Cruel

Amelia threw the keys on the table in her hallway as she entered her house. It was a very nice house, compared to what some people had. It was two stories high, cluttered between two smaller houses. It was very old as well, having been owned by a well known Pureblood family in the past.

Amelia could've inherited her grandmother's house. It was even grander than this one, since her grandmother was one of the richest Purebloods around. However Amelia, being the rebellious girl, hadn't wanted it; she had wanted to buy her own house, and she was quite glad she did. Every time she saw her home, a sense of pride filled her.

The hallway was long and narrow, painted in a grey color. Amelia hadn't decided on that color; it was like that when she had bought the house. The walls were bare, making the chipped paint even more noticeable. The young woman didn't take notice of this, though; she was too glad to be home. She had been sleeping in the woods for the past week, so it was always nice to get back home to a nice bed and warm meal.

"Spinky?" Amelia called, waiting to hear the rapid little footsteps of her house elf hurrying to her.

"Oh! Miss Amelia! When did you get here?" the house elf cried out when she entered the hallway, running down it to take Amelia’s coat and bag. Amelia laughed at Spinky's agitation, before walking down the hallway and going into the kitchen.

"It’s fine, Spinky. What have you been up to this week? I'm sorry I couldn't come home earlier." Amelia said, sitting down at the table as the elf ran around the room, starting dinner.

"It's alright, Miss! I've just been cleaning. Oh, and five men came here the other day. They said that they had special business for you, but wouldn't tell me what it was. They said they'd return Sunday. That’s tomorrow, Miss."

Amelia nodded as Spinky placed a bowl of soup on the table.

"Thank you, you're dismissed." Amelia said, knowing if she didn't formally dismiss her, the poor elf would continue to work.

The young woman wondered who these men could be; they were obviously no friends of hers since she had none. Swallowing the boiling hot soup, she decided that it was no use giving herself a headache; she'd find out who they were soon enough anyways.

The next morning she was woken up by the voice of Spinky talking loudly to her, telling her that the men were there again and they wanted to see her. Amelia was up in a second, and was just about to get dressed when Spinky spoke again. "Miss, they said they didn't have much time and that you had to go downstairs right now." The young lady frowned, reluctantly deciding to oblige their request as she dropped the clothes in her hand and headed down the stairs in her pyjamas.

Entering the small living room she used as a waiting room, where Spinky had brought the men, she paused to survey them. There were five of them, just as the elf had said, but only two were sitting down. The other three were upright, standing guard.

"What do you want this early in the morning, gentlemen?" Amelia said, sitting down in the comfy chair in front of the sofa. The men snapped their attention to her, all of their eyes travelling down her body at the same time. "Let's go, I haven't got all day." She uttered, snapping her fingers in front of her. At the sound, all of them looked up at her face.

"Not too nice in the morning, are ya darling?" The man who was obviously the leader said. The young woman shrugged, before sinking in the chair and crossing her legs. "Alright then, we've got a business proposition for you. There are two men that have been, let's say… meddling in our business. We need them gone. We don't care how, but we don't want to see them again. Got it?"

The snatcher considered this, her eyes never wandering away from the man's face. "How much?"
"A hundred Galleon's."

"You've got yourself a deal."
The two men stood up at the same moment, shaking her hand.

"We'll send you an owl with the details, Miss Mercer. Oh, and we also hired another snatcher; Scabior's gang. Whoever catches them first will get the money, but if you two work together the money will be split between you two. Good luck."

And with that, the men disapparated and Amelia was left in her waiting room, unaware of what she had gotten herself into.

She'd learn soon enough.