Disclaimer: Harry Potter is copyrighted to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers.
Chapter 4: Fight and Flight
Both the Death Eaters and the Aurors waited in tense silence, their wands raised, each side daring the other to make the first move.
"If only the Dark Lord could see you now…" a white haired wizard laughed, his voice equally filled with triumph and mockery.
Regulus stole a sidelong glance at his cousin; Bellatrix's expression was unreadable, although he noticed a surreptitious gleam in her eyes as she glared at the wizard. Regulus thought he saw the two exchange a subtle nod, but assumed he had imagined it; no one else seemed to have spotted it.
"…Two of his loyal followers captured by the Ministry," the man continued. "Rather pathetic, if you ask me."
"Don't gloat just yet," Regulus said grudgingly. "You might have surrounded us, but you haven't technically 'captured' us."
"Well, we can change that, can't we?" A witch with long, curly brown hair replied, nodding at the other Aurors. "Seize them!"
"Wait!" the white haired wizard shouted suddenly, stepping in front of her. "We must make sure they are Death Eaters first!"
The witch shot him an incredulous look. "What do you mean 'make sure'? We caught them red-handed!"
"Yes, but you can't be sure who really is one and who isn't now a days."
"Kent, they're standing right before us! Obviously, there's two Death Eaters here!"
"Oh, I beg to differ," the wizard called Kent smiled broadly.
Regulus gasped in surprise as the man's figure suddenly contorted and changed before them. His green cloak transformed into a black robe, and Regulus caught the flash of white-blond hair replacing the original white before a hood obscured the rest of the person's features.
The drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy came out from under the mask, "There are three Death Eaters."
"Polyjuice potion!" a short, black haired wizard exclaimed, keeping his wand carefully trained on the criminals in front of him. "Incarcerous!"
Before the ropes that had burst out of his wand could bind the three Death Eaters, Lucius flicked his own wand. There was a blast of smoke that erupted and it enveloped the area like a vast, white veil.
In the midst of all of the shouts and confusion, Regulus was knocked out of the now broken up circle of Aurors. He was roughly yanked back off the ground by the sleeve, only to come face-to-face with the end of another wand.
"Stupefy!" Regulus bellowed before the Auror could utter an incantation; the red jet of light hit the wizard square in the chest, and he fell backwards, disappearing into the ocean of white.
"Reducto!" he heard Bellatrix cry; her spell was followed by a noise that sounded something like a tree being uprooted and being thrown against another solid object.
Suddenly, the smoke cleared, and Regulus saw the immobilized bodies of two stunned Aurors. Looking to his left, he discovered that the sound he had heard seconds before had indeed been a tree; it had been completely ripped from the ground and had landed on a parked car, smashing the windshield and denting the roof.
"Behind you!" Regulus warned Lucius; there was a flash of light as Lucius whipped around, and the wizard who had been seconds away from ambushing him was hanging in the air upside down.
Regulus glanced up just in time to see a blonde haired witch aiming her wand directly at him.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
He yelled, "Protego!" and deflected the body-binding jinx, sending the Auror backwards through the window of a nearby house.
Suddenly, there was a bone-chilling roar, and Regulus spun around to find a giant brown bear looming over him. Standing on its hind legs, it drew itself up to its full height and brandished its long, curved claws.
Bellatrix shot a silvery spell at the animal; the hex struck the bear right in the eye, and it snarled in anger, taking a dangerous swipe at them.
Lucius waved his wand, and a stream of fire flared out of the tip.
Eyeing the crackling flames nervously, the creature backed away from the three Death Eaters.
"Avada Kedavra!" A green light fired out of Bellatrix's wand, missing the animal by inches as the bear fell to all four feet.
The creature abruptly began to shrink; its thick brown fur melted away to form robes and skin. Soon, they were facing the curly, brown haired witch—the last remaining Auror.
"An Animagus," Lucius smirked. "But tell me, can you conjure a Patronus?" Not waiting for an answer, he snapped his fingers.
Regulus shivered suddenly, although he knew it had nothing to do with the fact that his robes where drenched from the rain. An eerie mist had begun to form around them…
Two dark, hooded shapes emerged from the fog, gliding silently forward. He could hear the creatures' dreadful, rasping breathes as they drew closer.
"It seems you'll be the ones who will need to know how to cast the Patronus charm," the witch laughed as she watched the two dementors. "Seize them!"
Nothing happened. The dementors paused next to the Death Eaters, showing absolutely no intention of attacking them at all.
"What are you waiting for?" the witch asked. "That was an order!"
"I'm afraid the dementors no longer work for the Ministry," Lucius said, smiling at the look of shock and confusion on the Auror's face.
"W-what are talking about?"
"They have decided to join the Dark Lord… And, not to be rude," Lucius continued in a voice that threatened rudeness with every syllable, "but I daresay they have finally chosen the better side."
And with that, the two dementors advanced towards the now panicking Auror. Regulus did not see what happened after that, for Bellatrix said, "Now all we have to do is find a way out of here," and they turned onto a side street.
"Wait," said Regulus. "I've just thought of something!" He headed for the nearest house, ignoring the questioning comments of his companions. For the first time since he joined the Death Eaters, Regulus was at the front, leading them onwards.
He flung open the door and barged into the deserted home, scanning the room for… yes! There it was!
He approached the fireplace as Bellatrix and Lucius stepped in behind him. He pulled out a handful of powder from a pocket on his robes and handed some to them.
Walking forward to stand in the fireplace, Regulus threw his clump of powder down and said, "Knockturn Alley!"
The green flames rose up around him and the room vanished from his sight. He could feel himself getting dizzy as the Floo Powder transported him, and it wasn't until thirty seconds later that he tumbled out of the fireplace in Borgin and Burkes, sending soot flying all over the carpet.
He hastily moved out of the way as Bellatrix and Lucius arrived after him. The carpet was almost completely black now. Thankfully, the owner of the Dark Arts shop, Mr. Borgin, didn't seem to be in the room.
They left the store and walked out onto the street.
"We had better report back to the Dark Lord," said Lucius.
"Right," Regulus nodded and then—CRACK—Disapparated with the other two Death Eaters.