Defending Your Territory
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"I'm Harry Potter. Harry, Harry Potter. I'm Harry Potter. Harry, Harry Potter. I'm-"
"If you don't stop singing that right now, I'm going to stick Winchester so far up your ass you won't be able to sit for a week." Raven growled from his futon. Bleach, who was practicing with his sword, smirked at the raven haired youth.
"What's the matter? I think it's a catchy tune." A pillow was thrown his way, which he dodged. "Ha! Miss m- " He wasn't so fortunate with the hard copy of "To Kill a Mocking Bird".
It had been three days since the fiasco at The Potted Blossom and already the Daily Prophet was talking about it. He was none too happy to see the headings, "Attack on Lily Potter, Barty Crouch Jr. Dead" or "Lost Potter Spotted?" It was only worse when Bleach kept singing that stupid song of his. How he came up with it, he'll never know. Bleach always had a knack for coming up with the strangest songs. Like when they were eleven and he made a remix to Meow Mix; Meow Mixer. If Raven had had Winchester back then, he would have used the gun on the blond, just to end his suffering.
"I wonder how long before they show up," Bleach suddenly said, his voice growing serious. This did become a serious matter. For the past six years they lived in the streets of London, hiding their magic from the Wizarding community. It was better to make it seem like they were just good at controlling accidental magic. However, by showing off Winchester, he had drawn attention to them. It would not be a good thing if either side of the war came knocking at their door.
This was another thing to worry about. The war between Death Eaters and the Order was beginning to unfold. Rumors of Voldemort's return had sprung up last year. However, Potter and Dumbledore's claims were dismissed as delusions and cries for attention. Even when Cedric Diggory backed them up before being killed by Crouch, who at that time was aiming to kill Nicholas Potter. When Voldemort was spotted at the Ministry in May, the four knew it was only a matter of time before war broke out. They had originally agreed to be neutral, but now that they had been spotted, that was not going to happen. Either the Order will come asking for help, or Death Eater would come to bargain and or kill them.
"Hopefully long enough for us to cover our tracks better. We can't afford to draw too much attention to us now."
"Does that mean fewer raids?" he threw Bleach a look, "What? I'm just asking. I still need to complete my collection of Pewee Plushies."
"I still cannot believe you collect those. Even Autumn doesn't like those things."
Before Bleach could respond with some type of come back, Autumn and Red burst into the apartment. The two of them had gone to Diagon Alley to investigate the new joke shop that opened two days ago. They hadn't had time go see it due to the fact they wanted to keep a low profile. That and Autumn thought it would be good to go and do some muggle things like go see a movie or go to the fair. They had only gone to Diagon Alley to exchange currency at Gringotts. They only used the small vault their teacher had left for them for muggle London or when they went to eat like normal people.
"You've got to come see this!" Red yelled. "There are Death Eaters in the Alley!"
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There was chaos everywhere. People ran screaming as store windows exploded. Sparks of magic rained down on the streets and streams of black, wisping smoke weaved in and out of shops, destroying everything. Raven and the others had come in, just barely avoiding a stray curse. They ducked behind a stone wall, watching the chaos unfold. They spotted Greyback dragging Ollivander out of his shop. The old man struggled, trying to pry free, but the werewolf kept a firm grip on him. Just as they were about to apparate away, Raven pulled out Winchester and fired a curse from the shrunken sword. Fenrir was momentarily dazed, allowing Ollivander to escape and make a run for it. The others turned to him.
"What? Ollivander was probably the only shop keeper we liked. I'm not going to let Death Eaters take him. Besides, this is our turf."
"What about keeping a low profile?" Bleach asked. He shrugged.
"Keep to the shadows or something. Just don't get spotted or use the Release spells."
They nodded to each other before breaking off and heading into the fray. True to their names, they raced into Diagon Alley, their natural speed turning them into blurs within the battle ground. They kept their swords the size of wands to better concentrate their spells. It also drew less attention to themselves. Red headed in the back of the alley while Autumn took to the left. Bleach ran for Gringotts and Raven stays to make sure Ollivander made it out. For some reason or another, the old wizard seemed to be the focus of the Death Eaters and he'd be damned if he let them catch him.
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The lovely thing about the back of Diagon Alley was the fact that one, it had a lot of room to run around in, and two, has enough coverage for him to hide in. Zipping in and out of nooks and crannies, Red was blasting spells left and right. These Death Eaters were surprisingly weak. A simple stunner was good enough to send them flying onto their asses. He turned a corner and his smirk faltered. He just discovered the new joke shop he and Autumn had come looking for. It wasn't hard to miss because it just screamed April Fool's. The bright, multicolored W's made his right eye twitch.
"Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes? You've got to be kidding me!" He was about move on when he heard a crash from inside and saw a spell burst through a window. He frowned. "I hate my conscience." He muttered bitterly before racing into the shop.
"To your left George!"
"On your right Fred!"
Red easily recognized the twins. Their hair was as red as his and stood in contrast to the black robes of the four Death Eaters surrounding them. The twins ducked and dodged spells aimed at them while easily firing back. They used the store as their home advantage. It was like they weren't outnumbered at all. Well, that is until one Death Eater played dirty and blew the stairs underneath George, sending him to the ground. Fred was distracted by this and soon joined his brother on the ground.
"That's my cue." Red muttered to himself, taking cover and firing a stunner at the back of a would-be attacker. He managed to catch two more by surprise, but the fourth managed to counter and nearly blast his ear off. "Oi! You singed my hair!"
"I'll do more than that you brat!" Augusta Rookwood proclaimed, sending a curse at him.
George was the first to regain his foot. Sitting up, he caught sight of red near the front of the store. His eyes focused on the red and he could make out the form of a boy with some kind of metal in his hand. The boy barrel rolled to avoid a curse before sending his own at the Death Eater he was dueling. He heard Fred groan and turned to see his between slowly sit up.
"I think I broke my wrist." Fred groaned. George tapped him.
"Hey Fred, is it me, or does that kid look familiar?"
"You're right."
They both watch boy's wand grow in time to cut a curse in half. It was then that the "wand" was revealed to be a sword. The Death Eater was caught off guard and the boy used this to his advantage to run forward and cleave the Death Eater's wand in half. A swift kick to the gut sent the man sprawling to the ground. The boy stood up and the twins gaped at him.
"Ronald?"
Red looked up to see the twins staring dumbfounded in his direction. He cursed loudly and made a break for the door. As he did, he saw a box of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder and Decoy Detonators. A thought came to him and he pocketed a handful of each.
"I'm taking these. You better go before they wake up." He said before dashing out. Fred and George stared at Ron's retreating back before turning to each other. The first thing that came to mind was that Ron was alive, but the first thing that came out of their mouths was,
"Ron just robbed us."
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"Crucio!"
Autumn ducked out of the curse's path before firing a stunner. It had been just her luck to run into Bellatrix Lestrange. The woman was like drunken clown. Only clowns were funnier. And she hated clowns. She didn't even get to ambush Lestrange either because the woman had been sending spells as she came around the corner. Cackling, Bellatrix sent debris her way.
"What's the matter? Is the little witch scared of little old Bella?"
"Well you're right about the old part," Autumn retorted from her hiding spot. She heard Bella fume in rage.
"How dare you you filthy Mudblood!"
"Well you're the one who said it." Autumn barrel rolled out of the path of a blasting curse. "Well someone has a short temper."
"Argh! Crucio!"
"Bombarda!"
The spells collided and the resulting explosion sent both witches flying. Autumn landed on a cushioned pile of trash while Bellatrix landed in a pile of dirty clothes. Autumn stood up, smiling proudly.
"I can't believe that worked."
"Avada Kadavra!" The green jet of light flew past her, the heat of the spell causing her to flinch. That had been too close. Knowing it would be a bad idea to draw attention to her any further, Autumn bolted down the alley, ignoring Bellatrix's cries for vengeance.
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Gringotts was usually a powerful stronghold. It was impenetrable, the safest place in the Wizarding London besides Hogwarts. The goblins were superstitious creatures and kept their bank under secure measures. However, today, Gringotts was at the receiving end of Death Eater attacks. They were ransacking the place, possibly trying to steal something important or to prove nothing was safe from them. Seeing one Death Eater man handle and then kill a helpless goblin made Bleach's blood boil. He drew his sword, letting it grow to its full two feet length.
"Sectumsepra!"
With a slashing motion, Bleach sent a burst of white hot light at the Death Eater. A slash had formed on the man, as if Bleach himself had walked over and slashed him. Clutching his arm, the Death Eater howled in pain, gathering the attention of the other eight in the front entrance. The blond frowned at this. He probably didn't think his plan out too well. Had they had their backs to him, he would have been able to take them by surprise. However, now that they had their attention focused solely on him, it had just become a long, difficult fight. At once, they sent their spells at him. Dropping to the floor, Bleach avoided the curses, letting them fly out into the open air behind him.
"Confringo!"
His curse blew up the ceiling, sending cement and chandeliers raining down on the Death Eaters. They scattered in an attempt to avoid being crushed by falling debris. He repeated this in an attempt to scatter them further. It wasn't long before they started to retaliate. Growling, Bleached took cover behind a desk. This was not his day. After what seemed like hours of being under fire, the attacks stopped and he took slow, calming breaths. Slowly using his sword, the blond checked to see if the Death Eaters were still there. The reflective metal revealed seven Death Eaters being led by a man with long bleached blond hair. His eyes darkened at the sight of this man.
"Malfoy."
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On the bright side, Raven had managed to get Ollivander out of the alley. On the bad side, he was now being chased by Fenrir Greyback and his pack of werewolves. Definitely not how he wanted to spend his Tuesday afternoon. He rounded the corner and met a dead end.
"Shit."
"Nowhere to go boy," Fenrir growled. "You're going to regret interfering with the Death Eaters."
"Really? Because right now the only thing I'm regretting is not buying nose plugs." He pulled out a packet of tick-tacks. "Mint?"
"I'll make your death a quick one."
The werewolf lunged at him. Raising his sword up, Raven slashed at Fenrir, infuriating him; though it did manage to get Fenrir to keep his distance. Raven calculated his odds. The three werewolves behind Fenrir looked easy enough. They were beta wolves, easy guys he'd be able to take. It was Fenrir that was the problem. The man's body was a thick and hard as his skull, and as the pack leader, he was stronger than them all.
"The boy's got a bite," Fenrir commented. "How about I show you whose bite is worse? Avada-"
The wall to their left exploded. Jets of red light tossed Death Eaters onto their backs and Fenrir guarded himself by cutting the spells aimed for him. The dust cloud cleared and Autumn stood there with her sword trained at them. Taking this as his cue, Raven ran past Fenrir with Autumn at his heel.
"What took so long?"
"Bellatrix. That woman is an absolute nightmare. I had to run because I couldn't take her here."
"Where are Red and Blondie?"
"Bleach is at Gringotts and I saw Red head that way."
"Come on then. We've got to get them and get out before more Death Eaters show up. Are all the civilians out?"
"From what I can tell they've all gone. It's just us."
They ran the corner, just in time to see a black smokescreen erupt out of Gringott's door. Seconds later, Red came barging out with a hollering and kicking blond.
"Let me at him Red! I'll show that upstart who's boss!"
"No time for that!" Red scolded as they met with Raven and Autumn. "We've got to get out of here before-"
"Avada Kadavra!"
They all ducked the killing curse Lucius Malfoy had sent their way. Malfoy was not alone either. Bellatrix, Fenrir, and Augustus soon arrived, flanked by Death Eater. Two of Augustus' Death Eaters were restraining Fred and George, who stayed to find Ron instead of fleeing. The younger red head cursed at the twin's stupidity.
"What happened to you Rookwood? Get manhandled by a Weasley?"
"Shut up Lestrange! I was taken by surprise is all."
"Yes, I believe we all have been taken by surprise." Malfoy agreed as he walked down the steps of Gringotts. He trained his wand on Bleach. "I'm surprise to see you're alive, Draco. I guess throwing you out on the streets of muggle London gave you some kind of back bone."
Bellatrix straightened at Lucius' words. "That's little Dragon?"
"Of course Bella dear. Do you think I don't recognize my own son?"
"I'm not your son you pile of shit!" Bleach growl, taking a step forward. Had Red not kept a firm hold on the blond, he would have engaged Malfoy in a fight.
"Yes of course not. I have a more…willing son now don't I?" He looked over the four. "Such a colorful assortment of friends you have Draco. Red hair, freckles, could this be the missing Weasley boy? Yes, I'd recognize one of Arthur's offspring anywhere. You look better off than your family is." Red growled, his grip on Bleach loosening a bit. "Ah, well I almost mistook you for your brother Mr. Potter. From the description the Daily Prophet gave out, you must be the one who killed Crouch. I must applaud you."
Raven's hand gripped tighter around Winchester. They kept still, watching as Lucius walked towards them. He looked over at Autumn and the boys formed a protective circle around her.
"I don't recognize you my dear. Perhaps a muggleborn?"
"I'd rather be a muggleborn than a spineless aristocrat like you."
"Feisty little one aren't we. Well now, I think there is no more need for violence."
"There isn't?" Raven asked, trying to sound almost disappointed.
"No, there isn't. You see, unlike my colleagues, I know an ally when I see one. I'm more than certain the Dark Lord would be more than thankful for your assistances in this war. And in return we'll let those two boys go."
"Don't do it Ron!" Fred suddenly shouted. Malfoy simply stunned the boy, not taking his eyes off the four teens.
"Pardon the rudeness of the Weasley boy. They never know when to shut up. Now Draco, what do you and your friends have to say about my offer?"
"What do we have to say?" Bleach looked over to Raven, who nodded. The blond turned to Malfoy, a smirk on his face.
"Slither, Dragoon..."
All of Diagon Alley felt the burst of energy emitted by those words and the air was filled with the sound of a hissing dragon.