Chapter 4 – Lost In Time

The next morning repeated like all the others. Except this time, her head swam with different kinds of sadness. Last night was the first time in a long while that she and Scabior had sex. It was almost like having kids brought the soft side out in him...and now she wasn't sure which side she liked more.

When she went downstairs, Alice had a look that made Isabella almost positive that she didn't get any sleep last night. Jasmine was writing a letter, most likely to one of her new friends at Hogwarts, and Jonathon was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is your brother?" Isabella asked, keeping her gaze away from Alice.

"In his room, writing a letter to his girly-friend," Alice said monotonously. Isabella looked at her, feeling all kinds of guilt being put on her. After that, she went to the kitchen and started to make a pot of coffee. She ran her hands over her face, still trying to wake up. Everything was slowly falling apart. It wouldn't be long until another war would break out.

She looked out into the living room at her two daughters, both preoccupied with doing something else. Not a care in the world. They never knew what it was like to live in fear that they could die today at any given hour, minute, or second. She never wanted them to know. She didn't want to lose them, too. The thought brought a choking feeling clogged in her chest.

Isabella decided to go to Diagon Alley that afternoon, spend a good deal of time in the Leaky Cauldron in that lonely old booth she spent one morning in with Anna. While she drank away her worries, she still felt empty and sad. Her eyes wandered to the moving portrait of her sister, aunt, and uncle behind the bar. Jasmine waved happily at everyone, unaware of her own fate to come in the next five years. It was ironic to Isabella, that she could be alive in a portrait but not in real life.

As her head hit the table, she could feel old memories recollecting in the forefront of her brain. Jonathon. The sound of his body hitting the floor as Scabior killed him. The scent of his jacket. The feel of his body pressed against hers. Anna. Her fearless personality. The way she stood up to all the snatchers. The way she expressed her love for Ron in ways Isabella never thought she'd ever feel for anyone.

And the fact that Scabior changed. He was so cruel. So evil. His love for Isabella changed him. Now that he's becoming a snatcher again, does that mean his love for Isabella will quickly diminish? The thought scared her to death. She would never take his love for granted again. She would go back in time and get rid of that stupid jacket if that's what it took. She would tell him how much she loved him ten times more than she did every day. She didn't want to lose him. But was it already too late?

She lifted her head off the table, the room beginning to spin. She quickly got up, paying Tom and rushing out the door. She walked down the alley, filled with all different kinds of people. The joke shop owned by the remaining Weasley twin seemed to brighten the whole street still, even from the remodeling of most of the shops.

And as she got to the turn that cut off into Knockturn Alley, her heart jumped in her throat. She froze. A pack of grungy looking men were laughing as they came up the steps. They were all patting the man in the front center on the back, a cigarette between his lips and a familiar smirk on his face. The red bandanas they stowed away in their jacket pockets would be recognizable to her anywhere. The man at the front had a somewhat swagger in his walk. A walk she hadn't seen in a long time. He took the cigarette away from his lips, inhaling the smoke and looking up, the dark liner now visible around his blue-grey eyes. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Isabella as the remaining smoke left his lungs. The rest of them looked at her, confused.

And then, one of them that had a familiar look about him, pat Scabior on the shoulder. He looked at him almost instantly. The familiar man, no later than his early twenties gave Scabior a look that seemed to snap him back into his character. He took another long look at Isabella, a look that told her to get out of the area as quickly as possible.

She didn't hesitate. She was gone in an instant, back in her own house in no time. Alice noticed her exasperated face. She gave her mother a questioning look, not bothering to say anything with her siblings in the room. Isabella just went upstairs and shut herself away in her room, locking the door and sliding down to the floor, her head between her knees.

"You must have a death wish." His voice made her head snap up. He stood with his arms crossed, a haunting feature sketched on his dark, dirty face. She got up, walking toward him quickly. He put out a hand, making her stop only a few inches in front of him. "You're not supposed to be there," he said venomously.

"What are you doing? Who is that kid?"

"I'm doin' my job," he snapped. A flashback played back in her head. The night she found out Jasmine was a witch and he almost killed her. How she begged to be taken to Umbridge but he refused, claiming that he was "doin' his job."

"Who he is isn't important."

"He looks familiar. I know that there's something about him," Isabella whispered. "Who is he?"

"Izzy, do yourself a favor and stay away from Diagon Alley. I can't risk you gettin' hurt."

"Really?" Her voice was rising now. She crossed her arms over her chest. "How does it feel to be killing people again? How does it feel to come home every night and have that satisfaction of watching dozens of people die before your very eyes? If it ever came down to it, would you do that to me? Your children?"

He stayed quiet for a moment, watching her with a hateful eye. "You're the one who told me to meet this bloke," he said calmly, "I'm doin' this for our safety."

"Bullshit."

"You know, that's the problem with you!" He started shouting, but at this point, neither of them cared who heard. "You just can't stay out of situations, can you? You have to find a way to get yourself involved, don't you? Every time I try to protect you, you find another way to try to get yourself killed! You can't just stay out of trouble, can you?"

"Is that all I am to you now, Samuel? A trouble maker?" She narrowed her eyes at him, her voice louder than ever.

"You're worse! You're...you're..."

"Go ahead, give it all you got," she said smoothly.

"A young, naïve bitch that thinks she know everythin' when she doesn't! You're only a dim-witted little girl!" He screamed, his eyes shocked almost immediately after he said it.

Isabella only smiled, shaking her head slowly. "Even after all this time, you're still the same snatcher I met accidentally nineteen years ago."

"And you haven't changed a bit either, beautiful," he said, quieter this time.

Her heart caught in her throat. Beautiful. That nickname he gave her. Hermione. Sarah Stewart, the girl in the woods that he found the same night he first kissed her.

Tears stung her eyes. She ground her teeth together as she stared at him, opening her mouth to speak. The words got caught in her throat but she finally managed them out. "I hate you."

At first, he looked hurt. But then, a smirk spread across his face. "No, you don't."

"Leave," she tried to say as loudly and sternly as possible, trying to blink away the tears. "Leave. And don't come back. Don't come near my kids. Don't come near me." He stood there, staring at her. She got closer, pointing at the door. "Go." He still didn't move. "For crying out loud, Samuel—" She pushed him but her firmly grabbed her wrists, pressing his lips on hers. She struggled to get away but he wouldn't let her. Her stomach twisted as he kissed her harder and her wrists struggled to break from his iron grip but it was no use.

Finally, he let her go and she stumbled back a few inches. His face conveyed no emotion. No sadness. No anger. Nothing. And that's when he was at his scariest. She looked away from him, hiding the tear that fell down her cheek.

"Tell 'em I love 'em," he said. She didn't respond. "And I love you, too, Isabella."

"Get out of my house!" She finally screamed at the top of her lungs, coming toward him. But he disapparated instantly, the air around her becoming less tense. It was only then that she realized her kids must be worried beyond belief because of all the screaming. She unlocked the door and went downstairs where, sure enough, Alice was holding onto both of them, crying her eyes out.

She came into their view and Alice just cried harder, hiding her face in Jasmine's hair. Jonathon's face seemed distant, staring out the window. Jasmine was crying almost as hard as her sister, holding onto her stuffed animal rabbit. There was nothing Isabella could do besides give her children a huge group hug. They all wrapped themselves around her neck, crying into her shoulders.

One thing was for sure. Scabior took her demands. He didn't come home that night. Or the night after. Or the night after that. Or ever.

A/N: Oops. Sorry for the late-ish update. I've been busy/forgot. Soooo, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :)

Song inspiration for this chapter is "Lost In Time" by Whitley