August 27th, 2012
Gwydir Forest, Conwy County, UK
3:41
Ronald Weasley flicked his wand in the wand movements for a curse, which grazes a Death Eater. He snarls, twirling his wand and casts off a Bombarda at the masked enemies, noting with satisfaction when it lands. However, more surge forwards, and Ron's left arm gets hit by a bone breaker, and he falls back a bit, barely holding back a shout at the sudden pain. He glances around, and sees 'Mione, fierce and casting quickly in battle.
Several dozen Apparations go off behind him, and he turns, expecting backup for the Order. However, he instead saw a new, odd group of people, dressed in blacks and dark blues and greens, with masquerade masks over their faces. Rather than depicting anything normal, however, they depict twisted animals-the one that Ron notices the most is a hound mask, the only full mask. The mouth is open in a snarl, and the hound has far too many teeth in. The eyes are made of jade, and he takes a step back.
"Guys..?" He asks, glancing around, but no one else seems to notice the odd menagerie of animal masks behind them. He gasps as they begin to twist their wand in unison, the pattern unfamiliar to the former Auror, and he screams as fiery beasts surge out, each one corresponding to their mask. He turns and books it-even Death Eaters were better than being eaten by Fiendfyre-
But a scorching heat begins to catch up to him, and he screams as the fire seems to bite into his hamstrings, forcing him to fall, and he twists, seeing the visage of a hellhound before the heat consumes him-
line here
Lord Voldemort was having a good day. He sliced down another Order member, the bright, beautiful green of the Killing Curse cutting down it's opponent. His yew wand seemed to shine in the moonlight as he cast curse after curse, spellfire lighting up the night as he pressed his advantage on the Order. Lucius-the Mark told him who was who, he couldn't very well misaddress a follower, even in battle, could he?-hurried over, his arm bandaged. "My Lord, a dozen new signatures just appeared behind the Order. We are monitoring them, but they are not known to us."
He frowned, and drew back from the front lines, allowing a few of the lesser ranked to fill in the gap. "Are any of them familiar enough to be familial to any one?"
Lucius hesitates. "That's the odd thing-they feel like they are far more mature than they should be, considering who-"
A sudden bright fire draws their attention and the Dark Lord watches as a dozen animals begin to consume the Order's ranks. A few Order members attempt to Apparate, with one managing it, before what he feels are anti-Apparition wards snap into place. He shivers, recognizing the magic. "That's impossible. I killed him." Voldemort murmurs, watching as a hound eats a Weasley. A huge wall of Fiendfyre burned in a semicircle around the Order, and he smirks as the Order is easily cut down in swathes, rushing towards his troops.
"The signatures feel like a Potter, Weasleys, a Lovegood, and a Malfoy. I cannot discern the others, my Lord." Lucius says, drawing back a bit as the animals suddenly stop as the last of the Order was eaten-burned alive, and prowl around the clearing.
The hound-fire prowled closer, and Voldemort could see far more details in it. The face seemed to be scarred-possibly from a whip or knife-along with the back. The hound was far larger, and seemed to be a breed of hellhound, perhaps.
Fiendfyre was often seen as the Dark Patronus, because the animals summoned reflected their owners. However-any scars, physical or emotional, were reflected, while the Patronus was perfect. A dragon and a raven also flew close, with the raven perching on the dragon's shoulder. The dragon appeared to be a Peruvian Vipertooth, one with a large mass of scars on the left side of it's body, and the raven had a similar mass down the right side. The figures chuckled, and the animals drew back, and dissipated, appetites satiated.
Now that the intense heat and light was gone, Voldemort's natural nightvision fell back into place, and he could see the masks in far more detail. The obvious leader of the group had a metal-worked hound mask, with jade as the eyes. Another had the mask of a dragon, but only one of the eyes had a gem, opal. Another was a raven, with the right eye having a gem, also opal. Several other animal masks were present, including an eagle, but those three seemed to be the leaders of the group.
The hound turned and looked at him, before half-bowing. "'Til we meet again, Lord Voldemort." And then the anti-Apparation wards fall, and he turns on his heel and Apparates away, followed quickly by the rest. Voldemort glared at where they were.
"Lucious, I want you to investigate this immediately. I need to know who they are, if they are a threat, and what they want." Lucius hesitated, and he whirls, snarling at him. "NOW!"
The Malfoy Lord nods, bows, and Apparates away.
Voldemort turns to the ashes that were the Order, and begins to think. A Potter, whose line I killed off decades ago. A Lovegood, a line that died out after Xenophilius. And a Malfoy…but not marked. All drenched in Dark or Gray magic. How…interesting.
hi! this is just a short lil teaser/prologue for a new story that i'm working on. i pinky swear that i'm working on a gift of death, but my muse said to work on other things for a little while /3
pay attention to dates! they'll be important in giving a good timeline.
