Without a Trace
folder
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
28
Views:
13,276
Reviews:
231
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
28
Views:
13,276
Reviews:
231
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Nine Hours Missing
Author's note--Alright, I have divided the climax into three parts (not this chapter)! This chapter is again short, and I guess what you'd call filler, but it should help ease your frustration, my loyal readers! And it leaves off to set the scene for the upcoming explosions!
**Warning** There is no Draco in this chapter either...sorry, guys...but I'll make it up to you! I promise! He'll be back!
On the actual show, they don't call it "Zero Hour" or "Climax" or anything. They just go from whatever the last "X hours missing" was and segwey right into the action that leads to them finding the missing person. Unfortunately here, I have to have a title or something. As much as I love calling it "Zero Hour"...I went with "Climax" for two reasons:
1. It has a sexual connotation (hehehe but don't get your hopes up just yet...like I said, there won't be any serious Harry/Draco action until the "bonus footage")
2. It sounds more professional than "Zero Hour"...which was just my dumb little nickname for it at first.
Anyway, Happy Reading, and thanks much for your reviews! They keep pouring in, and honestly, I'm so flattered, you guys! I know I say this every time, but I really, really want you to know how appreciative I am of you!
**********
Without a Trace
NINE HOURS MISSING
They didn’t get very far before Jack turned the corner, striding towards them. Elena followed behind. Sam and Harry jumped out of Jack’s way as he nearly ran them over, turning on their heels to go back the other way.
“Jack, any leads?” Harry asked hopefully.
“Have you seen the news?” Sam questioned. Jack ignored them both, striding into the conference room.
“Okay, Draco, Ashleigh, twins, out. You can go to my office. Take the food if you want, but leave,” Jack’s tone was no-nonsense, and even Draco knew not to argue with it. Ashleigh jumped up, waving hello to Elena, and began repacking bag of food. Martin had returned from the hotel and was in the middle of wolfing down a plate of cold Chinese. Draco stood wearily, taking Molly’s hand. Ashleigh grabbed Lily’s hand and picked up the food bag.
“I’ll just put this in the fridge for you guys,” Ashleigh indicated the Chinese food. Jack nodded, smiling at the girls before they left. Harry, Samantha, and Elena joined Martin around the conference table, looking at Jack expectantly.
“Danny’s still at the house, and Vivian is still checking to see if they’ve left the city. From what we know right now, the wife’s boyfriend claims not to know anything, but as soon as she hung up with him, he turned right around and called Severus Snape, the name from the tape. It seems that this Snape guy has a prior rap sheet a mile long, including conspiracy, attempted murder, and assault and battery.” Harry’s lip began to curl and his fists followed suit. “What, HJ?”
“Snape? Why does that not surprise me? Snape is a low-life. Attempted murder? He IS a fucking murderer!” Harry spat, unwilling to say more. Jack stared at him hard for a second before continuing.
“Tech recorded the call. It lasted about twenty minutes, and as soon as they hung up, another call was made. This one was less than a minute, so it was probably a message or no answer. Gus was able to get the number and keep the line open, but it only traced to a tower in lower Manhattan. The number was a prepaid cell phone; the same number that sent the text message to your phone, HJ.”
“Danny said that he found an email in Spaulding’s inbox that was sent a little after 3:30pm with a phone number in it. The email address was to an potionsmaster@hogwarts.co.uk. I cross-checked it once we had that number, and it’s the same. The kidnappers must have purchased the phone between the hotel and Spaulding’s house and then sent an email to let him know how to get in touch,” Elena filled in. Sam moved to the dry erase board to fill in the missing information on their timeline.
“It’s a prepaid cell, untraceable, but we know they haven’t left,” Jack finished. “What’s on the news?” Martin looked up too; neither he nor Elena knew what Jack was talking about. Sam was busy writing, so Harry filled them in on the exclusive photos from the news. Martin dropped his fork and pushed his plate away, sickened at hearing about Danny’s find. Elena’s eyes grew sad, remembering the conversation. Jack looked as if he had a major headache. Elena’s phone beeped, interrupting them. She pulled it out, looked at it, and then looked up at Jack.
“Tech has a copy of the message from Spaulding’s house. I’m going to go get it,” she informed them, heading for the door.
“Martin, anything new on the hotel?” Their team leader suddenly sounded as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Well, the weight of one little boy’s world, anyway.
“Forensics has a match to Spaulding’s prints on the camera,” Martin began. “We already know he was holding it from the tape, but….we also found an unknown set of prints that don’t match any from our databases, which I’m assuming are Narcissa’s. Last I heard, they were trying to see if they could get any DNA off of them to run it against the blood from the underwear. If it has a certain number of alleles in common, then that means they’re related.” Martin had never been a science buff; he had asked why, and that was the answer he received from the scientist.
“We have the blood from the underwear. Why not just match it to a sample of Draco’s DNA? They’re related,” Harry suggested, frowning. Martin’s eyes opened wide, and he slapped his palms on the table.
“Why didn’t I think of that?” he wondered aloud, grabbing his phone to call Forensics. After a brief conversation, he hung up. “They’ll be here within the hour to collect a sample of the father’s DNA to compare to the blood. Good thinking, HJ.” Jack frowned.
“That doesn’t tell us anything about where Parker is now, though,” Jack reminded them. He held out the transcript from the tape and let it drop to the middle of the table. “Everyone takes a copy. Go through it, and highlight anything you think needs to be followed up on. The trail is going cold, people. We’ve got to find something new NOW!” Elena returned with the message. Jack read it aloud, and then passed it to his team.
Harry read Spaulding’s note, wishing he could crumple it up and shove it down the pervert’s throat. He passed it to Samantha and grabbed a copy of the video script. He read the first few lines, sighing, and glanced around the room. The walls that partitioned the conference room (where all of their desks were, except for Jack’s) were made of glass, as were Jack’s own office walls. However, Jack’s office had blinds on the inside that were currently open. He could see Draco and Ashleigh through the slats, sitting on Jack’s couches and talking quietly. He smiled when he noticed that Molly and Lily were sprawled on the floor, presumably with their crayons. Sometime after they had arrived, Ashleigh had apparently redone their hair into matching pigtails, with red, white, and blue pom-pom hair ties that contrasted nicely with their long black hair. They looked very festive on what was shaping up to be the saddest Fourth of July Harry had ever known. Molly’s words from their phone conversation popped back into his mind, unbidden.
He said you might even take us to see the fireworks tonight!
Harry suddenly cocked his head and stared intently at the transcript, rereading the first few lines again. If any of the other agents were paying attention (which they weren’t because they were busy with their own copies), they would have said that they could practically see the wheels turning in HJ’s head. His head snapped up, and he rather rudely snatched the single piece of paper out of Elena’s hands, scanning it again. He put his finger under one of the words of the message, comparing it to another word in the transcript. Elena was about to protest—they were all feeling very on-edge that they were losing Parker—when Harry blurted out what was on his mind.
“Does Spaulding own a boat?” The gears were clicking, and everything was slowly becoming clear to Harry.
“A boat?” Jack repeated. It was quite possibly one of the most random things that had come out of HJ’s mouth. “No.”
“Has he rented a boat recently?” Harry stared at them as if he expected them to just KNOW. “Oh, fuck!” he exclaimed, going white. “I know where they are!”
**********
Chapter notes:
1. potionsmaster@hogwarts.co.uk I'll give you three guesses as to whose email THIS is! I know there have been some questions regarding the realism of wizards using Muggle devices (computer, phone, etc) and one thing to keep in mind is that Spaulding is a Muggle, and so he doesn't have any of the wizarding tools at his disposal. He imposes his own means of communication on the wizards (but he doesn't know they are wizards) because (right now) he's more or less calling the shots. He's the American, and he is the bad guys' contact in New York, so they're going to go along with what he says. Even Snape.
I did have two other email addresses for him before I settled on this one. They were nmbr1occlumens@hogwarts.co.uk and potions4ever@hogwarts.co.uk (and I did toy with the idea of deatheatersrule@gmail.com) before deciding to go with an "official" academic-looking email address. Okay, so I only *really* considered using the "occlumens" one...the other one was just for fun and the "deatheaters" one was too obvious...but I hope it made you smile, nonetheless!
2. "alleles" I actually learned this on CSI and imposed it into WOaT/HP. For those who want to know exactly what they are, Google it or look it up on Wikipedia (they will tell you better than I can) but basically, when you're comparing two people's DNA, if they have more than...7? alleles in common, it means that they are related somehow. And the more alleles in common, the closer the family tie. (ie identical twins would have the most in common, then fraternal twins, regular siblings and parents, and then you start branching outward into grandparents, cousins, etc...)
Author's note--Aaaaah, here you go!!! See, once they put the pieces together, they come up with some answers! I am highly amused by the calls for "just a little kiss" between Harry and Draco...and if I say any more, I will give away spoilers, so just know this: *big grin*
Also, okay, so I realize that I wasn't as subtle as I thought with regards to where Parker is; I mean, you guys put 2 and 2 together really fast....and yet you have no idea why Harry left England? (I also was surprised that the unfinished conversation was a big deal...apologies for it, but we WILL find out!)
Draca--haha Thank you! BIG "I'm sorry" to you for the unfinished convo! Any guesses as to WHY Harry left England??? And I think you'll enjoy my little "CSI" moment above...haha I think Season 6 is on here, but I still love it. Sorry about no Draco here either, but he's still around! (Probably sulking that Harry-the-Gryffindor slipped away like a Slytherin...haha)
Star55--Thank you! Wait no longer; the next part is here, and the climax soon after! Thanks for the email! I did like the picture, and I can't say any more!!!!! *frustrated* But I'm so glad you are asking for that... :D Awww, I'm glad I can give you a small slice of happiness! (and I'll be emailing you in a minute to tell you about THIS update haha)
Serpentard--Tu hablas espanol? Yo tambien! (Translation: In the last review, Serpentard said "Thanks for the good show"--right? And then I just said "You speak Spanish? Me too!")
Enjoy the splash of "CSI" above!!! *sigh* I was channeling my "inner Grissom" up there! Oh shite, sorry! I didn't mean to give away the end of that particular plotline! I mean, NO...he doesn't....kill himself...um...*looks around guiltily* And I think I was wrong more often than not. One reason why it's hard for me to write a mystery with "clues" lol Thank you for your kind words!
Jan--when the chapters get shorter, it means only one thing: the action's picking up! Thanks for sticking with it!
Tina109--Hiya! Thanks for your review!
HPDMkawii--lol Thanks, as always!
WeasleyWench--Thank goodness I didn't die! But I was rather traumatized, but that's okay! Again, GOOD LUCK in your interview! And I know what you mean about not wanting stories to end...I feel that way about "Touching the Untouchable" but with that one, I'm not even near the end yet! haha I can put you on the "email update" list! (That makes 3 so far! WOO HOO lol) Thanks for your review, and keep me posted on how the job interview goes!
EmeraldGrey--Thank you, thank you, thank you! I enjoy conversing with you guys! It definitely helps keep me in touch with what is too obvious...too subtle...too confusing...etc. Plus I just like to talk too! ;) The key to the music box is coming later...more than likely in the epilogue...which brings me to the "extras"...it just fits, and I'm delighting in the irony of this! I love that it's turned into its own "DVD"! And that's a good "apple" analogy...personally I'm more of an "orange" person. Actually, the peels of an orange I ate earlier are sitting next to the computer...*spooky* Coincidence? haha
Samayel--I *almost* feel bad about the tension...and I say "almost" because I imagine that this is a FRACTION of the tension I went through when reading "Redeem Me"....man, I had some major meltdowns with that beauty! haha *wink* Glad you're liking it, though!
Night--Yeah, on the show, you can just tell when it stops being a "x hours missing" and becomes "the action"...so I have to find a way to portray that through words instead of pictures. I guess I could use another number, but I'd rather distinguish it by calling it "Climax" rather than "9.5 Hours Missing"...or "9.25 Hours Missing" because then we're getting into fractions, and I'm just NOT a math person!
Why did Blaise not Firecall Snape? *blink blink* Because I needed the FBI to be able to trace it? Because England ran out of Floo powder? OH WAIT, I JUST FIGURED IT OUT! Because the Ministry of Magic is keeping a tight rein on the Floo powder bought by former Death Eaters...and keeping record (as much as possible) of who calls who and when, etc (in case of a plot to resurrect Voldemort or something) So Blaise and Snape broke down and had Muggle telephone lines installed to avoid Ministry scrutiny. Plus, the American Muggles Snape was researching don't have Floos, so Snape would have had to use a telephone (or email) anyway, to get in touch with people like Spaulding.
Little did they know, though, that Big Brother was watching....MWA HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHA As far as Snape...well, which do you want? One, the other, or both? Do you have a preference?
When Harry called Ginny, he was panicking because Spaulding had gotten close to the girls in the park. Technically, girls aren't Spaulding's choice targets, but Harry wasn't about to take a chance. However, Ginny is not a target for a pedophile like Snape...I mean, Spaulding. Yes, the FBI office is about the safest place for them to be, but since Ginny's not exactly in any real danger unless she takes the girls with her...*shrug*
On Ginny as a mother, she IS a good mother, for the most part. The only time she really slipped badly was when the twins were two years old and she was so desperate for Harry to pay attention to her that she began drinking while he wasn't around. (and that's when Ashleigh really stepped in to help with the girls, but once Ginny and Harry came to an understanding, Ginny became the head "mother" figure again and Ashleigh went back to being the "baby sitter") She doesn't anymore (she just uses the alcohol to get his attention because she knows he doesn't trust her not to. Well, he's trying to trust her, and she's not making it any easier. I mean, she did it before (three years ago) so Harry suspects that if she gets desperate enough again, what would stop her from doing it again? I've seen this kind of thing happen over and over; women who I am sure would be wonderful mothers 24/7 except for the fact that they can't get over something that the children's father did or didn't do (in this case, Ginny can't stand the fact that Harry doesn't return her love, even though they are married)
Also, I don't want to alarm anyone, but what are your thoughts if Ginny should happen to die? The reason I'm asking is because I haven't quite figured out the best role for her in the very ending, so I'd like your opinions, my readers...
Danine--No, don't die!! Here it is! (No make-out scene in this one but....*shutting up now*) Hope you like this one!
xXBrokenDreamsXx--Sorry, sorry! One more chapter of "seat edge" and then the action begins!
**Warning** There is no Draco in this chapter either...sorry, guys...but I'll make it up to you! I promise! He'll be back!
On the actual show, they don't call it "Zero Hour" or "Climax" or anything. They just go from whatever the last "X hours missing" was and segwey right into the action that leads to them finding the missing person. Unfortunately here, I have to have a title or something. As much as I love calling it "Zero Hour"...I went with "Climax" for two reasons:
1. It has a sexual connotation (hehehe but don't get your hopes up just yet...like I said, there won't be any serious Harry/Draco action until the "bonus footage")
2. It sounds more professional than "Zero Hour"...which was just my dumb little nickname for it at first.
Anyway, Happy Reading, and thanks much for your reviews! They keep pouring in, and honestly, I'm so flattered, you guys! I know I say this every time, but I really, really want you to know how appreciative I am of you!
**********
Without a Trace
NINE HOURS MISSING
They didn’t get very far before Jack turned the corner, striding towards them. Elena followed behind. Sam and Harry jumped out of Jack’s way as he nearly ran them over, turning on their heels to go back the other way.
“Jack, any leads?” Harry asked hopefully.
“Have you seen the news?” Sam questioned. Jack ignored them both, striding into the conference room.
“Okay, Draco, Ashleigh, twins, out. You can go to my office. Take the food if you want, but leave,” Jack’s tone was no-nonsense, and even Draco knew not to argue with it. Ashleigh jumped up, waving hello to Elena, and began repacking bag of food. Martin had returned from the hotel and was in the middle of wolfing down a plate of cold Chinese. Draco stood wearily, taking Molly’s hand. Ashleigh grabbed Lily’s hand and picked up the food bag.
“I’ll just put this in the fridge for you guys,” Ashleigh indicated the Chinese food. Jack nodded, smiling at the girls before they left. Harry, Samantha, and Elena joined Martin around the conference table, looking at Jack expectantly.
“Danny’s still at the house, and Vivian is still checking to see if they’ve left the city. From what we know right now, the wife’s boyfriend claims not to know anything, but as soon as she hung up with him, he turned right around and called Severus Snape, the name from the tape. It seems that this Snape guy has a prior rap sheet a mile long, including conspiracy, attempted murder, and assault and battery.” Harry’s lip began to curl and his fists followed suit. “What, HJ?”
“Snape? Why does that not surprise me? Snape is a low-life. Attempted murder? He IS a fucking murderer!” Harry spat, unwilling to say more. Jack stared at him hard for a second before continuing.
“Tech recorded the call. It lasted about twenty minutes, and as soon as they hung up, another call was made. This one was less than a minute, so it was probably a message or no answer. Gus was able to get the number and keep the line open, but it only traced to a tower in lower Manhattan. The number was a prepaid cell phone; the same number that sent the text message to your phone, HJ.”
“Danny said that he found an email in Spaulding’s inbox that was sent a little after 3:30pm with a phone number in it. The email address was to an potionsmaster@hogwarts.co.uk. I cross-checked it once we had that number, and it’s the same. The kidnappers must have purchased the phone between the hotel and Spaulding’s house and then sent an email to let him know how to get in touch,” Elena filled in. Sam moved to the dry erase board to fill in the missing information on their timeline.
“It’s a prepaid cell, untraceable, but we know they haven’t left,” Jack finished. “What’s on the news?” Martin looked up too; neither he nor Elena knew what Jack was talking about. Sam was busy writing, so Harry filled them in on the exclusive photos from the news. Martin dropped his fork and pushed his plate away, sickened at hearing about Danny’s find. Elena’s eyes grew sad, remembering the conversation. Jack looked as if he had a major headache. Elena’s phone beeped, interrupting them. She pulled it out, looked at it, and then looked up at Jack.
“Tech has a copy of the message from Spaulding’s house. I’m going to go get it,” she informed them, heading for the door.
“Martin, anything new on the hotel?” Their team leader suddenly sounded as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Well, the weight of one little boy’s world, anyway.
“Forensics has a match to Spaulding’s prints on the camera,” Martin began. “We already know he was holding it from the tape, but….we also found an unknown set of prints that don’t match any from our databases, which I’m assuming are Narcissa’s. Last I heard, they were trying to see if they could get any DNA off of them to run it against the blood from the underwear. If it has a certain number of alleles in common, then that means they’re related.” Martin had never been a science buff; he had asked why, and that was the answer he received from the scientist.
“We have the blood from the underwear. Why not just match it to a sample of Draco’s DNA? They’re related,” Harry suggested, frowning. Martin’s eyes opened wide, and he slapped his palms on the table.
“Why didn’t I think of that?” he wondered aloud, grabbing his phone to call Forensics. After a brief conversation, he hung up. “They’ll be here within the hour to collect a sample of the father’s DNA to compare to the blood. Good thinking, HJ.” Jack frowned.
“That doesn’t tell us anything about where Parker is now, though,” Jack reminded them. He held out the transcript from the tape and let it drop to the middle of the table. “Everyone takes a copy. Go through it, and highlight anything you think needs to be followed up on. The trail is going cold, people. We’ve got to find something new NOW!” Elena returned with the message. Jack read it aloud, and then passed it to his team.
Harry read Spaulding’s note, wishing he could crumple it up and shove it down the pervert’s throat. He passed it to Samantha and grabbed a copy of the video script. He read the first few lines, sighing, and glanced around the room. The walls that partitioned the conference room (where all of their desks were, except for Jack’s) were made of glass, as were Jack’s own office walls. However, Jack’s office had blinds on the inside that were currently open. He could see Draco and Ashleigh through the slats, sitting on Jack’s couches and talking quietly. He smiled when he noticed that Molly and Lily were sprawled on the floor, presumably with their crayons. Sometime after they had arrived, Ashleigh had apparently redone their hair into matching pigtails, with red, white, and blue pom-pom hair ties that contrasted nicely with their long black hair. They looked very festive on what was shaping up to be the saddest Fourth of July Harry had ever known. Molly’s words from their phone conversation popped back into his mind, unbidden.
He said you might even take us to see the fireworks tonight!
Harry suddenly cocked his head and stared intently at the transcript, rereading the first few lines again. If any of the other agents were paying attention (which they weren’t because they were busy with their own copies), they would have said that they could practically see the wheels turning in HJ’s head. His head snapped up, and he rather rudely snatched the single piece of paper out of Elena’s hands, scanning it again. He put his finger under one of the words of the message, comparing it to another word in the transcript. Elena was about to protest—they were all feeling very on-edge that they were losing Parker—when Harry blurted out what was on his mind.
“Does Spaulding own a boat?” The gears were clicking, and everything was slowly becoming clear to Harry.
“A boat?” Jack repeated. It was quite possibly one of the most random things that had come out of HJ’s mouth. “No.”
“Has he rented a boat recently?” Harry stared at them as if he expected them to just KNOW. “Oh, fuck!” he exclaimed, going white. “I know where they are!”
**********
Chapter notes:
1. potionsmaster@hogwarts.co.uk I'll give you three guesses as to whose email THIS is! I know there have been some questions regarding the realism of wizards using Muggle devices (computer, phone, etc) and one thing to keep in mind is that Spaulding is a Muggle, and so he doesn't have any of the wizarding tools at his disposal. He imposes his own means of communication on the wizards (but he doesn't know they are wizards) because (right now) he's more or less calling the shots. He's the American, and he is the bad guys' contact in New York, so they're going to go along with what he says. Even Snape.
I did have two other email addresses for him before I settled on this one. They were nmbr1occlumens@hogwarts.co.uk and potions4ever@hogwarts.co.uk (and I did toy with the idea of deatheatersrule@gmail.com) before deciding to go with an "official" academic-looking email address. Okay, so I only *really* considered using the "occlumens" one...the other one was just for fun and the "deatheaters" one was too obvious...but I hope it made you smile, nonetheless!
2. "alleles" I actually learned this on CSI and imposed it into WOaT/HP. For those who want to know exactly what they are, Google it or look it up on Wikipedia (they will tell you better than I can) but basically, when you're comparing two people's DNA, if they have more than...7? alleles in common, it means that they are related somehow. And the more alleles in common, the closer the family tie. (ie identical twins would have the most in common, then fraternal twins, regular siblings and parents, and then you start branching outward into grandparents, cousins, etc...)
Author's note--Aaaaah, here you go!!! See, once they put the pieces together, they come up with some answers! I am highly amused by the calls for "just a little kiss" between Harry and Draco...and if I say any more, I will give away spoilers, so just know this: *big grin*
Also, okay, so I realize that I wasn't as subtle as I thought with regards to where Parker is; I mean, you guys put 2 and 2 together really fast....and yet you have no idea why Harry left England? (I also was surprised that the unfinished conversation was a big deal...apologies for it, but we WILL find out!)
Draca--haha Thank you! BIG "I'm sorry" to you for the unfinished convo! Any guesses as to WHY Harry left England??? And I think you'll enjoy my little "CSI" moment above...haha I think Season 6 is on here, but I still love it. Sorry about no Draco here either, but he's still around! (Probably sulking that Harry-the-Gryffindor slipped away like a Slytherin...haha)
Star55--Thank you! Wait no longer; the next part is here, and the climax soon after! Thanks for the email! I did like the picture, and I can't say any more!!!!! *frustrated* But I'm so glad you are asking for that... :D Awww, I'm glad I can give you a small slice of happiness! (and I'll be emailing you in a minute to tell you about THIS update haha)
Serpentard--Tu hablas espanol? Yo tambien! (Translation: In the last review, Serpentard said "Thanks for the good show"--right? And then I just said "You speak Spanish? Me too!")
Enjoy the splash of "CSI" above!!! *sigh* I was channeling my "inner Grissom" up there! Oh shite, sorry! I didn't mean to give away the end of that particular plotline! I mean, NO...he doesn't....kill himself...um...*looks around guiltily* And I think I was wrong more often than not. One reason why it's hard for me to write a mystery with "clues" lol Thank you for your kind words!
Jan--when the chapters get shorter, it means only one thing: the action's picking up! Thanks for sticking with it!
Tina109--Hiya! Thanks for your review!
HPDMkawii--lol Thanks, as always!
WeasleyWench--Thank goodness I didn't die! But I was rather traumatized, but that's okay! Again, GOOD LUCK in your interview! And I know what you mean about not wanting stories to end...I feel that way about "Touching the Untouchable" but with that one, I'm not even near the end yet! haha I can put you on the "email update" list! (That makes 3 so far! WOO HOO lol) Thanks for your review, and keep me posted on how the job interview goes!
EmeraldGrey--Thank you, thank you, thank you! I enjoy conversing with you guys! It definitely helps keep me in touch with what is too obvious...too subtle...too confusing...etc. Plus I just like to talk too! ;) The key to the music box is coming later...more than likely in the epilogue...which brings me to the "extras"...it just fits, and I'm delighting in the irony of this! I love that it's turned into its own "DVD"! And that's a good "apple" analogy...personally I'm more of an "orange" person. Actually, the peels of an orange I ate earlier are sitting next to the computer...*spooky* Coincidence? haha
Samayel--I *almost* feel bad about the tension...and I say "almost" because I imagine that this is a FRACTION of the tension I went through when reading "Redeem Me"....man, I had some major meltdowns with that beauty! haha *wink* Glad you're liking it, though!
Night--Yeah, on the show, you can just tell when it stops being a "x hours missing" and becomes "the action"...so I have to find a way to portray that through words instead of pictures. I guess I could use another number, but I'd rather distinguish it by calling it "Climax" rather than "9.5 Hours Missing"...or "9.25 Hours Missing" because then we're getting into fractions, and I'm just NOT a math person!
Why did Blaise not Firecall Snape? *blink blink* Because I needed the FBI to be able to trace it? Because England ran out of Floo powder? OH WAIT, I JUST FIGURED IT OUT! Because the Ministry of Magic is keeping a tight rein on the Floo powder bought by former Death Eaters...and keeping record (as much as possible) of who calls who and when, etc (in case of a plot to resurrect Voldemort or something) So Blaise and Snape broke down and had Muggle telephone lines installed to avoid Ministry scrutiny. Plus, the American Muggles Snape was researching don't have Floos, so Snape would have had to use a telephone (or email) anyway, to get in touch with people like Spaulding.
Little did they know, though, that Big Brother was watching....MWA HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHA As far as Snape...well, which do you want? One, the other, or both? Do you have a preference?
When Harry called Ginny, he was panicking because Spaulding had gotten close to the girls in the park. Technically, girls aren't Spaulding's choice targets, but Harry wasn't about to take a chance. However, Ginny is not a target for a pedophile like Snape...I mean, Spaulding. Yes, the FBI office is about the safest place for them to be, but since Ginny's not exactly in any real danger unless she takes the girls with her...*shrug*
On Ginny as a mother, she IS a good mother, for the most part. The only time she really slipped badly was when the twins were two years old and she was so desperate for Harry to pay attention to her that she began drinking while he wasn't around. (and that's when Ashleigh really stepped in to help with the girls, but once Ginny and Harry came to an understanding, Ginny became the head "mother" figure again and Ashleigh went back to being the "baby sitter") She doesn't anymore (she just uses the alcohol to get his attention because she knows he doesn't trust her not to. Well, he's trying to trust her, and she's not making it any easier. I mean, she did it before (three years ago) so Harry suspects that if she gets desperate enough again, what would stop her from doing it again? I've seen this kind of thing happen over and over; women who I am sure would be wonderful mothers 24/7 except for the fact that they can't get over something that the children's father did or didn't do (in this case, Ginny can't stand the fact that Harry doesn't return her love, even though they are married)
Also, I don't want to alarm anyone, but what are your thoughts if Ginny should happen to die? The reason I'm asking is because I haven't quite figured out the best role for her in the very ending, so I'd like your opinions, my readers...
Danine--No, don't die!! Here it is! (No make-out scene in this one but....*shutting up now*) Hope you like this one!
xXBrokenDreamsXx--Sorry, sorry! One more chapter of "seat edge" and then the action begins!