Disclaimer: "Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" - Ron Weasley (OotP)
Arriving in Diagon Ally, Ginny glanced over at Harry.
"Did you check that factory Lupin mentioned?" she asked.
Harry nodded. "Yeah, I checked it. Twice actually. There's nothing there. The Ministry even has it searched at least twice a year since… Well since that incident with Raden," he replied.
"Where would that thing take Hermione?" Helton asked.
Ginny shrugged, stepping into the shop.
Hermione pressed her back to the wall, gasping for breath while trying to keep quiet. She could hear it coming and her heart started to beat into overdrive, drowning out everything else as the pulsing filled her ears. Closing her eyes, she looked down the two halls then down the hall straight in front of her. She knew if she didn't pick fast she'd have to go through the whole thing again and that was not something she was interested in doing. The whispering drew ever closer and, taking a deep breath, she plunged down the dark hall before her.
Screams.
Pleading.
Putrid smells.
The only thing that kept her moving was the inevitable torture that trailed behind her and the only thing that kept her from going too fast was her fear of the unknown torture that would await her.
Whispering.
Cries for help.
Laughing.
"Ron! Harry! What are you two doing here? Doesn't Hermione have some sort of trial or something?" George asked, coming up to the small group.
"Hermione's missing," Ron growled.
That killed the whole mood that had been George. His face changed from happy to see them to an alien sad that was hardly ever there.
"What? What happened?"
Hermione looked behind to see if the thing was still following her. To her surprise and utter horror, the only thing behind her was a wall. Turning back to the hall, she was confronted with yet again, three different paths that hadn't been there before. She could feel the cold chill come closer and started down the hall to her left, trying to drown out the teasing walls that mocked her.
Screams.
Pleading.
Putrid smells.
Hermione tripped and fell to her knees. A sob escaped her parched lips. A moan escaped from the walls around her.
Whispering.
Cries for help.
Laughter.
Silence.
Looking up, Hermione let out a silent sob.
Silence.
"Something came and took her," Ginny answered, watching Ron carefully.
"Then what are you here for? Shouldn't you be out looking for her or something? I'll go get Fred and we'll come and help," he offered.
Ron shook his head. "I need you to tell me who sells you some of your ingredients that aren't exactly legal," he said.
George instantly glanced over at Helton and stiffened. Ginny noticed the look and shook her head, taking Helton's arm. "He's not going to say anything, George," she assured him.
The dead forest around her trapped the silence that the moon provided from above and with it, her as well. Getting up, she looked around and froze.
Silent death on horses watched her through dark masks. Provoked her. Dared her.
She dared.
Turning around, she began to run, the pounding drum terrifying her as she crashed through rock and thorn, her pale legs a beacon to all those who welcomed the taste of fresh blood.
The drum beats grew louder as Hermione continued to run for her life, her bleeding legs calling for the phantoms behind her to move faster.
Hermione stopped.
Before her were ten of them. Death.
George looked the man over for a moment then went to the back then appeared again with a paper. Handing it to Ginny, he pointed to the door.
"I suggest you not be seen with that," he advised before disappearing into the back again.
Hermione started to back up but the pounding had arrived and they surrounded her. Hermione looked for a way out but she could see none.
Then it started raining. The dead forest no longer glowed from the moon but was agitated by the lightening that lit up the sky.
They disappeared.
Hermione looked around and they had just disappeared. The only thing left was the comforting caress of the rain as it fell into this forsaken forest. Hermione closed her eyes.
"This is the place," Ginny whispered, looking around uneasily as people moved by.
"They get their stuff from here?" Helton asked.
"You make it sound as if they're doing something illegal," Harry muttered.
"They are doing something illegal, Potter," Helton responded, annoyed.
Ginny grabbed Helton's arm and steered him in, glaring at Harry as they entered the small shop. Ron walked up to the counter and rang the small bell.
"Hello?" Ginny called.
"What can I do for you?" came a thick female Jamaican accent.
A woman, maybe in her mid forties, appeared, setting down a vial of what looked like blood and her eyes went to Ron.
"Did your brothers run out of that seed already?" she asked
Ron shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about and frankly I don't care. I'm here to ask about Ian Herman."
The woman grew passive and she smiled.
"Ian," she whispered. Then she shook her head. "No… Ian Herman disappeared during the war," she said
"How do you know?" Harry asked.
"Why do you think Hermione's still alive?"
Opening them, she gasped. She was there again. The old muggle building. The abandoned one that had brought back so many bad memories including the one of betrayal.
Whispering.
Screams.
Pleading.
Everyone crowded around her.
"You know about what happened?"
The woman looked over at Helton then at Harry.
"I might know something, but if I tell you, I might end up where the soulless rest," she replied.
Ron shook his head. "You're not going to go to Azkaban if you tell us. If you don't tell us then that would be failing to comply with a murder investigation and that could land you in Azkaban," he said.
The woman eyed them warily then turned to one of the shelves in the darkly lit shop.
"A man came in asking for a specific clove. Now, I'm not going to tell you the name of the man because it was false."
"Did he ask for anything else?"
The woman grew quiet. She turned to them.
"He asked of a spirit I wish not to speak of. It is an evil thing that creates misfortune for the one who it is brought upon. The man did not seem to care about that though. He asked more questions but I refused to answer them."
Ginny turned to Harry. "That sounds exactly like what Nearly Headless Nick was talking about," she whispered.
Ron glanced at them then turned to the lady. "What does this have to do with Hermione?"
Putrid smells.
Cries for help.
Laughter.
Silence.
"Hermione Granger is the target of such a creature."
"Why?"
"Because the man who came to me told me."
"What's going to happen to her?"
"I don't know that."
Hermione felt small at the moment and the walls closed in on her. Her heart pounded in her ear and the overwhelming smell of fresh blood filled her nostrils.
Growling.
Looking up, she screamed.
Long claws came down. Burning pain as blood spilled out onto the ground. Trying to crawl away, the thing grabbed her leg and twisted it.
Screams.
Laughter.
Whispering.
Wind.
Hermione continued to scream in excruciating pain as hot pincers dug into her back and began to pull her back. She could hear her leg break. Her arm snap. Her lungs scream as she was pulled into great hole that had not been there before, leaving a thick red trail of blood on the floor. A great black hole that swallowed her whole. Screaming, gnashing needle point teeth met her as she fell. Met her as the hole closed up, plunging her into utter darkness.
Pain.
Silence.
The blood glistened in the pale moonlight.
"Did you hear that?" one Auror asked as they went around the factory.
"Yeah. It sounded like a crash or something."
"A crash? It sounded more like a scream," the man said.
His partner glared at him and the two made there way up to the second level of the muggle place.
"Why are we still here? Potter checked this place out twice already," the second man said, looking around.
They looked around for a moment, searching the ground around the machines before the second Auror sighed.
"It must have just been something falling," he suggested.
The first one shook his head. "I swore I heard someone scream."
"We've looked over this place three times now. There's nothing here. Now come on, let's go. This place gives me the creeps," the second guy said.
The first Auror sighed and nodded, following his friend down and out of the building.
An old man, watching the two men leave smiled.
A/N: Just in case any of this was confusing, all of this happened at the same time. Think about it.
LunaSky: Well, from what you just saw now, that whole making it up thing could still be questioned. I mean, not that black thing, but her sanity could.
Wesker888: Personally, I think Ron takes it rather well when she goes missing... ;-)
Lisha: Well, you know Ron. He's like a volcano... or an agrivated dog. One little push in the wrong way and he'll be at your throat, even if it was something silly... hint, hint. :-)
LitaFanForLife: I'm glad! This chapter was probably the weirdest one I've had to write.
NairobiDawn: I'm actually doing that, but it's still in its early stages so I'm not going to delve into it.
cheeky splash: Well... in the end, Ron kind of believed her, but you can't really blame them. There was no proof to prove otherwise so what were they supposed to believe. Her word against what they all saw? As to how they find her. Don't worry!
sballLuvr5: You flatter me too much! I never said I was going to kill anyone... yet...
charma10: Locking her away would probably be merciful. What I just did was mean. And trust me, it's going to get a lot worse.
Warning: The next chapter will contain some very graphic violence. Maybe worse than what I did in Living in Sin but I'm not sure yet.
No Chapter Tease. The next chapter has to be a surprise or I wouldn't have put that warning.