Lowering the heat on the oven so that the pies she'd made wouldn't burn, Molly Weasley turned to check the clock hanging on the wall beside the kitchen door, worry starting to build inside her. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were sitting talking at the kitchen table, although neither wizard seemed overly concerned that as of yet there was no sign of Ron and Hermione. Nor was there any sign of Harry and Dumbledore returning.
Although Molly wasn't overly worried that Harry and Dumbledore hadn't yet returned. They often went off together and she knew Dumbledore would never let anything happen to Harry. It was Ron and Hermione she was worried about, as even though they were both adults, she couldn't help but wish they hadn't been allowed to go off on their own. She would have felt much better if they were accompanied by a more experienced adult.
"Stop checking the time every few minutes, Molly," Sirius ordered, noticing that Molly was checking the clock on an increasingly regular basis.
"It won't make time go any quicker," Remus added.
"I'm just worried," Molly muttered. "I expected Ron and Hermione back by now. Albus said it wouldn't take them that long to check the place out. What if they've ran into trouble?"
"I'm sure they'll be fine," Sirius replied. "They'll be back before you know it Molly."
Not quite convinced that Sirius was right, Molly set about making a cup of tea in the hopes of distracting herself from the growing bad feeling that was creeping over her. Just as the kettle on the oven began to whistle to signal it had boiled, an audible sound of apparition came from the hallway, followed by a dull thud. Exchanging puzzled looks, Sirius and Remus got to their feet and poked their heads out of the kitchen.
"Hermione," Sirius cried as he and Remus sprinted towards the front door.
Pulling the kettle off the oven, Molly bustled out of the kitchen and towards the front hallway. When she reached the front hallway, she let out a surprised gasp at the sight that greeted her. A badly battered Hermione was lying in a heap just inside the doorway, and Remus and Sirius were kneeling at her side.
"What happened?" Molly gasped as she looked around the hallway. "Where's Ron? Hermione, where's Ron?"
"Molly, don't pester her," Remus scolded. "Can't you see she's in a bad way?"
"I can see," Molly replied, her motherly concern kicking in. "What's happened to her?"
"Death Eaters," Hermione whispered, sounding weak and weary.
"Don't try and talk, Hermione," Remus said softly. "We need to get her upstairs," he said to Sirius. "Molly, can you contact Poppy. We're going to need medical attention."
"Of course, but I need to know about Ron," Molly insisted. "Hermione, can you tell me about Ron. Where is he?"
"Taken," Hermione rasped. "I couldn't stop them Molly, I'm sorry."
"Ssh, it's okay sweetheart," Molly soothed as Hermione began to cry softly. "Get her upstairs, I'll bring Poppy."
Even though she was fraught with worry over Ron, and was desperate for the whole story, Molly rushed off to contact Hogwarts and Poppy Pomfrey while Sirius and Remus took Hermione upstairs and settled her in the room she used when she stayed at headquarters. It didn't take long to contact Hogwarts Medi-Witch and when she arrived, she was accompanied by the deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall.
"Where is she?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
"Upstairs," Molly replied, leading the way out of the front room.
"Did she say what happened?" McGonagall asked as she followed Molly up the stairs alongside Madam Pomfrey.
"All she said was Death Eaters and that Ron had been taken," Molly replied. "She's in a pretty bad way."
A pretty bad way was a bit of an understatement and both Madam Pomfrey and McGonagall were totally taken aback by the sight that greeted them in Hermione's room. Dried blood was smeared down her face, the left side of her face was starting to bruise and pain was etched all over her face.
"Sweet Merlin, what have they done to you?" Madam Pomfrey gasped, hurrying to Hermione's bedside. "Sirius, Remus, could you give us some privacy so I can examine Hermione. You could bring her a cup of tea, it'll help with the pain potions I'll likely have to dose her with."
While Sirius and Remus gave them some privacy, Molly and McGonagall helped Madam Pomfrey remove Hermione's clothes so she could examine her. Once the examination was over, they then helped redress Hermione and had her settled in bed where Madam Pomfrey began to give Hermione potions to help with the pain and to help her injuries heal. By the time Sirius and Remus returned with Hermione's tea, she'd been given enough potions to enable her to talk. Although Madam Pomfrey had insisted it would be a brief talk as Hermione still needed rest.
"She's been tortured," Madam Pomfrey explained as Sirius settled the tea on the bedside table and urged her to drink it to help get rid of the bitter taste of potions. "And someone's struck her a couple of times in the face."
"Are you up for talking, Hermione?" McGonagall asked gently.
"Yes," Hermione answered, sipping on her hot tea. "I can talk."
"What happened?" Molly asked, trying not to sound too impatient as she knew how much pain Hermione would be in.
"It was a trap," Hermione whispered. "There were three Death Eaters waiting for us. They were on us before we knew what had happened, and we were overpowered. There was nothing we could do."
"How could it have been a trap?" Sirius mused as Hermione paused to catch her breath. "How did they know where to find you?"
"I don't know," Hermione replied. "But they said they always know where to find the Order. They said that no-one was safe. They know where we are all the time."
"A leak?" Remus questioned with a frown.
"Could be," Sirius agreed with a nod. "What happened next, Hermione?"
"They had Ron and I captured and they tortured us, all the time telling us that no-one's safe," Hermione said. "They then said that they only needed one of us to pass on the message."
"What message?" Molly asked.
"That unless Harry came out of hiding and faced Voldemort, they would keep picking us off one by one," Hermione said.
"When is Harry expected to face You-Know-Who?" McGonagall asked.
"They didn't say," Hermione replied. "They delivered the message and then one of them started to torture me again. I saw the other two take hold of Ron, and then I must have passed out from the pain. When I came around, I was alone and my wand was lying beside me. It took me a while, but finally I managed to get back here. There was nothing I could do. I couldn't have saved Ron."
"Of course you couldn't," Remus soothed. "It sounds like it was just potluck which one of you they left behind."
"So what's happened to Ron?" Molly demanded with a sob. "Where's my baby boy?"
"We'll find him, Molly," McGonagall said, putting her arm around the other witch.
"Maybe we should go back to the house and look for clues," Sirius suggested. "Maybe the Death Eaters weren't as careful as they thought. They might have left some way of us tracking them and to find Ron."
"Hermione, can you tell us where you were?" Remus asked.
"I don't know," Hermione replied. "Dumbledore gave Ron the address, and he never showed me. I had no idea where we were. Ron got us there."
"Why the secrecy?" McGonagall questioned with a frown.
"I don't know," Hermione whispered, her energy clearly flagging.
"I think that's enough," Madam Pomfrey announced. "Hermione needs her rest."
"And we need to summon the Order," Sirius said.
"I'm sorry Molly," Hermione said, grabbing hold of the older woman's hand.
"It's not your fault, Hermione," Molly said, pressing a soft kiss to Hermione's forehead. "You get some rest, I'll come and check on you later."
Leaving Hermione to get some much needed rest, the adults headed back downstairs. Molly rushed off to summon Arthur to Grimmauld Place, while Madam Pomfrey headed back to Hogwarts to get some more potions for Hermione. Sirius, Remus and McGonagall gathered in the kitchen, and the first thing to be mentioned was the idea of a possible leak.
"Could Dumbledore be involved?" Sirius asked, voicing the question no-one else dared to ask.
"No, of course not," McGonagall gasped, scandalised at the idea. "Albus would never join forces with You-Know-Who."
"But who else knew where Hermione and Ron would be?" Sirius asked. "Even Hermione didn't know where they were going."
"You can't be suggesting that Albus set them up," McGonagall said with a shake of her head.
"I don't want to believe it, but somehow the dark knew where to find them," Sirius argued. "And why did Dumbledore insist they go today? Why did he make such a big deal of them going the same day he and Harry were going on their little jaunt?"
"I can answer that last one," McGonagall said. "Albus confided in me that he wanted Ron and Hermione to do their exploring while Harry was with him, so that he wouldn't be tempted to join them."
"He was worried in case Harry tagged along and he couldn't protect him," Remus concluded.
"He was," McGonagall confirmed. "He wasn't involved in this, I know he wasn't. If we do have a leak, it's not Albus."
"Do we tell Harry all of this?" Remus asked his best friend, who also happened to be Harry's godfather. "If we mention the message, he'll blame himself. He'll want to face You-Know-Who to make sure no-one else is targeted."
"We'll have to tell him, but I won't be allowing him to risk his own safety," Sirius said. "As of yet we don't even know if the threat was genuine. Just because they knew where Hermione and Ron were, doesn't mean they know where everyone else is. And to say they know where we all are at all times is impossible. Even a leak can't give them that information."
"No, but they can give them enough to ensure they can get their hands on us," Remus said. "We need to take this threat seriously. They weren't messing with Hermione. The poor girl is a mess."
"Let's see what the others have to say," Sirius said. "And of course, Dumbledore, when he bothers to return."
As it turned out, the rest of the Order had gathered and were in the middle of discussing what to do when Dumbledore and Harry returned. When they entered the kitchen they were shocked to see a vast chunk of the Order gathered, although their shock soon turned to worry when they spotted Molly crying softly in Arthur's arms.
"What's happened?" Harry demanded. "Where's Ron and Hermione?"
"Hermione's upstairs, resting," Sirius informed his godson.
"And Ron?" Harry asked, feigning ignorance as his gaze drifted over to Molly and Arthur.
"Missing," Remus replied as he quickly filled Dumbledore and Harry in on what had happened with Hermione and Ron.
"Merlin help us," Dumbledore spluttered, collapsing into an empty chair in obvious shock.
"I need to see Hermione," Harry whispered as he turned and hurriedly left the kitchen.
Making his way up the stairs, he quietly crept into Hermione's bedroom. His friend was sleeping, and Harry gasped to see a nasty bruise developing on her face and her lip was cut. Perching on the side of the bed, Harry gently pushed Hermione's hair out of her face, inadvertently causing her to stir.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Harry apologised as her eyes began to flutter open.
"Harry," Hermione whispered.
"Bloody hell, Hermione," Harry muttered. "This is rather more than I expected. Draco really went to town on you."
"Draco couldn't raise his wand against me," Hermione muttered, pushing herself up into a sitting position with a wince.
"Does it hurt?" Harry asked.
"Like hell," Hermione replied. "But it's worth it. Everyone believes me, don't they?"
"They do," Harry confirmed with a nod. "Now tell me what happened. How did you end up in this state if Draco didn't do anything to you?"
"Blaise and Theo," Hermione answered. "I made them do it."
"I wouldn't like to be in their shoes when Draco gets hold of them," Harry muttered. "He must be furious. I take it he did see the state you were in."
"I assume so," Hermione replied, shrugging and instantly regretting it as pain flooded her body. "He had to leave while Blaise and Theo did their work. But as I said, this is what I told them to do. If Draco hurts either of them for doing what was asked, I'll personally hurt him."
"What happened with Ron?" Harry asked. "Was he shocked?"
"Very," Hermione chuckled. "I just wish he would get the chance to find out which side you're truly on. I would pay to see his face when he discovered the truth."
"Not everyone can find out the truth," Harry said wisely. "Now enough chatter, you need to rest. I know this was part of the plan, Hermione, but I didn't expect you to be in such a state. You need to rest. Just trust me to play my part with the Order."
"Of course I trust you, Harry," Hermione whispered as she settled back down among the covers of her bed.
Sitting at Hermione's bedside, Harry waited until she'd drifted back off to sleep, before heading back downstairs to see how things were going with the rest of the Order. Currently the discussion was over whether or not there was a leak in the Order, and playing his part, Harry joined in, expressing his desire that they did whatever it took to save Ron and stop anyone else from being taken. Even if it meant he had to face Voldemort before the Order were ready for him to do so.