The tent outside The Burrow was crowded with very enthusiastic guests as the celebration of Bill and Fleur's wedding kept soaring. Harry was out on the dance floor, awkwardly trying to follow Ginny's pace as they danced the night away together. It had not been in his plans to put on his dancing shoes but he had not been able to resist his beloved girlfriend's requests for a dance partner. Much to his surprise, Harry was enjoying himself, which was a contrast to how he had felt during the Yule Ball; he supposed that it made a difference to attend a party with someone he actually wanted to be with. This notion was confirmed when Ginny spun into his arms and locked her lips with his.

Harry looked around the tent. Ron and Hermione were dancing together nearby. Ron grabbed Hermione by her waist and lifted her while shooting furtive glances at Victor Krum, who was watching them closely. Hermione, who was clearly enjoying herself, seemed to notice nothing. Harry was certain that Ron was doing his best to keep Krum and Hermione's former romance from rekindling. The Chosen One chuckled softly at his best friend's obvious feelings for Hermione. He prayed that either of them will make a move soon.

Further along, Harry was able to see Fred and George socializing with Fleur's Veela cousins. The twins were pulling all sorts of tricks with their Weasley Wizard Wheezes merchandise, impressing the Veelas greatly and earning disapproving glares from their Great-Aunt Muriel. Harry was surprised that Mrs Weasley wasn't putting a stop to this but it turned out she was too engrossed in the festivities to take notice. Harry was secretly glad that she was.

Luna Lovegood was twirling on the spot with her hands outstretched along with her father Xenophilius. Harry had met Mr Lovegood earlier this evening and had learned where Luna got her eccentric ideas. But, since he was used to Luna, Harry was not bothered by her father. He actually welcomed their strange point of views since they distracted him from Voldemort.

As the band started to play at a slower pace, a ball of blinding light crashed in the middle of the dance floor. It hovered over the ground and the surprised guests formed a wary circle around it as it formed itself into a lynx. Harry immediately recognized the creature as a Patronus Charm. The lynx opened its mouth and Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice was heard all around.

The Ministry has fallen. The Minister for Magic is dead. They are coming.

The lynx evaporated and the silence in the tent was deafening. Then chaos erupted as everyone tried to escape at once. It didn't take long for dark figures to appear and Death Eaters were added to the mayhem. Spells were soon flying all over the tent as everyone pushed and shoved as they tried to escape.

Harry was fighting his way through the frantic crowd. He wanted to grab Ron, Hermione and Ginny and leave. He wanted to stay and fight but since the Death Eaters were there for him, he would just be putting everyone in even more danger. If he could, he would take every single person in the tent away with him but since that wasn't possible he had to settle for bringing whom he could.

Just as he spotted Ron and Hermione, Harry felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around him, pinning his arms to his side with an iron-like grip. Struggling against his bonds, Harry turned around to get a glimpse of his captor and saw with a mix of horror and anger that it was Snape. The former Potions master's eyes bore into his own and Harry felt himself grow faint. He fought against whatever spell Snape was issuing but his efforts were in vain; Harry blacked out and knew no more.

Hermione cast a quick spell at a charging Death Eater, hitting him fully in the face. Voldemort's followers were all over the place and they were showing no mercy. Hermione suddenly bumped into someone as she backed away from the Death Eater she had just cursed and spun around, wand at the ready. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was just Ron. Now all they had to do was find Harry and get out as quickly as possible.

It didn't take long to spot him. Hermione found Harry trying to force his way through the crowd with tremendous difficulty. She opened her mouth to call his name but a gasp came out instead when she saw Snape suddenly materialize behind her friend. The traitor looked straight into Harry's eyes after he had thrown his arms around his former students and Hermione watched Harry become limp in Snape's arms. Snape then wasted no time and Disapparated, bringing Harry with him.

Panic shot through Hermione. Where did Snape take Harry and what will he do with him? But she knew one thing: this was not the place to figure this out. Hermione grabbed Ron's hand and Disapparated.

They Apparated in the middle of an alleyway in London. Ron lost his balance as they landed and toppled over, bringing Hermione down with him. He flushed scarlet and profusely apologized. Hermione waved his apologies aside.

After they had changed into clothes Hermione had brought in her tiny beaded bag (Undetectable Extension Charms were quite useful), they walked down Tottenham Court Road. They found a small café to take refuge in. Hermione ordered them each a cappuccino (Ron had no clue what that was) as they sat in a booth.

"Okay, I've got a question for you: why did we leave without Harry? They were there for him," Ron asked incredulously.

"Because they've already got him," Hermione replied, her voice shaking a bit.

"What do you mean?"

"Snape suddenly showed up and took him God knows where."

"No!"

Hermione nodded.

"We have to help him," she said. "We can't leave Harry alone with Snape. Harry's life is much more important than Horcruxes."

"Great minds think alike," Ron said, smiling weakly.

"I'm positive that Snape won't bring Harry to Voldemort just yet. Not while the issue of the twin core wands exist," Hermione mused aloud.

"Right. Because they can't kill each other since the wands don't want to fight each other," Ron said.

"Yes, so that gives us a bit of time. How much of it, I don't know."

"Where could Snape have taken Harry?"

"That's the real mystery, isn't it? We won't be able to find our friend if we don't know where he is."

Silence fell after that exchange. The waitress reappeared with their coffees before returning to the back room. Ron eyed his drink sceptically before taking a sip and pushing his cup away. Hermione was torn between laughing and rolling her eyes at him. She drank her cappuccino quietly while trying to think of places where Harry may be held captive.

The door of the café opened and two men came in. They walked pass Ron and Hermione and since they were dressed in Muggle clothing Hermione did not take much notice of them. That was until she saw them turn around and point their wands at her and Ron.

"GET DOWN!" Hermione yelled, diving under the table. Ron looked over his shoulder and imitated her. A Stunning Spell hit the bench Ron had been sitting on and smashed it to pieces. Hermione crawled underneath another table and tipped it over to create a sort of shield. Ron did the same and together they fired every spell they knew at the two Death Eaters.

"How did they find us?" Ron yelled over the noise.

"I don't know! Just keep fighting!" Hermione yelled back.

After what felt like hours of duelling, Hermione was finally able to Stun one of the Death Eaters in the head. Ron Stunned the other Death Eater square in the chest, sending him crashing against the wall. When they saw that neither enemy was moving, Ron and Hermione slowly approached them, wands still raised.

"This one's Rowle. I've seen him in the Wanted posters," Ron said, kicking Rowle's wand out if his hand.

"And here's Dolohov. He's everywhere," Hermione added, bending over the unconscious Death Eater.

"What should we do? Kill them?" Ron asked, glaring at Rowle.

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, scandalized.

"Well, we have to do something with them! They'll go blabbing to You-Know-Who!"

"We'll Obliviate them," Hermione replied, unnerved at the idea of killing. "We'll make them forget they ever saw us."

"Speaking of memory erasing," Ron said thoughtfully. "What about that Muggle waitress?"

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed. She had forgotten about her. She looked at the door leading to the back door and saw that there was a huge hole in it. Hermione opened the door and found the waitress lying on the ground, unconscious. Hermione returned to Ron, who was watching her expectantly.

"I think one of our Stunners hit her in the back of the head so I doubt she saw anything," she told him shakily.

Ron pointed his wand to the café windows and gave it a flick. The blinds fell downward, hiding them from the rest of the world. He then took out the Deluminator Dumbledore has left him and turned out the lights. Hermione nodded in approval.

"Good thinking," she said. She approached Dolohov and pointed her wand at him.

"Obliviate," Hermione whispered. Dolohov gave a small twitch but did not wake. Hermione went to Rowle and repeated her actions. She then turned to Ron.

"Let's fix this place," Hermione said. Ron nodded. They went around the room, whispering Reparo as they went. When they were done, they took Rowle and Dolohov and the waitress and placed them sitting upright in a booth. Ron turned the lights back on and Hermione opened the blinds before exiting the café and Disapparating away from there.

They Apparated in front of number twelve Grimmauld Place. As the house made itself visible to the two wizards, Ron stared at Hermione.

"Grimmauld Place? Never thought I'd be back here again. Why?" he asked.

"It was the only place I could think of. Besides, the Death Eaters can't come in here as long as the secret hasn't been divulged to them," she replied.

"And if it has? Snape was in the Order, remember? When Dumbledore died, every single person who has ever set foot in this house became Secret Keeper, including Snape."

"In that case, let's just hope for the best, then. C'mon, let's go in."

They went up the steps and cautiously stepped inside the house, praying that there were no nasty surprises waiting for them from within.

How will they rescue Harry? They need to find out where he's been taken before doing anything. And how's Harry going to react when he wakes up? What do you think?