A/N: Well, hello! Chapter 26 is here for you...
The loud music pulsated in Rachel's ears and it was usually something she minded, but she was feeling much better that evening. Rachel, Sirius, James, and Lily had decided to all go out to a Muggle nightclub. In reality, Lily and Rachel happened to be talking about Muggle stuff and James and Sirius stuck their noses in it so the two girls decided to show them what a good time meant.
Sirius gulped down another shot of whiskey. "This place isn't actually so bad," he commented.
Rachel smirked. "Careful with those, might have more alcohol than you think," she warned. "Stronger than Firewhiskey, some of them."
Lily, who was sitting on the barstool next to Rachel, tapped her friend's shoulder. "James and I are going to dance," she said, practically shouting over the music.
"All right, you two have fun," Rachel replied. "We'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, this was fun," Lily said with a smile. "Managed to escape reality for a moment, didn't we?"
Rachel nodded slightly and Lily and James disappeared into the throng of dancing people. Rachel turned back to Sirius, who was sitting on her other side. "So you want to sit here and get drunk?" she asked.
"Well there's no point in going to dance if all you're going to do is tease me with what I can't have right then and there," Sirius replied.
Rachel laughed. "Good reasoning," she said approvingly.
Rachel ordered a shot for herself and downed it, letting the liquid burn along her throat. She set the small glass down and turned back to Sirius. "So what do you think of Muggle fun?"
"I think Muggles get bored really easily," Sirius replied.
"Got that right," Rachel admitted. "Finding new things to do all the time. It's really getting crazy."
"It was nice though," Sirius added. "Not necessarily the nightclub, but just going out, the four of us. Lily was right. We all needed this escape."
Rachel smiled and put her hand over Sirius's. An escape was, in fact, exactly what they needed. Obviously, they could never completely escape what was going on around them. It always seemed that somehow they would always get attacked by Death Eaters or kept up all night with Order work. However, they could always escape for just a short while. And that short while was always enjoyable.
Rachel turned to Sirius with a smile. "How about we leave this place?" she suggested. "Not much left to do anyways."
It was always the same tingles, the same euphoria, the same neediness, but it would never get old.
As always, Sirius's kiss seemed to be electrifying, like it was sending little shocks all along her body. And it just made Rachel want more. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. Rachel felt Sirius's grip on her hips tighten as the space between their bodies nearly disappeared.
Rachel felt her back lean against a wall. She felt Sirius shift his head and slowly kiss along her jawline and down her neck. His hands moved from her hips to the hem of her shirt and then underneath the thin fabric to feel her sticky, sweaty skin. A completely involuntary sigh came out of Rachel's mouth and her hands went from his shoulders to the curls in his hair.
Sirius kissed back up her neck to kiss her again and Rachel could feel her anticipation for his touch. "What happened to wearing skirts?" Sirius asked with a smirk.
"What?" Rachel asked in reply, confused.
"You always wore skirts in school," Sirius clarified, his breath hot against her skin. "It made it so much easier."
"I wore skirts because I had to," Rachel answered. "Why do you care anyways? They both come off eventually."
"Just saying it was easier."
"You're bloody unbelievable."
"Don't you know it, love."
"What time is it?" Sirius grumbled as he heard the curtains open and felt the morning light stream into his flat.
"Six," Rachel replied, frantically running around the bedroom in search for her clothes.
"Six when?" Sirius asked with a frown.
"Oh, six in the evening," Rachel replied sarcastically. "Six in the morning, you twat. And Mad-Eye will have my head if I'm not in his office in twenty minutes."
"You have those practice shifts today?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, and Moody said he had a special case for me," Rachel replied, still running around and looking under every piece of furniture.
"Then why didn't you say so yesterday?" Sirius asked. He smirked. "You know I'll keep you up all night."
Rachel stood up and sent him a small glare. She sighed and went back to her search. "Where the bloody hell are my socks? This is crazy!"
A springing sound came from the kitchen and Rachel suddenly ran out of the room. When she walked back into the bedroom, she had a piece of toast sticking out of her mouth and a mug of hot coffee in her hands.
"And where is my shirt?" she exclaimed.
"To be honest, I don't think you need it, love," Sirius replied.
Rachel stood up with her shirt in her hands. She set down her mug and pulled on the black fabric. She grabbed the toast out of her mouth and turned to Sirius. "For some reason, I don't think Moody would feel the same way," she said thoughtfully. She smiled and leaned across the bed to kiss him. When Rachel pulled away, she stuck the toast back into her mouth and grabbed her coffee. "See you tonight!"
"So I'm completely on my own for the whole day?" Sirius asked.
Rachel shrugged. "Go hang out with James," she suggested.
And with that, she ran out of the room.
"So basically, we're walking straight into Death Eater territory?" Rachel asked.
"That'd be correct," Moody replied. He paused and looked over at Rachel's shocked face. "No, I'm joking, of course we're not doing that," he added as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We're sort of doing that."
"What do you mean by 'sort of'?" Rachel questioned cautiously.
"Ah, here we are," Moody said, stalling his pace in front of a door. He pushed it open and walked in, Rachel right behind him.
"Moody, this is the disguise room…" Rachel stated, looking around. She looked back at her mentor. "What are we doing in the disguise room?"
"Disguising, of course!" Moody answered, turning back to Rachel with some black robes and a mask in his hands.
Rachel's face fell. "You want me to dress up as a Death Eater and do what exactly?" she asked.
"Well, I'm going to take you to Knockturn Alley and you're going to go in one of the shops famous for Death Eaters and you'll gather information," Moody clarified. "And don't you be worrying, I'll be monitoring you."
"Oh yeah, not worried," Rachel replied unenthusiastically. "This is going to be… great. Really… great."
Rachel stepped out of the musty dressing room, her left hand balled up into the itchy fabric of her black robes and her right holding the Death Eater mask. I've got to be completely mad to be doing this, she thought to herself worriedly. Rachel only hoped that the mission would be as easy as it sounded.
"Put the hood up and the mask on and they won't even know who you are," Moody commented. "You'll be one of them."
"Splendid," Rachel muttered. "How did you know that I wake up every morning pining to be a Death Eater?"
Moody ignored her comment and turned around. "All right, let's get a move on," he grumbled. "Don't suit up now. We won't want to give the Ministry too much of a scare."
Rachel rolled her eyes and followed after the senior Auror. She walked briskly and nervously along the corridors of the Ministry hallway. Her fingers dug into the flesh of her palm nervously. All that was going through Rachel's head was what she would do if she was discovered. What exactly could I do? Rachel wondered to herself. Beg for mercy? Yeah right.
Rachel squeezed her way into the cramped elevator and grabbed one of the handholds above her head. The elevator zoomed up and down, side to side, only making her queasiness of the mission ahead that much worse. Rachel took a deep breath as she stepped off the elevator and followed after Moody.
Just as they were about to enter a fireplace and Floo to Knockturn Alley, a loud bang was heard and the fireplace before them, along with the rest of the fireplaces, blazed with a bright green fire. Rachel immediately stepped back and put her arm up instinctively.
Rachel heard more bangs and screams and looked up. Black-cloaked figures with masks were shooting spells at every Ministry staff and administration in sight. Rachel frowned as she noted something. She was standing in the middle of the way, a supposed Muggle-born, and no one was attacking her. Suddenly she remembered the Death Eater robes she was wearing.
That was when she felt someone grab her arm. Rachel quickly turned towards the person, but relaxed when she saw it was Moody. "Hide," he ordered. "And put up your hood and mask. Go!"
Scared and unsure of what else to do, Rachel followed the orders she was given and scrambled her way behind one of the fireplaces. She pulled up the hood of her robes and covered her face with the Death Eater mask just as a statue exploded and the remnants flew daringly close to her.
From time to time, Rachel would shoot spells at passing Death Eaters from where she was hiding. She tried to ignore the screams, shouts, and spells coming from just a few feet away as she stayed put in her hiding spot and followed the orders she was given.
And then finally, the sounds stopped. She heard the sound of people running and bodies falling, and then nothing.
Slowly and quietly, Rachel came out of her hiding spot to get a better look at what had happened. The main floor of the Ministry was in ruins. Not a walking Ministry worker was in sight. The ones that had not been killed or injured had run off just moments ago. Death Eaters had invaded the Ministry.
"You there!" Rachel heard a voice shout. She turned towards the voice and spotted a Death Eater walking towards her. Immediately, she panicked, but then remembered that she was disguised and tried to calm herself.
"Yes?" Rachel replied, trying to keep her tone strong and steady.
"Have you seen Goyle?" the Death Eater asked.
"N–no, I believe not," Rachel answered.
"Hmm, never mind then, I'm sure he'll catch up," the Death Eater said. "All right then, into the Floo! Everyone remember what you need to say to get there?"
"Um, sorry sir, but I forgot the exact name of the location," Rachel stated. Bloody hell, I am not doing what I think I am doing, Rachel thought to herself frantically.
"You don't need to give a bloody city," another Death Eater replied mockingly. "Just say 'Malfoy Manor', newbie. He loves to have power is all."
"Right," Rachel said with a nervous laugh.
Swiftly, she turned around and entered the fireplace with a handful of Floo Powder. With a deep breath, Rachel threw down the powder and shouted out the location.
Rachel walked amongst the other Death Eaters quietly and observantly. The most exciting thing in that moment had been walking along the halls to the main lobby where they were supposed to meet the other Death Eaters. Rachel knew they had arrived when she saw the familiar light blond hair of Lucius Malfoy.
"Finally arrived," Malfoy commented displeasingly. "And was the attack as much of a failure as your arrival, Rosier?"
"It was flawlessly executed, in fact," the Death Eater Rachel had first spoken to replied icily.
"Oh good," Malfoy said sarcastically. Suddenly, his gaze focused on Rachel. "You look new."
"She is," Rosier clairifed.
"What's your name?" Malfoy asked Rachel.
Rachel's mind searched for vague Death Eater names that she had seen in the past week but no one had really heard of. "Macnair," she finally replied.
Malfoy suddenly stopped his pacing and his eyes widened. "Repeat that please."
Shit, was that an Auror? "I said, Macnair," Rachel repeated.
"Unbelievable," Malfoy spat. "I'd know that voice anywhere. You've got an intruder, Rosier."
"What? Don't be daft, Malfoy!" Rosier exclaimed.
Suddenly, the Death Eater mask was ripped off of Rachel's face and she stepped back instinctively.
"Good Merlin—"
"Stupefy!"
Sorry for the cliffie. Can't complain though... it's a longer chapter :)
-Grammar/spelling?
-Favourite part?
Thanks for reading!
