Domina Capta

Whoever kidnapped us is so dead.

I don't think I have my wand.

You barely need it. You're focus is so intense that half the time you aren't even using your wand.

It would help if I could see, and I think it would be best if we knew for certain who was involved.

It boggles the mind that here we are, kidnapped and tied up, and you are still plotting and scheming.

If I weren't plotting and scheming, I would most likely be whimpering and crying.

No, you wouldn't. We're not that kind of girl.

Good. Now, who do you suppose kidnapped us?

I don't know. I felt like someone was watching you. Do you think it's one of Sirius' girls? He was worried about that.

I worry about whether or not whoever has me knows what they have. Are we lucky enough to have been captured by someone who doesn't know how to recognize a Seer?

I wouldn't count on it, kiddo. What's the worst case scenario?

I've been brought straight to Voldemort's lair, he knows exactly what I am, and none of my milites are anywhere nearby. In fact, they have no idea that there's anything wrong.

Wow. That would definitely be 'worst case'.

You asked.

HP/HG/HP

Lily had whipped out her wand and flicked it twice. The marauders stared at her as she barked out spells quickly, and there were two silvery does, awaiting their messages patiently.

"Domina capta. Media nocte pro nobis occurret," she snapped and her patronus messengers took off, their hooves flying. James and Sirius turned automatically to Remus, whose face was pale.

"The lady has been taken," he whispered. "We meet in the room tonight at midnight."

"I needed to alert the milites that the domina is in danger," she said finally, her voice thick with unshed tears. "It is their purpose. It gives them time to try and find information and contact friendly assets among the Death Eaters. Now, do you see her wand anywhere?"

The Marauders searched the alley way again, and it was James who found her wand. His fingers trembled as he picked it up and stared at it. Wherever she was, she was defenseless. His eyes burned and his heart ached in his chest. She was alone and wandless. My Own. Whoever had taken her had better have his or her will made out, he vowed darkly. When he found Hermione, she had better be unharmed, or he could not be held responsible. He felt Lily's hand on his arm. Remus' hand was on his shoulder, his eyes watching James with concern.

"We'll find her, James," Remus said quietly. James nodded silently, his fingers tightening around his sister's wand.

Sirius had his back to them; he was staring at the end of the alley. Remus went to stand next to his friend, but didn't touch him. The fear/guilt/rage that was coming off of Sirius was almost making him dizzy. Sirius' breathing was erratic he seemed to be almost hyperventilating. James moved closer, unafraid of being rebuffed. He pulled Sirius into his arms and held him tightly, not caring how it might look to anyone who happened to peer into the alley. The two men stood there clinging to one another for several long minutes, and Lily and Remus stood patiently waiting, allowing them their space.

"She thinks I hate her," Sirius muttered finally into James' shoulder.

"No, she doesn't. She thinks you're angry with her," James said firmly. Sirius shook his head.

"She is worried about that, actually," Lily said quietly. Both men looked at her in surprise. "She knows that neither one of you is happy and she worries that this will irreparably damage your relationships with her."

"Is that why she waited so long?" James asked with a frown. Lily shook her head.

"No, Hermione has been meticulous with every part of this endeavor," Lily said slowly, choosing her words with care. "This has never been just about her safety. She has always understood that there were greater repercussions that could extend to her family, and outwards to the rest of the wizarding world."

"So it wasn't just about saving Regulus, or her?" Sirius asked with a worried frown. Lily looked away from them and swallowed.

"She Sees things," Lily whispered. "Terrible possibilities. Most nights she wakes up either screaming or crying. She and I put silencing charms on her bed, so that we won't wake up the girls' dormitory."

"She sees us, doesn't she?" Remus asked softly. "She's forced to watch us dying, or being killed, or maybe surviving, over and over, but never knowing which possibility will be the final outcome."

"Yes." Lily's whisper was threadbare, but audible in the utter silence of the alley. James' face was white with shock and Sirius looked a little shaky.

"That's why she's so careful, she has to calculate for the probability vectors," Remus muttered shaking his head. "She's bloody brilliant. If they knew…she'd be hailed as a sodding genius."

"She doesn't think of it that way," Lily whispered. "Every number represents people in her life that she loves. Every move she makes could kill her friends or her family. She can't stop what she's doing. She's told me what the worst possible scenario is, and I don't ever want that world to exist."

"That's also why she words the oaths the way she does, isn't it?" Remus realized suddenly. James and Sirius looked at him in confusion, and Remus grabbed their arms in his eagerness. "I thought the wording was odd, but I trust Hermione. Those oaths border along dangerous territory. If she were a different person, she could take away our free will—it would be very similar to being under an Imperius Curse. She must word it that way for emergency contingencies; to protect the best possible future. We can't see what she sees and if we doubted her, and made the wrong decision at a critical moment it could be catastrophic. She's made it so that we trust that what she tells us is true and accurate to the best of her ability to reveal it anyway."

"If you say so," James said doubtfully, staring at his friend. Remus nodded.

"I do say so," he replied. "Now let's see if we can figure out who's missing. Let's go get the map."

HP/HG/HP

It may have been night, or it may have been day, she wasn't sure. The Incarcerous curse caused her limbs to go numb, and she was cold. The silencio was also still in effect because she wasn't able to make any noise with her throat. The blindfold was still over her eyes. She had dozed off and on, but her sleep had been restless and she had started at each tiny sound. Wherever she was, it was fairly quiet. She could hear distant animals: birds calling to one another, angry squirrels arguing over their food, and cats fighting for dominance and territory.

{Prowr?}

Holy Merlin, it's Crookshanks!

It is! Oh, baby, you are the best! I am feeding you nothing but fresh liver for the rest of your half-kneazle life!

Purring, Crookshanks rubbed against his witch. He'd found her, just as he knew he could, and he was justifiably proud of himself. Few people realized the kneazles were sentient magical beings, nor were most willing to credit them with above-average intelligence. He had overheard his witch's littermate speaking with his friends about her disappearance. He could see their combined worry and grief, and he knew that he had to find her quickly. Crookshanks might be half-kneazle, but that other half was not cat. Now, how to prove to his witch's littermate that he'd found her? He moved nimbly up to her head and chewed through her blindfold. She blinked several times, and even in the dark he could see the gratitude in her eyes. He could see that she was bound by a spell, which he could not undo, and that she had been silenced. His sharp eyes could see the faint threads of power that had been cast upon her.

{Prowr?}

He touched her cheek with one paw, and moved it with distaste when her tears made it wet. His witch was frightened, and tired, and sore. He prowled around her, looking for something he could take. He paused by her hand. There on her wrist was the bracelet that the tall, dark haired one had given her, marking her as his mate. Crookshanks knew that her littermate would recognize this. With a careful claw, he worked the bracelet's latch and snatched it up in his mouth. He trotted over to his witch's face, and when she saw what he had in his mouth, pride in him shone from her eyes. He knew if she were capable she would have swept him up in her arms and peppered his face with kisses. He controlled a slight shudder at the thought. She was young yet, and he was willing to make allowances. He turned with a purpose, and leapt out of the place that she was being kept in.

HP/HG/HP

"Ow!" James yowled and leapt off of the couch in front of fireplace in the Gryffindor common area. Crookshanks had leapt onto his chest, claws out. The damned creature had something in its mouth and it was looking at him.

"What's that Crook?" Lily asked curiously. The half-kneazle looked at her, but then turned resolutely back to James. Sirius moved over to stand by James and he started in surprise.

"It's her bracelet," Sirius said hoarsely, and he held out his hand to Crookshanks who dropped the bracelet in his palm. The first betrothal gift he'd given her, the first thing that had marked her as his. He stared at it, his heart pounding in his chest, and then he looked at Hermione's familiar. "How did you get it then?"

"Did you find her?" James asked the magical being, awe tingeing his voice. Crookshanks bobbed his head in a fair approximation of a nod. James fell to his knees in front of Crookshanks. "Can you show us where?"

The half-kneazle gave another bob of its head, and began to wash a paw. James and Sirius stared at one another. Both of them had been in an emotional whirlwind since yesterday. Seeing Regulus and Severus, both deathly pale and terrified for Hermione's safety did nothing to reassure the marauders. They had been able to confirm that she was not with Voldemort…at least not yet. Severus had said that none of the Death Eaters was trying to boast or brag about catching a Seer. Regulus had said that he hadn't heard anything from any of the neutrals they were trying to cultivate. That meeting had been both stunning and eye-opening for James and Sirius. Hermione was the power behind an entire network of spies that was trying to bring down Voldemort from the inside. Hermione—who had spent her entire Hogwarts' career skating through her classes by the skin of her teeth—had had the intelligence, focus, and determination to pull off this incredible feat and she had done it under everyone's noses. James was still having a hard time processing it. Hell, his sister was most likely personally responsible for Professor McGonagall's skyrocketing blood pressure. Every time their professor's eye passed over the young witch staring off into space, reading a book, or idly transfiguring things they wouldn't be working on for years she would twitch just slightly. James knew she'd written yards of parchment to their parents, begging them to step in and put their feet down. Unfortunately for McGonagall, his mum and dad were both horribly old-fashioned when it came to their precious daughter, and they didn't see an over-weaning need to push here when she was just going to get married and work on producing heirs for her husband's House. Hermione Potter certainly wouldn't be dirtying her dainty little hands with work or :gasp: trade. James had to admit, to his own shame, that he had perceived his sister that way as well. The idea that a smart, strong, capable witch ought to be doing something with all of that talent hadn't occurred to him. Now, he wondered why he hadn't seen it before. He knew that Sirius was dealing with all of the same emotions. They both knew that Hermione was scary-smart. You'd have to be really thick not to know that. But this…this was bigger than anything they'd ever even thought about in their wildest daydreams. Right now, all of that melted away under his fear for his sister's safety. She could do whatever the hell she wanted. She could go into goat farming with Aberforth Dumbledore if she wanted to, and he would fully support her to their parents.

"Right," Sirius said firmly. "Let's go."

"Wait! I have to warn Severus and Regulus," Lily hissed under her breath. Sirius and James looked at one another again, and they each nodded reluctantly.

"Fine, but hurry," James urged her. Lily raced up to her dorm room and breathed a sigh of relief that her room was temporarily empty. She flicked her wand and called up her messengers.

"Nos inveni eam. Nunc vadimus ad liberaret eam," she whispered, excitement in her voice. She sent her does out with a purpose. Then she turned and raced back down the stairs to the Marauders who were waiting impatiently for her.