Disclaimer: I do not own the characters that belong to the Harry Potter series! All the O/C characters belong to me. I will not be posting this at the beginning of every chapter, because I feel it is repetitive and I, myself, don't like having to read through the Authors Note AND Disclaimer each and every chapter of a story.
A/N: I stray from the original Deathly Hallows plot in various spots and ways, I have to make this story my own, right? There is A LOT of swearing, A LOT of blood and gore and a fair amount of smut and twists throughout the story. I apologize for any and all short comings, I'm an amateur with a lot of ideas. I do hope you will enjoy this story, and PLEASE let me know what you think!
"This evening will be interesting." A tall muscular man said to the small woman on his left. "Even if nothing goes according to plan."
"Indeed it will Brynjar." The woman replied with a smirk before turning her attention back to the manor in the distance.
The woman knelt down in front of where she was sure the wards ended, and ran her hand through them. As she pulled her hand away, she scoffed at what she detected, and stood back up to look at her companion.
"Blood wards." She declared. "PUREblood wards to be exact."
"Just blood wards? No other wards?" Brynjar asked slightly taken aback by the lack of security.
"No there are others; muggle repelling charms, and silencing charms. Very predictable." She sneered, rolling her eyes in disgust.
Brynjar started to chuckle, causing his friend to look at him warily.
"What's so funny?" She asked.
"I wonder how HE gets in passed the pureblood wards, seeing as he's a halfy." Brynjar joked as he stepped through the wards on to the perfectly manicured lawns of Malfoy Manor.
His friend chuckled too, at that thought and followed him through the wards.
"They probably count his ancestors blood so pure as to wash out the muggle half of him." She scoffed as she began to search the area around them for any of HIS followers on watch. "Even though my ancestral bloodline makes HIM look like a common muggle." She snorts as she catches a glimpse of a peacock roaming the lawns. "But we will not get into that right now. Let's move."
"Asta." Brynjar called as he pulled her back to her previous spot next to him. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked carefully. "I know you and your father agreed to aid the Order, even if they don't know you're helping them, but are you sure you are ready for the exposure that is to come?"
Asta considered his words thoughtfully.
"We have been underground since the middle of 1066!" Brynjar continued. "The entireties of both the magical and muggle world believe our kind to be dead, extinct, no more! If we expose ourselves there will likely be hunts for our kind, for revenge."
She considered his words some more, still rooted in her spot.
"Do you really want to risk it?" He asked softly.
She knew he was right about the dangers that could arise from exposing their peoples continued, unwelcome existence. However, she and her father agreed they have roughly three centuries worth of cruelties to make up for to earn forgiveness from at least the magical community. They are here and they are ready for literally anything. They were following through with this, end of discussion.
"Brynjar, we have to do this. Exposure or not, our people are more than capable of evading hunters, should that become a problem." Asta replied with finality. "We owe…. Well everyone so much for what our ancestors have done to theirs. We are going to help Harry Potter destroy this psychotic snake of a man, whether he knows we are or not. He will learn of our assistance somewhere down the road, and he will help us be able to come out of hiding and live amongst the others." She steadied him with a fierce look, and he nodded. "Right, now lets-"
"STUPEFY!" A male voice cried from somewhere to their left.
Both Brynjar and Asta expertly dodged the spell, and Asta quickly disarmed and magically bound the unknown man.
As they made their way towards the struggling man, Asta studied the wand that had flown out of his hands.
"Can you believe they still use wands?" She asked Brynjar with a disgusted face. "How primitive." Asta looked down on the face of a young man who looked to be about their age. Avery handsome young man too, and clearly new to the job, made evident by the way he was trembling with fear. "What is your name?" Asta demanded.
The young man said nothing. Asta's blood slowly started boiling.
"Answer me, boy!" Asta growled as she lowered herself next to his head, his own wand pointed at his throat. "What is your fucking name?"
"B-Ba-Bl-Blaise." The trembling man replied.
Asta looked up at Brynjar with a surprised look, and then both looked back down at the terrified man.
"Blaise?" Asta asked in a tone suggesting she has heard of him.
"Not Blaise Zabini? The seductive widows son? That Blaise Zabini?" Brynjar asked looking almost impressed.
"Y-Y-Yes." Blaise answered, still afraid of what these two might do to him.
"Holy fuck mate!" Brynjar exclaimed as he magically moved the ropes from around Blaise's body to just his wrists. "Your mum is the most sought after witch in the whole bloody world!"
"I- I know." Blaise replied as Asta pulled him to his feet.
Asta had been studying Blaise very carefully since they caught him. She didn't understand how the most evil wizard of all time, well almost most evil wizard of all time, would want this scared young man in his inner circle. This boy was obviously afraid of them, and did not have what the other Death Eaters had in them. So, why was he here?
"Why would Snakeman have you, an obviously new and very scared recruit, be on security detail? Let alone in his ranks at all? I mean you have to be as old as us, because there is no way you are over seventeen." Asta asked through narrowed eyes.
Brynjar looked from Asta to Blaise with a curious expression, silently agreeing with Asta's assessment.
"Yeah. Why?" He asked. "I mean look at you mate, you're shaking like a leaf."
Blaise swallowed hard at their comments and questions. He wasn't sure whether he should feel; relieved that they could see he wasn't really on HIS side, or offended that they were essentially calling him a Nancy boy.
"My mother." Blaise said at last. "They took her to make me cooperate and do their dirty work."
"Who is they?" Asta asked going into full battle mode.
"Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy." Blaise replied looking relieved to finally have something resembling sympathy from ANYONE.
"Did Snakeman tell them to? Are you that much of an asset to him?" Brynjar asked getting a scary look in his eyes, as all the possible ways to bring the psycho man and his band of sickos to their knees played out in his head.
"No." Blaise replied. "They want the Dark Lords attention off of their son, Draco. So they kidnapped my mum to make me do the Dark Lords bidding in Draco's place."
Asta moved in closer to Blaise and gave him a petrifying and fierce look and asked, "Do you know where they are holding her?"
Blaise nodded. "The top floor in the East Wing of the Manor. Why?"
Brynjar and Asta shared a silent exchange and they both nodded at each other before turning their attention back on Blaise.
"We are going to break you and your mother free of their hold here, and you two are going to disapparate out of the country. Somewhere they will never think to look for you. Do you understand?" Asta declared, leveling him with a look that said he had no say in the matter.
Blaise's eyes widened with hope and he nodded in understanding.
"Good. Now you will have to get us into the Manor and to the room where your mum is being held." Asta commanded.
"Are there any other guards stationed in the Manor? Or are you the only patrolman?" Brynjar asked, looking eager for a fight.
Blaise nodded. "Yes. At least one on every floor. There are normally more guards on the nights the Dark Lord has his meetings with his inner circle, but he has stationed most of his other, less worthy followers, around London and Hogwarts to keep an eye out for Potter."
Asta and Brynjar looked at one another appearing to be having a silent conversation with one another. Blaise watched them in utter bemusement as they stared at each other, unsure of what to make of what was happening.
Finally both of them nodded to each other and turned to look at Blaise. Both of them having forgotten he was there, Brynjar was the first to speak.
"Alright, lead the way pretty boy." He said as he patted Blaise on the shoulder.
Blaise sighed as he began to walk towards the Manor door, because the pretty boy comment never gets old. As they came to a halt in front of the great manor door, Blaise gestured for his hands to be untied. Asta stepped forward, grabbed his bonds, and forced him to bend backwards until her mouth was by his ear.
"You try ANYTHING, or cross me, you and your mother with pray to whatever Godly figure you believe in for the sweet mercy of death." She paused. "Do you understand?"
Blaise, body trembling again, nodded in understanding.
"Diffindo."
Blaise felt the ropes fall away, and then he rubbed at his wrists where the bonds had been. Then he raised his left forearm and the door swung open before them. As soon as the door opened Blaise promptly threw his arms behind his back, to be rebound.
Asta considered this gesture carefully, knowing he could be playing victim very well and be leading them into a trap. But his sincerity made her put those thoughts behind her. She would trust him and leave his hands unbound, and if he proved traitorous she would kill him and everyone else in sight.
"Not necessary." She grunted. "Now lead us to your mum. Brynjar and I will take care of the guards."
Blaise nodded and led them into the foyer of the Manor, which was decorated in ornate silver finished furnishings and trinkets.
"Really showy these people are, aren't they?" Brynjar commented.
Asta nodded. "First the peacocks, now the fancy 'never to be actually sat on' furniture. What's next? A pet unicorn?"
Brynjar snorted at her last comment, resulting in Blaise swiftly spinning on his heel and shushing him.
"You're lucky there aren't any guards on this floor." He scolded. "We would have been found and killed, or locked away in the dungeon to wait to be killed!"
Asta just waved him off.
"Please, don't insult me. If we had been found the guards would be dead long before they could utter the first half of the curse." She replied with an eye roll.
"How are you so-" Blaise began but was shoved forward by Brynjar.
"Because we are. Now keep moving." He commanded.
They made it to the second floor before they met their first challenge, Macnair the executioner.
They might have managed to just walk on past, pretending as though they were prisoners Blaise was bringing in. That is if Blaise hadn't been walking with his arms tucked behind his back, and if he hadn't been the one walking in the captives spot. Unfortunately, this did not go unnoticed by Macnair. Brynjar, quickly and stealthily cast a silencing charm around them, while Asta moved in front of Blaise.
"Crucio!" Macnair yelled, aiming his wand at Asta.
Asta stood firm in her spot, evilly grinning at Macnair as he retried the same curse over and over again, hoping it would affect her in some way. Sadly for him, she didn't even flinch.
Asta stalked over to Macnair, who was still trying to use the cruciatus curse on her, she put both hand on either side of his head, and he began to scream.
Blaise covered his ears. He hated the sound of people being tortured, it made him want to cry and vomit. Even if the person deserved it.
Asta dropped the man to the floor, bent down by his head, and touched her forefinger to his temple. Images of deeds he had done, meetings he attended, and the people he was told to hunt down came floating into her mind. She saw information she was sure very few outsiders knew, that she could use to her advantage. After a moment or two she pulled her finger away from his head and looked into his face.
He was a tough looking man, for not being muscular and very tall, but he lacked intelligence.
"Not a good legilimens are you?" Asta asked in a silky yet condescending voice. "You're a work-horse." She paused as she stroked a finger down the side of his face. "You won't be missed that much." Then she snapped his neck with her bare hands.
Blaise's jaw hit the floor. He couldn't believe what he just saw! This small woman just snapped a full grown mans neck like it was nothing! Nothing!
Asta stood and saw the awestruck look on his face and rolled her eyes.
"Oh, get off it." She said. "Like you haven't seen anything half that gruesome here before. Now let's keep moving!"
Blaise scrambled over himself to move well a ways out of her reach, and began ascending the next set of stairs.
Brynjar high-fived her and praised her for her skill. Stating how she has always been good at snapping necks resulting in an instant kill.
"Where the fuck did these people come from?" Blaise silently asked himself, or so he thought.
"None of your damned business." Asta said towards Blaise. "Just keep moving."
Blaise followed her orders and kept moving, but kept looking back at the two people who were helping him break his mother out of the hell she has been in.
When they reached the third floor landing Blaise turned to both of them, pressed his finger to his lips and continued to creep up towards the next set of stairs.
"HE is in the West wing having a meeting with his inner circle." Blaise whispered.
While he was looking for the person guarding the third floor, he noticed Asta was wearing an evil grin. A grin that turned playful when Brynjar shoved her shoulder, chuckling and said, "Not now, later."
"What are you two-" Blaise began but was interrupted by a lumbersome looking man coming their way from the East wing. Brynjar quickly and stealthily cast another silencing charm around them all.
"Finally caught a couple of mudbloods Zabini? Bout time you quit being a pathetic excuse of a Death Eater." The man said condescendingly.
"Goyle. What are you doing here?" Blaise asked steadily. "I thought you were sent to Godrics Hollow?"
"Been summoned back." Goyle said proudly as he looked between Blaise, Asta, and Brynjar. His eyes shifted back to Asta , and then he smiled wickedly. "This one's cute." He said as he yanked her towards him.
Blaise started to get nervous. She looked so defenseless now, whereas before she killed a man with her bare hands. He could feel Brynjar take a step towards Goyle, which seemed to only amuse Goyle.
"What you gunna' do filth! You're wandless and at our mercy, right Zabini?" Goyle chuckled. Blaise looked from Goyle to Asta, who winked at him, then to Brynjar whose nod was so minuscule Blaise almost missed it. Then Blaise caught on to what they were doing.
"Right." Blaise said smugly and slightly amused.
"It's a shame you're a mudblood, girl." Goyle mocked. "You would make me a pretty little house wife."
Suddenly Goyle jumped away from Asta clutching his right hand in his left, cursing her.
"What the fuck was that?" Goyle demanded.
"What? What happened?" Blaise asked, looking thoroughly confused.
"It… I was holding her arm and… It felt like she shocked me!" Goyle managed to spit out.
Asta was rounding on Goyle like a dragon on an egg thief. Goyle didn't notice until she grabbed his throat, just how dangerous she was. When her hand wrapped around his throat he started convulsing and tried to pry her electrifying hand from his throat. Asta held her hand firm against his attempts to pry her hand from his throat, and she got right in his face.
"Don't you EVER call me a pretty little house wife." She growled through gritted teeth. "I am a force to be reckoned with, not a mans fucking trinket!" Then she dropped him to the floor.
Sputtering and holding his throat, Goyle attempted to crawl away from her, but he didn't get far before a flash of green light filled the room.
Brynjar walked over next to Asta and looked down upon her second kill of the evening.
"Fucking sexist, wasn't he?" Brynjar said before spitting on Goyles lifeless body.
"I hate men like him." Asta replied
Blaise was completely and thoroughly lost and afraid.
"What are you two! Where the bloody hell did you come from? Russia? Bulgaria? Where! Because no normal witch is that small and as physically strong as a giant!" Blaise whispered urgently.
"Where we are from is none of your concern. Your concern right now is your mother." Asta said in an equally urgent tone. "Now, can we please continue on our path to rescue your mother please?"
Brynjar stood at the bottom step of the next set of stairs and gestured for him to go up first.
Blaise sighed and took the hint and made his way towards the staircase. As he reached the first step he turned to Asta and Brynjar and said, "If you manage to set me and my mother free, I will never stop trying to repay you. There is nothing I can ever do that will equal up to giving someone their freedom back."
After having said his piece he turned back towards the staircase and began to walk, when Asta called out to him.
"Blaise…" she began. " Brynjar and I… We are Viking descendants."
Blaise stopped where he stood and just stared in disbelief at what she just revealed.
"V-Viking descendants?" Blaise stuttered.
"Asta is the nine times great granddaughter of Abraxus Akeldama the first. He was the first Viking King and the Great Viking Wizard." Brynjar paused to let all that information settle before he pressed on. "My nine times great grandfather is Gudbrand Kykrbani, Abraxus's right hand man."
Blaise was awestruck. He was helping Vikings help bring down the Dark Lord. AND they were helping set him and his mother free. It was as though his entire knowledge on Vikings and their history was wrong. They were very decent people. Scary people, but decent nonetheless.
"We are trying to get back in the rest of the worlds good graces by trying to make up for three centuries of hell our ancestors raised." Asta explained, looking ashamed and angry at the same time.
"Ah. So history books are right about your people then." Blaise replied. "Well if it means anything at all, I forgive you for what your ancestors did ten times over."
Asta and Brynjar smiled and each of them patted Blaise on the shoulder and thanked him.
"Even one persons forgiveness means a lot." Asta stated. "We really are nice people, we are just protective and short tempered."
Blaise smiled. He could understand what she meant. He was doing everything he could to protect his mother by doing what the Malfoy matriarch and patriarch demanded. Sure he was angry that they forced him to take the mark and do everything that should have been placed on Draco's shoulders, but he would walk through fiend fire to protect his mother. She is all he has.
"Wait. I thought you guys were banned from England, like back in the 1300's?" Blaise asked. "How did you manage to sneak back into the country? The ministry has wards set up to alert them if you cross into the country's borders."
Brynjar and Asta looked guiltily from one another; Asta shuffled her feet on the floor and Brynjar nervously scratched the back of his head as he began to explain.
"Yeah." He began. "We, our ancestors that is, never really left when we were defeated 500 some-odd years ago." Brynjar admitted nervously. "We have just sort of, been living underground, so to speak. You know, out of the public eye."
Blaise was, yet again, in shock. These two have not stopped surprising him since the bound him up on the lawn an hour ago. There are Vikings living underground in Wizarding Britain, and they are on the Order's side. Even with living underground, surely along the many years in hiding, someone or some people must have stumbled across them.
All this information was so much for Blaise to take in, that he slumped down onto the step he was standing on and just stared off into space trying to wrap his mind around it all. Then something about Asta's many a great grandfather came fluttering back into his mind. Something dark.
He turned to Asta, who seemed to read his face and mind in that same instant, because she turned Gryffindor red.
"Didn't Abraxus the first try to-" Blaise began to ask but was cut off.
"-annihilate all muggleborns in the western hemisphere? Yes. Which is what I am trying to make up for." Asta said, her face hardened with rage and determination. "The last three generations of my family have all tried to right the wrongs my; many a great grandfather, his children, and his grandchildren after him all caused, but have all failed. But I will not. I will see to it that Harry Potter destroys the Snakeman once and for all, and that the idea of mass genocide of people less than pure blood witches and wizards dies with him."
Blaise had seen this girl kill two people tonight; one with her bare hands, and the other half with magic and half with her bare hands. But he was more afraid of her now than when he was watching her murder people he knew. But he also felt for her. She wanted to be accepted outside her clan of Vikings and was willing to die to prove that they have changed for the better.
Something similar to nerve grew inside him, and he rose to his feet, and brought some of his Slytherin charm to play. He grabbed her finger tips and brought them to his lips, and said, "Then my lady, I shall see to it that you get a fair chance. We will set my mother free and then I will escort you to the meeting room- what?"
Asta was shaking her head and smiling at Blaise.
"You crazy boy." She said as she patted him on the cheek. "You will leave with your mother Blaise. We, Brynjar and I, have been trained to withstand the pain and damage of the dark arts all our lives. Brynjar and I are ready for what may come but you are not."
"Yeah mate." Brynjar added, patting him on the shoulder. "We appreciate the help getting in here, and we're more than happy to free you and your mum but, you're not prepared for what we are sure is waiting for us after you've gone off somewhere safe with your mum." Brynjar leveled him with an almost fatherly look and said, "Just take care of your mum and live a little longer, okay?"
Blaise looked at both of them, really looked at the for the first time tonight, and saw what they were saying.
They both looked like they were in their late twenties, but they were his age. They looked like they were battle hardened. Asta's long black hair had small barely there streaks of silver in it. Her eyes, a brilliant blue, held visions and knowledge that no seventeen year old should have to know. She has a scar above her right eye that cuts her eyebrow in half, and if Blaise had to guess the scar was from a dark curse that couldn't be healed.
Brynjar was a big, muscular, brutish looking guy. Short dirty blonde hair, scraggly beard and mustache. Irish green eyes that seemed to be all seeing, and the depth of knowledge and experience behind those eyes was startling. His muscular arms were all scarred up, most likely from the same curse that gave Asta her scar.
Both of them looked like they were bred for war. Asta sure seemed like she was bred to do nothing but fight. It was impressive but saddening at the same time.
"Okay." Blaise nodded. "Then let's continue shall we?"
"Yes, lets." Asta replied, eager to move on from this heart to heart conversation.
Blaise began to ascend the stairs to the final floor of the Manor, where they were met by the worst person Blaise should have expected to be blocking his path his mother. Fenrir Greyback, in all his vicious werewolf glory. As soon as they reached the landing, Brynjar cast a silencing charm around them and sat back to enjoy the show.
"Well…" Blasie began. "At least it's not Bellatrix."
"Aw!" Asta mock cooed. "Brynjar! Look at the cute little doggie!"
Blaise cringed at the word doggie. Fenrir did not like being belittled by being called a dog, not one bit.
"I am not a dog you ignorant bitch!" Fenrir spat at her. "I am a werewolf!"
Asta rolled her eyes.
"Some werewolf." Asta scoffed as she moved closer to Fenrir. "You look nothing like a werewolf. You look more like the man we tortured in Thames for raping one of the little girls in our village. You remember him Brynjar?"
Brynjar chuckled. "Yeah, I do. He was ugly as fuck! Especially once we were through with him." Brynjar replied with a devious grin.
Fenrir let out a low throaty growl.
"Where are you taking them Zabini?" Fenrir asked, getting more and more annoyed by the minute.
"Visit my mother." Blaise replied, a little shaky but mostly confident.
"Not while I'm on watch you're not." Fenrir growled.
"Ohhhh." Asta said. "So doggie wants to play." She cocked her head and gave Fenrir a grin that made him snarl. "Alright doggie…. Let's play." Her smile faded.
Blaise could only thank God that Brynjar put up a silencing charm, because Fenrir and Asta's fight was the loudest of the three. Within a millisecond they were on, literally on, each other. Brawling like muggles. Fenrir pinned her to the ground and attempted, multiple times, to bite her but she was well trained. So well trained that Brynjar never felt the need to aid her or intervene once.
Asta did to Fenrir what she did to Goyle, causing Fenrir to jump back and yelp in pain. Then, just as quickly as he jumped up, Asta swung her leg up and kicked him in the groin. Earning another yelp as Fenrir fell to his knees.
Asta pushed herself up and moved so she was towering over him, and said, "Normally, I'm against animal abuse , but it your case," Asta grabbed a hold of Fenrir's head and pulled it down and thrust her knee up at the same time. "I'll make an exception." Fenrir fell to the floor unconscious.
Asta held her hand out over Fenrir's unconscious body and muttered, "SendenVater" and Fenrir's body disappeared.
"Where did you send him?" Blaise asked.
"To my father." Asta replied with a devilish grin. "He will have fun with that one."
"So which room is your mother in Blaise?" Brynjar asked, eager to keep moving forward.
Blaise was busy imagining all the torturous things he had read that Viking's do to their victims and he shuddered, grateful it was Fenrir that got sent to her father and not him. Brynjar's voice brought him back to reality and he shook his head.
"What? Oh fuck my mum!" Blaise recalled out loud, as he began tearing down the East wing opening doors to try and find his mother room.
Brynjar moved the silencing charm down the entirety of the East wing so there would be no way to attract attention.
Blaise opened almost all the doors on the east wing until he got to the third to last door, which wouldn't budge.
"Mama? Mama are you in there?" Blaise called through the door frantically.
"Blaise? Blaise? Is that you darling?" A feminine voice called through the door.
"Mama! Yes! Mama it's me and a few friends we are here to break you out!" Blaise replied with tears of joy falling from his eyes.
"Blaise, will you stand back from the door for a minute?" Asta asked as she pushed him to one side of the door.
Asta pressed her hands onto the wood of the door and closed her eyes and focused on the enchantments placed on the room.
"Don't worry Mama we are going to get you out of here!" Blaise shouted towards the door, as Asta worked on the door.
"Anything you don't know how to break?" Brynjar asked, looking confused as to why it is taking her so long to decipher the wards. It never takes her this long.
Asta just shook her head.
"No they are easy wards to break." Asta said with confusion lacing her tone. "That's what is worrying me. It's too easy."
Blaise looked nervously between Asta and Brynjar, hoping they weren't thinking of giving up on saving his mother after coming this far.
"Can you apparate into the room?" Brynjar asked.
Asta put her hands back on the door to double check what the wards were. She felt an anti-magic charm around the inside of the room, and protective charms oddly enough. Extremely simple charms to put around someone you are holding hostage.
"You can apparate into the room but your magic will be useless once in there."Asta stated, looking at the door with worry.
"Anti-magic charm?" Blaise asked.
"Anti-magic charm." Asta confirmed.
The three sat in silence for a moment or two wracking their brains for ideas of how to get in there and magic out his mother. They couldn't rescue her from the inside, so the only option they had was to try it from the outside. Asta could easily take the wards down, but the fact that the wards were such simple wards made her think there was a trap she was not seeing or feeling within the wards.
"What if I break through the wards?" Brynjar said with a smirk, looking at Asta with a knowing look.
Asta smirked back.
"I'm tempted to say yes, but the simplicity makes me nervous there is a trap within the wards." Asta said. "I would hate for you to get hurt over lack of knowledge."
Brynjar cracked his knuckles and scoffed.
"Because I've never been hurt before, right?" Brynjar mocked holding out his arms for the other two to admire.
Blaise cringed at the sight of the scars on his arms. They were deep scars judging by the dark color they were.
"No. Those aren't from the same thing that could be lurking within the wards." Asta spat so angrily, Blaise cringed double.
Brynjar frowned at her anger, and his stupidity, and walked towards the door. When he reached the door he put his hands on the door, like Asta had, and closed his eyes.
Blaise was so confused as to what they were doing when they put their hands on the door. How exactly they could figure out what the wards were just by touching something.
"What are you…How…. How can you both tell what they are just by touching the where the wards are?" Blaise asked eager to see if they were just bullshitting him or if they actually knew what they were doing.
Asta and Brynjar both looked at Blaise as though he had four heads.
"You mean you can't do that?" Brynjar asked, astounded that not everyone can do that.
Blaise shook his head.
"I guess our magic is more…." Asta paused thinking of the right word. "Evolved? Hands on? Practical?" Asta shook her head to clear it. "Whatever the word is, our magic is different and has a wider range than normal magic."
"Why don't you try it Blaise?" Brynjar asked, gesturing towards the door. "See if you can feel what we feel, or read? Not sure what word is the right one."
Blaise considered it for a moment, but decided against it. He just wanted his mum free he didn't want to learn a new magic trick at the moment.
"Perhaps another time, right now I just want to free my mother." Blaise replied, looking anxious.
"Right. Then let's get her out, shall we?" Brynjar said cockily.
"Brynjar." Asta warned. Giving him a look that would have made Blaise bow down in submission.
"What?" Brynjar asked testily. "What? Would you rather we just sit here and think of the different ways this could go wrong? We need to save them both and in case you have forgotten we have other business to tend to tonight. I will deal with whatever 'Trap' may be waiting for trespassers, but we have to keep moving forward."
Brynjar had never looked so fierce, at least not tonight or in front of Blaise, as he did at that moment. Blaise actually backed away from where he was next to Brynjar, for fear of getting caught in between the two Viking's.
Asta and Brynjar stared at each other for a few moments, sizing each other up. Before long Asta nodded her head in agreement and gestured towards the door. Brynjar turned towards the door and ran his hand over where, Blaise assumed, he felt the wards begin.
"Alright." He said. "Stand back guys."
Before Blaise could move or ask why he had to back up more, Brynjar drew his right arm back, then thrust it forward and punched the wards with all his strength. As soon as his fist connected with the wards, there was a loud explosion-like sound and a bright flash of light as the wards disintegrated before them.
As Brynjar pulled his fist back, he heard Blaise's mother scream from the commotion, and he heard Asta curse.
"Shit!" Asta exclaimed as she hastily moved towards Brynjar and grabbed his arm in her hand. "I knew something like this would happen!"
Blaise edged towards where the other two stood to get a better look at what Asta was going on about, and he gasped at what he saw.
Brynjar's hand looked like someone had taken a sledge hammer to it. His fingers were bent at odd angles, his palm was swollen, and his entire hand was completely soaked in blood.
Asta unzipped a little pouch that she had strapped to her left leg, and pulled out a full sized bottle of skele-grow and a shot glass. She poured Brynjar a shot of skele-grow, and went to go back to dig in her pouch for bandages when she noticed Blaise standing there in horror.
"Hey!" Asta snapped as she pulled out ointment and bandages and replaced the skele-grow and shot glass in her pouch. "What are you standing around for?!" She asked a confused and scared looking Blaise. "Go get your mother and get somewhere safe! Now!"
Blaise snapped back to reality from Asta's command. He had to save his mother and get out of there. Blaise darted towards the door, flung it open, and ran right into his mother.
"Mama!" Blaise cried as he pulled his mother into a big tight hug.
"Blaise!" His mother cried as she burst into tears at the sight of her son, alive and well and here to rescue her.
Blaise was elated to have his mother back and safe. He had spent the few months the Malfoy's had her hostage picturing all the horrid things he thought they were doing to her, and now that he could see her, unscathed and healthy, he was over the moon. To know that they took care of her while they were holding her here was a blessing. Now he had to keep her safe, ensure that nothing happened to her again.
"Come on mama, we have to go. Now." Blaise said as her grasped her hand and pulled her towards the door. Towards where Asta and Brynjar were.
"Blaise where are you going?" His mother asked as she halted abruptly at the doorway.
Asta had bandaged up Brynjar's hand and was now giving him a shot of pain potion, while muttering a protection spell on his bandages to keep them intact. Asta spun around as she was replacing the potion and glass back into her pouch, to see Blaise and his mother standing in the doorway staring at them.
"Blaise, what are you doing you need to get out of here!" Asta exclaimed as she struggled to replace the bottle in her pouch.
Blaise looked at her, slightly scared slightly in shock at how fast she tended to Brynjar's wounds.
"I… I know… I just wanted to say thank you for helping me save my mother." Blaise explained nervously as his mother wrung his hand.
Asta's expression softened and she walked towards Blaise and wrapped her arms around him and gave him a half hearted, yet warm hug.
"You're welcome Blaise." Asta said softly as she pulled out of the hug and stepped back to admire him and his mother for a moment.
She had never seen a bond so strong and full of love, like the one that she saw right before her. It was nice to see a mother and her son love each other and be as close as they are. A bond she, unfortunately, never had with her own mother.
"Yeah. You're welcome mate, but we really got to get moving." Brynjar said as he looked watched his friend anxiously. "Right Asta?"
Asta's face was tight and her jaw was clenched, when she heard Brynjar say her name she relaxed and nodded her head.
"Right." She said firmly. "We have a party to crash. You two need to leave."
"Go somewhere they won't think to look for you, and lay low until you hear that the Snakeman is dead, you understand?" Brynjar asked with a stern look at Blaise and his mother.
Blaise nodded and looked at his mother and tugged her hand lightly, and smiled.
"You ready mama?" Blaise asked softly.
His mother nodded, and mouthed 'thank you' to Brynjar and Asta, before turning to Blaise and squeezing his hand.
"Alright. Thank you again, both of you. I will never be able to repay you for this." Blaise said before he and his mom disapparated, leaving Brynjar and Asta staring at their recently vacated spot.
"Are you ok Asta?" Brynjar asked as he placed his non injured hand on her shoulder. "I know it's hard for you to see-"
"I'm fine." Asta said cutting him off. "Now come on B." Asta said as she turned to face her friend with a devilish grin on her face. "We've got a party to crash."