Chapter Six

She woke with a jerk at the sound of smashing coming from her kitchen. What in the hell? Glancing at the clock the neon green numbers glared back at her.

2:37

It was early. Slowly she rose from her bed, moving to her closet to pull out the old cricket bat her mother had left behind when she . . . moved out. Gripping it tightly she opened her door and silently crept down the hall to where the light from the kitchen spilled into the hall.

Then it hit her.

There was someone in her house!

Jackie's hands began to shake, and she slowly entered the room, bat raised. She was unprepared for the sight of two men, rummaging through her cupboards in long black capes. What is with all the creepy men in capes?

"I don't know who you are, or why you're in my house, but I suggest you leave before I ring for the coppers," she said, gaining their attention instantly. They turned, dark faces and unsmiling.

"Oh really?" one sneered, his teeth yellowed.

"Y-Yes."

The other guffawed. "How precious!" Then he leered at her. "We knows you is a witch little girl. We know you have what we want."

"W-what?" Witch? Why was he calling her a witch?

"She's not cooperatin'," the yellow tooth one muttered. Then he nodded. Jackie's eyes widened when she realized he wasn't nodding to her, but something behind her. She barely had time to turn before another voice yelled.

"Stupify!" A flash of red, blinding pain and then darkness.

Everything hurt when Jackie slowly regained consciousness. Her muscles felt stiff and her head was throbbing. It was oddly cold, and she was glad she was wearing her long sleeved pajamas. With a shiver she glanced around, taking in the large room. Old boxes, crates and beat up furniture were strewn about haphazardly. She was on her side, hands tied behind her back with thick ropes. Jackie tried twisting them, wincing as the rough material scratched her skin.

"J-Jackie?"

Jacked looked towards the voice, kitty corner to where she lay, her eyes landing on her friend Lucy in the same position she was in. She looked rough, dried blood running out of her nose as if she had been hit. She wore nothing but a tank top and knickers.

"Lucy," Jackie breathed, half relieved and half horrified. "What happened?" Lucy let out a choked sob shutting her eyes.

"We got to my place, rang for pizza and," Lucy blushed, a rare occurrence when talking about her and Tom, "-he proposed. I said yes and we were . . . getting fruity when to doorbell rang. Tom thought it was the pizza so he went to get it. Next thing I know he's yelling and two men are in my room. It happened so fast . . ."

Jackie was speechless.

"I don't know where Tom is," Lucy went on, tears in her eyes. This was bad. Jackie bit her lip, shifting her weight and trying to scoot closely while trying to free her hands. She winced as the thick coarse rope burned her skin. "Tom . . ." Lucy moaned.

"It'll be okay," Jackie said encouragingly. This was bad. Really, really bad. Lucy scoffed, rolling her eyes and sniffling pathetically.

"Does this look okay?" she said in a small voice.

Jackie was about to respond when the sound of a slamming door reached her ears. Stiffening she looked at Lucy and then craned her head towards the source. Her wrists burned, but she had to get them free. The sound of several sets of feet echoed through the room and four men entered her vision.

They all wore black, their faces drawn and Jackie recognized three of them. Lucy let out a panic filled noise, laying on her back and using her legs to try and move away from them. Panic filled Jackie when two of the men advanced on her, pinning her to the floor and laughing as she gave a cry.

"S-stop it! Leave her alone!" Jackie yelled. The two remaining men looked at her, the new one seeming oddly . . . familiar. His black hair was well groomed, if not looking a little greasy. A long nose set on a pale face. Bottomless black eyes stared at her and a memory seemed to surface.

"Do you know what a wand is, Miss Snow?"

"Witches use them?" she shrugged not really sure. "I really don't know . . ."

"Witches and wizards use them to cast spells," said Dumbledore patiently as a frown crossed Jackie's face. "Magic. A muggle, is a term for a non-magical person with no witches or wizards in their family."

"Wait . . ." Jackie muttered growing confused. "Are you trying to tell me that magic is real?"

"Albus," the dark man growled. "We should just take the woman home, this is clearly too much for her to handle." He sneered at her, curling his upper lip.

Jackie shook her head, blinking away the seemingly recent memory. She couldn't recall when that had happened. But somehow . . . Jackie knew she had met that man before. She hadn't liked him, that much she knew.

"Ah, Miss Snow," said the one she knew from previous encounters. Mulciber. He approached her, leaning down and grabbing her neck in one of his hands. He squeezed slightly, Jackie yelling and trying to free herself by wrenching away. His grip tightened.

"You will tell us where Adrian is, or we'll start with your pretty little friend over there," he hissed at her. "Understood?"

"I don't know anyone named Adrian!" Jackie cried, "I swear!"

"Don't. Lie!" he growled, pressing her into the ground. "We know he gave you his wand, and that emerald."

"I'm not lying!"

"Greyback, take the girl," Mulciber said over his shoulder. "Make sure Miss Snow can hear her."

The man, in shabby black clothes stood, yanking Lucy to her feet. His face was covered in grime and his yellow eyes flashed with excitement. Lucy started sobbing.

Jackie couldn't see anyway out of this, not for Lucy . . . unless.

"Wait!"

The two men looked at her, the only sound was Lucy's choking sobs.

"I'll give it to you! I can get it." Jackie hoped they believed her. "Only- only if you let Lucy and Tom go."

Mulciber sneered down at her, obviously disgusted. "Don't play with us, little girl-"

"Do as she says," the man dressed in black suddenly said. His voice was even, like in her memory, careful and controlled. Mulciber whipped his head around so fast Jackie was momentarily amazed that it didn't snap. His grip on her tightened.

"And why should we?" he sneered. "The little twat has been playing us the entire time, pretending she doesn't know anything. I used the Imperius curse on the girls boss, she shattered the windows with magic." Mulciber yanked Jackie to her feet as the man in black rested his heavy gaze on her.

"She's just pretending to be innocent, Snape."

"Be silent!" the man- Snape snapped. His eyes seemed to bore into hers and Jackie felt her breath catch as she felt something heavy- so to say, press against her mind. It was the oddest sensation she had ever felt, wholly uncomfortable and a little painful. Jackie averted her eyes and the sensation instantly left.

"What harm can it be to listen, eh?" asked the unnamed man. His eyes were on Jackie. "If she's lying we'll just kill her little friends and get it out of her one way or another."

Mulciber seemed to think his words over, gritting his jaw tightly. "The Dark Lord will be very displeased if we return with nothing," he growled. He then yanked Jackie to face him, her nose touching his as he glared at her menacingly. Jackie felt her knees weaken.

"I swear, if you're playing us, I will kill you," he said quietly. "I will kill that girl over there and the boy, if you're lying. Then, I'll make you tell us where you've hidden what we want. After that, it may take awhile before you finally die. Greyback likes to play with his victims." His lips curled into a smile, the same one he had given her when she had seen him in the hospital.

"Scabior, Greyback," he said turning to the others, "take the girl and the boy back, we'll meet back here." Scabior scowled at Mulciber, following after Greyback as they left the room, all the while Lucy was screaming.

"Jackie! Jackie!"

Jackie bit her lip to keep from crying. Mulciber shook her slightly, gaining her attention quickly.

"Well?"

Jackie's brow furrowed, and she flinched as his hand pinched her arm.

"Where is it you stupid girl?!"

"M-my flat," she replied glancing from Mulciber to Snape fearfully. She was going to die. Her friends were going to die, and it was somehow all her fault. Mulciber huffed and turned to Snape. He said something to the man, but before her befuddled thoughts could catch up, she felt all the air from her lungs suddenly leave. Everything went dark, and her lungs burned.

Just as Jackie was sure she was going to be suffocated, air filled her lungs and she was standing her flat. Her cricket bat was lying on the floor in the kitchen doorway. The place was dark. She had a few seconds to take it all in before she was stumbling away from the men and emptying her stomach on her living room floor. Jackie was glad it wasn't on the carpet, but it smelled horrible.

Snape curled his lip in disgust as Mulciber yanked her to her feet.

"Disgusting muggle," he breathed as she shakily swallowed. He gripped her arm tightly again. "Where is it?" he demanded. Jackie's eyes darted frantically around, trying not to look at the sick on her floor. Options. Did she have options? Of course she had options. There was the cricket bat on the floor, if she could make a run for it. There was also . . . in her dresser . . . that would work, hopefully.

"My room, I have to get it," she said trying to sound more sure than she actually felt. Jackie wasn't surprised that he didn't let go of her. He shoved her down the short hallway and into her room. It was tidy, the way she had left it. Mulciber let her go as she went to her dresser, getting down on her knees she opened the bottom drawer.

Jackie began to rummage through her jumpers, pulling some out as she worked her way to the back. She saw Mulciber standing over her when she glanced back at them. He was clearly impatient as he began to tap his foot. Jackie dug around, hoping that it was still there.

Please, let it be there.

Another moment and her hand collided with something hard. Her hand curled around a rectangular object, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness.

"What's taking so long?" Mulciber snapped.

Without warning to the man, she turned connecting the black box to Mulciber's body. There was a series of sharp clicking electrical sounds as his body jerked and he let out a startled yell. His arms whipped around before he toppled over, hitting his head against her dresser. He remained still against the floor.

Jackie stumbled back.

"I killed him," she breathed. But then she caught the rise and fall of his chest, and let out the breath she had been holding. She did it. Jackie raised her eyes, freezing as Snape stood in the doorway.

His right arm was raised and held in his hand . . . a memory flashed and a word was brought forth . . . a wand.

Yeah, so I've been busy and working on another fanfiction. I only just realized that I still had this story going. Whoops. Tell me what you think!

Thank you to my reviewers, followers, favorites, and readers. Sorry this took so long.

Read and Review!

~filimeala