If We Could Only See

Ginny gripped the unconscious form of Draco Malfoy, pulling him closer to her and Caleb, whose hands had been tied behind his back. They were in a large and swiftly moving coach, Elizabeth seated to their right staring blankly out of the window, a large, purple bruise forming under her right eye. The strange, deathly pale man and woman were seated to their left, while Ginny and her companions were bunched on the floor between them. Wiping the tears from her face, Ginny tried to stifle the knocking panic that was threatening to overwhelm her again and focused on studying the strangers instead.

The woman had short blonde hair, wide spaced eyes, and a cold, satisfied smirk on her face. Ginny felt her stomach clench at the sight of it, and quickly dropped her eyes to study what the woman was wearing. Heavy black robes covered her body, and on her feet she wore what appeared to be riding boots. Several large rings glinted on her fingers as she twirled Draco's wand in her hand. Ginny then turned her eyes to the man and found him already studying her.

Ginny was startled, but didn't look away. He had long black hair that was gathered into a high topknot, then twisted into three braids. His face, like the woman's beside him, was cold as ice. Yet there was something in his eyes that was different from his companion's, though Ginny couldn't decide what it was. She frowned as his eyes swept over Draco and Caleb, wondering why he struck her so curiously -- especially as he'd been the one who had almost killed her.

The woman suddenly laughed softly, causing Ginny to start. "Don't be frightened, Miss Weasley. We don't plan to have you for lunch....yet!"

Ginny stared, and felt a return of the sick fear that had swept over her when she'd seen the black-clothed form drop seemingly from the sky, landing squarely on Draco. His skull had cracked audibly on the pavement, and for some insane reason she'd had a flash of that night in the kitchens, when he'd knocked his head on the hearth.

But then reality had intruded, and Ginny had turned to Elizabeth in fury, throwing her fist out and striking the petite woman's face. Elizabeth had crumpled, but before Ginny had run two steps she'd been caught by the man with the long braids. He'd scooped her up from behind, his hand clamping over her mouth and nose. Ginny's mad struggles had caused her to lose her breath faster, and she soon found herself struggling blindly to breathe. That was when his voice had hissed in her ear:

"Stop fighting me or I will deliver you as a corpse! I have no difficulty in doing so, believe me!"

Ginny, by that time, had been blacking out from lack of oxygen, and she soon went limp. As soon as she ceased to struggle, the man removed his hand from her face. Ginny had been too busy gulping air to pay attention to how she'd gotten into the carriage, save that it had been done very quickly. She only remembered being unceremoniously tossed in, followed by Caleb. "Stupid child wizard!" a large man had said as he'd tossed him in before climbing into the driver's seat; and finally Draco was thrown down by the blonde woman, who'd clambered in afterwards, laughing with cold delight.

When Elizabeth had climbed in, she'd looked at Ginny for only a moment, her hand gripping her face where Ginny had punched her. She then turned away, seating herself by the window away from the students. Ginny felt cold hatred press down on her heart, and had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming at the traitorous woman. She stared at Elizabeth, who was looking intently out of the window, seemingly at some fixed point in space. Fiendish wench, Ginny thought furiously, Professor Lupin will kill you for this, I hope! But not before I do!

The carriage moved very fast, and Ginny wondered where their destination was. An hour passed since their departure from Hogsmeade, and the overcast sky began to darken as the sun began to set. Has anyone missed us yet, Ginny wondered. She thought of Ron, and was very sorry she'd fought with him earlier. As the carriage continued to race along, the thought that she might not see him, or her family, or Harry and Hermione ever again struck her. She gripped Draco a bit more tightly, then turned to Caleb and touched his arm, bringing a weak smile to his face. For the moment she was glad she wasn't alone, as selfish as that might be.

"Don't be impatient, Miss Weasley," the braided vampire spoke for the first time, "we'll arrive at our destination soon. And then maybe you'll wish we hadn't!"

Ginny started, turning to the dark haired man in surprise. She was having a hard time staying calm, and decided to try to get some answers. Anything to focus her thoughts.

"Who are you?" she asked boldly, feeling her heart race and her stomach turn. The blonde woman laughed.

"We are messengers," she chuckled, "and collectors. We deal in valuable goods," her eyes rested on Draco for a moment, and her smile grew wider, "and we always deliver."

Ginny wanted to vomit. There was something murderously cold and unfeeling about the woman, and Ginny truly feared her. Here was a person who would torture you for the pleasure it gave her, and who most likely relished her life as a killer. Ginny had always heard of such people, allies of the Dark Lord, and she had thought she knew what they looked like. But seeing one up close proved clearly how wrong she'd been. The face of evil could be as hideous as Voldemort himself, or it could be as lovely as the woman before her. What they shared was a singular lack of human warmth and compassion, and a delight in the destruction of another person's peace.

How could such beings exist? What drove them to such a state of icy inhumanity?

"You're angry because he escaped you the first time!" Ginny whispered, trying to keep her nerve up but not really succeeding. The woman's smile faltered for only the slightest of moments.

"It was a reprieve for him," she replied carelessly. "We always get our quarry. Sometimes it just takes a bit of extra work."

"And yet it only takes a few wizards to stop you." Draco's voice came weakly from the floor. Ginny gasped softly and bent over him anxiously. His grey eyes fluttered open after a moment, but closed again almost immediately. Ginny caressed his head, feeling the large bump on the back of his skull.

"Ouch!" he hissed, trying to move away from her hand.

"Sorry," she murmured.

"How sweet," the woman said sarcastically. "And no, Mr. Malfoy, not a few wizards, just one great one! We would have turned this fool and her wolf friend to ashes before long." The woman gestured scornfully to Elizabeth, who said nothing.

Ginny turned a venomous glare on the woman, but it only made her laugh louder. Draco's voice drifted up again.

"Are you sure? You were running scared before Dumbledore even got there, as I recall." He uttered the words as snidely as he could. The woman's smile vanished completely then. Baring her teeth in a vicious snarl, she leaned forward and looked straight into Draco's pale face. Ginny almost gasped at the sight of her pointed fangs, her head being only inches away.

"Think what you like, man-boy," she hissed, "I have you now! And as soon as this business is done, I will show you what I do to males with loose tongues!"

Draco glared defiantly into the face of his prime captor, but was too dizzy to make any kind of impression. Smirking in satisfaction, the woman resumed her place on seat. Caleb shifted until he was on his knees, then scooted over to look at Draco.

"Still alive, I see," he quipped.

"Unfortunately," Draco replied, wincing at the throbbing in his head.

"Well I'd offer to fix you up, but the Celt there has our wands. Mine and Ginny's, that is. Madam Butterfly over there seems to want to make love to yours!"

The woman turned and snarled viciously at Caleb. "Silence, or I'll rip your tongue out and eat it now! We have no orders concerning you, and I may get hungry soon!"

Caleb pursed his lips, but said nothing else. Ginny took a deep breath, then turned to her captors.

"What do you want with us?" she asked quietly, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

"If I only had myself to consider, Miss Weasley," the woman said airily, "I'd have already dined on your blood and saved myself the inconvenience of your presence. But we are delivering you, as I said. And being well paid for it."

"Who wants us?" Ginny demanded, growing frustrated.

"That you will find out when we arrive at our destination," the braided man replied, his cold gaze momentarily pinning her.

"Bully for us, then," Caleb muttered as Ginny concentrated on not crying. She looked back down at Draco, who began to struggle to sit up. She could tell that his head was throbbing worse than ever as he slowly rose, but he was determined not to continue to appear weak in front of his enemies. It kept them in control, and made fighting back more difficult since you began to believe in your own weakness.

Once he was fully upright, Draco sat still until the throbbing began to die down. Ginny was on her knees, a hand on his shoulder in case he needed support. Caleb watched him shrewdly for a moment, then shifted his arms slightly and pulled his hands in front of him. The Celt, who'd been eyeing Draco, noticed Caleb's sudden movement and turned to him with widened eyes.

"Impressive," he said finally. Caleb grinned, tossing the thong aside and rubbing his sore wrists. The woman glared scornfully.

"I'm not at all impressed!" she growled.

"Relah," the Celt growled, "shut up."

Relah shot a glare at him, then turned scowling back to the window. Ginny suddenly understood that, though Relah was the most verbal of them, the Celt was actually in control.

"I want to know where we're going," Draco said quietly, turning to face the Celt.

Relah laughed. "You will demand nothing from us, boy!"

But Draco didn't even glance at her. He kept his eyes trained on the ice cold face of the Celt, who looked steadily back in silence. Several tense moments passed before he replied.

"To London."

Ginny gasped and burst into tears, while both Draco and Caleb reared back slightly, stunned.

"But... London's over seven hundred kilometers from here!" Draco stared at his captor, who smiled.

"Ms. Morgan, please pull your hand in. I don't want you losing it to some stray branch," the Celt said softly, turning to Elizabeth. Draco and the others turned as well, in time to see Elizabeth pull her hand slowly back inside the coach. Her face had become deathly pale, her eyes taking on a decidedly glazed expression, and for a moment they wondered if she had been turned into a vampire herself.

"How are we going to get there?" Ginny asked suddenly, staring at the floor of the carriage as tears streamed down her face.

"All in good time, Miss Weasley," Relah smiled cheerily.

The coach rattled on, and as Draco stared out the window, he wondered if perhaps the answer to who was behind all the attacks on him would all too soon be discovered.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione arrived at the carriages with five minutes to spare. All but two were full. As Harry helped Hermione into one that had only two other students in it (neither of which was Cho, thankfully), Ron started running up and down the line, peering into the carriage windows.

"Ron, what are you doing?" Harry called as Ron investigated a fourth carriage. After a moment, he pulled his head out of its window.

"Looking for Ginny!" he called back. Harry frowned and gazed at Hermione, who fidgeted uncomfortably.

"She's came to town with... um, well, with... some people Ron didn't like," she answered lamely.

Harry's frown deepened. "Who?"

Before Hermione could reply, one of the girls in the carriage -- a Ravenclaw third year named Amanda -- spoke.

"Ginny Weasley? I saw her go into the Knight's Castle with Caleb Anderson and Draco Malfoy," she said happily, turning then to her friend and giggling.

Hermione glared at the younger girls. "Thanks."

Harry stared in shock, the cloud of lethargic sadness that had been hanging over his head since Cho had walked away from him suddenly dropping.

"With who?" he cried.

"Harry, calm down! There's nothing we can do about that until we get her back at Hogwarts, and then Ron plans to give her a good talking to",Hermione soothed, looking irritated nonetheless. Harry scowled and turned to see Ron nearly at the front of the line. After a moment, Professor McGonagall, who'd accompanied the students along with Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick, approached Ron and began speaking to him.

Harry stared hard. There was something about Ron's stance that alarmed him. Even from this distance he looked tense, ready to run. After a moment's conversation, McGonagall patted his shoulder and walked purposefully over to Madam Hooch. The two women appeared to speak rapidly together, and Ron was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Something's wrong," Harry murmured, staring harder as McGonagall walked quickly towards Ron. The two of them began walking back down the line of carriages.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, climbing out of the carriage to see what was going on. Harry felt a dark foreboding descend.

"Ginny's not here," he said softly.

Hermione stared open mouthed at Harry, then fearfully turned her gaze towards Ron and Professor McGonagall, who were coming towards them. They paused at a middle coach to speak with little Professor Flitwick, who's face suddenly betrayed concern and alarm. Harry felt his heart give a sharp pound.

The Professor and Ron quickly resumed their trek towards Harry and Hermione, reaching them in moments.

"Ginny isn't here yet!" Ron spoke directly to Harry, as if Harry could wave his wand and produce Ginny from his pocket. Harry didn't know whether to cry or strangle his friend.

"Mr. Weasley tells me that you and he were the last ones to see his sister and her companions, Miss Granger," the Professor asked Hermione in clipped tones.

"Yes ma'am," Hermione replied with worry. "We were all at Dervish and Banges. They said they were headed here when they... when they left the shop."

"Did they give any indication that they were planning on stopping elsewhere along the way?" McGonagall asked.

"I told you, they said they had to get back here!" Ron yelled, then flushed red when the Professor frowned at him. "Sorry Professor, but I'm worried. She was with Malfoy and that Anderson bloke."

"I am trying to ascertain all necessary information, Mr. Weasley," the Professor said quietly. "I understand your worry, but we can't simply go dashing off haphazardly through Hogsmeade. And the Headmaster will have to be informed at once. However," she straightened her robes calmly, "if she is with other Hogwarts students, regardless of your personal feelings towards them, then I'm sure she's safe."

"Malfoy himself hasn't been too safe lately," Harry reminded the Professor. She stared at him, then looked down High Street for a moment. Turning back around, she waved to Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick, who set the carriages in motion back to the school. Then she turned to face the trio again.

"Mr. Weasley, you'll come with me. Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, please begin at Dervish and Banges and work your way towards The Three Broomsticks."

They all nodded, Hermione adding, "Someone said they saw the three of them go into The Knight's Castle earlier, Professor."

"Then Mr. Weasley and I will start there," McGonagall replied, grabbing Ron's shoulder and steering him firmly down the street. Harry and Hermione immediately began running back to the Wizarding shop, hoping their darkest fears were unjustified.