Who: Dorcas Meadowes, Edgar Bones, Leoben Yaxley, Geoffrey Nott and Orsino Avery When: Saturday, 19 September 1980, 10pm Where:Christchurch Castle What: Ben keeps his promises Rating: Violence, language and death Status: Almost complete log
This was one of those things that just said "bad plan" all around. And Dorcas knew it. She knew Yaxley's message was probably just another trap, to make her watch her parents die in front of her just like he'd done with her brother, but she couldn't not go. If there was even a chance that she could save them, she had to try. Or she'd never forgive herself. Not that there was much of a chance of that happening after everything she'd done anyway...
No, she couldn't think like that. This was going to be different because she wasn't playing by his rules. She wasn't playing his stupid game. She knew Christchurch Castle, almost like the back of her hand from playing among the ruins as a kid (although the fact that they were so close to her childhood home was making her stomach turn). And she had Ed with her. Ed would get her through this, even if she didn't have the slightest idea how. Between the two of them, they could take Yaxley, right? Even if she couldn't kill him herself, they could figure out a way to stop him. She just had to focus. She had to push every last bit of grief and fear aside and just figure out how to get her parents back. They were the only family she had left.
They were under disillusionment charms when the apparated to the edge of the castle grounds, far enough from the ruins themselves that they wouldn't be seen or heard. She hoped.
"I think... if we sneak up the hill to behind the main wall," she whispered, her voice and hands both shaking, out of her control. God, she was terrified. She just wanted to be back at Frank's, curled up in bed. And no amount of telling herself she could do this was going to change that.
Edgar was gripping his wand tightly, body tense, not with anticipation but with dread. It didn't bode well. He knew that after what happened to her brothers, that Dorcas had to be here despite everything, despite what they both knew was intended by this. Ed was uneasy. It couldn't be as simple as just wandering in and overtaking Leoben Yaxley (not that, in their combined emotional and mental states, Ed was certain they could). When they had joined the Order, thinking that they were going to make a real honest difference in the world, Ed could've never in his wildest dreams anticipated this situation.
"Yeah," he agreed quietly, and her squeezed her shoulder as reassuringly as he could manage before they started heading up the hill.
Leoben was a confident sort of man. He did not though, as a rule, let his confidence get (very much) in the way of plans. He was thorough and he thought things through far more often than not. He stepped on and overcame the recklessness that so many others in his generation succumbed to. That was partly why he had asked only the inner circle for help in this. He wanted none of the youthful hotheadedness that his peers possessed. Mr Nott and Mr Avery were unlikely to do something rash. That, and Ben was not stupid. He did not expect Dorcas Meadowes to come alone despite his instructions. She hadn't, after all, shown a very great capacity to following instructions thus far. He certainly didn't expect her to now.
He idly checked his pocket watch and looked over the silenced bodies of Stuart and Louise Meadowes. Well. One silenced and one dead. The woman was a muggle. Simply for his own comfort, he'd disposed of her quickly. Both were sticky charmed to one of the inner walls. Mrs Meadowes was nearly unmarked, but for the awkward, impossible angle of her neck. Mr Meadowes was only barely conscious, barely alive really. He was only being kept around so Leoben could make his daughter watch.
It was nearing the meeting time though and so he breathed reiterated requests (rather than instructions). "We should make your presence a surprise. It would do best to stick to the shadows."
And there were plenty to hide amongst. Leoben himself leaned against the wall just inside the entrance, in very plain view and directly in front of the stuck parents. He rather hoped she would come in through the most obvious entrance to take in the whole striking display.
Orsino had not been on a mission for quite some time and to have Yaxley, a young man that he could actually respect, request his assistance in carrying out this plan was something he could not refuse. What also made him agree to this was the Meadows girl and her sudden outburst. He had grown tired of those unworthy to call themselves witches and wizards. Every day that they remained alive and within their world was another scar placed upon wizarding society. Meadows had decided to oust those he had come to know very well and it did not sit well with him. While a task such as this would normally be left up to younger Death Eaters, it was clear that from recent events, they could not be trusted to work such a delicate plan. Yaxley was smart enough to know this and that was why he agreed to accompany him.
He stood just near Mrs Meadows or what once was Mrs Meadows and idly straightened out his robes, not at all phased by the body. When Leoben gave the instructions, he looked up for a moment and gave the boy a curt nod before glancing to his right and giving the woman's lifeless form a disgusted look. "Revolting," he muttered then slid into the shadows on the opposite side of the room from Leoben.
Geoffrey even found it odd himself that he anticipated this particular mission above recent others. He was so used to being detached from most all he did, finding it a mere obligation, and found that it made him more efficient and better at making the quick decisions if no emotions or feeling whatsoever entered the equation. However, when it came to dealing with this disgrace of a woman, with the embarrassment she was to society as he saw it, there was a hint of excitement in carrying out orders - a certain satisfaction, knowing there would be an example set, or at least hoping for one. It wasn't so much a problem of her outing certain individuals within his own ranks; he at least hoped nobody of any standing would believe just anything written in a journal. No, this was all about setting an example.
He nodded as well, falling into line and following Orsino to a jagged section of the old wall. The old man smirked to himself, a rare sight, as he had to tilt his head to the side to fit without bumping his head. Of course, the hitwizard did have to take note of an exit strategy should the wall come down before he had a chance to hurry off. . .as well as analyze the crumbling architecture and wonder if he could use it to his advantage.
Dorcas climbed the hill, all her thoughts on just putting one foot in front of the other, her legs carrying her forward despite all of her fear and reservations and when she finally reached the top, she had to take a minute and lean back against the outside wall of the ruins to try and compose herself, as laughable as the thought was. Okay, maybe two minutes. It was quiet at least; there was no screaming and in Dorcas's life these days that seemed to be a profoundly good thing. Right, okay. Time to do this.
Still under their disillusionment charms, she felt for Edgar's hand and gave it the tightest squeeze she could manage. And then, just as Leoben had hoped, she came through the main entrance, stopping short at the sight in front of her. Whatever cover the charm gave her was likely ruined by the soft, desperate whimper that tore from her throat at the sight of her parents. At her mother's neck. No. Not again. As much as she wanted to kill Yaxley with every fibre of her being, there wasn't time for that now, not when she knew she still couldn't manage that spell. Instead she threw a stunning spell at him and two finite spells to free them, sending them crumpling to the ground. Her mother was... there was no use. But her father. She ran towards him, unable to think of anything but getting him out of there.
Leoben's attention snapped to the noise, eyes falling on the vague sort of shimmer that accompanied a disillusionment charm. It was not exactly precise, but the spells that came his way next were a good enough indication of where she was. The first hit the wall behind him and he deflected the next, feeling a swell of adrenaline and satisfaction as the bodies dropped to the ground. He cast a shield charm around himself, if only so he'd have some warning if someone was trying to hex him. His attention was solely on Dorcas. Mr Nott and Mr Avery could deal with anyone she happened to have brought along. That was what they were there for.
He threw a well-practised blasting hex between Dorcas and her broken father. He didn't want her to get in the way. It was would ruin his fun.
"Sectumsempra," he snarled, aiming at Mr Meadowes's throat. For once, he was not bothered with the mess this would make. He wanted a mess.
"Fucking fuck," Ed said under his breath after they came into the building, following right after Dorcas as she made her entrance and released her parents. Still under the guise of the disillusionment, Ed silently cast a shield charm around the two of them while aiming a stunner in Leoben's direction just before the other man's blasting hex hit the ground. Ed devoted his energy into maintaining the shield as the force of the explosion sent him stumbling backward. He needed to protect her. He needed to do everything in his power to get Dorcas out of there alive.
Geoffrey tightened his fist around his wand and stepped from the wall just barely, still hidden by the shadows his place provided. At first he looked for what to do from his colleague Orsino, knowing it would be rather rude to go after Yaxley's own target. Instead, he stepped from the shadows, waiting for a sign of what to do next.
Orsino watched from behind the shadows as Dorcas stupidly entered through the front door. While he had strong feelings of anger and hatred for the girl, he understood that it was Yaxley who would take care of her. His focus quickly shifted to the man who arrived with Ms Meadows. He was Orsino's object and he would see to it that this extra would be well taken care of. Without wasting any time, he took advantage of the spare as he stumbled backward and quickly gave his wand a wave. He silently threw a bone crushing curse towards his target, watching in anticipation as the stream of light blazed across the room.
The blasting curse threw Dorcas back a few steps, long enough that she could do nothing but watch as the sectumsempra tore across her father's throat, as blood poured down his shirt. She cried out, blindly sending another stunning spell and a blasting hex in Yaxley's direction before throwing herself at her father. She desperately clamped her hands down around his neck to try and stop the bleeding before trying every healing charm she knew, all to no avail.
If Dorcas had been thinking clearly, she might have realised that she could not afford to be distracted right now. But all she could think about was her father. Her father who wasn't even speaking to her any more, who blamed her for Edmund and Neville's deaths (and likely Christian's as well, but that owl had been returned unopened) and now he was going to die and all she could do was drag his body into her lap, his blood soaking her clothes as he let out a few last wet, shuddering breaths. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she whispered, tears streaming down her face as he grew still in her arms. And then she looked up at Yaxley. She did not even notice the other two Death Eaters, her attention was so fixed on the man who had now murdered her entire family. "CRUCIO" she screamed, her hand shaking as she pointed her wand at him. She still did not think she could cast a killing curse, but surely she could manage this with all of her desperate desire to make him suffer.
Leoben was dully aware of the battle around him, that his shield charm was weakening and that the most rational thing to do would be to put some effort into retaining it to avoid injury. But not now. Now, he was transfixed, watching grief and anger and regret come to the surface, watching them mingle and fight for the final overarching emotion.
And so, her cruciatus hit him square in the chest and he fell, a cry of surprise and pain issuing from his throat for an extended moment. But it was over quickly and he realised very rationally that he still had his wand. He threw another shield around himself and climbed to his feet, a smirk playing on his lips.
"I'm afraid you'll have to try harder than that, Miss Meadowes," he said quietly, just enough to be heard above the din of battle. "A lesson on that later. Incarcerous."
Edgar had held his shield despite his stumble, so when Orsino's bone-twisting hex hit, it bounced away from Ed and Dorcas and instead crashed into a floor to ceiling beam. Debris went flying, but the destruction of the weight-holding chuck of wood thankfully didn't cause the ceiling--which looked to Edgar as though it had seen many, many better days--to cave in on them all. Ed was fairly certain, however, that it could collapse at any moment, crushing them all amid the supports of the place. Watching as Leoben killed Dorcas' father, Edgar rationalized that, at this point, he should just throw Dorcas over his shoulder and fucking run for the hills.
He realized then that his disillusionment charm was gone, and that he was standing there clear as day in the middle of the place. Fuck. From the direction the bone-hex had come from, Edgar shot two blasting hexes in quick succession, followed by, "Furnuculus!" He fortified the shield still surrounding himself and Dorcas, trying to stay as close to her as he could manage. "Dorcas! We have to leave!" he called, dread lacing his tone of voice as he came to the conclusion that there were likely more Death Eaters in the place than just Leoben Yaxley and Mr Hiding in the Shadows. Then he added, "There's nothing else we can do here, we have to save ourselves!" It might not have been the most Gryffindor-style thing that Ed had ever said in his life, but it was the truth. Even hot-headed, Let's-Charge-Into-Battle-Screaming style-Gryffindors (and Godric knew that up until his duel with Bellatrix and Sirius, that was what Ed was) could recognize a lost cause.
Orsino's focus lay strictly upon Ed and he quickly made a wave of his arm to deflect the curse that was sent his way. He heard Leoben cry out and while he wanted to turn and look to check on his fellow Death Eater, he knew he had to protect himself first. Looking away, even for a moment could be a costly mistake. So, he gave another wave of his arm and spat, "diffindo," through trightly gritted teeth, aiming at his target who was standing in plain view. He quickly scanned the room, look left, right, up and down. But there, above his victim lay another wooden beam. He quickly glanced back down to the other man for a brief moment then shot his gaze back up to the beam again. If he blasted it from the ceiling it was sure to come crashing down directly ontop of Ed. He lifted his wand and pointed it directly at the wooden structure and just as he opened his mouth to utter the spell, he noted the aged ceiling that rested heavily upon this beam. Surely that ceiling would come barreling down ontop of all of them if that beam were to be destroyed.
Seeing the other man that had arrived with Dorcas be revealed as a charm faded, Geoffrey almost missed the hexes thrown his way, able to throw his weight back enough to dodge and put up a hasty shield of his own. His eyes darted between Dorcas' companion and Leoben, trying to keep a good balance of the two, as too much attention to one thing could let the most minute of details from the other escape him. He nearly laughed at what the man yelled, about saving themselves, though stifled any sound of amusement and instead held his wand out at him. Quickly, though, he noticed Orsino point his own at an old support beam directly above the lot of them. He doubted even the strongest of shield charms could fully protect them from stone blocks pummeling them all, and exclaimed, "No, not yet." It ruled out a gouging charm or an expulso Geoffrey himself had been thinking of, after all, their precarious location. Instead, he continued to shoot hexes and curses at the other man, trying to get him far enough away from the woman he protected so the shield would cease to be effective. Geoffrey cast two blasting curses of his own and a Deprimo, trying to hurl the man farther backwards, hoping at least something would make it's way through.
It was a good thing for Dorcas that Ed's shield charm managed to deflect Yaxley's incarcerous, as she was far too distracted by both the fact that she had just actually cast a cruciatus and her frustration at just how ineffective it had been.
The sound of Ed calling her name caught her attention and she turned to look. It was then that she saw the other two Death Eaters and a fresh wave of panic tore through her. She should have expected... She should have noticed them, but she had been far too fixated on her parents. Not that it was an unexpected reaction. Still, Ed was right. They needed to get out of there. She glanced back towards Yaxley, thinking of how desperately she wanted to kill him, but even with as irrational as Dorcas was feeling, she could realise that wasn't going to happen tonight. Not if she and Ed wanted to escape with their lives as well. Abandoning her father's body with far less care than she would have liked, she pushed herself to her feet, quickly shooting another blasting curse at Yaxley as she started moving towards Ed, stopping only to glance back toward the bodies of her parents one last time. There was nothing to do but leave them, as much as it pained her to do.
Leoben was having none of it. His focus was directly on Dorcas and he wasted no further time. She was not going to get away from him, not now. No, Leoben kept his promises; at least ones of this calibre and importance. He'd promised to take her entire family away before he took her. And now he'd accomplished the first part. But he would not leave a job unfinished.
"Stupefy," he snarled.
The red sparks collided with her retreating form and he felt a rush of triumph as she fell in a heap. Leoben strode quickly towards her and clamped his hand around her arm. Mr Nott and Mr Avery could deal with her companion. Leoben had larger things to attend to.
With a sharp pop, both Leoben and Dorcas disappeared.
Things changed for completely for Ed's state of mind before he could blink twice.
One second, Dorcas was walking toward him, and they were going to Fuck Right Off, Thanks and go burrow in some safehouse or another and it would be fucking Hell without a second thought, but it would be better than being dead, or trapped. Ed deflected the deprimo, but the first of Geoffrey's blasting hexes crashed right at his feet and Edgar stumbled backward, losing his footing and crashing to the ground on his arse. The other hex crashed into the wall behind them, beside the door. The shield was gone. And as Edgar struggled upward against the weight of the fall and the reverberation of the crash, time stood still for the briefest second as he watched Leoben stupefy Dorcas, grab her, and then disappear.
"Oh fucking fuck no." Edgar deadpanned as he scrambled upward. Oh Godric. Oh Merlin. Oh just fuck. She was gone. In thin-air. He had lost her. Leoben was going to kill her. That twisted-Death Eater fuck was going to... he was going to... Edgar was hyper-ventilating as anxiety took over and finality of the situation took a moment to resonate. He hadn't protected her. Dorcas was going to die and he'd... he hadn't stopped it. He hadn't gotten her out of there in time. Everything was muted as Edgar stood there with a painful expression on his face that couldn't settle between angry, panic or being absolutely and completely fucking petrified.
Dorcas was going to die.
Circe she... she couldn't. Not his Dorkface. Not like this.
It couldn't end like this.
Orsino knew better than to blast the beam high above them just yet. He had noticed how weak the system was and by destroying that one bit of support would mean the abrupt end to all their lives, not just Ms Meadows and her partner. Geoffrey's words were barely heard when the man told him, not yet. Instead, he panned his gaze back down to the stranger that had stupidly placed himself as a free target for both him and Nott. At that, he threw curses and hexes along side his fellow Death Eater, firing one after another, making an attempt to break the shield that was so obviously there and to make sure that the other man was unable to assist Ms Meadows in any way.
Suddenly there was a loud pop amongst the chaos of hexes, curses and explosions. Orsion, with his wand still pointed directly at the man who had now fallen onto the floor, he gave the room a quick glance over and noticed that both Yaxley and Ms Meadows were gone. From behind his mask he smiled and knew the job was done. He looked back to the man again who sat all alone in the middle of the floor with no one to help. The shield must be gone.
"Crucio," he said in a threatening tone, giving his wand a tight swish and flick.
The two older Death Eaters obviously had the same idea - keep Dorcas Meadowes unprotected by the other man. Geoffrey continued to attempt to overwhelm the shield, distract the man, by "Expulso!" and gouging spells at the ground near him, anything he could think of to attempt to destroy.
Geoffrey's gaze turned as he heard the pop of apparation, seeing that Leoben had taken the girl, just what he had intended to do. Smiling to himself from how much of a success this "errand" had been, he returned back to Orsino and the other man, just as a crucio had been cast. Not wanting to intrude on his colleague's work, Geoffrey stood back, wand at the ready - merely a backup. He preferred it that way, however.
The crucio hit an incredibly unprepared Edgar square in the chest. The force of the hex sent him back, and he lost his hold on his wand. It rolled behind him, but Edgar didn't notice, distracted by the searing, white hot, agonizing pain that was ripping through his entire body. First he was gasping, then he was screaming and writhing, falling down to his knees. Edgar couldn't think of anything except for how much it hurt, how he wished he was dead.
"Crucio!" Orsino shouted, jabbing his ward forward as he cast the curse again, the word spilling from his lips like venom. His grip tightened upon the wand, his knuckles turning white has he turned his wrist just ever so slightly as if to twist the pain even hard and further into his victim. Seconds turned into minutes, slowly... ticking... by. Finally he released the curse, pulling his wand away and pointed it straight up within his nimble fingers. Just then he remembered the one and only support beam that rested above them. He glanced over to Nott and nodded up towards the ceiling. At that, he looked up, rose his wand higher, gave it another swift swish and flick and uttered the word, "expluso!"
The beam had become shards of wood firing in every which direction as the ceiling began to omit an aching creek while rumbling gently. "Go Nott!" He hollared to his fellow Death Eater then suddenly disappeared with a loud pop.