Worth A Thousand And One

The numbness was fading slowly, and Harry Potter was becoming more aware of his situation; however, he still couldn't see anything. There were what felt like ropes restraining his arms and legs in a spread-eagle position. The surface below him felt soft and was warm from his body heat, telling him he'd been there for some time. If only he could figure out where 'here' was...

"At last some light!" Draco thought frantically. The loss of senses was really starting to get to him, but it seemed whatever had caused it was starting to wear off finally. Now to look around and figure out where in Hades he was at...

It had nearly been twenty-four hours since the discovery of the missing students, and everyone was starting to panic slightly. For Harry Potter to have been kidnapped! And on the anniversary of his greatest accomplishment as well! Severus snorted, "They may be worried, but they don't give a whit about what's become of Draco." The only ones who seemed to be worried about Draco were Narcissa and Lucius, whom he had immediately contacted after speaking with the Headmistress. It was unfortunate that the ending of the war had cost the Malfoy's much of their political clout because this was exactly the sort of situation where some weight-throwing would be beneficial for the safety of their only child.

After an exhaustive six hour scouring of Hogwarts castle and grounds by the Ministry and Hogwarts staff with no results, Severus had retired to his chambers to get some rest. As soon as he had entered his rooms, he was fire-called by his old friend Lucius who was abnormally flustered.

"Do you have any news of my son, Severus? Did you find anything? Any trace of him?" queried Lucius in rapid succession.

"Nothing. I am sorry Lucius, but I was able to find nothing. I scanned for any trace of magic either Draco or Potter may have used, but again I am at a loss." Severus was saddened to see his friend's face fall at the bad news. "For now, we must wait until whoever it was who took Draco to contact us with their demands. If it's any consolation, I do not think Draco was their initial target."

Lucius' hand appeared in the flames to run his hand through his already dishevelled hair, "Yes, Severus. As always you are correct. We shall just have to wait. Will you contact me immediately if any breakthroughs happen?"

"Of course I will, Lucius. You needn't even ask." Replied Severus, as gently as he could. The two men stared at each other for several seconds before Lucius pulled his head backwards and ended the conversation.