Cruel

Amelia bit her lip, her eyebrows pushing together in concentration as she looked in the refrigerator for a quick snack. Obviously, there was nothing; she would have to send Spinky to go get some groceries, because that afternoon she had to go pick up her money from Scabior.

The place that they had arranged for the meeting wasn’t very far from her house, walking distance for anyone who wasn’t in a hurry. Amelia really wasn’t in the mood to go, though; this particular day was never one she was happy to see.

This was the day that her cousin, Sirius, died two years ago. Of course, Amelia knew he had been shunned from all of the family. Even her family, not the closest to the Blacks, had shunned him. Amelia had continued her visits when she had the time, though. Two years ago, she worked in a small shop in Diagon Alley, and Sirius sometimes came to see her…in his dog form of course.

Even though Amelia had been in Slytherin, and Sirius had hated her whole family, he had a special place for her in his heart. They got along well, always pulling pranks on each other, but they never spoke of dark things. Their opinions were different, and neither of them liked to be that serious, so they just never talked about it.

And then, Sirius was dead. All of the pranks and teasing were over, and it was time for Amelia to finally start taking things seriously, much to her dismay. That’s how she got into Snatching. She had never liked ‘real jobs’, had always been more adventurous.

Shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts, Amelia pulled a leather jacket over her shirt, put on her boots, and left the house. She was in a worse mood than most days, sending a glare each time a passer-by looked at her the wrong way.

The sun was shining, which she was immensely glad of since it reminded her of Sirius- reminded her of him in a good way. And as she walked, Amelia let her mind wander to the times at Hogwarts where she and Siruis would go out and sneak into the Forbidden Forest, or play by the lake.

Sighing once more, she pulled her hair into a ponytail so it wouldn’t be in her face, and stopped in front of the small pub that was her destination. She knew this was a crummy place, and that only those who were into the dark dealings went there; she could only imagine what she would have to suffer once she entered. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked in like she owned the place, the way she walked into everywhere she went.

Amelia’s eyes scanned across the pub for Scabior, spotting him in the far corner. He was sitting alone, his eyes trailing over the newspaper that was on the table. She started making her way towards him, earning the glance of some men that were there, and a few whistles.

Rolling her eyes, she took out her wand and muttered ‘Densaugeo’ while looking at one of the men, a grin forming on her face. The man’s teeth were growing at an alarming rate, making one or two of the other men laugh…but when she shot them a look, they quickly shut their mouths.

Amelia continued her walk towards Scabior, taking a seat in front of him. A huge smirk was on his face, making him look strangely, extremely attractive. A little too late, she realized she was staring at his face much longer that she should’ve…because now Scabior’s smirk was directed at her.

“It’s not polite to stare, love. But, I don’t blame you.”

Amelia felt herself flush a bit, quickly rolling her eyes to counter.

“Yes, that’s what it is. Sure. Now, where’s my money?” A quick chuckle flowed out of Scabior’s parted lips, not entirely surprising Amelia.

“Well, aren’t you a hasty one? I bet you do everything quick, don’t you?” He winked at her, probably thinking that his innuendo was the brightest thing ever spoken.

“Actually, I go really slowly. Not that you’ll ever know more than that.” They stared at each other, a small smirk on both of their face, seeing who would last the longest. Finally, Scabior caved and removed his eyes from hers.

“I like you, Amelia. We should work together again. We’re going back on the run tomorrow; this one will probably be a bit longer since we don’t have an exact place or target. How about it?”

Amelia thought about this for a moment, debating with herself. One part of her said that she shouldn’t go; Scabior wasn’t to be trusted. He was just a conniving bastard. But the other part was telling her that she was just as bad as he was, and that even if she was trying to deny it, she was very attracted to Scabior.

“Alright, I’ll come along. Meet me at my house at 9.” She gave him her address, threw him a grin, and started walking away.

“Forgetting something?” He asked, making Amelia turn around to see him holding a bag of what she guessed was holding her money.

“Thanks. See you tomorrow.” She said, snatching the bag from his hand and winking at him, knowing that it would probably drive him crazy.