Who: Aberforth Dumbledore, Ioan MacFusty, Leoben Yaxley, Graley Rosier, Frank Longbottom, Aeneas Nott, Doris Crockford, Caradoc Dearborn, Gaius Travers, Marlene Lupin, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, James Potter, Elsie Prod What: Ransacking purist shipments Where: Bristol shipping docks When: 13 April 1980, night
Rating: PG-13 Status: Complete
Frank was among the first to arrive. Apparating quietly, he materialized at the appointed place on the boardwalk, which was made perfect for a last-minute meeting and send-off before they went their separate ways by a large crate that shielded the appearing witches and wizards from unfriendly eyes. "Right," he began, his tone low, once everyone was there. He felt calmer than he thought he would at this point, for he'd spent the past several days restless with excitement at the prospect of striking the purists once again. Bombing libraries, wrecking shipments -- it was all such a far cry from what he'd thought he'd be doing at this stage in his life. Such reflections, however, were far from his mind at this precise moment; his focus was on the here and now.
"Wands always at the ready," he was saying, still quiet. "Use them if anything seems off." Most of the sailors of the vessels they were targeting would be off-ship, but there was always the risk of being chanced upon by any crew that remained, or the guards themselves once the crates started hitting the water.
Marlene nodded, her wand already in hand in case anyone snuck up on the group while they were having their momentary pow-wow. That would be the last thing any of them needed: getting caught before they even got started with what they were there for. "Sounds good," Marlene nodded, moving to stand next to Remus, since they were paired and ready to do some cargo-damaging together. "I think we'll take that one," she said, pointing at one of the further ships.
Aberforth felt the usual mix of apprehension, excitement and slightly manic glee that always seemed to surface within him when he dived into things like this. It had happened ever since he was a boy getting into mischief in Mould on the Wold and Godric's Hollow so it didn't worry him all that much. It would keep him alert and aware and that was the most important thing. He nodded at Frank's instructions and pulled his wand out. He was in two minds about working alone, part of him liked it because he was used to it though another part wouldn't have minded someone to watch his back. "Good luck," he murmured to the others. He pointed to one of the closer ships. "I'll take the stern of that one if someone wants to take the bow."
Of the two ships that Caradoc had gotten manifests of, Frank knew there would be things worth taking instead of just hurling into the water, and that the one Aberforth was indicating at certainly had some cargo of that sort. "I'll take it," he said with a nod, giving his arm a shake to loosen the muscles.
Once Marlene and Remus decided on which ship they were going to take care of, Remus nodded to the others and began to lead the way -- wand out, prepared, making sure Marlene was following behind him. It had been a while since they've had the opportunity to do something like this. Sure, he and the guys had made a couple of plans, but now he actually felt like they were about to accomplish something. Even if the purists could afford more shipments, at the very least, they would be sending a message: That they would not stop, that they would resort to higher and more drastic measures until they won this. That they wouldn't give up. "Ladies first," Remus grinned at Marlene as they arrived at the board leading out onto the ship, and then following close behind her.
Caradoc was following his friends quietly, happy to let Frank and Aberforth take the lead (as he was hardly of 'leader' qualities). As they began to set up their respective places, he nodded. This was going to be good.
"I'll stay here," he said, "and maintain an exit. If you pile up most of the stuff that needs chucking there -- he pointed toward one point on the starboard side -- I can dump it in the water with my wand."
Frank nodded at Caradoc's words, keeping his gaze on Marlene and Remus as they left for their ship just in case anyone jumped out and surprised them. Then, satisfied, and with a nod at those who remained, he disappeared, apparating seconds later on the ship that was going to be substantially lighter within the next few minutes.
Severus v. James, Elsie
James hadn't minded getting paired with Elsie when Frank had assigned them. She was funny and talkative and he hadn't really been expecting that they'd get caught. He had the cloak stashed in a small pack he was wearing on his back and as they worked on their task James cracked jokes about nearly everything they encountered. He was in a pretty stellar mood all around. They were finally doing something and it felt good.
The only thing that made him slightly nervous was that the part of the docks they'd been assigned has huge rows of crates surrounding them in nearly every direction. It made James feel slightly claustrophobic but they were a blessing in a curse. It cut them off from the rest of the group entirely, but they'd have an easier position to defend if it became necessary.
Two months ago Elsie wouldn't have dreamed that she would ever volunteer for an assignment like this. Her talents had never been physical, and though she had gone out of the country with her brother on Order assignments before, they were always to meet someone or to find something, never to do something.
The times had changed though, and after a brief period following her husband's death where she seriously questioned if the Order of the Phoenix was worth her loss, she found that throwing herself into Order work - working on fake IDs and pins and other things - helped her to move on. She wasn't over it, not in the least, but she now had something else to focus on, and that helped.
So this was just one more thing she could do for the Order, and, as much as she hated to admit it, there were less people around these days to do them so she really needed to. Besides, it was a bunch of docks - Death Eaters wouldn't be wandering around, right? "I think we want these," she said, deliberately avoiding using his name, and tapped a crate with her wand, taking the top off to peer inside. "Wait, no."
She moved further down the row and turned a corner, opening up another box. Aha, this stuff looked like the kind of stuff they would definitely want to ransack. "Aye," she called to James, not realising he was too far away to hear clearly. "This lot looks braw."
Severus was quickly growing to hate Monday nights, and this week was no exception. Between his work on the library, the potions he was making every night often early into the morning and his work at the Ministry, Monday evening's late night was just one more thing to exhaust him. When the call alerted him to a problem on the docks, he groaned and pulled on his mask and robes before Apparating to the docks hoping that it was nothing at all. Of course when he saw the shadowy figures moving amongst the crates he groaned inwardly. Not another bloody skirmish when he was exhausted. Elsie's voice carried easily in the night and Severus moved quietly towards her, hoping that her attention would be elsewhere until he could disarm her.
Luckily, or unluckily perhaps, Severus had absolutely no idea who Elsie was and would not have recognised her immediately as an Order member. Even if he had, the least he would have done would have been to have missed and given her a chance to Apparate away - assuming she would have taken it. Snape moved into range and pointed his wand at the figure on the docks.
"Expelliarmus," he spoke aloud, but not loudly.
Elsie hadn't even heard anything until the sound of the spell came from behind her, and a split-second later she was hit by the disarming spell. Her wand flew out of her right hand and landed a few feet away from her and she whipped around, pressing her back up against the large crate. She looked around until she saw where the man was and she just stared at him, eyes wide like a deer in Muggle headlights.
She had never seen a Death Eater before, at least not in Death Eater robes and not in person and certainlynot this close, but she knew what he was immediately. How could she not?
Her wand was a ways away from her on the ground and the Death Eater was still a bit of a ways away from her, though she knew distance was not the biggest object to magic. She could see the wand out of the corner of her eye but she stared at him still, willing herself not to glance at the wand. If she was going to lunge for it, he couldn't anticipate her movement.
Okay? Go. One, two, three and Elsie lunged, letting out a yell she hoped would alert James of her little "issue." "Death Eaters!"
Severus could tell that whomever it was had not been expecting to see a Death Eater showing up and he pressed his lips together grimly underneath his mask before pressing forward towards her, sending a stupefy silently towards her. Of course, then she lunged towards her wand, sidestepping his spell and yelling.
Whether or not her noise had alerted her partner or not, it had alerted Severus to the fact that she had one, so he moved forward more cautiously. She did not seem as if she had been prepared for him, and that meant she probably wasn't someone who was going to be a hardened criminal, but Severus was also not going to take any chances. Following her movements, Severus snapped a tripping jinx at her.
Elsie fell, hard, her elbow slamming into the wood below her, breaking the skin. It didn't really hurt, but it sure stung. The pain in her elbow, the cold and the smell of the water below the dock all felt suddenly very real and intense to Elsie and she knew she had to get out of there as quickly as she could. Her wand was just beyond her grasp and she pulled herself forward, her fingers wrapping around her wand. She latched onto it and pointed it at Severus, now laying on her side. "Deprimo!" she shouted, not even waiting to see if the spell hit before she Apparated away, leaving James and the others far behind.
"Protego!" Snape snapped a shield charm up as he heard her spell, but the spell was almost too close for comfort and he ended up jumping backwards, landing hard on his rear as the docks in front of him exploded and wood shapnel went everywhere - thankfully not into him due to his shield. Severus was to his feet almost instantly his wand out in front of him.
He had seen her Apparate away, but he wasn't certain if there was anyone else on the dock. Checking carefully, he held his wand in front of him, a shield charm on the tip of his tongue to be cast at the slightest additional movement. What the hell had the witch been doing?
James had heard all the noise and came running, the invisibility cloak pulled over himself tightly. He came round just in time to see Elsie Apparate away and he knew the wise thing to do would be to follow. But since when had anyone ever accused James of being wise?
"Expelliarmus!" he cast at the Death Eater. The voice had sounded familiar and James wondered if he could possibly be that lucky.
"Protego," Severus exclaimed the instant he heard a human voice, but where the hell was it coming from? Not to mention that he could have sworn he knew that voice, but perhaps he was just imagining that it sounded like Potter. Perhaps all of the time he'd spent not sleeping recently was beginning to catch up with him and he had finally gone mental assuming that everything that made noise in the night was James Potter.
"Confringo," he cast the blasting curse in the general direction the voice had come from. Just because it might not be James Potter, didn't mean there wasn't someone there. And if it was James Potter, well, blasting was the least of the things Severus would like to do to the other man - on the same side in the end or no. He followed the blasting curse by another shield charm since he still couldn't see the source of the spells.
Wood splintered and cracked above his head but to the left. It sent a clatter of debris and splinters raining down on James and he swore quietly as he dodged to the right. It was definitely Snape and the fucker couldn't see him, which was going to be about the best damn thing to ever happen to James.
He moved fast, unsure if the wood that had fallen on him would give away his position. He took four running steps to get himself behind another box and then used a quickly whispered spell to clear off any dust on himself. He padded as quietly as he could around the other side of the box, keeping an eye on the Death Eater the entire time. Snape was looking for him. He could have easily cast something intense but a trouser dropping spell seemed so much more appropriate. Assuming that he was wearing trousers. If not they would drop his underwear instead which would be equally as funny.
He cast the charm he'd perfected in his second year and then ducked rapidly behind another set of crates knowing that even if Snape had heard that would leave a wide area to blast apart to find him.
When the spell hit him and his underwear slid down around his ankles Severus swore to himself. If he'd had any doubt about who he was fighting it was absolutely cast away now. Nobody but Potter would be so absolutely childish, and unfortunately, Severus had only the vaguest of ideas where Potter was casting from.
He cast a second Confringo in the general area of where he thought the charm had been cast from, and then followed it up with a tripping jinx, and a shield charm to hopefully give himself enough time to pull up his damn underwear. It was like being in second year again, only the stakes were at least partially higher. Typical of Potter to not realise that, Severus thought irritably as he straightened up again, his eyes scanning the dock for anything that might give away Potter's location.
More crates exploded around him, Snape was clearly displeased with his choice of spells, but what did he expect, and Avada Kedavra? Knowing him, probably, but James wasn't going to use dark magic or anything harsher than he needed to really. There was no point. He didn't like Snape, but he wasn't the enemy.
Again the boxes had managed to miss him but this time it was much closer. The cloak kept the smaller debris off of him but he was worried that too much more could hurt his most valued possession. He tiptoed around what was left of the nearest crates and circled slowly around to the other side. A few times his path brought him close enough to Severus that it was fairly dangerous but James had had more practice in moving silently during his tenure at Hogwarts than most people would have in a lifetime.
Gaius v. Remus, Marlene
Marlene was having far too much fun ransacking the ships. There was something strangely reassuring about being destructive, and she wasn't sure if that feeling was a good thing or not. It wasn't as though the Order was simply destroying public property just for the hell of it -- this was destruction with a purpose, and for whatever reason, that made it seem less like a crime and much more like something brilliantly noble. It was a very Robin-Hoody, Three Musketeersy sort of thing: stealing from the pure, giving to the... not as pure, all for one or none for all. If the purists weren't willing to share like good little boys and girls with the rest of the class, they were going to get their toys taken away from them.
...Which would have been a lot easier if the boxes that she and Remus were trying to shove off the ship weren't so heavy. Marlene's shoes skidded against the deck of the ship as she put all her weight into heaving the large box of cargo over the railing, watching it plummet down into the dark water below, splashing loud and cold below them. "That... was cool..." Marlene noted quietly as she held on to the ship's railing, catching her breath and glancing over to watch as Remus lightly levitated one of the heavy packages over the side of the ship and letting it fall into the water with ease. "Cheater," she shook her head, taking out her wand this time to "borrow" Remus's simpler method of shipment disposal.
Remus, on the other hand, was getting far more amusement in just watching Marlene struggle with shoving the crates over the side of the boat without magic than actually tossing them over himself. In a battle situation, he would be concerned, but at least there was no harm in not using magic here. With a swish of his wand, Remus levitated one of the crates up and over the side, letting it fall with a splash into the water. "It's not cheating," Remus said, grinning, "it's magic." He turned to the next crate, lifting his wand to levitate it off the edge, too.
Marlene shot Remus a look over her shoulder that clearly said every last bit of what she was thinking as she floated another box off the boat and into the water, pausing for a few seconds until she heard the contents go splashing into the water beneath them. "You know what else is magic?" she asked offhandedly, an amused smirk growing over her face as she turned to watch Remus, waving her wand absentmindedly in her hand. She glanced back toward the other boats, double checking that they were the only ones in the area, Order member or not. A moment later her focus changed and her mischievous smile grew huge as she pointed her wand at Remus's trousers so that they would drop down around his ankles.
"What else is magic?" Remus asked, his attention on the crate he was currently levitating up off the deck -- and then the next thing he knew, there was a cool breeze across his legs as his trousers were down around his ankles. Surprised, he let the crate drop back down to the deck with a crash, quickly leaning over to pull his trousers back up around his waist. "Marlene!" His eyes were narrowed at her as he refastened the fly of his trousers. "We're in the middle of something important. Do you think this is any time to be fooling around?" he scolded, pointing his wand at the crate again... then he pointed his wand at Marlene instead. "Accio Marlene's shirt!"
Marlene rolled her eyes as Remus yammered on, lecturing about how this was Very Important and thus Wasn't Supposed To Be Any Fun, returning to their work of disposing of boxes, now making a game out of how quickly she could get the cargo-loads overboard. She began to reply that there was a "party pooper on the poop deck!!!" only to be cut off mid sentence, her shirt beginning to slide up and over Marlene's head through no will of her own. "NO NO NO THAT IS NOT HOW WE PLAY THIS GAME, REMUS," Marlene yelled as she grabbed hold of the ends of her shirt before it flew halfway across the ship, pulling it back down into place.
The boxes could wait. "Oh, what now? Is it too hot for you?" Marlene teased, raising an eyebrow. Ducking alongside one of the boxes to hide, she pointed her wand in Remus's direction, causing a short dusting of snow to fall from the sky atop him for a few seconds before it stopped again, just enough to be momentarily chilly before she returned to hoisting boxes overboard.
Gaius had been patrolling in Hogsmeade when he'd received the message that his presence was needed elsewhere. He had no complaints about leaving to do something more interesting -- most of the time he was almost falling asleep while walking and ended up nearly tripping on the cobblestones before he could draw his attention back where it needed to be. It was a tough job, but some one had to do it. At least tonight it wouldn't be him.
When he arrived at the docks, he was not immediately sure where he needed to go, but after a moment of silence, he heard Marlene's yells coming from the deck of one of the ships. He ran toward the noise, slowing to a walk when he felt as though he was getting closer and stopping completely once Marlene and Remus came into view. A girl and a boy. Possibly the same two he'd encountered in Hogsmeade a few weeks earlier? No matter. He wasn't going to let them get away this time.
In the interest of not giving them time to apparate away, Gaius refrained from announcing his presence as he had done the last time he'd encountered vandals. Instead, he hid behind a stack of boxes, trying to be quiet in spite of the inherent creakiness of the floorboards underfoot. He hoped that they were making too much noise between themselves to notice his approach and aimed his wand from behind the boxes aim the direction of the girl (she had been the most trouble last time), casting a nonverbal Stunning Spell.
"See, I think that just because this isn't a time for joking around in no way means that we can't have a bit of fun with this," Marlene continued, having no idea that Gaius had discovered them on the ship. "Sometimes you just have to chill out a bit... are you feeling chilled?" she asked him, continuing to make awful puns as another one of the cargo boxes flew off the side. After leaning over the edge of the ship to watch the box crash into the water, Marlene turned around to turn her attention to another pile of boxes. "This almost looks like the-" her voice cut off as Gaius's stunner hit her in the back, having no idea what direction it had come from before slipping to the ground and into unconsciousness.
Remus knew something was wrong the moment Marlene had stopped talking, and when he saw her fall to the ground in front of him, his heart nearly stopped. He hadn't seen where the spell had come from, and so he quickly cast a shield spell in front of himself in case the attacker tried to throw a spell at him, too. He rushed over to Marlene's side, reminding himself repeatedly that there hadn't been a green light, there was no green light -- he pointed his wand at her and cast rennervate to bring her out of the stunning spell. He glanced around the surface of the ship, trying to find who was attacking them. "Who's there!?" he shouted, and -- since they were destroying the boxes anyway -- he sent a blasting curse at one of the crates.
It was only due to chance that Gaius managed to duck before the box above his head exploded, splintering into dozens of jagged pieces that would have been painful if they'd met their marks. That could have been his head, had the crate not been there to stop it. He barely gave himself time to take a breath in preparation, in spite of the fact that the blasting curse had startled him into gasping, before reaching around the side of the box to shoot off another stunning spell, followed by the Knee-Reversal Jinx that he'd been hit during his last duel.
It took Marlene a moment to gather her wits, not sure how exactly she'd gone from throwing boxes overboard to waking up, lying on the ground with Remus making his "concerned" face, but any disorientation soon faded as Marlene realised what exactly was going on. The two opposing spells crashed into the shield that Remus had (thankfully) cast, and Marlene twisted around to lay on her stomach, eyes narrowed in the direction they'd come from. "THAT WAS A MISTAKE, FUCKER," she yelled, rapidly shooting three more strong blasting hexes in the direction their attacker was hiding, then rolled quickly up to her feet and grabbed for Remus's arm, pulling him along after her behind another box so that the two wouldn't be wide out in the open.
Her eyes travelled up to a large crate a few feet away from them that was pushed up against a wall supporting the next level of the boat, then glanced back over to Remus. "I'll be right back. Hold him off."
With his back pressed up against the side of the crate, Remus tried to peer around the side to keep an eye on the attacker. He wasn't sure what Marlene had planned, but he would leave her to it -- nodding, he pointed his wand in Gaius' direction again. Without a clear shot, the spells Remus could cast were limited; he had to try and get him out. His first thought was fire to smoke him out, but he wasn't sure what Marlene had planned and didn't want to set the ship on fire while they were separated. "Confringo!" he shouted, sending the spell toward one of the crates near where Gaius was hiding.
When another crate nearby exploded into shards, Gaius decided he'd better try to find himself a new hiding spot or they were eventually going to begin hitting the right boxes. The problem was only that he wasn't entirely sure where he could go without revealing himself, so he resolved to stay put until he absolutely had to move. Instead, he aimed his wand at one of the between himself and Remus, shouting "Reducto!" before moving back behind the boxes. He knew that he shouldn't have been using the boxes as leverage, since the whole point was to prevent the vandals from destroying them, but he weighed defeating and catching them over whatever loss some already rich wizard would sustain from the duel.
Marlene pulled herself up and climbed onto the crate and then up onto the ledge, quietly making her way across to the other side of the boat, hoping to get a better perspective on where their attacker was hiding out. Keeping herself low to the deck, not wanting to be spotted if he happened to look up, Marlene moved quickly to the other side, looking down to the lower level and discovering the Death Eater's secret hiding place. Excellent. Now they could attack him from both sides.
She waited until she heard another blasting hex fired to drop down to the main level of the ship, hoping that the sound of the boxes combusting would be loud enough to muffle her feet hitting the floor. Not saying a word to announce herself, enjoying having the element of surprise for once, Marlene cast a shield spell around herself (just in case he retaliated before she could duck behind something) then pointed her wand at the crate that Gaius was hiding from Remus behind. "REDUCTO!" she yelled, blasting the crate into shards and leaving the Death Eater out in the open from both directions. Not pausing before sending out another spell, Marlene cast "levicorpus!" at him, sending the death eater flying up into the air (she almost wished that his robes would flip down over his face and it'd turn out he wasn't wearing anything underneath) and with a flick of her wand sent him flying towards the bow of the ship where he'd be at Remus's mercy as well.
Remus had ducked back behind the crate when Gaius sent another spell toward him, running behind a larger crate as the one he abandoned exploded into pieces. We was preparing to cast a spell to destroy another crate when Marlene put her plan into action, getting Gaius out into the open. The dark robes and mask was all the confirmation Remus needed, and he came out from behind the crate, advancing on Gaius. "Rictusempra!" he growled, casting the spell at Gaius to keep him occupied, and then: "INCENDIO!"
It wasn't as though Gaius had never endured the effects of a Rictusempra curse before, but it had been the last thing he'd expected in this particular situation. Instantly, his sides began aching and there was no controlling the laughter that rose in his throat, taking every bit of breath he had left until he couldn't breathe from laughing so hard. With tears streaming from his eyes, Gaius had no idea what the next curse was -- his own voice was too loud in his ears for him to have heard it and his arms clenched too tightly around his stomach to use his wand -- but as soon as it hit him, there was a moment of relief that he could breathe once again.
However, it was short-lived, and soon panic took away his ability to breathe as he realised that his robes had caught on fire. His next movements were barely of his own volition, lifting himself up off the deck of the ship and heaving himself overboard into the water below. He'd been set on fire once before and would not voluntarily condemn himself to the same painful healing process once again. Fortunately, the flames extinguished once they met the water, finally giving Gaius a chance to breathe and to wonder what the hell he was going to do now.
Marlene had to admit that she was a little bit shocked when all of a sudden the person they were fighting jumped overboard. Not that it didn't make sense -- when one was on fire, and surrounded by water, what else could be done? She ran up to the front of the ship, leaning over the edge to try to pick out where the Death Eater had gone. "...What now?" Marlene asked, turning back to Remus for a second before leaning back over the railing, trying to search out any sign of a body in the water.
Remus followed Marlene over to the edge of the ship, peering down to see if he could spot Gaius, too. What now, indeed? Should they try to kill him, or just leave him and go see if the others need help? He looked back toward the other side of the ship, hesitating, and then he aimed his wand at one of the remaining crates. "We'll see if this takes care of him." He levitated the crate up and over the edge at the front of the boat, relinquishing the spell as soon as it was over the water to let it fall. With any luck, the box would land on him and drown him.
"I don't know if I trust it," Marlene said quietly, not liking the fact that he'd just completely disappeared. What if he'd actually snuck back a different way, and was going to return with reinforcements. "I'll pull him back up, we can catch him, and find out who he is and hold him for ransom or something," she said. Holding on tightly to the ship's railing, Marlene leaned as far over the side as she could and pointed her wand blindly into the water. "Um. Uh... ACCIO DEATH EATER!" she yelled.
It worked, a little too well, as nearly 200 pounds of seaweed covered Death Eater came hurtling out of the water below, back up onto the ship, and slamming into Marlene, sending the two crashing to the deck floor.
Coughing and sputtering, Gaius tried to roll away from Marlene, tangled in his robes and growing more aggravated by the minute. He eventually managed to disentangle himself, but couldn't manage to get enough leverage while slipping on the deck to get his footing. So, he fell onto his knees and spent a moment pulling seaweed off his shoulders before he remembered that he was in the middle of a duel and probably couldn't afford that luxury. So, taking aim at Marlene, Gaius cleared his throat. "Furnunculus!"
Marlene wasn't sure if it had been slamming to the ground or having someone almost 70 pounds heavier drop on top of her that had knocked the wind out of her, but she was cursing what had been a very very stupid move as she struggled to catch her breath and crawl out of the way. She'd moved too slowly, though, to avoid getting hit by the Furnunculus spell, and cried out in pain as boils began to burst out on both of her legs. Not even bothering to turn around to aim properly, Marlene shot a binding spell in the Death Eater's direction before continuing to crawl back behind a box to use as some sort of temporary shelter while she nursed the boils.
Gaius was only vaguely aware of the spell that Marlene had cast, since he had been counting on the boils occupying her a bit longer than that. Though her spell was not perfectly aimed, it hit his lower half and thick ropes appeared, coiling tightly around his legs, working their way up the rest of his body. It wasn't until the ropes had reached half-way up his chest that Gaius began using Diffindo to cut through them. Unfortunately, in his haste, he cut a large slice into his lower leg while trying to free himself, the blood from which quickly coated his shin and ankle. As he shifted, the salt water from his robes soaked into the wound, causing him to wince loudly and preventing him from getting up.
Instead, Gaius searched for anything in the vicinity that could have been one of their hiding spots before it occurred to him that there was a much simpler way. "Homenum revelio!"
Remus tried to fight against the spell, pressing his back up against the crate behind him -- but the spell drew him out into the open, away from his protection. He swished his wand in front of himself, casting a shield charm to protect himself with so he didn't feel so suddenly vulnerable to attack. He followed the spell with a slashing curse aimed at Gaius, and then pointed his wand down at the Death Eater's feet, hoping to destroy the deck so he'd fall down into the ship, and shouted: "Confringo!"
Since he was prepared for them to attack him when they were brought into the open, Gaius had time to cast a shield charm to block the slashing curse, but he hadn't been prepared at all for the deck to explode beneath his feet. So, he fell onto the next level, knocking himself on the boxes below. With a groan, he tried to roll away from the opening that Remus had created so that they wouldn't be able to hex him from above.
The Homenum Revelio spell had just begun to draw Marlene out from her hiding place behind the box (despite flailing to grip the side of the crate in attempts to keep herself from being pulled away), when she heard the dock crack open and turned just in time to watch as the Death Eater went crashing down into the next level. Marlene moved carefully to the side of the crater, careful not to step too close to the edge in case the floorboards gave way even further. Not able to see the Death Eater down there, Marlene instead narrowed her eyes and cast another three blasting hexes into the bottom of the ship, the final one blasting a hole clear through the floor so that water sprayed up from below, beginning to fill up the bottom. She turned to face Remus. "The boat is going to sink," she noted, her expression completely neutral.
He was already walking toward the newly created hole in the ship as Marlene was throwing blasting curses down inside -- seeing for himself that, yes, she really is strong. "Well," he replied, looking away from her face down into the opening, "then we ought to get going." He hesitated for just a second, and then his wand was pointing down into the darkness below. "Incendio." The flames shot down into the opening, licking along the edges until they, too, caught on fire, spreading slowly across the mildly damp surface of the deck. "Alright -- let's go." And making sure that Marlene didn't fall behind, Remus quickly made his way back to the ramp leading off the ship. He didn't look back.
Gaius was barely out of the way when Marlene's blasting curses hit the second deck of the ship and blasted clear through to the water. He stared at the gaping hole for a moment in disbelief and it wasn't until the water swept toward him that he realized that he needed to get out of there fast -- this ship was going to sink. He tried to pick himself up again, wincing as the salty water crept up to the open cut on his shin and over his burned hands. It took some effort to gain enough focus to apparate without splinching, but when he finally managed it, he went straight to St Mungo's, disappearing with a loud crack from the sinking ship. Needless to say, he wasn't pleased with the outcome, but he wasn't going to stick around and drown trying to save some stupid crates.
Aeneas v. Caradoc, Doris
At first, the assignment was almost too easy. The sailors, not caring for much they weren't paid for, let the Order do their work (and Caradoc was sure his business associate had informed more than one or two of them that this would occur). They were met with little to no resistance.
That was, of course, until the Death Eaters began to wink into existence, bringing the simplicity of their assignment into more complicated territory. Caradoc didn't mind, though. He was excited to expend a little energy kicking arse.
Wand out and at the ready (already), he blasted one stack of goods from their two ships into the water before he turned to gaze up and down the boardwalk. Surely someone wanted to fight.
Aeneas Nott loved to fight, and aside from kicking his mentee's arses, he rarely had the opportunity. He had still been at the Ministry when he received word that there was an issue down at the docks, finding more ways to oppress the people without them even realising it was going on, and he eagerly donned his Death Eater garb and left immediately.
The explosion made it easy for him to find intruders were hiding and informed him that they were well aware of the Death Eater's presence. Aeneas smirked - it was always much more enjoyable to annihilate someone who thought they had a chance. He walked toward the explosion, wand in hand but hanging casually at his side. Another Death Eater would not be fooled by his calm demeanor - Aeneas Nott was ready. He stepped onto the boardwalk, waiting for them to make the first move.
... and make the first move, Caradoc did. As he observed the Death Eater strolling so casually toward them, he was happy to blow a hole in the boardwalk about three steps before him. Maybe those robes would weight he or she down as good as cement shoes.
Aeneas jumped backward at the first sign of the blast and nonverbally threw up a Shield Charm. Shards of wood exploded around him but didn't touch him and he immediately held his wand up in the direction he believed the spell to have come from. "Homenum revelio," he said, wanting the other person to know he found them.
The spell revealed one person in the general direction he was looking, though he did not think to look behind him for others. This person seemed to be well enough ready that he would take advantage of any distraction Aeneas allowed him to. No, he would take him out quickly and perhaps even have a bit of fun with it. He quietly sent his own blasting charm straight toward the figure, wondering how much of a fight he would put up.
Doris had been at the docks mostly by coincidence, rather than by any connection to the Order. She had heard through a friend of a friend of a friend (or something of that nature) that she could use a bit of something (he hadn't been specific) that was in this shipment. So she had mostly been skulking about trying to meet her contact and get out of dodge. Though she was a little in awe of the other people surrounding her, she stayed out of their way.
But when the Death Eaters began appearing, she knew she had to do something. She came upon one shooting a blasting hex at a figure not too far away, and, thinking fast, aimed a quick Severing Charm at the Death Eater's back.
His Shield Charm was still there, but weakened after being hit by the first blast and the Severing Charm managed to make its way through, though in a much weaker state. He felt a flash of pain across his back and Aeneas spun around, immediately fixing his wand upon a blonde girl behind him. "Crucio!" he shouted, out loud this time, since he wanted the spell to be as powerful as possible. He moved around her as he held it, positioning her between him and the other person out there so that any spell cast at Aeneas would be blocked by the girl. A grin spread over his face as he watched the girl.
Doris had never, ever been hit by the Cruciatus Curse and it lived up to it's reputation in her honest opinion. Nearly instantly, she collapsed and tears started falling. She wanted to scream but found that the pain even made that impossible.
Fucking Death Eaters, using civilians as shields. He was thankful for the girl's help, but as he watched her writhe from the Cruciatus, he knew that his only current option involved getting her assailant to flee or die. Either way, really. He pointed his wand at Doris and shouted "Ennervate! Levicorpus!" -- there, out of the way -- as he stepped between she and Aeneas.
Another Blasting curse at the hem of the masked person's billowing robes. And a silent Incarcerous right on its heels.
The blast threw Aeneas backward and he smashed against a large crate, tearing his concentration away from the girl writhing on the ground and breaking the Unforgivable. He didn't hit the back too hard, though before he knew it, he was tied up in ropes, although not too tightly. He could surely get them off, but it would take a few seconds, which he wasn't sure he had. "Impressive," he called out, hoping to buy some time as he wiggled slightly and tried to position his wand so it was pointing at the rope.
Doris found the sensation of being pulled into the air a strange one, but was appreciative of the other man's intervention as she muttered the counter curse. She was still shaking, and covered in a thin layer of sweat. She took a hesitant step, her legs wobbling but supporting her all together. She walked up beside the man and looked at the bound Death Eater, her anger peaking, she took another step forward and kicked him in the abdomen as hard as she could. Though it, admittedly, wasn't very a hard kick, given how weak her legs felt. "Thank you," she said to Caradoc, keeping her wand on the bound Death Eater.
"My pleasure," he said, striding around the remnants of the crate to stand beside Doris with his wand trained on the Death Eater. Dropping to his knee, he reached for the mask and roughly pulled it away from the man to reveal ... Aeneas Nott? "Of fucking course!"
Her jaw-dropped and she looked from the Minister to Caradoc. "And I thought you snooty types didn't like to get your hands dirty," she snapped, dropping down and driving her fist into his eye. Of course, their Minister was not only a Death Eater, but he was shooting unforgiveables at people for fun. That was just dandy. Not that it was entirely surprising either. A black eye would suit him well.
Aeneas glared at the two of them, his eye smarting a bit, but his real concentration was on the ropes. He'd managed to cut a few of them nonverbally as Caradoc tore the mask off his face (scratching it up rather badly, thank you very much) and he now sat completely still so the ropes wouldn't slide off him and give him away. He needed an opening where they didn't both have their wands pointed at him, but he didn't know if it would come. "I only like to touch dirty blood if I can spill it," he sneered, waiting for a chance.
"Silencio," Caradoc growled, already tired of hearing this prating idiot. "A nice body bind, a broken wand and a trip to the bottom of the river should do you much good. Far better than you'd ever do in office ..." And even as he spoke that suggestion, some motion from the corner of his eye stole his concentration. Was everyone else fighting ... ?
There it was. Aeneas did not hesitate, casting a silent Stupefy at the girl without moving much at all then he flung up his arm, the ropes loose and falling off him, and cast a nonverbal Severing Charm at the man.
Doris turned to look at the source of movement over her shoulder, but saw the familiar red flash of light just in time to throw up a shield charm, which is glanced off of harmlessly. Now she was just annoyed and wanted to leave, frankly.
Caradoc blocked the greater part of that Severing Charm, which could have taken off his head, and as he brought his wand down, and was suddenly aware of a fire that consumed his other hand. The curse had bounced and the edge of it had - rather cleanly, in fact - sliced off the fourth and fifth fingers on his left hand. The amount of blood left him weak-kneed as he staggered back and pressed the wounded hand to his chest. Fucker. "Crucio!" was not as strong as he would have liked it; his attention was, regrettably, divided, but he hoped it would be cause enough to make the Minister flee.
The curse was not the strongest that Aeneas had ever experienced, but even a decent Cruciatus caused an exorbitant amount of pain and it had been a long time since the Inner Circle Death Eater had experienced intense pain. He fell back against the crate, though he did not make a sound - Caradoc's silencio had taken care of that, and if he was in any state to think he would have been thankful for that.
Doris's eyes widened as she watched Caradoc's fingers fall away. "We're leaving, Mister," she said firmly, grabbing his arm. Casting a blasting hex over her shoulder at the Minister, she then rather suddenly Apparated she and Caradoc away from the docks.
Graley v. Frank
It was quick work, tossing crates overboard with a simple flick of his wand before moving to the next container as the previous hit the water with a crashing splash. The two sailors he'd encountered once he apparated onto the ship lay Stunned in a lifeboat, out of mind and way as Frank turned his attention to yet another crate. What was not quick work was finding the ones that held the things that were, as Caradoc said, useful, and Frank grew less cautious and more hurried as the sounds of splashing water grew ever louder as time went by -- it wouldn't be long before they were caught.
Labels were read; what was not worth salvaging was flung overboard; what was had Frank ripping off the nailed down lids and summoning the contents into the sack he'd brought with him. It was spelled bottomless so that it could hold all the foreign herbs, potions, and other imports of use that he found. The last three crates were unimportant, so into the water they went. As they fell, he accioed a nearby can of paint, then, after shrinking the sack and shoving it deep into his pocket, disapparated so that when he appeared once again, he was on the boardwalk right by the side of the ship.
With rapid slashes of his wand, he wrote THE PHOENIX ALWAYS RISES in the white paint. A calling card of sorts.
Graley hadn't questioned being called in like he had, and he had simply gone to the docks, sober and ready to do what was needed to be done. He wasn't in the best of moods, but that wasn't unusual in his life, often not in good moods simply because he didn't want to be. He heard the sounds of splashing and began to focus on keeping quiet as he walked closer, looking towards where the crates were in the water and then the figure who was writing something he couldn't quite see, and he'd never been one to question anything as he took a step forward out of the shadows slightly. "Confringo," he said, hissing slightly as he sent a blasting curse to the other man.
Only his years as an Auror could have given Frank the instinct -- the sixth sense, or whatever it was -- to know that a very violent spell was hurling its way toward him. It was enough to have him snap up a shield, but even with the familiar Protego surrounding him, the impact of the curse sent him slamming against the hull of the ship. Against it, and then, thanks to the gap between ship and dock, down into the water. Briefly disorientated by the sudden ache in his shoulder and the side of his face, it took the sensation of freezing water to drive the realization that he was now in freezing water to get moving again, and with the determination to get back on to the dock now, he apparated back to where he'd begun.
This time he was ready for an attack, with a Reductor Curse winding its way at his assailant.
Graley was slightly better prepared for the other curse since he was more focused, but he was still caught off guard with how quickly it came back from the man he had thought he had dispatched of already. He moved out of the way of the Reductor curse, except not quick enough as it clipped his shoulder and sent him spinning, losing his balance and falling to the ground, jarring his back and bones and he groaned as he moved to get up as quickly as he could, wand outstretched. "Obscuro!" he said followed by mental slicing curse.
The blindfold was slapped away like the irritating bit of magic that it was, but the silently cast curse that followed had better luck. It sunk through Frank's shield, who swore as he felt it reopen old wounds on his left arm. Goddammit, he was distracted, feeling his pocket to check that the sack was still there as he kept an eye on his attacker, and it was showing. He shook out his aching arm while he adjusted his grip on his wand, then shot off an Impedimenta, which was instantly followed by a silent Body-Bind Curse.
Throwing up a shielding charm as soon as he saw the other curse, he managed to block the first one, but the Body-Bind got him a few seconds later and he was frozen before he managed to use a mental Finite Incantatem to release him as moved away from where he had been trying to get his footing again. "Deprimo!" he shot out followed by another blasting spell.
Christ, but the man was fast. Frank blocked both curses, letting their impact against his protective ward drive him to his knees. He was panting as though he'd just run a marathon, and his arm and his face throbbed from their contact with the sturdy hull of the ship, but Frank was, on some basic level, enjoying the sheer physical high that came with blowing shit up and then exchanging loudly exploding spells with an enemy.
"Deprimo!" he yelled back, following it with another that he directed at the wooden boardwalk that stretched directly below the other man. And then, another silent Impedimenta and Body-Bind curse.
He heard the curse come back at him and he managed to block that one, although it did send him stumbling back again, falling down as the Impedimenta shot overhead and he sat up only to feel the Body Bind again and it took a few more seconds this time for him to get rid of it, a little tired from the constant spells, and he was old for the love of Merlin, and right now he felt like he had dislocated his hip from constant having to get up and down.
He took a step forward and it was only by sheer luck his step fell just short of the hole in the deck as he glanced down before took a few hasty steps back, looking up at the shadowed man. "Crucio!" he yelled a second later, no longer really wanting to deal with this, wanting to kill this upstart and be done with it.
Frank had counted on the volley of spells to keep the other man down -- and if not down, sufficiently occupied -- while he took a moment to steady himself in order to apparate out of there. The pressure that the shrunken bag of goods exerted against his thigh was reassuring; ignoring the brief hail of wood against his shield charm as the second of his blasting curses hit the boardwalk, Frank dug his free hand against the ground, bracing himself as he began to straighten from his kneeling sprawl.
Then he heard the yelled curse and before he could think to move, he was on the ground again. A strangled groan became the characteristic scream as the pain of the spell unfurled along what could only have been every single nerve in his body; and then, once the Cruciatus had ended, there was only his heaving breath as he shook himself back into full consciousness. From the foetal position he'd ended up in, he twisted onto his stomach. A barrage of spells, all yelled; accuracy was no longer guaranteed if he went the silent route. "Defodio--" to clear the mess of wood, to get him a good view of the man; "stupefy, incarcerous, STUPEFY."
And then he pushed himself up to his knees and (deep breath in, deep breath out) disappeared.
Graley heard the scream and he grinned in triumph as he watched the shadowed figure and he took a step forward, keeping it up, but stopping not wanting to break his concentration for the moment. A second later it was moot as he heard the spell and he dropped it, stepping out of the first stupefy but the incarcerous caught his legs, suddenly tied up in ropes and he lost his balance quickly, crashing to the ground, landing on his hips once more, as the second stupefy shot over him and he struggled to get them undone and sit up before the other man could attack, but by the time he did, he was already gone.
Letting out an irritated noise, he stood up again, slowly, resting his weight on the leg that hurt less before shaking his head and taking a moment to stabilize himself before disappearing himself.
Leoben v. Aberforth
Abe slipped through the hold of the ship, checking the paperwork on the side of the crates. Some of them he shrunk and stuffed into the magically enlarged sack he was carrying. He might lose some of the goods through the shrinking but the bulk of them would survive and could be put to good use for either the Order or Muggleborns... or in a few cases, would be sold on the black market. He might as well get something out of this for himself after all. He had also marked a number of crates full of high end, expensive goods that had to be aimed at the purebloods. He would toss those into the water. No one other than the purists would be upset about those goods being destroyed after all. he made certain to cast charms on the paperwork to make sure it wasn't damaged by the water. Let those who found the goods see that only the useless expensive goods had been tossed, not the ordinary goods. Might just make them think.
He finished going through his section then tucked the sack into his belt and started levitating crates up onto the deck, one at a time. He could hear the dull sounds of similar activity from the other end but he concentrated on what he was doing. He didn't trust the quiet that had reigned so far and wanted to get this over and done with. Once he had the crates he planned on dumping up on deck, he began to toss them over the side one at a time.
More and more often, it seemed too much to ask to have a quiet night. Leoben had been hoping to do some light reading, perhaps clean his old phonograph, really anything to get away from his future mother-in-law's talons and wedding plans. He really shouldn't have been taking such a large part in it to begin with. If he had another napkin pattern shoved under his nose this week, he might actually lose his temper.
But, even now, it seemed he was needed, so with a steadying breath, he pulled on the familiar black cloak, gloves, hood, mask. He supposed, if he had to be pulled from home, in the service of the Dark Lord would be the best way. He apparated with a sharp pop.
The docks. He wasn't overly familiar with the area, but he could tell something was amiss. Ben eyed the boats and yes, there a tall old man throwing things overboard. As quietly as he could, Ben approached from behind. He was about a dozen feet away when the wet wood under his foot creaked. Inwardly, he winced. But wasted no further time. He aimed at the old man's feet and muttered "Glacius", hoping to freeze him to his spot.
Abe moved instantly when he heard the creaking wood, throwing himself to one side. The spells smacked into the crates where he had just been standing, sending a spray of splinters flying. Abe immediately popped back up and shot off a Stupefy and an Expelliarmus in quick succession, noting the mask and cloak on his visitor and knowing what that meant. He then pointed his wand up and shot off red sparks, hoping that the rest of the Order would see them and know that there was something wrong... assuming they didn't also have their own little masked and cloaked friend pestering them.
Once that was done, he quickly glanced over in the direction the Death Eater had been, his wand at the ready.
Bloody brilliant. Ben inwardly berated himself and only barely got out of the way of the spells being flung at him. Almost frantically, he cast a shield charm and turned his wand back to his adversary. "Confrigo!" Somewhere in the back of his head, he noted the sparks and that he might not have much time before someone else arrived. Still, he tried to keep his attention on the man at hand. With a flick of his wand, he levitated the nearest crate and with a curt sweeping gesture, sent it flinging toward the old wizard.
Abe quickly got a shield up in time to deflect the Confrigo that came in his direction. He needed to finish the job here and then get the hell out of the place. He grimaced when he saw the crate heading his way and he ducked and did his best to deflect the crate into the water. It struck his shoulder on the way past and he grunted but smiled with satisfaction when he heard the splash. He then narrowed his eyes and cast a jelly-legs and a conjunctivitis curse at the Death Eater before throwing a couple of more crates into the water.
Leoben managed to get a shield charm up fast enough to deflect the jelly-legs hex, but the second hit him square in the face. Pain exploded behind his eyes and he rubbed futilely through his mask. His eyes watered and stung and everything was blurry. But he couldn't afford to let this cripple him. With a rather haphazard aim, Ben sent a handful of stunning hexes, a furnunculus and an incendio or two. For now, he was just hoping the pure volume of spells he was casting would do something.
Abe gave a quick grin when he saw the Death Eater grab at his mask but then had to duck behind the crates when a welter of spells came flying towards him. The stunners he was able to avoid and the furnunculus but the incendio burst around him. He was mostly protected by the crates by sparks and burning wood rained down on him, catching his robes on fire. He swore and beat at his robes with only minimal effect then pointed his wand at himself and said, "Aguamenta." He was abruptly doused in cold water and he gasped and swore again. The water did however put the fire out and he turned and shot an impedimenta and an incarcerous in the direction of the Death Eater.
Salazar, it was getting more and more difficult to see by the second and Leoben didn't even know the impedimenta was coming until it hit him, throwing him backwards and sending him skidding across the deck for a dozen feet. It was only pure happy chance that being knocked down saved him from the bindings that would have otherwise trapped him. Still, it took a moment to get to his feet and Ben was still trying to rub at his eyes every few seconds. "Stupefy! Stupefy! Incendio!" He gave a low growl of frustration before, "Crucio!"
Aberforth took the opportunity the impedimenta had bought him to dump the last of the crates into the harbour and put out the small fires on the ship. It only took a moment and he turned to see a flurry of spells coming at him. He threw himself to the deck, swearing vociferously when the idiot let loose another incendio. Thankfully his wet robes protected him to a certain extent and he threw himself to the side to avoid the flames... and coincidentally the Crucio, though he didn't realise that... and grunted as he landed badly. He knew he should apparate away right now but this upstart idiot had annoyed him and he had the desire to turn the fool over his knee for using the incendio so freely.
Ben did his best to take advantage of the opportunity and sent another irritated "Crucio" at the form of the old man while he was down. Salazar, he couldn't bloody see. Even moving his eyes stung and burned. As a result, they were shut tight more often than not, which made maneuvering next to impossible. At this point, Leoben was just hoping something hit his adversary.
Abe grumbled as he caught his breath and didn't see the spell coming towards him. He did feel it though and he gave an anguished cry and the pain of the Cruciatus ripped through him. He hadn't felt that for years and he'd almost forgotten what it was like. When it ended, anger flooded through him to replace the pain and he rolled rather creakily to his feet. He cast a strong shield around himself then pointed his wand at the Death Eater and cast a confringo, an incarcerous and a stupefy in quick succession.
Leoben was ill prepared for the onslaught that was fire at him. The blasting curse hit him full on the abdomen, sending him hurtling backwards and before he was entirely sure of what had happened, ropes were winding their way around his torso. "Diffindo.. diffindo!" he almost whimpered, cutting through the ropes before they got much of a hold on him. The pain from the blasting hex lingered and Ben very much just wanted to curl into a ball until the pain subsided. And there he still was when the stunning spell hit him full in the face. That was all for Leoben. His body went limp and he didn't move again.
Aberforth felt a sense of grumpy triumph when the Death Eater was thrown backwards and went still. That'd teach him to think he could take on an old man. After all, he may be old but that just meant he had some experience. He grimaced as the Cruciatus, the burns and the bruises began to make their presence known and glanced around. Time to get out of here and hope that the rest of the Order had met with equal success. He didn't spare another glance for the Death Eater as he apparated away.