Revelations

The sun shone brightly through the roof of the greenhouse. Humming to herself, Hermione stepped over a stray creeping vine. She carefully made her way to the Mandrakes, hoping that they were mature. St. Mungo's had just flooed her, asking when they would be ready. Due to a recent Death-Eater attack on Cragshire, there were a handful of petrified patients that needed the potion.

Hermione Granger worked as a botanist, supplying different hospitals and facilities with a variety of plants. She also lectured at Hogwarts occasionally and usually spoke at the graduations. Contrary to what everyone had assumed, she hadn't taken up a teaching job at Hogwarts.

Placing a pair of earmuffs snuggly over her ears, she reached out and grasped the closest Mandrake and pulled. She scrunched up her face, grimacing. Hermione quickly examined the wailing creature in her hand, praying that it wouldn't bite her. She needed to buy a new pair of dragon hide gloves. Hastily sticking it back into its pot and putting away her earmuffs, she headed back into the house and towards the front study.

"Sorry, Doug, they aren't ready yet. Tell Kate that they'll probably be mature in two weeks or so." She flashed a smile at her colleague. Doug was one of her co-workers and was seemingly in love with Hermione, perhaps on the borderline of obsession.

In fact, Harry despised him. "You're too good for him," he often said, irritated. "He practically breathes down your neck, Herm, he's obsessed. It's unhealthy. And he's much too happy for his own good. You deserve someone better." Hermione had laughed at this, saying that Harry didn't make any sense and was just jealous. She would always turn away too soon, though, to see his face redden after this accusation.

Doug grinned. "That's ok, even if they aren’t ready, it still gave me an excuse to see you." With a wink, his head disappeared in the flames. The minute he left, Hermione fell back into a chair and put her head in her hands. Why wouldn't that man give up?

Suddenly, the front door slammed. "I'm home!" a voice called. Hermione's head snapped up, grinning ear to ear. She jumped out of her chair and ran into the front foyer in record time.

A familiar mop of messy black hair was bent over the post, thumbing through it.

Hermione laughed. "Harry!"

He looked up. Upon seeing Hermione, his face broke out into a grin. He dropped the post and swept her up in his arms. "Hey, Herm! I missed you."

She buried her head in his chest. "I missed you too." Then she looked up at him expectantly. "Well? How did it go?"

"Rather well. We actually took the Death Eaters into custody pretty quickly; it was finding them that took two weeks. You know, with Crabbe and Goyle leading them, it shouldn't have even taken us that long," he said, slightly angry with himself.

Hermione shook her head. "Don't be like that, Harry, you got them and that's what counts," She kissed him on the cheek. "Harry saves the world again! Come on, let's go make a celebration dinner—we haven't had a real meal since you've been gone."

Harry smiled as she tugged him towards the kitchen. "I'm cooking my own celebratory dinner?"

She laughed. "You think having Ron cook is a good idea?"

Flipping on the Wireless, he looked over at Hermione. "What do you want to make?"

She looked thoughtful. "Hmm...oh! How about that pasta dish we made a few weeks ago? That was delicious!" With a flick of her wand, ingredients began to assemble themselves on the counter. A few pots filled themselves with water and hopped over to the stove, beginning to boil.

Harry watched this all, amused. There was nobody quite like Hermione, that much was for sure. And he wouldn't have it any other way. He suddenly remembered something.

"Hey, Herm," He called over to her. "I brought you back something."

She sighed. "Harry, you shouldn't have gotten me anything. You were supposed to be on a mission, not shopping."

"Well, I bought it after, on the way home. And if you don't like it, I'll just return it," he said, slightly miffed.

Hermione smiled at him. "It's all right, Harry. I'm sure I'll love it." She finished tying her apron, then walked over to him.

"All right," he said, reaching into his bag. "You must pretend to like them! For the sake of my ego." He flashed a grin at her, and produced a small package.

Wiping her hands off on her apron, Hermione took the bag from Harry. "Oh!" she cried, delighted. "I was just thinking that I needed a new pair of these earlier!" She pulled out a pair of dragon hide gloves, and smiled widely.

"Good, I hoped you'd like them." Harry said, pleased. He smiled as she tried them on, admiring them.

"These will be wonderful for dealing with those Mandrakes! I had to go in there earlier, actually, to check up on them. St. Mungo's flooed to see if they were ready." She took them off and put them back in the bag. "I'll put them away for now, so I don't ruin them."

Harry nodded. "Who called?" he asked, casually. He hoped that it wasn't Doug. There was something not right about that man.

"Doug," Hermione said, frowning. "I don't understand why he is so intent on dating me!" she exclaimed as she crossed the kitchen. She grabbed a box of noodles and shook them out into her hand. Clutching both ends and snapping them in half, she dumped them into the pan vehemently.

A dark look crossed Harry's features. "Next time he comes, tell him I'd like to speak with him."

Hermione looked over her shoulder at him. He was starting up the 'Protective Older Brother' demeanor again. "Harry..." she began.

The look on his face stopped her. Eyes flashing, Harry shot back, "No. There is something that isn't right about this Doug! Every time he comes up in conversation, you get uneasy and seem uncomfortable. That means something about him or something that he's doing is making you uncomfortable. I don't know exactly what it is, but something isn't right. Ron doesn't think so either--"

"I don't think what?" Ron asked, coming in from the garage and walking through the kitchen door. He pulled out a chair and straddled it. "Oh, hey there, Harry."

Harry whirled on him. "That we both agreed that there's something off about Doug!"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, there definitely is—why, Herm, are you dating him or something?"

"No!" she snapped. "I think he's a nice man. Lonely, I suppose, but nice. I don't think going on one date with him would be all that bad!"

Harry gaped at her. "Now you're considering dating him when you just said that you don't understand why he is so intent on dating you?"

She stared at him. Then she turned her glare to Ron. "Just to prove you two wrong, I'm asking him to go out Friday night."

Harry mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that?" she asked sweetly.

"Nothing," he muttered.

"Good. Now help me finish this." She directed him towards the counter to slice up vegetables.

Ron watched the two, curious. They usually got along perfectly with each other. He and Hermione were usually the quarreling ones. What was going on?

A fog clouded Hermione's view. She pushed her way through it, towards the light. Where was she? Was this a dream?

As she reached a clearing, she noticed a familiar form up ahead of her. She approached the figure, smiling when he turned around. "Hello, Doug. Can you tell me where we are?" she asked him.

He stared in her direction. Something appeared to be wrong with him; he seemed to be staring through her, instead of at her. He seemed possessed. Suddenly, he spoke.

"It will all be over soon. You and me and this war. It will all be over soon...no Harry. You will lose. They will lose—I will win."

"Doug?" Hermione asked, hesitant. What on earth was he talking about? What about Harry?

Suddenly, without warning, he reached for her. Grabbing her around the waist, he pressed a sweet smelling cloth to her nose. He leered at her as everything faded to black...

"Wake up, Hermione. Wake up, Hermione." Hermione's alarm clock chanted, hopping around her bedside table. Groaning, she hit it repeatedly until it turned off. Ron had gotten it for her as a gag gift for her birthday last year, and she hadn't had the heart to get rid of it. After all, it was sort of funny—when you weren't trying to sleep.

What was really bothering her, though, was the dream she had just had. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Doug had pressed a chloroform-soaked cloth under her nose. He would never do that to me, she thought, trying to convince herself.

She hoped Harry and Ron weren't right about Doug. He seemed like a nice man. Lonely, but probably fun to be around once you got to know him.

Hermione sighed. Oh well, she thought, I'll find out Friday I guess.

She snuggled deeper into the soft blankets, lost in thought. A soft knock on the door brought her back to reality.

"Come in," she called.

The door opened slowly, and Harry stepped through. He looked at her nervously.

"Listen, Herm--"

She patted the bed next to her. He crossed the room and sat down next to her. Crossing his legs underneath him, he continued. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up last night. It's just that I care about you, and I didn't want to see you get hurt. If something had happened to you, I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself."

The look on Hermione's face softened. He could be so sweet sometimes. Why hadn't she ever thought of this before? She was sure that Harry would be a much better boyfriend than Doug would. No. She couldn't think about him that way. He was her best friend. Her handsome, single best friend, but that didn't matter. She couldn't let herself get into a relationship with him; it would permanently change their friendship. Besides, he probably didn't think of her like that. As she ticked off reasons in her head, Hermione realized that Harry was speaking.

"Herm?" Harry's voice brought her back to reality. She gave him a smile.

"Don't worry, Harry, I'm not mad. If it makes you feel better, I'll floo you before I leave to come home, just so you know I'm on my way."

He nodded, satisfied. "Okay. That makes me feel a little better. All right, sleepyhead, let's go make breakfast. I could hear Ron's stomach all the way in my room."

She laughed, and tossed back the covers. Rolling out of bed, she was surprised when Harry scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder. "Harry!" she protested. "Put me down!"

He merely laughed and walked down the hall and down the stairs. Pounding on his back with her fists, she tried in vain to get him to put her down. Realizing that it was no use, she stopped hitting him. Besides, she kind of liked his carrying her. Then she mentally kicked herself. He was Harry. Her best friend. She wasn't supposed to like his carrying her.

Ron looked up from the Daily Prophet and laughed as Harry and Hermione entered the kitchen. I guess they made up, he thought.

Harry gently set Hermione back on the floor, laughing as she immediately crossed the large kitchen to start breakfast. Ron watched his friend's face carefully. He could tell that Harry loved Hermione, even if Harry didn't know it yet. He was almost as sure about Hermione's feelings toward Harry, too.

Ron knew that, being the stubborn people they were, it would take some sort of major event to get them to admit their love to one another. Hmm, Ron thought, grinning inwardly. I could have some fun with this.

Ron shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He tuned back into the conversation.

Hermione was leaning back against the counter, keeping one eye on the stove, where bacon was sizzling. She was giggling at something. Immediately looking around for Harry, he noticed that he had gone around the corner into the den.

"What happened?" Ron asked Hermione. She took one look at Ron and laughed even harder.

Trying to keep upright as she was giggling so hard, Hermione managed to choke out, "N-no-nothing."

Ron eyed her suspiciously. He had no idea what she found so amusing, but he was sure it wasn't good.

Suddenly, music was floating into the kitchen from the Common Room. Harry entered soon after, the corner of his mouth twitching suspiciously. "Just thought we needed something to listen to," he said, walking over to the fridge.

He grabbed a bottle of pumpkin juice and shut the fridge door. "Anyone else want any?" he asked, looking at Hermione and Ron.

"Sure, Harry—why don't you just fill a jug and put it on the table?" Hermione called over her shoulder, piling bacon on a plate. With a flick of her wand, plates began to float across the room, landing gently on the table.

Harry brought over the jug of pumpkin juice and assumed his normal seat next to Hermione. Ron sat across from them, grinning at the wide array of food in front of him. As he piled food onto his plate, he looked up at Hermione. "So? What are you going to do about Doug?"

She speared a few pancakes and looked up at him. "I'll ask him to go out dancing tonight. That should be pretty harmless. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. I didn't say I was interested in pursuing a relationship with him, I just said that I wanted to try going on a date with him—mainly to prove to you two that he is just a lonely, harmless man. Harry, can you pass the scrambled eggs?"

Harry reached for the plate of eggs and passed them to Hermione. "Just remember to floo us before you leave to come back home. So I—So we'll know that you're on your way."

Ron looked at Harry, incredulous. "Harry, I thought you were completely against her dating him!" He couldn't believe Harry was taking this so well.

Harry looked up, chewing slowly on a bite of hash. "I never said I liked the man. Hermione's a grown woman who can make choices for herself, and as long as I'm assured that she'll be fine, I don't mind her dating. Mostly, though, I just want to prove her wrong."

Hermione scowled. "I'm not dating him! I'm just going out for one night with him. Honestly, you two act like you're protective older brothers!" Then, her voice softening, she added, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Harry laughed. Ron looked slightly put out. "Acting like the overprotective brother is my job!"

Hermione smiled at him. "Yes, yes, I know. Well, I should go shower, I have to leave for work in a little over an hour." She sent her dishes over to the sink, where a sponge immediately began scrubbing them.

As she left the room, Ron noticed a pair of green eyes following her progress until she disappeared up the stairs. He shook his head, and sent his dishes in the same direction as Hermione's.

"All right, mate, I have to leave too—Jill wanted me in to work early." With a wink, Ron left the room as well.

Harry sighed and put his head in his hands. He definitely didn't trust this Doug, and he didn't want Hermione alone with him. He would figure out a way to keep a close eye on her tonight.

Then he listened carefully, expecting something. He wouldn't have to wait too long. As a yell echoed throughout the house, Harry grinned.

"Harry!" Ron roared. As running footsteps were heard heading back down the front stairs, Harry jumped up from the table and took off for the back stairway, passing Hermione (who was giggling madly) on the way. Well, Harry reasoned with himself, he should be prepared for anything after growing up with George and Fred, especially the food. More specifically, the bacon—designed especially for large appetites and over-eaters by Weasley Wizard Wheezes.

Hermione hummed to herself as she walked down the hallway, heading towards her office. She was in a great mood, Harry wasn't mad at her about Doug, and everything seemed to be going fantastically. For some reason, having Harry's approval of Doug was important to her.

She set her bag down next to her desk, then checked her post. A memo regarding a meeting, a note from a co-worker...nothing important. She tossed it down on her desk and rummaged around for her quill.

"Ah-ha!" She exclaimed, happily producing a rare fwooper quill Harry had bought her for her birthday last year. She sat down at her desk with the intention of writing a letter to Ginny, but a voice in the doorway interrupted her.

"Why, hello, Hermione." Doug was standing in her doorway, leaning against the doorframe. He grinned at her.

Hermione looked up briefly. "Oh, hi, Doug."

He took this as an invitation to come in and crossed the room in a few strides. "Listen, Hermione, I was wondering if you wanted to do something tonight."

Hermione looked up, surprised. He had beaten her to the punch. She smiled at him. "Sure, what would you like to do?"

Doug blushed a little. "I thought we could go dancing at that new club in Hogsmeade."

Hermione nodded. "Sounds good—what time do you want to meet?"

"Oh, no—I'll pick you up around, let's say, eight?" Hermione nodded her approval, and Doug gave a mock bow.

"I will pick you up tonight, my fair lady." He grinned and backed out the door, leaving Hermione staring after him.

She shook her head. A little strange, maybe, but probably nice. She laughed to herself as she dipped her quill into her inkpot. Who am I kidding?

"I'm home!" Hermione called. She dropped her bag and hung up her cloak. "Harry?"

Ron stuck his head out of the living room doorway. Laughter clearly evident in his voice, he mocked her, "What? No, 'Hello Ron,' you just straightaway call for Harry..." He stepped into the foyer, grinning.

"If I didn't know better, I would say that you--" He was cut off by a smack from Hermione, who was blushing furiously. "I just wanted to talk to him about tonight! There is nothing romantically related to that conversation besides that fact that I am going on a date with Doug, not Harry!"

Ron rubbed his arm where she had smacked him, staring at her. "OK, well that's nice, but I was going to say that if I didn't know better I would say that you were irritated with me or something."

Hermione turned an even darker shade of red as Ron added, "But, now that you broached the topic on your own..."

"Hey, Herm!" Harry jogged down the circular staircase, grinning. "What's up?"

She glowered at Ron. Then, turning to Harry, she said, "Doug and I are going to that new club in Hogsmeade, what is it called again? The Banshee? I don't know, but he's picking me up at eight, and I expect that you both will treat him nicely." Then, seeing the beginning of an evil grin on Ron's face, she added, "And there will be no 'big brother' talks."

Ron's face fell. She smirked, and turned to head up the stairs. "I'll be upstairs, getting dressed."

As she disappeared up the stairs, Harry turned to Ron. "I guess this is it. Although...I wish that she wouldn't go out with him. He seems a little bit like a stalker to me. We don't know him very well, I don't think she's safe," Suddenly the thought occurred to Harry that maybe he would like to be the one going out dancing tonight with Hermione. He quickly shook the thought out of his head. Hermione was his best friend. He wasn't supposed to be thinking about her like that.

Ron grinned. "If I didn't know better, I would say that you--"

Harry cut him off with a death glare, and he, too, disappeared up the stairs.

Ron laughed to himself as he went back into the living room. It would only be a matter of time. And, he thought to himself, I fully plan on giving this Doug the boyfriend talk.

The DJ switched songs, resulting in a pounding bass. The floor reverberated as Harry moved through the crowd, trying to keep out of sight of Hermione and Doug.

About ten minutes after Hermione had left, Harry decided to follow them. Ron had been doubtful at first, but when he realized that he wasn't going to change Harry's mind, he gave up. Harry had Apparated to the Screaming Banshee, hoping that they weren't outside. Luckily for him, they weren't.

Upon entering the club, Harry noticed Hermione and Doug sitting at the bar across the room. He immediately slipped into the crowd. If Hermione saw him there, he would never hear the end of it. When the DJ put on a new song, Harry saw Doug lean in close to Hermione and motion towards the dance floor.

Hermione looked a little hesitant but allowed Doug to lead her to the middle of the floor. She appeared to be trying to keep herself distanced from Doug, who was snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her up against him. Harry felt anger flare up inside of him when he saw how Doug was moving against Hermione.

Hermione danced with Doug, as not to appear rude, but Harry could tell that she was highly uncomfortable with the situation. As the song ended, Doug wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulders and led her out the back entrance into an alleyway. Harry tensed up and quickly headed out after them.

Staying in the shadows, Harry watched Doug corner Hermione up against a wall. "You look awfully sexy tonight," he said, loud enough for Harry to hear him.

"Yes, well, thank you, but I should be going now." Hermione answered, turning her head away from his roaming lips. She attempted to push him away from her, but only achieved making Doug angry.

"What do you think you're doing? You're coming home with me," he hissed, pinning her against the wall. Harry gripped his wand and stepped out of the shadows.

Hermione gasped, then looked relieved. "Harry!"

"She isn't going anywhere," Harry growled at Doug.

Doug sneered at him. "And just what do you think you're going to do about it?"

"Stupefy!" Harry roared, pointing his wand at the surprised man. Doug flew backwards, slamming into the alley wall.

Hermione stared at Doug. "Oh my God," she whispered, "oh my God." Tears were starting to roll down her cheeks. She sank to her knees.

Harry ran over to her. "Hermione, are you okay? Oh, God, I knew he was trouble..." Harry kneeled next to her.

Hermione started to shake. Without warning, she launched herself at Harry, sobbing. "Harry, I should have listened to you. Thank God you were here...I just had to prove you wrong, didn't I? I could have ended up dead, or raped, or Merlin only knows..." She clung to him.

Harry closed his eyes and, holding Hermione firmly to him, Apparated home.

Ron looked up, alarmed, as Harry suddenly appeared in front of him holding a shaking Hermione. Harry gave Ron a look that said, I'll tell you later.

Harry gently picked Hermione up and carried her up the stairs. He pushed open the door to her room with his foot and brought her over to bed. Setting her carefully down, he sat next to her and took her hands in his own.

Hermione stopped sniffing and gave Harry a weak smile. "I really should be mad at you for following me on my date. But I'm not. I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry looked surprised. "Why are you sorry? You have nothing to be sorry about. You did nothing wrong."

She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for –err, never mind, it's not important."

Harry gave her a strange look, but dropped it. He crossed the room to the fireplace and pointed his wand at it. Muttering a few words, a fire roared to life, warming the whole room. He went back to Hermione's side.

"Thanks," she murmured, and leaned her head against his chest. Harry rested his chin on top of her head, lost in thought.

A while later, Harry gently nudged Hermione. "Ron's probably jumping out of his seat downstairs. Are you okay?"

She nodded. Harry stood up, noticing that Hermione immediately clung to his side. She's probably traumatized, he thought. Her gentle co-worker just tried to abduct her.

Ron, who was sitting impatiently in the Common Room, jumped up as he saw Harry and Hermione descend the stairs. "Hermione, are you okay? What happened at the club?"

Harry motioned towards the kitchen. "Let's talk about this in the kitchen, shall we? I'll make hot chocolate."

Ron and Hermione sat down at the kitchen table while Harry crossed the room to start the chocolate. Ron looked at Hermione. "What happened?"

Hermione caught Harry's eye. Seeing him nod, she began to speak. "Well, after we left the house, Doug suggested that we Apparate there. Instead of both of us Apparating separately, he insisted that he hold on to me and we would Apparate together. He held me a lot tighter and closer than I felt comfortable, but I didn't want to say anything."

Harry carried three steaming mugs of hot chocolate over to the table and joined Hermione and Ron. Taking one, Hermione continued. "For the beginning of the night, he seemed very kind, buying me drinks. Then he asked if I would like to dance. I said okay—he did ask me to go out dancing.

"On the dance floor, he pulled me very close to him. I stepped back, trying to get the message to him that I didn't feel comfortable dancing like that with him. 'Nonsense', he said to me and pulled me right up against him."

At this point in the story, Harry was gripping his mug tightly. Hermione smiled at him, and reached over, taking his free hand in her own. "I gave up and let him hold me. As the song came to an end, he whispered to me that he had a surprise for me. I told him that I felt it was time I headed home, and he wrapped an arm around me and led me out into the back alley."

Hermione swallowed. "He cornered me, saying disgusting things to me. When he started—when he started—groping me, Harry came out of nowhere. I can honestly say I have never been so happy to have someone follow me on a date before in my entire life. Had Harry not been there, I'm sure I would be somewhere dead right now."

Harry squeezed her hand. Ron looked horrified. "Well? Aren't you going to call the police or something? You just let this guy get away?"

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Harry. "Hermione...what did you say his last name was?"

Hermione looked confused. "I didn't say, but his surname is Gideon."

Harry stood up, knocking his chair over. "Gideon?! Bloody hell, oh no..." Running into the entryway, he grabbed his cloak.

Hermione and Ron followed him, alarmed. "Harry, what's wrong?"

Fastening his cloak, Harry addressed Ron. "Ron, make sure she stays here. I need to get to the office right away. Don't let Hermione out of your sight, got it?" Ron would have laughed if the look on Harry's face hadn't been so serious.

Ron mock saluted him and smiled. Hermione looked utterly confused. Harry strode across the room and kissed her on the cheek. "Stay with Ron, will you? I'll be back soon." With that, he disappeared with a soft pop'.

Ron and Hermione stared at the spot where he had just been. Turning to Hermione, Ron grinned. "What do you say about a game of chess?"

"Mr. Potter--" the receptionist called out as Harry strode past.

"Not now!" Harry hollered back over his shoulder.

He rushed down the hallway, muttering to himself the whole way. "I can't believe I didn't figure this out before. He has been right here all this time...and I let Hermione go out with him!"

Reaching his destination, he burst right through the closed door. "Sirius! Remus! He was right under our noses this entire bloody time!" he yelled, pacing the room. Sirius and Remus stared at him, startled by his sudden appearance.

"Harry, why don't you start from the beginning," Sirius suggested, his worry and apprehension growing rapidly.

Harry stared at them. "Gideon. Gideon. The bloody mysterious Gideon. The one who has eluded us for all this time, the one behind everything. I found him-he was right under our noses this whole time!"

Remus' jaw dropped. "You're kidding..." he whispered.

Harry shook his head vehemently. "He works at the same place as Hermione does, researching for St. Mungo's. I let her go on a date with him!"

Sirius came out from behind his desk. "What do you mean, she dated him?"

Harry sighed, exasperated. "This guy named Doug was constantly hounding her for a date, and she finally relented. They went out dancing tonight. I always had a strange feeling about him, and told her that, but she was determined to prove me wrong—to prove that he was just a lonely man. I followed her without her knowledge, and a little while through the date, he led her out into a back alleyway. He was trying to bloody rape her, or worse! Knowing this Gideon, he probably was going to take her just to get at me..." He sank into a chair.

Remus was confused. "Harry, how do you know this is the same person?"

Harry looked up at him, suddenly very tired. "I asked her his last name, and she said Gideon. The minute she said that, I knew. And I let him get away! I just left him in the alleyway—we could have had him, after all of our searching and work..."

Sirius grabbed his cloak and tossed Remus his. "Let's go, now. He may still be there, we never know."

Harry nodded, and with a 'pop', the three men Apparated out.

Harry let out a frustrated yell. "I can't believe this. He was pretty much handed to me, and I let him get away!"

Sirius sighed. "I know, but there isn't anything we can do now. We'll have to use information from Hermione and her co-workers about him, maybe we can figure something out from them."

Sighing, Harry nodded. "I guess I should go. Hermione won't mind questioning now, but we'll have to wait to question her co-workers until tomorrow."

Remus, who was still looking around in hopes of some sort of clue, straightened up. He turned around, excited. "Hey, look what I found!"

Harry and Sirius rushed over to him. Noting that it was the same spot Doug had landed earlier, Harry took the note from Remus.

"10 o'clock," he read aloud. "The rest of the note is in Latin—and I can only make out the number fifteen and the word 'Draco', though. Most of it is smudged."

Studying the note over Harry's shoulder, Sirius asked, "What could that mean?"

Lupin looked confused. "Maybe Draco Malfoy? But he died last year, didn't he? In that freak accident at his Manor?"

Harry suddenly had a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Draco is Latin for dragon. Our house is 15 Dragon Alley Court."

Sirius' face turned white. All at once, they Apparated out, praying that they weren't too late.

Harry threw open the front door, running into the house. "Hermione! Ron!" he yelled frantically. His chest was tightening, and he could feel his pulse pounding in his ear. Upon hearing no answer, he grew panicked.

Sirius ran to check the kitchen, while Remus headed quickly up the stairs. Harry rushed into the Common Room, crying out as he took in the sight in front of him.

Ron was sitting at the chess table, slumped onto the tabletop. Blood was steadily streaming out of a nasty gash on his forehead. The chair across from him had been overturned and kicked aside. Rushing over to Ron, Harry gently shook him. It was no use. "Enervate," Harry said quickly.

Ron opened his eyes. He sat up, looking around wildly.

"Harry! Where is she? Oh God, did they get her?" What color was left in Harry's face quickly drained away.

"Ron, what are you talking about?"

Ron started to shake. "Harry, almost as soon as you left, Hermione and I sat down to play chess. Before I knew what was happening, there was a group of men surrounding us. They knocked me out, and I guess they took Hermione by the way things look."

Remus and Sirius ran into the room. "Harry, we didn't see anyone up--"

Taking in the sight around them, they stopped talking. "Oh, no..."

Harry's knees buckled, and he slumped to the floor. He had failed. He hadn't been able to help her.

Doug Gideon had Hermione.