Chapter 26: Snatchers

Going Home Again by This Way to the Egress

Bad Guy by Billie Eilish

Four weeks.

Ted and Elara had left Tonks Cottage four weeks ago, and they were no closer to getting Ted out of the country or finding Harry than they were the day they left. The only difference between now and then was the snowfall came in thick, freezing sheets and they were beginning to run low on food and nutrient potions.

The contact that Ted had that was supposed to help him get a Muggle passport and exchange his wizarding money for muggle money had gone quiet two weeks ago. Ted had set up some sort of special box system through the muggle post office that Elara didn't quite understand, in order to communicate with the man. Ted had received his last letter two weeks ago. After sending four letters in two weeks, with no reply, they came to the conclusion that the man had either been captured, fled town, or killed.

Ted was creative, however, and they had been drafting a plan to get their hands on an unregistered portkey so that Elara could tinker with it to send him someplace safe while she remained behind to continue her search for Harry.

That was what had led them to Diagon Alley just before Christmas.

When they apparated outside the Leaky Cauldron, Elara's pulse began racing as the nerves set in. She adjusted the shoulder straps of her bag and felt the contents shift inside of it. Ted had been adamant that she pack the tent and what little provisions they had left in her own bag, should they get separated. He still held out hope that she would come with him once they located a portkey.

Elara was disguised, her hair transfigured a similar inky black to that of Harry's, turned into a very short bob that hit just below her chin. She had changed the structure of her jaw and nose, and her teeth were now much larger in her mouth, nearly protruding past her lips. Her nose was shorter now, but slightly hooked and when she caught a glimpse of herself in the window she realized she looked much older.

Good.

Ted took her hand and they strolled through the Leaky, giving a curt nod to the barkeeper and bee lining for the back door. Once they entered the small alley, Ted brandished his wand and tapped against the bricks. Elara tapped her foot impatiently, her stomach twisting in knots as she waited for the archway to open. It felt too calm here, too quiet. As if all the raw emotions of the community had been sucked dry and left behind only a shell of what it was. As soon as they stepped foot in Diagon Alley, she understood why.

Dementors.

There were swarms of them, floating through the cobblestone roads and in between the businesses. All being held back by a few patrolling silvery animals she hadn't seen before. An eagle, a bobcat, a greyhound… All wandering up and down the center street as tall, cloaked figures wearing silver masks marched from one end of the street to the other.

Elara quickly pulled Ted into an alcove behind Eyelops Owl Emporium and pulled her wand from her sleeve.

"I'm going to cast a notice-me-not," She said. "I think it'll be too obvious if we use a disillusionment. The Dementors might still sense us. At least if we use a notice-me-not and the Death Eaters see us, they won't pay us any mind."

"Good thinking," Ted said.

Elara offered a half-hearted smile before casting the charm over each of them and grasping his hand again. She could feel his nerves prickling against her, his apprehension of the situation at hand matching her own and she wondered if they should turn back. Before she could voice the concern, he pulled her onto the footpath and they moved swiftly down the stretch of road.

Her eyes flickered over every business as they passed, a sickening sense of dread sitting heavy in her stomach. She didn't like this, not one bit. It felt unnatural to be here. The once lively road, full of laughing people and smiling children just before Christmas was empty. What windows hadn't been smashed in, were boarded up and she nearly choked when she saw Fred and George's shop.

It had been destroyed.

The front door was hanging from the hinges, glass sparkled against the stones like diamonds and inside, she could see every bit of merchandise that had been left on the shelves was torn to shreds. Her heart shattered, fell into pieces as she stared into the broken windows of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. As she stared at the life work of people she cared about, busted up and scattered all over the floor as if it meant nothing.

"Do you think they're okay?" Elara whispered.

Ted nodded, "They're smart lads, I'm sure they're safe."

Elara swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat and pushed forward, her feet heavy as lead as she moved beside her Uncle, trying to steady her panicked breaths. Slowly, they rounded the dark corner at the sign pointing to Knockturn Alley, and she felt like she could breathe again, for a brief moment.

There were no Dementors present here, only the strange misfits that usually occupied the space. A dark haired witch with cloudy eyes and missing teeth looked up from a stand she sat behind, a crystal ball before her. Elara almost laughed at the absurdity of it, the witch looked like the caricature of a seer that she had watched on Hermione's telly while she stayed there early in the summer.

They moved through the dark alley, passing Cobb & Webb's she wondered where they were supposed to be meeting this person who sold unregistered portkeys. Elara now realized, too late on her part, she had not asked enough questions. She had no idea how Ted had heard of this person, or how they were supposed to trust that this person wouldn't test to make sure they weren't under any spells to disguise themselves.

She thought back to a time where she had walked down Knockturn Alley with her father, his large hand gripping her small one as she sucked on a sugar quill that she promised not to tell her mother about. The strange occupants of Knockturn Alley would give a wide berth, crossing the road when Lucius Malfoy walked the street. It didn't matter if he was holding the hand of his nine year old daughter, it was the other hand the people here had feared. The one that was gripped around the platinum head of a serpent that would draw his wand and curse them into oblivion.

Elara realized now that the low level of fear and anxiety she always associated with Knockturn Alley was not due to the place itself. Infact, she felt none of that now; just an overall sense of uneasiness and mystery, really. It was due to the tall, blonde man who called her "poppet" and "flower" and told her that if she didn't touch anything in the shop, he would buy her sweets and a new Hissing Azalea sapling.

There would be no sugar quills or carnivorous plants during this trip and Elara quickly found an ache in her chest that pulled her memory from the fearsome, respected man her father had once been, and replaced it with the thin, fading man she had met in Azkaban Prison. The man with scars on his fingers from rat bites and a dirty blonde beard hanging from his too-thin face.

"I don't like this place," Elara whispered, clutching onto Ted's arm. "It feels all wrong here, Ted."

"Knockturn Alley is much darker a place and-

"I've been here more times than I can count," She interrupted. "It's not that. It's… It's a feeling. Something is wrong. Please, let's go back. This isn't right, something isn't right."

"You're nervous," Ted insisted. "It's okay. We're nearly there."

Elara whimpered quietly and swallowed back her fear, trying to tame the racing of her heart against her sternum as they turned right and walked to the end of the alley. Ted placed a hand on the twisted brass handle that stuck out of the door labeled The White Wyvern and pulled the heavy walnut door open.

Inside, the pub was dimly lit and much cleaner than Elara would have imagined for a place like Knockturn Alley. She followed Ted to the back of the pub, sliding into the booth and scooting closer to the wall to make room for Ted. He slid in next to her and ordered them both a Butterbeer while they waited for their contact to arrive.

Her eyes scanned the surrounding tables. There weren't many people inside the small pub, she assumed with it being so close to Christmas and the state of Diagon Alley, most of the patrons that would be here have probably elected to stay home with their families. The ones who hadn't been captured or killed, at least. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, she felt hot and nervous, her palms clammy against the glass of Butterbeer,

Elara forced herself to calm down, to take a sip of the rich liquid she didn't usually imbibe in and try to relax. Ted was intelligent, she had to trust he knew what he was doing. She had to trust that the contact was someone he knew that was just meeting them here so they didn't blow their cover and-

Her stomach dropped into her feet the moment she locked eyes with the man making his way to their booth from the back alley entrance. She knew this man. She had seen him more than once. Elara's mind began racing as she tried to put together the pieces of the puzzle, trying desperately to remember why she knew who this was, where she had seen him before. His long hair looked nearly matted and had a few bright colored feathers woven through it. He was tall and thin with a sharply pointed jawline and a slightly crooked nose. His dark eyes sat deep against his olive toned skin and his tightly fitted robes were worn.

"Firewhiskey," He said.

And with that one word, the hazy memory of the days after her splinching slammed into the front of her mind.

"I've got a feeling we ought to hang around this forest a few days. If we're finding loose sickles around it could be her…"

Snatchers.

Panic bloomed in her chest as the man made his way toward them, a venomous smile on his face as he stalked closer to their table. Elara's eyes grew wide and shook her sleeve, beckoning her wand into her hand. Ted hadn't seen him yet, hadn't even looked up from his Butterbeer.

"Snatchers, Uncle Ted. He's a snatcher. He's one of the ones I saw in the woods after I got separated from Harry. We have to go, we have to go right now." Elara whispered as fiercely as she could, shoving on him to get him to move from the booth.

Ted looked at her for a moment, his brows furrowed together and confusion pumping through him. Finally, he registered the look of fear on her face and got up from the booth, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the exit.

"Hey! You didn't pay! Hey! That's eight sickles!" The Barkeeper yelled as they pushed the door open.

Elara dared a look over her shoulder and saw the snatcher pick up his pace, his eyes locked on hers again and another sickening smile pulled his face into a split. She whipped back around and before she knew it, she and Ted were running back the way they came. Tearing up the crooked back streets of Knockturn Alley and flying around the corner into the Dementor swarm of Diagon Alley.

She could hear the pounding of footsteps on the pavement behind her, the heavy puffs of breath at their back and a crazed sort of excitement seeping from the man as he chased them.

"Where can we go?!" She cried, her breath choking her as they began sprinting toward the entrance of the Alley. "Where can we go?!"

"Muggle London!" Ted said, "We need to get to Muggle London! We can shake him loose there!"

"Them," Elara corrected, looking over her shoulder again. Two more men had joined him in their chase. "There's three of them now!"

"Fuck!" Ted swore, his grip tightening on Elara's arm.

They reached the entrance to the alley and the bricks moved quickly as they approached. Elara slid to a halt, bouncing on her toes as she waited for the bricks to slide into place and again, she and Ted were running. Sprinting through the Leaky Cauldron and knocking over chairs in their haste. She heard the confusion of the patrons inside as the old bar manager, Tom, hollered after them.

Ted pushed open the door leading to the streets of Muggle London and stopped briefly, looking at his surroundings before grabbing Elara's hand and dragging her to the right. They dodged groups of carolers and shoppers, mothers with children who gave them nasty looks as they practically bowled their children over.

"Out of the way! Move!" Elara shouted, shoving past an elderly couple that was holding shopping bags. "Sorry!" She yelled over her shoulder.

"They're still behind us!" Ted shouted, a few steps behind Elara. "Keep running!"

"Where?! Where are we going?!"

"Anywhere!" He yelled, "Anywhere! Just keep running!"

Her lungs burned from the cold air and the lack of oxygen as her feet moved faster across the icy cement. She took a corner around an ancient looking building and slid into a rubbish bin. Ted grabbed her bicep and yanked her to her feet, pulling her behind him as he kept moving. Down the alley, there were no muggles. Ted fired off a Stupefy behind him and Elara shouted "Impedimenta!" throwing her wand blindly behind her and hoping it hit one of the wizards on their tail.

Rage. Excitement. Glee. Anger.

The emotions were cycling so quickly it made her dizzy. She couldn't tell from who the stronger ones, the more furious ones, were coming from. There was no time to think about it, no time to assess the situation and see who was following them.

"You'll have to do better than that, Mudbloods!" One of them yelled as Ted threw another hex over his shoulder.

"I can stop them!" Elara yelled. "Uncle Ted! I can stop them!"

"Elara, no!" He shouted back. "No! Absolutely not!"

He pulled her around another corner and they skid to a stop, Elara nearly smacking into the brick of a building. "We're trapped!" She said, "Ted, We're trapped! Where do we go?"

"Apparate!" He said, "Anywhere! Take us back to-

As Elara grabbed her Uncle's arm and began visualizing their old campsite, she felt her wand get ripped from her hand just as the disarming spell left the lips of the man chasing them.

"Thought you could outrun us, did you?" The snatcher said, grabbing Elara by the hair and pulling her toward him. "Aye, you're a right ugly bitch, aren't you!"

"Leave her alone. She's halfblood! Take me, I'm a muggleborn! Please, leave her alone!" Ted said, struggling against the largest of the snatchers who had him forced to his knees, his hands bound behind him.

"Uncle, I can-

"No!" He shouted. "Elara, No!"

"Elara?" The snatcher that had his hand wrapped in her hair yanked her head back, looking down at her face. "Why is that name so familiar?"

"That's the name of the Malfoy brat, innit, Scabior?" The snatcher that held their wands said.

The dark eyes of Scabior lit up with delight. "Aye, it is. Are you a Malfoy, lass?" He stared down at her face, his eyes narrowing as they locked in on hers. "Silver eyes, don't see that too often, do you? Finite."

Elara gasped as her teeth ground and turned, straightening out and tucking back into her mouth. Her chin narrowed and shrank as her nose elongated slightly, turning up to a small point. She cried out as her hair grew, around Scabior's hand, the hair not in his grasp falling just above her waist in white blonde strands.

"We've just made a payday, boys." Scabior nearly squealed.

Ted forced himself up from his knees, throwing himself backward into the large wizard behind him, smacking the man in the face with the back of his head. He then charged forward, bowling Scabior and the other snatcher to the ground.

"Go!" Ted yelled. "Ellie! Go! RUN!"

"No!" She said, "Not without you! Not without-

"Avada Kedavra!"

"NO!" Elara screamed as the words left Scabior's mouth, a bright green light flashing, hitting Ted in the chest where he stood. "NO!"

Ted swayed and collapsed to the ground, in a heap of limbs and fair hair. Elara couldn't breathe. She felt like the air had been ripped from her lungs as another scream caught in her throat. Her jaw fell open, her mouth trying to force something out, but no sound would come.

He was dead.

Intelligent, witty, caring, funny Uncle Ted laid on the ground in a heap. Gone. In the blink of an eye, his life was stolen from him by a greasy snatcher for the price of one Malfoy heir. She felt sick. The vomit burned the back of her throat and finally, a scream of pure, white-hot fury tore from her chest. She reached her hands behind her, to the man who was now laughing, twisting her hair off her scalp, and gripped his face with all the force she could manage at the strange angle.

"You killed him!" Elara screamed, "You'll pay for that!"

She felt every nerve in her arm tingle with furious magic as it raced down her hand and through her fingers. She dug through the man's mind, forcing him into pain and agony, relishing in his screams as he dropped the grip on her hair and fell to his knees, his head in his hands.

"What are you doing to me?!" He cried, "STOP! STOP!"

The larger of the snatchers took off down the alley, the opposite way they had come and she threw her hand up, watching as the man slammed into the brick building, sliding down it with his head split open. She rounded on the third who was holding his wand out at her, her own wand and Ted's clutched tight in his hand, staring in horror as he looked at the leader of his group writhing in pain and screaming on the ground.

She locked eyes with him and stepped forward, a smirk that felt too much like her father, on her face. He stepped back and she laughed, "Stepping away won't help you now. You should have stopped when you had the chance!"

Terror. Fear. Panic.

Good.

Elara locked in on the panic the man was feeling and intensified it, watching as he dropped to the ground, clutching his chest and sobbing loudly. She felt a sneer pull across her face and as she turned around she was met with the large snatcher she had thrown against the wall. His head was split open and blood was pouring down his face. He grabbed her by the hair and forced her to the ground, smacking her head into the stone.

"No!" She cried, digging her nails into his hand, trying to steady her mind and hold a grip on him to get into his mind.

She screamed out as her face hit the cement of the alley floor once more and she heard three distinct cracks of apparition before everything faded to black. The metallic taste of blood in her mouth and the distant sound of Scabior's screams echoing in her mind.

.

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a/n: I hope you liked the chapter! Please leave a review and let me know what you thought!

I will be posting an EXTRA chapter this week on Friday! And by the looks of it, we're a little over halfway through the story now! I'm expecting this to run right around 50 chapters, but that could change, so don't hold me to that number lol

Just a reminder, I had a FB group (Mimifreed Writing) and I post chapter specific photo manip and mood boards there FOR EVERY CHAPTER. I also have the link to the complete Enemies of the Heir playlist there as well, so you should come join me and hang out!

Anyway, thanks for reading! See you guys and gals and everything in between on friday!

xo

mimi