Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. No copyright infringement intended.
Author: Totchi
Title: Stolen
Pairing: HP/DM
Rating: Mature
Summary: Draco Malfoy has been kidnapped and a ransom letter was left in the possession of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Harry Potter has been called in to investigate and bring Draco back, but something about this kidnapping is not what it seems.

Author's Notes: This chapter was being very difficult. I had written more than half of it, but it was the middle half and I couldn't figure out how to write the beginning and the end of it! That, and I started on another story, which I find much more fun to write. ;)

oooOooo

Harry wanted to pull his hair out. Or throw something across the room. Even cast a haphazard Incendio and see what ended up in flames. Harry Potter wasn't just frustrated, he was livid.

"Calm down, mate."

Ron gave a weary glance at his partner as they walked through the hall, heading back to Harry's office. He could feel the anger radiating off the other man in waves. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if Harry caused some of the lights to flicker or something to break. It wouldn't be the first time he let his magic get out of control. Just as Ron finished thinking it, some of the torches started swaying madly, creating ghostly shadows on the walls as Harry walked by sighing loudly.

"How can I calm down?" Harry grouched, giving a moody glance to the redhead. "I just had to sit down in a room for an hour and somehow explain to Malfoy's parents that even though I haven't even found him yet, I was competent enough to be on the case. I know what to expect from his father. But his mum? I didn't even know how to address it with her."

Ron grimaced, nodding in sympathy. He had seen everything play out in another room while he looked in, and though Lucius Malfoy was creating a scene with his anger and shouting, it was Narcissa Malfoy's calm and disappointed demeanor that bothered Ron even more. He was definitely glad he wasn't required to sit in during the meeting. He would've made the situation worse, probably by just co-existing in the room with them.

"But they left eventually," Ron pointed out, giving a half-grin to the other man, who saw it and gave out another exasperated sigh.

"Yeah, only because they knew that out of everyone here, we would take it most serious," Harry pulled at his hair again, agitated. Once the words came out of his mouth though, his anger quickly evaporated.

Ron noticed this and reached over, slapping his shoulder good-naturedly.

"It's true, you know," Ron shook his head, sighing. "No matter how long time pasts, there's still going to be those lingering feelings. Some people just can't get over it. It's probably why Malfoy felt comfortable always coming to bother you and nobody else. Git knew you treated him the way you did because to you he was the same stupid Malfoy from school, not because of anything else that happened back then…"

Harry threw him a look of surprise.

"Ron, when have you become so…" he wrinkled his brow, trying to think of a word but having difficulty.

Ron waved a hand dismissively, "Oh shove off, Harry. I've always been this brilliant, I just chose to hide it from everyone up until now."

His half smile turned into a full grin when Harry gave him a look that clearly stated he didn't believe him.

"Ok," he confessed. "Fine, I'll tell you the truth. It's hard not to become more observant you know, not when Hermione's around all the time. She's rubbing off on me."

"Now that, I believe," Harry mused lightly as they made their way back down to the Auror department.

He avoided the light punch aimed his way and gave a faint smile. When they finally made their way back, they were greeted by their secretary and a small stack of letters.

"I was going to leave them in your office, sir," Bradley gave them both a smile as he handed over the stack. "But I didn't want to move anything around on your desk."

"Wise move," Ron laughed aloud, making his way into Harry's office. "It looks like a natural disaster made its way onto his desk."

Harry rolled his eyes at his friend's comment but looked back at Bradley.

"Thank you for not moving anything, we've been doing some research and needed to go to a quick meeting before I had a chance to reorganize everything."

"Would you like me to help you put everything away?" Bradley asked, peering back into Harry's office. "Though I must admit… A lot of those things seemed rather…"

Harry stared at the other man and noted that he looked uncomfortable.

"Thank you for the offer," Harry shook his head gently while giving the other man a faint smile. "I think if you could get us some coffee, it would be even better."

"Coffee?" the other man looked surprised. "Not tea, sir?"

"No, Ron and I are in for a long night."

After a few hours, Harry and Ron found themselves with a few empty pots of coffee and more than a few kinks in their neck and shoulders. Ron gave a loud sigh as he stood up to stretch, a few pops from his back reminding Harry of the uncomfortable tightness forming on his own spine.

"Well," Ron threw the other man a glance. "I dunno about you, but I'm pretty tired of reading up on this Franklin lunatic."

Harry gave a sound of agreement, pushing himself back from the desk, letting his head fall back. They spent the last few hours combing through the various documents that Hermione had pulled for them regarding a wizard who had gained infamy a few years before Voldemort's first rising.

Jeremiah Franklin, Harry had read, is currently locked up in Azkaban for a life-term with no chance of parole. He was accused and convicted of kidnapping and killing seven witches in the span of five years, with accusations abound that he had killed dozens more muggle women. The details of the gruesome murders left a very bad taste in Harry's mouth and he had found himself skimming those details rather quickly in a bid to keep the bile from rising from his throat.

Ron, Harry had quickly noticed, had a brief look of disgust on his face in the beginning, but then it was replaced by a stern determination that had him filing through the reports and memos with a charmed quill and notepad beside him to take down notes for him. Harry was secretly thankful, as he was having a hard time taking down notes the later it got. Harry was never that good with picking out the minute details in Auror reports, so he was looking forward to Ron debriefing him on what he had found.

Harry pulled his head back up from where he had been resting it and looked over at his friend. Ron looked pretty tired and Harry was sure that he probably looked even worse. He opened his mouth to let the redhead know he was free to leave, but Ron spoke first.

"Do you think that whoever has Malfoy is a copycat?"

Harry closed his mouth, his brow furrowing as he thought. That idea wasn't lost on him as he had read through some of the reports. Throughout all of it, a theme had slowly popped up in regards to the victims that Franklin had taken, as well as what he did to them.

"He did kidnap blondes," Harry nodded his head, listing out what he had noticed. "And had also sent messages to authorities in an attempt to mock them when they began searching for the witches."

"Franklin also drugged his victims," Ron pointed out as well, pointing to some notes he had made. "And we already thought that Malfoy looked like he wasn't all there in those pictures."

"But that's where the similarities end," Harry shook his head, picking up his wand and giving it a wave, watching as all the evidence shuffled neatly back into folders. "This guy kidnapped witches, tortured them…"

He trailed off, a deep frown on his face as he recalled some of the more gruesome details.

"Raped them, and also killed them," Ron finished for him, a frown on his face as well. "None of which I hope have happened to Malfoy."

Harry's throat dried out as he tried not to think about something that horrible happening to the missing wizard.

"Franklin also kept the witches for only two weeks," he continued after clearing his throat. "If this other man is trying to be a copycat, that means we only have one more week before… it's too late."

Ron looked down at his notes again and pointed at the last line.

"I think we should go pay Franklin a visit," he tapped his notes with a finger. "Maybe we can pick up clues from him that we might've missed in the reports."

oooOooo

"I really hate that you've been marked…"

Draco could feel the fingers trailing down his forearm, but he couldn't find the energy to pull away, or even open his eyes. He didn't remember the last time he had any sort of sustenance and he could still taste the bitter remains of a potion that was force-fed to him, which he was pretty sure used to cause lethargy.

"It makes me really angry that someone would do this and mar your skin," his captor continued on, as if Draco's near-comatose state would elicit a normal conversation. "But don't worry, dear. I've made something that would get rid of it so that we don't have to see that disgusting tattoo."

Draco had been going in and out of consciousness at that point, but when he heard the crazy man talk about removing the Dark Mark, he used what energy he had left to focus. What was the insane man going on about? Draco had tried everything after the war to get rid of his Mark, and he knew there were no ways that were available to make it disappear.

As if he could read the man's mind, his kidnapper leaned forward, breath ghosting across the side of Draco's face.

"It'll be a little bit painful for you," he murmured softly, so close that Draco could feel chapped lips against his ear. "But in the end, it'll be worth it. Because you're mine and you should never have anything on you from anyone else. It makes me really unhappy, Draco."

When he felt the man pull away, Draco struggled to open his eyes. Ever so slowly, he was able to pry them apart to a crack, noticing that there was barely any light in the room. He let his eyes wander and focused in on the figure moving around in the dark. Soon enough, the other man came over with a vial that glimmered. It was too dim for him to try to recognize what was in the bottle, but he tensed up when the cork was removed from it and a foul odor travelled over to him. When the bed dipped from the weight of the other man and his arm was pulled away from his body, Draco sensed that he should prepare himself for something bad.

"Hopefully it won't hurt for very long," the other man said comfortingly, giving Draco's forearm a caress. "It'll be ok though, I'm here for you Draco. Just remember that."

With that, he tightened his grip on Draco's wrist and slowly poured the contents of the vial onto his exposed skin. The liquid inside the vial was slow to come out, thick and cold. Draco tried to keep himself from breathing in the terrible smell, but he was distracted by a strange sizzling sound and warmth creeping into his arm. He barely had time to shut his eyes as the warmth quickly turned into a searing sensation that seemed to burn its way down to his bones. His world was slowly turning black and he could faintly hear screaming. For a brief second, he wondered if some of the potion had spilled onto the crazy lunatic beside him and was causing him to scream. When blackness finally swallowed him whole, did he realize the screaming was coming from his own mouth.

oooOooo

"It wasn't a coincidence, how I chose my beautiful victims…" Franklin grinned, peering at the men on the other side of his cell. "I was very particular about them. I didn't just pick someone off the street."

"Why did you target those particular women?" Ron asked, his face schooled in a blank expression to not show his disgust at the man who was talking so casually about all of his victims. "Because they were blonde?"

Franklin scoffed, staring at the redhead as if he just asked if the other man was a wizard. However, a moment later, that same self-satisfied smile crossed his face as he leaned forward, excited to share his story.

"They were so beautiful, so tragic… I would watch them, pining away for someone that they could never have. I could see how hard they tried to be noticed, only to be rebuffed by the person that held their hearts in their hands and didn't even know it…" he paused, sighing as he closed his eyes, thinking back to his victims.

Harry cleared his throat to get the man's attention. Once the man's eyes opened again, Harry nodded his head, silently asking him to continue.

"I thought it was abysmal that they were in love with people that didn't even give them the time of day," he sneered softly, a strange light in his eyes highlighting the fact that he was in Azkaban for a reason. "They were so lovely… But nobody else appreciated them like I could. So I took them and I was going to convince them that they were better, that they could be loved and be in love with someone better."

"And who would love them better?" Harry asked, a frown gracing his lips.

"Me, of course!" Franklin laughed, as if it were obvious. "I would show them how better off they were with me, I loved them for what they were. I wouldn't just ignore them, I was better than whoever it was that they thought they were in love with. I just had to prove it to them that I loved them more than anyone else."

"How did you convince them that they loved you instead?" Ron crossed his arms, feeling like they were actually getting somewhere for once in this weird case.

"Ah, you see… They were already so poisoned by the fact that they thought they were in love with someone else… Someone who didn't ever notice them," Franklin replied lightly, shrugging. "So I just had to get that poison out of their pretty little heads… It wasn't that hard, really. I just fed them some potions that I created myself… And soon enough, they knew that I was the only one that loved them."

"Love potions are impossible to make," Harry pointed out, frowning. "What did you make them take?"

A sly smile appeared on the other man's lips as he leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms.

"I can assure you, Auror Potter," his eyes alight with mischief, "that when I was with them for the last time, embracing them when they were fully aware that they were about to die, my victims held onto me tightly and begged me for more."

"If you don't believe me," he continued, amused by the two Aurors before him. "You are free to view everything first hand… I believe they have a Pensieve with all of my memories."

His laughter scathed against Harry's skin as he stared at the insane man trapped in his cell. Harry had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, knowing that many of the things that he had seen revolving around Malfoy's case were so similar to the cases caused by the man before him. But how could it be, when the man was locked up in Azkaban?

"Tell me, Auror Potter," Franklin's gaze pierced Harry's green eyes, making Harry wonder if he knew what he was thinking about. "Have you ever felt love like that for another? Love that you knew they never returned?"

Before Harry could reply, Franklin had gotten up, rushing to the bars to press as close as he could to the two men.

"No, you haven't, Auror Potter," he hissed out, eyes narrowed at the dark-haired man. "In fact, I can just tell by looking at you. You're one of them, the ones that ignore everyone around… I can just see it now, someone's so in love with you and you don't even notice… You don't even care!"

There was so much venom in the prisoner's eyes that Harry almost found himself stepping back, only to remind himself that the other man couldn't get through even if he tried.

"You know what I did to those that were like you?" Franklin cooed out, his eyes crazed. "I would tease them… Send them letters and pictures and videos… Oh, you can't imagine how stupid they realized they were when they received those gifts from me, seeing how the ones that used to love them so much now loved me… Called my name, begged for me…"

"It's what people like you deserve," he said haughtily, turning around to go back to his bed.

As the man sat down on his bed and refused to turn around, Harry and Ron glanced at each other, knowing that this was the end of their conversation. With one last look, they left.

oooOooo

"That guy is a sicko," Ron supplied helpfully after the two Aurors returned to the Ministry. "I can see why he is sentenced for life in Azkaban."

"Yeah, me too," Harry replied absentmindedly, so distracted by his own thoughts that he almost bumped into a door, if it wasn't for the fact that Ron nudged him in the right direction. "He's completely out of touch with reality."

He made his way to his office, not even noticing when Bradley got up and asked if they needed anything. In fact, even after sitting at his desk for five minutes, he barely registered anything else other than his thoughts until Ron waved a hand in his face.

"Harry!"

He was pulled back into reality as Ron's face appeared before his. Running a hand through his hair, he gave his friend an apologetic smile.

"What's on your mind, Harry?" Ron asked, leaning back to sit down in a chair. "I mean, I know that Franklin guy is worrisome, but you look like someone just told you that you'll have to go up against another Dark Lord."

Harry gave him a look that clearly said that Ron's comment wasn't funny at all before giving up with a sigh.

"I don't know," he admitted after a moment, wondering why he felt so distracted. "It's just some of the thinks Franklin said. About why he even chose to do what he did… And what he said about me too, I think it got a little under my skin."

Ron nodded in agreement, a strange look passing over his face.

"There are a lot more similarities than we first thought," he pointed out, casting a Tempus charm to check the time. "And it is really worrisome if we think that there's a connection…"

"But mate," he continued on, giving Harry a serious look. "All this business about what he said about you? It's barmy. He's just a lunatic, don't mind what he says about you."

"Yeah," Harry agreed absentmindedly.

He really wanted to believe what Ron said, but if he thought more about it and really think about what Franklin said about him, then that would mean that Malfoy… He stopped his train of thought, an uncomfortable tightness settling in his stomach. He wasn't going to think about those types of things. It was unsettling and his mind was trying to venture into strange, dark places. Most definitely because of a crazy man he just talked to and lack of sleep.

"I think we need a break," Ron announced, standing abruptly. "It is almost noon and I have famished. I think we could do with some food and some good company. Let's go find Hermione."

Before Harry was able to reply, he was hauled out of his chair to go find his other best friend.