Disclaimer: I still own nothing. The world of Harry Potter belongs solely to the rightful owner. I'm just playing with her characters.

AN: I would very much like to thank the wonderful Sarah Liz B again, who corrected my mistakes and for her great insight into the world of Harry Potter.

Here is the next chapter! Don't be afraid to tell me what you guys think =)

Chapter 7

She takes only one step outside into the hallway when a soft pop is heard and a house elf appears. Hermione takes a step back in fright. She just isn't used to house elves appearing suddenly.

"Hello, Miss, my name is Tinky. Master asked Tinky to guide you if Miss wanted to get out," Tinky says with a deep bow.

Recovering from her surprise, Hermione bends her knees and speaks in a friendly tone to Tinky.

"Master?" she asks. Though she can guess it is Draco she still needs to be sure.

The elf enthusiastically nods her head. "Master Draco, Miss."

Though she had known it is him, she still feels a bit sick when hearing his name.

"Where must I be brought to?" she asks, still friendly to the elf.

"To the sitting room, Miss, but seeing the hour, it should be the dining room."
Tinky looks at Hermione closely. "I was also instructed to guard you. So no running, Miss, because Tinky will stop you. Tinky doesn't have to listen to you yet, if Miss doesn't tell me to."

Surprised by that answer, Hermione is intrigued. "Why should you even listen to me?"

"Because, if Miss is Master Draco's mate, after the bonding she is also his wife. That is the law, Miss. Then you are also a master in this house, though Master Draco told me it shall not come to this that soon."

Hermione suddenly feels sick. "How come you all know this?"

"Master Draco tells me a lot; Tinky is Master's personal elf so Tinky knows a lot. Master Draco treats me differently to how the other master did, but now Master Draco is Tinky's only master."

Hermione can only nod, only having heard half of what Tinky has said. She feels too sick from hearing what the elf had said before.

She is going to be married to Draco? Well, not technically, but if the bonding with Veelas stood equal to it… She suddenly feels worse.

"Tinky brings Miss to dinner now?" the house elf asks in a friendly manner, not seeing anything amiss.

"No thank you, I'm not feeling that well." Hermione stands up, going to close the door. She wants to get back in the bed again but she realizes that this is probably Draco's room as well as hers. It makes her feels more ill. Still, she gets up, wanting to go to the bathroom, afraid that she might throw up even though she hasn't eaten anything since this morning.

"Miss." She almost hadn't heard Tinky when she'd gotten up and closed the door, and she only looks down at the elf when she pushs the door back open with the help of elf magic. "Miss, Master Draco was afraid you would say this. That's why Tinky needs to bring you down, with or without Miss' cooperation."

Hermione looks at the door again and then sighs. She still feels sick but doesn't want to put the house elf in a difficult position.

"Good, Miss," the elf says, taking her hand and walking with her through the hall.

Entering the dining room, she feels the sickest she's felt all day.

Tinky goes in first and Hermione trails behind in the doorway. Looking into the room, a dark brown table stands, set for six people, she notices. A crystal chandelier hangs in the middle of the room and right in front of the door are two windows, now showing a view of the well kept garden with the flowers, bushes and gravel.

On the right side of the room, near the fireplace, the people she is afraid to see are standing, each with a drink in their hands.

The first one she notices, to her horror, is Draco. He looks at her before even the rest of the room notice the house elf making her way to them. A smile immediately takes over his face, taking a bit of Hermione's sick feeling away. It comes right back again as soon as she notices.

Narcissa Malfoy looks up at that moment, at first with a look of shock before tears well up in her eyes. Lucius places a comforting arm around her shoulder.

The room is quiet now and Hermione stands rooted to the spot. She doesn't dare move, afraid of the people in the room and afraid of her feelings for Draco.

Next to Draco stands Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson. By the way they are holding hands, they seem to be a couple.

Silence dawns over the dining room. Hermione stands uncomfortable in the doorway as everyone stands staring at her, their drink forgotten. Draco is the first one to recover and makes his way over to her.

"Good thing you're up. I was beginning to get worried," he says while walking to her. Standing by her, he takes her hand and smiles at her.

"Now, let's go take a seat." Lucius seems to be the second one coming out of the daze they all appear to be in.

Draco guides Hermione to a seat on the right while he takes place on the left. The closest by the door, Hermione notes.

Pansy takes her place on the seat right in front of her and next to her, Blaise. To Hermione's right, Narcissa pulls back the chair and on the other end of the table, Lucius takes place.

After they are seated, silence hangs in the room again. Hermione doesn't want to look up in the faces of her enemies and looks at her empty plate instead, noticing what a fine work it is. She feels like a brick is in her stomach at the thought of eating food as well as the fact that Draco is still holding her hand, sitting closely to her. She wonders why he hasn't said anything about who she really is, how it doesn't seem to bother him. Or hasn't Zabini told him yet?

"Well, a toast on the return of our lost daughter?" It is an attempt of Lucius' to brighten up the room but it feels more like a question.

"Well of course! I had the house elf prepare a feast," Narcissa says. Hermione can hear the tears in her voice and again she wonders how it is that she is so important to this family. Maybe she is so happy because her son won't die. But didn't Zabini says something, when he was angry, about Narcissa being relieved that she isn't dead after all? How can this be?

Hermione once again wishes she had her memories back, like all the people on this table.

Draco must have felt Hermione's discomfort. His thumb rubs circles on her hand. It comforts her, in a way, as long as she doesn't think about it.

"Did the Dark Lord give me some more time off?" Draco asks, taking the attention away from Hermione.

"Well…" The rest Hermione doesn't hear because Narcissa asks Hermione something directly.

When Hermione looks up and around the table she notices the guys are having their own discussion on their side of the table and the girls are now having their own.

She looks at Narcissa with a questioning look. The woman smiles, tears still visible in her light blue eyes. They look like Hermione's eyes, except for the fact that Hermione's are much brighter.

"I asked if you are alright?"

"I'm fine, madam," Hermione answers, quietly but politely. She was raised with politeness and etiquette. It is the Muggle kind but there doesn't seem that there is much difference between them. Hermione has a thought that if she seems docile and accepting she will find a way out faster.

"Oh, my dear," Narcissa says, bringing a shocked hand to her mouth. "It's Aunt Cissa. Don't you remember?"

Pansy on her other side puts a comforting hand on her arm, looking intrigued at Hermione but not saying a word.

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember anything before I was nine."

"Oh!" Tears are now streaming down Narcissa's face. "I'm sorry," she says, getting up and walking out of the room.

Lucius watching her go with a glint of concern in his grey eyes, looks at Hermione and says, "Don't worry about it. She is a bit overstressed for the moment." Then he looks back at Draco and continues discussing the subject they'd been talking about.

When Hermione looks away from them and into the brown eyes of Pansy, dinner suddenly appears on their plates.

"Well, there's no use in waiting for Mother," Draco says, picking up his knife and finally letting go of Hermione's hand.

Lucius nods and starts at his dinner also, continuing their discussion.

Hermione is more poking at her food than really eating any of it. She still feels sick and doesn't feel comfortable at this table. Once in a while she puts a vegetable in her mouth, but that is it.

"Sophia?" The voice is quiet but friendly so she looks up, after the few seconds it took to recognize the name as hers, into the eyes of Pansy. Who is, so it seems, not eating much also.

"Do you want to get your memory back?" she asks when she has her attention.

Hermione stays quiet for a while. "I would really like that," she admits. She really does. She hates not knowing anything.

"Then we'll get it back," Pansy smiles and continues her dinner.

She feels the first bricks of friendship being built. Hermione sees Pansy through different eyes now. She doesn't assume Hermione wants something and acts on it but asks if she wants something. That alone makes Hermione a little less guarded with Pansy. She hadn't really known her in school. Pansy was just one of the friends of Draco Malfoy. Always in the background, quiet.

Hermione stares at her plate again. This all feels so surreal. Grasping everything that had happened today is kind of difficult.

First she was abducted and now she is imprisoned in this beautiful house. It isn't the place she thought she might be taken to. Not only abducted because of what her family name is but because she is the mate of a Veela, the mate of Draco Malfoy. Not many people even knew he was a Veela.

You have lost your appetite for less, she thinks bitterly, putting down her fork, having enough of messing up her food.

XXXX

At that same moment in Grimmauld Place, Harry combs his hair with his hands, frustrated, efficiently making it more muddled up.

On the chair right in front of him, Ginny is staring into space, the teapot in front of her completely forgotten. Next to her, Ron is chewing on a muffin, very slowly for his standards.

Molly Weasley is busy with the dishes and the rest of the table is as quiet as the remaining members of the Golden Trio. Lavender, who is again present, helps her with the dishes. Lavender is, in fact, glad that Sophia is gone. She is probably just as evil as her real parents turned out to be. They used to be friends but that seems a long time ago, before she had stolen Ron away from her. Lavender is at least decent enough to keep her mouth shut, seeing the distress at the table.

"I just don't understand. She was there one moment and the next she was gone." Remus is the first one to speak. He has said this a few times already.

When they discovered that Hermione was gone they had called upon every Order member. They have been looking for her the whole afternoon and a large part of the evening, but to no avail of course.

"There must have been another Death Eater who took her from the other side of the hall. We just thought she'd be safe there, but we were wrong." Kingsley says the same thing he has been saying all afternoon.

"The question, of course, is where they have taken her and why," Arthur says.

The question is more why is she so important that there is more money offered for her than for Harry. How they knew this girl is still alive. What they wanted of her.

They also wonder if she is really named Sophia, like stated in the book, or if that is a totally different person. They are relieved the Dark Lord doesn't know she is Hermione Granger. Or at least, they hope that he doesn't know that.

Arthur looks pale, feeling really worried about Hermione. He keeps thinking about the fact that she is only two years older than his Ginny, and what the Death Eaters might do to her. They have heard stories about prisoners and how they sometimes are given to a Death Eater or two for their amusement. Amusement which consisted of rape, torture and sometimes both.

He can't even imagine in which category Hermione might end up. He looks at Ron, who has now buried his face in his hands. Arthur is also worried that Ron's thoughts are along the same line as his.

Hermione had been a beautiful girl before, but the girl she has now turned out to be is absolutely stunning. If Voldemort knows or finds out she is a pureblood, then she may be in for a worse deal. Once there was a girl who was from a respectable pureblood family. She had turned against her family and joined the Order. During a fight she got taken by Death Eaters. Voldemort made her marry one of his single Death Eaters. She is now still locked away in his house. None of the Order members are able to bring down the wards. But if they could, what then? She is still his wife and nothing can be done about that. Unless they can kill him.

Ron lifts his head and looks his father straight in the eyes. Somehow Ron knows what Arthur is thinking of. He shakes his head while tears well up in his eyes. Getting up, he hurries out of the kitchen.

No one has ever seen him cry and they will not see him cry now. Running up the stairs to his room, which he had shared with Hermione, he closes the door quickly and leans against it.

The bed is still rumpled from the evening before and clothes are discarded on the floor. It wasn't usually like this,but this morning Hermione had been angry about deciding things for her and thrown their clothes all around the room, shouting at him and trying to hit him with a few in the meantime. She always had been a bad thrower and hadn't been able to hit him, which made her angrier still.

He can almost smile at that memory. It was only this morning but it seems so long ago. He hasn't seen her since then. Now he feels guilty, blaming himself for what had happened. She didn't want to go and he should have listened to her. Now it is his fault that she has been abducted. They knew she had been in the paper just a day before.

Walking to the bed, he sits down on the side and takes a sweater of hers next to him in his hand. Looking at the fabric, tears well up again. Merlin knows what she must be going through right now.

Though Ron and Hermione shared a room they hadn't had sex yet. Hermione had explained to Ron that she wanted her first time to be special. He had understood, albeit a bit difficultly, and had waited. Ron had planned that special night to be next week, on their two month anniversary. Now it seems like her wish wasn't meant to come true after all. He looks down at the sweater again and a single tear escapes his eye.

He just hopes she's alive and not hurt. He hopes they will find her soon or at least where she was. They needed their spy, but in the meantime he is still unreachable.

Harry had told Ron they will keep trying to reach him until they get him. Ron hopes it will be sooner instead of later.

A knock on the door makes Ron look up and Lavender's head peeps through the door opening. "May I come in?" she doesn't wait for an answer and just enters. It is so typical of her.

"Oh my, what a mess," she says, looking around the room after the door closed again.

A slight smile graces Ron's features now. "Yeah, she was a bit angry this morning."

Lavender purses her lips and nods. "I see."

Taking her wand from her back pocket, she asks, "Mind if I clean?"

A little shake from Ron's head (he is again looking at the sweater in his hands) and Lavender is muttering spells and sweeping with her wand.

A little tug on the sweater makes Ron look up. The room was tidied up in no time and Lavender tugs again at the sweater. He lets go and she slowly folds it with her hands. "The Order will find her Ron," she says, turning around to put it in the closet.

"I hope so."

Turning around again, she kneels in front of him and places a hand on his cheek.

"Should I stay here tonight?"

Ron takes her hand in his and looks down for a second, thinking about her offer. He could use her consolation right now. She is probably the only one in this house who knows him so well.

"If you want to." He looks at her again with soft blue eyes.

A small smile plays at Lavender's lips. "Of course."

Ron will be hers again, in no time.