"We'll see you later mummy."

"Don't worry mum. I'll keep the younger brats in line."

"I am not a brat Scorpius!" Tyler gave his brother a shove as the three said their goodbyes while Narcissa waited patiently downstairs.

Isabella forced a smile at her bickering, fixing the buttons on Sophia's coat after the child had insisted on dressing herself, that had very little sense in matching, she might add. There's so many things that can go with a pink Peacoat. A light blue dress with bright yellow trainers, isn't one of them. But hey, why bother with the child when in minutes, they would be Nana's problem.

Katerina had happily agreed to take them for the weekend to give a much needed break to Isabella and Draco who were at their wits end trying to juggle what little time they had with each other. And after the last incident, Draco promised to be home more often. Or at least he did for the first few weeks before he gradually spent more and more time in the office than he did at home and they were again, fighting constantly; even sleeping in separate beds.

Everyday went the same: Wake up to an empty bed, Sleeping in an empty bed. Hell, she seriously considered just changing her name back to Toretto. Why have a surname if there is little evidence that your husband even exists?

He could be just some made up thought deep in your head to push subconscious feelings of lament brought on from constant loneliness.

The evidence of little sleep circled around her aching eyes in a hazy fog seeping under her skin and shut her eyes at the ghostly feeling of his touch caressing the edge of her cheeks. His soft gray eyes boring into her with crooked grin gracing those wicked lips just as he was about to kiss her. How things used to be...

But even that ounce of freedom and happiness was swept away like a slap to the face as the twin's voices roared into shouting.

And how they weren't.

"Yeah but I'm the oldest."

"Only by two minutes!"

"Boys." She sighed, turning her head to glare at them. "Am I going to have to tell your Nana that she should only take Sophia and leave you here, instead?"

Hazel met gray and quicker than it took for an ice cube to melt on hot pavement, the twins shook their heads.

"We'll stop."

"Sorry mum." Scor muttered under his breath, staring down at his feet to avoid her firey gaze.

"You three will be good for your Nana or so help me I swear on Godric Gryffindor that your father and I will give you such a spanking, that you won't be able to sit for weeks."

"Do you understand me?" Izzy added.

All three heads nodded simultaneously.

After a few seconds of impending silence, the curse her lips brought on settled and another smile came into play.

"Good. Now go on. Your Nana's waiting."

The three kids all kissed their mother goodnight before running to their grandmother, Sophia's voice carrying up the stairs as she almost tackled her grandmother to the ground.

"Nana! Nana! Are we going to eat cookies all night and stay up late?" Her eyes beamed with hope and excitement as it bubbled up in her tummy, jumping up and down like the firecracker she was. "Daddy and mummy said we could!"

"We'll see, sweetheart. Only if you're good."

"So in other words, you're fucked."

Oh no..He let the one word he knew he wasn't supposed to even know about slip from his tongue. When he realized his mistake, Scorpius only stood there in shock as Tyler's eyes grew wide and Sophia's pointed at her brother; instantly fueling the fire leading to his 'punishment'.

"Nana! Nana! Scor said a bad word!"

Katerina stared at Scorpius with hard eyes. "Oh, I heard him, Sophia. He'll receive a punishment. You can be sure of that."

He shrunk lower than the worms digging in the ground underneath his feet. If there was one person who scared him above everyone else, it was his Nana. "I'm sorry." He mumbled, too afraid to try and explain himself.

"Don't even start. Now, let's get going. Your mother needs to get ready."

"Ready for what, Nana?" Sophia quipped, reaching up to hold her hand.

When was the right time to tell your grandchild or any child for that matter that you're taking them away so their parents can ultimately sleep together?

"She has to make dinner for your father." Katerina quickly lied.

"But we already ate. Squeaks made us supper."

"I saw mummy eat too." Her tiny hands fell squarely on her hips with a equivocal brow.

"I meant desert."

"We had that too. Ice Cream."

"Well not your father. He's working. So mums making him something special."

"Ohhh." Sophia drew out a long breath and quickly turned to her Grandmother again. "So, can we go now. I want to see Papa Dex and my Pony." The benefit of having a short attention span: the lack of detailed explanations and retaining of childhood innocence.

"Its not your Pony, Sophia. That's your grandfather's Horse." Tyler was always the voice of reason..The Trio's own Jiminey Cricket.

"No! Papa said she was mine. You're just mad because you don't get a pony and I do because he likes me better."

"Come on now kids. Stop arguing. Do you want cookies or not?"

Merlin, the very mention of the word Cookie and Sophia was on her Grandmother faster than flies on shite.

Sophia practically yanked her arm out of its socket while dragging the older Ravenclaw into the fireplace. "Let's go Nana!"

"Merlin, Sophia, don't hurt her." Tyler snapped.

"Come on! Come on! Let's go Nana!"

"Alright, alright, sweetheart. Calm down."

Scorpius took this opportunity to pull his twin aside, whispering discreetly while their grandmother was preoccupied with the energetic 'half-wit'. "Think she's still punishing me?"

"She looked pissed, mate. I'll try and distract her." Tyler said with a small smile.

"If you ask me Sophia's doing half your work for you." Scorpius thin lips curved into the tiniest of smiles as the two walked over to the fireplace, holding his open palm tightly against the small of his back. "But do me a favor and give me all of toffee's."

"I won't even leave any for Sophia."

"No. No. By all means give them to her. If she's so bloody worked up on sugar, she'll drive Nana crazy and then crash later and feel horrible."

Tyler grinned. "You're definitely the evil twin."

Scorpius scoffed, waving an arm in dismissal just as they were feet away from the entrance to the floo-network. "She bloody started it. She's lucky I'm not giving her doll collection for Stormy to tear up and 'play' with."

Tyler laughed. "You know, if you really wanted to get back at her, we could give her some 'special' chocolate."

"Ty. I think tonight...you and I-" He sighed in what could only be described as joy and pride in his 'teachings'. "We're going to enjoy our little time away from home."

Tyler grinned. "Best part is, Nana will never know it was us. So we don't have to worry about dad scolding is."

Nightfall was almost upon them, waiting to show and bathe the world in its dark waves. Signaling man and creature alike to rest their weary heads and prepare for the new break of dawn. And poor Izzy was still way over her head, trying to multitask work fit for three people.

The dessert was being prepared just minutes ago; an assortment of various foods and a film waiting to be slid into the player, cleaning the final nooks and crannies so as to achieve absolute perfection: All while constantly keeping an eye on the clock and dreading how close that minute hand continued chasing its lesser hour. Draco's shift would end any moment and he'd be here before anything was finished.

Nothing could go wrong tonight. Absolutely nothing.

It was now that she regretted giving Squeaks the day off tonight and sending her off across the county to visit a friend of hers.

In the last final moments of impending misery, Isabella grabbed the bowl of Rose petals floating in water and placed them on the table just across the fireplace; knowing it would be the first thing he saw as he stepped inside. She smiled while waving her wand, lighting up the trail of candles leading up to their bedroom and dimming the lights down.

Eight O'Clock came and as Izzy scrambled for the refrigerator where the dessert was chilling, smacked her palm to her forehead as she remembered the most important ingredient her Tiramisu required.

"How in the hell could I fucking forget Ricotta?" She groaned, hurrying up to the bedroom and grabbing the nearest paper within reach and a pen and quickly scribbling a note, leaving it on the bed. Wallet in hand, Izzy stepped through the fireplace and ran as fast as she could out for the nearest apparation spot where she then sprinted for the grocery store. "For once Draco Malfoy, I hope you're late."

Seconds after she left, Draco opened the front door, dropping his brief case in its usual spot and smiling when he spotted the roses.

"Izzy?" He called, following the trail up to the bedroom. He saw the note first, reading it over and deciding that he was going to take her absence to go to the kitchen and sneak a bite of the food she made. But not too much, only enough to where she wouldn't notice.

"Thank you. Thank you, again." Isabella waved over at the shop-keep who had been gracious enough to stay open a few moments longer after explaining to the owner that this dessert was something she and her husband scarcely shared anymore and it was the first night in months they had been alone and being a kindly old understanding 'grandfathery' type had no choice but to allow her entrance inside. She only smiled just imagining the look on Draco's face when she would bring it out for him. It was like they were young, younger and childless for that matter.

Nightlife was often a big thing for muggles as they, like clockwork, appeared and began filling the streets with noise and traffic. The usual apparation spot too busy to go about undetected, she decided to take a small shortcut through an small alley way. It seemed safe enough, no doors or overhead ladders, and in moments she could be home and none would be the wiser.

"Excuse me, Ma'am!" A man came walking after her quickly, holding a hand up to get her attention. "Ma'am!"

Izzy quickened up her pace as bile rose from the bottom of her stomach and into her mouth, riddling her tongue in its sour taste. A stranger calling after you in an alleyway never ended well in any movie, book or play...

"Ma'am, I believe something fell from your purse!" He said, holding up a smaller sized change purse.

Fuck, it wasn't her actual wallet was it? Draco would kill her again if they would have to issue her another Witch's Identification after the last two were destroyed thanks to Sophia's constant need to 'pretty' everything in their house and a third flushed down the loo of all places.

What was she so worried about anyway, all she would need to do is grab her wand and everything would...

Oh no...No...No...No...

Her wand wasn't still sitting on the counter stirring ingredients, right?

Slowly turning to look at the person calling for her, Isabella reached for the sharpest thing in her purse, which at first touch was a pair of tweezers and held them tightly between her fingers, aiming the sharp end out as her hand coiled into a tight fist. "Yes?" She called, trying to sound confident and assertive but knowing her defenses were falling.

He was now only a few feet from her, extending his hand which held a pink change purse. "I believe this is yours."

That disgustingly pink sack was certainly not hers. What was this man playing at? "I appreciate the concern sir, but that's not mine. But thank you all the same." She quickly bowed out of respect and hurried off, practically sprinting.

But he was too quick for her, chasing after her. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her back and slamming her into his chest, behind her arm back and watching as the bag in her hand fell to the ground. "Now, now, no need to run. The fun hasn't even started yet."

No, not again. She refused to be another pawn in some twisted game of chess this creep was playing at.

Mustering all the strength she had in him and imagining it was Anderson's stupid face behind her, Izzy knocked her head back sharply, slamming the back of her head into his nose, hearing a slight crack and feeling instantly dizzy as the attacker released her to tend to his wound.

She stared into his demented amber eyes and felt no remorse as she grabbed his free hand and sharply twisted it, spinning her body and using the weight of it to break the first two digits until they bent backward and were splayed out in two different directions before stabbing him in the forearm with the same pair of tweezers. Then sprinting away, leaving her belongings and to the nearest lit street.

"Help!" She screamed, hoping someone would notice her desperate cries and come to her aid. Or the very least, turn around and call for help.

The man, fueled by his anger, caught up to her, grabbing her by the back of her hair and yanking her back into the alleyway, hard. "You're going to pay for that, Toretto." He spat. He shoved her against the brick wall, wand now pointing at her head. "Crucio."

She screamed, the insides of her body exploding in agonizing torture as the curse writhed within her veins, slicing and hacking at the many woven fibers structured around and keeping her in one piece, now coming apart at the seams with every second.

A flick of his wand and her hands were tied behind her back. He removed the curse and grabbed her by her hair again. "Trust me, Toretto, it's nothing personal... Well... actually, it is."

Being the stubborn Gryffindor that she was, what happened next shouldn't have surprised him in the slightest.

Isabella spat at him, glaring at him in the same way Lucius returned a look her way. Frightened she was of course, she'd be stupid not to, but pride and hate have a way of overpowering the urge of flight.

"What the hell do you want?" She seethed, struggling to break free.

The man grabbed her by her hair, holding her tightly against himself as he was about to apparate. "Oh, you'll see." He said before disappearing on the spot.

"What the devil is taking him so long?"

"I don't like to be kept waiting!" A glass filled with bourbon flew across the room and slammed into the wall, shattering into dozens of pieces and leaking all over the ground and dripping down the walls in a pungent metallic scent.

About a dozen men all stood near the far wall circling a man in a sharp suit sitting on his throne of an armchair, veins bursting from his skull as he leaned into his fist, inhaling a sharp heavy breath.

"Sir." Someone spoke, lowering their head as they began their approach. "Is it possible that perhaps, he wasn't successful?"

The man, obviously someone of great importance judging by the lack of eye contact and the hesitation in the wizard addressing him's voice, slowly, like an owl about to go off on a hunt, turned to the individual and glared at him, clenching his muscular heavy fingers into the edge of the armrest his hand was laying on. "Did I say you could speak?"

The man didn't have to answer as there was a sudden pop, followed the voice of a struggling woman, before she was tossed to the ground.

Izzy fell with a cry, landing on her side, arms still tied behind her back.

"Sorry." Her agressor spoke to their leader. "She was being difficult."

He looked over at the body, a slight smirk dressing his lips at the sight of her body ripe for the taken and stole a glance at her retriever, the smile quickly fading into another scorn, his voice dropping to a husky, impatient tone. "What the hell is wrong with your face?!" He demanded, "Did you fall on the way over here?!"

"She happened to me. Bloody bitch will get what she deserves."

"I'm the bloody bitch? Excuse me, the only bloody bitch over here is you!"

Just shut up Izzy. Just shut up, before you dig yourself further and further into this hole.

"Fucking cowardly bastard." She added, wiggling her hands around the binding ropes surrounding her wrists.

"Well, you are feistier than I took you for." The leader mused over his catch, still sitting in the shadows and comfortably watching from afar.

With the way her body was angled, she couldn't physically see him nor could she recognize any of the other men watching her from around the room. There was only one way she was going to get free but she'd have to pick the right opportunity, too soon and getting caught was a definite, too late and death would linger...No, biding her time seemed like the best option.

"Yeah? And you're more of a sick fuck than I took you for!"

The man who brought her there advanced on her, grabbed her by her wrist to lift her up, then forced her face first into the wall. "You really should watch your insults. Because we can be a lot more... sick." He reached around her, grabbing her breast with his free hand and squeezing it.

Isabella spat at him a second time, spinning round like a possessed demon and brought him to the floor, throwing every single ounce of her weight into the fingers she knew were broken, scratching the side of her face raw against the concrete and then slamming it back down onto the ground with a groan as she fell, taking in a sharp inhale as it stung and ached all at once.

Scattered clusters of laughter broke out among the men, most biting their lips, and waiting for orders, with no free mind of their own.

The man gave her a kick for good measure as she laid on the ground. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go and heal myself." His voice carrier behind her, speaking to the leader in the room.

"No." And raised a hand, rapping his free fingers along the leather upholstery. "No, I don't think so."

"She broke my fucking fingers. How do you expect me to do anything like this?"

"That's not my problem." He shrugged, folding his arms tightly against his chest. "And let me make this clear..."

Every single man in that room, lowered their heads as the leader suddenly rose from his chair, making his way towards him with a heaviness in his step that resounded along the emptiness the room consumed, he stopped a few feet away from Izzy; his face again blocked from view and directly in front of her attacker. "If you so much as touch her again without my consent, it will be more than just your fingers I'll break. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"

The man licked his lips nervously, nodding and taking a step back. "Yes... of course... I just thought-."

"You thought what?!"

The ferocity in his voice shocked her spine in a frenzy of shivers, as if they had dropped into a vat of ice water and were holding her under just above the surface.

"Nothing..." His voice dropped low. "I'm sorry."

"You're...Sorry?" He deadpanned.

The man sulked back even more. "Yes."

"You're sorry?!"

"Look I'm not a part of... this gang of yours. You asked me to do this, and I did. Now, if I'm not needed, I'd like to go." His voice was soft, scared or getting hurt again or scolded.

Gang? What in bloody...What in Godric's name was this bloke talking about?!

Street gangs were seldom scarce around these parts, especially the wizard variety. After the war, the ministry took careful action to monitor all activity roaming the streets, trade and monetary incomes all around the UK. You couldn't flick your bogies at someone without hearing about it later...But men, grown men in gangs?..This had to be some sort of stupid joke.

"So what? You think I'm just going to let you go Scot-free?"

Four men took it upon themselves to surround him, all staring and patiently waiting as they were motioned to come forward from the general at the helm.

The man in question was braver then he looked. "I did what you asked."

"Yes and then you touched what wasn't yours without permission." They corned him like a pack of starving wolves, all waiting for a bite of the wounded animal they just took down.

"...And I apologized. I stepped out of line. I know I did."

"Boys." He mused, coveting a smug cruel grin while more and more men came to the hall. "I think it's about time our new friend is initiated into our ranks. As a grunt of course, wouldn't you agree?"

The lackeys all grinned, some nodding in approval, other making small, happy noises. This was a rare thing.

"Now, wait a second, this isn't right." The man argued, looking around him, scared.

This was straight out of a scene of that movie the kids liked to watch with the hyenas killing the lion after he betrayed them; all laughing joyfully and celebrating while the lion was mercilessly devoured after they all jumped him.

She couldn't bear to look and instead coiled inwardly to the best of her abilities, shutting her eyes despite the pain and soreness in her body spreading and pounding against her skull.

'Love, where are you?' Izzy's thought to herself as the sounds of screaming and heavy items being slung and pivoted onto what she could identify as his body being relentlessly tortured and beaten. If they were so adamant on making him pay for touching her, what was going to happen to her, once they finished?

The small tea candles trailing around the Manor were now sitting in a puddle of their own wax, the contents smothering the wick which flickered exponentially, biting at its dousing flame that struggled to stay lit. A grandfather clock following in chime as its long slender hand circled the entirety of Roman numerals, wailing in echoing silence.

Was the grocery store really that far away?

Draco stood up from the couch, glancing at the food siting at the table and getting cold. He leaned over, reaching for the whole chicken sitting in the middle of the table as his stomach growled. If he took a piece from his side of the table, izzy would never know he snuck a bite without her.

Before long, another hour had passed, with tiny embers extinguished by their own ally, and some barely beating away, on their last freckle of rope; to the point that most of the home was shrouded in darkness.

Interpretative cloaks and daggers: inviting the dark to come forth and wholeheartedly take over.

Their alarm system alerting anyone inside of the property lines sprung to life as something off in the distance, stumbled around, sinking to the ground just inches from the gate.

Draco instantly stuck his head out the front door, watching the figure collapse over and over again, just outside the gated barrier and without even thinking, started running towards the gate. "Isabella?!" He flung the gate door open, sprinting towards the figure, but froze when he realized who it was. "...Anderson?"

"Malfoy." He was struggling to breathe, smeared from head to toe in his own blood and collapsed like a drunk into Draco, all 190 pounds of him dropping onto Draco's body and messing his suit with soot, dirt and...was that hints of oil?.

Draco instantly jumped back from him, letting him fall to the ground. "What the hell are you doing here?" He would have asked what happened to him, but he honestly didn't care.

"I was attacked." And coughed out tiny red spots into the ground. "They came at me, twenty of them. And I couldn't move..."

"Who did?" Draco glanced down at his mow dirty cloak as he spoke.

He had to choose his words carefully, a trail leading back to the wrong person, would sign the contract for his death sentence and if the beating was bad enough...he didn't want to know what Death would be like. "I...It was dark, I don't know. And they took..." He breathed. "They took."

Draco was staring at him now, heart beating against his chest. "Took what?"

Anderson fell further into the dirt, completely exhausted and liable to puke his guts out as his empty stomach gurgled higher and higher into his throat. He did the only thing he could do, point to what was now the remains of his torn pocket.

Draco stared at it for a few second a before reaching forward slowly and pulling a small bag out of his pocket. He pulled it open gently, but quickly dropped it when he realized what it was, horror and disgust filling him, at the sight of ten bloody whole fingernails freshly picked and intact.

"Toretto." Anderson turned to look up at Draco drooping his lifeless eyes into oblivion. "Toretto."

Draco reached for his bloody shirt, gripping it tightly and pulling Anderson towards him. "Where is she?!" He demanded.

"They took her."

"Where, you fucking son of a bitch?!"

"This warehouse. Down Wallenby Lane...The abandoned one...They're going to..."

"Going to what?!"

He yanked Anderson forward again, seconds away from slicing his throat with his own claws at how fucking aggravated he was. "Answer me! Or I'll make whatever happened to you seem like child's play."

Anderson looked to Draco, on the verge of keeling over and collapsing.

Draco turned from him, dropping him on the ground and grabbing his wand in his hand and apparating on the spot. If anyone touched his wife, ANYONE, he would kill them.