Author's Note: Well, here we have a longer chapter. (Finally!) It has two original spells in here, translations will be found at the bottom. REVIEWS ARE WELCOME!

Chapter Seven:

"Pandemonium"

Hermione was sleeping again, dreaming of peace. At last she was happy. It was an amazing feeling to be carefree and joyous. She was content. She had the love of her life, the daughter she'd lost and another precious bundle soon to come into her life. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Except…was that the sound of an explosion? Still tired, Hermione tried to go back to sleep, blowing the mystery noise off; but it appeared that someone had other plans for her.

"Hermione! Damn it, Hermione! Wake up! Oh, fine! I guess I'll just let the Death Eaters get you, then!"

Hermione looked up, glaring, to find her best friend standing at the foot of her bed. When Ginny saw that Hermione was awake she threw the brainy witch's wand at her and told her to hurry up. Hermione hurried out of bed, though still oblivious to the situation unfolding at Hogwarts. Running out the door, following Ginny, she asked what was happening.

Running faster, Ginny answered, "I always knew I hated Draco Malfoy. He's launching an attack on Hogwarts, for what…only Merlin knows. He's heading for the Slytherin common rooms, but what we don't understand is why he would want to attack his own house."

Hermione stopped in mid-step, the fleeting memory of something said previously running through her mind. "How was she able to do it? How could a young witch of the mere age of eleven cause something that most adult wizards and witches are never able to do in their entire lifetime?!"

Grabbing hold of Ginny, she spun the red-head around, "Lauran! He wants Lauran! He must have found out about her powers, about what she can do!"

Ginny had a baffled look on her face, a sure sign that she hadn't registered what that meant. Suddenly, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly. Hermione could see her mouth the words, 'Merlin's Beard!' With newfound motivation, the two witches sped off in the direction of the dungeons. Finally making it to the staircases and landing abruptly on one, the two were taken back by an unexpected surprise. It appeared that both witches forgot that the staircases liked to changed.

"Oh, what rotten luck!"

Hermione gave an exasperated sigh, "You have got to be kidding me!"

Suddenly a blast of green light shot straight past Hermione and hit the marble steps behind her, causing a small crater and a black spot to appear on them. Looking up, swearing, she saw Malfoy's girlfriend from years ago, whose name escaped Hermione at the moment. The girl was laughing hysterically in a manner much like a hyena. Glancing towards Ginny, who nodded, both witches yelled in sync with one another, "Expelliarmus!"

The girl appeared stunned that she had been so easily disarmed, so Hermione, proudly, remedied the situation, "Petrificus Totalus!"

Seemingly proud with one another, both witches continued on their quest to the Slytherin common rooms. Along the way, they ran into no more trouble, except for, of course, Peeves. Their path was eerie. As they ran they saw no one, they heard no one. It was almost as if they were totally cut off from the world…until they reached the dungeons. Screams and shouts filled their ears as they pressed on. Briefly, they heard words that sounded frightfully close to, "Crucio." Finally, they reached the Slytherin common rooms, with a familiar rush filling the two. They were forced to stop at the secret entrance to the common rooms. Standing in front of the hidden stone door, neither one could remember the password that they'd been given at the last professor meeting. Suddenly, a muffled cry behind them caught their attention.

"Filthy mudblood," they heard someone whisper, right before a loud blow. Another cry sounded, confirming their unspoken theories that someone had been hit. Swiftly, they turned around, their eyes searching for the source of the noise. Hermione gasped at the sight before them. There stood Draco Malfoy and his last surviving minion, Goyle. Flung over Goyle's back was the small, frail body of Lauran.

Hermione roared out her wrath, "What did you do to her?! What do you want with her?"

Malfoy sneered his trademark sneer, "Like I would actually tell you," and then he mumbled something that greatly resembled, "Mudblood."

With that, he touched the evil symbol on his arm. Hermione watched it turn blacker than it had been and she couldn't help but let out a gasp, to which he smirked. Without warning, Malfoy and Goyle ran off, Hermione and Ginny at their tail. Running up the stairs to get to the main level, the two witches yelled out spells left and right, attempting to save the girl who was being kidnapped; their favorite of the spells appearing to be, "Impedimenta," and, "Locomotor Mortis." Unfortunately, it appeared that Malfoy and his minion had become very accomplished in deflecting simple curses and charms and all Hermione and Ginny succeeded in was making them angry. As a result, Goyle turned to face the two and shouted, "Crucio!" Immediately, Ginny sank to the floor and started screaming, but the fire in her soul never went out. The entire time the curse was active she was yelling words similar to, "You think this will stop me! Guess again!"

Suddenly, she shocked everyone in the vicinity by jumping up, despite the torturous pain and hit him with a wave of spells, seemingly every single one she'd ever learned, "Confundus! Conjunctivitis! Expelliarmus! Flipendo! Furnunculus! Rictusempra! And my personal favorite: Tarantallegra!"

The result was quite different from her intentions, though humorous. Goyle fell to the floor with a confused gaze and his eyes appeared blind. His face and hands were covered in disgusting boils and he was laughing, as if someone was tickling him. His legs were kicking in an almost dance-like manner. Hermione and Ginny couldn't help but laugh. Suddenly, a voice sounded behind the two.

"You're so pathetic, you big ugly brute! Stupefy!"

With that said, Ron came forward to stand over the unconscious body of Goyle. Noticing Hermione and Ginny's surprised faces, he asked, "What? Somebody had to do it."

Instead of a response, Hermione gasped and took off after Malfoy, whom had taken advantage of their distraction. Ginny and Ron followed and the chase was on. The trio chased Malfoy all the way out of the gates of Hogwarts and down the darkened pathway that lead to Hogsmeade. Unfortunately, the battle was lost the very second Malfoy stepped foot into Hogsmeade, where he Disapparated to…only Merlin knew. Hermione, Ginny and Ron let an exasperated sigh, followed by an extremity of choice words.

***

The air was bitterly cold, there was not a source of heat to the room. The stone floor was hard and damp; all around her was pitch black. She stirred, attempting to muster up all energy she held within her body and it was then that she realized just how weak she was. How long have I been out? How many hours have I been left to lie here? Has it even been hours? It could have been only minutes. But what if it has been days…or weeks? No. It can't have been days…I'd be more weak…and hungry! Ugh! Her mind hurt. It appeared that even the simplest of acts would harm her.

She heard voices and struggled to make out what they were saying, but, with rotten luck, she could not. Interrupting her concentration, a door opened and bright, ferocious light forced its was into the room. Blinking, her eyes adjusted to the light and she could see the outlined figures of no less than three men. They approached her, and as they did, the smell of Firewhisky became more and more apparent. One in particular walked up to her, his step swaying a bit.

"Well, hello little girl."

She made no answer, her heart pounding faster than she ever thought imaginable.

"Little girl! Answer me."

She jumped at the raising of his voice, but still did not answer.

"Fine then. Have it your way," he began to walk away from her, then suddenly, "Imperio!"

She felt the weight of the curse, felt the insistent urge to obey and though she may have tried, she could not fight down the urge, "Hello."

"Very good. So tell me…how did you become so powerful, even though you are a Mudblood?"

Her heart and will was strong and again, she refused to answer. Obviously, furious at her disobedience, he roared out, "Imperio!"

Once again, she felt the same weight of the curse and the same urge to obey, and was once more forced to answer, "I don't know."

The man sighed, "Very well…Crucio!"

Pain erupted throughout her entire body, it felt as if her very bones were on fire. She tried with all her might not to scream, but the pain only got worse and worse until, finally, the dam of crying broke. At the sound of her scream, the men laughed; one even hiccupped. Finally, after what seemed like hours, it stopped. Two of the men were still laughing, however, the man who had cast the curse was not. He was walking closer towards her, still swaying in his step and the closer he came the more apparent the stench of Firewhisky became. Silently screaming in her mind, she hoped his intentions were not the perverse actions she feared.

***

Hermione paced her office, suddenly furious at how small it became with each step. Three pairs of eyes followed her, focused on the pendulum of her movements. The silence was torture, leaving her ever-the-traitor mind to its thoughts. She did not want to think the thoughts that seemed to be inevitable, even if everyone at the school was thinking them. Her heart raced with terror of what could be happening to Lauran. For all she knew, the girl could be dead. In attempt to distract herself from the torturous silence, she began to focus on how many steps she was taking, unconsciously aware that each step she took counted the seconds passing by and only shortened the time Lauran possibly had. One step…two step…three step…fou--

"We have to do something," Ginny said for, what was likely, the millionth time that night.

Hermione stopped her step and turned to face the eyes staring at her, "Like what? We don't know where she is, much less how to get there!"

Ron and Ginny stayed silent, however, it was Harry, who, in the midst of Quidditch Season, flew in at the news of an emergency, that spoke, "Hermione…have you forgotten what we have done? We defeated Voldemort! And at the age of seventeen! Not to mention, you are the brightest witch of our age!"

Hermione flung her arms out, sighed and began to pace again, "But we don't know where she is! How are we supposed to save her if we don't even know where to go?!"

The room was silent for a few moments, until Ron spoke up, "Well…Malfoy took her. Maybe he took her to Malfoy Manor?"

Hermione, once again, sighed, "Honestly, Ronald, if you were to kidnap someone, you wouldn't want to be found. Why, in Merlin's Beard, would Malfoy take her to the one place everyone would know to look?"

"Because he never was brightest wizard in a tight situation," Ginny said, then mumbled under her breathe, "Right foul, git he was though."

Harry jumped up, most likely high off of the adrenaline from the prospect of a good duel or two, "So then its settled, we're going to Malfoy Manor to save Lauran."

Hermione stopped her pace and put on a very shrill tone, "And when was this decided?"

Harry walked up to her and put his arm around her in a brotherly embrace, "Oh come on, Hermione, we have to save her…she is your daughter, after all."

She shot glares at him, "We don't even know for sure! Maybe all the connections between me and her are just coincidences…hmm? Any of you think of that?"

Ginny sighed, "Hermione, there's too many coincidences to not believe it. Anyway, if we don't save her, then we'll never know. Let's just go and save her so you can cast the spell to prove us wrong."

Hermione let off a little, 'hmph' and said, "Fine."

***

After casting a Disillusion spell on themselves, the four made their way out of Hermione's office and into the quiet and vacant halls of Hogwarts. After the attack, all of the students had been moved into the Great Hall, as a precaution, and some were to be taken home in the morning by parents struck by paranoia. The staff members were either patrolling the corridors or sleeping off their shift of patrolling. At the main door of the castle, they ran into Filch's cat who hissed at the prospect of an intruder in the castle. With quiet feet, they ran out the door and down the pathway to Hogsmeade. Once at the Appartation point, Hermione disillusioned herself to make sure everyone was there and ready for what was next to come. After some reassurance, she recast the Disillusion spell and Apparated in a little field not far from Malfoy Manor. Revealing herself, she motioned for Harry, Ron and Ginny to do the same; they obliged.

"Ostendo Me Ad Amicis," Hermione whispered, wand pointing to herself. Instantly, she felt as if she was being covered by Harry's Invisibility Cloak. It appeared as if her friends could still see her. A wave of triumph covered her, it was the first time she'd successfully cast that spell. The purpose of the spell was to, again, disillusion oneself, but to stay revealed to one's friends.

"Cast the spell," she ordered.

Ginny seemed unsure, "Hermione, that's a really complicated spell. How do we know if it really worked? We're your friends, either way we'll see you."

Suddenly a frog croaked out, announcing its appearance. Ron smiled and pointed his wand at it and whispered, "Petrificus Totalus."

The frog attempted to leap away, but was struck in the air. Ron caught him, or her, before he hit the ground. Handing him to Hermione, Ron said, "Cast the spell."

Hermione rolled her eyes at his reasoning, "Ostendo Me Ad Amicis."

The frog disappeared in her hand, while she could still feel the weight. Slowly lowering it to the ground, she said, "Finite Incantatum."

The frog reappeared and hopped swiftly away.

Hermione smiled, obviously smug at her triumph, "Well…go on, cast the spell."

Ron and Harry did so, but Ginny didn't look so sure, "But how will we know it worked?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Just trust me, you'll know."

Ginny sighed, "Ostendo Me Ad Amicis."

Now that they could see her, Hermione motioned for them to keep quiet and make their way to the massive estate to the west a little ways. While walking, they had their eyes peeled for any sign of danger. To their luck, they encountered nothing that would bring them to harm. Finally, they reached the main doors of the mansion. Ron began to go in, but Hermione grabbed his shirt collar and shook her head no, pointing to the servants' entrance. He shrugged his shoulders, attempting to hide the look of shame on his face. Hermione could not help but sympathize him; it had been a long time since any of them had had to do this.

Once inside, via the servants' entrance, the four began searching for a door that might lead to a dungeon. They would keep her in a dungeon, right? Hermione thought to herself. Finally they found a staircase that lead to what would appear to be a heavy, medieval style metal door. The four walked slightly faster and, before anyone could stop her, Ginny reached for the door handle. As soon as she made contact, she was thrown back into a wall with a loud thud, no doubt knocking her unconscious, and you could almost see the spell coming off of her. In the distance they heard someone shout and footsteps come running in their direction. Recasting the Disillusionment spell on her, Harry picked her up. Ron took hold of her now fragile hand and gave it a squeeze, whispering, "You'll be ok, Ginny."

Harry and Ron began to make their way up the stairs, obviously retreating, but Hermione made no movement. Ron turned around and whispered, "Come on!" But she still made no effort to move. He told her again and this time she shook her head.

"Hermione, let's go!"

Hermione was almost ready to cry, "I can't! What if she is my daughter? You want me to condemn her, then?"

"You're only condemning yourself by not leaving! Come on!"

She shook her head, "No, Ron. If I'm not back soon, I guess you'll just have to rescue us both, then."

Finally, Harry spoke up, "Hermione! You can't save her if you get yourself killed! And they will kill you!"

"No! Harry, Ron, get Ginny out of here! That way, if something does happen, you can save Lauran and I!"

Harry and Ron looked at one another. After a moment, they both nodded. "We'll come back as soon as we can and help as much as we can," Harry promised before they both left.

As soon as they rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, Malfoy himself came thumping down the stairs. Hermione stood still, her heart beating so fast it was difficult to breathe. Malfoy looked around with a look of rage consuming his face. With a quick flick of his wrist, he waved his readied wand, checking the wards. Surely, he'll see that I'm here and he'll kill me, Hermione kept thinking to herself. When he finished checking the wards, his face grew darker than it had been and he cursed under his breath. Has he seen me? she thought, Or does he see the remnants of Ginny touching the door?

Suddenly, his angry voice spoke, "Where are you?"

Hermione reached to ready her wand, but did not say a word.

"I know you're here! Answer me!"

Again she did not answer.

"Fine…have it your way, then. Ostendo!"

Unexpectedly, Hermione felt as if an Invisibility Cloak was being ripped off of her. She tried to deflect the spell with no success. His eyes shot daggers through her.

"So, Potter's filthy Mudblood friend has come to rescue a fellow Mudblood. But what have we here? Alone? How foolish of you!"

He raised his wand to attack, but Hermione was faster, "Impedimenta!"

Though his movements were slowed, he managed to fire a 'Crucio' at Hermione. Immediately, she felt as if her bones were on fire. Try as she might, she could not deflect the spell and send it back to him. It appeared he had grown quite powerful since the final battle at Hogwarts. Finally, the feeling vanished and she was able to stand again. Funny, I hadn't even realized I was on the floor, she thought to herself. He was laughing as she slowly brought herself to a standing position, feigning cripple. In all reality, she was plotting what spell to hit him with. Then an idea struck her. It could be potentially problematic, but it's worth a try, she was thinking to herself as she finalized her standing position.

"Conjunctivitis!"

While he was preoccupied with the boils emerging all over his body, Hermione took the opportune moment to hit him with a very powerful, "Stupefy!"

Without the grace he so desperately feigned in every movement, he hit the ground. Hermione spun around to the dungeon door. Without touching it with anything, Hermione waved her wand over it mumbling an extremely complicated spell to see which wards were upon it. She was able to pick out three but was oblivious of the others. No doubt, they are Dark Magic, she thought as she heard the footsteps. She spun around in enough time to see a flash of red light hit her square in the chest and then everything was black.

Final Note: Ostendo Me Ad Amicis literally translated means: Reveal me to friends...or at least that's what it is supposed to mean.

Ostendo just simply means: Reveal.

I hope you liked this chapter! REVIEWS ARE WELCOME!