A/N: Written for Finals Round 1 of the Quidditch Fan League Competition
Team: Montrose Magpies
Position: Beater 2
Prompt: 'It was gross at the beginning, but you kind of get used to it...'
Optional Prompts: 1 (word) blush; 4 (word) dilated; 6 (word) bleeding
Thanks to firefly81, my fellow Magpie, for looking it over.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Undercover
"Benjy, are you sure about this?" Marlene McKinnon took his hand in hers and started deep into his eyes. She had a light blush on her face, Benjy Fenwick realised.
He smiled at her assuringly and pressed his fingers against hers. "I have to, Marlene. We know that the Death Eaters are using Rosier Manor as a safe house, but what if He is really there? If I go in and find out, we can send in Alastor and a couple of the other hard hitters and we might end this war, finally."
"Just... be careful, okay? We have already lost too many," she whispered.
"I will," he promised.
Benjy and Marlene were both members of the Order of the Phoenix, an underground organisation with the goal to fight the Dark Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters. It had been founded by Albus Dumbledore, the hero who had defeated the previous Dark Lord Grindlewald, and sadly was necessary because the Ministry was still unwilling to take real action against the dark magic users that were fighting an open war against anyone not Pure-blood. Sure, Barty Crouch had finally gotten the approval to use Killing Curses in combat, but the sad fact of the matter was that by the time Aurors tended to get to a location that was being attacked, the Death Eaters were long gone and the only sign of them having been there would be the Dark Mark hovering in the sky above dead bodies.
"You ready, lad? Kiss the lass and let's be on our way," the gruff voice of Alastor Moody interrupted his thoughts.
Benjy and Marlene both flushed but showing he had not been sorted into Gryffindor for nothing, Benjy leant forward and he caught her lips in hers in a sensitive kiss. They stared in each others eyes as they embraced each other, making a wordless promise to each other.
"If yer quite done?" Moody interrupted their little dream world and they broke apart. Benjy rose and went to the other room, where a cauldron filled with a disgusting looking potion was bubbling on the fire.
"One moment," Sturgis Podmore looked up. He stirred through it once more, then lifted the cauldron of the fire and reached for a cup from a nearby shelf. "Who has the hairs?"
"Here ya go," Alastor answered him, taking out an envelope and handing it over. "Freshly picked Death Eater hair, all from naughty lads and lasses who are currently locked up at the Ministry. Wish we could just send them straight through the Veil..."
"Now now Alastor, we can't just kill them. That would lower us to their level," the voice of their leader, Albus Dumbledore, preceded his entry in the kitchen. "Minister Bagnold has assured me that the suspects will be held until tomorrow, after which they will be Obliviated and set free. That should give our volunteers enough time to enter and exit undetected."
"Ye'd better be right," Moody grumbled.
"Fenwick, you're up," Sturgis said. He dropped one of the hairs from the envelope into the cup he was holding and shook it to let it dissolve. The foul, damping liquid changed colour and he handed it over to Benjy.
"Here goes," Benjy grimaced as he swallowed it down, then smacked his lips. "Hmm, not bad."
"How the hell can you say that Ben?" Fabian Prewett, one of the other Order members said, looking at him like he was crazy. "Polyjuice tastes worse than Snape's underwear!"
Benjy grimaced and quipped, "It was gross at the beginning, but you kind of get used to it... And I'll just forget how you know what Snape's underwear tastes like, Fabe."
Then he couldn't say anything else, as pain shot through his body as his features changed. His nose flattened, his chin widened, and his eyes dilated as he took on the form of Thomas Goyle, one of Voldemort's followers who was currently locked up.
"Well? How do I look?" he asked, wincing at how even his voice sounded different.
"Inbred, moronic, and cruel. In other words, a real Pure-blood," Fabian's brother Gideon quipped.
"Enough joking. Prewett, your turn," Alastor ordered. Fabian was still grinning as he took the next cup, Sturgis put a hair in, and a little later Fabian Prewett looked exactly like Cardagan Walters, another one of the Death Eaters that had been caught at last night's raid.
His twin Gideon was next, followed by Moody, and soon four Death Eaters stood in the Order safe-house, putting on the dark robes that had been taken from their captured unwitting body donors.
"Everyone remember the plan?" asked Alastor Moody, now looking exactly like Evan Rosier.
"Yes, we go in, find out if He is there and possibly any prisoners, then regroup outside and leave," someone – Benjy thought it was Fabian Prewett – said.
"Right. No heroics, we have the one hour... minus five minutes now. Let's go. We all have our Apparition coordinates," Moody ordered. As one, they disappeared.
They re-appeared as a group in the front garden of a Victorian mansion. Benjy looked up and felt the house itself was sinister, somehow. But he was not here to see the sights, they were on a time critical mission. 'Rosier' already walked up to the front door, pausing a second before he knocked. Benjy let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding when nothing happened: apparently the Rosiers had no wards up, that, or the Polyjuice fooled them.
The door was opened by an old and abused looking House Elf "Master Rosier has returned finally? The other Master has been asking, he has," it said.
'Rosier' grimaced. "Is He here, then?"
The House Elf shook its head, "No, Master's Master has left. But said he would return. He was angry."
Benjy decided not to wait and walked past 'Rosier' and the Elf inside, followed by the two Death Eaters he knew were really the Prewett twins. The house was obviously used as a base of operations, there were makeshift beds in all the rooms and he found stored Potions and spare wands everywhere, as well as several Death Eaters in various state of alertness. Evidently Goyle was well known to them, as nobody stopped him and the others as they walked through the corridors.
Finally they reached a stairwell. "Okay, Prewetts, you go upstairs, I'll go down the basement," Benjy proposed. The two men nodded – still eerily in sync even though they looked nothing alike now – and went upstairs.
Benjy went down instead, finding that the manor had an extensive wine cellar. Only, this cellar didn't store wine... the various 'rooms' where wine would have been kept were barred, and inside were... Benjy fought the urge to throw up as he looked in the first 'cell', and hoped that whoever it was that had died in there, didn't have to suffer long. He didn't recognise them, couldn't, seeing that the head was missing. Benjy grimaced as he realised it had likely been sent to the family, Voldemort was known to do that some times.
The next cell was empty, but the last one, wasn't. It was also guarded by a Death Eater Benjy didn't recognise, who looked up as he approached.
"Afternoon Goyle. Came for some fun with the Mud-blood?" the man asked in a cruel voice.
Benjy looked past him and saw a naked woman sitting on a dirty bench, shivering as she wrapped her arms around her. She was bleeding from several wounds and looked to be in pain. With shock, he realised that he knew her... she was Danielle Smith, a Hufflepuff from his year!
"Fun?" he repeated, staring at the poor woman still.
"Yeah, we've all been using her," the unknown Death Eater said with a laugh. "Finally found a use for the Mud-blood there."
The woman whimpered at that as the man laughed. "So, you want a turn with her?" he asked.
"Bastard," Benjy said through clipped teeth.
"No? Fine with me. You can take out the trash then, it was time to clean up any way," the Death Eater sneered. Before Benjy could react he whipped out his wand, pointed it towards the cell, and spoke, "Avada Kedavra".
Benjy watched in horror as a green flash impacted the shivering woman, causing her to collapse to the floor, dead.
"You... you monster," he said, seeing red. He took out his own wand and aimed it at the Death Eater.
"Oi! Watch where you're pointing that thing! I was only joking when I said you had to take her, we'll feed the remains to the Hippogryffs out back like we always do," the Death Eater said, backing away.
"Reducto," Benjy said, causing the man's head to disappear in a splatter of red against the back wall. Benjy looked in the cell once more, then shook his head. It was too late for her now. He had to get out of there, before anyone found him with the dead Death Eater.
Morose, he made his way back to the stairs.
"Nobody upstairs," a voice suddenly said as he made it back to ground level. Benjy jumped, his wand in hand as he aimed it at the man who spoke.
"Hold on there Ben, it's us, the twins!" the Death Eater said, holding his hands up.
Benjy nodded, still a grimace on his face. "We have to leave, now," he said. The twins nodded and followed him.
They found 'Rosier' in one of the front rooms talking to another Death Eater and Benjy caught his eye as they past. He didn't need to say anything as 'Rosier' nodded, then made his way over to them.
"All set? Did we find what we needed?" he asked.
"Outside," Benjy proposed. 'Rosier' nodded and the four stepped out. Just in time, for Benjy realised that the hair of one of the disguised Prewett twins was already becoming red again.
"Right lads, back to base," 'Rosier' said. As one, they apparated away.
"Well? How did it go?" Marlene was standing right there when they returned.
"I would like to know that as well," Dumbledore said.
"Prewetts, report!" Moody barked.
"Voldemort is definitely using it as a base, but he was not in residence today," Fabian said. Next to him, Gideon was already shedding the last shreds of his disguise.
Benjy just stared ahead as Fabian and Gideon talked, until Marlene prodded him. "Ben? What did you find?" she asked. He looked up to see Moody looking straight through him, and everyone else watching him.
"Nobody alive downstairs, but they've been torturing and killing prisoners," he informed them. "If you'll excuse me? I have an early day tomorrow."
"Yes, let's break this up," Dumbledore agreed. "Fine job, everyone. This has brought us one step closer to the end of the war."
Benjy didn't really listen and he apparated back home. He only hoped Dumbledore was right... the Light had lost far too many already.