A.N. : An almost completely revised version of chapter three. I realized that I had spent too much timeon rather useless character development instead of the plot. So, here goes, my second try at this.
Cho Apparated in to find a Stunning Spell flying straight at her. If it were not for her years of experience as an Auror, she would not have been able to duck just in time. Cho looked around.
Ron was dueling with a tall black man, the Stunning Spell that nearly hit Cho had been meant for him. Amos Diggory was nowhere to be seen.
"Go!" Ron shouted at the other two.
To split up a team was a very dangerous thing to do, but the rescue of Amos Diggory was seemed more vital than their safety right now. If whoever took him was able to detect Ron's presence in the forest within a matter of seconds, then Amos Diggory must be very important to his captors. He must have vital information about the Ministry, Cho realized.
Every second mattered to them now, because if whatever information he has is taken, the Ministry could be in a lot of trouble. After all, Amos Diggory has been working there for many years now, so it would not be hard for him to tell them exactly where everything was within the Ministry.
Cho contemplated getting backup, but infiltration was much easier when you have a small amount of people. It looked like she and Ginny would have to put aside their feelings of uneasiness aside and put their minds on this mission.
Ginny looked at Cho, and ran to the left of the forest. Cho followed, and soon saw why Ginny had chosen that direction. There was smoke fuming above the trees about a half mile away.
"If we run into more than two of them at a time, call for backup." Ginny's suggestion sounded awfully like an order, but still, Cho simply nodded.
They continued running through the forest at top speed, until, quite suddenly, Ginny stopped and held out her hand, signaling for Cho to do the same. Cho looked straight ahead and saw two men who appeared to be guards, playing what was unmistakably, Exploding Snap. They wore green robes, no doubt, in an attempt to camouflage with the trees.
Cho looked at Ginny and pointed at her ear. Ginny understood, and nodded in agreement. It was best to spy of them for a bit first, learning what they knew, and making sure no others were around to come to their rescue.
"Awww man I lost again! I don't want to play anymore, let's go help Don find the intruders." The stubbier looking guard said to the scrawny looking one.
"He's probably already found them by now. Hell, if I know Don, and I think I do, he's probably already done taking care of them and on his way back right now. Let's play again!"
The stubby-looking guard never got a chance to refuse, as Ginny immediately cast a Full Body Bind on him. Before the other one even got a chance to grab his wand, Cho had already stunned him.
There was no further use from either of these men. They had learnt that Don, clearly the man who had been dueling Ron, was rather formidable. It was best to quickly find Amos and come back for Ron as soon as possible.
It was not long before they ran into another pair of guards. They had been on constant vigilance and easily heard the Aurors' approaching footsteps.
"STUPEFY!" Both guards opted to use the same spell against the girls.
Cho deflected the Stunning Spell aimed at her, with another Stunning Spell of her own, while Ginny jumped to the side and nearly fell on the ground.
One guard suddenly jumped behind the other and pointed his wand towards the sky. Cho understood, he was going to cast a spell to notify more guards.
"Expelliarmus!" Ginny had aimed her spell directly at his hand, and his wand dropped on the ground.
Cho looked at the guard in front, and saw that he was contemplating his only two options at the moment. Fight, or attempt to call for backup. He foolishly decided that these two women were no match for him, and sent a Stunning Spell straight at Cho. In the time in took Cho to dodge it, Ginny had already stunned him.
The remaining wandless guard dove at the ground for his wand. Unfortunately for him, his wand proved useless, considering Cho stunned him the second he picked it up.
Once again, Ginny and Cho began running towards the source of the smoke. It was a while before Ginny suddenly stopped and simply stared ahead. Cho looked over her shoulder and saw what had surprised her. On the ground before them, laid two unconscious guards.
It could not have been Ron's doing, as there was no way he could've gotten there before they did. Cho ran over the possibilities in her mind. The only thing that made the sense was that it was a trap.
"It's a trap." Ginny had come to the same conclusion as Cho.
"I know, but the problem is… What do we do now?" Cho asked.
The obvious answer was to find another way through, but they didn't have time. The sun was beginning to set; they had to find Amos Diggory before nightfall. The Aurors knew that it would be most disadvantageous to them to fight in the dark, especially in an unfamiliar environment.
"What if it's not a trap?" Ginny replied.
Cho thought Ginny was joking at first, but her facial expressions said otherwise. Cho carefully studied the scene before them. Two guards were on the ground, clearly stunned, with wands still clutched in their hands. The trees around them looked burnt and scarred, as if misfired spells had hit them. If it was a trap, it was a very cleverly made one.
"I guess there's only one way to find out…" Cho stepped forward, and nothing happened.
Ginny, seeing this, came up too. They slowly made their way towards the guards. Cho kicked one, but still, he did not move. Ginny looked at her, shrugged, and began to run towards the smoke again. Cho followed her, still trying to figure out who had stunned those guards. A thought cross her mind but she quickly dismissed it… He's clearly working with, not against them. That's probably why he wanted me to leave this morning.
After less than five minutes, the girls found two more guards who were passed out. This time, they decided that it was best to simply run through and not waste any more time. They were closing in on the smoke now, it was only a matter of time before they got there.
Cho wondered whether or not Ron had defeated Don by now. True, the guards held high regard for him, but then again, the guards were so easily defeated. Besides, Ron was an experienced Auror, and even if he was losing, he would know to escape and call for backup.
This was not their only problem it seemed. These criminals were well organized and had many lackeys. True, none of them proved competent, but there is still always power in numbers. If there were a great number of guards protecting Amos, it would be rather difficult to rescue him, even if they did call for Marietta and Neville.
The girls began to walk slowly, as the smoke was only about thirty feet away now. Soon, they saw a clearing before them. Hiding behind the trees, Cho was able to survey the area.
It was a big clearing, all dirt, for about twenty feet in front of them. In the middle was a fire, with three cloaked figures standing around it. Between them was a huge cauldron with boiling liquids, Amos Diggory, magicked right above it. It seems they were threatening to drop him in if he didn't tell them what they wanted.
Cho and Ginny would've rushed in right away, if it were not for the fifteen or so guards standing behind the three cloaked figures. While the two Aurors were still deciding what to do, one of the cloaked figures spoke.
"Nothing is going to stop us from bringing him back. Breaking you down will only be a matter of time." He motioned for a guard to come forward and hand him a small vial. "We had hoped it would not come down to this…"
"What are you going to do?" Amos asked, with a flicker of fear in his eyes.
"This cauldron… Have you not been wondering what was in it? It's Veritaserum. We did not realize that it would take so long to heat up again after moving it here… No matter, it is ready for the final ingredient." He poured the contents of the vial in.
"This is the ultimate form of Veritaserum. Freshly brewed, and we will submerge you in it. You may die, but not before revealing to us what we need to know." Another cloaked figure said.
Cho had read about this before. There are many ways to fight off the Veritaserum, so it proved ineffective for criminal trials. A wizard in the 1400s had tried to invent a Veritaserum that was flawless. In the end, he figured out that if you were whole body was dipped in boiling Veritaserum, it would be impossible to fight its powerful effects. It was a rather useless discovery, considering most would die immediately after revealing whether or not they had committed a crime.
"I already told you! I don't know anything about the veil! I don't work in the Department of Mystery!"
"You are lying. Our sources have informed us that you have been sending creatures beyond the veil. If you enter the veil by going through it, then you still have a body. With a body and a soul, nobody is dead."
"So what? None of them have been able to come back. It was a failed experiment. Arthur wanted to bring Harry back, but we failed!" Amos was sweating more than ever now.
Ginny started to look quite annoyed. It was clear that she did not know of this experiment.
"You may be lying, you may not be. Only this will tell us. " He pulled out his wand.
Cho and Ginny, too, pulled out their wands, prepared to rush in, when, suddenly, they heard a pop.
The blonde man had Apparated right in front of the hooded figures. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the cauldron, which immediately exploded, spilling it's contents.
Although she could not see their faces, Cho was sure the cloaked men were livid now. It took ages to make Veritaserum, and in a matter of seconds, the blonde man had destroyed it all.
"AVADA KEDRAVA!" All three of them cast the killing curse on the blonde man.
The blonde man's reflexes were too quick for them, as he rolled to the side.
"DORMIATIS!" A flurry of darts flew out of the blonde man's wand, and littered the bodies of the cloaked figures, who all fell over unconscious.
The guards looked at one another, at the stranger who seemingly killed their masters, and quickly Disapparated.
Cho and Ginny stared at one another, unsure of what to do. What they had just witness, seemed surreal. One man had just taken out three others with one spell, and then scared off another fifteen. They were half impressed, half afraid.
The blonde man walked out to Amos Diggory, who had fallen unconscious after falling to the ground. A Levitation Charm only works as long as the caster remains concentrated. When the cloaked men were struck by the blonde man's spell, the Levitation Charm was broken, and Amos fell.
"You can come out now." It was clear that he was speaking to Ginny and Cho.
This time, Cho looked at Ginny, shrugged, and walked on over. Ginny, although reluctant, followed her.
"Who are you?" Cho knew he wouldn't answer, but it was worth a shot.
"Didn't I just go over this with you in the morning? I'm not answering that… You better take him to St. Mungo's." He pointed at Amos.
"Why are you helping us? What were those men doing here?" This time, it was Ginny who had asked the questions.
"Why don't you ask them?" He was looking at the cloaked men.
"They're dead… Aren't they?" Cho walked over and checked their pulses. They were still alive.
Cho was about to relay this information to Ginny, when she heavy footsteps running towards them. All three of them raised their wands. The blonde man stared in the direction the footsteps were coming from, and once again Cho looked into his rather familiar green eyes. She was quite sure she had seen them before, a very long time ago, but no… that was impossible.
"Oh good, you guys are okay." It was Ron, he had just come into the clearing, with Don's unconscious body floating behind him. "Who's this?" He was looked at the blonde man.
"Someone's whose about to leave…" He was looking at Ron, and Cho could've sworn she saw him crack a smile before turning around and beginning to walk away.
"You're not going anywhere." Ron raised his wand and pointed it at him. "You're coming back with us."
"Ron he helped us…"
Cho knew quite well that it was procedure to take the blonde man back. Even though he helped them, they were supposed to regard him as a suspect. Still, Cho felt that he could be trusted.
"It doesn't matter." Ginny, too, raised her wand, completely forgetting her earlier fear of him.
"You are all trespassing on my forest. It is not your place to tell me to go anywhere. Leave." He spoke with his back still turned to them,
Before anyone could say another word, Ginny sent a stunning spell at him. He turned around, but then, he simply stood there. The spell looked like it was about to hit, but it suddenly stopped in midair and disappeared. The Aurors understood that he must have cast a shield charm at the last second. It was however, not normal for a shield charm to be able to stop a stunning spell. Shield charms were designed to block or deflect minor curses or hexes, but stunning spells were quite powerful.
"You're wasting your time. You can't beat me." He did not look like he was going to curse them.
This did not stop Ron and Ginny from sending two curses straight at him. He almost looked pained, as he simply moved to the left and ducked his head, successfully dodging both spells. The Weasleys wasted no time in continuing to send spell after spell at the blonde man. He either dodged or deflected each and every one.
"I am not your enemy here, can't you see that?"
The attacks continued relentlessly. Ginny and Ron seemed convinced that they had to capture him. Cho understood their reason. He was a stranger who seemingly aided them, yet he was in a hurry to leave. That alone, was enough to be suspicious of him. Furthermore, he seemed eager to keep people away from 'his forest', indicating that he may be hiding something here.
This was the way of the Auror, Cho soon remembered. Attack first, ask questions later. Those who had failed to obey these rules paid for it with their lives. Yet here she was, Cho Chang, one of the best Aurors at the Ministry, and she simply stood there watching her teammates do battle.
Cho realized that she had to help them, and sent a stunning spell straight at him right after he had deflected Ginny's spell. Unfortunately, he jumped to the side just in time. It was clear that with all three of them attacking, he would soon be subdued. Cho joined the others in sending volley after volley of spells at him.
Still, he did not fight back. Underestimating an enemy was a grave mistake, a lesson Cho had learnt in her years as an Auror. Even when pursuing under aged wizards, Cho was taught to fight as if you knew your enemy was stronger than you were.
Cho looked over at her teammates. Ron was fighting conservatively, and Cho understood that he was waiting for the enemy to start retaliating. Ginny had been doing the same, but it looked like her patience was beginning to wear thin.
"SECTUMSEMPRA!" Ginny shouted.
It was not a spell Cho had heard of before… The blonde man stared wide-eyed at Ginny, and ducked at the last second. Ron's recently cast stunning spell, however, hit him squarely in the chest.