A/N I know, I know, I suck for taking so long to update! But here we go!

"Wha- B- But- What do you mean, 'They've got Albus'?" I sputter, turning to stare at the blond-haired captive.

"I don't know how, but they've been drinking to his capture all night," he says apologetically. "Now, do you think you can finish getting me out this chair? My foot's been asleep for hours."

"Al has gone missing and all you can think about is your bloody foot!" I shriek. "Goodness gracious, Malfoy! What are we going to do?"

He sighs, probably at the fact he's not going to leave his chair any time soon. "Well, clearly we've got to find him. And then you'll probably decide that you've just got to stop the Muggle attack, and will somehow find a way to force me to help you."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "It's so comforting that you know me so well," I retort, going back to cutting through his ropes.

"Ow, Weasley, the rope's rubbing against me."

"Well, do you want it off or not?"

Finally I manage to get through the last of the rope, and he bends his arms a little, feeling them out. I notice that he's actually pretty fit for a guy who claims Quidditch is a waste of time. He stands up, getting a feel for his legs again.

"Thanks, Weasley," he says. He almost sounds sarcastic but there's no reason for him to be so I take it as him showing his gratitude. Which is weird, actually. I don't think he's ever thanked me for anythings, though that may be due to the fact I've never done anything worth thanking me for. Not to him, anyways.

"Anytime," I reply, sort of as a joke, because if this had been any other situation, I probably wouldn't have even bothered with him. He'd have his usual crowd of adoring fans to come to his aid.

We stand in an awkward silence for a moment. Where do we go from here?

"So, why'd you do it?" He breaks the silence. The question hangs in the air for a moment while I think about it.

"I... I'm not really sure," I try to explain. "It just felt like the right thing to do."

Staring at each other, he smirks at me, which of course is nothing new. Prat.

"Well, I'm glad it did."

I guess this is his snarky way of thanking me. He's got an odd way of showing appreciation! Really.

I shrug at him.

"So what's the next step of the plan, Weasley?" he inquires, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, we've got to get Al!" I reply, as it should be obvious.

Scorpius sighs. "He's not here, you know, Weasley. They're keeping him at some temporary place in London."

"What? And you're only telling me this now?" I cry in exasperation. How are we ever going to find him?

But before he can reply, we hear voices at the top of the stairs.

"Hey, Rowle, it's my turn to watch over little Scorpy!" calls a shrill girl's voice. "Make way for Margaret, Scorpy!"

Malfoy winces a little at Rosier's pet name. Rowle says nothing, of course, seeing as he's still stunned. We're frozen as we hear her echoing steps as she comes down the stairs. My eyes flash at Malfoy's, but he looks just as at a loss as I feel.

Margaret Rosier is a very pretty girl, with dark long hair and a nice figure. She'd be just Malfoy's type if she wasn't so insane as to be a part of the Greater Good group. I instantly dislike her.

Her eyes go wide as she sees us, standing shellshocked. "Who are you?" she says to me in her loud voice. I can hear a few voices coming from upstairs, but I can't make out what they're saying. Before I can think, Margaret has already started calling up, "The girl's in here! She's freed Malfoy!"

And then a stampede of footsteps starts coming down the stairs, and before I can pull out my wand, I find myself dragging Malfoy out the little window with me, and once we reach the solid ground we start running towards the surrounding forests. I pray that they can't see us in the darkness as they blindly shoot curses and jinxes out of the little window, their voices a chorus of shrieks and bellows. We keep running, even when we're somewhere deep in the forest and can't hear them anymore. I realize I'm still holding Malfoy's hand as I stumble over something, only to find his hand supporting my weight.

Finally, we're too exhausted to go any further, and collapse on a soft spot of ground underneath a tree. It's pitch dark and eerily silent and still. I can hear Malfoy breathing beside me, and I feel my heart beating rapidly.

I pull out my wand, muttering a quiet, "Lumos," and I notice that Malfoy and I are both kind of scratched from running in the dark. My knee is bleeding a bit from when I fell, but it's nothing serious and I don't have the energy to heal it now.

Malfoy takes my wand suddenly.

"What are you doing?" I whisper, like it's some sort of secret.

He doesn't answer me, and I can't see his face in the dark now.

"Accio wand," he murmurs, and we wait in silence with just the light from my wandtip until we hear something rustling the trees. Finally, his wand lands in his hand and I watch as the corner of his mouth lifts up, weary but still pleased with himself.

"Nox," I mutter, and the light goes out on my wand. In a few moments in the dark, I fall asleep. Saving people's arses is tiring work.

I wake up early the next morning. In those hazy moments between sleep and consciousness, the piece of sky I can see between the tops of a couple trees is still gray, as if the sky hasn't woken up yet either. I feel something warm on my scalp, and turning my head slightly, I see that it's Scorpius Malfoy, breathing on my head. I suddenly realize I'm lying on his chest.

The night before plays in my head like a movie, as if I wasn't really a part of it, but I had watched it many times before. My limbs feel sore. I think my rucksack is still on my back, too. I hadn't even bothered to take it off.

Malfoy is still asleep, and he looks so serene I don't feel like waking him. His hair is still disheveled, but it still has that same expensive look it had before. Even after being kidnapped and Crucio'd, he still manages to look like a magazine ad. What an arse.

I sit up, thinking that if he woke up and found me on his chest, he probably would be weirded out. But as I move my head away, his eyebrows furrow and he shifts a little uncomfortably before slowly opening his eyes.

"Morning, Malfoy," I greet him in a whisper, as he looks sleepily at me, a faint smile on his lips.

"Scorpius," he replies quietly.

I look confused.

"That's my name. You can call me that," he tells me, as he yawns and stretches out his arms.

I'm really confused by this. What does he mean, waking up to tell me his name?

"Well then, call me Rose," I inform him. "Since that's mine."

He nods a little, rubbing his eye. "Good then."

"So what do we do now?" I ask him. I don't even know where we are, much less where to go to next.

He shrugs. "We go to London?"

"But London's a big city! He could be anywhere!"

"Well, do you have any better ideas?"

Truth be told... I don't.

"Fine then. Let's go. But don't blame me if we never find him, Malfoy!"

"Scorpius," he corrects me.

"Er, right, Scorpius." It kind of feels weird to say his first name. "Well, shall we get on with it then?" I say, standing up and brushing of my shirt.

He stands up too. "Sure." And then he grabs my arm and before I know it, we're Side-Along Appartaing. Being totally unprepared, I feel as if I'm going to be sick, like the first time I Apparated with Dad. What is Malf- Scorpius thinking?

"Arse," I mutter as we land (well, he just stands there, and I stumble around for a couple of steps) in the Leaky Cauldron. "You're not going to be doing that again, are you?"

"Only if you're lucky," he replies, smirking.

We walk out and down the street, until I see the whizzing, glowing city of London unfold before me. Even in the early hours of the morning, there's people everywhere. "Shall we get breakfast?" I suggest, as I feel my stomach rumble as we pass a small bakery.

He nods his consent, and we walk inside. I inhale the scents of chocolate and flour and lick my lips. A man stands behind the glass display case, wiping up the back counter with a rag. He waves his hellos to us and offers us his latest creations. I choose a raspberry Danish donut, and Scorpius goes with a fluffy looking croissant. We eat happily as we walk down the block, until I remember that we're here to find Al, not enjoy good breakfast food. I cover my hands with my face, frustrated and scared.

"What is it, Weas- Rose?" Scorpius asks curiously.

I take my face out of my hands. "I came out here to rescue you, and now I've got to rescue Al, and we've no idea where he is!" I feel like I've lost all hope of finding him, and we haven't even looked yet.

"We've just got to get some hints," Scorpius suggest to me.

"Where do we get hints?" I look at him like he's crazy. What the heck is he talking about?

"I know a place," he says to me, grabbing my hand. "Come with me."

And we're Apparating again, landing in a dimly lit room.

I feel queasy again, and I'm worried I'll be seeing my tasty Danish again in a way I'd rather not. "I really wish you'd stop doing that."

A/N So, I know what you're thinking. Who does this Ali chick think she is, not updating for so long?

Well, hopefully you're not thinking that, because people do that all the time on here! But anyways.

I don't know, I suppose life got in the way, as it does. I feel like a lot has happened! I mean, I got a "boyfriend" sort of and then we sort of broke up a couple days ago, all in the span of, like, two weeks. And school ended, finally! And my friend finally came out to her mom, and I finally finished this chapter!

So yay! Tell me what you think! I love you!

xx

Ali