Blurred Lines Mods (blurred_mods) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2009-05-01 02:21:00 |
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BASH 2/13 BigAssScuffle(@)Hogwarts 1. IC/DA attack, break through the gates The steady onslaught of attacks from the Order and the ridiculous Army of Albion that had plagued their society - what was supposed to be their grand new world order - for the last months had worn even Atticus's seemingly infinite patience to the point of exhaustion. That his own house had been one of their targets certainly did not help matters and Atticus was more than ready for the Death Eaters to retaliate. What better way than to strike at Hogwarts itself? He had every confidence that this would make for a quick, decisive and much-needed victory. Dumbledore made for a fearsome opponent - Atticus would not underestimate the Headmaster's strength, but the combined efforts of a surprise attack from the Inner Circle and the Dark Army should, no would be enough to defeat the old man once and for all. Atticus looked over to Aeneas as they approached the gates of Hogwarts. "I feel as if this is a moment that ought to be recorded for posterity. The Minister of Magic, attacking Hogwarts," he quipped dryly with a slight, unseen smirk. "If things somehow manage to go poorly, I do hope you will see fit to pardon us." Turning his attention back to the task at hand, he raised his wand and began to test the complex network of wards that protected the castle. Aeneas almost smiled underneath his mask, but instead just raised his eyebrows - not that Atticus could see him, of course. "If I'm feeling generous," he replied dryly. He raised his own wand as well, moving it back and forth slowly as he poked and prodded at the wards. They were stronger than the last time he had broken them, seven whole months ago now. So much had changed in that time, least of which being the wards around Hogwarts Castle. They were familiar, though. Each person's magic had their own unique feel to it, and though there were more wards, stronger and more complex wards, Aeneas felt as if he could read them without too much trouble. "Of course," he added on after a few moments, "I suppose it would be easier than rescuing you from Azkaban." "Shall I provide you with instructions on how to conduct an Azkaban rescue, then? If I remember correctly, I believe it is a matter of stepping out your office door, turning left, taking twenty paces down the hall - approximately, of course - and opening the door to your right. Take the portkey to Azkaban, blast open the cell door and mission accomplished. You have it quite easy, my friend," Atticus replied with a good natured chuckle. He continued to work on the wards as he spoke, slowly but surely moving his wand to take them apart piece by piece, layer by layer. It was an arduous task, particularly to do properly, but one that Atticus with his seemingly infinite patience was well suited towards. One that he enjoyed even; a challenge quite like assembling a complex puzzle although they were destroying rather than creating in this instance. The work on the wards was tedious and time-consuming, but it was coming along. It also took nearly all of Aeneas' concentration, so it was quite a few moments before he replied to Atticus. "Quite true," he grunted, his primary focus still on the wards. "Though of course, I am a busy man now. I should have to find time to fit you into my schedule." A smirk, perhaps, may have crossed over Aeneas' face, but it was hidden by the mask. If no one could see it, did the smirk still exist? Aeneas would deny it. "Ah," he said quite suddenly. "This one is quite tricky. But I believe it is the last one." He knew it from the last time, though he knew it would be much more complex. "You will need to hold a Stunning Spell on it while I disable the actual ward." And he had to do it correctly, within a minute. If he couldn't... well, the Dark Lord would not be pleased to call off his attack before it began to say the least. Although he would never actually admit as much for it would undoubtedly violate the code of stoic indifference that the Inner Circle subscribed to, Atticus was grateful for Aeneas's familiarity with the wards. It was still an arduous task but it would have been far more so otherwise. "I am ready if you are," he said with a nod and a glance in his companion's direction to ensure he was indeed ready before he cast the spell. The time for banter was over - now it was time for battle. "Stupefy!" he said with a firm and assured wave of his wand and devoted his attention to holding the spell as Aeneas worked. No more was said as Aeneas worked, frantically, to disable the very last ward on the gates of Hogwarts Castle. His hands remained steady despite the pounding of his heart and the with only seven seconds left to go thereabouts, they were in. He touched the mark on his arm, gently, signalling to the others that they were ready to go. "Ready, old friend?" he asked, putting up a Shield Charm. He put one hand up to the gate and gave it a gentle push. It swung open easily and the oldest of the Dark Lord's followers stepped through, ready for battle. 2. The Order attacks the Inner Circle & Dark Army a. Atticus(2), Augustus(4) vs Hestia(6), Caradoc(8) Normally, Hestia Jones wasn't one to go rushing into battle. She preferred a position that was more supportive, staying behind and healing the injured as they were brought back, but this situation was different. Hogwarts had become her home in the last couple of months, and as it had become her home, Hestia felt a strong need to protect and defend it, particularly against these people who'd shown in the past that they were capable of more horrible things than she wanted to imagine. Not to mention...Hestia had already lost one home because of a Death Eater's vendetta against her (or, technically, against Sirius, but that was neither here nor there, since he wasn't the one who moved out of a flat above the Leaky Cauldron), and losing another was really not her idea of a good time. When the announcement went out on the journals, it hadn't taken Hestia very long at all to hurry upstairs from the Hufflepuff Commons and out onto the grounds. Intending to simply stop her in her path before she had reached him, Atticus sent a bone-twisting curse flying at her leg followed by a silent expulso for the man who was coming fast on her heels. This was clearly not going to be as simple as they had anticipated, he thought as a quick glance around the grounds confirmed that these two were far from the only ones coming from the castle to attempt to defend the place. But the others were not his concern at the moment. Augustus strode quickly across the grounds, his path following Atticus towards the rather unsightly (and newly agitated) statue. His eyes drifted over their surroundings-- a convenient distraction from what would normally be a rather amusing situation to find Atticus in. His hand tightened firmly around his wand as those unmistakeable curses cut through the air back to him. He turned his attention immediately to the two who mistakenly seemed to be heading in their direction. A deep breath was drawn into his lungs, an attempt to steady himself, only to grumble as he exhaled. Must they make things so hard? Hestia hadn't exactly been sneaky in her approach, and was somewhat expecting the Death Eaters--whomever they were--to send hexes at her straightaway. She managed to dodge the curse sent at her by the one (albeit, just barely...she was very glad that she was paying attention and all), though it struck the ground beside her, sending little chunks of dirt and rock up around where it hit. It really only made Hestia angrier...who were they to come storming into Hogwarts like this? To drive her and other people out of another home? They couldn't possibly expect to accomplish anything here, could they? It was with a quick flick of Augustus' wrist that sent the hex from the woman tumbling uselessly between them. He took a step forward in attempt to continue their advance towards the castle, only to be halted immediately by the stone griffon's own advance. It was quickly becoming less amusing to him. However, before he could make a move to defend them, Atticus beat him to it. A soft smirk played over his lips as his attention was cast back to the woman, the man behind her. Before the statue had time to fall, Augustus sent a slashing curse to the man who approached. Undoubtedly Atticus could handle the girl on his own. Caradoc beheld the attacks upon Hestia and the griffon, stooping to Shield himself from the curses shot their way before he again gave the statue motion. It could cover them as he ushed Hestia to safety. His hand clamped down hard on her shoulder, his lips close to her ear. "Get inside," he hissed. "Now." The griffon had clearly not taken too kindly to being immobilised and was now flapping its giant stone wings and squawking loudly yet again. It dove between the two Death Eaters, appearing as if it was going to crash into the ground before swooping back up at the last possible second and circling for another attack. This was absolute insanity. Atticus shot an aguamenti back towards Hestia that connected solidly with her attack, sending water, sparks and smoke every which way before he sent two quick blasting curses - one for each of them - at the intervening Order members. For a moment, Augustus' attention turned from the Order members to the statue. Following Atticus' example from only moments ago, the bird was quickly immobilised. It was brushed aside - sent flying towards the nearest tree. Clearly sending it towards the two opposite them was useless. Perhaps this way it could at least shatter against the trunk of the ancient trunks. He didn't care to look at whether the bird was shattered or not before sending bone-shattering hexes at each of them. The continued attacks to Hestia and the griffon (who had saved their arses, Caradoc knew, multiple times) distracted him from his initial purpose of getting Hestia inside. He saw Rookwood's wand flourish and in reaction, clapped his hands together to create a shield charm over them both so Hestia - if she so saw fit - could save their stony protector. Though Augustus managed to duck both the curse and the stone creature just as Atticus had done, it was with a far greater amount of effort than he would have liked to show. A frown tugged across his lips as he righted himself. Following Atticus' flames, Augustus sent slashing hexes towards the both of them. This time, they were carefully aimed, no gryffon to pay attention to - hopefully a permanent advantage. Before they had much time to do much more than protect themselves, with the soft murmur of his lips, he cast a suffocation hex aimed squarely at the girl's neck. He certainly had not expected that particular curse from the supposedly noble defenders of Hogwarts and although it was far from the most powerful version he had experienced, it was still stronger than he would have thought the other man was capable of. Atticus braced himself heavily on his hands and knees as white, hot pain tore through his body, seemingly searing muscle and boiling blood. Barely managing to keep his body from collapsing entirely on the ground (a strength of will fueled only by the need to maintain some form of dignity) Atticus clenched his wand in his hand. Without lifting his fist from where it was pressed into the ground, Atticus sent the only spell he could think of at the moment at his tormentor. "Avada Kedavra!" One stone wing, still twitching in the throes of lost sentience (for Caradoc hesitated to call it death), leapt up between he and Atticus, absorbing the Killing Curse, only to be reduced to a fine, dusty rubble. All this, of course, broke Caradoc's concentration and effectively ended the effects of the torture curse upon Atticus. There were more Death Eaters swarming from everywhere. Hestia. Turning to catch the girl by the neck of her shirt, he pushed her behind him and constructed a shield for a fleeting moment of instruction. "Get to the castle!" was less of a statement than a bellow. "Can't have our only Healer needing Healing -- NOW!" ... and Caradoc was certainly not a stupid man. As he glimpsed Hestia safely make the environs of the castle, he was able to briefly sidestep the flames (though their heat licked hungrily at his ankles) and cast a silent Immobilising curse followed by an Incarcerous at each Death Eater. Disapparition would have been useful but, taking their distraction for granted, he turned and jogged across the field to the place where one particular Death Eater had just materialised. It was time for them to get out of his school. The relief of the cruciatus ending was enough that Atticus did not particularly care if his killing curse had not landed. It had at least broken the other man's concentration, and although it took a few moments, he eventually pulled himself up off the ground, attempting to act as if absolutely nothing had happened. Ropes began to wind and twist their way around his body and although they were quickly vanished, it gave the two Order members enough of a head start that chasing after them did not seem to be a worthwhile venture. Although...something the man had said resonated in his mind. Their only healer. Well that was certainly a worthwhile target and despite the fact that he could no longer see the girl through the ever-thickening crowd, he gave a slight nod to Augustus before starting off towards the castle in pursuit. b. Walden(1) vs Aberforth(1) Aberforth rushed out of the castle, his face grim and his wand at the ready. He didn't know how the wards had been broken and right now he didn't want to know. Later maybe... if they had a later. He couldn't imagine that this was anything other than a major play at taking Hogwarts by the Death Eaters and later might well be a foreign concept in that case. It was easy to identify the Death Eaters in the their masks and cloaks and Abe snorted. Masks... probably didn't do much for the line of sight but that was only good for him. He slowed as the Order streamed out to take on the Death Eaters, watching to see what was happening before committing himself. When he saw the single Death Eater separate from the group, he headed straight for him... or her... there was no way of knowing which and Abe didn't care. Anyone out on a battlefield took their own chances. It wasn't as though the Death Eaters would be 'nice' to any of the Order women. He cast a protective shield around himself then pointed his wand at the Death Eater and cats a strong, "Stupefy." Walden caught sight of the old man from the corner of his eye and he grinned behind his mask. Finally, he had the chance to battle a wizard who was skilled enough to make things interesting. The Ministry had been a joke, fighting men just barely out of training. Aberforth Dumbledore was a huge step forward. He waved his wand and cast a shielding charm and the spell was reflected, ricocheting off into the fray. The electricity on the battlefield always got to Walden. It was probably an odd thing, but one of his favourite places to be was in the middle of the chaos of the fight. Abe grumbled under his breath when his spell deflected away from the Death Eater. So he wasn't dealing with some child then who was barely out of Hogwarts and thought he was a big man simply because he wore a mask and a cloak. The idea made him snort but he didn't let it distract him either. This was no child he was facing and getting distracted would only cause him pain and annoyance. He'd had enough of that after the last Death Eater attempt to take Hogwarts. His eyes narrowed as he sized up his opponent and he chose his next spell carefully. He pointed his wand at the Death Eater and said, with the barest ghost of a smile, "Aguamenta." He'd blocked the first attack but he was not so lucky with the second. The jet of water struck him in the stomach with the force of a fire hose and he felt himself being tossed back. The water soaked into his robes and made him feel heavy but he forced himself to get up quickly and he took aim at the older wizard. He wasn't sure he'd ever even spoken to Aberforth but he knew the man. It hadn't been all that long since he'd dumped that werewolf boy's body at the back of Dumbledore's pub. Walden put up a shield charm and stared at the other man with a smirk, hidden behind the mask. He knew he shouldn't waste time talking but he couldn't help but push buttons. "I killed your werewolf spy, dropped his stone cold body at your doorstep and you retaliate by giving me a shower? Come now, Dumbledore. Show me how you really feel." Abe's eyes widened momentarily at the Death Eater's words and anger flooded through him. He reined it in, being too damn old to let his temper get the better of him in this kind of situation, and channelled it into his spells. He didn't bother answering the Death Eater. He didn't deserve such recognition, instead he summoned his power and yelled, "Confringo!" then again, "Confringo!" then "Expelliarmus!" His only wish as the spells sped on their way was that he could find a way to get the man's mask off and find out who he was. But he would not ask. No, he would not give the man that satisfaction. His confession had effect he'd been aiming for and he cackled as he deflected the first blast. The second caught his shoulder and he fell back hard. He struggled to stay on his feet but between reflecting and trying to dodge his balance was off. Walden wasn't exactly a small man and he hit the ground with force. He'd been confused, something that didn't happen often, and he made the mistake of reaching out to break his fall. There was a muted crack underneath his body weight and were it not for the pain he would have worried for his wand. Pain drove through Walden's hand and up his arm the moment that he felt his wrist snap and he let out a growl. He knew he had to get up and continue fighting. It was just his wrist. He huffed. Of course it was his wand arm. Walden took his wand into his left hand and fired off a stunning spell as he scrambled to his feet. He didn't wait to see if it hit before trying a second curse. "Crucio!" Aberforth growled under his breath as he cast a shielding spell that deflected the stunner and sent it flying off into the air. He set his shoulders and was about to advance on the Death eater when the second spell came flying at him. He ducked and rolled to avoid it, grunting as he hit the ground a little harder than he'd intended. He was getting too damn old to be playing those sorts of games and he damn well ought to remember that. Ducking, weaving and rolling around on the ground were for the young and supple. He clambered to his feet, now finding himself a fair distance from the Death Eater, but still close enough for another spell. He raised his wand and barked, "Incarcerous" Walden flicked his wand to shield himself against the attack but failed miserably. Already he was having trouble his with left hand. Thankfully it was just a binding spell and not something far worse. The ropes curled around his body and as they tightened he felt himself start to tip. He was on the ground once again, this time quite unable to get up, and he was very glad that none of the Inner Circle were close enough to witness his predicament. His wand was still in his hand and he waved it as much as possible, trying every thing he could to loosen the ropes. Aberforth Dumbledore didn't seem the type to kill a man, but Walden wasn't about to count it out. If he was killed by an old man while bound in ropes he would be very grumpy. Aberforth was about to go and stun the man when a commotion caught his attention. He turned and saw a new wave f people flooding in through the gates. The Death Eaters were easy to identify but it took a moment to identify the rest... and it was only when he caught glimpses of Pepper and someone he thought might be Elle that he realised that the former Ministry Aurors and Hitwizards had come to help. He grinned and shot another glance at the Death Eater he'd been fighting. The man was all tied up for the moment and there were other things to be done. But that didn't mean he shouldn't leave the man with a small reminder of who he'd been fighting. He pointed his wand at the Death Eater and muttered a very old charm that had gotten him into an awful lot of trouble with the Ministry some time back. Purple light shot out of his wand and engulfed his opponent. He then turned and ran down to join the rest of the battle. Walden managed to loosen the ropes but not before the purple light poured from Abe's wand and headed straight for him. With a scream of pain he rolled himself from his back and onto his side so that his injured wrist was pinned between himself and the ground. The light was blinding and then it was gone but he could feel a tingling on the skin of his forearm and wrist. His sleeve was rolled up from the wriggling and there were a few spots of skin that were exposed between the strands of rope. Aberforth had gone and throngs of newcomers were pouring through the gates. Walden cursed to himself and after a few more minutes he was free from the ropes. He lifted his tingling arm to inspect it and frowned at the neon purple spots that he was met with. There were two stripes, one just above his left wrist and then a second right above that. Dumbledore had a Death Eater bound and unable to defend himself and he opted for a glamour spell? Walden took advantage of the alone time he was given and he gathered himself. His wrist was on fire but he ignored it. For now he would try to forget his injury so he could meet his next opponent, confident the next encounter would not end with him in ropes. c. Graley(0) vs Elsie(4) Elsie gripped her wand tightly, shivering slightly. It was nearly May but the nights still got cold, especially in this part of Scotland. She really didn't want to be out on the field in front of Hogwarts, Death Eaters pouring through the gates, but she wouldn't leave the rest of the Order - her friends - just because she was scared. After all, her brother was there and she wouldn't leave him especially, and after so much rigorous training, she was quite a bit more confident in her ability than she had been when Lily and James' house was attacked and she'd had to fight off werewolves. She pressed herself against the wall, feeling a bit safer knowing her back wasn't exposed and hoping she wouldn't be seen right away. In a best case scenario, she could not be noticed and sneak up on a Death Eater who was fighting someone else, then attack them from behind. Anything else, well, she'd just have to hope her training was enough. Graley looked around him as he walked carefully, taking in his surroundings and what was going on. It was slightly cold, but a warming charm had taken care of that and so he was comfortable as he rubbed a hand over his chin, scratching at an old scar hidden there. He was anxious to fight already, the past few months since his release one disappointment after the other and with everything else going on, he had all this pent up energy and he wanted to hurt something. Or kill if he could. But, hurting would be a good second. He looked down as he stepped over something, looking for someone. He could hear the sounds of people yelling and fighting, but everyone seemed quite busy, and he'd let his friends have their fun for the moment as he looked for his own person to attack. Footsteps were heard and before long Elsie saw a figure - a masked figure in a dark cloak, most obviously a Death Eater - pass her by. She held her breath, afraid to even breathe until she could figure out if the Death Eater was aware of her presence. It didn't seem like it, but she wouldn't put it past him to be sneaky. He was a Death Eater, after all. Finally she decided she had to act first, so she very slowly - careful to stay quiet - raised her wand at the Death Eater, hoping she could get one nice surprise hit. "DEPRIMO!" He heard the voice yell and before he even thought about it, he ducked, the curse sailing over his head to hit something in the distance he didn't care about as he cast a shielding charm without even thinking about it, turning around and looking behind him, looking for the sound. "Lumos!" he said loudly, dropping the shield for just a second so he could see, the girl finally, saw where she was before ending that one. Two could play that game at least. "Deprimo!" he shot back at her, figuring an eye for an eye worked well. She had ducked the moment she heard him cast the light charm, but the hex was still too close for comfort and she was knocked to her feet, small bits of the stone falling on her from where it hit the wall. This is not braw, she thought to herself, completely at a loss for what to do. She had just attacked (and missed!) a Death Eater and now she was stuck between him and a wall. And she was on the ground, unable to run even if she had a place to run to, and getting up would just attract his attention, if he didn't already know exactly where she was. Which she didn't doubt. Hoisting herself up on her elbows a little bit, she began to crawl to the side, every instinct in her telling her to run. She would have Apparated away if she could have, like she did on the docks, but she was on Hogwarts grounds - she physically couldn't. Shit. Shit she had to do something but she couldn't think. 'Okay, breathe. A spell,' she told herself. 'Cast one. You've been practising.' She racked her brain for one of the spells that Frank had been trying to drill into her brain, but nothing was coming up. She had to do something, and fast. Finally she remembered one spell and she threw herself onto her right shoulder so she could point her wand at the Death Eater, shooting it straight at him. With tree branches lying on the ground all around her, sending some at him should be able to hold him off. Watching as she was on the ground he took a small step forward, his wand still outstretched. This would be easy, dispose of her and then go and find someone who might actually be worth the time and effort. His wand had dropped slightly as she lay there, with him debating just how to do it, before all of a sudden it rose up again and there were branches coming at him and he frowned, casting a Protego to block it as he took a few hasty steps back. Dropping the shield, it took a second for him to cast a Incendio figuring that branches meant that wood would catch on fire pretty easily. Waiting a few seconds after that, he cast a jelly-fingers curse afterwards, aiming it straight at what he could see of the girl on the ground. The curse hit her left hand straight on and she dropped her wand, alarms going off in her head. This was Not Good. She reached over with her other arm and grasped her wand; spells never turned out as well with her other hand, but this was a life or death situation - anything she could do with her right hand would be better than nothing. She pushed with her feet, scootching so she was partially leaning with her back on the wall and held her wand out unsteadily. Her aim would be off she knew, using her other arm, so she needed something with a wide range to hit and would be powerful enough to get him away long enough for her to get up. "Deprimo!" Graley moved out of the way of the spell, throwing up a shield charm in case it hit, and it did, the edge of his shield being caught and he lost it a few seconds later, the shield dropping as he cast another Incendio at her, followed by an Expluso aimed at the wall above her head, taking a step forward, a grin on his face. And again, Elsie found that her spells were not landing. She didn't want to get frustrated, since she knew that would only make things worse, but she was having a very difficult time with that, especially when suddenly she found her robes on fire and a rain of large stones falling. She cried out, finally, though it was more of a lunatic scream as the fire crept up her legs and arms and around her neck, and a large chunk of the wall fell onto her shoulder, taking skin off - there would be bruising for sure later on she knew, though the only thing she really cared about was the fire. "Aguamenti, aguamenti!" she shouted, water spraying at her legs. Graley didn't like the idea of mercy, and he'd never been one to show it either and so he took a few steps forward even as she was working to throw the fire out and cast another Incendio at her wanting to keep the fire going as long as he could. Burning flesh smelled horrible, but he was sure he could survive it for the time being. The situation was suddenly far more dire than Elsie had initially realised - it wasn't just her robes that were on fire, it was her. The witch had never felt anything as painful as the sensation that her own skin was burning and though she kept the water coming out of her wand - this time pointed straight up in the air so that it would fall back down all over her - but the fire kept issuing from the Death Eater's wand and her own magic was weakening as the pain strengthened. She'd read someplace that people generally suffocated to death before they even felt the extent of the burns, but Elsie certainly wasn't being afforded that luxury. Perhaps it was the nature of magical fire that there was little smoke (or simply that there was no wood burning), but she could still breathe and every breath was filled with the horrendous smell of her own flesh burning. She tilted her head back, trying to get away from the scent, and tears she had been apparenly holding back spilled out onto her face, stinging where her skin was raw and tender. She realised suddenly that she was screaming - when had that started? It didn't even really sound like her, she noticed, one coherent thought among the rest. She could no longer even do anything against the Death Eater - she just wanted the pain to stop. Graley could hear her screaming and while it was irritating, he didn't bother silencing her. He didn't want to even bother. From the way she seemed unable to put his flames out, she wasn't going to be screaming for much longer. Raising his wand up again, he cast one last Incendio before looking around. He had no doubt that she would be dead soon, but, he just wanted to make sure she couldn't crawl for help at some point. Spotting a boulder, he cast a spell, the large rock hovering as he carefully hovered it over her legs before letting it drop, hearing the crunch with a nod of his head. She was stuck as far as he was concerned. Taking a step back, he took a moment before he turned and left, leaving her to a slow death. Nothing stopped - the pain just got worse and worse as she felt the fire going deeper into her skin - how much longer until it consumed her, she wondered. She thought of an old children's story her mother once read to her: the witch had melted and now Elsie realised she was that witch. Her skin was melting - or was it even skin? It looked moist and bubbling and she would have wanted to vomit at the sight of it had she been able to think about it more. Everything was getting fuzzy now - even the pain, which was a good thing. Elsie hadn't even realised the Death Eater was gone now, but it didn't matter. She was only half-conscious now but the pain wouldn't let her and so she lay there, aware of only the burning.
WHO: Order, Gairloch, DEs, DA, Voldie, Dumbles
WHERE: Hogwarts
WHAT: A big fucking battle
WHEN: 11pm 30 April
RATING: R, violence & death
STATUS: Complete
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+ griffon statue (attacks death eaters)
To call it Bedlam would've been an understatement of the highest degree. The Whomping Willow was flailing madly, parts of the castle were joining in the fight, and chaos reigned supreme. Not really wanting to think too much about what she was doing (because she knew her tendency to overthink things would only cause problems in this situation), Hestia ran in the general direction of a handsome stone griffon that seemed to be fighting something off, her wand raised.
Since the evening at the docks fighting the Death Eaters, Caradoc's presence at Hogwarts had been slightly more pronounced. So when the call came that Hogwarts was under attack, he was already there and rushed out to view the scene with his wand at the ready and his senses taut as a bowstring. Bedlam, yes ... and then he caught sight of Hestia, her familiar curls wafting behind her as she ran toward the griffon. He knew that battling wasn't her scene, not at all, and strode after her, hoping that he and the griffon could stand between her and disaster.
Once they had broken through the wards, Atticus had been almost immediately accosted by the damnable stone statue and his attempts to quickly dispense of it with a blasting spell had not panned out quite as he had hoped and just provoked a loud and angry squawk from the thing. (A fact that was more than a little humiliating, but it was apparently more resilient than he had anticipated.) But his second attempt of a hurling hex at least sent the thing flying back several feet and cleared his line of sight to see the young woman running towards him.
She ducked as the great stone griffon swooped low over her head and back towards the Death Eaters and added a blasting hex of her own to the mix, trying to aim between the two men to knock them off their feet. Hestia then sent an additional tripping jinx at the one who'd attempted to curse her to help things along...if nothing else, getting them off their feet would at least distract them and give her (and whomever was behind her, please please please let it be someone from the Order, she thought) a temporary upper hand.
Atticus shot a glance towards Augustus as he came up, feeling rather appreciative of the assistance as he did not particularly relish the notion of taking on two wizards and a statue all on his own. The thought was fleeting, however, as he saw Hestia's attacks and the statue hurtling back at him. He cast a quick protego and his shield flew up to deflect the girl's spells. The griffon, however, was not so easily dealt with and he was already starting to seriously loathe the thing that was now flying straight for his head. He could tell that it had been charmed so it would not attack those who were defending the castle, but that did not mean he was not going to at least attempt to use it to his advantage. He immobilised the statue and sent the now frozen mass of stone flying back at Hestia before following up with a silent gouging spell.
Oh good, it was someone from the Order! Hestia had ducked as the griffon came hurtling toward her, though not enough to prevent its back claws from scraping her back up pretty badly, and it seemed she'd missed another spell, too, one that went whooshing over her head before she could stand up. When she finally did stand up, there was a hand on her shoulder and a Caradoc whispering in her ear. "I'm fine," she reassured him, silently casting an Incendio at the first Death Eater, the one who'd sent the griffon flying back at her. "Anyway, we can't just let them keep marching in, can we? I can fight."
"Watch it!" Hestia didn't really know why she was yelling for a stone griffon to watch where it was going, but it was too great an ally to have in this battle to let it get smashed against a tree so callously. She whipped her wand in the griffon's direction, stopping it in mid-air right before it hit the tree and sending it back towards the Death Eaters. Whatever enchantments the griffon had on it that enabled it to keep fighting, though, Hestia worried they wouldn't last forever, and she drew her wand around, muttering depulso at the Death Eaters as she did. If they couldn't accomplish anything else, perhaps between her and Caradoc (and the griffon, of course), they could get these two to back off and get off the grounds...at least, that was the ideal.
Atticus was most certainly not going to be chased off the grounds by these two and an animated stone gargoyle. Even if this was starting to resemble a scene out of a children's story. Had he been told that afternoon that he would be thrown into a prolonged fight with a statue there would have been nothing but disbelief on his face. But here he was. And it was apparent that the griffon needed to be destroyed before they would be able to properly deal with their opponents. Quickly ducking and moving to avoid both the griffon and Hestia's blasting curse, Atticus shot an offhanded incendio towards the two before leaving Rookwood to more properly handle them. Instead he turned his attention to the statue, shooting a series of powerful expulsos at the thing, determined to keep on attacking it until it had been shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. He never had been able to deal particularly well with the absurd.
Thoroughly disgusted with his Death Eater opponents as the griffon was summarily smashed to bits, Caradoc managed to receive a slash across his cheek from one of Augustus's curses before he fired back with a "REDUCTO" -- oh, if only they would explode, and a "Crucio!", knowing that the line between living and using an Unforgivable was thin indeed. As he waited for the return volley, however, he was distracted by a commotion over his right shoulder.
The griffon was gone, and that was bad. The first Death Eater had cast a slashing hex, which had hit Hestia's upper arm, and that was worse. But the very worst was a suffocation hex that the second Death Eater had cast at her throat. Everything tightened up, as if his hands were around her neck, crushing her windpipe and preventing any air from getting in at all. Hestia's first reaction, almost subconsciously, was to grab at her throat and the neck of her shirt, to try and loosen something, all while gasping loudly and ineffectively, but when neither of those solutions provided her any relief, something in her mind realized, Suffocation Hex. You know the countercurse to this, you're a Healer, damnit.
Of course, remembering the countercurse while unable to breathe was really not the easiest thing in the world, and Hestia had fallen to her knees, her face practically turning blue from lack of air before she finally remembered and silently cast the curse on her own throat. With air rushing back into her lungs, Hestia decided never to take another breath of air for granted again, but was still given to a severe coughing fit and unable to stand for a minute. Still, from the ground, she sent a weak finger removing jinx at the Death Eater who'd cast the suffocating hex at her. She just needed a minute to catch her breath again, and hopefully, that would buy her that minute.
There. Finally. But as the griffon exploded, Atticus had one final use for the thing and he cut a broad and sweeping arc with his wand to catch the bits of the statue before they could hit the ground. Fine dust and razor sharp chunks of stone hovered in the air for just a moment before he sent the entire mass of it flying at his opponents in a diffuse spray of fragmented rock. And then he promptly fell to his knees with a shout of anguish as Caradoc's crucio - which seemed to come out of nowhere - connected squarely with his chest. Perhaps he had been a little too distracted playing with his statue.
Hestia didn't protest this time; she was still shaky from the effects of the suffocation hex, and she didn't think she'd be able to do much more good until she'd had a chance to recover a bit more. She stood and grabbed Caradoc's arm quickly as she turned to run back. "You'd better be not far behind me, or..." Or what? Now really wasn't the time to be making threats against her allies, but Hestia didn't want Caradoc to be stuck out here by himself either. She could see out of the corners of her eyes that the Death Eaters were multiplying...where were they coming from?
No time to wonder, just time to go back to the castle. "Just be safe," she said finally before running for safely as quickly as she could manage after nearly being suffocated.
Augustus had barely managed to deflect Caradoc's blasting curse, the force of it sent him stumbling back a few steps -- nearly even losing his balance. A variety of hexes were shot towards the boy in the wake of the destruction of the gryffon's wing if for no other reason than to give him a moment to right himself. He could hear the stir behind them grow in volume, hexes and countercurses becoming a gentle roar around them. It gave him pride. With the graceful motions of his wand, he summoned flames, directing them to engulf the ground around Caradoc.
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