Chapter 9
He let go and pushed me forward. I hit the floor on my knees as I heard him leaving, "A pleasure to meet you Miss Williams. I shall have to be sure to visit another day when the circumstances are better," Jareth's voice echoed from the living room before I heard him walk out the door.
That Sunday, I met Harry and Ginny in the park before the weekly meeting like usual. We apparated and were welcomed into Hermione and Ron's home. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were already there and greeted me warmly. Hermione hadn't seen me since I ran past her after my meeting with Jareth and she gave me a concerned look. I could feel it the moment Jareth appeared in the room. His spicy scent filled the senses, but I didn't look at him. I sat stiffly on one of the couches and ignored him when he sat next to me. Hermione and Ron sat adjacent to us and she raised an eyebrow at my reaction to the Goblin King.
"Well, to start things off, Percy has gotten us a lead on two of the remaining Death Eater's whereabouts," Harry started the meeting.
Percy stood and addressed us with his information. Then Harry took back the lead and opened the floor to suggestions. Jareth shifted and I shifted accordingly away from him. Hermione again raised an eyebrow.
When the meeting ended, an agreement was made about what was to be done with the Death Eaters. I stood and made to leave, but Hermione pulled on my sleeve. "Can I talk to you?" she asked.
I nodded and she led me upstairs to what I suspected was hers and Ron's room. She motioned for me to take a seat so I sat down on a wicker chair across from the bed. Hermione sat on the bed, "What is the situation between you two?" she opened.
"I don't know what you mean."
Hermione gave me a disbelieving look, "Yes you do… one night you two are all cozy and cuddly then the next thing I know you're running out of the house in tears and now you're avoiding him like he's a leper or something."
I glanced up at the bushy haired woman and sighed. Perhaps it would help if I talked about it? "Jareth threatened me. He said that if I didn't start upholding my end of the bargain then he'd turn Harry and Ginny over to the Death Eaters."
Hermione gasped and covered her mouth. "He wouldn't!"
I looked into her eyes, "Yes, he would. He's a spoiled arrogant pain the royal ass and he's deadly serious." I sighed, "You were right all along Hermione. We can't trust him. Just when you think he's changing for the better he goes and does something like this."
Hermione looked down at her feet, "Michelle, I'm sorry you got so mixed up in this. It must be hard for you to be so far from home."
I nodded thinking of my parents and sister back in Minnesota. I'd called to let them know I was okay, but it turned out that Jareth had taken care of them as well. They seemed to know that I had been accepted into an art school and they had accepted my choice to live over seas for the year. "I'm just going to go home. I need some sleep and Sarah's expecting me," I said without looking up at Hermione.
She nodded and stood to usher me out the door. As soon as I was a block away from the house, I apparated back to St. James Park. I started walking to the apartment but decided to stay out a little longer and sat down on a bench. I looked up when I saw a man with glasses in a brown suit and trench coat run past. A woman with red hair followed shouting, "Doctor!"
I heard the man reply, "Come on Donna! Keep up!"
I sighed and went back to my thoughts. I don't know how long I sat, but when I looked up again, all the street lamps had turned on and there seemed to be no one else in the park. I got up thinking I should go back home, and started walking toward the apartment. As I passed a grove of trees a hand holding a wand shot out from behind one and a dark voice shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!"
I felt my arms and legs spring together and I fell backward, landing hard on the tarmac walking path. I saw little stars float above my eyes as a pain in the back of my head grew from where it had hit the ground. Above me, a smile leered down. "Well well, if it isn't the American?" the same dark voice said as he pulled my wand from my pocket and put it in his own.
Only my eyes could move, so I couldn't spit out the biting retort in my head. A pair of arms reached out from within the cloak and grabbed me by the shoulders. They pulled me steadily upright and he used his own body to support me. My stomach churned and I was somewhat grateful my mouth couldn't move at the moment.
My back was pressed against the man as he pulled me closer and turned suddenly to apparate. I felt my feet leave the ground and a squeezing sensation around my torso. A moment later I looked around to see that we had appeared in a deserted and run-down alleyway. The man dragged me to a door only a few steps away and knocked twice, paused, then three more times sharply. The door opened and another cloaked man stood in the entryway. "Help me with her, the mudblood is a bit hard to carry on me own," the man behind me ordered.
The other bent and grabbed my legs. I was horizontal between the two. They carried me in, down some stairs and through a doorway before depositing me on the ground unceremoniously. The first man magicked manacles from thin air and they locked themselves around my wrists and ankles. Then he preformed the counter spell to the one that was binding me. I gasped a breath of stale air and sat up. "What the hell?!" I yelled at them.
The second man chuckled, "Spit fire ain't she? She'll be fun to tame."
My stomach clenched again and I backed up until I was against the wall. "What do you want?" I asked trying to not let my fear show.
"You'll find out soon enough," the first man said as he followed the other out of the room. They shut the door and darkness descended.
Sorry for the short chapter! More coming soon, I promise!!
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