New Beginnings

DISCLAIMER::: Everything you recognize belongs to JK Rowling and Warner Bros. I just love them so much I wanted to play with them a little.

Summary::: Hermione and Ron... need I say more?

New Beginnings

Chapter Fourteen

Wandless magic-- the ability to cast spells and charms without the use of a wand.

Hermione had never been very good at wandless magic. The theory behind it was easily understood, but theory alone is not all there is to magic. She had the theory down. She could even perform a few spells, a couple of charms and one hex, but none of that would help her now. All the research she had down after graduating from Hogwarts and the work she had done for the Ministry, would not get her out of this damn cell, or help her defend herself against an armed and very pissed off Ronald Weasley.

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"Okay, Mr. Weasley, tell us again exactly what you remember before my Aurors found you in your attic?" Draco asked.

"Molly and I had just finished an early dinner, and I was having my pudding. Molly was clearing the table, and as she was walking away to set the dishes to washing, I heard an odd sound coming from her direction. As I looked over to her, she turned and pointed her wand at me. I remember thinking how much that sound reminded me of one of those Muggle techy phono things," Arthur Weasley answered, looking confused.

"It has to be Ron then," Bill shouted, shooting out of his chair once again. "He has to be the one who kidnapped Hermione. Then he must have contacted Mum on that techy thing to tell her what he had done."

Bill was pacing the room again, and when he finished his rant, he turned to see his father staring at him.

"What do you mean Ron must have kidnapped Hermione? She is safely tucked away at Hogwarts," Arthur said before turning to look at Draco. "Isn't she?"

"I am afraid, Mr. Weasley, that Hermione was abducted from the gates of Hogwarts around five o'clock yesterday evening," Draco replied. "We have been questioning your sons and seem to have all come to the same conclusion. Ron attacked and stunned her, them somehow moved her without Apparating."

"Well, if he stunned her, then he needed to use a wand. The Ministry snapped his when he was exiled. Since he can't get a new one on his own, he must have stolen someone else's."

"Of course, that explains why he didn't Apparate with her! You can't Apparate with someone else's wand, even if your magics are compatible enough to do small spells. Why didn't I think of that before?" Draco's eyes were almost glowing with the knowledge he had solved one of the riddles of Hermione's kidnapping. "Fred, George, where is your brother living now? My team must go there right away. If he is holding Hermione there, he has had her for more than twelve hours now. There is no telling what he may have done to her in that time."

It was not the twins, but Arthur who answered. "I will take you to him. If he did in fact abduct Hermione, and Molly knows this and is helping him hold her, I want to be there."

"Of course, and I have two guests of my own I plan to bring along when we call on your son," Draco said, leading the way out the door.

Once out in the hall, Harry and Severus joined the Weasleys and Draco.

"What are you doing here, Professor Snape?" Charlie asked, looking shocked.

"I am assisting in locating Hermione, as she is a professor at Hogwarts, and..." Snape paused to find the right words before continuing, " she failed to appear at dinner last night, and I became concerned."

"We are wasting time." Draco shouted, over the whispers from the Weasleys at Severus' answer. "Let's just get going and find Hermione."

With that everyone nodded and headed down the hall and out of the Ministry to the nearest Apparition point.

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Hermione watched as the door to her cell was slowly pushed open. As soon as she saw the wand of the person entering, she slammed all of her weight into the back of the door, and grabbed for the wand as the person in the doorway was knocked off balance from the impact of the heavy door. Wrenching the wand from the hand that grasped it, she spun it around, pointed it at the door and backed away, as it was slammed open.

"Stupefy!" shouted a male voice.

Hermione had expected this and dodged the spell shouting, "Expelliarmus!"

As the wand shot out of her attacker's hand, Hermione shouted, "Petrificus T..."

She was never able to finish as she was hit with, "Immobulus!" Her body froze into its position, and she fell to the ground on her side, completely unable to move more than her eyes. She looked about to see who hit her with the hex, but could see no one.

"Well, I can see you are as feisty as ever, wife," Ron growled as he stepped into her limited range of sight. Turning to someone behind him, he shouted, "Get yourself up off the ground, and let Mum repair that broken arm. It won't do to have you slacking off on your duties due to your own stupidity."

Hermione heard a groan and shuffling.

"Come along, dear, let's get that fixed. You really should be more careful. If I hadn't been here to mend this, there is no telling if it would have healed right."

"Hermione, Hermione, Hermione. So I have you here at last. Mum is quite proud of me for getting you to come back," Ron said, picking up the wand that she had shot out of his hand and casting, "Incarcerous!"

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Severus, Harry, Draco, and the Weasleys Apparated into the alley behind the small brick building containing Ron's flat. Arthur cast a Disillusionment Charm on the rescue party so that any Muggles who might be in the area would not see them as they made their way to the front of the building. At the front entrance, Charlie and Bill kept lookout as Arthur and Severus worked on opening the door.

"Do you know how this damn thing works?" Severus growled, indicating a small electronic pad with buttons next to numbers.

"I think you push the button to alert the resident you are here to visit, so they can open the door."

"Haven't you ever used it before?" Severus growled again.

"No, Ron has always met us out here and taken us in," Arthur said, annoyed.

Harry pushed Severus out of the way to examine the pad and asked, "Which one is Ron's flat?"

"Number three," answered Fred.

Harry pushed the button next to the number two, and a voice said, "Yes, what do you want?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I left my key. I am in number three; could you please buzz me in?"

A loud buzzing sounded, and the door clicked open. Harry pushed it open and smirked at the incredulous look on everyone's faces.

"What?" he asked as he stepped inside.

"How did you do that?" Bill questioned.

"I was raised by Muggles, remember?" he answered with a shrug.

"Up the stairs and to the left. Ron's door is the third on the right," said George as he headed up the stairs.

Once the group was outside the door with a brass number three on it, Severus whispered, "Okay, Draco, you unlock the door. Arthur, you push it open from over there, and Bill, Charlie and I will enter. Wands drawn and read to stun anyone inside. Understood?"

"What do you want Fred, Harry and me to do?" George asked, as everyone nodded.

"Stay here and guard our arses," grumbled Severus. "Okay, one, two, three..."

"Alohomora!"

"Stupefy!"

"Stupefy!"

"Stup... Oh, well, it looks like you got everyone," said Bill sounding a little disappointed.

The rest of the rescue party entered the flat and saw two women lying on the floor of the small kitchen. Neither one of them were Hermione.

TBC

AN::: As always I would like to thank my fabulous betas, Allison and Piper. I would also like to thank all those who have reviewed. In the next chapter comes Snape to the rescue, but is he in time?

AN2::: Okay, before I start getting flamed, our dear admin Southern pointed out that per canon a wand is not needed for Apparation. But, for the purposes of my plot, and to save my writing hand, let us just assume that one is needed. Thank you all.