Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters or anything from Harry Potter. The only thing that I own is plot and any characters that you don't recognize.
Kayley regained consciousness momentarily. She couldn't see anything, just blackness, spinning blackness. Almost as soon as she woke up, she went out again. The next time she woke up, she did not slip back into unconsciousness.
Her whole body hurt, like she had fallen off of a very high building. She sat up and looked around, her sore muscles and joints ached with every millimeter she moved, though it didn't matter, she couldn't see anything. There was no light in the room. None.
She was laying on something; she could tell that she was off of the floor. Kayley placed her hand underneath her and felt what she was lying on. It was made of wood she thought. It was room temperature and hard. Kayley looked around but didn't get up. She was still too tired to get up. Her head throbbed. It was one of the worst headaches that she had ever had.
Her eyes felt unfocused. Everything was black. She could tell that she was in a room. If she was outside there would be stars. There were no windows. Kayley wondered if there was even a door. There was no light that looked like it came from around a doorframe.
After a while, Kayley felt ready to get up. She gingerly placed her weight on both of her legs separately. She was suddenly wishing that she hadn't left her cloak in Hermione's office- the room was freezing. It was almost unreal how cold the room was. Kayley placed her hands on the wall to steady herself and immediately wished that she hadn't. The wall was colder than the room Kayley could feel that it was made of stone and cement.
She started walking around the perimeter of the room, guiding by her hands and the wall. She came to a corner and turned, the texture of the wall never changed. Then she came to another corner. In the middle of this wall the texture changed. It felt like a metal. Kayley followed it with her hands to the floor.
There was a carpet or something between the metal and the floor. She stood back up and felt the sides. It was a huge metal door, and she could feel no handle so the room did have a door. Kayley followed the wall to another corner and then in the middle of the wall she ran in to the bench.
Kayley sat back down. She now knew several things, although none of them were any use. She was in a square shaped room. It was made of stones cemented together, and there was a metal door on one side. The floor was rock too, but not made up of several smaller rocks, possibly concrete.
Kayley pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned back on the wall. She was sorry that she had not worn her tennis shoes and that she had left her cloak back at the Ministry. She really wished that she had worn almost anything besides her heels, her feet were freezing. She pulled her robes closer to her body, glad that she had decided to wear Muggle clothes under it.
She stuck her hands in her pockets, trying to warm them and then she remembered the notes she had taken at the Ministry. She was sure that she had put them in her pocket. They weren't there now. "Shit!" She cursed out loud, infuriated with herself, and there was nothing she could do about it. Where were they now? She hoped that they had fallen out of her pocket at the ministry, but she had a feeling that they had been purposely removed.
She wondered if she should try Apparating. She knew that it wouldn't work, but what if she tried? Was it even possible that it might work? Where was she anyway? Kayley stood back up. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the alley that she had Apparated to first. She did her half turn and then felt a powerful shock. It knocked her to the floor.
Kayley pulled her self back up and stumbled over to the bench. She now was sorer, she hadn't thought that that was possible, but apparently it was. She eased her poor sore body back up onto the bench. It was very uncomfortable. After a long while of boredom and soreness, Kayley passed into an uneasy, restless sleep.
After what seemed like a very long time, Kayley wandered what time it was. She had been in there so long that she had lost track of time, and that thought made her sick. She was also very hungry. It felt like she had been there forever, and she hadn't eaten since breakfast on the day that she had gone to the ministry. She had decided after (possibly) hours of restless napping that she should get up and walk around the perimeter of her cell, for that was what she had decided that it was. She was right, as much as it hurt, it helped. It helped her feel warmer too.
Kayley's senses were heightened after being in the cell for a while. She could make out the shape of the bench when she looked at it from the opposite side of the room, and had decided that there was nothing else to see. She had started having trouble sleeping because every noise the wind made by blowing through the cracks woke her up.
Kayley was lying on the bench. Where was she? Was it possible that she was at the Death Eater headquarters? Did they even have headquarters? Was this where Mr. Ollivander and Florean Fortescue went after they disappeared?
Kayley was surprised when she heard strange noise. It sounded like metal scraping something. "Who's in here, Malcolm?" Inquired a strangely familiar male voice.
"No one knows, Master Malfoy. It's a female prisoner, but no one seems to have seen her before." Malcolm (Kayley suspected) said. There was a thin line of light growing, and coming into Kayley's cell. She sat up straight, not knowing what to expect. She was momentarily scared. She worked frantically to calm herself.
"Where did she come from?" asked the first male.
"The ministry, sir," Malcolm said. "During the raid on Saturday," Two men were framed in the doorway. The light blinded Kayley. She hadn't seen light in… who knows how long. She willed her eyes to focus quickly, but had a feeling that it wasn't going to work. They were both in now. Neither shut the door.
"Come into the light." Malcolm said. Kayley walked as slowly as was as appropriate to buy her eyes time to focus, and as gracefully as possible.
The taller man was about six inches taller than Kayley and the shorter was about two inched shorter than the other man. Kayley stood in front of the taller man. He seemed to be the one in charge. She focused on his chest; she didn't want to look at his face if she couldn't see him. Then, mere seconds after stopping she miraculously regained her vision to confidently look him in the face. She let her gaze and not her head travel slowly up to his face. He had brilliant grey eyes that were familiar. A Death Eater mask obscured the rest of his face.
She had pictures of all of the men that were Death Eaters and on file in her office. She had guessed that if she ever met one the only thing she would be able to see would be his eyes and, likewise, had memorized all of the Death Eater eyes. This man was not in her files. This was some one that she knew, but who did she know that could even possibly be a Death Eater?
"Draco?" It was purely a question and not in the slightest a statement. Apparently, she was right though, because Malcolm raised his wand. Kayley closed her eyes, bracing herself for the worst, but Draco was faster. He pushed Malcolm's hand down almost immediately.
"Wait outside." He said evenly to Malcolm. Malcolm clumsily heaved the metal door shut behind him. "Incendio." Draco said coolly. Sconces that lined the wall suddenly light up. They were out of Kayley's reach, and she hadn't noticed them. Her eyes adjusted quickly this time. When she had finished admiring the sconces, she returned her gaze to Draco. He hadn't moved at all. "Do you think that you could tell me your surname now?" he asked calmly.
"Daniels." Kayley said. She wasn't sure, but she thought that something had flickered for a moment across his emotionless face.
"Daniels." He repeated pensively. He seemed to think about it for a while. While he was thinking about it, Kayley looked at the door. She was right, it had no handle, and she wondered for a second how Draco was going to get out. "Let's go." He said suddenly, grabbing her elbow. He tapped the door with his wand and it opened easily.
"Master Malfoy?" Malcolm asked falling into step behind them.
"You're dismissed, Malcolm." Draco said, not even turning around. They weren't walking too fast, Kayley wasn't having any trouble keeping up, but they weren't going slow either. They went down several winding corridors and up four staircases. They all looked the same; the same stonewall, with its concrete floors and huge metal doors on every side.
They came to a plain, mildly dirty white hall that led to a large wooded door. There was a man standing behind the counter selling stuff. Most of it looked like dark artifacts. There were several glass jars filled with metal rings.
"Mr. Malfoy!" called the merchant. "Would you like to buy a ring?"
"Not today, Demos." Draco said, guiding Kayley out the door. They stepped out of the building into a forest. Draco led Kayley through the trees to a small clearing a ways away from the building. Before Kayley could stop him or even know what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around her waist and did a little half turn. Kayley felt the familiar sensation of Apparation, and it terrified her.
Double Apparation increases your chances of splinching by eighty percent. Kayley had splinched once during Apparation lessons, and it hurt like no other. She was terrified. Kayley slowly pressed herself closer to Draco so that she wouldn't fall out of the invisible tube that they were traveling in. She also tried to be as still as possible.
Suddenly she felt her feet hit something solid. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?" Kayley yelled. "WE COULD HAVE SPLINCHED! DO YOU KNOW HOW BAD THAT HURTS?" He said nothing.
She didn't even realize that they were at a house until he opened the door and motioned for her to go in. Then she realized that she was standing on the threshold of a beautiful mansion. Kayley stepped inside and then slowed her pace so that he could go in front of her, since she didn't know where she was going.
She followed him to the first sitting room. This house was older than hers, but was very similarly built. He started undoing his cloak, and out of nowhere came a young girl, she couldn't be older than twenty. She had blonde hair that was pinned up into a tight bun. She was wearing a black work robe, and was wearing a metal ring on her right hand. He handed her his cloak and she swept out the way that they had come in.
"Nora!" He called. He didn't call for her loudly, and Kayley thought that she must be near. After a small while, a tall, thin brunette woman entered the room. She looked older than Kayley, but not thirty yet. She was also wearing her hair in a firm bun, and was wearing black robes. Kayley tried to see her right hand, but her hands were behind her back, and she was standing at attention.
"Yes, Master Draco?" She asked. Kayley could tell that she was trying not to look at her.
"Please take Miss Kayley up to one of the guest rooms on the third floor." He said, looking bored.
"Yes, sir," She said, and then she turned to Kayley. "This way, Miss." Nora said turning back to the hallway that she came out of. They went up three flights of stairs and turned left down a hall at the top of the third staircase. The more of the mansion Kayley saw, the more she liked it. Nora pushed open a door at the end of the hallway. Kayley went in first and was very impressed with the room. It was very subtle. The walls were a light blue and the room only contained a four-poster bed, a vanity dresser, and a regular dresser.
"I'll wash your clothes, Miss, there's a bathroom over there." She said pointing to a door that Kayley hadn't noticed before. "There should be a dressing robe in there, and then you can take a shower."
Kayley pushed open the door, located the bathrobe, and then began to undress. While she was doing that, she caught a glance at herself in the mirror. She was instantly embarrassed. Her hair was clinging to her shoulders and was very greasy, and she could see dirt smears on her face. She stepped out of the bathroom and handed Nora her clothes.
Kayley watched her right hand, but the clothes covered it. Nora fumbled with the bundle momentarily, and Kayley's jeans fell out. Nora picked them quickly.
"Master Draco won't like this." Nora said fingering the material. Kayley's eyes automatically narrowed.
"Do you have to tell him?" Her voice was hard, but not mean.
Nora looked startled. "Well, no Miss, I suppose not, not unless he asked."
"Thanks." Kayley said, still rather coolly. Nora turned to go, and Kayley went back into the bathroom.
There was no soap in the shower, so she looked by the sink. To Kayley's surprise the first cabinet that she opened held her brand of shampoo, conditioner, and body soap. She gathered them up and got into the shower.
Afterwards, Kayley could honestly say that that was the best shower that she had ever had. She put the bathrobe back on, and started combing out her hair. She started looking through the different drawers and cabinets out of curiosity. They never had the same thing in them, unless she was thinking about it.
She found some quick dry for her hair in one drawer, and some potion to make your hair wavy and give it volume in another. Kayley tried them and had to admit that it looked nice. She stepped back out into the guest room, trying to decide what to do now. Nora was not back with her clothes yet. Kayley rifled through the drawers on the vanity, and decided to start putting on make up.
After Kayley finished putting blush on Nora came in with her clothes. When she handed her the clothes Kayley saw a metal ring on her finger.
Kayley put her jeans and t-shirt on under her robes much to Nora's argument.
"Master Draco wants you at dinner in forty minutes." Nora said while Kayley pulled her shoes back on. Then she went to the mirror to finish her make up. "I think you'll like it here." Nora said as Kayley applied mascara.
"I'm not planning on being here that long." Kayley said, adjusting her collar.
"I'm afraid that Master Draco would like you to stay a while. It will be okay, once you get used to it." Nora said. She sounded like she was choosing her words carefully, as if she was afraid to upset Kayley.
"We'll see." Kayley said composedly, smoothing out the wrinkles in her robe.
"You'll get a new room tonight- probably close to mine. I think we'll get to be great friends." Nora said. She sounded happier now. "It's nice here." Kayley didn't say anything. "Let's go." Nora said after a while as she stood up.
Kayley followed her to a grand dining room. The table looked like it used to be much bigger and had been shrunk magically. Draco was already seated. He stood when she came in, and waited 'till she was seated before he sat back down. Kayley calmed down slightly. She was use to formality, and it felt familiar to her. Nora stood beside another girl who was dressed just like her. Food started magically appearing on the table. A red headed girl poured wine into Kayley's glass and then Draco's.
Kayley did every thing perfectly. She sat up straight, took small bites, and sipped her wine. When her parents had dinner parties she had always been limited to one glass of wine. After going to a few parties thrown by her friends in her last years of school, Kayley saw the wisdom in this particular rule.
"You must be starving." Draco said after a little while. "Please feel free to take larger bites." Kayley looked up momentarily from the piece of meat she was cutting.
"I will not." Her parents had taught her well enough how to act in a setting like that. They taught her that much before they decided that she could take care of herself and started exploring the world. He smirked.
"Have you got any siblings?" He asked. She paused again to look at him. She was searching him, trying to read him and it wasn't working.
"Why do you want to know?" She asked suspiciously.
He shrugged, "Just curious."
"I have one, an older brother." She said impassively.
"His name is?" He inquired, keeping his voice equally unemotional. Kayley decided to tell him. After all what could he do with the information?
"Car- Jacob," Kayley said catching herself in time. "Jacob Daniels," He merely nodded. "I'm missing some important papers." Kayley said changing the subject. "Do you know where they are?"
"The Dark Lord has them." Draco said coolly. Great, now she was officially screwed.
"I'd like to be gone by tomorrow afternoon. I need my wand back." Kayley said. Draco looked surprised, but only for a second.
"You're wand was destroyed, and I believe that you work for the Ministry, in the section that deals with destroying Death Eaters." He said. Kayley felt sick, her wand that she had since she was eight was gone.
"I work for the American Ministry. We keep profiles on Death Eaters, but have not decided to help with the war. We are currently establishing what they're up against and then we'll vote on it." She said; the sickness had not passed yet.
"And how do you think the outcome of the vote will be." This question surprised Kayley.
She thought for a moment. "I'm not sure." She said after a while. "Britain has helped us several times before, but this new Dark Lord is much more powerful than the last. He killed the man who killed Lord Voldemort. That scares most members of the Ministry, and they're afraid that if we help he could come after us next."
"And he would." Draco said certainly. "If you go home, what's going to stop you from giving me a profile?" That was a good question. Kayley hadn't thought about work at all, except for the possibility that she would get fired when she came back without the notes. She ate in silence for a long while trying to come up with a good answer.
"I won't, if you let me go home." She said finally. She didn't like throwing the 'let' into the sentence. It gave him more control than she wanted him to have, but, realistically, he did have more power over her than she wanted him to have. He said nothing for a while. Kayley decided that that was a good thing. At least he was thinking about it.
"How do I know that?" He asked.
"You'll just have to trust me." She said, liking this answer less than the last one.
Why should he believe her? It looked like she was screwed worse than she thought.
The red headed girl who had served the wine came back in and refilled Draco's glass. Then she came over to Kayley. Kayley hadn't realized that her glass was empty until the girl was trying to pour wine into it. "No," Kayley said abruptly,
"Water, please." The girl gave her a curt nod and turned back the way she came.
The red headed girl came back out with Kayley's glass of water before Draco answered. "Surely the American Ministry knows what happened by now." Draco said. "What are you going to tell them when you show up?" Kayley looked up at him again, this time confident in her answer.
"What do you want me to tell them?" She asked.
"It's late." Draco said after awhile. "Are you finished?" He asked, meaning with her supper.
"Yes." She said.
"Nora, take Miss Kayley to the guest room on the fifth floor in the second left hall." Nora stirred from her post, now attentive.
"The fifth floor, sir?" She asked uncertain that she had heard him correctly.
"That's what I said." Draco replied coolly.
"This way, Miss." Nora said.