InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "2 (x)ist"

Wished RPG Mods (wishedmod) wrote in wished,
@ 2009-10-23 20:07:00

Entry tags:

!1997: 10, !incomplete, !plot

Who:DEs, Ministry Members, Trio, Dumbledore
What:Death Eaters in the Ministry, Trio on the Horcrux Hunt
Where:Ministry of Magic
When:This evening, dusk
Rating: Adult – Violence and major character death.

When the appointed time came, their Marks burned – but only barely. It was a nudge, a reminder to His inner circle that there was work to be done, less meant to cause pain than it was meant as notice. They were His, and tonight they were His weapon.

When the black robed, white masked figures began arriving in the Ministry offices, there was the panic that had been expected from many. From others, there was a slow sort of realization and then a quick acceptance. This was not something that had been outside the realm of possibility, after all, and clever political types always had a contingency plan to save themselves. Some fought, some acquiesced. Some, like the man who’d arranged their entry, cheered.

But the figures who had appeared to strike terror into the Ministry were not here simply to make a good show of it. There was a job, many jobs, to be done.

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	Dirk Cresswell, Head of the Goblin Liason Office - Alecto wishedmod 2009-10-24 01:09 am UTC (link)
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Re: Dirk Cresswell, Head of the Goblin Liason Office - Alecto

alecto__carrow
2009-10-24 01:59 am UTC (link)

Excited! Alecto was actually excited, her mind was racing, and her heart was pounding so loudly she could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins and giving her that euphoric rush. Wand was at the ready as she apparated, the nudge from the Lord and Master was more than just a reminder (like she could forget what tonight was for?) it was a reassurance that she was one of the chosen ones to fulfill her Dark Lord's wishes. It made her pride and ego swell to massive proportions. Face hidden behind her silver plated mask, black onyx lined the mask as it was meticulously polished for this occasion. Dressed completely in black, hood was the last thing to be pulled up as she appeared in the atrium to the Ministry. Her appearance was quickly followed by the sounds of other Death Eaters appearing, and the quick realization of what was happening began to dawn on the members in the building. Mass panic began to break out as people were rushing here and there attempting to avoid the hexes being cast by the Death Eaters. A few stood and fought, others submitted, and the majority of them fled to floos, and exits and into hiding.

A shrill giggle came from the woman as predatory steps were taken further into the Ministry. Hexes were flung randomly, not really caring if she was hitting people or not, but just to instill fear into the masses. This was beyond a power trip, this was a full scale death grip on the Wizarding World's most influential power source. Alecto wasn't there to just place fear in the Ministry, she was there to kill a certain person, and allow the Death Eaters to take hold of their rightful positions. Apparating from the atrium of the Ministry, Alecto appeared on the fourth floor of the at the Ministry of Magic, word of the chaos down on the ground floor still hadn't reached this level. At least not until Alecto appeared. People were beginning to file out of their offices to see what all the commotion was about just to be hit with stunning jinxes, and hexes. A few people out of fear actually took it upon themselves to clear the way for Alecto. A few held out their wands in submission, which just made the woman grin from behind that mask.

Goblins were fleeing, and centaurs were leaving, this was the last place they should be seen at this time. Alecto ignored them, only concerned about one office in particular. Goblin Liaison Office the door read. A single hex sent the door exploding, sending shards of wood every which way, and glass smashing to the floor. A secretary screamed at the sudden intrusion, but was quickly silenced as she fell to the floor writhing in pain. "What's going on out there?!" Came a shout from behind a door reading 'Dirk Cresswell, Department Head of the Goblin Liaison Office'.

The door was pulled open, and the man had his wand at the ready. What he wasn't expecting was a Death Eater to be standing there, Alecto didn't even give him a chance to respond, the fear in his eyes as he saw the cloaked, masked figure was enough to run a thrill up on her spine.

Disarming him was easy. His wand exploded mid-air and he was left defenseless, a slight whimpering could be heard as he fell to his knees to beg. "Pathetic." Her voice hissed from behind the mask, as a foot lifted up to press into his shoulder, "Disgusting mud bloods like you should never hold a position of power. You break so easily in the face of death." The stiletto heel dug into his shoulder, making him cry out in pain. "Shut up," The man whimpered as a swift kick was delivered to his jaw sending him crashing to the floor with a split lip.

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Re: Dirk Cresswell, Head of the Goblin Liason Office - Alecto

alecto__carrow
2009-10-24 02:00 am UTC (link)

"Beg. I want you to beg for mercy." Eyes widened in fear as words seemed to fail him. Dirk Cresswell knew his time was short, as Alecto's wand hand began to twitch. Fumbling for words, Alecto gave him an icy stare from behind the tiny slits of her mask. She gave him five seconds, but no words came from him except whimpering. "Times up, mud blood!" Pointing the wand at the man his voice suddenly broke through his sobbing to form one word, "P-Puh- Pleeeeeease." The word was instantly drowned out with a bright flash of green and the number one unforgivable curse echoing through the halls.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The man's lifeless form slumped down, finally silenced by the curse. Turning immediately out of the room, Alecto stalked her way out of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and towards the Minister's office. It was where she was expected to be once her individual mission was completed.

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Random NPC Encounter - Augustine Vaisey, Esq.

besserwisser
2009-10-24 04:28 am UTC (link)

Augustine Vaisey had known when he'd arrived at his Ministry office that morning that it was going to be a long day. When he'd left the night before, somewhat begrudgingly, his desk had been piled high with two very stubborn stacks of paper, side by side, like a pair of intimidating pillars. Of course, when he'd entered the room a few minutes before seven o'clock Friday morning, they still stood - had they actually managed to grow over night? Probably not, but they may as well have for all the time it was taking Gus to get through them.

By a seeming miracle, the day has passed both uneventfully and, even more shocking, quickly. True, he had accumulated several more sets of paperwork to attend to by the time he'd finished with those from the previous night, but at least Gus could say he'd accomplished a lot that day, and not once had he felt the urge to tear his hair out, or toss an errant hex at the mynah bird he kept in the corner of the office. Tempting though it was to call it a night right now - go home a bit earlier than usual for a Friday, have dinner with his family and finally give into Astrid's begging to play a game of Gobstones with her.

He glanced out the window, saw that the sun was setting, and decided that he'd stay just another hour, then head home. First, though, he wanted to get up and stretch his legs. Gus had been sitting almost nonstop since he'd arrived today, even though lunch, and when he stood the tightness in his legs testified to that. He stretched and yawned wide, heading out the door and down the corridor towards the rarely used stairwell at the other end. As wonderful as magical lifts were, they didn't serve his current purposes very well.

As he rounded the corner marking the first flight down, he paused outside of the door leading to a corridor on Level Four, near the Goblin Liaison Offices. What felt...off? It was usually beginning to get fairly quiet around this time anyway, especially before a weekend, but Gus sensed that this silence was eerie somehow. Sinister. Suddenly he thought he heard a shout, somewhat muffled - someone speaking, a dull thud. His stomach tightened, and instinctively his left hand went to the pocket at the front of his robes where he kept his wand.

Opening the door carefully, but Gus stepped through the threshold and peered ahead. No one there, it seemed. Feeling simultaneously that this was a horrible idea but that it also was something worth investigating, Gus moved swiftly and as silently as possible - luckily, he was a light-footed man an quite spry. As he came to the end of the corridor and looked to his right, he found that a cloaked and masked figure was stalking quickly in his direction, and had no doubt noticed his appearance. Gus felt ill - he knew what sorts of people garbed themselves in such a manner.

What was he thinking, just rounding the corner without taking more precautions first? He was an idiot.

Standing his ground, Gus waited, alert, but not too eager to attack first. Perhaps he could talk his way out of this, if he kept a level head. He was sure at least some of these maniacs was capable of being reasonable, but he dared not think what business they had here. Where there more, waiting?

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	Amos Diggory, Head for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures - Rabastan wishedmod 2009-10-24 01:09 am UTC (link)
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	Mafalda Hopkirk, Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office - Weiland Mulciber wishedmod 2009-10-24 01:10 am UTC (link)
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Re: Mafalda Hopkirk, Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office - Weiland Mulciber

wizards_forge
2009-10-24 11:04 pm UTC (link)

Improper Use of Magic. Just the name of the department made Mulciber nauseous. This was the department responsible for keeping him from using the spells he loved most. Controlling minds, harrassing Muggles, eliminating anyone who stood between him and his goal...

Including the woman behind the desk now. Malfalda Hopkirk, her name was. A frumpy woman, with frizzy gray hair, looking every bit the busybody type that would send little no-no letters to naughty wizards and witches. He was towering over her, in his black robes and shining mask, his wand pointed directly at the center of her forehead. He could see the beads of sweat forming on her brow. He could almost smell the fear in her.

"Greetings and salutations from the Dark Lord," he said, in a showmanlike flourish. "I'm sorry to inform you that your term here in this department has come to an end." He cocked his head to the side. "But before I formally... relieve you of your duties, I do have a question to ask." He leaned in, bringing his face close to hers, his arm cocked oddly so that the wand point remained at her head.

"Have you ever tried any of the spells you rail against in your little posts?"

"Nnnn... no, never," the woman sputtered. "It's... it's illegal."

"So's cannabis, love, but Muggles smoke it all the time," Mulciber said, drawing back. He moved fluidly around her, like a dancer interpeting the movement of a lizard. "I think you ought to try it once, just for a laugh."

He raised his mask and looked her dead in the eyes, and then seized her cheeks. The shock of contact made the woman's eyes grow wider, and in that moment when he spoke the curse, "IMPERIO," she was his.

"Sit back in your chair," he said, and she did, with no struggle and no complaint. Mulciber walked behind her and drew a small lock of hair up from the top of her head. Carefully, he cut the lock loose with a dagger, and slipped it into a small coinpurse he produced from his robes.

"Now," he said into her ear as he leaned down, "I want you to take your wand and jam it into your chest. Don't worry about the pain. There is no pain, I tell you. It will be the greatest sensation you will ever feel in your life. Ultimate pleasure in one thrust."

Mulciber stepped back. He could tell the woman's self-preservation instincts were kicking in subconsciously as she struggled to complete his order. He moved around her again, this time settling on her desk in front of her, eyes locked to hers.

"It's the greatest joy you will ever feel," he said, guiding her wand hand to her heart. "Do it."

With a sickening slicing sound, Malfalda guided the wand into her own chest. She moaned with the euphoria she felt, and tears of joy began to fall from her eyes as she began to laugh.

"One last thing," he said, touching her face, caressing her chin and neck as she laughed. "When the next person opens the door, you will utter the Killing Curse unto yourself. And you will do so with a smile on your face. And you will wake up and find yourself somewhere where the air is clean and fresh, and the sky is blue and the grass is green, and no one ever, ever, ever uses magic improperly." He slid his mask back over his face, hopped off of her des, and strode out to head to the Minister's office.

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NPC: Christina Dunstan, Improper Use of Magic Office

branwen_raven
2009-10-25 12:34 am UTC (link)

Hiding silently behind her desk, just barely out of sight, heart racing, Christina Dunstan watched the Death Eater leave Mafalda's office, exiting through the main room and into the hallway, where he could be going anywhere.

Unsure if he would return, or if others would come, she waited for several moments that felt like an eternity. Then, and only then, did she stand up, slowly and carefully. The last one in her office, she decided that danger or not she had an obligation to see if her Head of Office was alright. So she went over to her office.

Admitting to herself that she was terrified of what she might see, Christina turned the knob. She had the impression of darkness and blood and laughter before she heard Mafalda's voice say, clearly and almost cheerfully, "AVADA KEDAVRA", and her vision was filled with a flash of green light.

Astonished to find herself alive after those words, Christina looked at the scene in front of her. Mafalda's wand was stabbed into her chest, blood pooling on the floor. Her eyes were glazed over, and she appeared to be smiling blissfully, as if she could not imagine ever being happier. She was also very definitely dead.

Quickly deciding that she did not want to be associated with whatever events had occured there, she closed the door slowly, and, hoping for good luck, returned to hiding behind her desk. Coming out of her first real encounter with Death Eaters, she was far more terrified than she had been before, although her personal danger was probably substantially less now.

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	Stamford Jorkins, Ministry Spokesperson - Lucius Malfoy wishedmod 2009-10-24 01:10 am UTC (link)
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	Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department - Rodolphus Lestrange wishedmod 2009-10-24 01:10 am UTC (link)
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Re: Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department - Rodolphus Lestrange

rodlestranged
2009-10-24 01:50 am UTC (link)

Rodolphus was going to enjoy this. Arthur Weasley had been a thorn in the side of proper purebloods for decades, now. Poverty ridden, too many children, muggle lover - there was nothing at all redeemable about the man. And now, Rodolphus had not only the chance to destroy him – he had an order to do so.

Arthur Weasley was his.

As he strode through the chaos of the Ministry of Magic, he knew exactly where he was going. Some hexes were thrown, he returned them without really looking to see where they had come from. He had a purpose, after all, and when he blasted the door of Weasley’s office open the Avada Kedavra was on his lips even as the wood splintered…

… and died on his lips when it became obvious the man wasn’t there.

This didn’t make sense. The plans had been looked at exactly. Schedules had been checked and routed and synchronized so that there was no chance that their intended targets wouldn’t be precisely where they were meant to be. And still, the office showed no signs that the man had be there for hours.

Rodolphus outraged cry could be heard echoing down the corridor, even over the sounds of the chaos of screams and cries, of confusion and hexes and protective wards being cast too late.

When he came back down the corridor, there was something possessed in the way the figure in black moved. The first man to step in his way fell dead on the spot, and he had used the Killing Curse twice more before he saw the fleeing hems of robes who seemed to know where they were going. The hushed, excited call of someone urging them on.

He followed the sound and found one of the Ministry floos, and a woman – red haired, pretty, average - rushing escapees through. The first hex knocked her back against the floo hard enough to leave blood trailed back where she slumped. The second left the colleagues she’d risked so much to help screaming and running as she crumpled into the floo’s opening. The third toppled the bricks of her escape route onto her unconscious form.

He might have continued, but his rage was slaked for now. Besides, there was nothing sporting in her anymore, and he had somewhere to be.

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	Kingsley Shacklebolt, Auror - Severus Snape wishedmod 2009-10-24 01:11 am UTC (link)
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Re: Kingsley Shacklebolt, Auror - Severus Snape

in_the_grass
2009-10-25 11:21 pm UTC (link)

Snape had never had the same taste for flair some of his colleagues seemed to, and he knew that a simple, single-minded pursuit of his assigned goal would have raised no real comment. He could easily have made his way directly to Shacklebolt's supposed whereabouts, and - finding nothing, seeing as the man had been warned off hours ago - simply have retreated deeper into the building to pretend to search for him, avoiding all the excitement. He might even have been able to leave entirely; there was nothing to say he couldn't 'pursue' the man outside of the Ministry, after all. He might have been able to go home the same night, having failed (through no fault of his own), but not been spotted.

Pettigrew had derailed his plans rather nicely, simply by refusing to be shaken off. The man was sticking within two paces of him. It was infuriating - he was shameless in his cowardice, and exceedingly inconvenient. Snape found himself wishing he had been much less tolerant of the man during their time together. It was a little insulting, really, that Pettigrew seemed to be less afraid of him than of anyone else here. Surely he didn't deserve that. But, against all reason and despite all efforts to the contrary, Pettigrew seemed absolutely determined to stay with him.

And so when Snape found Shacklebolt absent from his office, and from the entire floor, he was forced to make a much more thorough show of sniffing out his missing target than he would otherwise have liked. He started down the staircases, one floor at a time, Pettigrew ever in tow. His nerves were fraying a little by the time they neared the final descent, to the Department of Mysteries. Aside from the insufferable company, Dumbldore's exhortation that he remember their agreement was eating at him. Things weren't going exactly to plan, and cryptic messages from the former Headmaster were not encouraging in the least.

He let himself hope that if he could get himself out of here soon enough, he wouldn't have to find out what exactly he had meant. Arriving at the rather perplexing entrance to the lowest Department, he decided to lose Pettigrew as quickly as possible, so he could report back to the Dark Lord and, hopefully, be returned to Hogwarts. He had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

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	Trio, Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Peter Pettigrew wishedmod 2009-10-24 01:27 am UTC (link)
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Re: Trio, Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Peter Pettigrew

cerebralwitch
2009-10-24 06:27 am UTC (link)

Hermione felt bad about leaving Hogwarts after the news that there would be an attack. Extremly badly about it, actually, but that really didn't make much of a difference. She repeated in her mind the same story she'd given to Harry and Ron when she'd either of them was planning to argue the point with her - The entire Order would be at Hogwarts, the DA had been mobilized. It wasn't likely that Voldemort would actually be at the attack when he'd been weakened and when he knew, from Harry's connection with him in the cemetery, that they had the Horcrux. The castle was as defended as it could be with the Order and, besides all that, it might actually keep the death eaters from attacking if they thought somehow that Harry wasn't there.

It wasn't a very good argument, as arguments went. Hermione's were usually much better. But she hadn't had much time to think of it, and the horcrux around her neck had kept her from thinking it through completely. Still, it had been convincing enough, especially when coupled with the fact that she knew she was right this time.

The problem was, they needed Gryffindor's sword. The sword Harry had weilded once before so well. The sword Dumbledore had tried to give them with their gifts this summer, but the Ministry had kept him from doing so. She'd found a spell that would help them to locate it once they were in the Ministry, and they could be back before anyone knew they were missing as long as they stayed out of sight.

Luck was with them. The path from their entry point at the Department of Mysteries to the room where her spell showed the sword to be was clear. She and Ron forced Harry to stay under his cloak anyway, though. They'd be recognized, maybe, if they were seen, of course. But Harry definitely would be, and they couldn't all fit under the damn thing any longer.

Sword in Harry's hand, all it took was for them to get back to the Department of Mysteries, and then back to Hogwarts.

Ron felt strangely calm, considering the way his heart had been threatening to burst out of his chest as they had left the school. It might have been that they had come through here once before - and the Department of Mysteries had been something else, too, more of a riddle than the corridors they'd gone darting through tonight (and with rather more Death Eaters, of course). This was almost easy. He could imagine them popping back into school to join the fight, if there was anything left to be done, practically before curfew. He could hope, anyway.

... Of course, they still had to pass through there. The place gave him the creeps, but seeing how smoothly the rest of the evening had gone made him a little more confident that they might be able to push by it without encountering quite as much disaster as they had last time. it couldn't possibly go any worse than that had, after all. Still, he kept glancing over his shoulder, trying to make sure the three of them were keeping close together - harder than usual, even, when one of them was invisible. "I hate this bloody place," he muttered, glad at least that he wouldn't have to remember which door was the right one. This time they had a way to navigate - vast improvement. He halted at an intersection of two corridors, and waited for Hermione to point them the right way. It felt like they were getting close, but it had been two years since he'd been there. And would hopefully be ten before he came back.

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Re: Trio, Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Peter Pettigrew

cerebralwitch
2009-10-24 06:27 am UTC (link)

Snape held his wand stiffly out to his side as he made his way quickly down into the lower levels of the Ministry, ever deeper into the emptying halls on a sham hunt for Shacklebolt. He might not have bothered, had he not had some not-quite-expected company. If he had been alone, he would have rejoined his colleagues with an explanation approximating the truth - the man had been warned off somehow, and was nowhere to be found. If he had any brains at all, he'd be miles away. No point in looking for him; better just to move on and accomplish what they could. But Pettigrew, the wretched little man, had shown up just as he was smashing in Shacklebolt's office door - and it would have looked suspicious not to try to locate the man at all. Anyhow, the more excuses he had not to be present as the lot of them were doing in all the upper level of the Ministry, the better. He had no desire to become known for certain as Voldemort's man. As much as he hated his job, he rather liked his home, and didn't mean to lose it.

He stopped before the series of doorways that led into the various subdepartments at Mysteries. He had never spent any time here. He had the unpleasant suspicion that if he entered one of them, his way back out onto the street would suddenly be much more complicated. - But he wouldn't mind losing Pettigrew to the maze that surely lay inside. His presence was always a little insulting; Snape remembered the way he'd always clung to Black and Potter, and could not - for the life of him - see why he ought to deserve the same treatment. He crossed his arms over his chest, shrugging aside the sleeves of his robe. "Pick a door," he said, impatiently. He stared deliberately ahead as the hunched little man beside him looked up suspiciously.

"Why would he have gone this way?" His wand arm was trembling, and his other hand was scratching nervously at his scalp.

"Because he knows his way around, you idiot. And he knows we don't. He means to lose us. Now pick a door."

Even Pettigrew seemed unwilling to follow that logic. He looked sidelong up at Snape, chewing obliviously at his lip. "Maybe," he began, his voice quavering, "We'd better just go back upstairs - they'll be needing help, still - he's not so special, is he, I mean - ?" He ended with a squeak as Snape prodded him harshly in the shoulder with the tip of his wand, his mouth twisting up into a smile for the first time that night.

"No," he said softly, "I think we'd better not." He shoved Pettigrew towards the far left door, and watched him stumble as he tried to keep from falling into it. "Pick one before I pick one for you."

It was all too easy, obviously. Too easy by far. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were halfway to the Department of Mysteries again when the first panicked Ministry employee - a red-faced plump woman who looked frantic and was calling for someone called 'Louise' - ran past them with her wand drawn. Hermione had been trying so hard to listen for signs that they'd been found that she'd been ignoring that the entire floor had been far too quiet. And now there was something like a crash, and the red-faced woman looking for her friend was also mumbling something about 'masks' and 'dark', and it all clicked too quickly.

"We need to run," Hermione said, and she didn't wait for Harry or Ron to answer, just started at a run toward the Department of Mysteries, not worrying now if they were seen or not. Because if there were Death Eaters here, while they had the Horcrux with them, it would be far, far too easy for it to fall into the wrong hands again.

She was sure that Harry was with them still, she could feel the cloak brushing against her every few steps and could hear him breathing. She could hear Ron's footsteps behind them both in the corridor as they ran toward their escape.

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Re: Trio, Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Peter Pettigrew

cerebralwitch
2009-10-24 06:28 am UTC (link)

Ron nearly ran straight into Harry's back as they approached the end of the corridor. The only thing that saved him from bowling him over completely was the squeaking sound his shoes made on the floor as he screeched to a halt. He looked over (maybe through) Harry into the open-looking hall in front of them, and his breath caught in his throat. Snape. All the Order members were at Hogwarts, but here he was, with - not Scabbers, you idiot - with Pettigrew, and a full-on Death Eater get-up, everything but the mask, which Ron supposed just wouldn't have fit over that stupid nose of his -

Snape cursed when he saw them, and sunk his hand into the folds of robe gathered around Pettigrew's neck. He hauled him through one of the doors with him, slamming it behind them both, shutting out the sound of Pettigrew's high-pitched protests. Ron started after them without really thinking about it. Why were they here? How many more of them were there? They'd got the sword - was that what they were after? ... Was his dad here? Should he even be following them, with the Horcrux where it was? The last time they'd been here, they'd fallen straight into a trap. But if this was the exit, they didn't really have a choice. He jerked the door open, steeling himself against the darkness inside, and waited to be cursed. When it didn't come, he stepped inside, out of breath and holding his wand a little shakily in front of him, waiting for Harry and Hermione to follow.

Hermione was frozen for a moment. But it also wasn't as if they couldn't go after them, because Snape had managed to take them through the door that they had to go through to get to their escape route. Snape.... what was he doing here with all the Order at Hogwarts? It was a ridiculous first thought,though, and Hermione put it together with the Death Eaters above and opened her mouth to say it except that beside her Harry breathed, "No one's at Hogwarts at all." And Hermione went silent, and took her wand out again.

She looked once at Ron, and then at the door. "We have to get out of here," She said, and then she opened it.

"Lumos," Lit up the the area just around her, not enough light to cover the entire large room beyond the door.

Snape hadn't expected them to be smart enough to let him be, of course. He had hoped, but the disappointment wasn't too much of a shock. He gave Pettigrew a kick to shut him up. With him here watching, there wasn't much of a choice but to put on a decent show. If he had to incapacitate Weasley and Granger to make sure of his position with the Dark Lord, he was more than willing to do it. He could find some way to explain himself to the Order, afterwards. Dumbledore would vouch for him, as he always did, and the rest of them could complain as much as they liked; it would make no difference. He winced slightly at the sudden light, and swept his wand in their direction, sending a dangerous-looking jet of red over their heads to warn them off.

Ron ducked, pulling Hermione (and what he could grab of Harry) down with him to avoid the spell Snape had sent at them. His own hastily shot-off Stupefy missed its mark and clattered ineffectually off the wall.

Hexes or no, they had to go through that room, and Hermione was at least aware enough to realize that Snape had fired over their heads on purpose, and the hex he used was one she'd read about. It wouldn't have done more than light them up impressively and singed a bit if it had hit. Still, the Horcrux pulled enough to make her pretty damn annoyed that he'd done it anyway, Order's spy or not she was going through that room.

Reading abou that spell was good enough luck, though, because she remembered how to cast it and she sent the same spell their direction, and the yelp she heard told her she'd found Pettigrew. She hoped it burned.

"Come on!" She hissed at them, trying to stay down and then rushing in to the room.

Harry didn't have much choice but to follow.

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Re: Trio, Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Peter Pettigrew

cerebralwitch
2009-10-24 06:28 am UTC (link)

These children would be the death of him. Snape bolted out of the way of Granger's spell, allowing himself a brief moment of irritation as Pettigrew cowered on the floor until its effects wore off. He couldn't leave him here, not least because he wasn't trustworthy - as he was demonstrating now, clambering to his feet looking furious. He had his wand stretched out threateningly towards the students. Snape didn't trust him not to do some real damage - he was a coward, but he also had a very easily bruised ego, which had probably just been ripped quite apart by being half-stunned by a teenage girl. So instead of fleeing, or running back upstairs, Snape rushed up behind Pettigrew and trained his wand on them as they ran further into the room. Someone else offering to do the dirty work would stay his hand for long enough, probably. And now that he stopped to consider the situation - Granger, and Weasley, alone? Oh, not very likely.

"Tell me where Potter is," he said, blocking their path and trying not to sound as impatient as he felt, "And I may just let you leave." What the hell were they doing here, anyway? He rested his other hand on Pettigrew's shoulder, hoping it would hold him at bay. He had a miserable temper, like most stupid men.

Ron stopped short again, not sure who to aim at. - Pettigrew, right? But he thought the whole thing felt really off, and he disliked Snape enough not to give him anything like the benefit of the doubt. They couldn't just push past them, but at least the Death Eaters (was it just one?) were outnumbered, though they didn't know it. He glared at the rat-like little man particularly hard. "School, I guess," he muttered, uselessly, hand tight around his wand. So move it, will you?

Hermione stopped beside Ron, her back almost to his with her wand out. She could feel Harry beside her, and she hoped to Merlin and all the saints her mother somtimes still prayed to that he just kept quiet.

None of them, really, were prepared for what happened next. Perhaps not even Albus himself, when he appeared as if from nowhere beside Ron, there at the front of the small group of his warriors. "Severus," He said, and then with a wave of his good hand he cast a spell which moved his three charges behind himself, which held them so that they could not move to try to stop this, and he stood facing Severus alone.

"Severus, you will let them pass." And, after a moment, the most powerful wizard in the world added simply, "Severus. Please."

Ron let out a yelp, jumping away from the wizard who'd come out of thin air to stand by him. A moment later he found himself immobilized, packed together with Harry and Hermione and watching the scene in front of him, completely bemused. Dumbledore's presence was a comfort, as soon as he got over the near heart attack the man had given him. He wondered if he'd been there the entire time. He'd stopped trying to puzzle out what was going on in that head of his a long time ago.

Snape took a full step back, startled, and nearly tripped over Pettigrew, who had shrunk behind him the instant Dumbledore appeared. He kept the presence of mind not to lower his wand, as they were still being watched. After a silent moment, he began to wonder frantically why the man wasn't doing anything. He could easily have stunned him, and taken the children out with him. Why didn't he move? Then he went a little pale, remembering the patronus - and all the miserable discussions that had preceded it. Their agreement, of course. His mouth twisted up with all of his pent-up resentment. Dumbledore knew the position this would put him in. Being chased out of his home was bad enough, and being manipulated to he knew not what purpose, but to be left with not one person to whom he could speak the truth ... This was never something he had wanted to do alone.

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Re: Trio, Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Peter Pettigrew

cerebralwitch
2009-10-24 06:29 am UTC (link)

That, strangely enough, made it all the easier. There was real hatred on his face as he squared his wand at the old man's chest, and thought, not for the first time, you have used me. "Avada Kedavra," he said, almost calmly. There was an eruption of green light, and it was over - too quickly. It was surreal.

The spell that had been holding them seemed to break in that one moment; that horrible flash of green.

Harry rushed forward first, throwing his father's robe off while Hermione and Ron were still standing still. "He trusted you!" He screamed at Snape, and his wand was in his hand to disarm the older man.

They'd all seen it. Hermione wasn't sure what she'd seen, though. She'd seen real hatred on Snape's face, and she'd seen Dumbledore fall, and there was only one word that went through her mind while she raised her own wand again as Dumbledore's spell faded and released her. One word. Traitor.

Ron's mouth fell open, and it was a moment before he realized his arms were free again. He raised his wand again, still foolishly inclined to point it at Pettigrew, who was scrabbling along the floor, disgustingly intent on stealing Dumbledore's wand from where it lay beside his limp hand. It made him feel sick. But he forgot about him soon enough - when Harry screamed at him his attention snapped back to the murderer. He was still dazed, but he thought he could have gotten off an Unforgivable and meant it, if he hadn't run the risk of getting his best friend in the crossfire.

Snape whipped his wand fiercely at the three of them, and felt the force of his anger slam out across the room towards them. Potter, of course. If there was anyone he wanted to see less than Dumbledore, and that hardly seemed possible, it was him. He wasn't doing this for either of them, was dead tired of playing this miserable game, and ... hardly trusted himself to stay here any longer without doing something he might sincerely regret. He gave Pettigrew another kick, knowing he wouldn't have long to get his head start. "Run," he snapped at him. He watched him scramble deeper into the room and turned to follow, set to fly out of there as quickly as he could. There was nothing to gain by staying.

Harry only took his eyes from Snape when he saw Pettigrew moving. The disarming spell sent Albus' wand flying, and might have taken off Peter's arm in his fury and he wouldn't have cared.

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Re: Trio, Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Peter Pettigrew

cerebralwitch
2009-10-24 06:29 am UTC (link)

And then everything was a blur again. Snape was running, Pettigrew was running, and Dumbledore's arm was lying at Harry's feet so that when he looked down all he could see was how far that deadly black had spread. He wanted to kill Snape, but he couldn't look away from that arm. Not for a long moment, anyway. Not until Hermione was pushing him toward their escape, because he could hear cries somewhere behind them that sounded as if they were getting closer.

"Harry!" Hermione shoved him hard toward the door. "We have to go. We - we can't stay. We can't stay with him." And there was just a note of hysteria in her voice.

"She's right," Ron said, dragging his own eyes away from the impossible still and awkwardly positioned figure on the floor. "There's more of them, we can't fight them off. We have to go." He shuddered as he started for the back of the room again. Would they have to use the same escape route he had? He didn't know whether to hope they caught up with Snape or not. The three of them might have stood a chance against him ... but going back to school was the better option. Especially considering the company it sounded like they were about to have. It was too late to do anything for Dumbledore, and probably to late to do anything about Snape ... better to get to safety, and - Well, he didn't really know what would happen then.

That seemed to snap him out of it, and once he was there Harry had the presence of mind to at least pick up Dumbledore's wand, though he wasn't sure what he was going to do with it. For now, he held it, tighter than he held his own. He started to speak, but Hermione said it first.

"We can't go back to Hogwarts. If they've taken the Ministry..." And that had to be what this was, didn't it? "We can't. They'll tear it apart looking for Harry." And a moment later she looked at them both and shoved them in the opposite direction, toward the far door. "I have an idea. I know where we can go." She hadn't been there since she was a little girl, camping with her father - not until this last summer, at least. The first time they'd started thinking over what would happen if they didn't return to Hogwarts. It was a contingency plan.

But she was glad she had it.

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