I am backeth! Deepest apologies for my absence; I was away for the week at volleyball camp up in the Berkshires, and couldn't find a computer. But I did a lot of writing in my free time!
So, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news first: Au Pair is almost finished! I only have a few more chappies to tweak before they all go into the final editing process and are put up here. But, of course, the inevitable bad news: I leave for the Caribbean on Saturday, and I'll be there for two and a half weeks. Gasp! I know, I'm so sorry, but you all can read some of the stories on my favorites during my absence – they are all wonderful. And, as a going away present (even though I'm the one who's going away), I will post the title of Au Pair's sequel in the next chapter. Just because I love you all so much!
Thank you Neurotica for giving me the answer to that (incredibly easy) trivia question. I really should go a little harder on you people; you're just too smart for me ;-P
Um, sort of graphic chapter ahead. Nothing too bad, I promise you – just slightly disturbing images and some hinting at child abuse and rape.
Disclaimer: The only things I own are these annoyingly long disclaimers.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
They all stood there for a moment in dumb silence. How could something like this have happened?
"Well? What are you all waiting for? Let's go, now!" Mr. Weasley cried, and Apparated from the spot. Mrs. Weasley followed not a second later. Charlie grabbed a hold of Harry's arm and Apparated with him back to the Burrow. Harry looked around when they arrived and saw Ron and Ginny pop up as well. They, too, had held on to elder Weasley children and had side-Apparated.
It did not take long for the entire family to appear magically in that designated corner of the yard. Harry pulled out his wand without thanking Charlie for the lift. He led the rest of the group toward the house where yells could already be heard and multi-colored wand lights seen from the windows.
"Come on, everyone!" Harry yelled behind him as he ran through the open front door. He had to duck at once as a blue light hit the wall where his head had been not a moment before.
"Stupefy!" Harry shrieked at the masked figure in front of him. The Death Eater fell to the floor, stunned. Harry dragged him by the ankles, shoved him into the living room cupboard and slammed the door. He was just doing the lock when he heard a scream behind him. Harry flipped around just in time to see Ginny dodge a beam of green light that flew out of the open kitchen doors. Ron, who was right behind her, jumped on the dining table, shielding his sister, and aimed his wand at Ginny's attacker.
"Incarcerous!" Ron screamed. The Death was bound magically with ropes and crashed to the floor. Harry heard a muffled moan of defeat before Ron and Ginny scrambled past him and out the back door. Fred and George headed upstairs, followed by Bill and Fleur. Charlie ran into the kitchen. Harry followed him, head swiveling in all directions, incase of Death Eaters nearby, hiding maybe, or disguised. Then suddenly, without any warning at all, something crashed in front of him, and Charlie dropped to the floor, bleeding from the head. Harry stuck out his wand in front of him, gripped tightly, looking around wildly for any sign of life. Then, a shimmer in the air, and a swoosh – and a very short Death Eater pulled off an Invisibility Cloak and appeared in front of the kitchen table a few feet from Harry. Harry could see that he was holding a heavy metal pan of Mrs. Weasleys in his non-wand hand. The pan was dripping with some dark liquid that Harry knew was Charlie's blood. The Death Eater spotted him standing in the doorframe and grinned evilly, showing rotten yellow teeth through the hold in his mask.
"Petrificus totalus!" Harry spat, wand stretched toward the Death Eater's heart. He froze in place, and tottered for a few moments before he fell onto the kitchen floor with a great 'thud!' Harry kicked him under the counter and removed his Invisibility Cloak from the floor where it had dropped. Harry scooped up Charlie and placed him gently in one of the padded chairs, being careful to raise his head so that the blood didn't run. Harry then strode out the back door to join Ron and Ginny in battle.
He came just in time, it seemed. Five Death Eaters had cornered his friends against the elm trees at the back of the garden.
Two to five, that's really fair, Harry thought angrily.
He had to stop himself from running towards them with wand blazing. Instead, he slipped on the frozen Death Eater's Invisibility Cloak. He crept quietly to the end of the back yard, forced to listen to the Death Eaters taunt and mock his friends.
"…can't have you mommy and daddy help you now, can you? Oh, no no no…by the time we're done with them, they won't be able to do much..." one of the Death Eaters sneered. The other cackled horribly.
The Death Eater turned to Ginny. "You're a pretty one, aren't you? Perhaps we'll take you back with us – I hear ol' Fenrir's getting a little antsy this close to full moon…maybe he'll want to have some fun with you, precious…"
Harry couldn't take it any longer. He flung the cloak from his body and drew his wand.
"Silencio!" He forced the verbally abusive Death Eater to shut up. "Stupefy!" Harry shot at one. He sent a stinging hex at another one before the remaining three Death Eaters spun around to face him. Taking advantage of their momentary diversion, Ron and Ginny grabbed their wands from inside the pockets of the fallen Death Eaters.
"Expelliarmus!" They yelled in unison, but the Death Eaters facing Harry ducked. The one closest to Harry pointed his wand at Ron and began an incantation – but Ginny was quicker.
"Muco blocus!" – and enormous bats were flying out of the Death Eater's nose. He cried out in surprise and agony. The other two went to help him; they grabbed at his nose and squeezed it shut, probably trying to keep any more bats from zooming out. But this only made the Death Eater angrier, and he opened his mouth to yell at his companions, but was unable to due to the huge bats now flying out of his mouth. They zipped straight at the other Death Eaters, hitting them repeatedly on the face and slapping them with their dark leathery wings. They tried swatting at the bats and shooting them with spell from their wands, but the things just kept on swooping, hitting, and flapping.
Harry had been enjoying the show, but distant yells from inside the house brought him out of his amused trance. "Finite Incantatem," he said, and the bat immediately ceased their attacks on the Death Eaters and faded away into smoke.
"Petrificus maximus!" he cast, and the weakened, remaining Death Eaters slumped to the floor.
Another yell for help came from inside the house. "Ron, Ginny! There are more of them inside! We can leave these here, let's go!" The three teenagers ran into the house together, wands raised and ready.
Harry was only inside for a few seconds before he had to dodge a yellow jet of light aimed at his arm. Instead, it bounced off the sink, leaving a deep smoking brand in the granite. Another spell flew towards them at rapid speed. Harry ducked, and Ron moved out of the way just in time, but Ginny caught the blast, and hunched over onto to the ground.
"Ginny!" Ron cried, and dropped to the floor next to her. He tilted his head towards her chest and was quiet for a moment. "She's still breathing," Ron told Harry, looking very much relieved.
"What happened?" Charlie emerged from the next room and shouted over the cries and crashes coming from upstairs. He was holding an ice pack to his head. Obviously he had just woken up. "I just stunned one of them passing by, but not before he shot a couple of spells your way. Ginny!" His eyes widened when he saw his unconscious sister.
"She was hit with something, we don't know what it was." Harry informed him quickly. "But she's breathing, and has a pulse."
Charlie stared at Ginny's still form for a moment. "Leave her here. If the Death Eaters think she's dead, she won't be in any harm."
Ron looked flabbergasted. "But – but – Charlie!" He spluttered.
Charlie looked up at him. "Haven't you read any Shakespeare, Ron? Faking death always works," he smiled very slightly, but it disappeared quickly. "Trust me. Ginny will be fine. She's safest where she is, where the Death Idiots think she's finished. Now, you two, get out of here."
Harry objected. "No, we have to help – your parents – Bill – Fred, George – Fleur – "
"No!" Charlie looked angry now. "Harry, you're in too much danger! The Ministry had to set up special wards around the house so that you were able to visit for the day! Your life is the main concern here! Get out, and get help. We'll hold them off until then." Charlie adjusted his ice pack, pulled out his wand, and hurdled up the staircase to rejoin the fight.
Harry looked back at Ron. Ron gazed back and forth between Ginny's body and the staircase, and then back at Harry. He nodded.
The boys pulled out their wands and started up the stairs, ignoring Charlie's orders. They heard the first cries in the last bedroom on the left side, and made haste towards it. There, Harry and Ron found Mrs. Weasley crouched up against the wall, screaming at the curses whizzing towards her. Her wand was sticking out of the robes of the black-clad Death Eater who was torturing her.
"Crucio!" He sneered, and Mrs. Weasley howled as the pain-inducing curse spread throughout her body, causing her to shudder and spasm, muscles twitching and bones cracking as her back arched and then gave out.
Ron started towards him, red in the face and eyes blazing. "Reducto!" He bellowed, and the Death Eater was lifted off the ground and slammed against the wall.
"Mum!" Harry watched from the doorway as Ron hurried towards his mother. He crouched down and lifted her onto the bed where she lay shaking.
"Mum, are you alright?" Ron asked her frantically, shaking her arms to waken her.
Mrs. Weasley caught her breath after a few moments. "Just…fine…Ronald." She tried to sit up in bed.
"Don't, Mrs. Weasley, just stay here. Help is on the way," Harry lied. Mrs. Weasley nodded faintly, and fell back on the bed.
"Ron, are you okay?" Harry asked his friend.
Ron tore his eyes away from his sleeping mother. "Fine. I'm not the one who was hit with the Cruciatus, was I?" He smiled weakly, but looked miserable.
Harry hesitated, but nodded. If Ron wanted to lighten the situation now, that was fine. But Ron's closest family members were dropping like flies, and they would have to discuss it more when there weren't Death Eaters in the house.
As if on cue, a fresh scream sounded from the attic, followed by more blasts and clanging. "Come on." Harry and Ron dashed back out of the room, but not before Ron took a nice good kick at the unconscious Death Eater's head.
They ran into the hallway, and Ron yanked on the chain that pulled down the attic stairs. He climbed them first, jumping with a thud onto the floorboards above. Harry made to follow him, but only had one foot on the steps what he heard feet running behind him. Swiveling around, Harry saw half a dozen new Death Eaters rambling up the main staircase, black robes billowing behind them sinisterly.
When they spotted Harry, they wasted no time in jumping at him.
"Expelliarmus!" A feminine voice cried, and Harry's wand flew across the hall into her hands.
"Ooh, is baby Potter trapped again? Always get yourself into sticky situations, don't you, boy?" the voice crooned. The other Death Eaters laughed mirthlessly.
Harry recognized the voice immediately. Bellatrix Lestrange. Anger flowed through his body, paralyzing him and blocking out all other emotions. Revenge, revenge, his instincts told him. Revenge for Sirius.
Harry started towards her with every intention to rip her apart. He didn't care that he didn't have a wand and was armed with nothing but his own fists. He was going to kill her; he was going to kill the woman who killed Sirius.
That was the last thing on his mind before a spell hit him, somebody screamed, and the world blacked out.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Okay, so, at least you all know what happened, right?
Trivia Question: In which plays of Shakespeare's did someone fake his or her own death? Come on, you English Lit. nerds, awaken and arise!
Review replies are on my user profile!
Adieu,
LaRohaZeta