Chapter Nineteen

They would have to do it quickly, light was fading fast and they also had to get back to base camp to inform Lily and James on their find.

Sirius sat up and rolled smoothly onto his knees and Ava turned back to face him instead of the desolate cottage.
"Okay, so we both go up under the disillusion charm and go peeping through their windows. When we see what we're looking for we get our arses back to basecamp get a hold of James and Lily come back and make a whole lot of chaos. I can do that." Ava said with her head titled and her lips pressed together.
"Not as," he paused looking for the right word and spoke with his hands waving about. "Messy. But yes that's what will happen if that is the cottage we're looking for we go get reinforcements and raid that place." he said with a lick of his lips and a grin.

With looks of encouragement to one another, they cast the spells and made their way over toward the cottage. Ava would be scouting the right side of the cottage and Sirius the left. Once they had checked all they could they were to meet back up at the bottom of the hill.

On closer inspection their job their hand wasn't going to be as easy as it seemed. All windows on the stone cottage were board up, form the outside, and the neglected, over grown bushes made it difficult to get close enough to look for a gap between the boards. Also the cottage was bigger close up, it was two stories high. From the outside they would never know for sure if Ava's family were inside.

It had taken an eternity to search the right side of the cottage Ava thought and the sky was dark now. She was nearing the end of her search; she was at the second to last window on the end wall of the cottage and was just about to move on when she spotted a shadow move through the gap between the green and black rotten wooden boards covering the window. She pushed through a tangled mess of brambles, scraping and cutting flesh on her hands and arms, to get closer to the window. She closed her eyes and pressed her left ear on the board and listened. Hoping to hear something. Anything.

As luck finally leaned towards her again, Ava did hear something. She could faintly hear two low, grumbling and hoarse voices. These disembodied voices were vicious and young sounding. They also seemed to be in a heated argument with one another. Although their voices were muffled Ava could hear them clear enough due to the broken panel in the window.

"We can't get rid of them yet Amycus, there's still things we can learn to do to them. Then we can teach the others and he'll be proud of us and we'll show his gratitude and thanks in ways you can never imagine." The first voice Ava could hear was female and seemed to be imploring on the other.
"I don't care Alecto! They're dirty little... I want them gone. Killed. I'm sick of living so close to filthy muggles. Nobody cares about them, you said there would be all kinds of chaos because of who's she's friends with! Those damn bloodtraitors. But I've heard nothing! Nobody gives a dragons arse about 'em." The second voice, this one male, exclaimed.

Ava gasped in shock and horror. She had found her family. They had to be talking about her family, right? Her gasp had caused her to stumble back and knock herself against the window. Her eyes widened in fear, had they heard her?

"Am keep your voice down. Look give me till tomorrow afternoon with them, then they're all yours. Deal?" The female voice, known as Alecto, offered. Judging by her next reply Ava assumed Amycus agreed with the other woman.
"Thanks. You won't regret this."

Ava's face was painted with horror. Her family were alive, barely; she had decided they were talking about her family. They had been in fact tortured and will be again tomorrow, if she couldn't stop that. Also they were to be murdered tomorrow too. Oh god, Ava found it impossible to breath; her whole body began to shake and her vision began to blur. How dare these vile excuses of human beings hurt defenceless people and play god with their lives. Ava wanted to scream. Her families lives. By God she wanted nothing more to go blasting her way into that cottage- the rest of her train of thought scared her, she had trouble believing what she wanted to do to them. In a desperate attempt to calm herself down she scrunched up her fists, closed her eyes and focused on slowing her pounding heart and rapid breaths. Once her heart had slowed she noticed her disillusion charm was starting to fade and she sprinted back to the bottom of the hill to meet back up and share with Sirius what she had found out. She had to get out of there before she got herself and her family all killed.