Hermione woke with a start. She couldn't see and for a moment, she panicked but then realized there was some kind of hood over her head. Her arms were bound behind her back and her legs were bound at her ankles and her knees. She was sitting on a hard, cement floor, and she could feel a stone wall against her back. She was in a basement or a dungeon she surmised. But where? And who had taken her? She tried to remember what she'd seen right before she'd been stunned but all she could think of was a large shadow. Nothing hurt, Hermione realized. Other than where the ropes had bound her. So whoever it wasn't hadn't intended to hurt her when they took her. But why had she been kidnapped? In conclusion, she thought, she had no idea where she was, who had taken her, and why she was there. She didn't even know how long she'd been out. Draco would look for her, that she was certain of, and hopefully employ the help of the rest of her friends as well. They would find her, she thought confidently. Until then, she'd try to find a way out.
She tried to slide up the wall to stand but almost instantly felt the ropes pull against her skin. So she was tied up and tied to the wall, as well as the floor. Great. She concentrated and tried to untie the ropes with wandless magic but they didn't budge. She was tired, hungry, and not feeling her best, she acknowledged, and wandless magic required all of the above. Hermione tried to see through the hood, then tilted her head down and tried to shake it off but it stayed firmly in place. Whoever had her either knew the extent of her abilities, even if she was a little rusty, or had done this before, she realized. They'd taken every precaution to ensure she couldn't move, let alone escape. Frustrated, Hermione sat, waiting to see what happened next.
Meanwhile, the awkward tension in the Auror main room hadn't quite passed and Harry was reaching the limit of his patience.
"Can we get rid of him?" Seamus whispered, less than subtly nodding in Draco's direction.
Harry slammed down the folder he was holding, bringing all the activity in the room to a silent halt.
"If one more person questions my judgement regarding Draco Malfoy's presence in this room I will personally throw you out and ensure you have desk duty for the next six months," Harry announced authoritatively. "Does anyone else have anything they would like to say?"
His question was met with silence.
"Excellent," he said. "Now if we could focus on finding Hermione Granger perhaps we could find her before whoever has her harms her. I certainly would hate to go to Minister Shacklebolt and tell him he has aurors who allow their personal feelings to come before their job."
Once Harry finished speaking, everyone went back to work, now choosing to simply pretend Draco wasn't there at all rather than talking to him.
"Thank you," Draco said to Harry.
"I still don't like you," Harry replied with a half grin.
Malfoy returned his grin. "I still don't like you either."
"So what were you saying?" Harry asked.
"Rabastan Lestrange listens to three people," Draco told him. "Rodolphus, who is dead, Bellatrix, who is also dead, and my father."
"Who is in Azkaban," Harry finished for him.
"But alive," Draco pointed out. "I think you need to consider the possibility that he somehow is in contact with him."
"That's not possible," Harry argued. "We monitor every letter that comes in and out of Azkaban, every guest, everything. If someone, especially a known Death Eater, were communicating with your father, we'd know."
"The only person who Lucius Malfoy corresponds with is Narcissa Malfoy," Ron said coming over, pointedly speaking directly to Harry.
"That's not right," Draco said. "My mother doesn't speak to my father. She hasn't since the final battle."
"Twice a week, every week for the last 3 years, according to our log," Ron said smugly. "I guess you don't know everything ferret."
"Enough," Harry said, staring at Ron. "Don't make me throw you out."
"Fine," Ron replied angrily. "But he's still wrong. It clearly says right here letters from Narcissa Malfoy, they're sending over copies right now."
"I need to talk to my mother," Draco said, moving to leave the room but Harry stopped him.
"I can't let you do that," he told Draco.
"Why the bloody hell not?" Draco asked.
"Because your mother is now a person of interest," Harry replied. "She has to be brought in for questioning."
"You can't do that to her," Draco answered. "She's...unwell."
"I know," Harry told him, continuing when he saw Draco's look of surprise. "Hermione told me in case something ever happened. I'll be the one to question her, no one else. I even have a couple vials of her potion if something happens. You know Hermione, she thinks of everything."
"I want to be in the room," Draco demanded.
"I can't allow that either," Harry replied but held up his hand for Draco to stop when he went to speak. "However her advocate would be allowed to be present."
"Her advocate?" Draco questioned. "Who is her…"
Harry gave him a knowing look. "If she brings an advocate, I have to allow it."
Then it hit Draco what Harry was saying. "If you'll excuse me, I believe I have a call to make," Draco said.
"There's a fireplace at the end of the hall," Harry informed him. "You can floo call anyone you need to from there."
Draco hurried out of the room and, after a few minutes, returned.
"I need to go get your mother now," Harry told Draco. "I assume she's at Malfoy Manor?"
"Yes," Draco replied calmly. "She'll most likely be in the living room. She takes her tea now."
Harry nodded to Draco and turned to address his team.
"Continue with your individual assignments," Harry said to them. "Ron and I are going to pick up a potential suspect. Should you need me I have my coin."
Harry turned back to Draco and handed him a galleon.
"What's this for?" Draco asked, turning it over.
"Tap it if you need us," Harry said. "They work better with wands but just you should be enough to make it work."
"Another invention of Hermione's?" Draco questioned.
"Yes," Harry replied. "She's brilliant. Can't figure what she's doing with you."
Draco looked up and almost let something slip but then he realized Harry had said it with almost a joking tone. Draco half laughed and answered, "Yeah, neither can I."
Ron shot Draco a glare before walking out of the room. Harry moved to follow him but stopped and turned and spoke to the group again. "If anyone does anything to Malfoy while I'm gone, I'll know." he said. "And I'll kick you off this team the minute I get back."
At that, Harry walked out of the room, leaving Draco alone in a room full of people who hated him.
"Bugger it," Draco said to himself and dropped into a seat at the front of the room. He grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and began to list everyone he could think of who would want to hurt him, his mother, or Hermione. He was going to need more parchment, he realized. A lot more.
A/N: Review, favorite, follow, thaaaaaaanks! :)