Another chapter…I'm on a roll! Jewbacca of course what you said makes sense now…shows you how much I know about these kinds of things. I hope you can overlook that flaw. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling.

The first thing Hermione became aware of as she woke was a terrible cramping through her abdomen. As she curled onto her side she also realized that her hands and feet had been left unbound. There was no way they left her able to flee though. She was sure the windows and door were magically sealed. She didn't dare get up to check though. She was too frightened to move. She didn't want to cause any more damage to the baby.

Another cramp seized her and she cried out. Hot tears were streaming down her face. This was all her fault. If she had left the Ferguson case alone Geoffrey Ross wouldn't have had a reason to treat her like this. She should have listened to Ron. Now she was in danger of losing her child not to mention her own life.

There was a small "crack" and Hermione flinched as a small house elf appeared at the side of the bed. His large eyes widened even more as he took in her appearance. "It's true! The Angel of the House Elves is here. I heard my Master speak of the Weasley woman being upstairs."

She felt a leap of hope in her heart. "Please you have to help me."

The little elf shook his head. "I can not betray my Master."

Hermione felt desperation flood her insides. "No listen, you have rights. I wrote the bill myself. Please if you could Apparate with me to the Burrow in Ottery St. Catchpole. My husband Ronald Weasley should be there. Please you have to help me. They are going to kill me if you don't."

The elf shook his head. "I'm sorry Madame. My Master would kill me upon my return."

Hermione's thoughts were flying. "What is your name?"

He seemed honored that she would care what his name was, "It's Ripon, Madame."

Hermione reached out her arm slowly and took his hand. Every moment sent a new wave of pain through her body. She stared deeply into his eyes. "Ripon please help me. When we get to the Burrow you can stay there. You don't have to return here. I will personally make sure you have employment."

He seemed hesitant. "I work for one of the oldest wizarding families in Britain. It is an honor for me."

Hermione knew she was going to regret this next statement but desperate measures made it necessary. "How would you like to be in the employ of Harry Potter the most famous wizard in the world?"

Ripon's eyes grew so large they almost consumed his entire face. "Could you really do that for me?"

Hermione nodded as she felt another cramp grip her. She gasped, "Oh God." She took a deep breath and grasped his hand tighter. "I guarantee it." She realized she had him but decided to push her advantage. "Plus think of how famous you would be. You would be the elf who saved the Angel of the House Elves."

Ripon was ready to agree when he heard Ross' voice. "I can't Madame, I'm sorry."

"Please Ripon you are my only hope at the moment. Please!" The cramp that seized her was the worse one yet. She yelled out.

With a "crack" Ripon was gone along with all of Hermione's hopes. She laid there crying in some of the worse pain she had ever experienced. She felt something warm between her legs. She knew instantly that it was blood. If someone didn't find her soon she would lose the baby and bleed to death in the process.

Ron was locked in the front room of the Burrow with Bill, Percy, George and Ginny. They were going through every piece of Hermione's files searching for anything that might give them a clue as to where they were hiding her or who was holding her.

After leaving Azkaban he and George went straight back to the Ministry to Hermione's office. Ron started to tear it apart looking for her case notes. Harry had stepped in and threatened to arrest him if he didn't stop. Ron had glared at him and told him to "try it". He then proceeded to find the files and leave the office.

Harry had shouted after him that he couldn't leave with the files. Ron had ignored him and left anyway.

Now all five of them were scanning every piece of parchment for any mention of the Dark Knights or places they used in the past. So far they had had no luck. Hermione was a meticulous note taker and there were so many to search through.

They heard a commotion outside but ignored it. Ron presumed it was another family member arriving to help.

Five minutes later Arthur opened the door. "Ron get in here now."

Ron stood up and rushed out of the room and down the hall following his father into the kitchen. Sitting there at the table with a glass of Pumpkin Juice in his hands was the smallest house elf Ron had ever seen.

"What is it?" The rest of the family was now rushing in.

Arthur pointed towards the elf. "This is Ripon and he says that he just Disapparated from Hambley Court where he says they are holding Hermione."

Ron strode over to the elf he was furious. "You left her there! How could you do that? After everything she's done for your kind!"

Arthur took Ron by the shoulders. "Calm down Ron. He was extremely frightened. He did the right thing by coming here."

Ron took a deep breath. "You're right." He turned towards Ripon who was cowering slightly. "I'm sorry. You have to tell us everything you know."

The elf told as much as he knew. They were holding her in the attic bedroom in the East Wing which hadn't been used in thirty or forty years. He had heard Ross and Linley laughing about capturing the great Mrs. Weasley and how much they were going to enjoy killing her.

Ginny had tears streaming down her face by the end of his talk. "When you left her how was she?"

The elf hung his head. "She was badly injured. I think my Master had beaten her. It was when I heard him say he was going to be the one to kill her that I decided to come here. I couldn't allow them to do that to the one who had done so much for me and my fellow elves."

Ron felt like he had been punched in the gut. They had beaten her and done God only knows what else to her. This was all his fault. He should have been there with her tonight and not out drinking. If he was able to save her and bring her home safely he would never touch a drop of alcohol again.

They sat down with Ripon to get a detailed layout of the house and where exactly Hermione was located. Then they figured out the best place to Apparate.

The plan was set. Since there were only two men holding her Ron decided he and George would Disapparate into the back garden and enter through the kitchen at Hambley Court. They would disarm and restrain Ross and Linley and then rescue Hermione. It would be easy if it all went according to plan. Bill and Percy would stay behind to protect the Burrow. It took them ten minutes to work this all out. Normally a mission like this would take a solid week to plan and perfect. Unfortunately time was the one thing that they didn't have.

Ginny stood up as they finished discussing the plan. "We need to call Harry."

Ron jumped up and ripped her cell phone out of her grasp. "Absolutely not. The Ministry will just fuck this up. Besides Harry made his choice. We follow the current plan to the letter."

No one argued and Ron and George left from the front garden. When they arrived at Hambley they could smell the salt air. They were a quarter mile from the house. It was all exactly as Ripon had told them. They silently approached the house and entered through the kitchen.

Carefully they left the kitchen and headed through the hall towards the front of the house. Ron was worried about encountering some sort of alarm or spell that would announce their arrival. When it didn't come he realized just how confident they were that they wouldn't be found.

According to Ripon, Ross and Linley were in the north parlor. They approached the room and were relieved when they saw the light from under the door. They could now hear Ross and Linley laughing. They sounded intoxicated. This was definitely to Ron and George's advantage.

Ron very slowly and carefully began to open the parlor door. Through the crack he could see the men sitting in front of the fire. A bottle of Firewhiskey was set between them. He motioned for George to take Linley on the left and he would take Ross. George nodded in understanding.

Ron held up his fingers, one, two, three. He pushed the door open and immediately shot a stunning spell at Ross which knocked him out of his chair. He then followed it with a body binding curse. He glanced over and saw that George had done the same thing.

"You keep an eye on these two and I'll find Hermione."

As he turned to leave the room Ross laughed. "What makes you think she's still alive?"

Ron turned around. "If you've laid even one finger on her I'll be back down here to kill you myself."

He ran out of the room and through the long hallway towards the main entrance. He then headed up the grand staircase and crossed through to the East Wing. He took the next two flights of stairs two at a time. When he reached the attic he counted three doors down on the right and using his wand he shattered the door off it's hinges.

He saw her immediately. She hadn't even moved when he burst in. He wasn't even sure if she was breathing. He approached the bed very slowly. His heart was pounding. What if she was dead? He wouldn't be able to handle it. He lifted his lit wand and gasped when he saw how battered she was.

She was a complete mess. Her face was bruised, swollen and bloody. Her throat was also bruised as if someone had tried to strangle her. He called her name softly. "Hermione." There was a flutter behind her eyelids and then she opened them a miniscule amount.

Hermione could have sworn Ron was there standing next to the bed. But she knew that couldn't be. She realized that she must have lost too much blood and was now hallucinating. She closed her eyes and whispered his name. "Ron….help me."

He sat next to her. "Hermione I'm here." He was starting to cry. "You're going to be alright." He wanted to pull her into his arms but he was frightened of hurting her further. "Hermione look at me. Open your eyes for me love."

She tired but all she wanted to do was sleep. She was too tired and so weak. She whispered, "the baby."

Ron turned as Harry came rushing through the door. He stood up quickly and approached him. "Harry if you try to stop me I swear to God…"

Harry held up his hands. "I'm here unofficially. I realized that I was wrong and if we were going to save her we'd have to do it ourselves. I arrived at the Burrow right after you left."

Ron stared at his best friend. "I'm so glad you're here. I'm so scared. She's a mess Harry."

Harry lit the candles as they walked back into the room. It was then Ron noticed the blood on the mattress beneath her. "Fuck she's bleeding Harry." There was a lot of blood. Too much.

Harry felt his heart break. "It must be the baby."

Ron at this point didn't care about anything except saving Hermione. Harry cleared his throat. "Ron you better go. Get her out of here. George and I will finish up downstairs."

Ron wiped his cheeks. "What kind of animals do something like this?" He started to gather her into his arms. "I'm scared I'm going to hurt her."

Harry crossed to Ron's side and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You can only help her at this point. The damage is already done."

Ron lifted her into his arms. A small moan escaped from her lips as her head fell against his shoulder. Her eyes opened and she tried to focus on Ron's face. "Ron? Are you really here?"

He kissed her forehead softly. "Yes my love I'm here."

"Whatever you do you have to save our baby. Please promise me." She started to cry.

Harry handed Ron his wand as he kissed her again. "Shh, Hermione let's just get you safely to St. Mungo's."

Harry nodded looking grave. "You better go."

Ron didn't have to be told twice. He turned carefully on the spot and left Harry alone.

Harry collapsed onto the wooden chair and started to sob. He should've released Ferguson and saved Hermione from this hell. If she died he'd never forgive himself. After a few minutes he pulled himself together so he could go down and deal with their two prisoners. He had to remind himself to remain calm otherwise he might personally be responsible for the deaths of Geoffrey Ross and William Linley.