Chapter 21: ... Or Not

Amelia felt her feet hit the ground a few seconds later. Glancing around, she found that she had landed on the top floor of the flat that her team had commandeered for surveillance purposes. The lights were off, to keep up the illusion that no one was home, the only thing breaking the darkness was the pale glow of moonlight. She started forward, out of the room towards the stairs, only to have Frank Apparate on top of her feet. Trying her hardest not to swear, Amelia shot him the most scathing look she could muster whilst in such intense pain.

"Sorry," Frank mouthed, looking sheepish as he dodged a blow over the head from Amelia's hand.

"Let's just find the others," she whispered.

The pair tiptoed along the landing towards the stairs. Amelia felt her own hand shaking as she dragged it along the bannister, though it wasn't from nervousness or fear about what they were about to do. It was more from the fact that this could be the end. The end of the case, but perhaps also the end of her time with the unit. Crouch wouldn't wait forever, he had made that clear, and Yaxley's rekindled interest in her, though flattering, probably had something to do with discovering whether or not he still had a chance at the job. If the case closed today, she would be choosing tomorrow and that was something that Amelia was not prepared to deal with. Mind on the job, she told herself; it wouldn't do to lose her head now, otherwise it might be her end in a completely different sense.

Fabian and Gideon were already downstairs, the brothers standing by the front door, occasionally glancing through the narrow glass panes set into the wood. Amelia announced their arrival with a short, sharp knock on the wall behind her; Gideon flinched slightly but did not take his eyes from the door. Fabian turned around.

"You took your time," he said in a hushed voice.

Amelia ignored him and spoke instead to Gideon.

"We're going in then?" she asked.

Gideon nodded.

"I'll cast a Disillusionment charm over us all," he breathed, "just until we get to door. Then we break it and -"

"-then we break the door," Fabian interjected with a grin.

Amelia smirked and shot him a look.

"You'll be doing those honours then?" she said.

"Fabian will be leading the way," Gideon said, giving a rare smile.

Gideon waved his wand over the heads of his colleagues, their bodies melting away into the air. Amelia shivered slightly as the spell worked its way down to her toes. She felt in her pocket; the solid presence of her wand was reassuring, even though she could not see it. The door was pushed open, only a crack, the cold air from outside rushing to get through the tiny gap. There was a quiet creak, which told Amelia that Fabian had stepped through, out into the night. She followed after him.

146 Hardgrave Street loomed in the dark. Faint lights shone in the windows, barely visible through the material of the curtains. Amelia could hear herself breathing as she approached, but her footsteps, thankfully, were silent. She crossed the street, their flat hide out being situated directly opposite their target. There were no enchantments that they had to get past, they'd checked up as best they could on that. Still, it never paid to be too careful or complacent when you were dealing with Death Eaters.

Amelia went up the steps slowly; the fact that she couldn't see her team members made the task more difficult than it normally would've been. Feeling outwards, her hand found another's. Who ever it was felt her touch, because they jumped, but they calmed quickly. Amelia felt her heart race as the fingers ran across her palm and interlaced with hers. And, though she could not see who it was, something told her that it was Fabian. And something told her that he was completely aware of whose hand he was holding. The things that Frank had said earlier came back to her mind. What was Fabian doing? He knew the agony she was going through, trying to decide whether or not to take the job. This wasn't helping. Hadn't he said himself, that he wasn't going to stop her from going? Surely holding onto her hand was a way of stopping her from leaving? Another question occurred to Amelia, as the hand slipped away and Gideon lifted the Disillusionment charm; why hadn't she pulled away from his grasp? The thought hung around as she glanced over at Fabian, who gave her a wink. He pulled out his wand and, upon glancing around, Amelia saw that Gideon and Frank had theirs out as well. Fumbling in her pocket, she retrieved her wand and reminded herself where she was and what she was about to do. The Fabian question would have to wait until later.

Fabian raised his wand and pointed it at the lock on the door, silently firing spell after spell at the keyhole. After about thirty seconds, there was a splintering noise and a sharp burst of light, indicating that the lock had been broken. Fabian pushed his shoulder against the door and it swung inwards with a grudging, but quiet, creak. He stepped through the threshold of the house, his wand pointed. Amelia followed behind him, her wand outstretched as well.

The inside of the house was musty and cold. Dust had begun to form in piles in the corners, the particles piling on top of each other, clawing their way up the faded red walls. There were a set of stairs which, Amelia knew from research, led up to a bedroom, a study and a bathroom. Frank and Gideon took the stairs, as agreed on. Fabian went through another door, which came out in the sitting room. Amelia went quickly behind him, light on her feet.

"Ministry of Magic, Auror Division, stay where you...are," Fabian started to yell, trailing off as he stepped into the room and found nobody there.

Amelia side stepped him and checked the adjoining kitchen; there was nobody in there either. She heard Gideon make the same disclaimer that his brother had and listened as he trailed off in the same manner. The house was empty. She heard Frank and Gideon clunking angrily back down the stairs. Her own hands had balled into fists. She just couldn't understand; how had an entire house full of Death Eaters managed to get away, when nobody knew they were coming?

"There's nobody here," Frank said.

"We'd already worked that one out," Amelia snapped, "Thanks, Frank."

She put her hands on her head and let out a great sigh of frustration. This raised greater questions than just where were the Death Eaters now. Their security had been breached, it was the only possible explanation. But how? She glanced over at Fabian, who was wearing a similar frustrated expression. For a moment, the unthinkable sprang to her mind, but she was quick to push it out again; nobody in her team would have betrayed them.

"How does an entire house of Death Eaters just disappear?" Fabian exclaimed, aiming a kick at a table.

He hit the corner, jostling the table and sending a vase of flowers crashing straight to the floor, shattering the glass. As Amelia went to repair it, she heard another crash. Looking around quickly, she was just in time to see a plate whizz past her face. Her eyes went over to the kitchen, where a small, grizzled, old lady was standing with a stack of crockery. The lady heaved another one at Fabian, who jumped back just in time.

"What are you doing here?" she yelled, "Get out of my house!"

Smash. Another plate.

"Get out!" she hollered, "Jack, call the police!"

A little old man came up beside her, brandishing a golf club.

"I already have, Mary," he assured her.

Amelia stared at both of them with exasperation. This couple was obviously Mr and Mrs Havisham, the owners of the house. But why were they here? It was their house, after all, but what about the rumours of their disappearance? And why, in god's name, were they here and the Death Eaters were not? It did not make any sense. Just then, Amelia heard the sound of sirens approaching down the street; Jack Havisham had indeed summoned the police.

"Right," Amelia said to her team, "Memory charms and then let's get out of here."

She sent a charm at Mary, who dropped her stack of plates with a crash and stood there looking dazed. Frank got Jim, who slowly lowered the golf club, blinking furiously. Amelia heard two cracks, signaling that the others were Disapperating. She turned on the spot too, leaving the house behind her.

As she travelled to her intended destination (which was anywhere away from the house) she wondered how on earth she was going to explain this to Crouch. They'd spent time and money on this operation, only to come up empty. Not to mention the Muggle police had become involved. A magic reversal squad would need to be sent out immediately. Amelia landed in the alcove opposite the entrance to the Ministry. She reached into her pocket and got a cigarette, lighting it before starting at a quick pace back to the entrance. She had just created a situation and was now going to have to deal with it.