A/N) I have finished writing chapter 53 and have planned the majority of this fic out. At a best guess, the story will run at 85 chapters. I am hoping to finish this story before Christmas. If I keep at the pace I am going then I should do. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far; I greatly appreciate the feedback!

Disclaimer: I'd like to thank Robin4 for giving me permission to use her spells she created for her own stories. Two are used in this chapter.

Chapter Forty-Nine: Taken

"Stay behind me!" ordered Sirius, his wand held aloft in his hand, as he swept his eyes around the street, searching for the Death Eaters that would inevitably show themselves in time. He had already sent out a Patronus to the school to warn the Headmaster that the village was under attack. "Whatever you do, your first priority is to get back to the school, no matter what happens, alright?"

Harry swallowed, his hand gripping his wand tightly. He wouldn't even dignify Sirius with an answer. He already knew what he would do: he wasn't going to run off when people fought for him. He was a Gryffindor, wasn't he?

"Harry! Promise me you will not fight!" yelled Sirius, even as the laughter increased in volume.

"I have to! I could end this right here!" he replied in return, keeping his voice calm and controlled.

Hermione grabbed his arm. "Harry, you're just fifteen! You can't fight him!"

But Harry could: he was destined to defeat Voldemort or die trying... surely he should try at every opportunity, shouldn't he? "I have to!"

Sirius turned dark eyes on him, his expression calm. "Harry, you have to learn things about Voldemort: knowledge on how to defeat him. He isn't an ordinary wizard and right now you do not have that knowledge, so if you go out there and fight you will die!" He hated being blunt with Harry, but he had to understand that today was not his fight.

Harry chewed his bottom lip. "I don't want to lose you," he whispered.

"You won't," said Sirius, throwing him a grin. "I'm trained for this, you're not. Get Ron and Hermione," he waved his left arm out towards the other panicking students, "and the rest of the students out!" He grasped Harry's shoulder firmly. "Now go, and don't come back!" he yelled as he shoved Harry away and running forward towards the group of darkly-clad figures that were now striding from their hiding places towards them, Remus at his side.

Despite the terror she felt, Hermione was keeping a cool head. "Come on!" She spotted Ginny Weasley stumbling around a bend, flashes of light flying over her head. Not knowing enough curses to fight the enemy was frustrating: but Hermione adapted herself well, casting 'Stupefy' and 'Impedimenta' one after the other. Two Death Eaters went down, but not for long as their comrades quickly revived them, however Hermione's quick action had saved Ginny's life and now the youngest Weasley was running towards Harry and Ron who were half-way up the street already with a large group of students at their heels.

Glancing over her shoulder, Hermione saw Bellatrix Lestrange emerge from the shadows, an insane grin plastering across her face. She was laughing, her wand rising even as she spotted Hermione running away.

The curse came to her lips and Hermione braced herself, knowing that she wouldn't be able to escape from the other Death Eaters, and praying fervently that none of them decided to use the killing curse.

And then all she knew was blinding pain.

"HERMIONE!"

Harry had seen Hermione fall; had seen as she had been struck by the torture curse. He had already sent Ron further away with the other students, only a few now remained. He figured that he could easily be the last student in Hogsmeade, save for Hermione who was writhing, screaming in agony on the cobbled road. He knew all about Bellatrix, having heard about her from his godfather, and he understood that she was mad and dangerous.

He couldn't leave Hermione to her; he just couldn't.

Sorry Sirius, he thought, and ran back towards the centre of Hogsmeade.

Sirius kicked out, sending Remus crashing to his knees as a killing curse swept over his friend's head. If he had still been standing, Remus would have been dead. They were surrounded by at least ten Death Eaters, one of whom Sirius knew was Narcissa Malfoy – his cousin and wife to the now imprisoned Lucius Malfoy.

"Everbero!" A strike spell hit him in chest, sending him flying, his back impacting against the side of the building. He wasn't going to get caught beneath a collapsing building again.

Scrambling to his feet, Sirius yelled: "Extundo!" The spell impacted against a shield and rocketed back towards him as it was deflected. He tried to throw up a shield but wasn't fast enough as his own spell and a Cruciatus Curse hit him full in the chest and stomach. He screamed in pain, collapsing to his knees. Dimly he saw Remus stagger forwards, still fighting, but whoever was holding the torture curse on him wasn't letting go. Sirius struggled against the pain, trying to push it off, but not succeeding in summoning the necessary strength to do so. He rolled away, but the spell-caster had anticipated him, adapting their aim so that the curse followed him.

His fingers shook, struggling to hold onto his wand. Come on, you can fight this off! "PROTEGO!" he bellowed, finally managing to shake off the curse. Scrambling to his feet, spitting blood from his mouth, Sirius became aware of Remus' unconscious form beside him and the tight circle of Death Eaters that had enclosed around them both.

In the centre of the circle stood Voldemort, a malevolent grin plastered across his face, his red eyes gleaming as he pointed his wand directly at Sirius' heart.

Ron shoved the last of the students that Harry had sent his way up the lane and out of Hogsmeade. So far, no Death Eaters had followed them. They must be here for something else. He wished he hadn't even thought about that as the answer came to him immediately. Harry, you idiot! "Why are you not coming?" he hissed through gritted teeth.

Once again, the answer came: "Because Sirius is still there." And Hermione, he added mentally. Frustrated, Ron ran back towards Hogsmeade, not knowing that as soon as he had left his post, members of the Order of the Phoenix had appeared, Apparating just outside the village. It had not gone unnoticed by Professor McGonagall that Harry Potter had failed to return.

"STUPEFY!"

It was not his best choice of spells, but Harry had no choice. He simply couldn't think as his eyes saw Hermione's writhing form on the ground. The Death Eaters around her were laughing, not even noticing his approach, but now they twisted on their feet, bringing their wands up towards him.

Bellatrix Lestrange had finally lifted her wand, an insane grin stretching across her face. "It's little-bitty baby Potter!"

"Leave her alone!" he yelled. "It's me you want!"

Hermione was shaking on the ground, her body completely limp.

"Are you so sure that you are what we want?" asked Bellatrix, her voice course and rough.

Harry swallowed. "I know what Voldemort is after: knowledge."

"Our Lord knows everything," hissed Bellatrix. "What could a filthy Half-blood possibly know that the Dark Lord does not?" Her wand was now pointing towards Harry with the other Death Eaters.

Standing quite calmly despite the danger he was in, Harry allowed a grin to spread. "Something that you do not know he is after. Clearly he doesn't trust you." He was playing a dangerous game, but if it kept Bellatrix's attention on him, maybe he would figure out a way to get Hermione to safety?

"HOW DARE YOU? The Dark Lord TRUSTS me with everything! You are a filthy LIAR!" snarled Bellatrix, stepping forward.

Harry grinned. He felt reckless. "Am I? Perhaps you should take it up with him before you think you are special to him, Lestrange?"

"CRUCIO!"

Pain erupted through Harry's body, but he laughed. He crumpled, his wand falling from his fingers. And then through his closed eyelids he saw a flash of light. There was a loud shriek and the curse was lifted. His body ached but Harry managed to get to his knees.

"Harry!"

He turned his head; that was Ron kneeling beside him.

"I thought I told you to get back to Hogwarts?" he asked, dazed.

"No, that's what Sirius told you to do but you disobeyed him. Besides, mate, I couldn't leave you alone to fight this lot, could I?" Ron held up a hand and hauled his friend to his feet; Harry's knees wobbling, but he kept his balance.

It was only then that he realised that he wasn't alone; the Death Eaters were fighting Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix. But there were two people missing.

Bellatrix and Hermione were gone.

"What do you want?" growled Sirius, spitting at Voldemort's feet, not caring if his words meant instant death.

"You have something that I want," was the reply. "Unfortunately you have been rather difficult to obtain... that has now changed."

"Got fed up of your minions failing to bring me to you? Had to come out and do it yourself?"

"Crucio." Soft words, but the curse was still as painful as it had been before.

The curse was only lifted when Sirius collapsed once more to the ground, a scream being strangled from his throat.

"We could do this all day until you tell me what I want to know."

Sirius snorted. "As if I'm going to help you kill my godson." He knew Voldemort was after the Prophecy. The Dark Lord would know that Harry had succeeded in Occlumency: Sirius was the only other person who would know what he wanted and his job as an Auror meant that he was more out in the open and easier to catch.

"Do you want to die?" asked Voldemort, calmly.

"Not particularly. You're not really giving me any other choice." It was surreal talking to Voldemort like this. This bastard had killed James and Lily, and wanted Harry. He wouldn't let him get to him.

"There is always a choice," was the dark reply. He strolled away from Sirius, turning his back on him.

Sirius' eyes fell on his wand, lying feet away from him. He lunged towards it, the curse already on his lips as his hand grasped the wood, but a booted foot came crashing down on his wrist, breaking the bone in two. He yelled, his fingers opening; his wand dropping from his palm.

"I told you that you had a choice," whispered Voldemort.

Sirius didn't meet his gaze, only gritted his teeth.

"Bring him."

Remus groaned, his eyes adjusting to the bright light shining above him. Wonderful, back in the hospital wing again. He tried to sit up but a gentle arm pushed him back down. It was Dumbledore.

"What happened?" he asked, his tongue struggling to work as his head spun from the thumping headache he had. He had hit his head pretty hard as he had fallen.

"Voldemort attacked Hogsmeade," the Headmaster replied, "however, no one was injured."

"What about Sirius?" he asked. He saw briefly Dumbledore's eyes flicker.

"He's gone."

"What do you mean?" His chest constricted. No, no, please no...

"We found you lying outside The Three Broomsticks. You had suffered a nasty head wound but Madam Pomfrey has fixed you up. Sirius was nowhere to be found."

Remus' face paled. "They took him didn't they?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I'm afraid so. Miss Tonks found his wand close to where you were discovered. The Order and the Aurors got to Hogsmeade shortly after Sirius sent word, however we were too late to reach Voldemort. He had already issued the retreat order by the time we had fought through the first group of Death Eaters. By the time we reached you, Sirius was gone."

"Does Harry know?" asked Remus.

"Not yet... the Aurors are briefing him on other events that happened."

Remus felt like he didn't want to know. What else could possibly have occurred?

"Miss Hermione Granger is also missing. We have reason to believe that she was taken as well, but for what purpose, we can only guess at."

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think!

Remember, if you kill me, you won't find out what has/will happen to Sirius and Hermione!

Next chapter: Harry and Ron talk to Dumbledore and Sirius and Hermione find themselves in the hands of the enemy.

Will be posted on Thursday.

the-writer1988