Fantasy House

As Draco led Sirius and Severus out of the living room and into one of the other rooms, Hermione sighed: finally, it was time.



She went into the bathroom and pulled out two towels from the closet. Then she walked outside where she found Lucius and Remus lounging near the pool. "I think Draco is finally getting through to those two," she commented to the men.



Lucius sent her a soft smile. "I should go make sure they do not kill one another, then," he suggested as he stood up and walked towards the house.



As he approached the young Muggle-born, he stopped. The smile he wore was sad. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her gently on the lips. "Good luck to you," he whispered. "And may Mercury give you wings."



She gave a soft sniff of laughter and looked into his eyes. Her own eyes were watery as she kissed him for what was possibly the last time. "I\'ll see you soon," she promised softly, hoping it would be true.



He nodded once and excused himself, leaving Hermione and Remus alone by the pool. They were quiet for a while, staring into the still water. The young Gryffindor could hear birds chirping and wondered, briefly, why they sounded so happy when she was so afraid.



Finally, the werewolf stood and led the girl to the hole in the barrier. "Remus," Hermione whispered, choking back a sob and throwing her arms around him. "I don\'t want to go. What if--"



"We\'ll be all right," he assured her. "Think positive. You\'ll go, find Harry and Ron, and you\'ll return. This will all be over before we know it. I have faith in you."



She swiped her fingers across her cheek. "Of course you do," she said, not completely checking her tears. "You and the others haven\'t much choice. But what if he finds out? What if all it takes is for me to cross that barrier? What if--"



"Do not dwell on \'what ifs\', Hermione. They\'ll get us nowhere. You have to do this. For all of us. Food is getting more scarce by the day. The spells once placed on the knives to protect us from cutting ourselves are gone. Our potions supply has also dwindled, and Severus has no more ingredients to make more. I will not have Wolfsbane come the full moon. We need you to get us out of here."



It was his turn to cup her face in his hands as he drew her into a deep kiss. He tried to send his strength into her through the kiss and prayed it would be enough.



Breaking the kiss, Hermione started, "Remus, I--"



"No," he interrupted, pulling away from her. "I will hear no more of your doubts. You are to go through the barrier and get help. Time is running out for us. If Severus and Sirius have already started, I don\'t know how much longer we can keep Zabini distracted. You need to go. Now."



Hermione nodded and pulled together what courage she had left.



They moved closer to the barrier, to the spot where she would have to literally leap through. "On the count of three," Remus said, cupping his hands and holding them down so Hermione could use them as a foothold.



The girl held her two towels tightly in one hand as she nodded and wrapped her other arm around his shoulders. "One..."



"Two..."



"Three!" Hermione shouted.



As she jumped, Remus lifted her up and she dove through the barrier. As she passed through, Hermione quickly curled up into a ball and rolled across the cold pavement and snow.



She sat up quickly and looked back at the barrier. Hermione could see nothing behind her, but a clear field covered with snow. An old rusted sign hung on a wooden post written in a language she did not know. Around the sign, there were small piles of sticks and rocks both on top of the snow and covered in thin layers of snow.



She wasn\'t in Britain. Shit.



(II) (II)



"Up," said Andromeda softly as she opened her eyes and looked around.



Ginny who was sitting in a chair next to the bed, put her magazine away when the woman spoke. "I\'m sorry?"



The older woman glanced at the girl curiously and repeated, "Up."



This confused the young red head immensely. "Mrs. Tonks, do you know where you are?"



"Up," the woman replied.



Ginny looked up, almost expecting to see something on the ceiling. But there was nothing there. When she glanced back down at the other woman, she saw Andromeda had followed her gaze. The woman shook her head and looked at the girl as though she were silly.



"Up."



"There\'s nothing up there, Mrs. Tonks," the girl assured. "Would you like some water?"



The woman\'s eyes grew sorrowful and she closed them. "Up," she whispered as she fell back to sleep.



(III) (III)



"Have you seen Andromeda?" Narcissa asked as she entered the drawing room carrying the baby.



Teddy was still sniffling from his last cry. Narcissa knew the moment of silence wouldn\'t last long.



Blaise glanced up at his fiancée as he placed a marker in his book. "No, I haven\'t," he told her. "I assume she\'s recovering from her injuries somewhere."



The woman placed the baby in his pen as she inquired, "I\'m still unsure of what happened. You said she fell down the stairs?"



He nodded. "After she hit me," he explained. "I don\'t know what her deal was. I think she had changed her mind about all of this. She attacked me. It wasn\'t meant to happen. I was just trying to get her off of me. She told me she was fine and that she was going to her rooms to rest."



Narcissa sighed, "Well, she\'s not in her rooms. Teddy was screaming his head off when I went to check on her. I\'ll check a few other places."



He watched her as she left the room to search for her sister. His eyebrows were pulled in a deep frown. Taking out his wand, he swished it, casting a spell to reveal the whereabouts of the people in the mansion.



Andromeda wasn\'t there. He stood up quickly as the baby started to scream again. Growling, Blaise called for a house-elf. When the creature came, the Italian demanded the child be taken care of. "Shut him up or I will. Do you know where Andromeda Tonks might have gone?"



The house elf shook his head and Blaise fled the room. Once the elf was certain Blaise was gone, it turned to the crying child. He knew exactly where the Slytherin woman was, but he did not have to tell the man anything.



Giving the child a soft smile, the creature lifted him from his pen. "Would young Master Lupin like to see his grandmum?" the house-elf asked as the child cried. "Of course he would. Young master comes with old Kreacher. Kreacher will see young master gets to her."



With a pop, the house-elf was gone.



(IV) (IV)



The sound of a screaming baby filled the air as Kreacher popped into the sitting room. Harry quickly took the child from the house-elf. "Where was he, Kreacher?" he asked as he bounced the baby, trying to calm him.



"Young Master Lupin was in old Malfoy mansion," the house-elf rasped. "Nasty blood purist had him locked in a pen like a pig."



"Nasty blood purist?" Ron asked, looking at the house-elf curiously.



The elf nodded. "Yes. The dark one. Blaise Zabini."



Harry and Ron looked at one another. Then, Harry turned back to the house-elf. "What have you learned?"



"Much, Master Potter. Much," Kreacher said eager to please his master. He took out the locket he wore around his neck and fumbled with it. "Kreacher hides, as you ask. Kreacher pretends to be servant in Malfoy Manor. Kreacher cares for young Master Lupin, like you wants. And Kreacher learns a lot."



Ginny ran into the room upon hearing the screams. "Is that Teddy?" she asked.



Harry nodded and handed the child to his fiancée. "I think he needs a diaper change," he suggested.



The girl rolled her eyes, but checked the baby\'s diaper. "No," she confirmed.



"Young Master Lupin needs Master Lupin," Kreacher told them. "Young Master Lupin cries for his father. Every day he cries. Every day we sees them and every day he cries more. Cries because hes cannot touch him."



"What do you mean, you see them every day?" Harry asked, turning his attention back to the elf.



The elf pointed to a portrait on the wall. "Ugly Blaise Zabini has a large picture that moves and changes, like our portraits, but more. The picture shows various rooms. In these rooms Master Sirius and Master Lupin lives with young Mistress Granger, Master Snape, and both old and young Master Malfoy."



"What?!" Ginny asked, alarmed. "They\'re alive? Kreacher, where are they?"



"Kreacher does not know," the elf told her honestly. He would never lie to Master Potter or his bride-to-be. He looked heart-stricken as he told them. "Kreacher only knows what Kreacher has seen. Evil Blaise Zabini does not say where they are, only what they are to do. Blaise Zabini takes their clothes and food. He does not let them out, but watches everything they do. He orders them about like a grand puppeteer, and they must do or nasty Blaise Zabini punishes them most severely."



"Harry," the girl gasped, looking at her lover.



Harry and Ron jumped into action. They had more than a lead. "Harry, this was brilliant," Ron said as they put on their cloaks. "Placing Kreacher in that house... Hermione would be proud."



"Will be, Ron," the raven haired man corrected. "She will be proud."



The ginger nodded and then frowned. "Kreacher said Zabini took their clothes from them. That means they\'re naked."



"I\'m not surprised," Harry stated. "I don\'t have a definite count of their clothing, but we\'ve been to the others\' places. Nothing had been taken, remember? Snape even had clothes set out for after his bath, but nothing else was out of place."



"Well, not overtly. But... Harry... When we find them, we\'ll have to see Snape and the Malfoys... naked."



The bespectacled man stopped to look at his friend, who had pulled a disgusted face. Harry rolled his eyes. He didn\'t fancy seeing any of them naked himself, but, as far as he was concerned, he\'d rather see them naked than dead.

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Author\'s Note: Two in one day... I really hope everyone had a lovely holiday. My original plan was to finish this story by the new year. Not entirely sure that\'s going to happen, however, we have come a ways. As always, I want to thank all my readers. You guys, with your reviews and votes, are amazing! This story has already exceeded both the votes and reviews of any of my other stories. I thank you all for that.



I would also like to thank my team of betas. You girls are incredible, and your patience is outstanding. I feel each chapter just gets better and better as my writing improves and I have all four of you to thank for that.



Poor Ron. *Giggles*