The Weight of the World

Chapter 27 - Kidnapped

Hermione had blacked out shortly after the last curse on her had stopped. She awoke in a small room that had only a small torch light by the door. She was still bound tightly, but the ropes around her mouth had been freed. She wanted to scream out for help but she wasn't sure if she wanted anyone to know she was awake yet.

She stared at the room for a second and fought against her ropes for what seemed like hours before she finally gave in and decided to yell for someone.

"Help! Can anyone hear me? Please help me!" she screamed.

She didn't hear anyone and she began to cry from the strain of not knowing what had happened to Harry, and not knowing what was going to happen to her. Finally she heard what sounded like footsteps coming towards her.

The door opened and a small man not too much larger than Wormtail came into the room.

Hermione didn't say anything; she just stared at the man and she was scared to death.

"I was told to get you out of these ropes and down to the dining area in a few minutes for some food."

"Who are you?" Hermione asked with a trembling voice.

"My name is Rockman, now don't cause any trouble. I think you're lucky he's keeping you alive,” he said.

"You have to help me. You have to get me out of here,” Hermione said.

"Keep your mouth shut and do what you're told! If you misbehave, I'll punish you,” he said presenting his wand.

He then flicked his wand and the ropes binding Hermione fell to the ground. She wasn't ready for the quick release and fell to the ground just after the ropes did.

"Come this way,” The man said waiting for Hermione to get to her feet.

He made her walk through the door first and he stayed close behind her with is wand pointed at her as they walked.

They were in some sort of underground palace. The hallways were very narrow, the ceilings weren't very tall, and the air smelled stale. The paths were long and seemed to go on forever. When they'd get to a cross path, he would bark out which way to turn and they would keep walking until they got to another. They had walked for what seemed like five minutes when they finally came to a set of large double doors which magically burst open and a large dining hall was presented behind them. It consisted of one large wooden table that would comfortably seat probably fifty men. The table was beautiful and was engraved with spider web-like designs. The ceiling was much higher than the one in the hallway, and it was painted with some sort of mural that had a language on it that Hermione didn't recognize.

He sat Hermione down at one of the chairs at the table and sat down directly across from her.

"We will wait for him before we start eating," the man said.

Hermione stared at the man and didn't say anything. Her fear had been replaced by anger and the look she shot towards him reflected it.

"Where is Harry? What did he do to Harry?" she asked the man.

He didn't answer him, but the voice behind her did.

"Harry unfortunately, is fine,” It was Voldemort.

He walked to the table and sat down by his servant across from Hermione.

"That is all Rockman, you may leave us," he said.

"Yes my lord. Anything else I can do my Lord?"

"That will be all Rockman,” Voldemort said.

Hermione was terrified from the moment she heard his voice. She knew that she was now sitting across from the darkest, and possibly the most powerful wizard of all time. She still had pain lingering in her joints from the curses he had performed on her. She tried her hardest not to show her fear.

"Please let me go,” Hermione asked him.

"My dear I am afraid that I can't do that. You are too valuable to me right now and there are things I need to know from you."

Voldemort waived his hand and plates of food and goblets of wine appeared on the table.

"I'm sorry but red wine is all I have to offer you to drink, I can assure you that it will bring out the flavor of the food though."

Hermione knew that he was waiting for her to eat and she was hesitant to take anything, but then her common sense took over and she realized that he could kill her at anytime and she doubted very seriously that he would do it by poisoning her food.

She took a couple pieces of bread and pulled them onto her plate. Voldemort seemed to be pleased that she was enjoying his hospitality and let a small smile creep across his face as he watched her take a small bite of the bread.

"So it seems to me that you and Harry are very close."

"He's my friend,” she said plainly.

"My dear I do believe that you are more than just his friend. There are things that I can sense and believe it or not, love is still one of them. Even though I do not feel love doesn't mean I do not recognize it. Harry has deep feelings for you I can assure you."

Hermione reflected on what he had said for a second, and then pretended to take a drink of her wine to try and stall the conversation. When she put the goblet down she stared back at him, but had to look away as she found his red eyes to be too intense to stare at for very long.

"There are questions that I want you to answer for me Hermione Granger. I don't want to have to hurt you again tonight so I ask that you not make me forcefully get the answers from you."

Hermione didn't know what he was going to ask her, but she knew he would get the information from her one way or another. Even though she was a very advanced witch for her age, she was still no match for Voldemort, especially without her wand.

"What kind of questions?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"I am going to assume that Harry and you talk often, so I am sure by now he has told you why I came after him and killed his parents. I had wondered how powerful he had become, but today, the spell he used against me was one that I can assure you wasn't taught to him at Hogwarts or any other school for that matter. The spell was an old dark magic that even my Death Eaters would never know how to perform. Do you have any idea where he learned that spell?" Voldemort asked her.

Hermione thought about it for a second. She wanted to be careful how she answered his questions. She wanted to protect Harry as much as she could, but at the same time she didn't want him to resort to torturing her or using truth serum or she knew she would say more than she wanted him to hear.

"He just knows things. I'm not sure how really, but he got away from the wizards at the castle by using spells that we haven't learned at school either. I asked him and he told me that he just has them in his head," she said trying to sound convincing.

Voldemort stared at her for a second, it almost seemed as though he was staring through her. She wondered whether or not he could tell if she were lying. She tried as hard as she could to clear her mind while she waited for his response.

He finally smiled at her and reached down and grabbed the goblet of wine from in front of him and took a sip.

"So it has happened. I didn't think he would have received it so early, but it seems that it has happened."

"What has happened?" Hermione asked him.

"The transfer my dear. Your friend.. Harry... has become one of the most powerful wizards in the world. Of course he isn't anywhere near as powerful as me..yet, but he could very easily become that way. It's just a pity that we can't join our forces. The things we could accomplish together would be on a level that this world has never seen," he said.

Has she heard him right? Harry one of the most powerful wizards in the world? She didn't want to give anything away with the expressions on her face.

"Harry would never join you,” Hermione said plainly taking another sip of wine.

The smile that was on his face, disappeared quickly. "What makes you so sure? Everyone gets hungry for power, and I am the only one that could show Harry how to truly take advantage of his.”

"You killed his parents, I doubt he'll forget that and just join forces with you."

"Tell me something Hermione. You know Harry better than most. Do you think he'll come after you, or do you think he'll send some of his Ministry friends, or that fool Dumbledore?"

"You can't use me to get at Harry. He won't fall for that and I can guarantee that Professor Dumbledore won't allow him to walk into a trap just because you have me."

Voldemort looked at her then laughed an evil laughed that cut through her ears.

"You Mudbloods are very foolish. You don't think properly and that is your downfall. You cannot help it though, it's just bad breeding. I never knew what Dumbledore saw in Mudbloods. You would think that a pure blood like him would show a bit more loyalty to bloodlines."

Voldemort stood up from his chair and finished off his goblet of wine.

"You have been a very nice guest Hermione Granger and you have told me what I have needed to know for now. It's a shame that we must meet under these circumstances. Let's hope for both of our sakes that you serve your purpose. I promise that if you do, you'll die quickly. So please behave yourself while you are here. I don't want to have to send Rockman to punish you, and I can assure you that you won't want me to either. He can be very barbaric at times. When you are done with dinner, he'll show you to your quarters."

He then apparated and was gone.

Hermione didn't have an appetite, but she did drink the goblet of wine. She was so terrified, but was now a bit more at ease knowing Harry had escaped Voldemort one more time. She didn't want to die, but if it meant keeping Harry safe, she would gladly do it. He had already been through a life full of suffering and she didn't want to be used as bait for a trap that would catch him.

She stood up from the table and went to the large doors and pulled on them to find that they had been locked. After she let go of them, one of the doors opened and Rockman was standing there.

She followed him, expecting to go back to the small room that she woke up in, but instead found herself in a large beautiful bedroom. The bed was a large wooden four-poster with silk linens and large fluffy white pillows covered by a large red think blanket. The bathroom was large and had a huge bathtub with fluffy towels neatly stacked beside it. It was almost like a hotel room except there wasn't a single window anywhere.

The door immediately locked behind her and she knew that this room, even though it was nice, was her prison.

She walked over to the bed and lay down and began to cry. She though of her parents and the fact that she might never see them again. She though about Ron and how she might never see him again. But most of all she hoped that Harry wouldn't do something stupid and get himself killed trying to save her. She cried herself to sleep that night.

- - -

Harry awoke to the sound of Sirius shouting at him to wake up. It was dark outside and his vision was still very blurry. When Sirius saw that he began to wake up, he kneeled down and wiped the crusty blood from the scratch off of his face and then gave Harry some time to get his wits together. Harry rubbed his eyes and his forehead because of the lingering pain in his scar and when he let his glasses fall back over his face he saw Sirius kneeling beside him. He could make out Moody and Dumbledore standing above him.

"Harry, what happened? Are you okay?" Sirius said.

Harry tried to get up but fell back down and finally just let his head rest against the cave floor. He was very weak.

"Hermione, he took Hermione," Harry said.

"Who Harry? What happened here?" Sirius asked.

"Voldemort, he killed Rooney, he took Hermione."

Sirius helped Harry sit up and rest him against the cave wall. He fed Harry some water.

Harry was slowly beginning to get his strength back and he slowly stood up.

Professor Dumbledore came over and grabbed one of Harry's arms.

"Take it easy Harry, you mustn't try to do too much right now," he said.

Sirius had Harry's other arm to help stabilize him.

"Harry, can you tell us exactly what happened?" Sirius asked him again.

"I went to get water. When I was on my way back my scar started hurting. I hurried back and when I got here Voldemort had killed Rooney and he had Hermione tied up."

Harry's legs gave way suddenly and they each helped him sit back down on the cave floor. Harry continued.

"He killed Wormtail, burned him to death,” Harry said pointing to the smoldering mass from inside of the cave.

"Then he told me to give him my wand and I refused so he hurt Hermione. I warned him not to do it again, and then I threw him my wand. But I had the other wand, the one that Fudge had picked up from the Death Eater, and he hit me with the Cruciatus Curse. While I was on the ground I got the wand out of my pocket and he didn't it. When I stood back up he hurt Hermione again, and when he did I hit him with a spell that made him drop both of our wands. He fell and let go of Hermione but somehow he grabbed her again and apparated them both before I could get to him. I should have just tried to kill him, but something happened. After I threw that spell at him, I got really weak."

"What spell did you use Harry?" Dumbledore asked him.

Harry hesitated to answer him for a second. He thought of lying to him, but he knew that Dumbledore would probably see through him if he did.

"What did you use Harry?" Sirius asked.

"Ferve desquamo,” Harry said softly.

"What was that?" Sirius asked him not recognizing what he said.

"Oh dear,” Dumbledore said looking at Harry. Sirius looked at Dumbledore expecting an explanation.

"I'm sorry Professor. I just lost control. He hit Hermione with the Cruciatus Curse twice. I wanted him to pay. I should have just killed him,” Harry said.

"What is that curse he used Albus?" Sirius asked him sounding confused.

Dumbledore looked away from Harry for a second, then up to Sirius.

"The spell he used is a dark magic curse that boils one's skin if I do remember correctly."

Sirius and Moody both looked down at Harry wide-eyed. Harry put his head in his hands and wished he hadn't told them. He remembered the curse from one of his memories of a dark wizard torturing a man for information. In his memory the man's skin boiled right off of his body.

"Harry, the reason you passed out because the spell you used was a dark magic spell. Your body isn't used to performing that kind of magic; I hope it will never be used to performing that kind of magic,” Dumbledore said.

"I'm sorry Professor,” Harry still had his head in his hands and he was glad because he didn't want the three grown men to see him cry.

But he couldn't hide the fact that he was crying when he spoke.

"Why did he have to take her? Why didn't I just try to disable him and get us both away? I wanted to hurt him so bad. She screamed so loud when he hurt her, she stared at me.. and I had to do something. She needed.. meto do... something" Harry couldn't control his crying now.

Sirius put his hand on Harry's shoulder and then pulled him up into a hug and let his God-son cry on his shoulder.

"Harry, it's not your fault. We'll get her back. Let's get you back to the castle. You need some rest while we try to find out where he took her."

Harry and Sirius walked slowly back to the castle, while Moody and Dumbledore apparated directly to the gates to begin working on trying to find Hermione's whereabouts.

The walk was long and the two hardly talked. They were close to the castle before Sirius spoke.

"Harry, Professor Dumbledore has filled me in about your situation. I don't mean situation, I mean what you have received as your birthright. It was very hard for me to understand so I can only imagine the toll it's taking on you. What happened to Hermione wasn't your fault, the same way that what happened after the Tri-Wizard Tournament wasn't your fault, and your parent's deaths weren't your fault. It's Voldemort's fault Harry, don't forget that."

Harry walked silently for a second then stopped and turned to Sirius.

"I'm sorry I used that dark spell. I promise I won't do it again,” Harry felt ashamed.

"I believe you Harry. I know what it's like to get angry and lose control. It happens to the best of us,” Sirius and Harry continued walking a few steps more before Sirius stopped again.

"Can you tell me one more thing Harry?"

"Sure"

"Tell me what happened when you hit him with that curse."

Harry was caught a bit off guard when Sirius asked him that, but he knew that Sirius wanted the pleasure of hearing the details.

"His face and hands started to boil and he fell on the ground and was screaming,” Harry stopped paused as he recalled Voldemort looking down at his hands screaming.

"But that was my mistake. I enjoyed it too much. I probably could have finished him off, but I hesitated to listen to him scream,” Harry said.

Sirius did want the details, but it was a bit disturbing to hear Harry talk this way. Harry's hatred for Voldemort was hate that most teenagers aren't capable of feeling yet, but Sirius could tell that it was genuine. Harry had the same look in his eye that Sirius himself had when he had finally found himself face to face with Wormtail.

Neither talked after that. The two just kept walking and didn't talk again until they were back in the castle. Sirius almost cracked a smile when he thought of Voldemort on the ground screaming in pain, but then he thought about Hermione being taken prisoner and the thought of a smile was gone.

Harry was looked at by Madam Pomfrey. She cleaned the scratch on his face and then he was allowed to go back to the Gryffindor common room. His whole body hurt from the magic he had absorbed, and he had to really work to climb thought the portrait hole.

Harry walked in to find Meagan reading a book. She jumped out of her chair when she saw him.

"Harry! Oh my God we were so worried. Mom said that you were in danger, she said they ran off to get both of you.,” Meagan just realized that Hermione wasn't with him.

"Where is Hermione?" Meagan asked.

"He took her Meagan. I couldn't stop him and he took her."

"Voldemort took her?" Megan asked as though she couldn't believe what she had heard.

"She's not... dead... is she Harry?" Meagan said trying to fight her tears.

"I don't think so. I think he just took her to get to me. I just hope he doesn't hurt her anymore."

Harry sat down in one of the large chairs. It was the most comfortable he had been in a long time.

"What happened, Harry?" Meagan asked quietly.

"They left us to come take the castle back. It was a trap, he knew that they would all be here fighting and he found us. I was gone getting water and when I got back he was there waiting for me. I tried but I couldn't stop him. I couldn't get her away from him."

Harry's voice cracked as he finished the last sentence. He was both physically and emotionally drained and he began crying again when he though about what Voldemort and the Death Eaters might be doing to Hermione.

Meagan got up and walked over to him and kneeled down beside his chair.

"Harry, don't worry. You know Hermione; she'll take care of herself until Professor Dumbledore can find a way to get to her back."

"I have to find out where he is. He's only holding her to get at me. If I can find out where she is I'll get him to let her go,” Harry said wiping the tears out of his eyes.

"Harry, don't do anything stupid. Let Dumbledore and the others handle this. Mom told me they have been fighting him for a long time; they'll know what to do."

"Harry stood up from the chair. "It was my fault she got taken in the first place. I could have stopped it and I didn't."

Harry began to walk up the stairs to his dorm room.

Meagan felt bad because she wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't been here for very long and already she had been exposed to so much danger and suffering. She watched Harry slowly walk up the stairway before she called out to him.

"Harry, get some rest. I think the house elves finished cleaning your dorm room an hour or so ago. This place was pretty trashed from those Dark Wizards but they have most of it cleaned up already."

Harry turned around and just nodded at her. He then continued back up to his dorm room, took a shower, and climbed into his bed. He was exhausted but tried to stay awake anyway. He wanted to know where Hermione was so that he could go and get her. He lightly slapped his face as he started to doze off to try and make himself stay awake.

"Come on! You probably have the answer in there somewhere,” he said as he patted his forehead.

"Come on!" he said one last time. But it was no use,he was just too tired and dozed off to sleep.