A/N: WE MADE 100! I'm so thrilled :D I mean, woah, this story's been up for exactly half a month so I'm really really...hcowejowdeie! And the response for the last chapter...wow. I've never gotten 21 reviews for one single chapter (unless you count the RS oneshot I wrote). And yes, technically I was planning on updating tomorrow, but I couldn't wait. I mean, I left it on a cliffie last time, for god's sake!
Also, don't hate me for this chapter. I'll make up for it next chapter FOR SURE. You'll see what I mean.
Thanks to all my lovely, amazing, super-awesome reviewers: Silvermist76, MustReadAndWrite, Senga1, Kirra993, lilbuddie715, dobbyfish, Mrs. Theodore Nott, OMG.I'm The Tin Dog, ainat92,XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, Pinakamataas, nick55, SaruDM, lynnnnyl, Missdagane, Nanita, Cass, emeralda363, x-rayLady and ogee.
Cass- Oh you may be right, but you're probably wrong...or maybe not. Huh. Can't say for sure. -innocent smile-. I'm planning on dragging out who the killer is, I'm having so much making up their character! You'll have a small bit in the killer's POV soon by the way. Also, yeah cliffies suck don't they? But you gotta love 'em anyway. I'm glad you liked the end of seven! I have better stuff planned...;)
And to those who alerted/faved: Kirra993, Zara Alexandros, OMG I'm The Tin Dog, ainat92, Midolluin, Leia Quartermaine, TheChosenOne777, raspberrysorbet and anneelizabeth.
Okay, dedication time! This chapter is for Missdagane and Ogee, my first and hundredth reviewers respectively. :D
If you have a weak stomach and a vivid imagination, stop eating that donut before you start reading!...just in case.
Chapter 9:
Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Head: Hermione Granger-Weasley
Scorpius all but shoved her into the empty office. "Stay here," he said urgently. "Don't leave this room, no matter what."
Rose stared at him, her mind whirling in confusion. "What-? Scorpius, what's going on?"
She lunged for his wrist as he turned to leave, stopping him in his tracks. "Tell me what's happening," she demanded.
Scorpius looked back at her, his expression torn between exasperation and anxiety. "I don't know myself, Rose. I've been called in for an emergency meeting and you are not, under any circumstances, to go anywhere on your own. Understand? If you leave this room, I'll know." He shook her grip off, giving her a warning look.
"Like hell I'm-" The door shut with a slam as he left. "-going to stay here."
Rose darted forward, grabbing the handle and twisting it. All she got for her trouble was a mild electric shock. Rose cursed Scorpius mentally. The bloody bugger had warded the door so she couldn't get out.
Well if he thought that was going to hold Rose, of all people, he had another think coming.
Rose pointed her wand at the door, fury rising.
"Confringo!"
XXXXXX
Scorpius shouldered his way through the milling throng of panicked wizards. The atrium was packed as more employees flooed or apparated in continuously, joining the circle congregated around a spot in the middle of the hall.
Roughly shoving his way through to the front, he looked down distastefully at what was splattered over the black marble.
"Scorpius! Thank Merlin! Have you seen Thomas and Greene? We need as many as we can get, this is a complete mess-"
Scorpius turned to Proudfoot, all senses back on full alert. Mess was an understatement.
XXXXXXXX
"I don't understand! How could this have happened?"
"Someone seal the floo network- block it now, dammit-"
"-my husband! Let me through! LET ME THROUGH!"
Rose was shoved about roughly as people ran in every direction, voices raised and the occasional wail piercing the tumult.
Rose looked around, horrified; it was chaos. Pure chaos. There were wizards everywhere, all looking panicked and anxious, running from department to department as if their lives depended on it. The majority of the crowd was headed towards the atrium though and Rose was swept along with them wondering if maybe it wouldn't have been better to find out what was going on from the safety of the office.
Stumbling into the atrium, she noticed the barrage of witches and wizards flooing in, with several others stationed nearby trying to turn off the network. Her body still not under her own control, she was thrown unceremoniously into the thickest part of the mob.
"Oh Merlin! Godric rest his soul…"
"Where did it connect to before this? Check the-"
"Shit! What the-" There was the sound of retching and the crowd around the squeamish man backed off slightly, giving Rose an opening. She darted forward, bouncing on her heels, trying to see over the crowd. It was useless.
Hissing exasperatedly, she dropped to her knees, scuttling through the biggest openings she could find. People yelped and jumped aside as she passed them, one even kicking her in the rib with a booted foot.
Bloody hell.
Finally reaching the edge of the horde, Rose shoved aside two witches and finally took a look at the scene which had the entire ministry on its toes; and nearly retched.
A charred body was lying flat on its back, bloody sockets staring up at the arched ceiling. The skin had been burnt away completely, the figure a roiling mass of raw, red flesh and ripped organs.
Rose felt the bile rising in her throat and clapped a hand over her mouth. Next to her, a witch in purple robes succumbed to the sight and fainted.
Unable to tear her eyes away from the gruesome spectacle, she could vaguely hear the wizards next to her shouting, though it sounded more like a murmur through the haze in her mind.
"Burned him alive-"
"-sent through the floo network? That's-"
"-his heart burst! It burst!-"
"-where the fuck are the aurors?-"
Rose had been staring fixedly at the gleaming gold medallion still suspended around the blackened neck, but the words permeated her conscious, tearing her eyes away.
She cast about, looking for Scorpius and finding him. His distinctively blond head stood out even in the crowd. He was standing amongst a handful of wizards wearing dark green auror robes.
She watched as he nodded at something one of the others had said. They moved away, the spectators immediately parting to let them pass.
Rose stumbled after him, confident he wouldn't spot her in the pandemonium. Her heart was thumping heavily in her chest. She was no stranger to gruesome sights or death, but never ever in her wildest dreams had she envisioned the roasted body of an auror just showing up in the middle of the ministry, as if it was an unsecured public park or somewhere equally accessible.
And who would do something like that? Who would transport a victim's body like that to the ministry, as it if they were flinging their disdain and mockery in the authorities' faces?
Her insides seemed to shrivel as a horrible thought crossed her mind: What if it was someone she knew? What if that horrible creature back there was someone Rose knew and even loved? Half her family worked in the ministry!
The bile rose in her throat yet again and this time she emptied the contents of her stomach in a potted plant. Nobody took any notice of her as they all rushed about, concerned with their own problems.
Rose looked about helplessly, realizing she'd lost sight of Scorpius. She needed to know-needed to know what was going on. She grabbed someone as they whipped past her, clinging on forcefully.
"What's happening?" Her voice was hoarse and manic, even to her own ears. The wizard she had grabbed shook his head forcefully. "Can't stop, let go of me! Bloody hell, woman, this is an emergency-" He shook off her grip and the rest of his sentence was drowned by the maddening din around them, as he was swept further away from her.
In the midst of the chaos around her and in her own mind, a constructive thought finally formulated itself in Rose's brain: Find Al and James. They'd tell her what was going on- not only were they aurors, they probably wouldn't chuck her into a makeshift prison the way Scorpius or Uncle Harry would.
Her footsteps redirected themselves instantly towards the auror office. She sprinted flat out, paying no heed to the jostling crowd. She had to find them and she had to help if she could.
Slipping slightly as she slid to a halt in front of the correct department, she dashed inside running smack into someone's back. The man whipped around and she recognized him instantly.
"Rose?" Zabini said incredulously. "What are you doing here, you shouldn't be- HEY!"
She darted around him praying he wouldn't raise the alarm. Glancing back at him, she saw that he'd already moved on to more pressing matters. She sighed in relief, weaving past unfamiliar faces.
Damn, Damn, Damn! Where the hell were the people she actually knew?
She crashed into someone else and looking up, breathed a humongous sigh of relief.
"James!"
"Rosie!" He pulled her into a crushing hug. "What are you doing here? Shit, of course, we need Malfoy for the extraction unit." He grabbed her by the shoulders, pushing her away. Rose felt a grim sense of foreboding as she caught sight of his face; he looked harried and anxious and were his eyes red?
"James, what's going on? What's wrong?" She held on to him tighter, lest he try and escape as well.
He did a double-take, giving her a disbelieving look. "You mean you don't know? Merlin, Rose. I-I can't tell you, you-"
"Shit!" Scorpius had spotted her and she could see the anger in his face even from this distance, as he made his way towards them. "James, I have to go! I'll be right back!"
"Rose! Wait!" She lunged past James' outstretched hands, trying to lose Scorpius in the madness. Seeing a door slightly ajar, she slipped in, recognizing it instantly as the head's office. Fortunately for her, it was empty. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be for much longer. She ducked under the desk just as the door was pushed open again. There was the sound of footsteps as someone strode in quickly and then a slam as the door was closed forcefully.
Shit!
"Harry you have to send them immediately!" Rose's head banged against the desk as she recognized her father's voice with a start. Luckily, the men failed to notice the faint sound.
"I KNOW, Ron! You think I don't bloody-Aaargh Fuck! How did this happen?"
Rose tamped down the itching need to add a visual to the scene. They'd spot her right off if she poked her head out. And what was that about sending someone somewhere? And how did what happen? Surely they couldn't be in such a state about the body upstairs? That didn't require dispatching a team of aurors...what had James said? The extraction unit?
"Let me go with them, Harry. I can help!"
Rose could imagine Harry shaking his head even as he spoke, voice laced with despair: "No, Ron. Aurors only. That bastard killed Gawain so easily and he was one of our best…we don't know if the rest of the team is even alive, I-" He broke off at this point with an odd choking sound, as if the words had caught in his throat.
There was a shuffle of movement and Rose shifted slightly, trying to garner a peek from the crack between wood and floor.
"He's fine Harry, trust me-"
"HE'S NOT FINE, RON! How can you say that? How can you possibly know that? My son may be DEAD and it's my own bloody fault!"
Rose paused in her movements, stricken, breath caught in her chest. His son….? But James was fine, he was….As Rose's mind drew closer to its horrifying conclusion, Harry let out another shuddering breath.
"Al may be dead, Ron…"
XXXXXXX
Scorpius growled in frustration, raking a hand through his hair. Rose had whipped out of sight and he had no time to look for her. If she got into a mess, she'd just have to sort it out herself, for now.
Proudfoot had briefed him on the situation and it was not good. The ministry had received a tip-off from an anonymous source about the whereabouts of the serial killer. They'd dispatched a team of aurors, ten in number, to follow up the lead. Twenty minutes into the operation, they had lost contact with the unit. Fifteen minutes later, Gawain Robards' mutilated body had fallen out of fireplace number 23.
Scorpius felt sick as he envisioned how Robards had died. Their mystery man had probably thrown him into the fire before throwing in the powder, let him simmer there for a few minutes, maybe while he was alive, screaming desperately….and then he'd simply packed him off to the ministry, as a sadistic inhumane joke.
He'd temporarily been relieved of his prior duties as the ministry assembled a rag-tag team of inferior aurors, pulling its best from active missions. James Potter was here, despite the fact that he was supposed to be in Latvia and so was Savage who'd retired just two weeks ago.
And of course, Scorpius himself. He felt a twinge of worry and pushed it away quickly before it could manifest itself in a stronger form, as it undoubtedly would if he allowed himself to dwell on it. The missing team consisted of people who he'd worked with and known for four years- Including the youngest Potter son, who had become one of his closest friends.
How many of the initial party were dead? And how many would be better off dead?
Scorpius focused on the present as Al's father exited his office, closely followed by Ron Weasley. He looked around at the assembled group, seventeen of them in total.
His jaw worked furiously though he said nothing. Then, "Time to move."
XXXXXXXXX
Rose watched, barely taking in the scene as the aurors gathered around a portkey. Her mind worked furiously, repeating the same message: Al's dead, Al's dead, Al's dead.
The portkey began to glow dully as she dug her nails into her arm painfully. No. Al wasn't dead. He couldn't be. How was it possible for Albus Potter, of all people to be dead? The boy who'd always been so strong, so intelligent, so damn infallible? And if he was, then Rose wouldn't stay here knowing that maybe she could have done something about it but didn't, because she was too afraid and too incompetent, too selfish…
Rose made a decision she knew she wouldn't regret, no matter what.
Casting a disillusionment charm, she darted forward, one hand landing on the old boot just as the white light exploded outwards, encompassing her and the aurors.
XXXXXXXXX
The hastily assembled group fell about, stumbling slightly as they appeared outside the boundary wall of a large estate. Wasting no time, they blasted a hole in the wall, meeting zero resistance; the wards had been taken care of by the previous team.
Rose followed closely, wand at the ready and heart beating frantically against her chest.
The wizards ahead of her streamed into the manor. Rose ducked out of the way as Scorpius and James pushed past her, hot on Harry's heels.
What am I doing?
The mental query thrust itself at her, slowing her pace. Shaking herself, she shoved away the fleeting moment of rational thought. She was saving her cousin was what she was doing.
The inside of the manor was huge. Rose's heart sank as she took in the sheer size. How were they supposed to defend themselves in such a vast space? And how were they supposed to locate the missing team?
Eerily enough, the house was immaculate, each surface gleaming and spotless. No dust, no dirt…no blood.
The aurors had split into four teams, combing the house from top to bottom. Wishing to avoid running into her relatives or Malfoy, Rose chose the third floor. She was vaguely aware of the disillusionment charm wearing off and made a mental note to recast it the moment she heard voices.
All the rooms were deserted. She swung open each door, but the rooms within were abandoned and empty. The whole house gave off an aura of neglect and disuse, though physically it was in perfect shape. The sunlight streaming in through the arched windows did nothing to dispel the shadows. If anything, it made them more pronounced.
Rose was disconcerted by the fact that she could hear nothing; not the aurors, no animals or birds or anything. In comparison, the sounds she made seemed magnified. The thumping of her heart, the creak of the floorboards she crept across them, the sound of her heavy breathing.
Pausing in front of a miscellaneous door, she pushed it cautiously, expecting the room to be empty, same as the others.
It wasn't.
Rose's scream caught in her throat as she took in the carnage in front of her. Bodies strewn over the wooden floor, lying in haphazard piles, looking for all the world like ripped, bloody rag dolls. Toys that had been played with and tossed aside carelessly, limbs askew and clothes ripped.
She stepped forward hesitantly, the fear and shock almost paralyzing her mind. She paused at one of the bodies and reaching down, flipped it over. She gagged as the lifeless eyes stared up at her, a hole in the centre of the forehead so deep, she could see the dead man's brain, the tissue spilling out. His face was stretched into a grimace of horror but all Rose could think of as she stared at what remained of his face was that it wasn't Al.
Forcing herself to step away, she skirted the man's pool of blood, and where it mingled with other similar scarlet streams.
There on the floor, right next to the window, she caught sight of a head of messy black hair, the body lying on its side, one leg twisted the wrong way.
Rushing forward, not allowing herself to think, she pulled the body gently towards herself, breath catching at the sight of her cousin's face. Albus' face was pale, his eyes closed as if he were asleep. Hesitantly, she raised a shaking hand and placed it on his throat, searching for the faintest glimmer of a pulse…
And screamed as a hand, slick with blood, wrapped itself around her ankle, pulling her backwards.
She twisted around, catching a glimpse of her assailant. One eye missing, a horrible jagged cut down one side of his face, his mouth dribbled blood as he dragged her towards him with his remaining arm.
"…hel..l…"
I did say M for violence...Umm. I'll be nice next chapter, I swear!
Don't kill me! -hides-
Review?
Also, I've never written violent stuff before. This is all Edgar Allan Poe's fault.