Scabior's_Fangirl wrote:
It was something I had hoped would never happen. Something I had been forced to do because of the current economic problems. Something which I knew I would regret. There I was, my short, messy hair spread out over the leaf litter, small twigs and scraps of said leaves that could only just be found in the snowy forest resting in said hair. Above me, pinning me to the floor, looming over me with his shadow cast across my frame, was a snatcher. The lead snatcher. The one every knew.
Orion.
His name sent tingles down my spine, and when I said the name, it rolled off my tongue like butter melting on a crumpet. Smooth, delicious. I savoured it every time.
His cool, liquid amber eyes drew me in almost unwillingly until I lost myself, full of a floating feeling like I was supported by water, drifting freely but not too far. His wild, unruly ginger hair, of which contained two, lone deep brown streaks blowing gently in the wind that filtered through the forest. He was studying me. Studying me like a predator studying prey.
No, I hadn't been snatched. Rather, it was the total opposite. What with the Dark Lord taking over and needing people to find the scum that called themselves wizards and witches, he had employed people to hunt them down, in exchange for money. Lots of money. This was a test. A test to see if I was fit enough to become a snatcher, to become one of them. But I was afraid. I was afraid that I had failed. When he had paced in front of those of us trying out, I hadn't listened to a word, just watched him as he moved, making note that it was very feline, very sly, very cunning. His voice had soothed me despite the fact I wasn't listening to the words, and I had had to resist the urge to leap at him and place my lips over his own. How I wanted to feel them moving against my own passionately, sensing the love he held for me. I had known him at Hogwarts, being just a year younger than him, and admired him from a distance, seeking his love even then, wishing that he would turn his devilishly handsome self to look at me just long enough to see me, truly see me. And now I had a chance to get closer.
So here I was, back against the frozen ground, his boot-laden foot pressing me firmly down, my heart thumping so loud I was certain that they could all hear it as it fought like a woodpecker to escape my chest. Even then, I was loosing myself in his features repeatedly. It wasn't until one of the others cleared their throat loudly and clearly that we remembered where we were.
He jolted back to reality, and I noticed he played with that fanged necklace around his neck (no doubt a trophy from a chase) as he removed his foot from my stomach, but didn't help me up. No, it was another wanna-be snatcher who held out his hand and pulled me to my feet as Orion turned his back to me, wild hair drawn into a loose ponytail to keep it from his face when in pursuit. It swayed as he moved and walked forwards, pacing then turning sharply to gaze at me, the hem of his long bottle green, almost black leather jacket swirling. Everyone was watching him expectantly, awaiting his decision as his orbs swimmed with thought, making the final judgement while I cleaned my clothes of the cold dirt and grime that had clung to me as I ran, ducking under branches and leaping over fallen logs in chase of the snatcher who was acting as a blood traitor.
"Well," His voice almost made me swoon, and I had to stand very still, my slender fingers clenching and unclenching as I waited for him to continue, respect shining in my own eyes. "It seems like we have a few new recruits."
It was much harder than I thought it would be, training through the long hours of sunlight and the thick blackness of night. He kept us going every day, no matter what the weather was like. Running through forests, through towns, across wind-swept moors, startling rabbits as we went. And when we weren't running, we were dueling. Paired up with more experianced snatchers, a different one every time, sending curses at us as we tried to counter them. I kept my eye on Scabior throughout these training sessions as they grew rougher and more dangerous, determained to prove everything that I was to him. And I'm sure that at one point, he stared right back.
It was the same as before. We were mezmorised by each other, and I could feel my heart speed up in my chest. My grip on my wand slackened, and there was a flash of red, but I hardly noticed my now tap-dancing feet until I was hit with another curse and I relalitated, my face flushed a merry marroon colour.
I'd ruined everything. Everything in that one moment. I'd be kicked out, or worse, killed for my moment of unfocus. I'd never have the chance again.
He continued advancing around the well-trodden clearing, eyes carefully studying each new snatcher in their small duels, assessing them as he went. I tried desperately to focus, but my mind had different plans, and kept drifting. So I slapped myself mentally, and a sigh of relief shook through my body when he announced we were done for the day with that task. It felt like something was lifted from me and I hastily followed as we retreated to the tents and wolfed down the small meal that we were only allowed every day, the energy returning to me.
Then we proceeded to re-enter the forest to try and increase our stamina. Days of hard, cruel training was already having it's effect on my body. Before, I was a fast sprinter, like a cheetah. Now I was becoming a runner, easily keeping up for a longer amount of time each time we ran. Whenever we ran, he did seem to hold some respect for me, which was the only good thing so far to come out of this predicament.
It was late into the night when we finally returned to the camp. As new recruits, we never had a tent to ourselves, but shared a large one, with a different snatcher every night to keep an eye on us, but it was always right in the center, as if to protect us. Not that we needed it. Snatchers were feared in Britain. Every witch or wizard that was a Mudblood or Blood-Traitor was scared out of their wits of us, and it was best to keep it that way.
How wrong we were.
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