InsaneJournal

For a place that was usually filled with people even in such troubled times, Diagon Alley seemed rather vacant this night. The sun was setting and the streets seemed dim, only lit by the lamps that hung every few feet. Years ago this would have seemed majestic, like an old English town from a long-ago story, but instead it almost seemed a place that not even the rats wanted to wander through. Shop windows were filled with signs depicting violent criminals – the Death Eaters, actually – most of which could have been any normal person one would have met in their travels. Occasionally one would come across a poster of Bellatrix or Rabastan Lestrange, and those were the posters that seemed to make people shiver and draw their cloaks just a little tighter, as if an invisible blanket of cold had draped itself around them.

In Knockturn Alley the darkness settled in, but no one seemed to notice. Those were the streets where people tended to go exactly where they planned, and took little time to browse around and see what was new. No, Knockturn Alley always felt a bit off, always seemed a bit colder than the rest of the streets, and likely crept a lot of people out – which probably explained why there were few major shops down these streets. This was the perfect location for those who wished to practice the darker side of things to call home, across the street from anything they may need for whatever their experiment of the week was.

The crack of an apparition sounded almost like an explosion in the empty streets of Knockturn Alley, and almost as quickly as it had been heard the sound faded. From the shadows of the street's edge moved a wraith, a ripple of what appeared to be liquid silk. A dark robed figure walked with purpose up the streets, stopping only for a moment or so to take a look at the wanted posters that lined the windows. The figure stopped before one of Bellatrix Lestrange and reached out for a moment to touch the window, all the while the picture of Bellatrix turned to laugh in a silent insanity. The figure pulled the cloak a bit tighter around itself as it moved away, heading towards the streets of Diagon Alley.

At the crossing the cloaked figure stopped, taking a moment to decide which direction it wished to move. To the left was the extremely popular Weasley Wizard Wheezes, but the figure turned and headed off towards the right, stopping for only a moment to browse the windows of the shops while he headed towards Flourish & Blott's. Without pause, the doors creaked open and the figure stepped inside, moving along the long shelves of magical tomes and other books, trailing a finger down the spines as it passed.

Even with it being later in the day, there were still students and families alike trying to get last minute books for class, and the shop was bustling with noise and energy. Moving between rows of towering books and other odds and ends, the figure would finally stop alongside a stack of the new magical journals that had been issued to students at Hogwarts. The stack of journals showed the manager had been warned that demand would be high, and thus the journals were stacked nearly three meters high, and sat three deep off the wall. That wall itself held a bulletin board, which itself would have been nothing major – though at this time, it held wanted posters for Rabastan Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange and Bellatrix Lestrange, all dating back to before the trio had been arrested and sent to Azkaban. Picking up a journal, fingers would along the spine while regarding the three wanted posters, though it would be a voice that would draw the figure's attention away.

“Ah, yes! That has been our best selling book this year! Well, I do mean, it seems to be highly popular amongst both the students and many wizards. Are you here to pick up books for a student perhaps? Maybe I know them! If you'd just come with me I can get the list of books you may need – they sent me a list for each year – and we can get you taken care of.” The assistant, Marietta Edgecombe, seemed to be in a bit of a rush, both running off at the jaw as well as waving her hands frantically as she spoke.

“No,” came the voice from under the hood, all the while picking up two of the journals. “I believe there's only one other thing I still need to get.”

“What's that? Can I suggest getting a copy of 'The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection'? In these trying times, you can never be too safe! 'The Dark Arts Outsmarted' has also been one of our best sellers recently, just behind 'The Hairy Heart: A Guide to Wizards Who Wont Commit' and 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts'. Not quite sure why Hairy Heart's so popular myself, as we all know the way to a bloke's heart is through his stomach, right?” The girl laughed, spending a moment to brush her hair from her eyes as she glanced towards the clock. “Oh, but please make your decisions fast, we're set to close soon.”

The cloaked figure would follow her to the counter, where she began to ring him out. When she gave him the total, he reached out and placed a hand on top of the journals themselves. “I believe you should reconsider the price of these journals.”

“Um, we don't allow bargaining here, sir. The price is firm.”

“I believe we can work out a deal.” The hood fell away from the man's face, and very quickly poor Marietta turned as white as a sheet. She stumbled backwards in an attempt to scream, but the words just wouldn't form.

Rabastan Lestrange smirked. “Now, love. What say you about giving me these books for a discount?” A hand disappeared in his robe and revealed an ebony wand, nearly a foot long, tapping it against the counter top. “I'd really hate for this to get... ugly.”

The screams of terror actually came from the few people left in the shop, most of who were now in utter panic and tripping over things. One young man tripped and fell into the stack of magical journals, finding himself face to face with the poster of Rabastan Lestrange who was laughing and screaming. It seemed, at that time, all three posters had taken on a sort of hysterical laughter, causing the young man to scream again and make an utter mess of the books on that side of the shop.

“Incendio,” Rabastan would say, his lips curling into a cruel smile. The counter and books surrounding it burst into flames, though he'd turn away from the girl at this point and begin calmly walking towards the door, journals in his free hand. While part of him wished to burn the entire shop to the ground, it was counterproductive to the other half of his plan... this was simply a scare tactic, and he was certain that the girl would run straight to her mother.

Panic had already erupted in the streets, people running around shouting that the Death Eaters had arrived. The smell of burning wood and paper was quickly filling the streets, and he could see people running towards the shop as fast as their legs would carry them – right past Rabastan Lestrange and into the shop. Having crossed the street in the panic and pulling the cloak back over his face, he'd cast a disillusionment charm on himself, and while not exactly invisible, he seemed to blend completely into the wall... so much so that no one seemed to notice him in the ensuing panic of trying to get the fire out.

Forty-five minutes later the fire had been put out, and Marietta Edgecombe had been escorted from the shop by the manager. The two spoke in hushed tones about how she would meet up with men from the Ministry who would take her immediately to see her mother – and as they walked off, Rabastan Lestrange smiled.

Diagon Alley, usually a hustling and bustling spot in the Wizarding World - even in the most direst of situations - seemed awfully quiet today. As evening began to descend upon the streets of Diagon Alley, the wizards and witches thinned out even more. None of them wishing to be caught out in the evening, especially with the threat of Death Eaters looming in the back of everyone's minds. There was much to fear in recent days, with the mysterious retirement of Dumbledore, and an obvious tension rising within the Ministry concerning Death Eater activity, it was only logical that the Wizarding world be uneasy about being out in public - especially at night.

While it was odd to see Diagon Alley in such an empty state, Knockturn Alley, however was used to it. A very shady area, indeed, witches and wizards there rarely questioned the out of the ordinary. Which is exactly why it was the ideal location for a few notorious figures to apparate. The first crack of someone apparating was quickly followed by a second one. A smaller cloaked figure moved a few seconds behind the first one, while the second's movements seemed in sync with first's, it also appeared to have a separate motive than the first.

Dark eyes peered out from the shadows of the cloak, watching the taller figure move through the dark alley, lingering at the poster of Bellatrix Lestrange. Beneath the hood, the figure was tempted to remind the large cloaked figure of why they were here, but it wasn't necessary considering the black being moved from the window.

As both figures moved out into the main alleyway of Diagon Alley, they both began to move in separate directions. While the larger cloaked figure seemed to linger in the open for a brief moment, the smaller figure was all ready slipping into the shadows and moving in the opposite direction. Strides were fluid, and determined as the person slipped between the shadows, like a predator drawn to its prey, there seemed to be a radar on the figure.

That gaze seemed to sparkle in the dim lit alley as one store in particular was gaining attention. Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions, was the destination of this hooded figure. Surveying the store from the window, those eyes scanned the store before falling on the one she sought out. Moving across the street to linger in the dim lighting of Obscurus Books, fingers idly ran over the book bindings attempting to look occupied in looking over books instead of staring at the store across the way. Patience was certainly a virtue this hooded figure did not possess.

"Fascinating book, that one is!" A voice broke the blissful silence as attention was suddenly drawn towards the source who seemed to be peering at the hooded figure curiously.

"Oh yes. I always find," Pausing the book was lifted, and turned over to look at the title. "fantastic beasts very fascinating." The woman was going to say more, but shouts began to erupt further down the alley, and a short squatty man was dashing into Madam Primpernelle's. Shoving the book into the hands of the bookstore owner, it suddenly came alive, and began growling at the owner.

Without even an acknowledgment to the bookstore owner as he struggled to fight off the book, the cloaked figure was falling back into the shadows. Keen eyes were watching the commotion inside the store across the street, as the panic from Flourish and Blotts seemed to be spilling out into the streets. Stores that were closed for the evening were suddenly coming to life as shouts, and cries of alarm began to echo through the alley.

As Madam Edgecombe was escorted out of Madam Primpernelle's, the hooded figure moved through the shadows once more. Although, with all the stores suddenly alight with activity, she found it best to cast a disillusionment charm, falling partially invisible to the naked eye. Only those truly seeking out this hooded figure would find her. Moving to the opposite side of the alley, the figure remained a few yards away from the escorted Madam Edgecombe, hearing the alarm in the woman's voice as she was briefed about what just happened. Pausing at the Magical Menagerie, the squatty man muttered in hushed tones that Madam Edgecombe was to meet members from the ministry who would immediately take her to see her daughter. Fingers wrapped tightly around the wand concealed beneath the cloak, as those alert eyes followed the older woman towards a destination that the squatty man told her about.

A sly smirk, hidden behind the hood, formed on the woman's lips as she knew Rabastan succeeded in the first leg of this plan.

Mother and daughter would be met by a trio of Aurors up the street, and quickly they'd begin to escort the women towards Gringott's. Before they reached the large bank, one of the Auror's turned towards the abandoned cafe and tapped his wand against the door, the locks falling open so the men could enter along with the women. The inner cafe was dusty and unkempt, though it had been closed in a hurry so no one considered doing things like sweeping the floors or cleaning the tables. While two of the Aurors headed inside with the women, the third took place outside to guard the door.

Rabastan had to give the Aurors credit – the abandoned cafe wasn't the first place he would have thought of. No, had it been his choice, he would have taken the women into Gringott's, or down the street more towards the Weasley shop, towards places where there would be more protection until more men could be shuffled into Diagon Alley. He considered himself lucky tonight, standing in the shadows a little ways down the street, watching the Auror as he seemed to start at any slight sound.

“Greenhorn,” Rabastan whispered to the shadows. A more sadistic smile began to fill his lips, his mind racing with ideas. Slowly, he looked back down the street, checking for any sign of the woman he'd come with.

"They all are." Voice was a sharp hiss as the woman appeared beside him, keeping the hood tightly snug around her, gaze remained trained on the opposite cafe. Much like the man beside her, the woman's mind was racing with thoughts, scenarios and images that sent a certain thrill up her spine. The disillusionment charm was removed once the woman was sure the shadows kept her hidden.

Watching the three aurors, Madam Edgecombe, and Marietta vanish into the cafe, those eyes studied the entrance. "How unoriginal. An abandoned cafe, and their right next door to Gringott's? Honestly, I would have hoped they would give us a tiny challenge." There was a hint of disappointment in the woman's voice, as she kept her gaze on the building. Voice remained in that chilling whisper.

"Shall we?" Was it obvious she was ready to get this party started? There was no doubt in her mind this was going to go smoothly. She might even have some time to get some torturing in, maybe? Possible? What if she asked very nicely? Even shadowed by the hood, those dark eyes seemed to sparkle with an emotion that could only be described as excitement.

From under the cloak he'd withdraw the second journal and hold it out to her. “A gift,” he said simply, his other hand appearing with the ebony wand. His bright green eyes seemed to glisten in the shadows while he turned his attention to the young Auror once more. Rabastan almost felt pity for the man, but it was a fleeting thought – he was a Lestrange, and the Auror should be kneeling before him. One day in the near future – if the Dark Lord got his way – such things would be a reality.

“Imperio,” broke the silence of the street, and suddenly the Auror snapped stiff for a moment. As if in a daze, the man began to walk away from the door, over towards where the Death Eaters stood in the shadows. He looked around, as if trying to locate something he thought he saw, stopping within arm's length of the two.

“That's a good boy,” Rabastan said as if speaking to a five-year-old. “You will be opening the door for us. Then...,” the tall Death Eater leaned in and whispered something into the Auror's ear, to which the younger man just nodded while listening, then turned and strode off. With a triumphant grin, Rabastan readied himself.

The Auror pushed the door open and stepped inside quickly, not bothering to look back towards the doorway. The other two men jumped to their feet, having been sitting and trying to get information – as well as trying to comfort – the two women. “What's going on here, Jackson? Have you gone mad? Get back to your post!”

“No, no! There's no reason to fear any longer! We're safe now.” The young man that had been a guard outside, Jackson, smiled. “The Ministry has sent us reinforcements! And...” his voice dropped to a whisper. “I think that even Scrimgeour is here, to make sure nothing else happens.”

The other four in the room exchanged glances, though everyone seemed a bit tense.

"How lovely." It was difficult to determine if her voice was laced with sarcasm or sincerity. In Alecto's case it was safe to assume she was being sarcastic. Whatever the case, she took the journal from him and slipped it into the folds of her cloak. She had heard about these journals, they were all the craze between the young wizarding community. Who knows? Maybe they would become of great use for the woman in the future. Journals could be a dangerous thing, especially ones made public.

Watching with great amusement as Rabastan cursed the man into doing his bidding, Alecto was waiting for the right moment. A curious glance was given to Rabastan as he whispered into the Auror's ear. "What did you tell him?" It wasn't that Alecto was nosy - okay, maybe she was just a little bit - but she was genuinely curious about what Rabastan would have to say to a cursed auror, that he couldn't say in front of her.

Glancing back at the building, fingers twitched beneath the cloak, and grasped her wand firmly. This was the moment before pouncing, and she could feel her heart racing.

The ones in the room had a good reason to be tense for just at that moment, a dark figure was stepping into the open doorway. While the four members were looking concerned for the young man babbling about Scrimgeour, they should have been paying attention to the figure entering the cafe. It was actually Marietta who shrieked first, noticing the cloaked figure entering the building. Before the girl could take another breath, wand flashed and "Silencio" brought attention to her. Instantly, Marietta was forced to be quiet, "Petrificus Totalus" made sure that the girl didn't run anywhere either. The last thing she wanted was the two people they were set out to capture, running away. The other two Auror's seemed too stunned to act.

"CRUCIO!!" Followed by a cackling, wheezing giggle came from beneath the hood as the first Auror fell over in agony. While Alecto would have loved to watch the Auror writhe in pain on the ground, she had to consider the threat that the other Auror might pose, and even Madam Edgecombe. Surely she would have a wand?

Madame Edgecombe had made a dash towards the door, shrieking in an attempt to get the attention of someone, anyone who could save her. The last thing she expected was to run into another cloaked figure who had just stepped into the doorway, his wand at the ready. The woman rebounded off his chest and screamed again, a bright green bolt of magic leaving his wandtip as it slammed into the chest of the other Auror, the incantation drowned out by the woman's terrified shrieks.

With one Auror dead, the other writhing in pain on the ground, and the third standing in the midst of the battle staring into space with a smile, Rabastan turned his attention to Madame Edgecombe. Her screams had begun to die out, turning simply into deep throaty sobs, and even those turned into pleading as the woman expected to die. He looked between mother and daughter, then over to Alecto as he realized that they had completed their entire mission in about thirty seconds.

“Incarcerous,” fired a series of thick ropes from the tip of his wand, wrapping around Madame Edgecombe to keep her from getting any sort of idea of snatching a wand from an Auror. He would have been more concerned had she produced her own wand – and he didn't doubt she was carrying one – but he was under the impression that perhaps the terror of two Death Eaters breaking in and getting the upper hand on a group of Aurors had caused her to lock up.

With the spell having been cast, he kicked the door to the cafe shut and stepped over to where her daughter lie prone on the floor, staring up at him in absolute horror. Rabastan reached a hand out, placing his fingers against her cheek. “See, love. I told you there was something else I was after tonight... and I always get what I want.”

Little did Rabastan know that Madame Edgecombe's hands were free of the bindings, and she had produced her own wand. If the look on her face was any indication of what she would cast next, then his oversight could very well be his downfall...

"That was uneventful..." Sighing, a rather bored expression crossed over the woman's face. Alecto was expecting this to be difficult and now that it wasn't? She was slightly disappointed. As Rabastan handled Madam Edgecombe, the other woman stepped over to the Auror who was no longer screaming, and writhing in pain but rather just curled up in a ball sobbing.

Pushing her hood down, the Auror looked up at woman with a pleading stare, unable to find his words. A curious tilt of her head was given to the man was he was reduced to whimpering. Alecto's lips curled into a disgusted sneer as she repeated the curse once more, drowning the man in excruciating pain. Crying out and writhing in pain once more, Alecto felt content in leaving him there like that.

Turning to address Rabastan, her gaze fell on Madam Edgecombe raising her wand through the bindings wrapped tightly around her. Just as Madam Edgecombe was about to send a spell towards Rabastan's back, Alecto's wand waved in a silent spell, sending the woman flying back violently against the wall. Forced to drop her wand, Madam Edgecombe shot a fearful glance towards Alecto. Stalking across the room, Alecto made sure to step on the woman's wand, the heel of her stiletto cracking the wand in half.

Wand remained pointed at the woman, as she would find herself suspended in the air. "Oh come now, Madam Edgecombe, hasn't anyone ever taught you the proper rules to a duel?" An amused smirked curled on her lips, as she waved her wand, bringing the woman down unceremoniously next to her daughter. The ropes around her body tightened, and slithered around her fingers to bind them tightly as well.

He hadn't even noticed he'd nearly been shot in the back until the woman hit the wall, and he then glanced over to Alecto and thanked her. Another petrification curse would find its place over Marietta once more – to make sure she would stay put – as Rabastan picked the girl up like some sort of piece of lumber.

“My dear,” he said with no real sense of rush or urgency, almost a bit bored. “I believe it's time we depart, before they bring more of their little playthings along.” It wasn't that he was afraid of the Aurors – far from it, actually – it was more that he worried in the midst of their fighting, a misplaced spell might accidentally kill one of the two people they were sent to collect.

"Yes, I suppose you're right." To be quite frank, Alecto was highly disappointed about how this went down, she usually liked when her victims gave her a fight. A final glance was given to the one who was still writhing in pain, before glancing to the Auror who had been placed under the imperius curse.

"What about him?" Another flick of her wand towards the one under the Cruciatus Curse, making sure to break his sanity completely as he continued to scream in agony on the ground. Casually nodding her head towards the Auror standing there with a blank expression.

However, it seemed like Rabastan was right, that they should get moving. While Alecto would LOVE to stay and continue torturing the Auror, she sighed and turned to Madam Edgecombe. Her smile curled into a menacing, and cruel smirk as she flicked her wand towards the woman suspending her in the air. Considering Alecto was much smaller than Rabastan, and Madam Edgecombe was far bigger than Marietta, the woman was not about to throw out her back carrying her.

Even though Alecto was disappointed about all their victims not putting up a fight, she was extremely happy this went so smoothly.

“Oh, that one?” He nodded over towards the Auror who looked as if he was in his own world. “He has one last thing to do after we leave. Once that's done, he'll handle this entire mess for us.” Rabastan was so calm about the entire thing, though when he smiled at Alecto it came across as a cold, calculated smile. He'd done something horrible, no doubt.

When the reinforcement Auror unit the three had been waiting on would arrive, they'd find the mess the Death Eaters had made. Johnson would turn to these men and attack them, shouting how the Dark Lord was rising and how they were powerless to stop it. If he was captured instead of killed on the spot, he'd confess to the usage of the forbidden curses on the other two Aurors, and claim he had kidnapped the two Edgecombe women because he wanted to use them as leverage to get a better position in the Ministry. Were they foolish enough to leave him in a cell alone, he had been given a final order – to remove himself as a witness, thereby leaving the Ministry with as many questions as answers, but allowing them to fear the worst.

Tugging on the young Edgecombe woman, he managed to get her into a position where he could connect her body to his own. “While you can't struggle, love, if you managed to get the opportunity to do so it wouldn't be wise. I'd hate to have you apparate in the middle of a wall or worse.” To top off the not-quite-veiled threat, Rabastan would waggle his eyebrows in an almost playful manner, taking one last look to Alecto.

“Shall I leave you the fun of marking our win tonight, dearest?”

Alecto had to give Rabastan credit, he really did think this through. Alecto, on the other hand, was far too impulsive for her own good. She would have killed them all in the end, instead of laying out a fiendish plot for the Ministry to try and solve.

"I would be honored, darling." Wrapping a hand around Madam Edgecombe's neck, she made sure the mother of Marietta was in place so Alecto could apparate easily. Pulling the hood up over her head, those dark piercing eyes gave a final look around the deserted cafe before pointing her wand to sky. "MORSMORDRE!!" Her voice echoed through the cafe, and out into the alleyway as that smokey spell emitted from her wand, and ascended into the sky. A large black skull began to form in the clouds, as the notorious snake intertwined itself within the skull.

Shouts, and screams began to echo through Diagon Alley as people began to realize what was forming on the night sky. Another wheezy, and cackling laugh came from her the woman as she and her victim vanished from the cafe. The laugh still lingering in the air, as Alecto apparated with Madam Edgecombe.

Rabastan watched her cast the Dark Mark into the sky and nodded, admiring her work. She may have been far more impatient than he was, but at the same time she was devoted and would always get the job done. He made a mental note to ask the Dark Lord to pair him with her when he couldn’t work with Bellatrix or his brother, because the two shared a history and worked well together.

Once she apparated he looked over at the terrified girl and grinned. “Allow me to escort you to your new lord, love.” By the time the reinforcement Aurors arrived in the empty café, only the echoes of the apparition signaled he had ever been there.

At that moment, Johnson turned and raised his wand…