A/N: First time I've actually planned ahead for a chapter. Hope you all enjoy!

"Scabior-" Mia choked, her view disappearing into a white mist. His grin was the last thing to swim out of sight.

/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

"Rise an' shine." A deep tone drifted past her.

"Fuck off." Mia grumbled, her eyes scrunched up and her head pounding. It's not like being late for first lesson was a very fucking important thing.

"What did you say?" The tone deepened to a growl and Mia's eyes snapped open.

"Oh shit." She whispered.

"What...did you fucking say?" Scabior straightened up from his crouch next to his bed, which she was currently sprawled across, and climbed on top.

Mia squeaked, trying to crawl backwards but a heavy dull ache in her shoulder forced her to stay underneath him.

"I- I thought you were my mum." She muttered, avoiding his gaze.

"Your mum?" Came the flat response.

"For a second." She added quickly, taking the weight off her right shoulder and laying back. Scabior studied her for a moment before leaping off and strutting outside without another word. Blood pounded in her ears as she swatted away the smoky warm air he left behind and tried to recall the night before. She remembered drinking but nothing like one glass of whiskey usually left her feeling so shit. Her throat was tight, her shoulder burned and her head..well that was another story. She took a quick break to the very basic toilet in a very small wooden cubicle inside the tent. It had no mirror and no sink and hardly any loo roll but she really didn't care. The flusher worked and she was grateful for that much. Apparently catching people and handing them over to the Ministry didn't pay all that well. Either that or they just spent their money on drink and other short term shit.

Mia mentally retraced her steps and led herself back to Scabior with his hands around her throat. Not particularly wanting to go down that memory lane again, she clambered out of bedroom area and hobbled over to the flap of the tent. Before exiting, she took a deep breath and stroked the worn fabric, partly to remind herself that it was all real.

"I can seeee yooou." A gravelly voice called, in what could have been a sing song tone if it was three octaves higher. And hadn't come out of a werewolf's mouth.

"Jesus Fucking Christ." Mia murmured, whipping the flap in between herself and the cold outside air.

"Come 'ere. Now." A more welcome voice ordered. Well, more welcome than Greyback anyway.

She crept forward, trying desperately to keep her chin up and her eyes off all the staring men who looked as if she were the most interesting thing they'd seen in months. When she neared Scabior, who was sitting on a log with a cigarette in his mouth, he yanked her arm and forced her down next to him. The sudden look of pain on her face piqued his interest.

"Wha's wrong with your arm, princess?" He crooned, eyeing her shoulder with the most sympathetic gaze he could muster.

"I don't remember." She muttered, snatching her wounded limb back.

"Oh yeah." Another snatcher said, "That's Greyback's fault, that is. He dropped 'er on the way back and she landed on a funny lookin' rock."

Mia's eyes shot up and watched as he quietened when Greyback snarled at him. She tried rubbing off the goosebumps on her arm at the thought of her in his arms. No wonder she smelled bad.

"You'll survive." Scabior told her, rubbing his index finger over the beginnings of a purple hand mark on her neck. She flinched away and made to move but a leather coated arm clamped down around her shoulder.

"Absolutely mouth-waterin' when the bruises appear, wouldn't you say, boys?" Scabior commented, and they chuckled to themselves. Mia could feel the vibrations of his voice through his ribs. All she could think was that she had to deal with these demons alone. Not even Alice was there to help her. But where was she? Was she safe? Was she lost? Was she dead?

Mia mentally pinched herself for the last thought.

"Cor, you stink." Scabior said in her ear, running his nose past her hair.

"We all stink." A snatcher to Scabior's right said with a mouth full of something unidentifiable. Mia guessed it to be rabbit.

Scabior's hand tightened around the back of Mia's neck as he glared at the other man, "Did I ask for your fucking opinion?"

Mia tried to avoid whimpering as she heard a meek, "Sorry, Boss."

"Unfortunately our wages don't pay for a shower, so you're gonna have to use the lake down there." Scabior took his hand and pointed to a hill behind Greyback.

"I don't trust you." Mia managed to say.

"I don't fuckin' care."

With being a wizard and all, Mia had imagined his wand to contain at least one cleaning spell, even if it didn't immediately show. Scabior smelt as though he showered every day, even if it was without deodorant. But that was a muggle thing anyway. She didn't expect him and his men to bathe in lakes every time they felt dirty. Mia mentally pictured the last time she showered with no hot water. It wasn't a particularly pleasant experience.

"Can't you just magic me clean or something?" She whispered, eyes on the ground.

"'Course I could," he replied immediately, "But where would be the fun in that?"

Although Scabior was dangerous and her life was always potentially on the line, the comment bubbled up something inside her that reminded her of her brothers friends. And she hated them. She shoved him away and stalked back towards the tent, where she couldn't get hexed for entering. But before she'd even got two metres, two huge arms snaked around her waist and threw her over a shoulder. From her face being at arse height she discerned a studded belt above plaid trousers. If the air wasn't being knocked out of her lungs with every step, she'd have sighed.

"Get off!" Mia resisted hitting him because the only thing she could reach was his bum.

"You're the one tha's on me, ya numpty." She thought she heard Scabior mutter. She pushed herself up from his waist and watched the rest of the snatchers slowly get smaller and smaller. They didn't even look around as she yelled again.

Mia tried kneeing him in the chest and beneath her desire of escaping was a fear of her falling off and landing on her head. But both were promptly swept aside as he placed one hand on her arse and another on her thigh, hurling her backwards. The whole world flew past her and it seemed to take forever for her to go anywhere. There was a lot of white sky and then grey as she hit something very solid. But as she sunk underneath a film of dirty water, Mia realised with a horror that he had indeed thrown her into the lake.

The temperature of the lake froze her muscles long enough for her to doubt her own swimming abilities, which she had started practicing at 6. Her first instinct was to breathe in and in a sputter of coughs, water shot down into her lungs. The jeans she wore weighted her down as her heavy limbs flailed around in the water. She could see the lighter area of water disappearing and her brain screamed for oxygen. Mia suddenly felt very cold as the darkness surrounded her.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Like a camera zooming in, everything suddenly came into focus. Mia watched as she projectile vomited a gallon of water. She tried to roll onto her stomach but Scabior's knees were in the way so she coughed some more and he rolled her over the other way. Her throat was tight and burning as she heaved in the precious cold air. Her body shuddered as she vomited up some watery residue, eyes and nose streaming.

When enough oxygen had returned to her brain she choked out, "What the fuck did you do?"

"I jus' fuckin' saved ya!" He exclaimed, kneeling by her feet as she shivered on the ground.

"You...threw me...into...the water." She rasped, turning her blazing eyes on him. He was still slightly blurry but she concentrated her anger onto his face where she hoped he would realize her fury.

"I didn't think you'd drown." He replied with equal venom.

Mia snorted at his stupidity, "Do you know how cold that fucking lake is? Idiot."

Scabior chuckled darkly, grabbing hold of her ankle and muttering, "You're gonna pay for that."

But before he could grab her other leg, it shot out and caught him straight in the mouth, with an extra sprinkle of dirty water from her boot. The impact of her kick wasn't hard enough to break anything, but the shock caught him more off guard than anything. Momentarily loosening his grip on her other ankle, Mia struck him again and wriggled away. Scabior reeled back slightly and instinctively reached around on the ground for his wand which he'd set aside when checking her airways. Mia followed suit and dived around for his wand which lay amongst the leafy forest floor.

"Crucio!" He yelled, pointing a very straight stick at her. Mia froze, partly from disbelief that he would curse her, and also from disbelief that he'd tried it using a twig.

Faster than she'd ever done anything before, her hand reached for the straightest, smoothest stick and she closed her eyes. With an intensity unknown to her, she wished she was with Alice.

And then she was.

A/N: You know you all love a good cliffhanger, hold tight for the next chapter! :)