Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! Life has been a bit crazy, and several stories have been begging me for attention. I am hoping that my mind can stay in one place so I can concentrate on finishing this story and the other stories that are not completed on this site... just have to remind myself to not come up with any more NEW ideas! Sorry for the rambling... on to the chapter!

"Never go somewhere just on instinct."

"Where the devil is everyone?" Remus huffs as he paces the hardwood floors of the Headmaster's office.

"Patience, Remus," the portrait of Albus Dumbledore replies. "Phineas, can you go to your other portrait and see if they went to Grimauld Place instead? With the way everything has been as of late, they might have gotten mixed up with the meeting place."

"If we were speaking of someone else, I would probably agree with you, Albus," Remus states as he leans against the fireplace in the corner. "But, we are talking about Alistair and Minerva! They are too level-headed to get confused about the meeting place. I do not like this one bit."

Lupin stares into the fire as Dumbledore's portrait looks on. Albus's brow furrows into a frown as he realises that Phineas is not back in his portrait yet. "Where is he?" the deceased headmaster mumbles to himself as he shifts in his chair.

The minutes tick by as Remus stares at the clock sitting on the desk in the centre of the room. "Maybe I should go look for them myself," he says when he could tolerate the wait no longer.

"Just wait," Dumbledore's portrait says as he hears footsteps climbing the stairs to the office. "Maybe they were just delayed," he continues as the door creaks open. "You know how old Alistair is, maybe he just... oh, it is you Harry."

The young wizard closes the door behind him and turns to face Remus and Albus. His face ashen with the grief he felt. "They were captured," he states as he falls into the leather armchair in front of the desk. He stares up at the portrait of the deceased headmaster and sighs. "There was a raid on Grimauld Place when Molly and Moody went to find Hermione.

"Why on earth would they try to find her?" Remus snarls as he begins anew his fevered pacing. "She is on their side! She killed one of Molly's sons!"

"You didn't see The Prophet?" Harry asks as he pulls the newspaper out from his jacket and tosses it on the table. "She had been placed under the Imperious Curse, or so they say and escaped the Ministry. From what Ginny told me, she had been gravely wounded trying to escape and had headed to Sirius's manor before trying to contact someone for help."

"Surely, you did not believe that, Harry?" Dumbledore asks incredulously as he peers through the frame and stares at him.

"I did before, but not now," he replies sullenly as he fiddles with the galleon in his hand. "You should remember this, professor." He sets it on the table and watches as the coin rolls to a stop by the paper. "These were the galleons we used when we set up D.A. It was the way we were able to communicate with one another to keep the meetings away from Umbridge."

"I remember," Albus replies with a smile. "And if memory serves correctly, Miss Granger was the one who created it after working out the mechanics behind the Dark Marks."

The young wizard nods his head in agreement. "That is true. I kept it as a reminder of those days. And also used it at times to communicate with Ron or Ginny while I when I was sent back to Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's house during the summer. After a while, we kinda stopped using them and I just carried mine around like a good luck charm... until now."

Remus stops in his tracks and stares at Harry. "You were messaged, weren't you?"

"Yes..." He looks up from staring at the floor and sighs. "Last night, I received a message from Ginny stating that they were all captured and are now being held somewhere near Malfoy Manor."

"Who has been captured, Harry?" Lupin demands as he rushes over to the other man and grabs him by his jacket collar. "Tell me, dammit! Who has been captured?"

"Easy now, Remus," Albus soothes as he watches helplessly from the portrait. He glances back towards Phineas's frame and frowns. Why hasn't he made it back yet? Wiping the worried look from his brow, the deceased headmaster turns back towards the two wizards in the room and clears his throat. "Come now, Remus. Harry will not be able to speak comfortably if you continue to try to strangle him with his jacket."

Lupin takes a deep breath and releases Harry's collar. Stepping back, the older wizard leans against the desk and crosses his arms. As he waits for Potter's reply, he stares at the floor feeding the dread that had settled in the pit of his stomach.

"Ginny, Fred, George, Molly, and Moody were all captured by Bellatrix and Hermione when they went to Grimauld Place to help Hermione," the young wizard says as he glances up at the portrait of Albus.

"Did you receive this message from Ginny through the galleon?" Dumbledore asks as he leans forward.

"Yes," Harry says as he adverts his eyes. Even though the Headmaster was dead, he could still feel the piercing gaze trying to see through to his soul. "That's not all she told me. Professor McGonagall, Professor Trelawney, Andromeda and Tonks were captured as well."

"What?" Remus explodes as he flies from his perch on the desk back towards Harry. He lifts the young man off the chair and forces him to look into his eyes. "How in the name of Merlin were they captured? You couldn't tell me that my fiancée was captured beforehand?"

"Settle down, Remus," Albus states calmly. "We need to figure out what to do. Cool heads will be better to figure out the best way to move forward with this information."

Lupin lets go of Harry's shirt causing the wizard to fall to the ground. "Don't tell me to keep my cool, Albus, you do not know what it is like to feel this pain. Do you know what they will do to them? Bellatrix will gladly kill her sister and her niece once she gets her hands on them! In her mind, they betrayed their family and she will stop at nothing to avenge that betrayal!"

"Do we even know for sure that this is what occurred?" Dumbledore says thoughtfully as he strokes his beard and stares into the distance. "Harry says that Ginny sent this message to him, but what else did she say?"

Harry takes a deep breath and tries to recall everything that his girlfriend had told him. "She said they were in a dungeon and that Andromeda told her everything that had happened. She also said that Hermione is acting on her own free will. That she killed Ron just because he got in her way."

The dead Headmaster frowns as he continues to think. "How many other people had this device, Harry?"
"Everyone in the D.A did. Why?"

"So you only assume that Ginny sent the message, correct?" Albus asks as he turns to stare at the young man. "There was no specific marker that would allow you to know just who exactly sent the message, was there?"

"I don't think..." Potter pauses mid-sentence as he contemplates what the wizard was saying. "Do you think that this might be a trick? Maybe some sort of trap set up by Him?"

"It could be," Albus states with a grim smile. "Hermione was the one who created them and she is now in league with Tom, so it wouldn't be such a stretch to assume that she used the galleon to try and trick you by keeping you from your task of destroying the rest of His horcruxes. I might even go so far as to say it could have been set up to have you try to rescue them and then you would be captured yourself." Dumbledore notices a movement from the shadows of Phineas's portrait and allows a real smile to grace his lips. "Well, we shall find out soon enough! Phineas my dear friend, what have you found out from Grimauld Place?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Albus," Phineas says as he settles back down into his chair. "Dreadfully sorry that it took so long though. I spoke with Kreacher while I was there, to see if maybe someone might have dropped by, and he said that it has been quiet there for quite some time. I think the poor elf is a tad bit lonely in that old house. The only person he has to speak with is Walburga's portrait and she was never a decent conversationalist, if you ask me. Maybe we should allow him to come to Hogwarts? Being around other house-elves may do him some good."

Albus nods his agreement before turning to Harry and Remus. "You see? It has to be a mistake. Don't allow yourselves to be drawn into these false claims. We have to stick together and keep cool, rational minds. I believe Tom is grasping at straws to make us fall apart. We must not fall apart!"

Remus stares at the ground as he listens to Albus. I need to make sure that everything is as Albus says, he thinks as he nods his head in agreement. Before Dumbledore can continue on his speech, Lupin speaks. "You are right Albus. It is probably nothing more than a mere tactic that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is employing. But one thing that I do not understand is this... where is everyone? Why are they not here for the meeting? We all could not have imagined that the meeting was to be here? Or could we?"

Albus frowns at the wizard's logic. "Well, I really do not have an answer for that one, Remus. Maybe they changed the site of the meeting? As you can recall, that has happened many times. You, yourself, said that Hogwarts may not be the best place to have this meeting. What with Death Eaters at every turn. Severus ensured that his office would be the best place for the meeting, yet he is not here. Maybe something happened that we do not know of." He quickly turns towards Harry. "How did you get in Hogwarts? There must be several squads of Death Eaters at every corner and you simply walked through the door."

"I used my cloak," Harry says as he pulls the garment out of his rucksack and places it on his lap. "I nearly bumped into Alecto Carrow on the way in here, but luckily, I was able to dodge out of her way in enough time. I know I shouldn't be here Professor, but I had to speak to you about the message I received from who I thought was Ginny." He looks about the room and sighs as he realises his mistake. "I should have never came here, should I? How am I to leave now?"

Suddenly loud footsteps can be heard echoing up the granite stairs. The two wizards and the wizards in their portraits all freeze at the sound. "Through the floo network," Albus hisses through his teeth as he glances between the fireplace and the door. "I don't recognise those footfalls as anyone we know. Head to Grimauld Place... to Andromeda's, anywhere but here!"

The two wizards race towards the fireplace. "You go first, Harry." Lupin says as he reaches for the floo powder on the mantle. He throws a handful of the powder into the flames and pushes the younger wizard into the hearth. "Go! Now!" Remus urges as Harry stares past the green flames at the older man.

Shaking his head, Potter takes a deep breath. "The Burrow," he states clearly and is instantly whisked away to his destination.

Remus grabs a handful of floo powder and throws it into the fire. He dashes into the flames stating Andromeda's address. The flames flash brighter as the door to the office slowly opens. The older wizard prays silently that whoever had came in did not hear him state his destination. He suddenly appears in the Tonks' living room, the green flames dying out once his journey was complete. Nothing looks out of place, he thinks to himself as he eyes his surroundings.

Nothing smells out of place. No blood, no scent of fear in the air. The full moon was not for another two weeks, but even in human form, the wizard still maintained his werewolf half's keen sense of smell. He steps out of the hearth and grunts in frustration as he accidentally scrapes his shoulder against the side of the brick hearth. He gingerly rubs his left shoulder then dusts himself off as he draws his wand and makes his way out of the living room to secure the rest of the house.

The Tonks' residence wasn't very big, just a small cottage with three bedrooms and one bath. He makes quick work ensuring that he is alone in the house. Once he is sure no one else is around, Lupin sighs in relief as he walks back into the living room. His relief is short-lived, however. "Where could everyone be?" he questions aloud as he throws his cloak across the back of the sofa and stows his wand back into its holster. As he throws himself onto the inviting couch, he sighs aloud. "Maybe everything is just getting to me," Remus mumbles as shifts his body into a prone position. Yawning, he turns his back towards the fireplace and curls further into the soft cushions. His last conscious thought before drifting off to sleep was whether or not they actually had a meeting in the first place.