Amelia Bones (understudy) wrote in thebreach, @ 2010-08-01 19:27:00 |
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It wasn't just his imagination that something was happening on the other side of the rubble, and it was with an order barked to his Aurors to keep the situation on Diagon controlled that Giles Henson turned to Knockturn. He paused atop a slippery patch of debris, careful not to alert whomever was on the other side to his approach. It was when the brilliant green had flashed, catching the drifting dust and making the entire area a blanket of sickly glow. And that was when he started running; damned be caution. If that was what his trained eyes thought it was, someone was killing down the alley, and -- He skidded to a stop. First, there was the body on the ground. Then, there was the black-clad figure looking at him as if he was a child interfering in matters he ought not to. His eyes shifted back to the body, and he knew that face in a heartbeat. It was all long enough to lose the precious seconds he needed to deflect the incoming curse, and while he moved enough that it only clipped him, tearing through his shirtsleeve and some of his arm below, the second incoming flash of light illuminated the figure's face before it was sent sparking through the air at him. "You're--" Words were stifled before they ever became sound. Henson dropped. "Come, Nagini," the snake's master beckoned. "Before anyone else decides to give us trouble." He directed his wand upward, as she coiled around his outstretched arm. Up above, the Dark Mark burst out over the tops of the buildings across Knockturn and Diagon alike. Then, they were gone. The robed figure Amelia Bones had been engaged in combat with glanced upwards as the Dark Mark filled the sky. Resisting the urge to turn and look up, lest she give the terrorist an advantage, she sent a Stinging Hex in his direction instead. No sooner had the spell burst forth from her wand did the Death Eater Disapparate on the spot, the spell bouncing off a nearby pile of rubble. All across the Alley, the sound of pops and cracks filled the air. That Dark Mark had been a signal; the Death Eaters were leaving. Amelia turned on the spot, breathing heavily as the adrenaline rush of battle winded down. Henson's barked orders had not been forgotten, but she intended to find him. He'd gone over that ridge of rubble, and from what Amelia could see on the Alley, there was no reason to believe that any deaths had taken place out here. The Death Eater had looked above and behind her, and behind her lie Knockturn Alley where Henson and Dumbledore had gone. "Alastor?" She glanced at her partner, drawn and serious. "Henson. He's not back yet." There was no reason to wait for an answer; they were likely on the same page, and Amelia began climbing the precarious debris. No time to move it all or banish it; over they would go. Amelia was right in the assumption that they were on the same page. Alastor looked in the direction from which the Dark Mark had risen -- only once the immediate area's conditions permitted it -- and he only paused to order the other Aurors present to stay where they were, check everywhere, start getting reports, and to be useful. Amelia wasn't far ahead by the time he reached the collapsed portion of Flourish and Blotts. "I'll take right," he told her, not even bothering to mention what she ought to do. After so many years working together, it was near impossible to revert to orders with each other. It saved time; it saved lives. He carefully stepped down onto pavement after clearing the destruction, wand raised as distances was closed. Everything was foggy and still, quiet in a way that anyone and anything could be hiding -- even in daylight, such was true of Knockturn, although the effect was amplified in its current condition. "Something ahead," he noted, eyes locked on a shape on the ground. Amelia felt her back turn rigid, the hair on her neck standing up. It was too quiet in Knockturn Alley. Every time she'd been there, it was always a flurry of people trying to hide from the scarlet robes invading their space. Now, there were vague noises some length ahead of them, and all of them appeared to be whispering in fear or scampering off. "I see it," she answered, drawing in a breath and straightening her back. Wand held tightly between her fingers, she double-checked the tops of nearby buildings, around any corners, on her side of the Alley. No sense in getting spelled in the back, even if every sense she had told her this was a recovery and not further attack. "I'll check; you cover me." If there was anyone who was better at covering someone's back, Amelia would be hard-pressed to find one. The plain fact of the matter was that Alastor was faster and sharper than most Aurors, herself included. Sweeping across the pavement, she dropped in front of the figure. Amelia pressed her fingers against his throat, looking for any sign of life. "Damnit." Her voice was hoarse from dust and screaming. "It's Henson. Dead." Her eyes caught another figure not much further ahead. "Alastor, there's another one. Over there." He turned his eyes, certain that this was the scene of aftermath, and whomever had been back here -- there was one guess -- was long gone if all the Death Eaters had cleared out. As Amelia pointed out, there one more body, further up. It had to be a body by now, given that no movement was evident, and the frame was twisted up in a fashion that no one living would remain in. Still, vigilance ever constant, Alastor approached, wand raised and knowing the Amelia would cover him as he stooped to see the face. It was too easy to tell who it was from several paces, but nothing quite sank in until he was gazing down into Dumbledore's upward-staring eyes. The only sign of trauma appeared to be the line of blood from his neck, and that left a good many questions, but... Well, most of all was why him. He forced himself to his feet, only after closing the headmaster's eyelids for the sake of the man's dignity. This was a crime scene, and there was a job to do. Thoughts, questions, and that sinking feeling in his chest could wait. "It's Dumbledore," he called back to her. "We need people down here now." He didn't wait. Wand aimed upward, flares shot out, crackling in red overhead. He turned to Amelia, giving her a look that she probably could read better than most. What in the name of Merlin did they do now? |