Dearest Readers!
I can't say how happy I am when reading all your comment and seeing all the notes about you having fan-ed and voted.
THANK YOU!
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Tomorrow was Monday and there were only five days left until Christmas. Draco had been wrecking his brain as to what he should get his dear witch as a gift. He had thought about books she might like to read, but then everybody knew she loved to read and therefore books. To get her a book wouldn't be special enough. He needed something only he could think of, something truly unique. After trying to remember all they had shared so far, all the places they had been a large grin suddenly appeared on his face.
Hermione was still sleeping. It had been a long night... Though he started to be rather aware of her being pregnant during their most intimate moments. He wasn't sure, if he wouldn't be too scared soon to... She mumbled his name in her sleep. An unruly lock was gently brushed from her face by his long fingers as he glanced at her with love in his eyes. A moment later the grin lit up his face again. He knew exactly what would be his Christmas gift for her.
He got dressed, scribbled a quick note to leave on the bedside table and then went to set his plan in motion.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
It had to be at least lunch time Hermione thought as she slowly surfaced from her pleasant dreams.
"Draco?"
No answer. She frown and got out off bed. She smiled as she saw his note on the night stand.
I'm getting you the most unexpected Christmas gift ever – will be back soon
There was an imprint of his lips as he must have kissed the paper, his mouth must have been covered in her only lipstick. For a moment she wondered how he had gotten the idea to use it on himself as somebody was knocking on the door.
"Coming!"
She quickly summoned her bathrobe and went to open. The manager of the hotel stood before her in the corridor. His face showing a seriously concerned expression.
"Yes?"
"Frau Malfoy, bitte entschuldigen Sie die Störung, aber da wir seit Sonntag kein Lebenszeichen mehr von Ihnen oder Ihrem Mann hatten, sah ich mich genötigt mich zu vergewissern, daß alles in Ordnung ist."
She knew that she should had insisted on visiting a place where she would understand the natives. Here she had no idea what the wizard in front of her had said. His features and body language told her that he was agitated about something, but what exactly that was she had no idea.
"I'm very sorry. I don't really speak German..." she tried to convey the meaning of her words with a few gestures and it seemed to work, as the manager was waving his wand between them and then seemed to repeat what he had said before only this time Hermione actually understood him.
"Mrs. Malfoy, I'm sorry to bother you, but as we didn't have a sign of life of you or your husband since Sunday I saw it my duty to check that everything was okay."
She waved him to come in. What did he mean "no sign of life since Sunday"? It was Sunday, wasn't it?
While Hermione went next door to get hastily dressed the hotel manager stayed in the main room. When she returned he was hovering at the door he had entered through.
"So, everything is fine I presume?" there was a slight hesitation in his words.
"Yes. My husband has just gone to get my Christmas gift." she waved the note she had found.
"I see. Sorry again for having bothered you." he took his leave.
'Sunday? Isn't today Sunday?' she wondered as she read Draco's note again. There was a knock on the door and as she opened one of the girls she thought she had seen at the reception when they arrived was smiling at her. She held several newspapers.
"Ihre Daily Prophets."
"Thank you."
Hermione took the papers from the smiling girl and the "Please don't disturb" sign from the door handle before looking at news prints as if they might be self combust any minute. The date on the top most paper read 23.12.1999. That couldn't be. It was Sunday the 19.12.1999. What was going on here? She lay the papers on the small desk by the window and looked around. Her senses seemed to go into overdrive. The war wasn't long enough past as that she couldn't switch back to battle mode within an instant.
She looked around. Everything seemed to be as she remembered it. Wait, there should be a tray with their breakfast on the small enchanted table between the high backed chairs. Her shoes stood neatly next to each other in front of the wardrobe. She was certain that she hadn't had the time or inclination to be so organised ever since they had arrived. She looked at the Daily Prophets beside her again. They looked like the genuine article.
As she couldn't see any of Draco's clothes she could assume that he was wearing them. Though at this moment in time she didn't want to take any chances. The doors to the cupboard swung open easily. They had been slightly squeaking the day they arrived. As she looked inside her breath caught in her throat, the side where his clothing had been was empty. Empty. She blinked. Where had all this things gone? She close to run into the bathroom and there were her hairbrush and toothbrush and the toothpaste she liked, but his things had vanished. Neither his old fashioned open razor was there nor were the sweet smelling shaving soap or the comb with the mother of pearl inlays. What was going on here?
She sat down on the bed again and tried to sort out all the information she had so far. It didn't seem to be Sunday as it was supposed to be. Instead it was... she checked the papers, it was Thursday. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve. Christmas, she had been thinking about this first Christmas she would spend with her parents again, and her husband of course. Where was he? Where was her husband? She could feel her eyes water. Somehow it felt as if the world was ending for her. Had he left? Had he finally realised that she wasn't the girl for him after all? Was the knowledge of becoming a father next March at the tender age of nineteen too much to take for him?
Everything seemed too much all of a sudden. The world was a horrible place and she felt utterly alone. Why had she been believing him all this time? Why had she been so gullible and... She sobbed. No, she didn't want to think about her having been tricked after all. His own mother had announced her to all of pureblood society as his wife. She was officially the consort to the Malfoy heir. She knew him to be too proud as to allow such a thing to be made public when it wasn't true.
Her hormones started to mess with her logic and whispered all kinds of nasty, little titbits about him and his behaviour over the years they had been at school together. She tried her best to shut them up, but her efforts were close to in vain. Finally the tears she had been fighting were falling over her face.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Ginny sat in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place and watched Kreacher prepare a chicken and mushroom pie. Harry would be home soon. She smiled to herself. It would be lovely to live here, in this house, with him one day. That would probably be after she retired from her Quidditch career but still. She was looking forward to it.
"Anybody here?" a voice called from the hall.
"I'm in the kitchen, Harry." she called.
The young Auror came into the kitchen and kissed her. While still being kissed the youngest Weasley furrowed her brow. Something was wrong. She could feel. it.
"What is it?" she whispered against his lips.
A heavy sigh was the answer. She glanced at his face and saw the worry and distress he seemed to be feeling.
"He left her. The bastard just took his stuff and left."
It took a moment before the realisation hit her who he was talking.
"You're joking?"
He shook his head. Sadness now creeping over his face.
"No, Ginny. She woke up this morning and he was just gone."
"I thought they were on honeymoon."
"They were. I got an owl from her around lunchtime, begging me to get her back to Britain. I spoke to Shaw and he organised everything. Hermione arrived back from Hamburg by portkey an hour ago. Only then she told me what had happened." the red tinge of anger was now darkening his features, "How could he do that to her? On their honeymoon? Days before Christmas?"
"I don't believe it."
Harry looked at the girl in his arms.
"Oh, you can believe it! She's so distraught she can't even cry any longer."
"That's not what I mean. I know Hermione is probably beside herself, but I don't believe for a moment that the ferret has just left her. After all the trials and tribulations they have been through together do you seriously think that he would abandon her? His father nearly killed her and he didn't want to do anything other then hold on to her, be near here afterwards. He was out cold with her for a month."
The strange feeling of something lurking in the background crept up on him. Harry knew the feeling, he had it before. When he was spending his last days at Hogwarts before leaving to find the remaining Horcruxes his stomach had knotted like it did now.
"See, you don't seriously believe it either."
He shook his head.
"So, what has happened to him? Has she said anything? Anything at all?"
"I didn't actually get to see her. It was Shaw that took charge of her being sent the portkey, her arrival at the Ministry and everything else." he sighed, leaning his head against his girl's shoulder.
Ginny gently stroked over his still unruly black hair. She could understand his distress, being unable to see and console his friend of so many years would take its toll on her as well.
"We'll go and see her tomorrow, Harry."
"We can't. Shaw had her taken to a safe house. Only he and who ever has taken her know where it is."
There was a stunned silence for a moment.
"Why?"
"He suspects that Malfoy was probably kidnapped, but as Hermione was seemingly of no interest to them, they luckily just used a sleeping charm and left her alone."
"Kidnapped? Somebody has actually kidnapped the ferret?"
There was a moment of silence when Ginny was thinking.
"Harry?"
He looked at her with wary eyes.
"Why did you blame him when your boss is thinking he was actually kidnapped?"
There was no answer forthcoming.
"Harry!" her voice was insisting on an answer now.
He sighed.
"After all this time its still easier to blame him for any misfortune befalling her than thinking of him actually being good for her..."
Ginny just looked at him.
"You're a total prat, you know that? Why can't you just accept that she has chosen him. I would have thought after all these months...," she glared at him, "Or has Ron some daft scheme going to get her back again? He was surprisingly civil at the wedding."
"No, he hasn't. Or if he has, he hasn't told me about it."
Kreacher poured tea for them and then bustled off again.
"Harry, I know you've had... issues with Malfoy in the past, but if he was really kidnapped just think of what that will do to Hermione. He's the father to her child. He managed to get her parents to remember her again. He is married to her. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and she is probably going to spend the holidays somewhere on her own far away from friends and family with some Auror she's never seen before."
"I know, Ginny." he gently ran his fingers through her hair. "I'm just worried sick. After all that has already happened to her this year... I would have thought that once they are actually married and official and all that...
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
"Why hasn't he shown up yet? First it's all urgent, urgent, urgent and then suddenly he doesn't has time to come."
"You know that he can't compromise his position. He has to make sure nobody knows."
"Yeah, and I'm stuck in this hell hole when I could have got laid with..."
"Oh, shut up! None of us wants to be here. I have family, you know what I had to tell my wife so that she wouldn't ask question while I was gone all this time!"
Voices, there were voice arguing. Which could only mean one thing, should they have taken his wand there was probably no way out for him. He tried to move without actually moving. His hands were tied in front of him. He was lying on some kind of... dare he call this a bed? At least it wasn't the floor. Hie feet were also tied. Opening his eyes carefully he found the uselessness of this action, he was also blindfolded. Damn!
He concentrated on the argument he could hear. It sounded muffled. There had to be some kind of separating barrier between him and his captors. It couldn't be that thick or maybe it wasn't fully closed, if it was a door. Counted this different man talking he realised that there were only two of them. They still outnumbered him, but at least he might have a realistic chance. Once he managed to get himself untied.
Approaching footsteps caught his attention.
"Do you think it's time for another dose yet?"
"Yeah, might as well make sure he keeps quiet. I don't want my landlady to find out."
He rough hand grabbed his arm and before he could react he felt a sharp needle piercing his skin. They were injecting something directly into his bloodstream. Only moments later all sounds around him dissolved in a vast black haze.