'Hermione, have you tried to connect with him again?"
"Yes, a little while ago, he's still blocking me." She'd been trying all morning to no avail. Luna had told her to expect that when Hermione had called to explain what was happening & that she & Harry were going out to Oxford on the next available portkey. Luna had been incredulous at the news. "What do you think he went to Oxford for Hermione? To do what?"
"I have no idea, Luna, but I'm so pissed & upset right now I really don't care why. I just want to find him before I kill him, know what I mean?"
"Yes I have to admit, I'm shocked at him. I didn't think he'd ever do something like this. You two be careful."
"We will, & I'll call you & keep you updated."
Harry reached for her hand as the finally landed in Headington "We'll be there soon, Hermione; I promise we'll find him. Everything will be OK."
When she turned to look at him he saw a hardness in her eyes he'd never seen before. Her response was dead serious & chilled him to the bone.
"It had better be, Harry, or I'll kill you."
==================
Ben had been walking around Oxford town centre aimlessly for about an hour. He wasn't even sure why he had gone there, it just seemed like the logical place to start. To start what, he didn't know either; but he had felt drawn to the place where her parents had met & where their lives had been so altered. He was searching for answers to questions he hadn't formulated yet, but knew when he did, he'd find them in Oxford.
He decided to check the more rural area & began to walk around. He hadn't been there since he was a toddler when he visited cousins of the Grangers one summer but it hadn't changed much from what he remembered. He wandered in & out of the little shops not seeing anything, as his mind was busy trying to decide a course of action & also keeping his mother blocked out. He had felt her trying to connect with him all day but he wasn't ready to deal with her just yet.
Being so preoccupied he never noticed the figure shadowing his movements through the town.
"================
Dunlin ducked into a doorway and snickered to himself as Ben stepped out of one of the GAP shops in the shopping
arcade. How stupid could the boy be, he thought. Watching Ben cross the street toward some Italian themed diner he
decided that this was as good a time as any to make his move.
======================
Ben stood outside the bank, off to the side peering in the window .He was so engrossed in his thoughts he never
noticed the small man come toward him. He had a fleeting thought of his mother as he felt the sharp pain at the base of
his skull & the world went black.
======================
Hermione was about to ask Harry something when a sharp pain shot through her body & she went limp, folding to the floor in a heap. Harry grabbed her shouting "Mione! What's wrong!"
She came out of her fog & looked at him. "Something happened to him. I felt it." She waived off the passer by who was offering to call a doctor. "No, I'm fine, just haven't eaten." Turning to Harry she muttered "let's just get to a taxi."
Once outside in the car she tried to connect with her son again. "Nothing. I'm not getting in." Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she said, "let's get to Headington, Harry. Hurry."
They headed straight for Headington..Harry felt that Oliver Wood may be able to help them; maybe someone had seen their son. Oliver still knew everyone in town, surely if someone had seen him Oliver or Katie, his wife, would hear of it.
As they climbed out of the taxi they heard Katie wood (Bell) calling their names. Aware that they were coming to Oxford because Luna had alerted her parents, she had spotted them & was jumping up & down waiving at them. "Just then she passed through the spot that her son had been standing in when Dunlin made his move. Hermione froze in her tracks & went into a trance. She began shaking violently from head to toe before she fainted dead away on the sidewalk.
Harry dropped to his knees next to her & cradled her head in his hands. "Hermione, ''oh what now, please Mione." He was frantic as Katie ran up to him.
"Bring her inside Harry; put her on the couch in the back room."
Harry scooped her up & strode through the premises of the woods training school, to the back room where a very surprised Oliver Wood was taking a floo call. Katie was right behind explaining to her husband what had just happened.
"I'm going to get a potion for her head," said Katie as she hurriedly made her way to the bathroom.
Oliver looked at Harry & got right to the point. "What's going on Harry. Luna just flooed & filled us in on what she could."
"I don't know, we saw Katie & then Hermione fainted." As he finished she stirred, her eyes opening & she looked at Oliver strangely for a moment until she realized where she was.
"Hermione, are you all right, what happened, are you hurt?" Harry was peppering her with questions; afraid she may have injured herself when she fell. She looked up at him with haunted eyes.
In a small voice she said, "someone stunned him Harry. Outside of the bank. I saw it when I passed the spot where it must have happened. He was hit from behind & taken away…" Her words ceased as she began to cry & Harry pulled her into his arms.
"We'll find him Hermione, I promise you," he said as he tried to soothe her, his voice eerily steady. He had shifted into battle mode, a position he had become all too familiar with over the past years.
He'd find their son. Then he'd kill whoever had taken him.
Dunlin sat cross-legged contemplating the unconscious person tied up in front of him.
Something was different about the chosen one. He looked younger than Dunlin remembered. And there was something else, though he couldn't put his finger on it. Suddenly Ben began to stir & Dunlin stood up, waiting for him to become aware of his surroundings.
The only thing Ben was aware of at the moment was the throbbing pain at the base of his skull. And that he was laying on something cold & hard. He opened his eyes & jerked himself upright, wincing immediately at the constraints which held him bound.
He looked around the dimly lit cave & saw some strange old-looking torn things on the wall, then noticed that someone was standing to his left. He stared at the stranger for a minute before asking, "who are you?"
Dunlin didn't reply; he continued staring at Ben. Something was definitely up- the boy didn't recognize him? How could that be? And there was something about his eyes. They were different- larger, rounder, a deeper brown colour than he remembered. Ben interrupted his thoughts. "I said, who are you? And why am I here?" Ben had never seen anything like the things in the cave before.
Dunlin squatted down & looked at him a moment longer before he replied, "so you don't remember me? I thought I'd be hard to forget, considering our long & colourful history."
"Our history." It was a statement meant as a question.
"Our history''. Surely you haven't forgotten '' He spat out the last sentence.
Ben remained silent as he registered the meaning of his words. This person thought he was his father. That meant this person was a death eater And considering that he had kidnapped him & tied him up, he was probably a rogue one.
Oh oh.
"Unsure of yourself Potter''?
Dunlin was strolling around the cave as he spoke; then turning suddenly he crossed the room & knelt down in front of
Ben. "Perhaps I need to see just what is inhibiting your memory."
Before Ben knew what was happening Dunlin grabbed his head & connected with him. He quickly released him & stared at Ben menacingly.
"All right, suppose you tell me why you chose to kill my wife, my sister and my brother in law eh??."
Oh oh. Oh dad…..
=================
Hermione was wildly pacing around a back room at Oliver's offices. Harry or Oliver would get her to sit down but she would last only a minute before she was up & moving again.
Harry had explained everything from his return to Scotland up to the present to Oliver, who was now contemplating the situation. He looked at Hermione and asked, "you didn't see who hit him or where he came from?"
"No. I felt a sharp pain in the back of his head & then blackness." She turned & addressed Harry. "It was the same pain that I felt at the portkey point. That's when it must have happened."
oliver asked, "what time was that?"
Harry took out his gold pocket watch Hermione gave him for his 18th birthday. "About an hour and a half ago."
"Well, they could be well on their way to anywhere by now," Oliver mused aloud. "Hermione, can't you connect with him? Maybe he can tell us something."
"He hasn't let me in all day. I can try again." Hermione sat down & closed her eyes & concentrated on
her son. She gasped suddenly & said "BEN!"
======================
"Answer me. Who are YOU," Dunlin demanded.
Ben didn't know what to say, so he replied "I asked you first."
Dunlin leaned in close to his face & ground out "you do not want to fuck around with me. Tell me who you are or 'll just kill you now."
Ben knew he wouldn't be able to lie about his identity, so he said "Benedict. Benedict Granger-Potter."
Dunlin didn't move away as he said, "I know who you are Harry James Potter ''
As he finished speaking Ben could feel his mother trying to connect with him again. He knew he had no choice now- he needed all the help he could get, so he opened up to her immediately.
// Mum.
Oh my God Ben, where are you, are you all right? I know something happened.
Mum, I'm OK now; I was in a holding cell but I don't know where . I'm in some kind of cave with some guy. He's an rogue death eater & not a good one. He thinks I'm Dad.//
Hermione froze instantly & looked at Harry. "You were followed. Rogue death eater has him but he thinks it's you." ''Ben has aged himself again'' ''Harry he does that under severe stress''
Harry grabbed her hand. "Hermione, let me connect in with you both. I need to know what's going on."
Hermione closed her eyes again & summoned her son.
// Ben, I'm here in Oxford with your father. He is connected with us right now. He can hear both of us. You have to tell him everything you see & hear, OK? //
Hermione was praying that her son would not reject his father's interference.
// OK Mum. //
Hermione squeezed Harry's hand to signal him to communicate.
// Ben, can you hear me?
Yes.
Do you know who is holding you- has he given a name?
''Yes . His name is DUNLIN'' He wants to know why I killed his family''. I gave him my name but he said he knows I'm Harry Potter & he's looking a little impatient about it right about now.
BEN BE CAREFUL!!! // Hermione screamed out in his mind.
Dunlin narrowed his eyes as he thought about what he'd seen when he connected in, or more importantly, what he hadn't seen. He didn't see anything to do with the dark lord or the war, just images of people & places that Dunlin didn't recognize. Except for one- he clearly saw the brunette brown-eyed woman who was in almost every scene. This person obviously had a very strong connection to him. He couldn't help but feel that he knew who she was somehow, & that she was a key in deciphering his identity.
"Perhaps I should go & find the pretty brown-haired woman who is obviously so important to you. Maybe she will fill me in on who you are."
"NO!!!!!" Ben screamed as he attempted to get up, only to be reminded of just how tight his restraints were. "You stay away from her."
"Then start talking POTTER."
Ben stared back at Dunlin unsure of what to do. He didn't want to give this guy too much information but he also didn't want him anywhere near his mother, especially now that she too was in Oxford. He had to stall, he needed time to think, but he knew that Dunlin wasn't going to give him any so he decided to give him a few breadcrumbs to see if that would buy him some time. Maybe if this guy finds out that I'm not who he's looking for he'll let me go.
"I told you who I am. Ben Granger- Potter is my name. The person you're referring to was my father. I've never met him."
Dunlin stood bolt upright. Potter had a son? How was it that he had never known that? He had never heard anyone mention that Potter had a family . This changed everything.
// Ben, are you still there? What's going on? // Hermione had felt his flash of anger & then him leave their connection. She had a death grip on his father's hands as she frantically tried to connect again.
// Yes Mum, everything's OK. He really wanted to know who I was-
BEN. Listen to me. // His father was in full leader-mode; he knew if this death eater had come for him & discovered that he had a son that it would make things even more dangerous for Ben.
// Ben. Do NOT tell him who you are. Do not tell him you are related to me, understand?
Uh, too late. I had to tell him. He threatened Mum if I didn't. //
Hermione's grip on Harry's hand tightened further. She too understood the possible repercussions of an enemy of Harry's finding out that he had a son . She had lived in fear of it all of her son's life.
Harry felt her hand squeezing his & knew that he had to calm her down; he also knew that the only way to do so was to keep their son from getting hurt. To do that he needed to know what he was up against.
// Ben, I need to see who is holding you. You have to concentrate really hard. You have to be my eyes. //
Hermione was immediately alarmed. "He doesn't have those powers."
Harry cut her off. "Yes he does. He just doesn't know it yet."
// What do you need me to do?
Open yourself up to it Ben.
To what exactly.
To the life force. It's all around you. It's between the three of us.
Let me get this straight. Are you saying 'let the force be with you?'''you know like those muggle movies''….
BENEDICT! This is no time to be a smart-arse''! // Hermione barked in her son's mind.
// Mum, I'm not trying to be funny. Believe me this is the most un-funny situation I've ever been in. //
His father took control again. // It's an life force. It surrounds us all. Because of your advanced intelligence we 'connect' with it- it's what our inner powers are derived from. Your mother has the ability because I gave myself completely to her & it enabled her to- I'll get into that later. Close your eyes & look inside yourself. Feel the power within you. Feel it reaching out all around you. Feel it encompassing your mother & I. Feel its return to you. Its connection with you. //
He fell silent as he gave his son time to try what he had asked of him. He was giving him a crash course in a somewhat difficult thing to do, so he turned to Hermione. "We have to help him mione. Do the same thing I just told him to do- feel the energy between us. Feel Ben with us inside that energy. Send it to him."
Hermione immediately started to concentrate on their connection & began to feel the current of electricity that ran through it. She threw every ounce of herself into following its path, when she suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of- completeness, was the only way she could describe it. She was completely connected to the souls of the two most important people in the universe to her. She could feel the energy flowing between them freely, and it made her feel totally alive. She couldn't help but gasp "Ben!"
// I feel it too. // He had felt his mothers awe & he too was enveloped in the completed puzzle that was the 3 of them linked together.
// Good Ben, now this is what I want you to do. Open your eyes & without drawing attention to what you're doing, look around you. See everything for the energy it's made of. Feel it. Look at him. See him. Show him to me. //
He prayed his son would be able to project his surroundings & his captors face to him.
Ben lifted his head as he opened his eyes. He took in the topography of the walls of the cave, the strange carvings/rune type symbols on the walls & the light pulsing through them slowly, translating his visual observations into a flow of energy. His eyes finally came to rest on dunlin, who was deep in thought across the cave from him He took him in slowly, completely, willing his appearance to his father.
Hermione gasped as the images ran before her eyes. She knew where he was. She looked at Harry who said "Dimitri Dunlin. I should have known."
"They're in the sorcerers caves , aren't they Harry?" she asked.
"Yes. The light in the runes- that's the gateway. It's hidden behind them. Hermione froze. "Do you think he'll take Ben-"
"Hermione, I'm the one he wants. He's not going anywhere without me. This guy & I go way back."
"Let's go then. We have to get out there." Hermione was already up & moving towards the door.
Harry halted her with a hand to her arm. "Hermione I don't want you going-"
She stopped him immediately. "That is my son out there. Hell could freeze over & I'd put on snow shoes to get him. I'm going." The look on her face let him know she wasn't asking his permission.
// BEN we're on our way // he signaled to his son.
// Please hurry dad, please please hurry. //