The black car slowed to a stop. Theo opened the door and climbed into the backseat. An opaque partition kept him from seeing into the front, so he clicked on the intercom button and said with a tired sigh, "Nagini Close."
There was no reply except for the motion of the car as it started to move forward. Letting go of the button, he settled in for a dull ride.
The cold impersonality of the business was one of the things he was finding it the hardest to adjust to. Draco had insisted that it was necessary; while the Death Eaters' dealings were all above board, there were many who sought to discredit them. It was better for everyone if the drivers knew as little about them as possible.
Theo's fingers drifted to his watch, fiddling with the strap. He hoped he was making the right decision by agreeing to join them.
Glancing out the window, he frowned as he realised they had taken the wrong turn. The driver must be new. Turning the intercom on once again, he asked, "Is there a reason we're going this way?"
"There is a reason for everything," a woman's voice replied, high and airy.
His frown deepened. He wasn't aware that the Malfoys had any female drivers, and it seemed odd that they would have allowed any of their staff to speak to them in such a way. "Alright," he said slowly, "then what is the reason for this thing?"
"Your schedule has changed. There was a conflict, so you are not going to that meeting today."
Theo reached out to open the door, but she slammed on the breaks, the motion pushing him backwards against the seat. He threw his hands out to steady himself. It seemed he was not leaving the car until she allowed it.
"You're one of them," he said, putting the pieces together. "The Order."
"I am." She sounded proud, unabashed – he couldn't remember the last time he had felt that self-assuredly satisfied about something.
"You're a criminal, then," he said, not willing to feel empathy or envy for the woman who was currently hijacking his car.
"Where did you hear that from? Your Death Eater friends? Are you sure they're the most reliable source of information?"
Theo knew that they weren't, but he refused to conceded the point. "Yet they're not the ones abducting me. Let me go."
She hesitated, the silence sitting heavily between them. Her voice had darkened by the time she spoke again. "No, they aren't, and I daresay they never would. They would do far worse."
Why had he assumed an Order member might be reasonable? There was no arguing with her. "Where are you taking me?"
"Somewhere safe." The colour seemed to fade from the partition, and he caught a glimpse of protuberant silvery eyes and dirty blonde hair through the rearview mirror. She seemed sincere as she replied, "Try not to worry; I swear that you will not be harmed. I only want to talk to you – to explain what they're really like. After I have finished, you will be free to leave if you please, although I doubt you will."
Theo scoffed.
"The last few people we liberated did not."
Is that what we're calling it now? he thought. Looking out the tinted window, he said simply, "We'll see."
"You know… Someday, you'll thank me for kidnapping you. If you're half the man Blaise and Daphne Zabini say you are, you'll find what I have to say extremely interesting."
His heart in his throat, his gaze snapped back to her as if of its own accord. His friends had left the city two months prior with barely a word of goodbye, and although they had spoken since then, it had been brief and sporadic. Now that he thought about it, they had left on the eve of Blaise's initiation. Had the Order gotten to them? Had this woman convinced them that the Death Eaters were in the wrong after all?
If there was one person in the world that Theo trusted beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was Daphne. She was as cunning as anyone from the suburb of Slytherin, yet she had a staunch underlying moral code. If she and Blaise had decided to side with the Order – or even just to remain neutral – then this woman was worth listening to.
"Start talking."
A/N: For Em (CrimsonGoldQueen) for the Drabble Game Challenge with the prompts Theo/Luna; "Someday, you'll thank me for kidnapping you."