and you're throwing yours away."
A single tear fell down Ron's cheek. "You're right. I need help."
George pulled him into a hug. "We need to get back to the Burrow now."
Ron pulled away, "What's wrong?"
George clasped his shoulder tightly. "Let's discuss it at home." He produced his Patronus and sent it to Bill with the message that he had Ron. He then held his brother's arm and Disapparated to the Burrow.
Harry was pacing around the conference room shouting out orders. Kingsley had just arrived and agreed that they stick to policy. No negotiations. As hard as it was to stay impersonal it was what they had to do.
Harry had given the parchment to a couple of the guys to examine it thoroughly to see if there were any traces of anything on the paper to suggest where they might be holding Hermione. He sent a team to the alley where Hermione had Apparated to. He was positive they had taken her from there.
He then called the Granger's to explain what had happened and told them to try and remain calm so as not to upset Rose and Hugo. He promised to keep them informed. When Jean had asked him where Ron was he had lied to her and told her he was busy trying to find her daughter.
They had decided to capture any owl that brought further letters. It could provide clues to where it had flown from. Ginny had finally called to tell him that they had found Ron and they had told him about Hermione. He was completely crazed at the moment and she warned Harry that he should expect him at any moment. She was sure they wouldn't be able to keep him at the Burrow much longer.
One of the technicians came in with the parchment. "Sir, we've finished analyzing the letter."
Harry stopped pacing to stare at him, "And?"
"Well Sir," he seemed nervous, "the letter was written with what we presume to be either a Hawk or Falcon quill using Black 23 ink, not of expensive quality. There were also traces of sea salt on the letter. We are assuming they are probably near the sea."
Harry wanted to scream. "That's helpful," he responded sarcastically, "I mean it really narrows it down. Somewhere near the sea. Last time I looked we were in England which happens to be a fucking island."
"Well Sir, I'd say they are probably within a ten mile radius of the shoreline, if that helps narrow it down." He started to walk backwards as Harry approached him.
Harry ripped the letter out of his sweaty hands and muttered something that sounded like "bloody useless".
Just then he heard his name being shouted from the hall. He sighed it was Ron and this wasn't the best time to have to deal with him.
"Harry!" he burst into the conference room with George on his heals. "Harry you give the fucking order right now. Do you hear me? You let Ferguson go this minute."
Harry stared at his best mate in the world. This was not going to be easy. He looked as if he had been crying, his eyes were red-rimmed and his hair looked as if he had been pulling on it. "Ron we can't. You know our policy."
Ron gripped the front of Harry's robes, "Fuck policy, this is my wife we're talking about. The mother of my children, one of your oldest friends, Godmother to James. Fuck the rulebook."
Harry felt tears welling up in his eyes. He loved Hermione, she was the sister he never had. If it hadn't been for her they would have probably died on their quest all those years ago. He owed her a lot including more essays and help with schoolwork then he could ever count. And then there was Ginny. She had been the one to encourage her in the right direction concerning Harry. But he had to put all those feelings aside. He had to think rationally.
"Ron if we give in to their demands we set a precedent for the future. Every time someone doesn't like how we do our job they'll kidnap someone we love to get us. We can't start down that path. It will cause everyone that we love to be at serious risk. We have to stick to the policy."
Ron felt his knees weaken. He knew when he was defeated. "It's easy to spew all that policy crap when it's someone else's wife being held as bait isn't it? Well fuck you Harry." He turned and left the room slamming the door behind him.
George looked sheepishly at Harry. "He didn't mean that. He's feeling guilty for not being there tonight when she was taken and he's still a bit drunk."
Harry nodded and watched George leave. The entire room was completely silent.
"What are you all looking at get back to work. Now!" Everyone scrambled to look busy.
Harry's heart was breaking and he was worried to death about Hermione. He was following all the rules and these guys had none. He prayed they could find her before it was too late.