Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Redemption Recalled	By : MoonlightVision Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Het - Male/Female Views: 9161 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of JK's world and characters, I do not make any money from this. I merely borrow for fun. The only thing I own is my feisty Lexi and the story arch.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Chapter 15: Hope and Despair

Lexington gave a small start when she heard Gawaine meow loudly. She looked up from the book and looked around for him. He wasn't on the desk anymore. Scanning the room she saw him sitting half way out the tent door, his tail flicking back and forth. He pulled his head back in and peered over his shoulder at her, meowing loudly again. It took her all of a few seconds to catch on, he must have been keeping watch, and someone was coming.

She hurriedly placed the book in the drawer, set the board back into place and threw the papers in it. She had just closed the drawer and pulled a map towards herself when the tent flap moved and Thom came in.

“Hey, Lex, brought ya an' the little guy some dinner,” he said placing a tray of food on the table.

Lexington stretched, “Thanks, Thom.”

Thom strolled over and looked at what she'd been peering at. “Studying maps?” he asked, with a raised brow.

She shrugged, “I like maps,” she pointed to a river on the one she'd been pretending to study, “I like seeing how all the rivers join up and which ones make it to the ocean.” Which was true, that was one of her favourite parts about maps, finding how many places you could get to from one point.

Thom peered over her shoulder, “I suppose tha' could be interestin'.”

A thought struck her, “Thom, is our camp on this map?”

His eyes narrowed, “I don' know, why?”

“I've just realized since looking at this map that I have no idea where I am, and I haven't for weeks. Not since the night before you found me.”

Thom studied her for a time, tilting his head as he contemplated. Finally he spoke, “Na, our camp ain't on tha' map. It's on this one.” He reached across the desk and pulled a map towards her. “Right here,” he said pointing.

Lexington leaned forward. The spot he was pointing to was on the edge of a river, which was on the edge of a forest. A small town lay a few miles away to the one side. She looked up at him, “Thanks.”

He shrugged, “Jus' don' tell Scabior I told ya where our camp was.”

She frowned, “Why not?”

Thom chuckled, “Because he would think ya wanted ta know so ya could plan an escape.”

“Why didn't you think that?” she asked, perplexed because that's exactly why she had wanted to know.

“I'm no' sayin' I don' think tha'. But I know Scabior's wards, there's no way past 'em unless he lets ya. Plus, if'in ya did escape, the weather is gettin' colder. I'd hate for ya ta be lost an' freeze because ya didn't know where ya was.”

Lexington swallowed, “Oh.” She didn't know what else to say, she didn't think that Thom would have worried about her if she'd escaped. But clearly he would and that made her a little sad about hiding the truth from him. Why was such a nice person a snatcher?

“Thom, why are you working as a snatcher?” burst from her as he turned to leave.

He studied her before replying, “It's no' wha' I want ta be doin'. Bu' when this war started I was down on my luck an' the pay was good. Sure it was hard work, bu' I 'ad a roof over my 'ead an' a place ta rest at night tha' was comfortable an' warm enough ta sleep. An' Scabior's crew was one o' the better ones, no' in it ta be cruel an' good at findin' people regular like, so the money was steady.”

“So, you're not truly on the Dark Lord's side?” she asked, feeling sad that it seemed like he'd been driven to this life without a choice.

Thom shrugged, “I don' know who's side I'm on, hun. I don' give it much thought. I'm just happy my belly is full an' my bed is warm.”

“But, if you could make a difference, if you fought for the right side? If you switched sides the Order would help you!” she implored. Maybe she could convince him to leave Voldemort's services, he could help her escape sooner.

Thom gave a soft laugh, “Sorry, hun, bu' tha's no' gonna happen. No' when I'd be hunted down as soon as I switched. The way the war is goin' right now I don' trust that yer side is gonna win, an' wha' then? I'd be as good as dead.”

Lexington sighed, “Thom...”

He shook his head, “Lex, give it up. Until yer side starts winnin' I'm stayin' where I am. At least if I stay I've go' a future.”

She frowned, “I wish you'd reconsider. You're far too nice a person to be a snatcher.”

“Thanks, hun. It means a lot tha' ya think tha'. Bu' no' enough ta make me abandon everythin' I've worked for an' certainly no' enough ta make me betray Scabior.”

Lexington slumped in her chair, judging by what had happened when Ben had betrayed Scabior and the crew she suspected that had more to do with it than anything else. “Okay, I get it.”

Thom smiled, “Tha's good. Well, 'ave a good evenin', Lex.”

She watched as he left the tent, storing everything she had just learned away so she could reexamine it later. Reaching down she rubbed Gawaine's head. He'd come over while they were talking and listened intently.

“Thanks for keeping a look out, I forgot Thom would be bringing meals.”

Gawaine jumped up on the desk and started purring in response.

“Okay, time to get back to it,” she said, pulling open the drawer and prying up the board again.

Everything she'd read so far was mostly theory. She had been just about to start the chapter with the first practice exercise in it when Gawaine had sounded the alarm. Turning to that page she started reading, settling back into the chair.

After reading the whole chapter she put the book down and stretched, “Alright, time to see if this is going to work.”

She glanced at the page with the exercise one more time to make sure she got it right. It said to pick an object, preferably a really light one to start with, and try to levitate it. She picked up a sheet of parchment and placed it on the centre of the desk. The next thing the book had said was to concentrate on an image of the object doing what she wanted it to in her mind. She closed her eyes and focused. All that was left was to point and say the spell.

She opened her eyes, pointed at the paper and said, “Wingardium Leviosa!”

Nothing. She sighed. The chapter on theory had said not to get discouraged, that it usually took a while to master, but she was the kind of person who liked to see results right away. It had also said that a lot of beginners found it easier to start off by pointing and speaking aloud, but those two steps could be dropped once the witch or wizard became more confidant and capable.

Closing her eyes again she refocused on seeing the paper floating, pointed with her eyes still closed and opened them as she spoke, “Wingardium Leviosa!”

Still nothing. She slumped dejectedly into her chair. Scabior had made it seem so easy when he had used the binding spell on her.

She looked down as Gawaine meowed at her, “You're right. If he can do it so can I.”

She straightened in her chair and got back to work.

Thirty minutes later she huffed angrily and put her head in her hands, “It's useless, Gawaine! I'm not going to get it.”

Gawaine walked over to the book and started pawing at the pages. He meowed and looked at her pointedly.

She looked up at what he was doing, “What? You want me to go back to the chapter on theory?”

He meowed and bobbed his head.

Lexington sighed, “What good will that do?”

Gawaine flattened his ears and growled softly, pawing at the pages again.

“Okay, okay,” she said, giving in. She started flipping back through the pages.

She was about halfway back through the first chapter when Gawaine suddenly pounced on the book, making her jump and stop. He tapped something on the page with his paw. She leaned forward and peered at the page. It was the page that said not to get discouraged.

Lexington rolled her eyes, “It's a little too late for that, plus I already knew that, it's not that helpful.”

Gawaine growled and tapped the page again, his tail twitching.

Sighing she peered at the book again, paying closer attention to the paragraph Gawaine was actually tapping.

If you find yourself getting frustrated it may be beneficial to go back to the basics of magic. See the index in the back of the book, Finding your Magic.

“Huh, I guess that might be worth looking at.”

Gawaine's tail flicked again, rather impatiently.

Ignoring the kitten, Lexington flipped to the index and started reading. It said that in order to grasp the concept of wandless magic you had to understand how to project your inner magic outwards. It went on to describe how the wand was a projection amplifier and focus point, which is why it made learning magic so much easier. Some suggestions for those who struggled with 'feeling' their own magic was to practice finding and sending there inner magic to outside objects. Not to get that object to do anything, but to be able to feel the object with their magic.

“So, finding my inner magic is kind of like meditating?” she asked, looking towards Gawaine, who just blinked in response. “I guess that's worth a shot.”

Settling comfortably into the chair Lexington closed her eyes and tried to breath evenly, trying to visualize what her magic might look or feel like. After a few tries she thought she had it. On the edge of her mind she could sense something that felt like it kept sending out red sparkles. Focusing on that she tried to get it to move. She was so surprised when it did that she lost her focus and the sparkles vanished.

“Shoot!” she exclaimed, squeezing her eyes shut tighter.

Gawiane gave a soft, short purr and she smiled before exhaling slowly. There! She found the red again and pulled it from the edges of her mind to the centre where she could examine it better. It definitely had red sparkling bits in it. She assumed this was what her magic looked like, at least in her mind.

Moving on, she pictured the parchment and slowly pushed the ball of light towards it. As her magic came up against the edge of the paper, she could feel something pressing back on a small part of her ball of light. Only in one spot though, in a flat line along it, every where else her magic flowed further and felt like it was running along a smooth surface. She was amazed. It was like feeling the paper with her fingers, but more accurately. She could tell where every flat, smooth and even bent surface of the paper was!

She opened her eyes and looked at the paper. It still sat motionless on the desk. Gawaine sat beside it, ears pricked up, pointing at her.

“I think I get it, little guy. I have to make my magic leave my body in order for it to do anything. Usually my wand does that for me, but without it I need to work harder to facilitate that process.”

Lexington closed her eyes again and practised having her magic touch other objects on the desk, the lamp, the ruler, the drawer handle. After what felt like hours she felt she had the hang of projecting her magic and decided to go back to the chapter she'd originally been working on.

“Okay, time to try this again,” she said, ruffling Gawaine's fur with her fingers.

An hour later Lexington was beaming. Finally! Her parchment had finally twitched! It was a long ways from levitating, but it had twitched. She fell back into the arm chair, exhausted.

Gawaine jumped into her lap and climbed up to her chest, purring as he curled into a ball. Lexington smiled at him, scratching his ears. Her stomach rumbled and his eyes flew from hers to the table. She'd completely forgotten about the meal Thom had brought.

Putting the book back into the false bottom and the papers on top, she closed the drawer. That was probably enough for one day. The book had stressed not over doing it. That if you kept at it too long you would drain your magical energy because you hadn't learned how much magic you needed to reach for to perform each spell.

As she walked over to the table, she couldn't believe how tired she was all of a sudden. Perhaps she had tried a little too hard for a first time. But it's not like she needed or could even use her magic for other things. She sat at the table and ate her food, placing some on the floor for Gawaine.

When she was done, she got ready for bed and crawled under the covers. Gawaine hopped up onto the mattress and curled up on the pillow beside her head. She lay there for a while, listening to him purr. She was exhausted, yet sleep was not coming to her. She rolled over and the smell of sandalwood hit her nostrils. Groaning she turned back over. Why couldn't she sleep?

After a few more minutes she sat up in frustration and punched the pillow that smelled like Scabior. She sat there staring into the blackness, very much aware of how dark and empty the tent was. There was absolutely no way she was missing him. Was there? She'd fallen asleep before he'd returned many nights since being here. But not since they'd shared a bed, a small voice at the back of her mind pointed out.

No! He was not the reason she couldn't sleep. She was just over tired and she'd taxed herself practising. Her brain was hyped up with the prospect of escape, that was all. Sighing she lay back down, pulled Gawaine to her chest and closed her eyes. She would sleep, she would make herself sleep.

Gawaine started purring again, very softly, as if trying to sooth her. She took a deep breath and made herself relax. Focusing on relaxing one part of her body at a time, she was finally drowsy by the time she relaxed her toes. Making herself lie perfectly still she kept her mind blank, listening to Gawaine's purrs. Slowly she drifted off to sleep.

-----**-----

“Lex?”

Lexington groaned, pulling the covers over her head.

“Lex, hun, I brough' ya some food for the day. Me an' the boys gotta 'ead ou'. I'll check on ya when we ge' back, a'right?”

Lexington mumbled a response, she wasn't even sure it was a word, but she just wanted to be left alone to sleep. She was vaguely aware of a chuckle before sleep blissfully overtook her mind again.

When Lexington did finally wake up it was late. Judging by the light outside the tent it was at least well into the morning, if not early afternoon, and she was starving! And warm, very warm.

Glancing at the bed she smiled. Not only was Gawaine curled up in the crook of one arm but two red foxes had joined them. They were stretched out either side of her, the one on the left with its head resting on her stomach.

“Its a good thing Scabior isn't here to see you two,” she said reaching down to scratch behind the ears of the head on her tummy. The other fox lifted its head and looked at her before nudging her hand with its nose, demanding to be petted too. “There's plenty of scratches to go around,” she chuckled, pulling her other hand from the covers.

The foxes kept her and Gawaine company for most of the day. They spent their time curled up napping on the bed or playfully tumbling about the floor with Gawaine. Lexington spent most of the day reading and re-reading chapters in the wandless magic book, practising what she'd learned last night.

By the time it was getting dark outside the tent Lexington's body and mind were exhausted. She hadn't made any noticeable progress from yesterday but she was finding it easier to retain her focus on the ball of magic in her mind.

Putting the book back in the drawer she looked to the pile of fur curled up in the mess of covers. There was lots of red fur, and small amounts of white and black, but not enough to account for Gawaine. Glancing at the door Lexington smiled when she saw him sitting with his head stuck under the flap again. He must have started keeping watch when the light started fading, since that's when the men usually returned.

“I'm done for today, Gawaine,” she called.

Gawaine pulled his head inside and started towards her. He paused and flicked an ear towards the door when several cracks were heard outside. He listened for a moment then continued the rest of the way to her and jumped up in her lap.

“Good timing, eh little guy?” she said, pulling a book towards her that she'd grabbed off the shelf earlier.

Gawaine simply purred in response.

“Hopefully Thom brings some more food, between you and our guests I feel like I've had nothing to eat,” she teased, tickling him.

His tail flicked angrily and he glared at her.

“I know, I know. I ate a lot today too. I can't believe how hungry all this practising has made me.”

Just then the flap opened and Thom entered, tray of food in hand.

Lexington jumped up, “Just the man I wanted to see!”

Thom's brows shot up, “Is tha' righ'?”

“Yes! I'm starving!”

His eyes darted to the bed then back to her, “Well, if'in I'd known ya was gonna be entertainin' I woulda left ya more food.”

Lexington's gaze had followed his to the bed and lingered there on the two foxes. “You won't tell him, will you?”

Thom put the food down on the table, “Nah, I don' mind 'em here, jus' wouldn' wanna be 'em, or ya, if'in Scabior comes back ta 'em bein' here.”

Lexington sighed, “I know, I'll ask them to go soon, but they kept me from being bored today.”

“Well, tha's a good thing. Ya need anythin' afore I turn in for the nigh'? Its been a long day.”

“No, thank you Thom, just the food is fine. Have a good night.”

“Same ta ya, hun,” he said as he turned and left the tent.

Lexington looked at the food he'd left. Suddenly her tiredness came rushing back to her and her body sagged. “I just want to crawl into bed and never come out,” she said, glancing down at Gawaine.

He growled and sauntered towards the table.

“You're right, I need to eat something to replenish all the energy I've been using.”

He growled again.

“And of course, you're hungry too,” she laughed.

Lexington ate what she could, gave Gawaine his food and left the rest on a plate on the floor in case the foxes woke up and wanted a snack. After getting ready for bed she gently shifted the pile of fur, which was now a mix of fox and kneazle, and slipped under the covers.

She inhaled the scent of sandalwood. She'd obviously put her head on his pillow while trying to avoid the pile of creatures. Lexington sighed, she was too exhausted to bother rolling over or repositioning herself, she'd just have to put up with it for tonight. Within minutes she was asleep.

-----**-----

Scabior sat with his back to the trunk of a tree, precariously perched along one of its limbs, his eyes trained on the small fire he could see through the trees. He'd been tailing Ben for a full day now and it had not been easy. Ben had apparated at least four times and following his apparation trail that many times had left Scabior extremely tired and drained.

Scabior knew that Ben would have no idea he was still following him. Ben had picked up that he was being followed before his first apparation, but Scabior was pretty sure he'd had no idea the other times he'd apparated. To most people it would appear that Ben was apparating randomly, but Scabior had picked up voices at least twice and suspected that one of the times was because a deer had crashed through the bushes to Ben's left and thoroughly startled him.

Most people would never have been able to follow Ben once he'd apparated, but Scabior had discovered a secret about five years ago when he'd been teaching himself to apparate wandlessly. It had been the ultimate test of his wandless abilities and he'd been determined to master it, knowing it could come in very handy.

He'd discovered that when you apparated, your magic left a minute trace behind for a short period of time. In order to apparate he had to force his magic into a crack in the air that he'd made win his mind and pull it out onto the other side. The other side of this crack was the destination he wanted to end up. However, in the process of pulling his magic out of the cracks, he'd stumbled upon the fact that a little bit was pinched off and left where you had been.

When he'd discovered this he had, of course, examined it further. He found that if he used his magic to feel the bits left behind he could feel the crack it had been forced through. He could then reopen it and pull his magic through to end up in the exact same place. It was an exhausting process and had taken nearly a year to master, but he'd done it.

At first he'd only practised on his own apparation points, going through a loop, of sorts, to each destination. When he felt confident in this he'd started seeing if people who apparated with their wands produced the same remnants of magic. He'd been ecstatic when he discovered that they did.

However, when he tried following people he was tracking he'd run into a problem. The sound of him apparating right after them almost always caused them to apparate again and because the energy and magic required to follow someone's apparation trail was much greater than simply apparating normally he had ended up having to give up many times because of sheer exhaustion.

This lead to his next task; learning how to apparate silently. He'd run through many versions and trials and finally found a way, which had taken him another half a year to perfect. He found if he cast a shielding charm followed by a silencing charm, the shielding charm kept the silencing charm in place surrounding him while he pulled his magic through the crack.

All this meant that Scabior was now, probably, one of the only wizards on the planet that could track someone after they had apparated. He had never heard of anyone else being able to do it and he never told anyone his secret. He just let people wonder what made him such a good tracker. He'd heard many theories, some more outlandish than others, but he didn't really care what people said about him, so long as he got paid.

Movement at the fire caught Scabior's eye and he squinted, trying to make out Ben's form in the darkness. He could just make out a shadow curled up by the fire. The shadow pulled a blanket over itself. So, Ben was settling down for the night. Good. That meant that Scabior could get some rest too. He'd love to have a fire or a blanket to keep warm, in that regard Scabior was envious of Ben, but he didn't, so he'd have to make do without.

Pulling his coat tighter around himself Scabior flicked his wand, sending soft ropes around his legs, binding him to the tree branch. He then tucked his wand away, crossing his arms he hunkered down and closed his eyes.

-----**-----

When Scabior woke he immediately looked to the clearing where Ben's fire had been. Seeing it empty he cursed. He grabbed his wand, released himself and jumped down from the tree. He strode the short distance through the forest and entered the clearing, making directly for the fire pit.

He knelt down and placed his hand over the coals. They were black and cold. It had been out for a long time. He made a quick tour of the perimeter of the clearing but found no signs that Ben had walked out of it.

“Shit!”

If Ben had apparated a while ago, Scabior might be out of luck. He'd found the longest he could wait before following an apparation trail was thirty minutes. He quickly strode to the middle of the clearing and closed his eyes. He drew his wand to make the process easier, but he still used his mind to push his magic out to the edges of the small open space. Nothing.

Scabior sighed. The remnants of Ben's magic had long since dissipated from the air, leaving no trail for Scabior to follow. Well, that was the end of that. At least he'd followed Ben long enough to lessen his concern that he was going to do something stupid. Ben seemed focused on healing himself and avoiding any sort of contact with people. For now at least.

Glancing at the sun filtering through the trees Scabior noted the time. It was still early. His mind wandered back to his tent and Lexington. He wondered what she was doing right now. Probably reading. He chuckled. That girl certainly loved her books. He could go back and surprise her, maybe pick up where they left off the other day. The thought made Scabior's stomach tight. He still couldn't believe that she'd stopped fighting him, that she'd finally given in.

Shaking his head, Scabior banished those thoughts. He still had work to do today. He'd planned on tailing Ben until mid day then seeing to other business. He had a few contacts he had to look up for information. Losing Ben early meant that he could get on with that business sooner and maybe return to camp earlier tonight. That would have to be good enough. Turning on the spot Scabior apparated to his first location.

After talking to his contacts and picking up some supplies Scabior only had one more stop to make. He apparated to the edge of a small lake and glanced up and down the shoreline before heading into the woods. After a few minutes walking he came to a small cave. He drew his wand and uttered a spell, causing a shimmering curtain of blue and black sparks to fall across the mouth of the cave.

With the shielding spell out of the way he walked inside. It wasn't dark or damp in this cave. Small lights around the walls glowed as he entered, giving it a calm bluish glow and it was kept dry with another spell.

Scabior walked to the back where a pile of building supplies was sitting. He drew out the supplies he'd bought today and added them to the pile. It had been steadily growing over the last four years and was now quite substantial. Soon he'd have enough.

With one last look around the cave Scabior went out and put the shielding charm back up. He turned and headed back to the lake.

Halfway down the path Scabior stopped. He sniffed the air. He thought he'd caught a whiff of Lexington's perfume. Noting which way the wind was coming from Scabior turned and walked in that direction. Soon he caught the scent again.

He knew it wasn't Lexington. She was safely tucked away in his tent. He hadn't felt the wards being tested and Thom would have contacted him if anything had happened. But he now also knew that her friend Hermione used the same perfume.

A movement suddenly made him freeze, his eyes focused ahead, waiting to see if anything moved again. There it was. A flash of pink down by the water.

Slowly, Scabior crept through the trees, wand drawn. His whole body ready to spring into action. If he encountered her friends out here, if he actually caught Harry Potter, he'd be the luckiest snatcher ever. Peering around a tree, his spirits fell. It was just a piece of fabric tied to a tree.

Walking closer he realized it was a scarf and every time the wind blew towards him he caught the scent of vanilla. He reached out, untied the knot and held the soft fabric to his nose. Yes, it smelt exactly like Lexington.

His eyes quickly scanned the forest. Who knew how long ago it had been left here. He was fairly certain he knew who had left it. Lexington had said that her perfume was a rare one and how many people could be wandering around these woods using that scent?

A stick snapped, drawing Scabior's attention uphill. It was definitely worth a look around. He'd be later getting back to camp but if he found the most sought after undesirables it'd be well worth it.

-----**-----

Scabior got back to camp much later than he'd hoped too. His search had revealed no one in the surrounding forest, even though he'd been looking until it started getting dark.

The lamp on his desk glowed faintly as he entered, telling him that Lexington was already in bed. If she'd still been up it would have still been on fully. Glancing to the bed he could see her curled under the covers. He pulled off his boots and approached the bed. She was sound asleep, hugging his pillow to her. He couldn't wait to crawl in with her. Just the sight of her lying there made him want to feel her body pressed close to his.

Gawaine was curled up on her hip and Scabior noted he had one eye open, watching him. He chuckled when the little creature's nose twitched.

“Don't worry, I'm gonna get cleaned up first,” he said softly, turning to the wardrobe. He pulled open the bottom drawer and placed the scarf inside, next to Lexington's coat and shoe. Then he grabbed some clean clothes and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower.

Scabior got out of the shower feeling refreshed. He was still exhausted but the warm water had relaxed his muscles and just the idea of pulling Lexington to him in a few short seconds was threatening to rouse him completely.

Heading back to the bed, Scabior saw that Gawaine had moved to sleep near Lexington's feet. He crawled in between the covers, careful not to wake her and slid over so his chest was flush with her back.

He froze when she stirred, but she didn't wake. She just sighed and leaned back into him, bringing a smile to his face. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her tighter to himself and fought the urge to roll her over and kiss her. It was late, he should be getting some sleep, it'd been a long few days and he knew his body was exhausted. At the moment, however, his mind was not and parts of his body were definitely waking up, having her so close to him again. Fighting against the urges threatening to overwhelm him, Scabior swallowed thickly.

Suddenly small needle like objects pricked his toes lightly through the covers and a soft rumble came from the bottom of the bed. Scabior scoffed, “Just the reminder I needed. Night, fur ball.”

The rumbling turned into a soft purring and Scabior found that sleep wasn't as far away as he'd thought.

-----**-----

Lexington was once again very warm when she woke up. She could feel the cold air on her face though and knew it must be really cold outside this morning, so she was glad of the warmth. Burying her head into the covers she felt an arm about her waist contract and release gently. Lexington held her breath as she became aware of the body attached to the arm pressing into her back. Well, that explained why she was so warm.

Gently she rolled over until she was facing Scabior. Miraculously he stayed asleep. He must have been really tired, but then, he had been gone for almost three days. She was studying him, trying to make sense of the fluttering in her stomach, when she heard the tent flap open.

“Mornin', Lex,” Thom greeted loudly as he entered, already used to speaking up so he woke her up enough to get a response.

Lexington heard Scabior inhale sharply as he woke suddenly, his whole body tensed and his arm tightened around her back. She felt his fingers twitch and knew he must be wanting to instinctively reaching for his wand. She guessed that Thom was extremely lucky Scabior didn't sleep with his wand, at least he hadn't since she'd been around.

“Morning, Thom,” she replied quietly.

Scabior groaned as his body relaxed, “Bloody hell, it's mornin' already?”

Lexington watched with amusement as Thom realized she wasn't alone, he must not have looked towards the bed while he put the food on the table.

“Oh, uh, mornin' Boss. We was just abou' ta head ou'.”

Scabior sighed. He was warm and cozy where he was and he wasn't looking forward to leaving Lexingtion so soon after he'd returned. Her body pressed to his was just too damn tempting, but he had to. It was his job.

“Were ya plannin' on comin' with us?”

“Yeah, just give me five minutes to get ready.”

“Sure thing, Boss.”

Scabior opened his eyes as he heard the door close and stared at Lexington, she stared right back. For once her blue eyes were unreadable, still breathtaking though. Finally she glanced away for a second and a small smile tentatively appeared on her lips.

She met his gaze again. “Morning,” she said quietly.

“Morning, beautiful,” he said as he leaned in for a kiss.

Lexington sighed, yes, she'd missed his kisses. She wouldn't ever admit to missing him, but she couldn't deny she missed how she felt when he kissed her. His fingers caressed her cheek as his lips moved hungrily over hers, his tongue silently asking for her to open to him. She parted her lips and he deepened the kiss, taking her breath away. Next thing she knew she was clinging to his shirt, trying to pull herself closer to him.

Scabior groaned as he pulled back and dropped his head to the pillow, “Damn it, Lexi, you're makin' it hard to get out of bed.”

“Well, you just made it easier for yourself,” she said breathlessly, pushing him away. “You know I hate that name.”

Scabior laughed at the sparks that flashed in her eyes, “But I like the way it sounds.”

Her mouth pursed into a tight line, “Learn not to, because I don't.”

He gave her another kiss, she pulled back at first but gave up quickly. Merlin, he wished he could stay here. He was sure she'd be willing to give herself to him and he'd waited so damn long for it that it was driving him batty. He ran his hand down her side and she moaned, arching towards him. Damn, he'd missed that.

He chuckled, “Missed me did you?”

Again Lexington pushed away from him, “You wish. Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for work?”

Scabior nodded, “Yeah, I suppose I am. Unless you give me a reason to stay here...”

His words were accompanied by his hand roving to her back, pushing her into him. Lexington caught her breath, she knew exactly what he meant, and her stomach started doing somersaults at the thought. But she needed him gone so she could practise. She shook her head at him, noting the frown that briefly sprang to his features.

“Alright,” he said, releasing her and getting out of bed, “I guess we'll just have to continue where we left off when I get back tonight.”

She rolled her eyes as he walked into the bathroom. Was everything about sex with him? He hadn't mentioned anything about Ben or what he'd done while he was gone for three days. Not that she expected him to share every detail, but it was a little overwhelming how obvious he was being now about wanting her.

She rolled onto her back and felt her foot touch a warm lump. Sitting up she saw Gawaine curled at the bottom of the bed. Seeing her fully awake he got up and climbed into her lap, purring. She noticed that he was staring fixedly at something and followed his gaze to the table. All that was there was the try of food Thom had brought.

She laughed, “I take it that means you're hungry, young sir?”

Gawaine broke his gaze and fixed it on her, purring louder.

“Alright, alright,” she said getting out from under the covers. “Let's go get some food then.”

She'd just put some food on the ground for him when Scabior walked out of the bathroom and stopped dead. Lexington took in the pained look on his face with confusion, until his eyes travelled down her body. It was then she remembered she was only wearing his navy blue shirt and her underwear. His shirt covered her butt but not much below that. She hadn't been expecting him to come back during the night so had felt safe wearing only that to bed.

Scabior slowly walked towards her, as she stood there blushing. It was probably a good thing he hadn't known that was all she was wearing or he never would have been able to leave that bed. He reached her, his hand grazed her hip as his hand fisted around the material and pulled her too him, bending down to kiss her heatedly.

“Merlin, your body is perfect, Lex. You should wear less clothes all the time.”

Lexington turned scarlet, “Scabior, stop. Y-you need to go to... to work.” She faltered as his lips trailed down her neck.

“Then you'd best put some clothes on or get out of my sight,” he growled huskily against her skin, wishing desperately that she would do neither.

His spirits fell when she stepped away from him and dashed to the bathroom, grabbing a pair of her jeans that were thrown over the armchair on her way. He shook his head. It was probably for the best anyway, he did need to work today and he'd already taken longer than the five minutes he'd told Thom.

Lexington stayed in the bathroom long after she'd put on her jeans. She didn't know if he'd left yet or not and she wasn't ready to face him again. Her stomach got all fluttery when ever he looked at her and when he pulled her to him, the feel of his hard muscles made her want to run her hands over every inch of him. She couldn't afford to be that distracted though, not now that she had a way of escaping. A way that would only work if she could focus and teach herself what she needed to know.

She heard Gawaine start meowing from the main room. Deciding that meant that Scabior was gone she opened the door. The coast was clear and Gawaine stood in the middle of the room staring at her.

“Okay, little guy, breakfast first then it's time to get back to work.”

After a few hours of trying to get the parchment to levitate Lexington was exhausted, but happy. The parchment was now twitching every time she tried and she could have sworn that at one point one end had lifted off the desk a tiny bit.

She put everything away and settled back into the chair, scooping Gawaine up as she did. Curling her feet under her she sat there petting him for a few minutes, not focused on anything. Just letting her mind wander blankly.

When her stomach growled she decided it was time to eat something and then take a relaxing bath. She ran the water steamy hot and sat there until she was pruney all over. Eventually Gawaine jumped up on the edge of the tub and cocked his head at her.

“You're right, I should get out and get back to work. But the water feels so nice,” she sighed, settling further into the water.

Gawaine narrowed his eyes at her and let out one short meow.

Lexington sighed again, “Fine, I'm coming.”

She stood and wrapped a towel around her. Looking at the pile of clothes on the floor, she remembered all the clothes Gawaine had brought her. Thom had been good at taking her dirty laundry regularly and washing it and he'd just returned most of her stuff yesterday night. That meant she'd have fresh, clean things to change into.

It was a simple joy, but something she loved none the less. She made her way to the wardrobe and pulled open the drawer with her things. She pulled out a shirt, pants, and undergarments. Socks were the only thing she still needed and she remembered putting them in the bottom drawer. She pulled that one open and froze.

The clothes fell from her grip. Lexington couldn't breath. She reached in a shaking hand and pulled out the light pink material. Her hand trembled as she held it, her heart beating erratically as a haze of fear crowded into her mind. She'd know that scarf anywhere, it was one of Hermione's favourites.

Her knees buckled and she sat on the floor. Gawaine came over and put his front paws on her knee.

“Gawaine,” she whispered, “where did this come from?”

She was terrified she already knew the answer. She didn't want to believe it though. Surely if Scabior had caught them she'd have heard about it. Wouldn't she? Wouldn't that be something he'd tell her.

With a sinking feeling she realized it wasn't, not with what he always had on his mind. She knew he was smart enough to realize she'd never have sex with him if he'd been the one to hand over her friends.

Her lungs remembered how to work and she gasped for air. Clutching the scarf to her chest she looked wildly around the room. She needed to know, she needed to know now. There was no way she'd be okay if she had to wait until Scabior came home tonight to find out.

Her eyes fell on the door. The wards! He'd said he could feel it when she tested them. Well, she was going to test them until she got his attention.

She stood and scrambled into her clothes. The socks lay forgotten in the bottom drawer. The towel lay in a heap on the floor. All she cared about was finding out if her friends were okay.

She quickly walked across the tent and thrust her hand towards the tent flap, trying to grasp the fabric. Pain exploded in her hand and travelled all the way up to her shoulder forcing her away from the door. She stood there breathing heavily for a second then tried again. The same thing happened and she cursed as the throbbing in her arm intensified.

Suddenly she heard a crack outside and swallowed. It had worked. Storming to the middle of the room she turned to face the door and waited.

Scabior threw open the door, “Damn it, Lex! You promised you wouldn't do that!”

She was mildly pleased when the angry look on his face was replaced by shock when he saw her standing there with her arms crossed. She was so angry, though, that at first she couldn't speak.

Scabior took the time to assess the situation. She was very obviously upset about something. Glancing around the room he tried to figure out what could have set her off. His gaze fell on the open drawer. Shit. The scarf.

He looked to Lexington again, she hadn't calmed down at all. “I take it that is your way of summoning me?” he asked drily, crossing his arms to mirror her, still ticked off that she'd even thought about testing his wards. Clearly her promise not to had meant nothing.

Lexington's anger exploded. How dare he act so nonchalant! She marched towards him and waved the scarf at him. “This! Where did you get this?”

“Is it important to you?”

She reached up and poked him in the chest, “You know damn well how important it is to me or you wouldn't have kept it!”

“Maybe I liked how it smelled. It smells like you after all an' it's no secret I love how you smell,” he said as he grabbed her wrist, stopping her from poking him again.

“I know it smells like me, you idiot! It's Hermione's! Now where did you get it?” she yelled, trying to pull away.

Scabior's brows shot up. So it was Hermione's. She didn't let him answer, however, and kept right on ranting.

“Scabior, you tell me where you got this,” she said, close to histarics. “You said you didn't find them.”

That surprised him. “Oh, did I know?”

“Yes! The night you bloody well left me tied to that desk,” she hissed with a flourish of her hand towards it.

Scabior smirked. Oh yeah. He'd been tired as hell that night, but he did recall saying that now. He looked down at her, “Just because I didn't find them then doesn't mean I didn't another night.”

Lexington froze. Her hand fumbled and she dropped the scarf. It drifted lightly to the floor while she stared at him in horror. “Y-you d-didn't..,” she said in a small voice.

“It wouldn't make a difference if I did or not,” he said getting angrier. She'd tested his wards just to ask him this? Just to satisfy her need to know about her friends?

“It would to me,” she said dejectedly.

“No, Lex, it wouldn't. You'd still be here, I'd still be here, an' they would still not be here. You'd still be mine.”

Anger returned to her full force. “I am not yours,” she spit out, trying again to pull her hand free from his grip.

Slowly he pulled her closer, until he could reach her waist, “Yes, Lex you are.”

She balled her fist and tried to drive it into his chest, but he'd pulled her too close and her blow had no force. He didn't flinch at all. “I'm not! I don't belong to you! Now, let me go, right this instant,” she demanded with another yank of her hand.

“No,” he said, tightening his hold on her, tired of her constantly pushing him away when she was upset. Seducing her had worked in the past, it was worth a try this time. He was here now, he may as well try to get somewhere. He leaned down towards her, eyes fastened on her lips.

Lexington was furious. He thought kissing her was going to make it better? He'd found her friends, handed them over. They were probably dead. She might be trapped here with him forever. And he thought a kiss would make it all okay? Before his lips made contact with hers she'd already made up her mind. Her palm cracked across his cheek with all the force she could muster.

His eyes instantly turned murderous and she only had a second to regret her decision before she was spun around, her arm twisted painfully behind her.

“Ow, Scabior...”

His voice was deadly calm as he spoke next to her ear, “That was a big mistake, luv.”

She tried to twist away from him but he tightened the grip on her arm and neatly caught her other wrist as she flailed it, trying to make contact. Her heart rate sky rocketed as she felt ropes snake their way around both wrists, binding them tightly together.

Suddenly he was dragging her towards the bathroom, which confused her enough to calm her slightly.

“Scabior, stop. What are you-”

He jerked her roughly, nearly knocking her off her feet and her anger rose once again.

“Scabior! Scabior, you're hurting me!” she said, digging in her feet and twisting, trying to free herself. “Stop it!”

They'd reached the door and she was pushed up against it, none too gently, his body pressing into her back. One of his hands grabbed her hair, pulling her head back hard enough to make her cry out. Fear started to overtake the anger flowing through her veins.

“There are so many things I could do to you to make you regret that,” he whispered roughly, sending a tremor down her spine.

She could feel him trying to control his breathing. She swallowed and stayed perfectly still, “Scabior, please...”

“Oh, no. That's not gonna work this time, luv.”

She felt him shifting behind her and she closed her eyes, her heart pounding in her chest. What had she done? He was right, he could do so many things to her. Her small body was immobilized by his large, solid one, her arms pinned uselessly, painfully, between their bodies. She tried to wiggle her fingers, hoping to be able to pinch him, but he was pressing her hard enough into the door that she could barely move them.

She started when something coiled around her legs. Suddenly his body was gone from her back and she was spun around and pushed back into the door by strong hands. She met his gaze and her stomach plummeted. She'd never seen such cold hatred before. Her whole body trembled but she refused to look away. This was the person who had ended her friends lives, she would not back down, she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing how scared she was right now.

The door behind her opened without warning and she screamed as she toppled backwards. Ropes had encircled her legs, preventing her from being able to steady herself at all. Her bound arms also proved useless in stopping her fall and she hit the floor hard.

Gawaine suddenly appeared, growling and hissing at Scabior. She watched the anger in his eyes transfer to the small creature.

“NO! No, don't you dare!” she said, finding her voice again.

Gawaine was roughly hoisted into the air by the scruff of his neck, hissing and spitting the whole time. Scabior straightened and started to turn.

“No! Let him go! Scabior! Scabior, don't you dare hurt him!” she screamed, rolling about the ground, frantically trying to loosen the ropes.

His eyes briefly flicked in her direction before he waved his wand. A blindfold wound it's way around her head and the last thing she saw was Scabior turning to walk across the tent, Gawaine still held before him. She was about to yell again when something covered her mouth, effectively silencing her.

She could still hear though, and the last thing she heard was the bathroom door slamming closed as her small part of the world was plunged into silent darkness. She felt as though her world was falling to pieces around her, terror and anger flooded her body and huge sobs shuddered through her small frame.
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Redemption Recalled