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Liberation

This chapter is dedicated to sleepingbutterfly and blueskyshymoon08 who are both previous readers and reviewers of mine. Thanks guys for sticking with me!

Chapter 2

"Harry," Ron stood over Harry, who was bent over a pile of folders, each containing the dossier of a criminal wanted by the Ministry. Many were Death Eaters that had thus far evaded capture after the war. Hermione had been missing for almost twelve hours and Harry had yet to come up with a lead on who might be after her. He wasn't even sure it was Death Eater related, and if it was, Harry could not come up with an explanation as to why they would wait five whole years before acting again. The question Harry most wanted answered though was, why Hermione? What could she have possibly done to be kidnapped? For Harry was convinced that it was kidnapping, she would never leave like that, especially without her wand.

"Harry!" Ron repeated even louder. Harry jerked his head away from the file and focused on Ron's face. The sudden shift in his vision made Harry's grotty eyes burn, and he rubbed them as they watered and refocused.

"Sorry, Ron. Did you get some rest?" Harry asked as he closed the most recent file he'd been looking at with a slap.

Ron shrugged. "A bit. You really ought to go get some rest yourself. You've been here all night without a scrap of news. Go home for awhile and sleep. We'll get you if anything happens."

"I couldn't rest if I wanted to, Ron. Did you check back at Hermione's house? Her parents?" Harry asked tiredly.

"Yeah, on my way here. She's at neither. Her parents don't know she's missing. I didn't want to worry them unless it was absolutely necessary." Ron replied. "At least go home and get something to eat. Dawlish is back, and I'll stay here with him. Take a break, Harry, we'll be here."

Harry stood up from his chair and stretched. He'd been perched in the same spot for almost eight hours. The time had flown by for Harry because each minute Hermione was missing was another minute in which he didn't know what was happening, and each minute was one too many. Sitting on Harry's desk was a picture of Ron, Hermione, and Harry that was taken at Harry's last birthday. Hermione was smiling and waving at the camera happily with one hand, while the other was wrapped around Harry's shoulders. I should at least shower and eat, Harry thought, I won't do her any good in this state.

"Okay, Ron, I'll stop at Dawlish's office on my way out and let him know."

Harry found Dawlish in his office slowly sorting through his early morning post. Harry knocked lightly once to get his attention before entering.

"So, no news through the night?" Dawlish asked unnecessarily. Harry looked unwell and Dawlish needed him refreshed if he was to be of any use at all.

Harry picked up Dawlish's nameplate from his desk and flipped it over in his hands. "No. I'm heading out for a bit, but I'll be back in about half an hour."

Dawlish nodded his approval and continued to flip through the mail before stopping at a black envelope. He looked at it curiously for a moment before opening it. Harry wasn't paying attention to Dawlish, nor had he made an effort to stand up to leave. He was simply reading the plate, James Dawlish, Head Auror, over and over again. Harry's boss read the letter inside the black envelope twice before letting out a long whistling breath.

"What?" Harry asked eagerly.

"You'd better read this." Dawlish handed the letter over with a slightly shaking hand. The letter was written on dark grey parchment with dark red ink.

Head Auror James Dawlish,

I have in my possession, Hermione Granger, who is no doubt of great value to your Ministry, and as a war hero, the Wizarding World.

You have in your possession, Lucius Malfoy, who is in kind of great value to MY Ministry. If you wish for me to return the Mudblood to her loved ones, alive, then you must quietly bring to me, Lucius Malfoy.

You have forty-eight hours to prepare for the exchange at which time you will receive notice of the location and any further terms.

Failure to release Lucius Malfoy from prison will surely result in a gruesome and horrific death for your precious Hermione. Choose wisely.

Putus Cruor Confuto

All the air left Harry's lungs. He could feel his throat closing around the word wishing to escape his lips, Hermione. A ransom such as that could never be paid for Lucius was one of the few Death Eaters they had managed to catch. And because of that, the remaining Death Eaters on the outside wanted him back.

"Putus Cruor Confuto?" Ron said aloud. Harry jerked his head around. Ron had come up behind him and read the letter of Harry's shoulder. Harry hadn't even heard him come in because his blood was still pounding in his ears.

"It is shoddy Latin, but it loosely translates to 'Pure Blood Supreme.'" Dawlish responded. "Presumably Death Eaters operating under a new name." Dawlish replied taking the letter out of Harry's stiff hand. Harry closed his eyes just as Dawlish cast an Identification charm on the ink. He could hear Dawlish suck in his breath and Ron's loud gasp.

"What?" Harry asked still not opening his eyes.

"It's not ink, Harry. It's blood." Ron said with a shaky voice.

"Whose?" Although in his heart, Harry already knew the answer.

"Hermione's" Ron breathed.

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12 Hours Earlier

"So you recognize me, don't you?" Hermione's captor circled around her as she continued to lie on the floor twitching from the after effects of the curse. "Do you remember me? Or is it just because my face is plastered on Wanted posters across Wizarding Europe? Stand up."

Hermione slowly rose to her feet, fighting to control her trembling muscles. The man before her was hideous as he stared down at her breathing heavily through his mouth. His face was scarred, his dark hair lay in dank clumps around his face, his breath was rancid, and his teeth brown and broken. He took a step closer to Hermione and the putrid smell of his breath wafted through her nose making her eyes water. He slowly unsheathed a shiny silver dagger from a holster under his sleeve. Hermione's stomach heaved as he slowly slid his tongue along the length of the polished steel.

"I met you for the first time ten years ago, but I was wearing a mask, so you might not remember my face but I gave you something that day, a permanent reminder of me. And it's right here," He traced the tip of the dagger across Hermione's chest from her left shoulder downward across her chest, finally stopping just below her right breast. It was there that he stuck the knife in about half an inch and twisted. Hermione gasped involuntarily with pain. He'd traced a perfect path across the scar that was the result of a curse she'd received from a silenced Death Eater in the Department of Mysteries her fifth year.

"What is my name?" He asked twisting the knife again but not sticking it in any deeper. "WHAT'S MY NAME, MUDBLOOD?"

"Dolohov!" Hermione cried, "Antonin Dolohov."

Hermione was unable to control the fear that was flickering across her tear filled eyes. Dolohov yanked the knife out of her ribcage and stood up straight in front of her.

"That's right. You're afraid, that's good. It will make things more fun for me. But don't worry; I won't kill you for at least a few days. There are plenty of things I can think of to do with a pretty little Mudblood like you to keep me entertained. But first," he conjured a small table with a quill and piece of dark grey parchment, "you are going to write a letter for me."

Dolohov grabbed Hermione by the hair and pulled her to the table. He picked up the quill and thrust it in her hand. She looked at the quill dumbly and then at the parchment. There was no ink.

"You're a smart little Mudblood, I hear. I imagine you are looking for ink. I prefer this letter to be written in red. I'm sure you can find some somewhere." He stuck the knife back in her ribs this time a little deeper, ripping her beautiful gown open in the process. Hermione felt a fresh stream of blood slide down her ribs. She clamped her teeth on her tongue to bite back a cry as the realisation of what he wanted her to do hit her. Hermione closed her eyes tightly and dipped the quill as shallowly as she could in the cut on her ribs, but it still stung as the dirty quill absorbed the blood. When she opened her eyes she schooled her face into a blank mask and held the quill ready over the parchment.

"I want you to write, 'Head Auror James Dawlish…'"

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Harry snapped his eyes open after Ron confirmed that the ink was indeed Hermione's blood. "What are we going to do? We can't just hand over Malfoy, but I can't let Hermione be tortured and then killed by some madman! Why her?"

"That's easy, mate. She's an important member of our society. Whoever this is obviously thinks that losing her is worth giving up Malfoy." Ron said calmly.

Harry slammed his fist on Dawlish's desk knocking over his cup and sending quills and parchments flying. "Why haven't we caught these people already!" He yelled in frustration. "We've had five years to find all of Voldemort's supporters! Where are they hiding?"

"Harry, calm down!" Dawlish said standing up and putting a restraining arm on Harry who was about to storm out of the office. "You are not doing anyone, particularly not Hermione, any good ranting and raving like that. Go home, eat, shower, and then come back and we will formulate a plan. Ron, go with him to make sure he does what I say."

Ron nodded and led Harry out of the office. Harry allowed himself to be steered out of the building as the full weight the situation rested heavily in his gut. Hermione knew what the ransom was and Harry was fully cognisant of the fact that she would rather die than see Lucius get released. By now, she'd probably already come to the conclusion that Ministry would agree with her and was patiently awaiting her death. Hermione would consider her life a small sacrifice to keep hundreds safe from the wrath of Lucius Malfoy and his Pureblood supremacist friends. Ron shook his head sadly at Harry who still hadn't said anything since his outburst before taking him by the arm and apparating them Grimmauld Place.

Ten minutes later Harry and Ron were seated at the kitchen table each with a large plate of eggs, bacon, and crumpets, in front of them. Harry took a bite of his eggs but they felt like rubber in his dry mouth.

"We'll figure something out, Harry." Ron said after a large mouthful of bacon. Nothing seemed to dull that man's appetite. "We just need to clear our heads and think."

"How can you be so calm?" Harry spat. "It's Hermione, Ron. Hermione. She means everything to me."

"I know that. I love her too, which is why we need to be calm and balanced. We cannot allow our emotions to cloud our judgment or make us irrational. That's the first rule of the Auror's code and you know that."

Harry scowled at Ron. He didn't understand how the man could be so circumspect. But he was right and Harry knew it. Harry forced a few more bites of egg down his throat before heading to his bathroom for a shower. He fished in his medicine cabinet for an invigorating draught while he waited for the water to heat up. Once inside the shower the hot water and draught had the desired effect as his mind cleared and sharpened.

"Focus Harry." He said aloud. "We just need a plan, some sort of ruse that convinces the kidnapper he's getting what he wants so that hopefully he will release Hermione."

As Harry scrubbed the previous days grime off his body his ideas became more focussed, and by the time he'd rinsed himself clean and dried himself off, he was convinced that he had a plan that might work. The only thing it would require was cooperation from the one person who would be least likely to give it. With renewed energy, he finished his shower and raced down the stairs to Ron, who was waiting patiently in the sitting room.

"Come on, Ron. I have an idea." Harry didn't wait for a response; he just grabbed some floo powder out of the pot on the mantelpiece and threw it in the fire.

Ron followed close behind all the way to Dawlish's office. Gawain Robards, former head of the Aurors but now head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was there with his right hand man, Alastor Gumboil. Also in attendance were the Auror's, Goren Proudfoot and Eric Munch, the latter having just joined the Department a year previously.

"Harry, you look much better. I am sending Munch and Gumboil to Azkaban to question Malfoy on who might still have a pressing interest in him after all these years. Hopefully, he will have some information that will be useful to us—"

Harry cut his supervisor off with a sharp wave of his hand. "I have an idea. I'd like you to hear me out before you send anyone off to Azkaban, particularly because I don't want Malfoy to know what is going on."

"Let's hear it then." Dawlish motioned for Harry to continue, slightly relieved that he had an idea he seemed confident in.

"I don't have all the details worked out of course, but I was thinking we could create a ruse of some sort; A way of tricking the captors into believing that they have Malfoy without actually sending Malfoy. We would exchange him for Hermione and since that person would have the means to escape, and by that I mean a wand, they would be able to pose as him for a short length of time, hopefully leading us to them for capture." Harry said quickly.

"Alright, I suppose you mean we would use Polyjuice Potion to make someone look like Lucius. But the person we send would have to know Lucius really well. They would have to spend the next two days interrogating him under Veritaserum in order to get enough information to successfully pretend they are him even for a short duration. These criminals are smart enough to avoid capture, I imagine they are intelligent enough to determine whether they have the right man or not." Dawlish said rubbing his chin, considering Harry's plan. It was not a great plan exactly, but it was on the right track.

"I actually know of the perfect person for the job, and he already knows Lucius very well. Besides, Lucius has been in Azkaban for five years without one single visitor allowed. Surely his mind would be addled enough to allow for a few small mistakes on the part of the doppelganger. The only problem is convincing him to do it." Harry replied, his confidence waning as he realised how difficult it would be to get this person to cooperate.

"Who do you have in mind, Harry?" Robards asked encouragingly. He liked the idea and believed they could make it work if they planned carefully.

"Draco Malfoy."

Dawlish continued to rub his chin thoughtfully as he looked around the room. "I'm still not entirely convinced, but I am willing to try. Proudfoot, find Draco Malfoy and bring him here immediately. We are already down to forty-six hours."

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Draco Malfoy was standing on the balcony of his third floor bedroom at the Malfoy Manor slowly smoking a cigarette and savouring the crispness of the fresh snow and early morning winter air. Eliza was stretched languidly across his bed, her long and bare leg hooked around a crimson sheet that was pulled just over the tops of breasts. A gust wind blew through the half open balcony door and she rolled over snuggling deeper into the sheet. Draco watched her for a moment before turning his attention back to the snow and his cigarette. He took one final pull on the fag before flicking it carelessly to the snowy ground below. He really needed to give them up; even he knew they were a terrible vice.

Draco walked back into his room and fished through his closet for something to wear careful not to wake Eliza. He liked the girl, more than his usual conquests even, but he wasn't ready to face her in the morning. He'd already written her a note explaining that he was going to his office for a few hours and that the house elf would assist her with anything she desired. Draco shook his head shamefully at his own cowardice as he slipped out the door undetected. No woman had ever woken up in Draco's bed with him still there.

Draco's elf, Tumnus, was waiting in the kitchen with the morning edition of the Daily Prophet and a steaming mug of coffee. On the front page of the paper was a large picture of Hermione in her benefit finery smiling for the camera as she shook the Minister's hand. The picture was taken a mere hour before she disappeared. Draco stared at the picture for a moment. She really was stunning the night before. The dress had accentuated every one of her curves perfectly and Draco noticed for the first time that her mouth was heart shaped and her almond eyes sparkled. She didn't have the kind of classical beauty that he typically went for, but there was something physically appealing about her nonetheless. Draco was just impressed that Potter was finally noticing it. Draco grudgingly admitted that he'd found her slightly physically attractive since their fourth year, but that attraction had not done one wit to make him actually like her. Now he was just indifferent, but he did hope that she was alright. He didn't wish harm on people anymore; it was one thing he'd thoroughly outgrown, even if smoking and womanizing wasn't.

Draco had scarcely finished his cup of coffee when he felt the wards around his house shift signalling a visitor. Tumnus immediately made to go to the front door when Draco stopped him.

"I will get it. I am heading out anyway." Draco grabbed his cloak, threw it over his shoulders, and opened the door, just as Proudfoot was about to knock on the door. It Draco hadn't ducked, the man would have knocked right on Draco's forehead.

"Forgive me sir, but I am here on urgent business. You are being summoned to the Ministry of Magic to speak with Head Auror James Dawlish."

"For what? Do you have a warrant?" Draco demanded, fear rising in his throat. He had nothing to do with her disappearance but he was surprised it took them that long to find some way to pin it on him. The sins of the father fall on the son, and Draco felt it was only a matter of time before they found some way to reunite him with his.

Proudfoot gestured for Draco to follow him outside of the wards so they could apparate. "You are not being arrested. Your presence is requested because you might be of assistance to us."

"Me? How?" Draco said bewildered.

"Perhaps it would be best if you let them explain. Please come along, time is of the essence."

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Hermione sat on the floor of her stone prison huddled shivering in a corner. She guessed she must be in some sort of old castle based on the high narrow window on the wall opposite her. The floors, walls, and ceiling were all stone, and with the dim light streaming through the window, Hermione could now see that the room was completely empty. The door had been magically concealed and each time Dolohov had appeared to check on her he'd come in from a different location. Her side ached where he had cut her but the pain of it was nothing compared to her fear that she would never make it out of there alive.

Now that Hermione knew her purpose as the captive she held little hope for her rescue. Dolohov had evaded capture long enough to surely keep her hidden as well so it was extremely unlikely that the DMLE or Auror department would find her either. She also knew that her life was not worth letting Lucius Malfoy out of Azkaban and it was a small comfort for that she would be able to make that sacrifice. She just wished it didn't have to happen during the prime of her life. She'd had so much to look forward to, and as useless and disappointing as it was, she couldn't stop planning in her head the things she would do at the Arianna Dumbledore Paediatrics Ward if she ever had the opportunity.

Hermione shivered violently and wrapped her arms tighter around her knees. She stared vaguely at her breath as it floated in white wisps before her. Other than a few more rounds of the Cruciatus Curse, Dolohov had done nothing else to her yet, but if he didn't come back and perform a warming charm on her she would most likely die of hypothermia before anything else. The cold was settling into her bones and as the chill deepened it became harder and harder for her to hold her eyes open. After some time, Hermione finally succumbed to sleep, images of her parents, Harry, Ron, and other loved ones floating randomly before her mind's eye.

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A/N: Here's chapter two so will you please review?

Thanks for reading!!!

I would like to thank my lovely reviewers from chapter one, you all rock!