A/N: Finishing up By Moonlight and Sunrises, my Percy/Audrey story, has got me nostalgic for some pre-relationship tales... so I've decided to start on this little collection. Audrey and her family will mostly be the centre of it, but you'll see lots of familiar faces throughout! Enjoy :)
1. Saving Agent Knight
7 March 1998
Order of the Phoenix Agents Viper and Ace are responsible for breaking into the Ministry to extract Dion Shacklebolt and a Order spy that goes by codename Knight. Of course, things are not always as they seem.
Audrey let out a heavy sigh as her eyes flitted between the decoded note and the mission protocol Kingsley had placed in front of her. The silence filling the room was ironically deafening, but she kept her head down and eyes focused on the parchment to avoid breaking it. She knew that the moment she locked eyes with Kingsley, this would be all too real. For now, it was simply words on parchment. For now, Audrey could pretend that there was a catch.
Dion declared undesirable, execution date undetermined but soon - Knight, compromised
Compromised. She hated that word in that particular moment.
"Are you ready to discuss?" Kingsley's deep voice broke Audrey out of her trance and her head snapped up to meet his gaze.
Uncle Kingsley was an interesting intersection between fun-loving relative and stern father figure. Although he carried himself with a similar confidence and authority that Audrey's father, Kingsley's much older brother, displayed, he had a much warmer personality. It also probably had something to do with the fact that he was only ten years older than Audrey's brother, Keegan.
"So - so Gramps?" Keegan started, his voice a little shaky. While Audrey had a very close relationship with their grandmother, Lucinda, Keegan and Dion were like two peas in a pod. Aside from their father, there was no one that Keegan admired quite as much.
"I don't trust anyone else with this mission as much as I trust the two of you," Kingsley said. "Aside from... Knight, we are the only three people that know about this."
"All right, so, um, compromised," Audrey started nervously, "What does that mean?"
"It means that if we pull Dion out of the Ministry, Knight will be discovered," Kingsley explained. "Dumbledore's plan for that was, um, a vial of deadly nightshade."
"What?" Audrey exclaimed.
"Trust me, I'm not a fan either, so I'm modifying the mission protocol," Kingsley continued, giving Audrey a pointed look that clearly was a command to keep herself together. "You will also be rescuing Knight. He will be disguised like the two of you, as Death Eaters, while Dion will appear to be a prisoner."
Kingsley waved his wand and the words on the parchment detailing the mission protocol began to rearrange themselves, now outlining a different plan.
"You will take one of the London entrances into the Ministry disguised as Death Eaters," Kingsley began to explain, "then, you'll locate Knight's office and rendez-vous there. He will have Dion in his custody for 'further questioning.' As of now, it seems he's still blending in well. From there, you will disguise Knight as a Death Eater. Keegan, you will be responsible for taking Dion to the Atrium under the premise of a hand-off to other Death Eaters. Audrey, you'll go with Knight on a separate, longer route and meet them there."
"Is splitting up such a good idea?" Keegan questioned.
"For our purposes, yes. It will weaken you, but it will also minimize suspicion - and if Knight is really compromised, that is our first priority," Kingsley explained. "In the Atrium, you will find a portkey in the shape of a wall sconce on the side of Floo number twenty-one. It will be enchanted to activate at Audrey's touch and will transport the graspers within two minutes of her touching it. Clear?"
"Crystal," Audrey replied. "What tools are we working with?"
A small smile appeared on Kingsley's face at that question. Ever the Ravenclaw, he loved his gadgets and inventions. Pulling a rucksack up from under the table, he gently placed it in front of Audrey and Keegan, then reached in and pulled out two small radios.
"These are muggle hand radios, or walkie talkies," Kingsley said. "They've been enchanted to only work in your hands and for your ears. Anyone other than you two or Knight will hear random gibberish. I'll bewitch them to be smaller and fit on the inside of your sleeves. Next," Kingsley paused as he pulled out two Death Eater masks, "these have been enchanted so that only the wearer can move them on or off. Of course, you'll also be equipped with strong Disguising Charms as a precaution."
"Blimey, Kingsley, you've outdone yourself yet again," Keegan admired. "So then from the portkey in the Ministry, where do we go?"
"That portkey will take you to the safehouse I've chosen for Dion and Knight. From there, you two will take another portkey back to headquarters," Kingsley answered.
"Sounds like a solid plan," Audrey said, although she was mostly trying to convince herself.
"Take the time to familiarize yourself once more with Knight's files. As far as he knows, only Dion is getting rescued, so you may have to deal with some resistance," Kingsley cautioned.
"Wait, why wouldn't you tell him we're rescuing him?" Audrey asked. She couldn't wrap her head around that logic.
Kingsley sighed sadly. "We all know who I'm talking about," he started. "Percy is smart and brave, but he's also proud. I don't want him to have the opportunity to try and be a hero because I have a horrible feeling it wouldn't end well for him. I made a promise to Molly. I told her I would protect her boys - she may not have known that that promise included Percy, but it did for me."
Audrey nodded slowly, taking in all of the information before her. It seemed like a good plan. Simple, secure, and clean. However, she knew it wouldn't be easy to pull off. She and Keegan would have to bring their A-game and, hopefully, Percy would too. As good of a plan as it was, one small hiccup was all it would take to tip someone off. They were quite literally going to be in the eye of the hurricane.
"Like stealing candy from a baby," Keegan said in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Kingsley forced a smile as he looked between Audrey and Keegan. "If anyone can do this, it's the two of you. I expect you here and ready to go by six in the morning. Sleep well."
8 March 1998
Audrey tightened the strap holding the throwing knives to her thigh for the fifth time in the last three minutes. She knew that because she had been uncontrollably glancing at the dusty digital clock in the Order headquarters for the last hour.
05:58
She shook her head at her lack of self-control and looked in the mirror once again. Her dark brown hair was held back in a tight and sleek French braid. She was sporting an Auror training outfit: form-fitting black pants with several straps to hold her wand and hand weapons, a black short-sleeve t-shirt, and black combat boots laced as tightly as she could bear. With a nervous gulp, Audrey took the black hooded robes in her hands and slowl slipped them on. She felt the Death Eater mask attached to the hood lightly rest on her back.
05:59
Audrey rolled her eyes at herself. She had to stop looking at that bloody clock. Thankfully, Keegan loudly barged in at that moment. The loud sound snapped Audrey out of her own pessimistic thoughts. He looked fully prepared in a similar outfit, probably back from his days of Obliviator training. Unlike Audrey, however, he forcefully grabbed his Death Eater robes and quickly pulled them on, a grim look on his face. He looked as if he couldn't wait for this day to be over.
06:00
Right on time, Kingsley entered the room, a solemn look on his face. He was holding a flowery pink scarf, which he rested on the table in the room before approaching Audrey and Keegan.
"Hand radios are on the inside of your sleeves already," he started, wasting no time whatsoever, "and the scarf is your portkey to the London entrance. Keegan, let's keep the obliviating and theatrics to a minimum. Audrey, don't make a mess, if you can help it."
"No promises," Audrey and Keegan chorused, then quickly turned to give each other annoyed looks. It was truly irritating how similar they could be sometimes.
"Without further ado," Kingsley trailed off as he raised his wand. With a few swishes, he stood back and said, "you are now disguised."
Audrey and Keegan looked in the mirror. Gold bands that looked painted on were streaked across their eyes like a mask. Their features and skin colour flickered the longer they stared. Seeing Audrey's dark, umber skin flicker into a shade of pale white was probably the most amusing thing she had seen in months.
"As soon as you're both holding on to the portkey, you'll be off," Kingsley said as he gestured towards the table.
Audrey and Keegan turned to look at each other. "Let's get Gramps out of there," Audrey said confidently.
With solemn looks on their faces, the two Shacklebolt siblings stepped forward and grabbed the portkey before them.
"I've been instructed to bring Shacklebolt in for further questioning," Percy stated in a demanding tone.
"By who?" the Death Eater charged with guarding Dion questioned.
"Who do you bloody think?" Percy bit back sourly.
The Death Eater let out a displeased grunt but nonetheless turned around to unlock the door leading to Dion Shacklebolt's personal prison. It was a small room that was bordering on the size of a broom closet with nothing in it to hide the cold, unwelcoming stone floors. When the door swung open and the fluorescent lights from the hallway streamed in, Dion flinched and shielded his eyes. Percy felt his stomach drop at the sight of a once powerful, authoritative man that stood tall amongst any crowd. Now, the Shacklebolt patriarch was hunched in a corner and covered in blood, scars, and bruises.
The Death Eater strode forward and forcefully pulled Dion up from the floor, then swished his wand to procure a magical pair of handcuffs on his wrists. He then pushed the older man towards Percy.
"Have him, I've gotten bored anyways," the Death Eater said with a shrug.
Taking a calming deep breath and burying his anger down, Percy grabbed Dion's arm without a word and turned to leave the bleak room. After a few minutes of walking, Dion suddenly spoke up.
"Where do they want me now?" he asked bitterly, his voice quiet.
"It's as much of a mystery to me," Percy answered honestly.
In his last four years as a spy, Percy had found that the easiest way to lie and blend in was actually by telling the truth. A carefully chosen truth, that is. Something vague and simple. It was a foolproof way to beat an accidental drugging of Veritaserum, and the plainer you sounded, the less people cared about you. For example, his reply of "some light reading" every time someone asked him what he would do after work earned him the label of a "boring arse." Rude as it was, it also kept people from snooping into what exactly he was reading.
Once they reached his office, Percy quickly entered and helped Dion sit down. The older man gave him a strange look in response to his kindness, and Percy had to fight the urge to not heal the man's wounds. The more hurt he looked, the more it would help the mission.
"So ask away, boy," Dion muttered. Even in his state, he fought to keep his confidence high.
"All in good time," Percy replied simply.
Audrey knew that getting to Percy's office would be the easy part, but she definitely appreciated the confidence boost.
Death Eater masks on, Audrey and Keegan took confident strides as they walked through Voldemort's Ministry. It was bleak and dark compared to how she remembered the place, and everyone that walked around was an unfortunately familiar face. People she had gone to school with, people her parents had welcomed into their home. She felt anger and disgust course through her every time she recognized someone, but she knew that this wasn't the time for making a scene.
After a long walk and a tense elevator ride, the two Order members found themselves face-to-face with a black door and a gold plaque: Percy Weasley, Assistant to the Minister of Magic. With a deep breath, Audrey reached for the doorknob, turned it, and quickly moved into the office, Keegan closely following behind her.
She instantly found herself mere inches from Percy's wand, his expression stony and cold. That quickly faltered, however, as Keegan waved his hands and a breeze swept through the room. With the Silencing Charms in place, Audrey and Keegan both pulled of their Death Eater masks to reveal their disguised faces. As soon as Percy caught sight of the gold band on their faces, he visibly relaxed and lowered his wand.
"Royal sent us," Audrey said simply.
"You're getting out of here, Dion," Keegan added as he looked over at his grandfather.
In that moment, Dion slowly stood up and his jaw dropped as his eyes flitted back and forth between his grandchildren. Audrey knew in that moment that he had recognized their voices.
"I... I can't believe..." Dion started. He straightened up a bit, a smile gracing his battered face. "My boy sent his finest."
Audrey smirked. "That he did," she replied. "All right, let's get moving."
Without a moment's hesitation, Keegan pulled his hood back down and lifted his left sleeve near his face. "Ace to Royal," Keegan spoke into the radio, "the target has been retrieved and we're in position. Over."
"Copy that," Kingsley's staticy voice replied, "you're a go, Ace. Over."
Audrey stepped forward and tightly hugged her brother before stepping back again and giving him a nod. Wordlessly, Keegan grabbed hold of Dion's arm and the two of them left the office without a word. Silence filled the tidy room for few seconds as their footsteps died down.
"So, the vial," Percy said, breaking the silence.
Audrey turned around to face Percy with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on her face. "You're a bloody drama queen," she finally said.
"Wh - what?" Percy stuttered.
With a sigh, Audrey began to rummage around the purse hidden under her robes. When she pulled out Percy's disguise, she said, "Here," then paused to throw the robes at Percy. As he fumbled to catch them, she continued, "put these on."
Percy held up the Death Eater mask and stared at it in confusion, then turned to Audrey. "This wasn't Dumbledore's plan," he stated plainly.
"No, this is Kingsley's plan," Audrey replied in agreement. "Hop to, love."
"I'm not abandoning my post," Percy declared adamantly as he threw the robes on his desks.
"Oh bloody hell," Audrey grumbled with a roll of her eyes. It seemed his stubbornness hadn't changed since he had graduated from Hogwarts. "Listen mate: you've spent the last four years sacrificing your family and risking your life for the Order. Now, when the Order gets a chance to return the favour, you wanna be a hero?"
"Well I - "
"Rhetorical question," Audrey intervened with a stern voice. "Shut up and put the damn disguise on, or I'll make you put it on."
Percy huffed simply. "Fine," he replied in a dissatisfied tone, grabbing the robes once again and putting them on while mumbling something about getting bossed around.
"Viper to Royal, Knight is being disguised as we speak and we are ready for transport, over," Audrey spoke into her radio.
"Blimey, that fast? I'm impressed," Kingsley replied. Percy rolled his eyes as Audrey held back a laugh. "Keep me posted. Over."
"Well, let's break out of the Ministry then," Percy said as he flipped up his Death Eater hood.
Audrey smirked at him and raised her hand in a salute, replying with a simple, "Aye aye, captain," before lifting her hood up as well.
Percy froze for a moment as he processed the woman's action. Something about the mysterious Order member seemed eerily familiar in that moment; however, as he heard her tune into the radio once more, Percy quickly snapped out of his thoughts and his attention fixated on the mission at hand.
"Viper to Royal, I am on the move with Knight. Over," she said.
"Copy that. Move quickly, Viper. Over," Kingsley replied.
Audrey turned back to give Percy a nod before swiftly pushing the door open. Percy quickly fell into step with her and the pair silently made their way through the Ministry's halls.
"We're heading for the atrium," Audrey explained. "This is the home stretch."
"I'll make sure not to say anything ironic then," Percy replied, trying to lighten his own mood.
"If you could help it, Weasley, I'd be impressed," Audrey shot back.
Percy's sarcastic reply ready to be fired back at the mystery woman when the pair came face to face with another Death Eater standing in the middle of the hall. He removed his hood and Percy quickly recognized the man as one of the prisoner guards. That being said, it was hardly fair to call innocent muggle-borns prisoners.
"Where're the two of you headed?" he asked in a heavy Scottish accent, his brow furrowed as he glanced between the two disguised Order members. Percy felt as if his throat was blocked and his whole body froze. Of all bloody moments to freeze up.
"Oh, Gibbon, you know how it is," Audrey spoke up in a friendly tone, for one in her life thanking her mother for dragging her to all of those pureblood parties, "aren't we all dying for a little privacy on our coffee breaks?" she continued as she hooked her arm with Percy's.
Gibbon was silent for a mere second, then chuckled knowingly. "All right, off with ya lovebirds," he said with a wink.
Audrey laughed that polite lady laugh her mum always showed off before taking off once again, Percy stumbling a bit at first. As they rounded the corner, he shook his head. "I can't believe that worked," he said in disbelief, a smile on his face.
"It didn't," Audrey replied grimly. "Three, two, one - "
Just as Audrey finished counting down, she quickly turned around and threw a strong Stunning Charm. It landed square on Gibbon's chest and sent him flying down the hall. Percy stared in awe at the Order member, racking his brain to figure out when the hell she had even drawn her wand. Before he could get a chance to express his amazement, however, the woman turned to him and simply said, "Now, we run."
Audrey wasted no time to break into a sprint, looking back only briefly to make sure Percy was following closely behind her. As she looked back, she noticed another two Death Eaters turning the corner and cursed under her breath. Somehow, they had figured it out.
"Viper to Ace, Viper to Royal, we are in hot pursuit right now, over," Audrey quickly said into her radio.
"Royal to Viper, get out of there now," Kingsley replied. "Ace is not responding. Over."
"Damn it," Audrey muttered. Percy was by her side now, so she quickly glanced over her shoulder once again to assess their situation. Her eyes widened as she noticed the two Death Eaters begin to draw their wands. "Heads up!" she shouted.
Percy took a dive to the floor just in the nick of time, a bright purple curse flying over his head. At the same time, Audrey slid down and threw a hex behind her, hitting her target just as his curse narrowly missed her face. As she slowed to a stop, she quickly scrambled up and swiftly slipped her wand back in its sheath just as the second Death Eater threw an expelliarmus her way. It hit her and simply dissipated. The unhooded Death Eater frowned when her wand didn't go flying up.
As Audrey recognized him, a bitter smirk graced her features.
"Not many people know this," she started as her hand gripped the handle of a throwing knife, "but you need to be holding a weapon for that Charm to work."
Then, before the Death Eater could react, Audrey threw her knife. It perfectly embedded itself in the man's thigh and she smiled proudly as he fell to his knees and let out a groan of pain. "Fuck you, Pucey," she said bitterly.
"What the hell?" Percy hissed, throwing his arms up. "Who does that?"
Audrey pointed at him and simply said, "Drama queen," before grabbing his hand and pulling him after her as she continued to run down the hallway.
Needless to say, this was probably the opposite of what Kingsley had meant when he had said 'don't make a mess,' but there was no going back now. Besides, Audrey highly doubted she would ever again have the opportunity to cause that poor excuse of a human some pain.
Audrey stumbled to a stop as the hallway split off into two opposite directions. She quickly noticed that they were now surrounded, Death Eaters heading down both hallways, so she quickly swung Percy around so they were back-to-back. Once again, Percy found himself on the verge of snapping at the disguised woman and just so happened to, once again, get cut off by Death Eaters rapidly approaching him. Instinctively, Percy wielded his wand and shot out a powerful stupefy.
"Lucky you're a lefty, eh?" the woman said as she began to duel the Death Eaters approaching her.
"Luck's one word for it," Percy grumbled. "Why the bloody hell are we still holding hands?"
In that moment, Audrey yanked him to the side just as a Killing Curse whizzed past her and instead hit a Death Eater on the other end of the hall. "That's why," Audrey said smugly, before letting go of his hand and going back to duelling the onslaught of Death Eaters.
Percy somehow found himself both irritated and intrigued with the mystery woman. Part of him felt like he knew exactly who she was, but with the Disguising Charm throwing him for a loop every time he had looked at her face back in the office and their present situation, he just couldn't place her voice. He definitely knew her and the other Order member from somewhere, though. He supposed this would be an issue for after escaping from the Ministry.
Out of the corner of his eye, Percy saw the woman's wand go flying in the air and heard her curse. Then, almost instantly, he felt her stumble back. Looking back, Percy saw none other than Thorfinn Rowle choking the woman just enough to have her gasping for air but not passing out. In his moment of distraction, Percy quickly found himself disarmed as well and now facing several wands.
"I can't believe she was right," Thorfinn said. "You do fight rather messy."
"No," Audrey breathed out. Then, with one quick movement, she reached her arms forward to trap Thorfinn's head between her forearms before kicking her knee forward and landing three rather audible blows to his groin. He let go of her neck as he stumbled back in pain and Audrey wasted no time to swing her leg around to kick him in the face. Another man charged her, but she easily side-stepped his punch and shouldered all of her weight into his stomach, causing him to fall over. She quickly moved to hold him down with her knee and throw some rather painful punches at his face, but after a couple of hits she was yanked backwards, her arms restrained behind her back. Everyone turned their gazes to Thorfinn, who was now standing up and pointing his wand at Audrey.
"IMBECILES, you all have fucking wands!" he bellowed angrily. "Use them for Merlin's sake! Pucey, you bloody idiot, she got you with a knife!"
"Must be the inbreeding dumbing them down," Audrey bit back.
"Oh, she's going to love torturing you," Thorfinn threatened bitterly. His left eye was turning purple and becoming considerably swollen, his nose bleeding violently, but even through all of that he was still smirking as if he had won. "Take them to the atrium."
"We need to be as inconspicuous as possible," Keegan whispered to his grandfather as they made their way through the halls of the Ministry.
"Of course," Dion replied. "Kingsley was right to trust the two of you."
"I sure hope so," Keegan muttered as they took a turn.
Things were going smoothly for now. Nothing too out of the ordinary had happened, except for the fact that the halls were suspiciously... empty. There was the odd person milling around, but almost no Death Eaters. Things may have been going well, but Keegan's gut instinct was telling him that there was much more brewing beneath the surface.
And Merlin, he hated it when he was right.
As they took another turn, they encountered a masked Death Eater standing in the middle of the hallway. Keegan looked the other way down the hallway and saw another Death Eater. Back down the way they had just walked stood yet another Death Eater. This was more like the kind of mission Keegan had envisioned.
"Morning, boys," Keegan greeted with a nod.
One of the Death Eaters removed his mask and Keegan had to bite back a scoff when he recognized none other than Marcus Flint. Of course, the bloody idiot would be a Death Eater. There was a reason he had failed his seventh year, after all. "Where d'ya think you're takin' that prisoner?" Marcus asked in a challenging tone.
"I've received orders to bring him in for further... interrogation," Keegan replied suggestively. Best to leave the idiots to their own imaginations.
The Death Eater standing directly behind him now removed his mask with a scoff. Keegan frowned slightly as he, yet again, recognized the person behind the mask: Alexander Vaisey, one of his former Quidditch teammates. "Sounds fake," he said gruffly.
"I don't expect you boys to understand the work of men," Keegan replied smugly. "Now, let me pass with the prisoner."
"You're gonna have to take us down to do that," the third Death Eater said as he removed his mask. Yet again, someone Keegan recognized from school: Terrence Higgs. Something was definitely not right, but it seemed that Keegan had a much bigger problem on his hands anyways.
"Three against one - I like my odds," Keegan said confidently.
As the two Death Eaters to his left and right quickly drew their wands and threw curses his way, Keegan just narrowly side-stepped the spells as he pushed Dion out of the way. As he had planned, the curses hit the Death Eaters and they both fell back in agony. Keegan turned to the third Death Eater, Terrence, with a chuckle.
"And then there were two," he said mockingly.
Before Terrence even had a chance to draw his wand, Keegan quickly waved his hands and sent an obliviate his way. A trance-like sleep took over and Terrence fell to the floor with a loud thud.
"That was almost too easy," he muttered as he once again grabbed Dion's arm.
"Seems like you were almost too smart, boy."
Keegan almost instantly recognized the voice behind him and cursed under his breath as he felt a wand jab in his back. Slowly, the man made his way around to face Keegan as more Death Eaters surrounded him and his grandfather. Just what he needed: his secret girlfriend's crazed Death Eater father.
"Archibald," Keegan greeted coldly, "you don't look a day over a hundred."
"You know, I almost wish she hadn't asked for you alive," Archibald replied with a dark chuckle. "I would have enjoyed watching the life fade from your eyes. Pull his stupid mask off."
Keegan felt a Death Eater yank at his hood, but, just as promised, the mask didn't budge. He started to laugh as Archibald frowned in confusion. "You're right, mate - it is a stupid mask," he said jokingly.
"Royal to Ace, requesting status update, over," Kingsley's staticy voice chimed in. In that moment, Keegan was both grateful for the cleverly enchanted radios and irritated with his uncle's timing.
"Atrium. Now."
"For what it's worth, you're absolutely terrifying and I'm glad we're fighting on the same side," Percy whispered to the woman from the Order as they were forcefully pushed through the halls of the Ministry by Death Eaters.
Audrey laughed lightly. "For what it's worth, you're more resourceful than I thought," she whispered back.
"Just the tip of the iceberg," Percy replied, smirking lightly.
"Shut your mouths," Thorfinn growled as they entered the atrium.
The large, dome-like hall had been emptied of all other traffic and people, with the exception of six people standing between the fountain and the Floos. As they got closer, Audrey felt her breath hitch as she recognized Keegan being held back by Archibald Greengrass, Dion and Kingsley's parents-in-law in shackles on their knees, and... her Aunt Kelsey, a proud smile on their face as they approached. Younger sister to Kristopher Shacklebolt, Audrey's father, and older sister to Kingsley Shacklebolt. The jaded middle child that had chosen a dark path.
Audrey couldn't believe that of all of the people to order Dion's execution, it would be his own daughter. It made her sick to her stomach to watch Kelsey be so dismissive of her own family. Audrey was quickly realizing that this was simply Kelsey's twisted way of hurting Kingsley.
"Thorfinn, Adrian - stay. Everyone else, leave," Kelsey commanded. As soon as Thorfinn was standing behind Audrey with a hand firmly gripping her shoulder and Adrian Pucey behind Percy doing the same, all of the other Death Eaters quickly exited the Atrium. "Can't have just anyone involved," Kelsey added with a shrug.
Things had gone south far too quickly. This was not the mission they had planned. Yet, here they stood, surrounded by Death Eaters in the grand atrium of the Ministry of Magic, just mere feet away from the Floos - so close, yet so far. Thankfully, although it seemed perfectly clear that Kelsey knew exactly who the Order had sent, she did not know who the third Order member was. While Percy was compromised, there was no point in having him killed on sight. That was, however, the only stroke of luck that they would be getting, it seemed.
"You really thought I wouldn't figure it out?" Kelsey asked tauntingly. "The cocky one," she added, turning to Keegan, "and the reckless one," she continued as she turned to face Audrey. "You can pose as Death Eaters all you want, but I'd be able to pick you out in a crowd the size of London. Dion was just a lure. I knew Kingsley would send someone after him, and I had a sneaking suspicion it would be you two, but I had to be sure. You, my dear, didn't hesitate to get messy even when you had clearly lost," Kelsey explained as she glanced at Audrey, "and you - well, I knew you couldn't pass up an opportunity to fight an unweighted duel against what you considered your inferiors," she continued as she glanced at Keegan.
Her taunting was met with silence. There was no point in entertaining Kelsey. The longer they resisted the more she would try to push their buttons - and that would be precious stalling time that they could use to think up a new plan. Audrey's eyes shifted to her grandfather, the Shacklebolt patriarch, his knees held to the ground by some type of dark magic, now covered in more blood and bruises. Although he couldn't see past her mask, he stilled smiled lightly just as Audrey looked his way. She already knew that even in the best case scenario, there was no way they would get him out alive - and he was half the mission. Everything would have been perfect if Kelsey hadn't been around - even Percy still wasn't aware of which two Order members had been sent to extract him and Dion.
Percy's confusion only grew as Kelsey Rowle kept talking. He had heard many Death Eaters talk about her viciousness and cruelness, but Percy had always easily forgotten that she was Kingsley's sister. The two of them may as well have been like night and day. But how were the two Order members that had been sent to save him involved?
"I'll give you credit for effort, but I'd like to see how quickly that determination falls when you're at the other end of the Cruciatus Curse," Kelsey threatened as she played with her wand.
In that moment, Percy had an idea.
I've got a distraction I can use.
The voice had seemingly come out of nowhere, but Audrey quickly recognized the familiar echo of Legilimency, and she all too easily recognized Percy's voice.
Use it as a chance to break free and fight - might also wanna try to get your wands back, Percy's voice echoed.
Audrey nodded once, very lightly, and that was all the signal Percy needed. In one sudden movement, he stomped on the feet of the Death Eater holding him, pulled something out of his pocket, and threw it right into the middle of the crowd...
Wildfire whiz-bangs, unbelievable, Audrey thought to herself in amusement. Her moment of mirth didn't last long, though, as it took her less than a second to get into fighting mode. As the magical fireworks went off and the Death Eaters jumped back, Audrey easily broke free of Thorfinn's grip and knocked him out with a well-placed punch, then quickly retrieved her wand and sent a Stunning Charm straight at Pucey's head. Percy quickly retrieved his wand as well, then Audrey grabbed his arm and started leading him towards the hidden portkey.
More Death Eaters started apparating into the atrium, and Audrey and Percy found themselves backing up towards the portkey as they faced another three Death Eaters. Audrey soon noticed Keegan by their side as well. They were being cornered, but at least it was the right corner.
As Percy fought to keep up his strong Protection Charms, he glanced towards the mysterious Order woman to see how she was holding up. That was the moment that he locked eyes with Kelsey, her wand aimed right at the woman by his side. Just outside the edge of his Protection Charms.
Without a second thought, Percy reached his arm out and pushed the woman back just as Kelsey threw a nasty curse towards the woman. Stumbling back, the curse missed the woman's body and instead caught her leg. In the next second, she let out a scream of agony and fell as her leg buckled beneath her.
"Get her up!" Keegan ordered as soon as he saw his sister fall to the ground. "I'll hold the Protection Charms - get to the portkey, now."
Percy quickly lowered his wand and rushed towards the masked woman. He lifted her arm and placed it over his shoulders, then walked her toward the wall sconce portkey as quickly as he could. He noticed the man backing up closer and closer to them, just barely holding back the growing throng of Death Eaters. Breathlessly, the woman tightly grasped the sconce, then reached for Percy's hand and forcefully swung him around to make him do the same.
"Two minutes!" Audrey shouted towards Keegan, holding back yet another scream of agony.
Audrey drew her wand once again, trying her best to be of some help and throw as many hexes and curses as she could, but her injury was making her tired and disoriented. She noticed Keegan finally reach them and grasp the portkey as well, and Percy joining in on keeping up the Protection Charms.
"Viper to Royal, we're in position with Knight, over," Audrey managed to say into the enchanted hand radio, her voice clearly strained.
"Your leg..." Percy noted with a worried tone. The blood was now dripping from her robes.
"Yeah, I got this saving your bloody arse, so you better keep your hand on that portkey," she bit back, then let out a painful groan.
Percy was about to voice a retort when the portkey was activated and the three of them were transported out of the war zone that was developing before them.
As soon as the portkey landed, the three Order members wasted no time removing their Death Eater disguises. The man and the woman from the Order still had Disguising Charms covering their faces, and Percy realized then that he still had no clue who he had to thank for saving his life.
The woman dropped to the floor, letting out a small groan of pain and a cough as she stretched out her leg. The gash on her leg was long, stretching from her ankle all the way to the middle of her thigh and filled with what seemed to be shards of glass. Percy desperately looked around for something to help her, but he quickly realized where they were: one of the Order safehouses. A small house on the Welsh coast.
The man quickly turned to Percy. "This is your safehouse now. We have a portkey out of here, but Kingsley will be periodically checking in on you," he said quickly. "Place is equipped with Apparition Wards, Protection Charms - the whole shebang."
"Yes, all right - what about her? She needs help," Percy replied, nodding towards the woman. He moved closer and knelt down to get a better look at the wound.
"I'll take care of that," the man replied, grabbing a lamp from one of the tables in the small house. He crouched down next to the woman and got her to grab hold of it. "This is our portkey - it'll activate in a minute. Trust me when I say that the best thing you can do now for the Order is lay low."
"Don't be a hero, Knight," the woman managed to get out with a smirk.
Before Percy could start to argue, the portkey was activated and the two Order members had disappeared. He stared blankly at the spot in which they had just been for a few seconds, his gaze fixed on the small pool of blood that was left behind. Then, he stood up, wordlessly cleaned up the blood with a swish of his wand, and looked around the room. If the Order wanted lay low, he would do just that.
That is, until the time would come for him to fight.
Wooo, this was exciting to write! I hope you guys enjoyed it and are gonna stay tuned for the next one. For now, here's a little sneak peak...
Audrey subtly squirmed under the uncomfortable gown as she glanced around the ballroom full of masked people. Masked purebloods, that is. The lot of them were unbelievable. They were in the middle of fighting a war, but of course there was still time for parties and pleasantries. Still, she supposed she couldn't complain. It was, after all, the perfect cover for a good, old-fashioned, Order of the Phoenix-style kidnapping.
Glancing around the room, Audrey's eyes easily found her brother in the crowd. She furrowed her brow slightly when she noticed him leaning forward a bit as he whispered in the ear of a masked woman. She looked up at him all of a sudden and shook her head, but Keegan simply placed a hand on her arm and said something to her. Then, without another word, she politely excused herself and exited the ballroom.
Keegan's eyes met Audrey's soon after that, but she was racking her mind for a name. Long and wavy brown hair, pale skin that looked as if it had never seen sunlight, short stature...
Of course. How could she have missed this? Daphne Greengrass.