Disclaimer: I own not, you sue not. For specific disclaimer information, please see the previous chapter.
Rating: PG-13 for this chapter, but it'll go up to R before story's end.
Special thanks to all the T&M 'shippers over at HPB. This
one's for you, Ladies! :)
Someone To Watch Over Me: Chapter 1
© 2003, By: Ash Carroll (a.k.a. OlliKat)
She blinked, squinting her eyes against the sun. Morning? Already? No, that couldn't be right. It couldn't be ... she glanced at her desk clock. 'MODEL DUE!'
Jumping up, she knocked over the model she'd spent half the night building. It hit the floor with an unpleasant crash, pieces skittering across the linoleum. "Oh cr-"
"'Morning, Mandy," Preston Rhinehardt, Head of the Department of Magical Building Design, greeted her.
"-rumbs," she finished, just catching herself. "Good morning, sir."
"Mr. Rhinehardt," Lisa Turpin greeted him with far too much enthusiasm for so early in the day, "good morning!"
She shot Mandy a look, which thankfully, Rhinehardt missed, indicating the mess on the floor with her eyes. Mandy was never so glad for the other girl's oft-times annoyingly bubbly personality. Pointing her wand at the model, she muttered a reparo and levitated it back onto the desk.
No sooner had it landed than Rhinehardt turned to her. "Mandy."
"Yes, sir?"
"Are the final plans for Gringott's new renovation ready yet?"
She shuffled a few items on her desk, plucking up a roll of paper and handed it to him, followed by the model. "Just as you requested."
He nodded. "Good work," he called over his shoulder, heading toward his office.
Lisa turned to Mandy. "Did you sleep here last night?"
"I suppose I must have, but I don't remember dozing off. Of course, I don't even remember what my flat looks like, so that doesn't mean much."
"Well, you've haven't seen it in what, months, with the wicked hours you've been keeping, working on this Gringott's renovation? It's a miracle you can remember your own name."
Mandy sighed, covering a yawn. "Right." She thought for a moment. "What is it again?"
Lisa gave a bubbly laugh, unaware that she was only half-joking. Expanding the already enormous wizarding bank's Diagon Alley premises to add new vaults was no small job, requiring many a long evening spent burning the midnight oil; and there were countless days that Mandy would have given her soul to the Dark Lord for the promise of a warm bubble bath and a decent night's sleep.
"Oi, Lis," Dean Thomas called from a cubicle a few doors up, "morning meeting's about to start."
The brunette sighed. "All right," she called back, then turned to Mandy with an apologetic look. "Duty calls."
"You'd better answer before Orpington blows his top."
Gray Orpington, Lead Designer for their department, was notoriously hard; the slightest infraction set him off.
Lisa nodded. "I'll see you later, then," she chirped, then slipped off down the hall.
"Thank Merlin," Mandy muttered, glad to be rid of the human sugar quill for at least the next hour or so. Honestly, how could the girl be so damned hyper so early?
Shaking her head, she sighed, turning to her desk. If she knew the Gringott's Goblins, there'd be all kinds of adjustments to make. They were worse than Professor Snape, really; it was nigh-impossible to please them. But being that there was no further work to be done on the renovations until Rhinehardt concluded the meeting, she pulled out her materials and began work on building the model for the next project.
~*~*~* *~*~*~
For the next hour, she kept herself busy constructing what would become Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes' Hogsmeade premises in what used to be Zonko's Joke Shop. She was just putting the roof on the model when a loud commotion erupted down the hall.
Someone shouted. "Death Eat-"
"Avada Kedavra!" They were cut off mid-word as a glaring green light filled the corridor.
Heart pounding, she drew her wand as a group of four black-robed, hooded figures entered the room. Without preamble, she aimed at the first one. "Expelliarmus!"
He was thrown across the room, his wand sailing toward her. She caught it neatly in her left hand. She'd never bested Harry Potter or Hermione Granger in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but she'd consistantly scored the top marks of all Ravenclaws in her year.
She pointed one wand at the first again and the other at the one standing next to him. "Silencio!" Having successfully silenced them, she wasted no time in ensuring they would be no further threat. "Petrificus totalus!"
They went immediately stiff, arms and legs snapping together as they tipped backward to land on the floor with a thud. One of the remaining two able to speak leveled his wand at her. "Crucio!"
Mandy hit her knees, clutching her head in both hands as a searing pain tore through it. After a few excruciating minutes the pain dissipated. She tried to pull herself to her feet, only to be sent flying by an impediment charm, groaning as her head contacted the wall with a loud thud, her body sliding down the smooth surface to land in a crumpled heap on the floor.
"Do you have any idea who I am?" she demanded as the two remaining Death Eaters advanced.
The one on the left gave a dry laugh. "Of course we do, wench. Why do you think we're here?"
~*~*~* *~*~*~
Alarms rang through the Auror headquarters, mobilizing a large number of the blue-robed force.
"Higgs!"
He turned to see Simon Vincent, a fellow Auror with his unit, running down the corridor. "What's going on?" he queried, as the other man skidded to a stop in front of him.
"Death Eaters are attacking the Department of Magical Building Design. We've been called up."
"Better move, then," Terence suggested, and the two joined the rest of their unit, apparating outside the Ministry offices.
"All right, men," their unit commander was saying, "move in and spread out. And for the love of Merlin, be careful. There've already been casualties."
Terence and Simon exchanged glances, nodding once before racing up the steps, wands drawn. They moved through the building's Lobby with cautious steps.
"This way," Simon called over his shoulder as they approached a corridor.
Terence listened for a moment. Screams came from direction Simon had said, but he heard voices further down as well. His gut was telling him to turn right.
He grabbed the back of the other man's robe and shook his head, pointing the opposite direction. "That way."
"Why? There are people up there that need help!"
"Gardner and Smythe can handle it. And I don't know why; but something's telling me we have to go that way."
Simon studied his friend for a brief moment. Higgs wasn't just an Auror, he was a damn good Auror, with damn good instincts; ones that had saved his life on more than one occasion. And if they were telling him to go right, then right they would go.
"All right," he agreed. "That way."
They moved as quickly as they dared, eyes open for a surprise attack out of an office doorway. The voices were getting louder, but he couldn't make out what was being said. He glanced at Simon. The other man nodded and picked up his pace.
They arrived in the doorway to see an auburn-haired witch cornered by a pair of Death Eaters. Terence signaled to Simon, and the blond man fired off an impediment charm, sending the one on the right flying. The other pointed his wand at the witch.
"Av-"
Terence glanced around the room, spying a large model on one of the desks. He pointed his wand at it, and with a swish, a flick, and a 'wingardium leviosa', levitated it between the witch and the Death Eater's wand; just as the latter finished the incantation.
"-ada Kedavra!"
The model shattered from the force of the green beam, leaving the witch unharmed. She seemed surprised for a moment, but recovered quickly and aimed at her attacker.
"Reducto!"
He flew sideways, blasted out of her path, as more Death Eaters entered the room, wands at the ready. One of them hit her with an imperious curse, but she shrugged it off, firing back with a stunner; sending him flying into a nearby wall.
Simon, meanwhile, had managed to secure his opponent with a full body bind. Terence rolled sideways to avoid a 'crucio', poniting his wand at the man.
"Impedimenta!" The Death Eater went flying, slumping against a wall, while across the room, the witch silenced another one and fired off two stunners.
The first put one Death Eater down, while the second ruby beam missed, impacting the far wall. Simon hit the second man from the rear with a full body bind. Terence dodged a stunner, firing an impediment curse which knocked the Death Eater sprawling onto a desk. He pulled himself back to his feet, along with the first one the witch had sent flying.
"Another day, then, wench," the first one said, and the remaining Death Eaters apparated away.
Murphy, another with their unit came running down the hallway and poked his head in the door. "Vincent," he called, "you're needed up the corridor."
Simon glanced around the room before turning to his fellow Auror. "You can manage, then?"
"We're ace," he replied, "go on."
The blond man nodded quickly then left with Murphy, their footsteps retreating down the hall.
~*~*~* *~*~*~
Mandy looked around the room, taking in the mess that used to be her office with a growing sense of annoyance. It looked as though an earthquake had hit it, with broken furniture and papers strewn across the floor. She glanced over at the brown-haired Auror that had remained, smoothing her robes and straightening her hair before approaching him.
"I'll be needing a formal statement," he informed her, paying her minimal attention as he surveyed the room.
She gave her auburn locks a haughty toss. "You lummoxes ruined my office. Is that enough of a formal statement for you?"
"You might show a bit more gratitude for the 'lummoxes' who just saved your life."
Her blue-gray eyes regarded him coolly. "I'm not a weak damsel, sir, and I never asked for your assistance. For your information, I'm quite capable of taking care of mysel-"
He noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye, and pointed his wand. "Petrificus totalus!"
The beam shot past her head, and she whipped around just in time to see one of the ones she'd stunned earlier tip backward, arms and legs snapped together. He brought his wand tip to his lips and blew on it, grinning cheekily.
"You were saying?"
She opened her mouth to speak, but thought better and abruptly closed it, pinning him with an icy glare as she stalked off in annoyance, his disgusted voice calling after her retreating form.
"You're welcome!"
~*~*~* *~*~*~
Josef Brocklehurst sat at his desk, reading over the latest proposal from the advising council. He rubbed his tired eyes, the words beginning to swim together on the page.
A knock sounded, and he called out in answer. "Enter."
The door opened to admit his secretary, wearing a look of concern on her delicate features. He set down the parchment, giving her his full attention.
"What is it, Agnes?"
"Ill news, sir. There was an escape at Azkaban."
"How many?"
"Just one, sir. Cellblock 1331B."
"When?"
"Last night."
"Why wasn't I told?"
"We were only just informed this morning."
"Put out an alert; see that all Aurors are informed."
She nodded, but made no move to leave, looking as though she had more to say.
"Is there something else?"
She gave no response, wringing her hands nervously.
"Agnes?"
"The Department of Magical Building Design was attacked by Death Eaters this morning."
He felt the blood drain from his face. "Casualties?"
She nodded. "Rhinehardt, Orpington, several others."
"Amanda?"
He choked on the word; voice cracking, blocked by the lump in his throat.
"There's been no word yet."
He rose abruptly. "I'm going down there."
Agnes' hand shot out and grasped his arm. "Wait, sir-"
Josef turned to face her with anxious blue eyes. "I have to know." He held her gaze a moment longer, then called for an escort and apparated away.
~*~*~* *~*~*~
She slowed as she approached the meeting room. A group of mediwizards escorted a small fleet of conjured stretchers, bearing the dead from the battle covered in white sheets. She stopped one of the Aurors.
"The people in the room, are they all ..."
"Not all," he replied, "the goblin ducked under the table unnoticed and was spared, though injured badly. And a young man ..." he consulted his notes, "Thomas. Dean."
"But the others ..." she couldn't finish.
He nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so, miss."
"Th-thank you," she managed, stumbling away in a daze.
This wasn't happening. It couldn't be. Rhinehardt, Orpington, Lisa ... all of them, gone. She was numb. Rhinehardt was someone she'd respected greatly; Orpington, too, although he was difficult to get along with. Then there was Lisa, who could be downright annoying at times with her ever-perky disposition. Mandy had never really considered her a friend; rather more of a work acquaintance, but she'd never have wished her this fate.
"Amanda!"
She turned at the sound of her name, launching herself into her father's open arms.
"Oh, thank Merlin," Josef murmured, hugging her so fiercely that she could barely breathe. "I got word, but no one could tell me about you and I was so worried." He pulled back after a moment, cradling her face in his hands. "Are you all right?"
She nodded. "But the others ..."
"I know." He kissed her forehead. "We'll figure out why this happened."
"I already know why." She bit her lip and raised her head to meet his eyes. "They were after me."
~*~*~* *~*~*~
Terence double-checked the shackles on the last prisoner. He wasn't taking any chances, even if the man was still under the effects of a full body bind. Simon, returned from down the corridor, glanced at the Death Eaters shackled and held in a group.
"Is this all of them?"
The brown-haired man nodded. "They're ready to be transported."
"Better get to it, then." Simon looked around the room. "Where is she?"
"Who?"
"The witch."
Higgs shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. She stormed off with her knickers in a knot."
"Didn't you at least get her name?"
"Why would I want it?"
The blond man stared at him. "Are you blind, mate? She's bloody gorgeous."
"And bloody snobbish. You'd think she could have mustered up a bit more gratitude for someone who'd just had her life saved. No, mate. If I never see her again, it'll be too soon." He gestured to the prisoners. "Let's get them out of here."
Simon nodded and gathering up their charges, the two men apparated away.
~*~*~* *~*~*~
He sat at the desk in his study and massaged his temples, trying to stave off the headache. Mandy had gone up to bed, understandably exhausted from the day's events. Relieved that she was safe, at least for now, Josef clasped his hands, resting them beneath his nose, and exhaled heavily. She'd been spared ... this time. Next time ... he shook his head, not wanting to consider the possibility.
He had to do something.
Reaching into the small box he kept on his desk and turning to the fireplace, tossed in a handful of the fine powder. The flames billowed bright green.
"Archibald Kimball!"
An aging round face appeared in the flames. "Minister Brocklehurst."
"Is there anything you can tell me?"
"No more than I could tell you five hours ago," the older man replied, tone apologetic. "All we know is that she was the intended target. We're assuming that it was meant as a way to get to you."
"I want protection assigned." Josef's blue eyes filled with worry. "She's all I have left, Archibald. I won't let them take her away from me, not the way they took Olivia."
Kimball nodded slowly. "Rest assured, my friend, that's
not going to happen without a fight. And it so happens that I know
just the man for the job."
To Be Continued ......................