Disclaimer: Everything Harry Potter related is copyrighted to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers.


Chapter 3: Terror In the Night

Joined by three other masked figures, Regulus hurried down an old cobblestone road. He pulled his robes more tightly around his body, shivering in the chilly night air. The dark, swirling clouds overhead emitted a light drizzle and the rumble of thunder sounded in the distance. The group turned the corner and passed by many empty houses with darkened windows and unkempt gardens.

"Do you think he's expecting us?" Regulus asked as they continued through a shadowy alleyway.

"Every Death Eater knows the punishment for betraying the Dark Lord," Regulus recognized the contemptuous voice of Severus Snape. "I'm sure he has realized that he would have to face the consequences eventually."

"What exactly did he do?"

"The Dark Lord suspects him of spying for the Order," Bellatrix said. "That's his house up ahead." She gestured towards a crumbling, ancient cottage at the end of the street. Its chimney was completely caved in and the paint was beginning to chip off. Ivy snaked its way around the home and crept in through one of its broken windows.

The group marched up the garden path and, as they approached the front door, Macnair said, "No point in using stealth this time." There was a loud bang and the door was blasted off its hinges; it landed on the floor with a thud, kicking up a cloud of thick dust.

Regulus followed the others as they streamed through the doorway and into the house. Glancing around the room, he spotted a man sitting on a chair in the corner; Regulus noticed that he seemed strangely unaffected and calm for someone who was staring at the imminent face of death. The man appeared to be well into his thirties, with dark brown hair and protruding eyebrows. He was dressed in an old tan traveling cloak, and his wand sat uselessly on a stool near the fireplace.

"It really was pointless to come here tonight," he addressed them. "A group of Aurors are already on their way."

Regulus frowned in disbelief.

"You're bluffing?" Macnair scoffed, apparently sharing Regulus' thoughts.

The man simply shook his head in response and stood up from his seat on the chair. "No, I'm not—I contacted them immediately after my anti-intruder jinxes alerted me to your arrival." He stalked casually over to the left window and peered out of it with a fake expression of mild interest.

"You know well what we are here for," Bellatrix said, as she raised her wand.

The man kept his back to them and remained silent, although Regulus noticed him shift uncomfortably.

"You have been accused of being a traitor to the Dark Lord…" said Snape. "… Of passing on information to the Order of the Phoenix… Do you agree with this accusation?"

"I-I don't—" His answer was drowned out by a loud crack of thunder. The flash of lightening lit up the house with an eerie blue light.

"No servant can serve two masters," Snape continued, clearly enjoying the note of panic in the man's voice. "He will either hate one and revere the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other."

"Enough talk, Severus!" Macnair shouted suddenly, stepping forward with his wand held threateningly. "The Aurors might burst through the door any minute—Let's finish it, now!"

"My loyalties…" the man wrung his hands nervously and dithered on the spot, his eyes darting towards the door as if he was trying to decide whether or not to make a run for it. "…Lie with Dumbledore!" He made a quick lunge for his wand on the stool, and, having grabbed it, turned to face the four of them. Macnair raised his wand to perform a curse.

"Expelliarmus!" Regulus shouted; both Macnair and the man's wands promptly flew out of their hands and landed on the other side of the room. "Sorry!" Regulus called guiltily, as the pair raced off after them, Macnair cursing under his breath.

At that moment, however, the fireplace flared to life and five wizards and witches burst out of the green flames, their wands fixed on the four Death Eaters in the room. One of the Aurors said, "This is the Ministry! You're under arrest!" She spotted the man in the corner; he had just managed to snatch his wand back and was now glaring at Macnair. "Sir, are you alright?"

"Yes," he replied curtly. "But I must say you took an awful long time to come here!"

"What do you expect?" Bellatrix sneered. "It's the Ministry… Always there when you don't need them and never there when you do."

"Lower your wand!" One of the other wizards ordered.

"As you wish," Bellatrix grinned mockingly and pointed her wand instead at the carpet at the wizard's feet. "Incendio!" Within the next second, the carpet was in flames and the formation of Aurors had backed up out of the way. "Go!"

Regulus didn't need telling twice; he bolted out the door in all of the smoke and confusion. "But what about Doyle?" He shouted over his shoulder to the others, referring to the man they had come to kill.

"It is done! Go!" Macnair said, motioning for Regulus to keep running. "Severus took care of him! Keep going—the fire won't hold the Aurors off for long—" There was another clap of thunder and a tree in the distance was struck with a bolt of lightening, causing it to crack and burst into flame.

Looking back, Regulus saw Snape emerge from the house, his black robes smeared with soot.

"Doyle placed anti-apparition boundaries around the area," he said as he reached them. "We have to make it across the bridge up ahead before we can Disapparate."

"There they go! Stun them!" There were shouts from behind them that told Regulus the Aurors were following in pursuit.

"Sectumsempra!" he heard Snape shout from beside him; there was a yell of pain that pierced the night.

Regulus ducked as a jinx narrowly missed his head, and shot his own spell at the Ministry officials, "Imedimenta!"

They were almost at the small, stone bridge that stretched over a river of stormy, churning water. The Aurors were close behind them; Regulus continued ducking, blocking, and dodging to evade their flurry of hexes as he sprinted towards the beginning of the bridge. He watched as Macnair and Snape arrived on the other side of it and Disapparated.

"Look out!" he heard Bellatrix hiss, and he hastily leapt to the side as a large, silvery spell shot by him; there was a sickening crack as the spell struck the bridge, and the structure collapsed, the stone remains plummeting into the water far below.

Regulus felt a pang of panic as their only chance of escape was carried away with the violent current. He came to an abrupt halt, standing back-to-back with Bellatrix, as the group of Aurors surrounded them, their wand tips pointing directly at their hearts.


Don't you just love evil cliffhangers? At least they're not as bad as the Cruciatus Curse... Well, stay tuned for more and thanks for reading! Reviews would be nice as well!

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