A/N: Hi, everyone. FYI, the chunks of dialogue towards the end of the chapter indicate that the character is speaking French. I didn't want to risk using an online translator and embarrassing myself in front of any French readers I might have. I wanted to acknowledge somehow that they were speaking French though and this was the best I could come up with. Thanks for playing along.


She had no way of knowing how much time had passed. It felt like an eternity though. She'd even lost count of the number of times she'd been stunned by her kidnapper. That wasn't good, as getting hit repeatedly by a Stupefy was akin to having several concussions. For some reason that was the only thing she could remember from her DADA classes with Professor Quirrell back in third year.

It would be much more helpful if she could remember a single useful spell. Or if she had worked harder on wandless magic.

It was all too little too late now.

At the very least she knew she wasn't in the lorry anymore. She'd woken up some time ago (several hours later?) in a small room with a locked door and no windows. The most she could work out was that it was daylight. And the air felt different somehow. There was a humidity in the air that wasn't typical in England.

So she had no idea where she was and she didn't have the energy to scream anymore. Every time she thought she heard someone moving around outside the lorry she'd started screaming her head off. It took her far too long to realise her kidnapper had likely used a silencing spell on the lorry. Nobody was going to hear her. Nobody was going to come to her rescue.

Her head hurt so much now that she could barely move. She was currently curled up in the corner of the room. She was too exhausted to investigate her surroundings; too exhausted to call out for help. Somewhere along the way she'd admitted defeat. Maybe after the third Stupefy hit her in the chest and she collapsed to the floor.

For a while she'd tried to work out what was going on. Her mind was fuzzy and disjointed, but she was pretty sure she'd never seen her kidnapper before. She wouldn't have agreed to help him in the first place if she'd recognised him as a threat. He'd appeared periodically, opening the back of the lorry to fire another spell at her. She'd tried to ask him what he wanted. She'd pleaded and cried. He always remained emotionless, knocking her out then locking the doors again.

She hadn't seen him at this new location yet. It had to be the same man who'd sent her the threatening letters written in French. So what was he going to do when he realised she didn't have the money he was trying to find?

Chris had a lot of money. Not that he'd offer any of it up to save her. George had some amount of money as well. Alicia couldn't see why he would offer any of it up to save her either. She'd lied to him. She'd kept a huge secret from him for months. No, George was probably happy to be rid of her.

Everybody would be happy to be rid of her.

Except Jake.

Alicia began to sob quietly into her hands.


George rubbed his fingernail over a familiar scuff on the kitchen table in his old flat. It was the result of a particularly lively experiment he and Fred had attempted a few years ago.

Nobody was saying anything. Someone behind him was sniffling, but he couldn't be bothered to turn around to see if it was Angelina or Katie.

Alicia had officially been missing for over twenty four hours now. He'd really had no choice but to tell everyone else what was going on. He'd shown them all the photo of Caron, but no one had remembered seeing him around. Harry and Ron hadn't made much progress overnight either. So far Tiberius Ogden's death was under investigation, but there wasn't much of a law enforcement presence in the Turks and Caicos Islands so it was taking a while to get answers.

The French Ministry was officially working on the case as well and they were questioning all the dark wizards and witches Ogden had helped put away during his time in Paris. Dozens of people in three different countries were now trying to make sense of what was going on. Still, no one had a fucking clue what had started all of this.

"But why the hell didn't she tell anyone this was happening?" Fred asked.

George looked up. His brother had been hovering around him, unsure of whether he needed to be offering comfort or leaping to action. He didn't bother answering that question. Mostly because he didn't know what to say.

"I've been awful to her since she got back," Angelina said, saving him the trouble. "I know that's why she didn't confide in me."

"But why not me? Why didn't she trust me?"

George watched Fred rush over to Katie. He could hear her voice breaking, but he didn't make a move to go to her. He didn't feel up to comforting anyone else. The combination of no sleep and hours of worrying and speculation had left him feeling numb.

"I'm sure it wasn't because she didn't trust you, Kate."

"I was selfish. This whole time I've been focussed on my mess with Lee and Oliver. I should have noticed something was wrong with her."

George on the other hand had noticed something was wrong. He'd attributed her behaviour to something convenient and obvious rather than ask her about it. Deep down he knew why he'd never questioned her. At the time he'd worried that he was the problem. If he pushed her to explain why she was becoming preoccupied and distant then there was a chance she'd say that their relationship wasn't working out.

"Warrington noticed something was wrong," George said flatly.

"But he didn't do a single thing about it," Angelina snapped. "What fucking use is that? He only cares about himself."

"I don't think so," Katie intoned. "George just told us he dismissed Malfoy from his house."

"He has been helping," George admitted reluctantly. "Whether he's fully reformed or not remains to be seen, but he does seem to care."

"Well I'll be getting to the bottom of that when he shows up. What time did he say?"

George glanced down at his watch. "Any minute now."

Warrington was going to bring Jake to Diagon Alley so that Harry could update everyone at once. George wasn't holding out hope that there was a new lead. Ron would have come straight over if there'd been a break in the case. Maybe no news was good news though?

"I don't think I'm going to be able to look Jake in the eye," Katie said. "That poor little boy. What if I start crying in front of him? He'll know something is wrong."

There was a loud knock and Katie let out an alarmed little squeak. George stood up to answer the door to the flat and Fred hurried over as well.

"I'll take Jake downstairs to see the new litter of pygmy puffs," Fred said.

"That sounds like a good idea. Just remember that as far as he knows Alicia has gone to France because the Minister is ill and needs her help."

Fred nodded and opened the door to find a scowling Warrington and a smiling Jake.

"Hiya, George! Hi, Fred!"

George forced a smile of his own and reached out to ruffle Jake's curls. When he tried to speak he found his throat had tightened up, making it impossible. Fred jumped in and offered to take Jake down to the shop with him.

"He's going to work out something's wrong sooner rather than later," Warrington said as he entered the flat and had a quick cursory look around. "Potter had better have some good news when he shows up. Did you hear anything overnight?"

"No," George answered, resuming his seat at the dining table. "Did your contacts get back to you about Caron?"

Warrington glanced over at the sofa where Angelina and Katie were talking softly to each other and pointedly ignoring him. "An old acquaintance used to acquire illegal potions off Caron but apparently he stopped selling a year or two ago. He's pretty much dropped off the radar since then. My acquaintance assumed he'd been caught by the authorities."

"So you know nothing useful about him?"

"Nothing current." Realising he wasn't welcome over on the sofa, Warrington took a seat at the table as well. "Did you get any sleep?"

"Nope."

"Me neither."

George sighed and rubbed at his temples. "I don't think I can take much more of this. I hate not knowing where she is and what's happening to her."

Warrington hummed in agreement just as there was another knock at the door. George had left it ajar so Harry let himself in and cleared his throat. Angelina jumped to her feet and all but tackled him.

"Finally! Please tell me you've found out something."

Harry put his hand on Angelina's shoulder and said, "We're running down several leads as we speak."

Angelina shrugged away his attempt at comfort. "Don't give me that Auror doublespeak bullshit, Harry. This is Alicia we're talking about. Do you or do you not know where she is?"

"We don't," he replied flatly.

"What about Ogden? Do you know what killed him yet?" Warrington asked.

"There hasn't been an official cause of death ruled yet. He'd been dead for at least twenty four hours when they found him. It looks like there was a scuffle and he fell. Our colleagues over there showed Caron's picture around and none of the locals remembered seeing him."

"What does that mean?" Katie asked.

"It could mean any number of things. He could have used magic to conceal himself. There's also the possibility that he isn't working alone. That's why Ron and I have decided we're going over to Turks and Caicos ourselves later today."

"You're leaving?" George asked, his voice coming out a lot more accusatory than he meant it to.

"The magical law enforcement department over there consists of only a handful of people and they work across several islands. They're stretched thin enough and Ogden's bungalow was completely ransacked. We'd rather be there to look at it with our own eyes and do our own questioning. The rest of the department is going to keep on top of things here, so don't worry."

George barely suppressed a derisive snort. Don't worry? Sure. Piece of cake.

"I want to be kept in the loop from now on," Warrington said. "I have my housekeeper coming to stay tonight so I can leave Jake with her if I have to. I want to be able to help."

"The most helpful thing you can all do is stay at home and stay positive. This is what we do for a living. No one is going to drop the ball here, I can assure you of that. Minister Shacklebolt remembered talking to Alicia at the Battle of Hogwarts and he's made it clear to everyone that her safe recovery is the Ministry's top priority. Not to mention that Tiberius was a close personal friend of his and an esteemed former member of the Wizengamot."

Warrington didn't say anything in reply. Although he looked like he was having to physically restrain himself from doing so. George knew why. He knew because he felt the same way. He wanted to be doing something useful. He wanted to have some sort of tangible job to do. Sitting and waiting was not his style any more than it was Warrington's.

"I've got to get back now. Ron and I are will be leaving at around three o'clock. If there's any developments before then I'll come and find you in Hogsmeade, George. So just go home and get some rest. It looks like you could use it."

George nodded even though he had no intention of doing that. Harry said his farewells to everyone then used the fireplace to return to the Ministry. Nobody spoke. The only sound in the room was Katie's sniffling and hiccupping.

"This is all your fault," Angelina finally hissed.

George knew whom she was addressing without having to turn around. Warrington looked over at her but didn't say anything.

"If Alicia had come back to England years ago none of this would be happening right now. She stayed over there because of you," she spat, her voice trembling with anger and grief. "This is happening because you kept her away from us for so long."

"I needed her more than you did," Warrington said simply.

Angelina didn't know what to reply to that comment. George didn't know quite what to make of the frank admission either.

"I didn't keep her there against her will or anything, but I'm willing to admit I never encouraged her to come back here whenever she brought it up. I wanted her there with me. I needed her there with me."

"You're a selfish prick," Angelina said.

"I know. Believe me, I've had this conversation already. But you have to understand I know how you feel. I'm just as worried and scared as you all are. We aren't on opposite sides of this."

"He's right," George said, surprising even himself by coming to Warrington's defence. "There's no point trying to place blame here. I'd say we've all failed Alicia to some degree. The important thing now is that we stick together."

"They have to find her, George. I only just got her back."

"Oh, Ange," Katie said gently.

George turned around to find Angelina sitting there with tears streaming down her face now. He stood up immediately and held his arms open to her. She sobbed loudly and stumbled to her feet to step into his embrace.

"She's going to be all right," he said softly. "You know what she's like. You know how much she loves Jake. There's no way she's going to just give up. Once a Gryffindor, always a Gryffindor."

"I don't want her to die thinking I hate her."

"Nobody's going to die," George said firmly. "And she knows you don't hate her."

"She probably hates me though. I shouldn't have been so petty about everything. It wasn't like I rushed over to France to see her in all that time she was away. I can't expect her to care about me anymore."

"She asked for you while she was in labour."

George turned to Warrington as Angelina softly said, "What?"

He cleared his throat uncomfortably and explained. "Alicia told me to go and get you while she was in labour with Jake. There was a point where she had been pushing for a long time with no progress. She was exhausted and pretty delirious from the pain killers so I doubt she even remembers saying it. She said she needed you there while she pushed, that you were the only person who could get her through it."

"Really?"

Warrington nodded. "She said she wasn't strong enough. I told her that she was, but she just kept telling me I had to go and find you."

"Then what happened?"

"I was trying to explain to her that you wouldn't get there in time when the doctor started saying they would have to take her in for surgery as Jake was becoming distressed. They gave her one last try and I don't know how she did it but she finally got him down where he needed to be. I suspect though that she was thinking about you as well as Jake."

"You see," George said, wiping at Angelina's tears with his sleeve. "There's no way she could ever hate you. And there's no way she won't fight to get back to Jake. I bet wherever she is right now she's thinking about you again and borrowing some of your strength. You're helping her without even knowing it."

George didn't know if Warrington's story was actually true or not, but it had the desired effect on Angelina. She wriggled out of his arms and straightened her back. "I still fucking hate you," she told Warrington flatly.

"I can live with that," he replied with a diffident shrug.

"Guys," Katie hissed urgently.

George looked over as Fred and Jake entered the flat. Angelina swore under her breath and scurried off to the bathroom to hide her face. Jake ran over to the table and started tugging on his father's arm.

"Papa! I want a pygmy puff! They're so cute! Pleeeease! There's a purple one downstairs that already likes me."

"We've been over this, Jake. You're too young for a pet."

He pouted, folding his arms and stomping his foot for added emphasis. "I am not! Mum will get me one. When will she be back? Tomorrow?"

"She'll be back as soon as Marie is feeling better," Warrington answered, though George noticed he didn't look in Jake's eyes when he lied to him. "It's time to say goodbye to everyone and get back home now."

"I want to stay here!" Jake said immediately, slipping around the table and attaching himself to George's side.

"Not this time. Say goodbye to everyone, please."

"I'll come and visit you tomorrow," George promised.

Jake didn't reply. He was staring at something on the table. George's heart dropped. He'd left the photo of Caron sitting right there in the open. He looked up to meet Warrington's eye and found a similar look of apprehension on his face.

Everyone in the flat seemed to be holding their breath. Warrington slid the photo across the table and asked, "Have you seen this man before?"

Jake nodded.


Eventually Alicia had to pee. Her bladder was fit to burst when she finally crawled to her feet. She'd still seen no sign of her kidnapper since being brought to this second location. Every so often she'd hear someone moving about in another room though, so she knew she wasn't alone.

Her head throbbed in response to her movements. She shuffled towards the door, clearing her dry throat in preparation to shout. That was when she heard the voices. Two male voices speaking French just beyond the door. She held her breath and pressed her ear against the doorjamb to better hear what was being said.

"You idiot! What do you mean he's dead?"

That voice was familiar. Her kidnapper.

"It wasn't my fault! He was ancient!" the second man replied testily. "You should have been the one to go there! I could have handled the woman."

"We've already been over this. There was too much of a risk that she'd recognise you. You made such a spectacle of yourself back home that every witch and wizard in France knows you. Fuck! Why couldn't you just do what I asked? They'll find the body eventually and be on to us."

"But what are we even going to do now. He didn't have the money! You said he would have the money! But he didn't have any at all!"

"So you killed him? What were you thinking?"

"He fell! I tried to stun him but he dodged the first spell then we were duelling. I wasn't expecting an old man to fight back so I was caught off guard. He was trying to get away when I finally got a Stupefy past his defences. He fell and cracked his head against a coffee table. There was nothing I could do!"

Alicia held back a sob. She knew who they were talking about. Tiberius was dead? But he couldn't be. He should be on his way to England by now. Or maybe he should already be there. She still had no idea if a full day had passed yet. It was still daytime but she could be on the other side of the world in another time zone for all she knew.

Suddenly her stomach heaved. The idea that Tiberius was lying dead somewhere in the Caribbean almost brought her to her knees. She was dealing with bona fide murderers out there. They wouldn't have any qualms about killing her next. They'd already taken her and killed an innocent old man along the way.

Luckily she didn't have anything in her stomach she could actually throw up. They were still talking. Alicia swallowed her despair and tried to concentrate again.

"We have less than two days to get the money to Javier now."

"I know the deadline, idiot! Just shut up and let me think."

"We have the English woman already. Let's just ask for a ransom for her."

"Hmm. That's probably the only option left now. We'll have to give her some food and water then. She'll be of no use to us if she dies."

Alicia slapped her hand over her mouth and stumbled back as she heard footsteps approach the door. She resumed her spot in the corner and tried to control her wild breathing. When the door opened she briefly considered rushing over to surprise her captor. That quickly became an impossibility when her head swam and her vision blurred. She really was severely dehydrated.

Her blonde kidnapper peered around the door. He seemed pleased to find her sitting up but still subdued.

"I'm pleased to see you're alive, Miss Spinnet."

"Fuck off," Alicia mumbled half-heartedly.

"You're going to want to show some manners if you want this," he taunted, holding up a bottle of water.

"Who's out there with you?" she asked.

"None of your business," he snapped.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"That still isn't clear after all this time? We want the money you and Ogden took from us. It appears neither of you have it anymore, which is certainly vexing, but we're adaptable."

"Tiberius wouldn't need your money, fuckwit. He's an Ogden. Of the firewhiskey Ogdens. He's rich."

"My associate says that isn't the case. I followed the money trail back to him, but it appears to be gone now. But it's no matter. We'll work with what we have. What we have is you and you must be worth something to someone."

The man dug around in his pocket and pulled out a handful of paper. "We'd almost given up on finding you. Imagine my surprise when I saw this article in the Parisian Gazette a few weeks ago." He was holding up a newspaper clipping with a French headline extolling the unbelievable Quidditch skills of one Harry Potter. He pointed to the accompanying picture of the entire Gryffindor team. "That's you right there, Miss Spinnet. All this time you've been over here having a grand old time. We found many more sources once we got here."

He tossed that picture aside onto the floor. The next clipping was familiar to her. It was from the interview they'd done with Gwendolyn for Official Quidditch. The next picture was the one of her and George that had been taken at the Arrows Quidditch match. She watched with watery eyes as her photographic double put her head on George's shoulder.

"I'm guessing he's the one who's going to be desperate to get you back."

"You've kidnapped the wrong woman, moron. That's me and George Weasley – you must be familiar with the family name at least. George has a pretty legendary temper so he'll probably kill you if he ever gets his hands on you. Worst still, have a close look over my left shoulder. That's Harry Potter's knee right there. If George doesn't kill you first, Harry will make sure you end up rotting in Azkaban."

"We aren't in England anymore so I'm afraid Mr Potter has no authority to do anything. As for your Weasley, he'd have to find you first, which is not going to happen."

"Well they mentioned my ex in that article as well," Alicia said, switching to French in a desperate attempt to appeal to her tormentor. "I'm sure you know who Christopher Warrington is. He has resources and connections all over Europe. And he isn't a man you want to cross."

He just laughed callously and scrunched up the picture and threw it at her. "That's precisely why we didn't go ahead and take your son to use as leverage. I'm sure he'd do anything to get his child back. I'm also sure he isn't going to lift so much as a finger to help you."

Everything the man was saying was true. Alicia tried to keep her chin up; she tried to keep the fear out of her eyes. Dread and hopelessness clawed at her insides though and she knew it wouldn't be long before she broke down in tears again.

"But I'm a man of my word," her kidnapper continued. "If your Weasley gives us what we're after then we'll send you back to him."

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't have as much money as you think he does."

"Then I suppose it's lucky you're friends with Harry Potter then. I know he has plenty of money."

"We're not best friends or anything," Alicia replied listlessly.


A/N: Thanks for sticking around. I estimate only four or five more chapters to go. Hopefully it won't be too long of a wait. Lockdown with young children is hard though. Even when I feel motivated to write there's no guarantee I'll be able to. I appreciate all of you who've reviewed and followed and favourited this story over the last couple of chapters. See you soon!