What am I doing with my life? Not really sure. Anyways, I had a thought, and boom this story was born. It was supposed to be a one-shot, but uh, it's not anymore. It should only be like two chapters. Maybe three, but I really only have enough ideas for one more chapter right now. (who knows, this might end up changing). Have fun!

Laura Crews was sitting on the tube on her way home from work when the guy sat next to her. She eyed him from the side, noting his odd, worn clothing. It looked like leather, but it wasn't anything she recognized. His leg was bouncing up and down as he constantly looked around the train, a hand coming up once to run his hands though his hair, exposing a curious scar.

He looked like he had just come from a fight, cuts and bruises littered his hands, and when he shifted, it was with the movements that something internally was hurting. A large bruise covered part of his jaw and Laura watched him in concern as he twitched anytime anyone came close to him. It made her wonder why he had chosen to sit next to her when he very obviously didn't want anyone else near him.

"I have a question for you."

It took her a moment to realize he was talking to her and she started a bit, turning towards him the slightest.

"If you saw me on the telly, labelling me as a terrorist, would you turn me in?"

Well that was one way to start a conversation.

Laura looked at him as she tried to figure out how to answer the question. There seemed to be a lot of weight behind the question for some reason, so Laura tried to gather what she could just from his appearance.

There was a sort of bone-weary look in his eyes, a sight that she had seen only once, on her friend John's face after he came home from Afghanistan.

The guy actually looked younger than she thought, maybe a year or two younger than her, and Laura wondered at what could have made him look so old while being so young.

But there was something about him, something that just screamed that he was good, and so Laura finally gave a slow shake of her head, "No, no I wouldn't."

He let out a long breath that Laura hadn't even realized he was holding.

"No matter what the telly said? No matter how high the reward or what they said I did?"

This was getting odd. More odd than the beginning, because the guy sounded so sure that this would happen and Laura shifted uncomfortably as she thought. The guy made an aborted motion towards her and for some reason the worry that he was going to steal her bag flashed through her mind. She had coursework in there.

But she finally answered, "No. No I wouldn't."

"Can I ask you to keep a secret?"

Laura gave a slow nod and he continued, "There are two aspects to this secret. The first is that magic is real."

Here he paused and Laura stared at him in blatant shock and confusion. A small pained smile crossed his face as he waited, but Laura didn't move.

Giving another slow nod, she said, "Okay. What does that mean?"

She was shocked when the guy gave a small chuckle, "You're the first person to not run away when I say that. It has to do with the second part. This is dangerous. But we have no other choice. What I tell you, you can't tell anyone else. No matter what okay?"

"You're putting your trust in someone you met five minutes ago, are you sure this is smart?" Laura asked instead and the guy gave her a humourless smile.

"Like I said, we have no choice. It's our last option and we're just doing our best to survive. If you don't think you can keep the secret, I'll find someone else."

Laura shook her head in response, "What's the secret?"

"Harry Potter leads the resistance at 25 Wellington Street."

There seemed to be a weight in the air and Laura took in a shaky breath. A resistance sounded incredibly important.

"Okay. Harry Potter leads the resistance at 25 Wellington Street." She said back to him and it was his turn to nod.

"Even with the threat of torture, you can't give it away. If your family or friends are threatened, this is too important," he was pleading with her now, voice pitched low to avoid drawing attention from everyone else on the tube. Laura risked a glance around, but no one was paying them any attention and she looked back to the guy.

Biting her lip, she nodded once, "I won't tell anyone," she swore, raising her pinky finger up to him. He started at the motion, but then a small smile appeared on his face as he raised his own pinky to interlock with her own.

Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a stick. A bonafide stick. As Laura watched in confusion, he started making funny patterns in the air as he mumbled gibberish under his breath. Or, not quite gibberish because some of it sounded like Spanish, when her old high school teacher would mumble at them from the front of the room. A second later Laura realized that it was probably Latin rather than crappy Spanish.

"We're trusting you. This might blow up in our faces, but we can't think of anything else. The secret lies with you," the kid said, putting the stick back in his pocket. Laura tilted her head at him, then gave a short nod.

She didn't understand, not really, but could at least keep her promise.

And if it turned out that this was just a crazy guy, than at least she was nice enough to entertain him for a minute.

(but there was something to this kid that had her pausing. something that was more than just a crazy kid)

The kid left at the next stop, Laura still sitting there. She tried to catch sight of him, but he was gone, vanished among the throng of people pushing towards the exit.

When she got home, her roommate Macy asked about her day like normal, and Laura opened her mouth to tell her about the boy, but the thought of the look in his eyes stopped her. She instead just shrugged and responded that it had been normal.

Laura almost managed to forget about the incident. She went about her life, going to classes and work with the drive of someone trying to pay through university, dated a bit but not too seriously, and occasionally sat on the tube to go people-watch.

But there would be times where she would look at someone on the tube and be abruptly reminded of the kid, another young man looking similar to the one who insisted that magic was real and wanted her to keep a secret, passing by a street sign and would instead think of the street name.

Then she started to notice the signs that popped up. Warning signs, danger signs, ones that had the boy's picture on it with an absurdly high reward. Laura had paused at the first one she had seen, a hand rising almost absentmindedly to touch the poster before she caught her hand and pulled away, walking briskly along the street.

She had pinky promised.

Things started getting stranger from there. Started getting worse. London had always been a hotspot for trouble, but everything seemed to be going downhill. There were more terrorist attacks then ever, and her mother was constantly calling her to make sure she had made it through the day.

Laura began carrying a knife and taser around with her, the attacks frequent enough to make everyone paranoid. She had already been in a self-defense class, teaching kickboxing to a group of other college students, but she upped her training. Not just because of the attacks though.

(she would never tell anyone else that though)

The attacks were so random though, no one knew who was behind it. Which was part of the reason everyone was panicking so much. If it was ISIS or ISIL or some other random group, there would still be panic of course, but at least they could know who to blame.

But no one was taking responsibilities for the attacks.

(there were times Laura thought back to the boy, what he said about magic, and wondered)

Months later, nearly a year actually, Laura was walking home from classes when she noticed that someone was following her. They weren't even being discrete, she couldn't see them, but she could tell. It didn't matter where she went, someone was there following after her.

And they didn't have a pleasant gaze.

Laura reached into her bag finally and palmed the taser sitting there. She didn't want to lead whoever it was to her apartment, not with Macy most likely asleep.

She turned a corner down into an alley, knowing that that might not be the safest decision based on horror movies, but also not knowing where else to go. Ducking behind a dumpster that sat there, Laura watched the opening of the alley intently.

How was she supposed to fight against magic?

She prayed that it was just a normal stalker, but her luck had never been the best.

There was a sudden crack next to her and Laura automatically whirled, elbow flying and felt it crunch into someone's nose.

There was cursing, but Laura didn't bother to look more intently, already fleeing out into the street. The guy from months ago seemed to be wary about bringing up magic, hopefully that applies to all magic people.

Unfortunately there weren't that many people out and Laura cursed her tendency to get home late.

And, here she skids to a stop at the sight of a clearly magical person, stick out and sparking, apparently the bad magic people don't care about what they do in the sight of others.

And even more unfortunate, this movement allowed the other person who was chasing her to catch up, a hand wrapping around her upper arm. Laura tried to twist out of his hold, but he just gripped tighter and started to twist, pulling Laura along with him.

Laura tried pulling away, but then all of her struggle went away as it felt like she was being squeezed through a tiny tube, her body folding down and inwards.

They were suddenly somewhere else and Laura started to sag to her knees as her stomach rolled uncomfortably, but the person holding her didn't allow her to pause, just started to pull her along with them.

Laura tried to fight down her rolling stomach and to get away, but his grip was tight on her arm and Laura couldn't do anything but uselessly struggle and try to not throw up.

There were a set of doors ahead of them, and the man flicked his stick (a wand?) at them and the doors opened in front of the two of them without any other assistance.

"My Lord, I have found the Muggle." He announced, bringing what looked like a meeting to a screeching halt.

The man at the head of the table rose and Laura was abruptly reminded of a snake.

The one holding her arm abruptly let go and shoved her forwards, making Laura stumble. She shot the man a glare, but he was already joining the others who had been surrounding the snakeman.

"Why did you run Muggle?"

Laura's hand twitched as she automatically reached for her taser, but didn't pull it out, wanting to wait until she had a better opportunity to use it. The snake-looking man was staring at her, which was a little unnerving, but not terrifying.

"I was a lone woman walking home and someone started following me, of course I was going to start running." She answered.

There was silence, then, "Was it because Harry Potter approached you?"

Laura looked around the room in confusion, but they all were studiously avoiding her gaze, favouring the wall or the floor.

"I don't know anyone named that."

Another bout of silence, then the snake-man pulled out a stick, and Laura abruptly remembered how the guy had pulled out a stick as well.

She was in so much trouble.

"Crucio!"

It felt like white-hot knives were dancing along her spine, like each of her fingers were being individually smashed with a hammer, like she had a kidney stone that wasn't being treated, like every nerve was being set on fire individually.

She was screaming, she was distantly aware of that fact. Then the pain was cut and she gasped in air, just lying there on the ground as she tried to pull in enough air. She didn't even remember hitting the floor.

"Now. Will you tell us what we need to know?"

Laura took in another breath and closed her eyes a moment before she opened them again, "I told you," she started in a scratchy voice, "I don't know who you're talking about."

"You had contact with Harry Potter, about 10 months ago did you not?" the red eyes were uncomfortable close to hers, and Laura sucked in another pain-filled breath.

"No, I didn't meet anyone like that." She insisted.

Then the pain was back and Laura screamed.

Finally it ended and Laura let out a gasp, tears leaking out of the corner of her eyes as she tried to find it in her to breath.

"Nott. I thought you said this was the Muggle that Potter approached?" the serpentine voice asked someone, and Laura sucked in another breath finally, hands scrabbling at the floor as though she could find relief through that.

"My Lord, I assure you, this was the girl in the photo," a man's voice insisted.

The snake man made a non-committal noise as he thought, staring down at Laura. She refused to look away though, just sucking in more breaths as her nerves started to slowly calm down from the pain-filled buzzing that filled them.

"Hmm. Perhaps she has been obliviated?" the snake man mused, and he bent down to her level, red-eyes boring into her own, "Would anyone be aware if a secret keeper can still keep the secret if they are no longer aware of it themselves?"

There was a long silence, but Laura didn't dare look away and it seemed that he took amusement in her glance. But as no one responded, his face contorted and he whipped to his feet, cloak billowing around his feet and Laura was greeted to a view of the room full of people kneeling.

"Does no one have an answer for me?" he hissed out and the kneeling people all winced, some more obviously than others.

Eventually, someone gathered up enough courage to answer, "It's never been tested my Lord."

The answer wasn't to his satisfaction though and Laura felt a breath of relief leave her at the sight of someone else getting that curse.

"Zabini, get over here and check," he hissed out and one of the figures immediately rose, approaching Laura and she couldn't help but let a whimper escape.

But he didn't cast any pain filled curses, and instead after meeting her eyes, he whispered something in Latin and suddenly she found herself on that day from the train with Zabini standing beside her.

She watched in horror as the boy, Harry, started to approach her and she couldn't do anything but glance to the man beside her. He did nothing though, just watched intently.

This was her mind right? Her memories? So she should be able to control what he saw. Biting her lip, she concentrated, and watched as Harry approached her starting a conversation, but instead concentrating on the worried feeling she had about him stealing her bag and how he had eventually left after she gave him some noncommittal answers.

"That was an excellent job."

Laura felt her heart stop as she looked over at him, but he wasn't looking at her, instead examining the scene in front of him.

"Your nerves were what had me looking deeper, you need to redirect them to nerves of the person reading your mind, that will cause them to not look where they should. Any one else won't be aware of the intricacies of muggle transportation." Zabini told her.

"Are they going to kill me?" Laura asked in a low whisper.

Zabini sighed, "Unless I can come up with a good enough excuse to keep you alive, probably. We have some time here where we can talk, but not much. You're holding up really well by the way."

Laura gave him a tired smile, "I made a pinky promise. If I die, will the secret still be safe or will he need to make another one?"

"Make a new one. What happens after a secret keeper dies is that each person who is aware of the secret then becomes a secret keeper themselves. And since Nott is a traitor, the Dark Lord would know exactly where to go."

"Can you get word to them that I'm here?" Laura asked after a moment's silence.

Zabini shook his head regretfully, "I don't even think Potter knows I'm on his side. I don't dare try and make contact with him to tell him. There may be other resistance members in the Death Eaters, but none have made it into the Inner Circle."

Laura brought her nail up to her mouth and began to chew on it as she thought, "What if…." She hesitated, looking up at him, then continued, "What if, I told you the secret. You then got out and went there and told them."

Zabini looked conflicted, not answering for the moment. Laura let him think without rushing him, watching the scene play over and over in front of her.

"The problem is, the Dark Lord is semi-immortal. Potter and his resistance are still searching for the last piece. Once it is found, then the Dark Lord can be killed. Having Potter lead a frontal attack at this time would be ill-advised." He finally said, drawing her attention back to him.

"Perhaps…perhaps you send a letter to him, through the post, the norm…muggle way. Then tell the Dark Lord that it looks as though my mind has been tampered with, but you aren't sure. It would require delicate work as you worked through my mind." Laura offered.

Slowly, Zabini nodded his head, "The second part, for keeping you alive could work. I cannot promise you that it will be painless, in fact it might even get worse from here."

Laura let out a shaky breath at that, but nodded, "Do it. Will the letter idea work?"

He gave a small shrug, "I will work on it though."

Laura gave a couple nods, then wrapped her arms around herself, "Okay." She whispered, hugging tightly, "Let's go."

There was hesitation, then Zabini wrapped an arm around her, squeezing her once.

Then they were back in that room and Laura sucked in a deep breath as her head began pounding.

"Well Zabini?" the Dark Lord demanded.

Laura stared into Zabini's eyes and could see no trace of the man she had met in her mind. When he stood up and turned to face the Dark Lord, Laura closed her eyes in preparation for him to tell that she did have the secret.

"There seem to be some sort of blocks in her mind. I hesitate to simply tear through them, due to the nature of fidelius. With your permission, I would ask that I am able to search through her mind to find and destroy the blocks while leaving the information intact."

Laura let out a shuddering breath at that, not allowing her eyes to open in case the relief became too obvious in her eyes.

"Is she the secret keeper?" the Dark Lord hissed.

Zabini didn't answer right away, and Laura opened her eyes to watch the tension in his back, "It is…possible my Lord. But I hesitate to say yes for now. It may be that she came in contact with wizards before, perhaps was in a relationship with one that ended badly and needed to be covered up."

"Did she meet with Potter?"

Again he hesitated, but only for a second before continuing, "It is possible. About 10 months ago, she was approached by someone who appeared to resemble Potter, but it wasn't an exact likeness."

There was a tense silence, and Laura tried to quiet her breathing so that no one's eyes would be drawn to her.

Finally, the Dark Lord replied, "Very well Zabini. Do not disappoint me."

He gave a nod of his head, and then left to go rejoin the circle.

"Look at that girl. You might be useful after all," the Dark Lord said to her, returning to circle around her prone body on the ground. Laura painfully pulled her head so the back of it was resting on the ground so she could track his progress.

She gave him a small smile, feeling the blood from where she had bit her tongue at some point on her teeth. He gave one in response and in the back of her mind she was aware of how inhuman it looked, but outwardly did nothing.

His face wasn't any worse than Bundy's.

"Why are you not scared of me Muggle?" he asked almost conversationally.

Laura took in a deep breath and didn't answer, just continued following him with her eyes. When his face contorted with anger though, she hurriedly said, "I can't tell when you wish for me to be silent or when to speak. I figure that it's better to stay silent rather to make some inane comment that won't help my situation."

The anger died down on his face, replaced with a calculating look.

He said nothing though, instead whipping around to face the people in the circle, "Dismissed! Keep on with your original duties."

Laura let her head fall to the side as she watched most of the people in the circle leave in a rush, their dresses whipping around them as they stood. None of them even glanced her way, but Laura tried to pull as many details from them as she could. They had no other weapons beyond their sticks-wands- and they all looked to be men. Not many of them appeared to be physically fit.

The Dark Lord looked down at her and sneered, "Exactly where you should be," he mused, "At the feet of those who are better than you."

Laura shot him a hateful glare, but said nothing in response.

This only enraged him though, "You dare to turn such a gaze on me? Me?" then he raised his stick to point at her, "Crucio!"

The pain returned and Laura felt herself arch her back as she screamed.

After what felt like an eternity later the pain ended and Laura came back to herself with a choked gasp, feeling the blood from where she had bitten her tongue run down the back of her throat. Gagging at the taste, she let her head fall to the side so she wouldn't drown from the blood.

"What right do you have to give me such a glare? I who am above all. Why do you, a Muggle, not fear me?" he hissed disdainfully at her.

Laura looked at where he was looming over her without moving her head, and sucked in a ragged breath before she answered, "Have you heard," she started in a croaky tone, "of Josef Mengele?"

"A Muggle? Certainly not." He dismissed.

"How about Hitler?"

A strange expression crossed his face and Laura continued, "Josef Mengele was one of Hitler's scientist during the Holocaust, performing all sorts of evil acts on innocent people. How about Jeffrey Dahmer? He was a cannibal. He would pick up men, kill them, and then commit unspeakable acts on their bodies. Luis Garavito? He has the record for most people ever murdered, with a suspected victim count of over 300. You? You have caused me unimaginable pain, yes, but your face will never be the scariest in the world."

There was a sort of stillness in the air that had Laura wonder if she had made a mistake mentioning those men.

Then without a word, he turned and disappeared from the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Laura let out a deep breath as she tried to take stock of her situation. Her limbs were still shaking from whatever he had done and Laura didn't bother to try to move just yet.

Slowly taking in breaths, Laura slowly started shutting away the pain, taking it bit by bit as she slowly started to wrestle her screaming nerves under control. Slowly, ever so slowly, she rolled onto her side as she spat out the blood that had collected in her mouth.

Pushing herself up on one arm, she looked around the room in earnest. There was a dias of sorts that she was on, with a black throne-like chair on it. The rest of the room was empty, almost disturbingly so. Beyond the black throne, there was no other spot of colour in the grey room.

Her arm shaking, Laura painfully managed to pull her legs beneath her, taking a moment in a bowed position as she sucked in deep breaths. Pushing herself up, she sank back onto her legs, letting her quivering arms rest as she tried to gain enough energy so she could get to her feet.

Everything hurt, but Laura focused on something instead, trying to continue to shove the pain back into a small corner of her mind.

She may be a captive here, but she wouldn't give in.

She had pinky-promised.