A/N Yahoo! You guys, this is great! Here I am to write the next chappie!!! Aren't you glad? I'm just playing.... But seriously, I'm here. This is me... right here. Ok I'll shut up but first I have to acknowledge Bree (of course). She helps me along when I need suggestions and she's like, my proof reader. Anyways, thank you guys for reviewing, it means a lot. Those of you who don't... shame on you! I'm just kidding, I love you guys. If I didn't I wouldn't be sitting here sharing my story.
Disclaimer: Blah blah blah... I don't own anything in this story. Not a single, cotton picking thing. So sad... the story of my life. Anyways, all credit goes to the real live living breathing cast of extras and J.K. Rowling for the make up of this story.
Alex had been awakened from her place on the border of dreams and sleep by the telephone ringing in the distance. Instantly, as though pulled back by a string, she left her place and opened her eyes to stare about the darkened room.
Hermione was twitching slightly, her dreams apparently full of terrible things. She had the urge to go wake her but the phone rang again. Silently, she got up and tip toed past Rosie's bed. Maggie looked up lazily, and then dropped back down to sleep.
Nervously, from past experience, she picked the phone up and held it to her ear. She whispered, chancing a glance at her sleeping friends. "H-hello?"
"Hello Alex. Did I wake you?"
Alex stifled a gasp. The voice was harsh and scratchy. She nearly dropped the phone but recovered just in time. "W-who is this? What do you want?"
"Oh Alex," the voice sounded pitying now. "You know why I called so don't play dumb. You already did when you chose to run. You just got yourself in more trouble when you chose to run. Now tell me... how is Hermione enjoying her dreams?"
Alex dropped the phone, ignoring the crackling laughter echoing in her ears. She ran to Hermione's side and touched her shoulder, hoping to wake her up. Instantly, her fear intensified and horrible images of tortured innocents swam before her eyes. She sank to the carpet, a feeling of dizziness becoming overwhelming. She felt and saw what Hermione did.
Hermione began to squirm in her bed but Alex couldn't move to help. Someone was coming... and they were coming fast. She opened her mouth to cry out and choked. Hermione did the honors. A long droning sound, not a scream but nothing understandable, pierced the silence.
Rosie sat bolt upright, her eyes wide in shock. She looked from Hermione, twitching and shaking violently beneath her many blankets, to Alex, kneeling beside her bed gagging on what seemed to be nothing at all.
"Oh not again!" She cried flinging herself from the bed and rushing to both girls aid. Maggie cried out in protest of being disturbed but no one paid attention. Rosie was too busy alternating between shaking Hermione and pounding on Alex's back trying to get her to breathe normally.
All three boys ran into the room, disturbed from their sleep by all the noise. Hermione still had not woken up and continued to scream her heart out. Draco looked furious until he allowed his eyes to take the scene in. "What in the world is bloody going on in here?!"
"Wish I knew but obviously I don't. Now if it's not too much trouble, somebody could HELP ME OUT ANY TIME NOW!" She screamed in frustration and fear.
Draco immediately took over the job of trying to wake Hermione up while Billy tried to help Rosie who continued to struggle with Alex, who by now had turned a bright red color from lack of air and the coughing fits she had been suffering. Chris ran to the phone and when he heard nothing but the dial tone, hung it up. He then ran to the kitchen to get water for Alex.
As soon as the phone was hung up, Hermione's eyes flashed open and Alex stopped gagging. The group watched Hermione's wide but distant eyes roam the room. Then she spoke in a quick raspy voice. "They're coming."
"Whose coming?" demanded Billy, who was now stuck with the job of holding onto Alex who seemed to have passed out.
Hermione's eyes landed on Billy and Alex. Only they weren't Hermione's eyes. These foreign eyes were bright green... so bright they seemed to light up the room. At once they seemed to soften, if possible. In the same raspy voice, she replied, "The Dark Lord sends his most trusted servants to retrieve you. You must take heed... you have been warned."
With that she collapsed backwards, landing on Draco's shoulder, her eyes now closed. Just then, Chris reappeared with the water. He seemed relieved to see that everyone was silent now. Without a word, he walked to Billy's side and took Alex into his own arms. He tried to get her to drink the water. After his third time trying with no success, he just dumped the entire cup over her head.
Alex woke with a shriek and her first reaction was to slap Chris across the face. After adjusting more to her surroundings and remembering what was going on, she realized she had just slapped one of her rescuers. She hugged him lightly and whispered in what little voice she could, "I'm so sorry about that. I hate it when people wake me up you know... I'm sorry."
He just laughed. "Alex, it's ok. You're alright and right now that's all I care about."
Alex smiled back and touched his red cheek softly. Just when the group thought they were going to have some romantic moment, she turned away. Her smile dropped and her eyes widened. "We have to leave."
"Yeah, in the morning we're going to pack up and continue our little journey, remember?" Rosie said from beside Billy. She was tired by now and just wanted to sleep now that the initial shock was over.
"No, you don't understand. We have to leave now! I mean right now. We have to get out of here, they're coming." Alex said, her voice shaking slightly with fear. She jumped up, the top of her head accidentally smacking Chris in the jaw. After a rushed apology, she grabbed his hand and began to run for the door. The others called after her in protest.
As soon as she reached the door, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The door slowly swung open and several cloaked figures stood there, cackling wildly. They pointed what could only be their wands at the terrified girl and muttered a curse that sent her sprawling on her back. She lifted her head slightly.
Chris was threatening to hit one of them around the head with something... a vase. The other death eater blasted it out of his hand. Hermione and Draco came running to the rescue with their wands out and aimed at the two intruders. They shouted random spells, their faces set with concentration and anger. In a moment, Billy and Rosie had joined the fight, throwing and swinging as many dangerous things as they could find.
Alex let her head fall back onto the carpet so that she was staring at the window opposite the door. She blinked. Was it opening?
It was. Another cloaked death eater stepped in through the open window. Alex could feel his gaze sweep the room landing on her, paralyzed on the ground. He walked to her quickly and quietly, so he didn't draw attention to himself. As soon as he grabbed her, Alex felt the paralysis leave her and found her voice.
She screamed and kicked trying to draw attention, trying to find help. The bigger battle was too loud however, and no one heard her. The wizard whispered an incantation and Alex found her arms bound, mouth gagged, and eyes blindfolded. She began to feel dizzy and eventually passed out as the cool wind from outside hit her face.
Hermione stood and looked around, surveying the damage. Many items were broken and scattered about the ground. The two death eaters themselves were unconscious on the floor at her feet. Draco had an ice pack over his forehead where he had been hit with a large book, thrown by a very desperate death eater. Rosie sat on the ground, binding Billy's knuckles, which he had split on someone's jaw. Chris was unharmed with the exception of a minor cut on his lip. Hermione herself had a fairly deep cut on her cheek. She frowned. Something was missing...
"Where's Alex?" She asked quickly, realizing she had been missing since the beginning of the fight.
Rosie quickly looked around her, panic creeping into her features. "She's gone? No, this can't be happening... Alex!"
A Death Eater twitched and Draco laid a finger over his lips to tell her to be quiet. Rosie nodded but silently began to cry. Billy hugged her comfortingly. Chris just sat on the edge of the bed, string into the distant dawn creeping in the window. Hermione sat beside him.
"Chris... are you going to be ok?"
Chris was quiet for a moment. He seemed to be lost in thought. Then slowly, he looked at Hermione. "She's ok, right? I mean, they haven't... you know... finished her off or anything, right?"
Hermione closed her eyes. Wouldn't she know if Alex was dead? Yes, of course she would... they were bound. Slowly, the sensation of wind rushing through her hair appeared, making her shiver slightly. She smiled reassuringly at Chris, "She's alive... trust me. But we have to find her."
"No bloody way! I'm not going to go looking for trouble. It does quite the job of finding me on its own thank you very much. There's absolutely no way I'm going to go looking for Voldemort himself to save some muggle." Draco cried indignantly, his eyes sparkling with rage and what could only be fear.
Chris was across the room in a heartbeat. "I'm getting tired of you thinking you're so high and mighty because you're a wizard! You sicken me. All you care about is yourself!"
"Watch it muggle boy. You're wrong there... I care for Hermione too and I don't want anything to happen to her!" Draco snapped back, shocked at the sudden verbal attack he was receiving from this guy... who did he think he was anyway?
Hermione joined in the argument. "Draco, if you really cared as much as you say you do, we would be out the door by now. Can't you see that I want to go save Alex? No mighty pureblood is going to stop me!"
Draco fell silent. He looked from Hermione, to Chris, then to Billy and Rosie. He opened and closed his mouth several times, like a fish out of water, then shrugged still looking daggers at Chris. "Fine, but only because you want to Hermione."
Without another word, the group went to their respectable rooms to change before heading out to the street. Though they were silent, Alex's absence was definitely apparent.
A/N well, was it any good? Let me know these things. Read and Review people, I write this stuff for you guys!! Lol! I think it's finally starting to get good. Well... whatever. Please, PLEASE, let me know what you think. I need opinions people. Bree, as always thank you for helping. You really make Rosie come to life. Well, Bye for now!