Tucked beneath her comforter, a young girl laid asleep with her arms stretched across a small teddy bear. The cool wind from outside blew in, slightly rustling her brown bushy hair as she wriggled further in to the warmth of the bed.
"He wants the child alive." Cloaked figures stood outside, still, watching the curtains' rippling movements as wind gently blew in to the room where the child laid. "The less trouble from the muggles, the better. Head straight to the room, I'll grab the girl and apparate back." They headed towards the front door of the house.
"Let's move."
"Alohomora." The door clicked open with a whisper from one of the men. Quick and with the silence and swiftness of a predator hunting down his prey, they ascended the stairs and headed straight to the room, following closely to their rehearsed plan. The man opened the door, with the two other figures waited, bodies tense with alertness. "Lumos." The light from the man's outstretched wand illuminated the masks the figures were wearing. White and expressionless, it ensured that neither emotion nor any recognition would ever be exposed, thus, if any of the figures were affected by the numerous pictures of a little brown-haired girl in various poses and her crayon drawings framed in her room while entering, or the other signs of innocent childhood, there was no indication at all.
The curtains bellowed fiercely as a sudden gust of strong wind blew in. The yellow light from the streetlight right outside the window burst in upon the figures in the room, now they were completely visible. A eerie sight to anyone, three cloaked and masked figures standing absolutely still. It was as though the wind was trying to warn the girl of the danger she was facing. The wind blew stronger, desperate in its efforts but the young girl snuggled in further, not sensing the strange presence of the cloaked figures in her room, nor the man that had stepped close to her bed beside her. The wind also blew off the hood of the man, revealing sleek, blond hair that brushed the shoulders, a startling contrast to the deep black colour of the hood.
"Malfoy!" One of the cloaked figures started forward, clutching her wand, before she was stopped by a hand thrown out in front of her. A female voice hissed from under the hood behind him. "Put your hood back up, or I swear I'll shave your mane off." The threat was obvious in her cold, rough voice. The tension in the room rose as the girl suddenly rolled over in her sleep, disturbed by the noice. Her back now faced the three figures. Their grip on their wands tightened as she began to mumble into her pillow. They couldn't afford for her to wake up and alert her parents. It would cause too much unwanted trouble and punishment from the Dark Lord. Eventually, her mumblings quietened and she returned to her peaceful slumber, to the relief of the group. The close brush reminded Malfoy and his group of the urgency of the situation. He quickly stepped forward, right up to the bed, a pale hand outstretched to grab the young girl.
Suddenly, crazed barking tore through the silence of the room! A golden retriever puppy jumped onto the bed from the other side, barking wildly at Malfoy, and landed on the girl. The sudden impact and commotion woke the girl up with a start, who abruptly sat up on the bed. Malfoy and the rest jumped into action at the first sound of commotion. The two figures moved further into the darkness of the room. The female slammed the door shut and the other whipped around, casting a locking charm on the door. Malfoy lunged at the bed. He scooped the dog up in his left and grabbed the girl's small waist with his right arm as he fell onto the bed with a grunt.
"Go!" He ordered the rest. "I'll meet you back at the place." Without a single word, the two figures spun and disapparated with a loud `POP'. He cursed under his breath when the girl started screaming and the puppy began to struggle in his grasp. His clumsy attempts to stand up from the bed failed as the girl had grabbed onto the bedposts, desperate to escape from the stranger's clutches. His eyes shot to the door when loud shouts came from, probably from the girl's parents and he knew that things were getting out of hand. He had to leave before any more trouble arose. He forcefully jerked his right arm to free the girl's hold on the bed and in the process, hit the girl's head on the bed post, knocking her unconscious. Her screaming instantly stopped. The puppy got even more agitated after seeing its owner getting hurt and began barking even louder, scratching and wriggling in the loop of his arm.
"Damn dog." Growling with frustration, Malfoy rapidly got off the bed, onto his feet. The door was now shuddering violently as though someone was throwing his body weight against the door to break it. The shouts from outside got louder and more distinct.
"Darling, are you all right? Mummy's coming, dear. It's all right!" An anxious voice came from behind the door. "Daniel, hurry up! When was the door locked? Oh God, what's happening inside? Asher's going crazy in there too! Oh God…" The desperation and fear was evident in her cries.
Malfoy looked up from where he was standing, the girl and the crazed puppy in his arms.
`BANG!' the door flew off the frame as a man pushed through the hinges in a final throw of his body. He and his wife stumbled into the room, in time to see a dark figure in the room, and a flash of blonde white hair before the figure disappeared in a spin with a loud `POP' before silence issued. Their daughter was nowhere in sight.
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