Ferdinand "hates potted plants" Gibbon (the_archduke) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2009-02-20 00:05:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | ! [1980-02] february, elle abercrombie, ferdinand gibbon, gawain robards, patrick vance |
Who: Gawain Robards, Elle Abercrombie, Ferdinand Gibbon, and Patrick Vance
Where: The Foundation Centre in Diagon Alley
When: Night; 19 February, 1980
What: Scary DEs spook off Gairloch folks.
Rating: Probably PG-13 for mild violence
Status: In-progress
So much for a peaceful evening at home, Ferdinand thought, as he waited quietly behind the Foundation Centre in Diagon Alley for any sign of a disturbance. Of course, being a Death Eater meant being more or less at the Dark Lord's beck and call, no matter how much you would rather stay at home with a book, and he supposed he couldn't complain. It also meant wearing a mask on occasion, and tonight, Ferdinand found that his nose itched, and the mask made it rather difficult for him to scratch it. He hoped that this wasn't a false alarm -- of course, Amycus Carrow's information was almost always good, but there was the chance that the rogue ex-DMLE had lost their nerve and he and Patrick Vance were just going to stand around the Foundation Center having a chat. There were worse things, of course. He had contemplated bringing up the subject of his sister several times, but it seemed rather inappropriate considering the circumstances, and either way he didn't want to seem pushy. In lieu of that, he checked the new charms they had set up earlier that evening to alert them to intrusions. Nothing as of yet. Along with Ferdinand, Patrick had been watching the Foundation Centre for a while, and while his patrolling partner was at the back of the building, he had been walking around for some time, checking to see if there were anything suspicious. So far, everything seemed to be normal, which is actually a good thing, even though it would mean they would have been wasting their time. He made his way back to where Ferdinand was, shaking his head to indicate that there had been nothing wrong at the front side of the centre. Gawain had no idea that he was not alone outside the Foundation Centre but he was still acting with great caution. He was glad to have Elle with him, if not a little protective of her. He knew she could hold her own and she had proven this on many occasions, but this was Kate's best friend. He hadn't wanted Kate to come with him because he would have spent the entire mission watching her back and not focusing his attentions on the actual task at hand but now he worried that he would do the same with Elle. No, he was completely focused on planting these bombs. They had a point to put across. Two explosions in two places, each very valued by members of the Death Eater community. It might not be the Ministry and it was just a small dent in the thick armour of the new government, but it was something. Elle had needed to come along on this mission. She was still stiff from the attack in January, but her wounds (for the most part) had healed over. Her determination to do something right had caused her to offer to join Gawain, and so here she was alongside him, her trained senses heightened. She glanced from left to right and then looked over to Gawain, giving him a nod to let him know that the coast was clear so far as she could see. Ferdinand was pulled out of his thoughts by the eruption of red sparks from his wand, alerting him that an intrusion had occurred at the Foundation. Thankfully, they weren't high enough or loud enough to be noticed by anyone other than Patrick himself. "I suppose Carrow was right," he muttered, adjusting his mask slightly. "Let's go." He held out his wand and gestured for Patrick to follow him along the side of the building to look for whoever it was that thought it appropriate to intrude upon the Foundation at this hour of the night. Gawain made note of Elle's nod and he motioned for her to follow around the side of the building. The explosives were in a bag that he clutched carefully at his side. After a few more steps he put a hand up to stop Elle and he crouched down to tug at the drawstring of the sack. He couldn't believe what they were about to do, that they had been forced to resort to this. Just as Gawain started to reach into the bag he stopped, and looked past Elle. "Did you hear something?" He asked, his voice just a whisper. Following his partner, Patrick took fast, but somewhat cautious strides to the other side of the building. He saw what seemed to be two figures in the distance, and made a motion to indicate that they should walk more slowly so that the intruders would not notice they were there. His hand gripped his wand, ready to throw in any necessary spells should they need to resort to that later. Ferdinand wordlessly cast two muffling spells on their feet to silence their footsteps, making it easier to sneak up on the intruders without alerting them with so much as the crunch of gravel under their feet. Sliding along the edge of the building, he saw the figures crouched by the Foundation Centre. With a complicit glance towards Patrick, he set off a silent Blasting Hex towards them. An answer to Gawain's question came in the form of a blaze of colour coming toward them and he grabbed Elle and pulled her to the ground as he shouted a blocking spell. A small bit of debris crumbled from the side of the building but there wasn't much damage done. Gawain strained to find the origin of the hex but it was dark and he couldn't make out any figures in the distance. He fired off his own blast in the direction the first had come from, hoping to at least locate the assailents. Before the intruder's Blasting Hex could hit him and Ferdinand, Patrick managed to cast Protego just in time. Even though he managed to protect them from the spell, the impact of the spell pushed him back, and he placed a hand on the wall to regain his balance. Now that their presence was noticed, it seemed useless to stay back. "Let's get closer," he muttered, taking a few steps forward though keeping himself ready just in case they threw another hex towards them. Ferdinand was thankful for Patrick's quick reflexes and braced himself against the wall of the building. As they crept forward, silent as the grave, he contemplated the next spell they should throw. The Killing Curse seemed a bit extreme, but it would show the intruders, whatever they were up to, that they meant business. And mean business Ferdinand did. After all, this building was the centre of Narcissa's life's work... And Narcissa was a friend, not to mention the good of society. Whispering the words, "Avada Kedavra," he sent an unmistakable flash of green light sailing (purposefully) over their heads. Elle was grateful for Gawain's quick moves and crouched quickly, the stones from the building scattering around them. She grabbed the bag of explosives and wrapped the top of the bag around her hand so she wouldn't lose it. She pointed her wand in the direction where Gawain had shot his curse and cast a freezing charm on the ground toward the direction of their assailants so that the ice became slick and smooth as ice. She was about to suggest she set the explosives while Gawain held off whoever was coming behind them, but then there was that all too familiar flash of green lights above their heads. The chill that flew down Elle's spine was distracting, but she forced herself to get it together. She grabbed Gawain's arm and started tugging him backwards, away from the Killing Curse and whoever was behind it, "Fuck this," she said, her voice low but above a whisper, "There aren't enough of us to die over this. Let's get out of here." Gawain nodded his head earnestly at Elle's suggestion and he allowed himself to be towed as he shot off another few rounds of random hexes and blasts. His goal was not to hit, though that would be a bonus, but more to distract so that he and Elle could get away. They were running away, something that Gawain was not accustomed to, but he knew why they were doing it. She was right. There were not enough of them to take the risk and so they would retreat to fight again. The hexes and spells certainly distracted Patrick; he found himself trying to protect himself and Ferdinand from the spells coming from different directions. The impact caused him to be pushed back, but it was nothing that could injure him. He glanced sideways, hoping that Ferdinand would be able to use some offensive spells against the intruders before they could get away. As Patrick threw up Shield Charms, Ferdinand ducked and dodged them, watching the two shadowy figures retreating. In retaliation, he shot several Blasting Hexes in their direction, not particularly counting hitting them. As they disappeared, Ferdinand ceased the array of hexes towards them, turning to Patrick. "Typical. Running away at the first sign of an actual fight," he said with a sigh. "We should probably stick around for a bit to make sure they don't try to come back, though." But he wasn't particularly worried. He opened up his journal and went to report the occurrence to his higher-ups. |