THADDEUS MONTAGE & GRAHAM MONTAGUE vs. ANGELINA JOHNSON & ALICIA SPINNET
Angelina had been operating on auto-pilot since the news at the ceasefire, her wand raised but only firing to defend herself. Fred was dead. Harry was dead. The goal now was survival, but Graham Montague, who had only just arrived from Hogsmeade as part of the ministry reinforcements, had other ideas. He spotted his former Quidditch rival and gleefully sent a Lacarnum Inflamarae towards her. Angelina easily extinguished the flame with an Aguamenti but the attack made her grief bubble to the surface in the best way she knew how to deal with it; anger. Her confundo hit him squarely, leaving him dazed while she wasted no time in following up with a defodio, Graham screaming in pain as her spell started to gouge out parts of his body.
“You’re a fucking sexist cheater who is not even that good at Quidditch,” she yelled, continuing to take out chunks of skin. “Fred--” her voice caught but she kept going, “--Fred and George should have made sure you never got out of that vanishing cabinet because you’re a disgusting piece of shit!” Her point was punctuated with a return Lacarnum Inflamarae aimed at his feet, feeling the tiniest bit better as she watched the fire travel up robes, his screams barely registering to her. She barely knew Graham, had already graduated by the time he was made Slytherin captain, but it didn’t matter. She knew him well enough, had heard enough stories about him, that she believed he deserved this.
“Finite Incantatem,,” boomed Graham’s dad, followed by an ”Expelliarmus,” Angelina’s wand flying into his hand while she flew backwards from the force, giving Thaddeus a moment to apply some basic healing charms to his son. Losing her wand wasn’t enough to deter Angelina though, pushing herself up from the ground and charging towards Graham, Thaddeus repelling her with a “Flipendo,”.
“Molliare,” came Alicia’s voice from behind Angelina, catching up with her friend just in time to provide a cushioned landing as she hit the ground, offering a hand to help her back up but not expecting Angelina’s rampage to continue the second she got to her feet.
“Immobulus,,” Thad cast, before Angelina could reach his son, Graham taking this opportunity to fire his own hexes back at the frozen, wandless Gryffindor. “Flamma Pellis!” The smell of burning flesh filled the air, watering eyes the only movement that could come from Angelina until Alicia helped out her friend again with a Finite Incantatem.
“Carpe Retractum,” Alicia added, a light-beam rope lassoing around Angelina’s wand, a tug pulling it from Thaddeus to Alicia, who tossed it to Angelina with the perfect aim of chasers who had played years together. ”Diffindo!” Alicia cast at Graham as she saw him raise his wand to attack Angelina again.
”Ossio Dispersimus! ” Angelina shouted at the same time as Graham yelled “Osso Torqo!”, her bones twisting and cracking while his limbs turned limp and rubbery and were slashed to pieces by Alicia’s spell.
“Atelectae,” Thaddeus shot at Angelina, retaliation for the damage she had done to his son, arm raised ready to cast again as Alicia stepped in front of Angelina to protect her friend, firing back a gasped “Vomito Cataracta,” at Thaddeus, struggling to breath now she only had one working lung. “Incarcerous!” she added breathlessly, and another aimed at Graham despite his current immobility. With both Montague’s now bound, she reached for Angelina, now huddled on the ground in tears she wasn’t sure were from the pain or for the lost lives of those she loved, pulling her off the ground to find them both medical assistance.
SPENCER PARKINSON & STEPHEN CORNFOOT vs. PADMA PATIL & SU LI
All hell had broken loose. The sight of Harry’s lifeless body filled Padma with so much sorrow, despite not knowing him all to well. It was everything that he represented, and she suddenly felt fearful that perhaps this war wouldn’t end the way she hoped. It was Neville though, Neville’s speech and actions that reignited her and she was ready. Even if it didn’t turn out the way she wanted, Padma would go down fighting, she wasn’t going to give up. The crowd was rushing around on the grounds, and she found herself next to her friend, Su Li. She held her wand tightly as she looked over to her Su. “Go down fighting, right?” Though she didn’t have any intention to go down at all, and she would do everything in her power to have her friend’s back as well.
Padma was surprised to see Spencer here, not that he wasn’t someone that wouldn’t fight for his beliefs, but the fact that he was supposed to be getting married. Was risking death really worth it when he had someone waiting for him? Padma didn’t really want to ask this question, at this point she doubted making small talk would make much a difference. Besides, running into Spencer and Stephen put her into a difficult choice, and by not going after Stephen, she hoped that would say something. Though having him here, fighting against Su, made her realize that maybe there was no hope for their dying friendship.
Her wand was already raised as her attempt to disarm him failed. There was so much going on, but she stayed focused on Spencer. “I’m not backing down.” Padma told him.
"Don't be stupid," Spencer snapped back. He had known Padma since she was a baby and to be put in this situation was particularly grating. His wand focused on her, he shouted, "Expelliarmus!"
Padma blocked his spell and shook her head. Padma wasn’t going to respond to him, everyone had chosen their side now, and this had to end. Padma didn’t like it, but this was the reality they were living in. It was now or never, and she wasn’t going to let her friends down. “Nitor Lapsus!” She cried out.
Realising full well that this wasn't go exactly as he had planned, Spencer shook his head, her Vertigo Charm just missing him by a mere inches. "Immobulus!" Spencer yelled, making sure to aim for her body. He wasn't going to miss.
Padma tried to block, but she wasn’t quick enough, she was frozen, unable to move no matter how hard she tried. Her heart was pounding in her chest, wondering what Spencer would do next. The only thing she could move were her eyes, and they were moving wildly as she tried to figure out what she should do next. What she didn’t plan on was a bright light, she was sure it was orange, bright orange, and she tried to close her eyes, but everything went extremely bright.
Then everything went extremely dark.
Su never had an intention of backing down from any fight, especially not this one. The second the spells started flying, hexes were already coming out of her wand without her even uttering a word: a skill she’d been honing since she’d gotten home for the Easter holidays. But the concentration on her wordless spell-casting and aiming at the slew of wild creatures coming at her meant that she couldn’t properly watch over her teammate.
At least not until she saw that the other girl was probably the only thing not moving. Hell, even the walls were moving from the blasts.
“Padma!” she shouted, trying to get her attention, unsure if whether she’d been frozen from spell or from crippling fear. When she didn’t move, Su sent out a flock of ravenous finches from her wand, and ducked as she headed straight for her housemate. Grab Padma, incapacitate a Death Eater at the same time, and get out. That was the plan. Su’s eyes locked with the man who had frozen Padma, and she didn’t hesitate to raise her wand. “Confrigo!”
Not expecting to be attacked so quickly, Spencer recoiled as the Blasting Curse exploded a rock near him. Groaning, he turned to face the other girl, before he yelled, "Atelectae!"
The guy was fast but that didn’t mean Su wasn’t just as fast. If she couldn’t block the curse in time, the countercurse was right there in her mind to help her reinflate her lung. Otherwise, a blocking spell instead. And thankfully that worked, but there was only so much she could do while holding onto one of her best friends.
So, Su pushed Padma down behind her (a little unceremoniously but she figured she’d be forgiven for it later) as she stood straight and mumbled, “Purulentus Conjunctivitis.”
Spencer's Shield Charm was up just in time, and the spell bounced off before it hit someone else in the distance. Not having enough time to see what happened to that person, Spencer retorted with, "Luxatio!"
That person happened to be Stephen, who promptly crumpled to the ground, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes, trying to stop the pain. Blindly, he attempted to perform the countercurse, but was failing to accomplish anything other than making his eyes feel worse. Whoever did this was going to pay. But first, Stephen needed to find a way to heal himself.
With the girl he was fighting with currently busy, Spencer finally rushed to the unintended victim, trying to figure out who he was. "Hang on, mate, I've got you," Spencer started, his wand pointed directly at Stephen's eyes. He quickly performed the counter-curse, but seeing as he was no Healer, he wasn't sure that it would be as effective as it should have been. "You alright?" he asked quickly, throwing a haphazard look at the girl once again.
“Yeah,” Stephen let out a breath, feeling relief flood his nervous system, though the sores on his hands still thumped with their own pulse. “Yeah, I’m all right, thanks.” He nodded to Spencer, and then glanced over at Padma and Su and tried to ignore the twinge in his stomach. “We can fix me for real later.”
The distraction was a blessing. Su put up a shield right away and took the chance to sidestep around Padma, keeping the pair in her peripheral vision while she grasped Padma’s shoulder. “What’s going on with you?! Come on, you have to get up and leave.” Unlike what Stephen was feeling, there was no room for remorse in her anymore. So, her spell bounced off and hit her housemate instead. He deserved it, considering what side he had taken. She threw him a glare, while putting one hand under Padma’s shoulder and pulling her up.
Padma felt herself being pushed down, but she couldn’t tell who had done it, she assumed it was Su or else wouldn’t one of the others tried to curse or hex her by now? She heard the sound of her wand dropping, her eyes still stinging, she tried to open them, but nothing. Well not nothing, she could make out shapes, she was sure she saw something that looked like an outline of a human, but everything was wrong. She couldn’t see anything properly! She moved her hands carefully, trying to find her wand, and when she managed to get her hand on it, she felt Su picking her up. Padma clung to her, terrified as she looked around trying to aim her head from where the sound of her voice came from, landing on a what seemed a clearer version of Su, but she still couldn’t make her out.
“I,” she stammered. “Something’s wrong. My eyes. I can’t.” She paused trying to hold back tears. “I can’t see anything properly.”
Su’s grip on her shield charm wavered slightly, hearing Padma’s pained voice. She was blind. Oh, bloody hell, that murderous prick had blinded her. While she really wanted to let her anger let loose and teach him a lesson, she knew that wasn’t going to be conducive to getting Padma the help she needed. “Okay,” she said with a slight shake in her words before she took a breath and repeated herself. “Okay. We’re gonna follow my direction, you run where I nudge you to go.”
Suddenly, Spencer had enough of all of this, and he knew he had to get this student to safety. He threw a series of slashing spells at the girl he had been dueling just a few moments prior, and he made sure the spells hit the intended target. He quickly helped Stephen to his feet, before speaking loudly enough for him to hear, "Look, I've got you. I'll get you to safety, yeah? Trust me."
The first slash may have gotten deflected off the shield but that’s all it was able to take. The next slash hit her arm, dropping the wand. Without hesitation, she bent over Padma, still holding onto her as she took the brunt of the other slashes. It stung -- actually, no, it seared -- or no, it stung and seared and literally everything else that happened when your skin and the the superficial veins and maybe the top layer of muscle were being sliced open as well. She was worse for wear and she knew they both had to get out. “Hold on,” she hissed out, trying not to cry out from the pain, as she quickly stooped to grab her wand and put up another shield charm.
Stephen tightened his grip around his wand, despite the fact that the sores had come in contact once more with the wood. “I do. Trust you.” He hesitated. “Should we - I don’t - I want to make sure Padma is healed? She’s my - she’s my friend. Still.”
"She'll be fine, they've got Healers too," Spencer responded hurriedly, trying to make sure no stray spells came their way. "Come on!"
Obediently, Stephen followed behind without another word, though he didn’t feel good about it.
JAMES HOOPER & CARLOS SANTIAGO vs. ANDREW KIRKE, LIZZIE ZELLER & GEOFFREY HOOPER
“Over there!” Geoffrey pointed behind the greenhouses, relieved to finally have found a spot of the grounds not currently swarming with Death Eaters. “Everyone all right?” He glanced at Lizzie and Andrew.
“All good,” Andrew’s response came quickly, from where he was alongside Geoffrey and Lizzie. He still had his wand raised, senses all on high alert. “I can't see anyone there, can you?”
“I’m okay!!!” Lizzie chimed in, even though she was pretty sure she wasn’t. Why had she decided coming up from Hogsmeade was a good idea? It wasn’t! Even if almost everyone she loved was here. It was terrifying!
“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” he replied, slightly breathless, though nothing about tonight was fine or even moderately so. Geoffrey’s eyes swept over the distance before them, between them and the castle, and soon noticed a group of people heading towards the fray when -- “Dad?” Geoffrey squinted, and took a step forward. “Dad! It’s me!” He called louder, picking up speed. And Carlos! “Carlos!”
Lizzie had started moving almost immediately after Geoffrey had, she wasn't about to let him dive back into the battlefield without her. Even if it was his dads he was running towards.
Except as they got closer, she realised that there was something very wrong with them. With the whole group of people. They were—
“It's not them!” Lizzie blurted out, trying to grab hold of Geoffrey to stop them. “Geoff, stop, they're inferi!”
From where he was behind Geoffrey and Lizzie, less hasty to move, Andrew had the same realisation in the split second that Lizzie shouted it out. “Shit, Geoff, no!” Andrew shouted, running to catch up with them.
Geoffrey faltered, even before Lizzie had sort-of caught up to him. “What? No, no, they can’t be!” He shook his head furiously, though the proof that James and Carlos were just that was quickly approaching. “That’s my - those are my - those are my dads,” insisted Geoffrey, while the sinking feeling in his stomach only grew stronger, and his fingers only tightened around his wand even more.
The Inferius who resembled Geoffrey’s father James took advantage of Geoffrey having turned around, and captured him in a headlock, while the one that looked like Carlos moved towards Lizzie who wasn’t far behind. He immediately started pulling at the arm around his throat, desperate for air, but the corpse wouldn’t budge.
“Geoff!” Lizzie shrieked as she tried to remember how you fought back against Inferi. She barely noticed the Inferius that was heading towards her, too focused on the one currently attacking Geoffrey.
“Lumos Maxima!” She yelled suddenly, sending a flash of bright light out. Light and heat, she remembered finally, but she wasn’t about to risk hitting Geoffrey with a burst of flame.
“Lizzie watch out!” Andrew yelled across the night, spotting the second figure heading for her. He tried to send a jinx towards the figure, but missed in the dark. It may have been enough to distract the Inferius from Lizzie, but it hadn't done any damage.
Twisting desperately, Geoffrey tried to get out of his father’s - not his father’s - grasp, which loosened only slightly with Lizzie’s spell. James’s body jerked backwards to get away from it, and took Geoffrey with it, and once they weren’t in the direct course of the spell anymore, his lock on his son only became stronger, nearly crushing Geoffrey’s windpipe. Geoffrey gasped for air, tugging at the arm around his throat with one hand, and trying to create fire with the one that held his wand. “La-lacarnum inflamarae,” he managed, but it barely lit the tip of his wand, never mind create a fireball.
He could feel himself growing weaker from oxygen deprivation, but tried to warn Lizzie of Carlos who was nearly at her. “Liz - tur-turn around!”
Carlos reached Lizzie after briefly using his eyes to follow Andrew’s jinx and roughly shoved her to the ground.
Lizzie had spun around just in time to be shoved to the ground, landing hard with another shriek. She kicked out at the inferius as she felt around for the wand she’d dropped in the scuffle, hitting out not!Carlos’ ankles and shins as she did.
“Andrew! Help Geoff!” She could take care of this one Inferius, but Geoff could be dying and she couldn’t help!
Needing no further prompt, Andrew started to yell at the figure that held Geoff. “Hey, asshole! Lacarnum Inflamarae!” Andrew sent his own fireball towards the Inferius’s back.
Finally, James relinquished his hold on Geoffrey when the fireball made contact, who fell forward to his knees, sucking in sweet, sweet air. He rubbed his neck gingerly, wanting to help Andrew fend off his father, but also didn’t want to - not because he was still trying to catch his breath, but because it was still his dad.
So Geoffrey didn’t move, and just panted and stared as his father’s body recovered and started in for Andrew, angrily, after being interrupted.
Carlos grunted as Lizzie’s kicks landed on him, but wouldn’t be deterred from his task. The next time one of her legs came near, he grabbed and tugged, attempting to dismember.
“Incendio!” Lizzie yelled, the burst of flame distracting her opponent long enough for her to get to her feet. She glanced quickly over to Geoffrey, then back to Carlos, and then darted over to Geoffrey, gently laying a hand on his shoulder.
“Geoffrey?” She couldn’t imagine how awful this must be for him at moment, but — he couldn’t just stare. They had to fight back, or run away, not freeze.
“Shit,,” Andrew swore under his breath as the Inferius started towards him. Not-James Hooper didn't seem like someone he really wanted to fight, but now the fight was seeming inevitable. He sent another fireball in his direction, hoping desperately that Geoffrey was alright.
Geoffrey didn’t say anything when Lizzie reached him, he just stood up after another moment, void of emotion, turned to face his stepfather who was some yards behind them, and cast a carefully-aimed “Reducto” at him. And then followed up with another Incendio for good measure, before turning to Lizzie with tears flowing freely.
James Hooper ducked the fireball, and planted a punch to Andrew’s stomach, aided by the super-human strength that being a Dark creature apparently came with, slapped the wand out of the boy’s hand, and wrestled him to the ground, apparently none-the-wiser that his partner’s body ceased to exist anymore.
Muggle wrestling wasn't exactly Andrew’s strong suit, and he doubled up in pain as the first punch landed and something cracked. Within moments he'd lost his wand and been wrestled to the ground, painful and powerful blows landing on his face and chest while he tried to kick and fight back. He yelled out for help, but had no idea what current state his friends were in or even if they could help.
“Hey. Hey.” Lizzie pressed a hand against Geoffrey's cheek, the ‘it's okay’ she was going to say sticking in her throat. It wasn't okay, not at all. She pulled Geoffrey in for a brief hug, hating to see him in such pain and not being able to completely drop everything for him. She could hear Andrew’s cries as he was attacked, and knew they needed to help. Or at least she did, this wasn't something Geoffrey should have to do. Fight back against his dad.
“Hey,” she said quietly. “We’re going to need help. There are people from the Ministry here — some from the Magical Creatures department. They're working with some of the Aurors to help. Do you think you can go and find one of them?” Geoffrey didn't need to keep seeing what was happening with his dad.
“Are you - are you sure?” Geoffrey asked in a voice that wasn’t quite his own; too detached, but his eyebrows furrowed worriedly as he registered what Lizzie was telling him. “All right,” nodded Geoffrey, then, after another second, and reached up to squeeze Lizzie’s hand before taking off in the direction of the castle, hoping he’d find someone able to help along the way. He glanced backwards, hesitantly. He was leaving his friends, his girlfriend, to fend for themselves. That wasn’t right.
Still, no time to lose.
Lizzie took a deep breath as Geoffrey left, watching him for a moment before squaring her shoulders and turning back to the Inferius and Andrew. She couldn’t think about it being Geoff’s dad, it was just a dangerous creature that was hurting Andrew and it needed to be stopped.
“Incendio!” She yelled again, sending the blast of flame at it’s back and keeping the blast going.
The spell was enough to singe a hole through the back of James’ shirt, and he growled with pain as the fire made contact with his skin. It was enough to momentarily stop him from beating Andrew up into a bloody pulp, too distracted in attempting to put out the fire.
Relieved that she was finally having an affect, Lizzie started moving closer, pouring all her concentration into keeping the flame going so the Inferius didn’t start attacking Andrew again.
Grateful for the reprieve from being beaten repeatedly by the Inferius, Andrew started to struggle towards his wand.
Weeding through the crowds of people, searching for someone who clearly wasn’t a Death Eater but might have some experiences with dealing with Dark creatures, Geoffrey kept his eyes open for someone he could convince to come back with him to defeat the Inferius and save Andrew.
He found one such person, and blurted out, “My dad’s an Inferius, please help!” before taking her by the arm and pulling her back to where Geoffrey had parted from Lizzie and Andrew. The Ministry employee didn’t have a chance to protest.
They reached James Hooper quickly, more quickly than Geoffrey had ever bothered to move on the ground before, and he wasn’t sure where the speed was coming from, but - “There!” He gestured to where Lizzie stood, and Andrew laid.
Geoffrey’s words to Marita Culpepper had only just sunk in by the time they reached the fight, and then her instincts and training kicked in. She nodded to the young girl who had been keeping the Inferius away from the boy on the ground, immediately creating a circle of flame around the Inferius.
“You three need to get out of here,” she commanded, sparing a glance for the boy on the ground.
Andrew groaned loudly, wand still clutched in his hand after he'd managed to retrieve it but hadn't been able to summon the energy for a spell. Breathing hurt, and his vision was clouded with the blood that his freshly-broken nose and face had produced. Shaking arms moved to try and wipe some of it from around his eyes, just to see who was there. But even through hazy vision he didn't recognise her. “Give us a hand?” He addressed his friends wheezily.
“Up you get,” Geoffrey looped one of Andrew’s arms around his neck, and an arm around his waist, and jerked his head to the other side so Lizzie would pick up there. To Marita Culpepper, with a slightly quivering lip, he begged, “Please just - put him out of his misery. Please.”
Lizzie hurried to Andrew’s other side, carefully slipping an arm around his waist as she ducked under his arm. “Let’s go,” she murmured, ignoring the tears that had started streaming down her face. They needed to get Andrew help, and she needed to be there for Geoffrey.
Marita just nodded to Geoffrey, turning back to the Inferius to finish dealing with him. And hoped she wouldn’t get in trouble for this later.
VINCENT CRABBE SR. & GODFRIED GOYLE vs. PROUDFOOT & SAVAGE
Crabbe Sr. hovered in the shadows of the treeline with Goyle, waiting for an ample opportunity to strike. There were so many students running about, and although he had no qualms with engaging them in battle, what was the point?
He vaguely wondered how his son was doing in Hogsmeade before nudging Goyle with his elbow. Crabbe Sr. nodded towards the two Aurors approaching. Two Aurors who were not on their side “Ready?” he mouthed.
Goyle kept glancing down at the wound, he really ought to heal it but he was rubbish at those. It was but a flesh wound he could continue on. Goyle even more peeved than he was before. He looked to his comrade in arms and looked to the direction he nodded. A smirk on his face as he nodded his head in return. He was ready.
“Confringo!” Goyle went in for the attack.
The Aurors had received certain orders from the ultimate superior — reinforce the invaders, ensure Hogwarts is taken out of the hands of the rebels.
Some of them knew better than to follow them. They’d started their careers fighting against Dark Wizards, not for them. This was their chance to get some of their dignity back.
A flick of Madeline Savage’s wand brought up a hasty shield in front of herself and Proudfoot, and she couldn’t help but grin as she silently sent a Knockback Jinx at their opponents.
Crabbe Sr. used a tree to dodge the jinx one of the Auror’s sent, but instantly burst from the treeline, running towards them for better aim. “Confrigo! Avada Kedavra!” he exclaimed, nearly in the same breath.
Walter Proudfoot heard the spells before he saw them -- (because these Death Eaters were idiots) -- milliseconds later, landing right beside his ankle. Rather than use his wand to strike back, he pushed Savage as far left of the impending blast as he could--
Boom. A tuft of grass and dirt flew up into the air, right where he'd been standing, heat emanating from that very spot, small sparks revealing the damage that could have been.
"Luxatio," he snarled back. Because the man was cantankerous on a good day, and today? Well, today he had just about had it -- the bodies of mere teenagers littering the grounds and halls of Hogwarts rather would have that effect on a grown man.
Goyle was not quick on the shield charm and tried to step out of the way. The curse hit him in his arm dislocating the arm from his shoulder. He yelled out in pain. He sent a slicing curse towards them with no regard for aim, followed by an “Avada Kedavra.”
Savage stumbled but stayed on her feet after Proudfoot’s shove, thankful that he'd gotten them both out of the way of the explosion.
The slicing curse sailed close to her face, leaving a cut that quickly welled with blood. Instead of worrying about it she simply dodged the killing curse that followed, throwing a couple of more carefully aimed Cascata jinxes at the advancing Death Eaters.
Crabbe was thrown backwards from his advance by an explosion, and sat dumbly on the grass as if confunded. His ears rang and he swallowed roughly, attempting to hold down the vomit that was rising from his stomach.
He remembered himself as the dust cleared and realized his wand was clutched tightly in his hand. He slashed the air from his sitting position. “Osso torqo.”
Oh fuck that, Proudfoot thought, dodging the clumsily thrown curse. He was on his feet, more nimble than either of the Death Eaters in front of him -- and a great deal more refreshed, given his later arrival at this battle. He flicked an incarceration spell over at the half-dazed one sitting on the ground before turning to square off the other one.
Opposite him, he could see Savage and met her eyes, communicating silently the way they did in training sessions and practice duels. One, two, feint, disarm, arrest. Because they were professionals.
Crabbe found himself suddenly bound by Proudfoot’s spell, and fell backwards unable to move from his position.
The explosion had sent Goyle back, the pain in his arm worsened with the force of the explosion. Piece of something from the area lodged in his left side of his abdomen from the explosion made moving laboured as he tried to step forward and advance towards the one who turned towards him. “Nekro!” he sent the spell towards Proudfoot. He dropped his hand to his side to touched his side, he yelled in pain and frustration it could not be handled here. He moved to advance towards the pair again.
Savage nodded to Proudfoot, and she sprang into action, ignoring the Death Eater’s attempt to attack while she focused on the capture. She trusted that their shields would hold, that Proudfoot would be able to counter the clumsy attempt.
Just as Savage had done her part, Proudfoot let in a small gap on the shield protecting him letting Goyle believe that he had a chance to aim right there until--
A quick flick of Savage's wand had her silently casting Expelliarmus with unerring accuracy as she called out “Confundo!”
Proudfoot flicked over the incarceration spell at the dazed and disarmed Goyle, before lifting his gaze and meeting Savage's eyes once more. "You were slow," he said flatly. A tease only if you knew him well enough, a chide if you didn't.
Savage just flipped him off with a roll of her eyes, her gaze quickly moving to the rest of the battle. This was their best (and likely only) chance to rid the world of the Death Eaters and their master, she wasn’t about to just sit back and rest on these laurels.
“Still faster than you, old man.”
RABASTAN LESTRANGE & RODOLPHUS LESTRANGE vs. ABERFORTH DUMBLEDORE, AUGUSTA LONGBOTTOM, ERNIE MACMILLAN & HAZEL WILKES
This wasn’t going the way Rabastan anticipated it going. His left eye was swollen shut, his knee had been hit by something that made it painful to walk, and he could feel the blood seeping from his shoulder into his cloak. Not that any of that was going to stop him. But Harry Potter was dead and the rest of these idiots were going to pay.
Rabastan shouted to his brother, who had barely left his side all night, and motioned to where he had spotted the blonde boy from earlier, the one he had left to bleed earlier in the night. With a growl, he threw Crucio! at him with vigor.
Ernie spun around when he heard the spell, but it hit him before he saw who had cast it. Dropping to the ground, he groaned under the influence of the spell, wanting the pain to pass, pass quickly, end, anything. It stopped and he looked up at the man who cast it, recognizing Rabastan from earlier. Still recovering, he pulled together enough energy to disarm him, Expelliarmus and then a Confundo for good measure as he scrambled to his feet.
Rabastan rounded on the boy, wand steady despite everything else, and he shot a blast to knock the curses flung at him out of the way. “You don’t stand a chance, boy,” he hissed. Caecusio to put out the lights for the kid, followed immediately by Flamma Pellis.
Rodolphus left the kid to Rabastan, his attention instead falling on the old lady who seemed to think she could still put up a fight. It seemed almost cruel, to attack someone of that age, but with the injuries he had already sustained, Rodolphus was looking forward to an easy target, and he’d never been one to shy away from cruelty. Without hesitation he cast a Nitor Lapsus and, before the Longbottom lady could regain her balance, fired a Ignis Pellis for good measure.
The Death Eaters had already made the mistake once of underestimating Augusta Longbottom and she was fine with them doing it once again. This was personal for her, and she was both wanting to make sure they knew it and also make sure the young boy fighting against the other Lestrange survived. As she regained her footing, and refused to cower to the pain of burning flesh, she kicked off her heeled shoes and advanced on Roldophus, casting a spell at him to emphasize each word she spoke, not waiting to see if one hit before casting another.
“You.” A stinging hex. “Took.” Another. “My.” Another. “Son.” Another. “And this is for my grandson!” she cried out before aiming her wand at him again and shouting, “Osso torqo.”
Rabastan held the Cruciatus curse on for a moment longer to the boy before dropping it and hitting him with a stinging hex, aiming right between the eyes.
As quietly as she could, Hazel crept up behind the man attacking Ernie Macmillan. She was careful not to get too close, to keep herself out of physical reach, as she raised her wand, keeping it trained on the man's back. Without thinking too much, her only real thoughts to stop this man from continuing his assault on the former Head Boy, Hazel focused all her attention on the spell as she thought, Musculus Relaxo! Unconventional in a duel, perhaps, but maybe it would be less expected than a standard jinx or hex.
The spell hit his wand arm, it beginning to twist uncontrollably. “Crucio,” Rodolphus spat out, fighting against the twisting to aim at the old lady, before his arm cracked and fell limply into an unnatural position. He transferred his wand to his non-wand hand and fired a poorly aimed Luxatio.
Ernie managed to get to his feet, anger coursing through his body. He was angry at this battle, at the people he’d seen injured and worse during the cease fire, at the Death Eaters for starting this war, at the fact that his best friend was still missing, and at Rabastan, who had now hit him with the Cruciatus curse multiple times tonight. Staring him down, he flicked his wand, “Auras Corrugarsi,” was for his friends, “Vespermuto” was for the war, and “Caecusio” was for the torture.
Aberforth Dumbledore had, despite himself, begun to enjoy the battle, and not just because he thought it was something Ariana would have been proud of. This might have been his sanctimonious brother’s cause, but she would have been disappointed in him if he had kept away like he thought he should.
“That’s no way to speak to a lady,” Aberforth scolded Rodolphus as he sent an enthusiastic Disarming Charm at him. “But understandable when she’s beating you soundly.” Aberforth winked at Augusta.
With his wrong hand, Rodulphus was unable to shield himself in time, his wand flying from his hand and him flying backwards from the enthusiasm in the old man’s charm. He landed heavily but ignored the pain, scrambling on all fours to collect his wand.
Rabastan wasn’t about to be intimidated by this boy, though he was surprised to find the hexes coming fast and furious from him. He only managed to deflect one of them, and to his horror it was the one that would have done the least amount of damage. When the blinding curse hit him, Rabastan howled, clawing at his eyes as his vision faded. “Avada Kedavra,” he hissed in the direction he thought the boy was in, tired of playing games. Without his vision, there was no chance of it hitting its target.
The flash of green light, though poorly aimed, was enough of a distraction for Rodolphus to get his wand back, turning his attention to the boy to help out his brother. Unlike Rabastan, Rodolphus wanted to draw out the suffering. The killing curse was painless and these muggle lovers didn’t deserve a painless death. “Osso Torqo,” he shot at the blonde boy, still using his non-wand arm to cast, the other hanging limply by his side. He followed it up with a Luxatio and a Inalgasco Pellis for good measure.
Ernie felt his bones twist and break and pop out of their sockets and he fell to the ground, unable to support himself. It was worse than the Cruciatus curse because it didn't end when the spell was over, and the last thing he remembered before passing out was the feeling of ice creeping over his skin.
“Ganging up on a teenager?” Aberforth snarled, flinging spell after spell after Rabastan. What sort of piece of shit tried to kill a teenager.
Anteoculatia — Vespermuto — Confundo — Luxiato!
Augusta had had only a moment to appreciate the flattery in acknowledging her ability against the elder Lestrange before she was drawn back into the fight at hand. She heard the deafening cracks of the young boy’s bones breaking and a fit of rage came over her. “How dare you!” she trilled, coming up to fight beside the older man, her wanted pointing at first toward Rodolphus and then at Rabastan. “Confundo!Lacarnum Inflamarae! I’ll have both your hides before this day is done! Diffindo!”
Rodolphus used the temporary focus on his brother to aim at the other girl who had thought she could sneak up on Rabastan, throwing a Purulentus Conjunctivitis and a Nekro in her direction. His arm was raised to send another curse when Augusta’s severing charm hit him, shreds of his skin tearing off his body at the impact. ”Luxatio,” he sent back weakly.
While Rabastan and his brother were stronger together, Rabastan faltered at the attacks from the other Dumbledore and the Longbottom woman. Confused by the confundus charm, he stumbled a bit as the ball of fire from the woman hit him, the fire spreading quickly from his side and licking out along his robes. His right arm caught fire and he flapped around a bit to try and put it out because he was confused enough not to know how else to do it.
Hazel reacted without thinking as the curse hit her, twisting in the direction of the light she'd seen but currently couldn't. Petrificus Totalus followed by Inaglassco Pellis before she dropped to her knees, jaw clenched to keep from screaming out in pain, though her head swam with it. Had she been able to see, she was sure her vision would have clouded. Instead, she focused on a Shield Charm and appearing defeated by not moving, straining her ears for the sound of the fight around her.
Rodolphus was again not quick enough to shield himself, falling to the ground as Hazel’s body-bind hit him, unable to even writhe in pain when the frozen skin spell followed.
Augusta kept advancing after one brother had fallen. “Osso torqo!” She waited for Rabastan to fall, too, before echoing the girl's full body bind. “I should teach you both a lesson about using Unforgivables for sport, but I want you to remember the day you tried to take on Augusta Longbottom and failed!”
She turned away, then, heading first for the fallen boy, one of the two brave children who'd helped bring the Lestrange men down, to make sure he was stable.
NICHOLAS SCABIOR vs. CHARLIE WEASLEY & ROB PODMORE
It was fair to say that Nicholas Scabior was in a mood. Grasping his side and staggering around like a punch drunk garden gnome, he was looking for someone - anyone - to take his foul temper out on, and he didn’t much care who.
His best jacket - his only jacket - had a tear in it. Genuine dragonhide or as good as, that one, and a genuine Twilfitt - at least as the label said. If it hadn’t belonged to him in the first place, well, so what. Finders keepers.
The motto by which he ran his life, as it turned out.
This bad humour was abated when Scabior spied a figure up ahead of him, and a smile that was anything but pleasant curved around his face. He was a student alone, and Scabior liked those odds. “Caecusio,” he drawled, and a flash of orange light emitted from his wand.
Had it happened like with Adelaide? Had Rob frozen like she did? Where did he know this man from? Why did he looked so familiar?
He was quick to defend himself when the flash of orange came sailing towards him. A swish of his wand brought up lumps of ground that intercepted the orange light and a flick sent them hurtling towards the man. Lamely, in the middle of a literal battleground, Rob asked, “Who are you?”
“A person of influence, m’dear boy.” Scabior’s speech had polished up over the years, scurrying to and from better kept tables like a well-fed rat, but his accent was still ringingly Cockney. “We could have tea an’ a chat about it, if you like, but ‘m afraid that I’m rather pressed for time.” A fan of knives flew through the air as he gave his wand a nonchalant flick, their sharp points hurtling towards the boy.
Ehh, Rob doubted that. A sloppily aimed, “Depulso!” caused most of the knives to soar right back to the man. Two knocked off course enough that they clanged against each other and landed at Rob’s feet, earning a snigger from the man, who had banished the rest of the knives. “Can you really be a person of influence if no one can place you?” Rob send a fireball at the other and quickly behind it a non-verbal stinging hex.
“Meaning no offense, but p’haps you’re just not important enough to know.” A flash of teeth as the fireball was covered with a shell of ice, disappearing in a hiss of steam. Scabior darted to the left, taking advantage of the steam’s confusion to move. His side hitched, he - in spite of his rank as Head Snatcher - hadn’t been deemed injured or important enough for proper healing during the ceasefire, and had needed to make do with a hag. “A non-entity, you are, and ‘m afraid that as of presently, we’re not recruiting.” A bone twisting curse slung in the boy’s direction. As pleasant as this little chat was, he had best be pressing on.
Rob scowled, both at the implication of not being important enough but mostly at the thought that he would join. His “Protego Horribilis” was much more true than his banishing charm and Rob quickly sent a gouging spell directly into the other's paths, who yelped and cursed through the fog as it struck true. “You engaged me, remember?” Rob aimed a dislocation curse straight at the other’s arm.
“You were in the way,” Scabior growled, all traces of (very much) surface level charm gone. “S’not polite to get in someone’s way like that. I’m going to put you out of the way.” The gouging curse was buried with his surge of anger, a wild animal in the midst of a fight. A choking curse, a staple of his when he was on the hunt for bounty, was flung at the boy.
In the way of what? Rob wanted to ask but before he could he was cut off, invisible hold closing in on his throat and tightening. It was illogical to grab at his neck and try to free himself but he did, clawing at his throat and choking all the while. Would this be how he died? Choking on nothing? Suffocation by magic? In vain, he tried. Clawing at his neck with his free hand, death grip on his wand in the other that was also pressed to his neck. As he struggled, he exhaled air that he could not get back no matter how hard he tried.
Relashio! Charlie Weasley had not been thinking straight for the last while. His brother was dead, people he’d called friends were dead, and now Harry Potter, the great hope of them all and an adopted member of the family was gone too.
He couldn’t watch anyone else die. Especially not another student. He flung a revulsion spell at the creep that was trying to kill one of the students, following it quickly with a blast of flame. The Snatcher’s spell compressing the student’s throat ceased instantly, and he leapt backwards to dance out of the way of the fire.
Not quite quickly enough.
“Ieeeeeeee!” shrieked out Scabior, batting at the remains of his now thoroughly ruined coat.
Rob dropped to the ground as soon as the curse was lifted. Taking in great gasping breaths on all fours and rubbing his neck. Dodging non-verbal had never been a strong suit of his and he had almost died because of it. And there was his almost killer, squealing as he tried to smother his coat from the flames. Rob aimed a stinging hex straight at the flailing man from his position before getting on his feet. The hex hit, making Scabior’s scream reach a near falsetto.
“This isn’t faaaaaiiiiir,” he whined.
“You’re a piece of shit who has been turning in Muggleborns to line your own pockets,” Charlie growled, sending several Slashing Charms at the Snatcher. “I don’t think they considered that very fair either.”
Rob made an incredulous face as Charlie spoke. This man that just had him in magical choke hold was a Snatcher? The man who just whined like a child? He looked at the Snatcher then back to Charlie then back to the Snatcher.
He kept his wand up in a defensive position in direction of the Snatcher but looked at Charlie as he spoke. "Are you serious?" But yes, as he thought back he remembered by he had been so familiar at first. Rob had seen his face in the Prophet before, Rob had read his name. “This is Scabior?”
“The bastard himself,” Charlie confirmed.
“Gentlemen,” drawled Scabior in recognition, tipping his imaginary top hat at the redhead. His greeting was followed by several curses.
Charlie swore as Scabior’s curse rent through his skin and clothes, blood pouring from the wounds without Charlie giving it too much thought. Instead he sent a barrage of his own, Confundo and Glacius Tria.
Was he there when James died, Rob wondered as he parried and blocked the onslaught of curses the Snatcher sent their way. He tossed a slashing hex, a knockback jinx that was parried and knocked Rob back a few steps. Scabior laughed, a madcap gleam in his eye as smoke billowed out of his wand, obscuring from sight once more.
“Crucio.”
It had been described to him, a full force Cruciatus. Because Rob had been a child who asked too many questions and Emmeline had been an adult who always answered. He had been hit with it before, in Dark Arts. But that was, quite literally, child's play and Emmeline’s description of the pain didn’t do it justice. One second he was on his feet, the next he was flat on his back. His body convulsed, limbs contorting and locking into place as he screamed, his entire world nothing but pain. And another laugh from the Snatcher, who shot a jet of green light towards the boy’s ally.
“Avada Kedavra.”
Charlie had already been moving towards Rob when Scabior’s curse sailed towards him and Charlie dodged, returning his attention to the Snatcher.
“Bombarda!” He flung several of the explosive charms at the piece of shit trying to kill him. This was going to end, now.
The pain was subsiding but Rob could still feel the curse lingering in every fiber of his being. Mind still reeling he held his breath as those words and a flash of green light pulsed around him, for a split second he thinking he was dead. The sound of explosions confirmed that he wasn’t and he let out a sigh of relief. He brought himself up to his elbows, wand up and watched as Charlie dodged killing curse after killing curse. Jets of green flying out from a cloud of smoke and dust the explosions kicked up.
And the pain gave way to anger that burned brighter than ever before.
He gripped his wand and aimed carefully into the obscuring cloud of smoke, his own string of hexes followed. With an angry slash upward and a hoarse, “DEFODIO!” the killing curses stopped. A cry from several yards away, then silence. The smoke settled, gradually ribboning away into wisps on the night air, revealing a figure lying prone on the ground.
Above the mess of his chest, Scabior’s eyes were open, unseeing.