Hard Day's Night

It's been a hard day's night

And I've been working like a dog

It's been a hard days night

I should be sleeping like a log

But when I get home to you

I know the things that you do

Will keep me working all night



Jaimie's body knocked uncomfortably against the Death Eater's, her fingers magically plastered to the boot that served as their portkey, which was sending her and her captor to places unknown and to her sure doom. Well, I won't die without a fight, she though resolutely.
Finally, after a heart wrenching second that seemed to stretch for an eternity, Jaimie felt her booted feet hit the soft mud which sank a few inches into the muck, the Death Eater as well, though neither of them kept their balance and both toppled backwards into the mud; the boot that was in the Death Eater's hand falling away unnoticed. The rain still pelted down on their heads and Jaimie hoped that it was a sign that she was near London, though none of her surroundings looked familiar. In fact, it was a far from familiar surrounding, for, stretched out on Jaimie's right were little stone grave markers, unblemished, though more than a few
were missing chunks from their decaying stones. The grass was unkempt and yellowing. Weeds that reached past Jaimie's knees peeked out all over the graveyard, and the small area that she and the Death Eater
were standing in was the only area in the whole habitation free of dead grass or weeds. To her left loomed a large gray brick church. She knew it was a church because she saw the iron crucifix standing erect on the
front side of the shingled roof.
Although these sights did not please her, they no less fueled her resolution to fight off the Death Eater. But he showed no signs of wanting to kill her. In fact, his wand wasn't even in his hands and he was standing
relaxed opposite her. Seeing that he wasn't going to be speaking, Jaimie said, "I know your ways, you won't trick me."
The Death Eater remained stoic.
Jaimie, unfazed, continued, "If you want to kill me, you're going to have to-"
Jaimie didn't finish her sentence as the Death Eater had tackled her to the muddy ground. Dexterously, he overpowered her using his body to pin hers to the ground. Luckily, he wasn't fast enough to grab both of
Jaimie's wrist and she managed to unseat him and gained the advantage on top. But she was no heavyweight and surely the Death Eater had lifted things twice as heavy as she was and soon mastered her again,
though this time, he had gotten hold of both her wrists, and sat on her so that she was rendered prostrate. Regretting that she wasted her time talking instead of running, Jaimie laid pinned to the ground, this time for sure she was going to die. But the Death Eater remained still atop her. He was breathing heavily, the mask keeping most of the rain off of his face, as well as hiding his identity from her. Rain fell on them, water coming in through Jaimie's nostrils. Jaimie choked and spat all the while struggling to get free. She fought with all her might and still the Death Eater would not budge. Her strength failing her, she relaxed, and with frightened eyes, merely watched with dreadful anxiety at what was to happen to her.
"You're a feisty one, aren't you?" The Death Eater asked once Jaimie had calmed down.
"Bugger off." Jaimie said rudely catching her breathe. She was angered that the Death Eater could be so conversational and sound so calm at the time of murder.
"That's not a nice way to talk to your savior." The Death Eater said, a hint of amusement behind his tone.
"Savior?! Are you absolutely nuts? Oh I forgot you're a Death Eater, you are nuts."
"We're not all bad."
"Not all bad?!" Spat Jaimie. "You go around killing innocent people all for the sake of who knows what, and you say you lot aren't bad?! You've got some nerve."
With renewed strength, Jaimie struggled more, but it seemed her effort was pointless, the Death Eater did not even budge in his grip against her; it seemed his strength was eternal compared to hers: he was no mere human.
"God, you aren't easy to persuade, are you?" He asked, almost as if they were friends come to see each other for tea.
Jaimie stared at him in disbelief. His voice sounded so familiar. The kind of familiar that you felt when you met a relative for the first time only to find that you had met them before and forgotten them. It was this that made Jaimie stop against her protests more effectively that losing her breath. She stared at him suspiciously, but by the way she was staring at him before this, she really couldn't get any more suspicious. Her eyebrows were so knitted together that you could have sworn that they were one and shaped eternally in a 'v.' Her green eyes no longer shining with warmth but with a hatred so powerful it would have stopped time and beat a mountain to the ground.
"Who are you?" Jaimie asked, her voice shaking.
If the Death Eater's mask was off he would definitely have been smiling; Jaimie knew. However, his blank white mask was on his face, now soaking wet though despite the amount of water it had sustained it did not make the material transparent like normal white cloths. He didn't answer her question, but for an infinitesimal second, she thought he was pulling off his mask. He did pull it off but only so it exposed his thin, pale lips. He bet down to her face, and gave her a long kiss on the lips. No doubt to him it was full of passion, but to Jaimie it was like ice.
He straightened up and said, "Good-bye." Before disapparating on her.
It took a moment for her to process this in her mind. She felt his weight leave her legs and felt the sensation of tiny things crawling up her leg when she was in an uncomfortable position. She pulled herself up and looked around making sure the Death Eater really was gone. She could find no hiding bodies behind the tombstones; no suspicious objects to compromise her. She was almost ready to believe that he really had saved her when a new problem arose in her mind: How was she to get back to London?
She looked around in panic, searching for anything that might help her. She saw the old boot lying under the steady fall of rainwater from the shingled roof. Optimistic, she hurried to retrieve the object in hopes that it would send her back but to her dismay it didn't; it was just an ordinary boot again. Angered, she threw the boot far, past the tree covered fence. She didn't mean to look at the graveyard and its creepy tombstones which sent chills up her spine and made the little hairs on her body stand on end. Why was she so scared? After all, it wasn't as though she had never seen ghosts before.
Nevertheless, she hurried through the side of the church which, for the most part, was devoid of the yellow grass. However, as soon as she reached the front yard, she saw that it was covered in the same knee length, yellow blades of grass. Carefully, Jaimie trekked through the sea of yellow trying hard not to think about the things living in its depths.
Finally with relief she made it through the grass and was about to cross the paved road when a car zoomed angrily past her, an alarming horn breaking the silence of the tempestuous day. Shocked, Jaimie jumped out of the way of the passing car, it zoomed quickly past her and out of sight, its horning blaring loudly in her ears. From that moment, she stayed on the side of the sidewalk so as not to get in the way of cars passing by. More often than not she found herself wishing desperately to be in one of the cars that zoomed noisily by, its passengers no doubt warm and comfortable. Jaimie walked dejectedly on the side of the road, her head down, shivering violently from the cold. She was wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't see that she was vacillating slightly in her step and was wandering towards the middle of the road, nor did she see that a car was headed right at her. All she realized was the sound of the horn and the anguished yell of the driver and the screeching of the tires. Jaimie fell back once again, her left arm thrown up for support, her right flung upwards to clutch helplessly at the air. Suddenly, she heard a loud eruption that didn't seem to come from the car-in fact, the driver had driven away-and momentarily, the familiar triple decker Knight Bus appeared in the empty road before her. A conductor in a purple uniform appeared at the entrance to the bus and spoke to the empty air, "Welcome to the Knight Bus, transportation for the stranded witch or wizard-"

"I'm sorry, sir, I know all this already, can I just pay your fee and get on please?" Jaimie asked politely.

"Yes of course." The conductor said apologetically. "But first, I need to dry you off." He took out his wand from his back pocket, gave Jaimie a sharp tap with it on the top of her head and said, "Impervius!"

A refreshing wave of warmth washed over Jaimie as all of the water that her clothes and hair had soaked up were magically wrung out. The conductor even made it so that she repelled the rain water that pelted endlessly around them.

Happily, Jaimie thanked the conductor, paid him eleven sickles and climbed aboard, choosing a seat that was in the middle of the bus. The conductor walked up to her and said, "Well, where would you like to go?"

"Diagon Alley, please." Jaimie responded without hesitation.

The conductor nodded and hurried to his seat in the front next to the driver. Jaimie snuggled closer to the her easy chair, absorbing all the warmth that it would give. She closed her eyes and for the first time that afternoon brooded deeply. What had happened? Where had her parents and the other adults gone? How was Jacob doing, especially after his fight with the Death Eaters? Where were Sirius and the others, were they alright? And what was the identity of her capture, the Death Eater, who may have single-handedly brought about a second murder of her loved ones. She hated to think about it, but it was a thought that consumed her entire being. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice the occasional stop the Knight Bus made, didn't even notice that she was propelled several feet whenever the bus stopped and slid back some when it accelerated. She didn't even noticed that she fell asleep, so it was a surprise to find that the Knight Bus had stopped in a familiar street, in front of a familiar grubby looking doorway and that the kindly conductor was shaking her awake.

"Wake up, miss. We've arrived in London, its your stop."

Jaimie woke slowly, her eyes getting used to the sudden change of light. The rain had stopped, though the sky was still an angry grey, the clouds tinged with pink and purple. Slowly and groggily, Jaimie stood up and stumbled to the open door. She stepped out into the familiar muggle street, muggles walking by and the occasional sound of the horn from one of the muggle cars. She stood right outside of the Leaky Cauldron, staring at its barely legible sign. But where were Sirius and the others? Where was everybody?

Standing for a moment to think on the situation, she made up her mind and decided to enter the pub and do what Jacob had told her to do, despite the urge to go searching for her friends. She walked up to the door of the pub, invisible to the muggle eye, and began to open the door when it opened of its own accord.

"Jaimie! Thank goodness you're safe!" Cried a voice from inside the Leaky Cauldron.

She couldn't tell who she was for a tall, kind looking old man dressed in magnificent wizards robes, pointy wizards hat was standing in the doorway, his twinkling blue eyes half hidden behind half-moon spectacles.

"Professor Dumbl-" Jaimie didn't finish her sentence for with surprising strength, the professor pulled her into the pub and closed the door quickly.

He led her up the stairs of the Leaky Cauldron and into one of the rooms, letting the others file into through the door before closing it with a lazy wave of his hand.

"Tell me all that has transpired." He said simply.

"Well, am I right in thinking that they've told you about Jacob and the chase?" Jaimie asked. Dumbledore nodded and Jaimie continued. "Well, we were in that back alley, and it was a dead-end. Sirius and James were being stupid and acting the hero and they were telling us to go ahead, but I wouldn't. I backed into the alley and there was a Death Eater waiting there and he used a portkey to teleport us to some graveyard someplace. I don't know where it was. But he didn't attack me, in fact he was actually being friendly with and telling me me that he saved my life."

"Anything else, Miss Dijon?" He asked.

"He left me there and then I took the Knight Bus here." Jaimie finished.

"Good. I want you six to go to Phoenix headquarters for the night. Your parents will be informed of your stay. Neither of you have been through a very grave ordeal. Get some rest and we'll all talk in the morning."

He took an ordinary clock from the bedstead and turned it into a portkey. "Now, all of you place a finger on this clock. It'll take you back to the headquarters. Someone will be ready to receive you. 3-2-1-"

With the familiar feeling of the hook beneath their navels, the portkey took the six of them to the Phoenix headquarters.

Jaimie's feet hit the ground and gave way and she collapsed, as well as the others to the floor of the familiar white room of the Order of the Phoenix headquarters. They all stood up slowly as a door opened to their right and out of it came Aunt Charlene looking rather harassed in purple wizards robes.

"Oh goodness, darlings! I just heard, quickly up to your rooms, you need rest!"

As a group the six of them trooped up the stairs, Aunt Charlene bustling around them muttering suggestions, though neither of them had strength enough to reply. James and Sirius ended up sharing a room, Remus and Peter in another and Jaimie and Lily sharing the familiar yellow room. They both silently lay under the comfortable sheets, closing their tired eyes and their aching limbs. Jaimie didn't want to speak about the events that had happened that day and she didn't have any chance either as Alice Longbottom had given her a spoonful of a powerful dreamless sleep potion and its effects were working wonders on her as she felt her eyes getting heavier and heavier and glorious sleep consuming her body.

Author's Note: Oh my god!!! Its been so long since my last update you guys must be so mad at me! I'm so sorry it took so long! I don't think any of the excuses I have are good enough, but just trust me when I say: I was preoccupied. Its like flu heaven here in San Diego and you must forgive me! I've already started on my next chapter. Thank you all for sticking with me for so long and thank you for your reviews they mean so much to me!