âĄÂ only you that makes it right âĄ
@eatsmymind
      One moment amidst the chaos there was the smallest glimmer of peace.  Bailey wasnât certain how much time she and Mary had together and even though her heart ached for Julien and she feared every thud of steps outside the door, she was happy to be with her best friend again.  She hadnât yet begun to wrap her head around the thought that she was pregnant or that she wasnât certain how sheâd be with Julien again or how she and Mary would find a way to be free from this place, but she was trying.  Bailey had to cling to hope of good to come for fear sheâd relapse into all the evils that had suddenly come to poison her world.  No sooner had she started to try and gather her feet beneath her did they come for her again, pulling her from Mary no matter how hard she fought, no explanation to come.  She kicked and screamed and threatened with words sheâd never dared used before.  When her fear-induced rage didnât work she collapsed into tears and sobbed, still resisting, just with less swings of her fists and screams.  She begged to be returned to Mary, but they didnât listen.
      Say we just do a quick spell on âer?  Just, knock her out.  That doesnât constitute as hurting her, now does it?  How can they blame us, I mean, listen to this...
      The men grumbled under their breath as they made their way up a snow-blanketed path with her in tow.
      I wouldnât do that if I were you.
      Came a voice - a different voice - and Bailey snapped her head up, blinking at the semi-familiar face of Jack Dalton, the wizard who owned the Three Broomsticks.  He barely looked at her and her heart filled with hope.  Even though the school trips to Hogsmeade seemed such a world away, it seemed Thomas had come to confront the two men who stood on either side of Bailey, fingers curled tight into her arms as they pulled her the way they wanted to go.  âMister Dalton!â  She cried out, tugging against their hold.  âHelp!  Please!  They have my friend, Mary!!  You need to go and tell Neil Lockewood!  Heâs the Head of Law, heâll be at the castle, heâll know what to-â
      On second thought, maybe a good charm to knock her out wouldnât hurt anyone.
      Said Jack Dalton, face slack of any compassion toward her pleas.  Baileyâs heart plummeted just as she watched him draw a wand from his robes, point it toward her and mutter an incantation that draped the world in black in a snap.  She went slack in the arms of her captors...
      And awoke to the sound of gentle rapping against a wood door.  For a moment it all felt as if it were a strange dream, but she wasnât certain where she was going to wake up.  At home, in her bed, before her father had torn the house to pieces looking to do the same to her?  At Hogwarts, in the Hufflepuff Common Room, after Julien had broken rules to secretly visit her before the holidays?  In Maryâs home, where she was being held captive by the darkest wizards and witches Bailey had ever known?  But no... none of it was a dream, it was all very real, and when the immediate area came to focus her arm was no longer held by Jack Dalton, but a very different man whoâd always struck fear in her heart just by his presence alone.  âGovernor Stellakov?â  Her voice was so small, it may have been as if she hadnât spoken at all.  He didnât spare her a glance, only stared straight ahead at the closed door before he spoke in a low, beckoning voice.
      âSt. Jean.â  He hissed it as though he was attempting to not speak too loudly in case any others were wandering the halls in the pitch black of night.
      St. Jean?  Julien?  Baileyâs heart soared and her eyes, wide as they were bright, jumped to the closed door.  Please... please donât let this be a dream.  Bailey needed him now more than she could ever remember needing him before... she needed him so terribly she couldnât even remember to be confused as to why she was with Governor Stellakov at all, or where Jack Dalton had gone, or even that the owner of the Three Broomsticks was apparently working cooperatively with the Children of Neficus.  Bailey could think of nothing but Julien and her heart crawled to her throat, feeling dizzy as she waited...










