17. Complications
Percy helped Audrey stand up as soon as he felt her hand grasping his. They helped steady each other amongst the rubble, and quickly pulled out their wands.
Once the dust cleared enough to reveal the culprits, Audrey let out a scoff and exclaimed, "Seriously? This nonsense again?"
Standing before them was a group of cloaked and masked figures. Their outfits were eerily and unfortunately similar to the garb worn by Death Eaters.
Most likely, though, they were one and the same.
"Expelliarmus!"
Percy's Disarming Charm brought Audrey back to her senses, and she quickly moved to do the same to one of the other Death Eaters. Unfortunately, he - or she? - managed to sidestep the Charm and sent a nasty-looking curse her way, which Audrey quickly deflected. She heard the scuffling of shoes and saw other Aurors rushing to the site of the explosion to help, but Audrey was already far too deep into her duel with the rogue Death Eater before her.
He - Audrey was going to go with 'he' for all intents and purposes - was quite a good dueller, but it was evident that he lacked practice. The Death Eater chose to sidestep or dodge her hexes instead of deflecting them, like Audrey often did, suggesting that his Protection Charm wasn't very strong.
Audrey tried to use that to her advantage by casting the nastiest hexes she could muster.
"Blood traitor!" the Death Eater shouted. The voice was high-pitched and scratchy, and Audrey assumed that there was actually a woman under that mask.
"Merlin, your insults are getting old," Audrey shouted back, following up with a jinx.
"I loved torturing your parents!"
Audrey froze in the middle of casting her next non-verbal spell, and that was all the time the woman needed to send a curse her way. Audrey was hit in the shoulder, causing her to stumble back and nearly lose her balance. She felt the injured spot stinging, burning, and when Audrey reached a hand up to inspect the damage, her shirt felt damp and warm.
"Audrey!" Percy called, his eyes focused on her injury.
So focused that he didn't see the spell heading his way.
"Protego!" Audrey shouted as she scrambled towards Percy, stopping the spell from hitting him. "Watch your own fight, Percy," she ordered as she deflected a curse from her own opponent. "I trust you. You've gotta trust me."
Audrey returned to sending horrendous spells towards the masked woman, trying to ignore her taunting, but the words haunted Audrey's mind.
"Your father was a traitorous spy! He sweet-talked all sorts of secrets out of us, the scoundrel deserved it."
"What the bleeding hell are you talking about?" Audrey demanded, trying her hardest to find out whatever the woman knew without letting her guard down.
"You didn't know? He was spying for the Order! You don't - agh!"
Audrey used the woman's moment of gloating to speed towards her and shove her to the ground, grabbing her wand and throwing it out of reach. Audrey held her forearm down across the woman's collarbone to keep her restrained and demanded, "What else do you know? Tell me!"
"Your - your brother! We kidnapped him and took him back to Hogwarts," the woman spat out. "Isolated him from outside contact. He stayed behind to fight for the mudbloods when the Dark Lord came. Probably dead."
Audrey stupefied the woman as soon as she finished talking, with one haunting thought in her mind.
But what if he isn't dead?
No time for that, Audrey thought to herself, although the voice sounded more like her father's. Always keep your mind clear, no matter what.
Audrey turned and took the fight to another Death Eater, stupefying him from behind as he duelled another Auror. Soon enough, there were more conscious Aurors than conscious Death Eaters, and the fighting dwindled.
And just as the duelling start to fade away, so did Audrey's rush of adrenaline. Suddenly, her injury changed from an annoying tingle to a searing agony. She heard herself cry out, but the voice didn't sound like hers - it was strangled and quivering.
Audrey saw Percy heading towards her as her vision turned blurry, and then she was engulfed in complete darkness.
Tap tap. Tap tap. Tap tap.
"Waa..."
"Ah, she wakes," a voice observed. Audrey opened her eyes, and after a momentary blindness, they landed on a woman in lime green robes sitting at a desk next to her bed. She held a quill in her hand, and the desk was cluttered with parchment.
"Water," Audrey breathed out.
The woman - a Healer, judging by the robes - stood up and brought a glass to Audrey's lips. Audrey grabbed the glass from her and chugged the water in a manner that would have earned one hell of a chiding from her mother.
"I'm afraid to say that your injury was from Dark Magic," the Healer said. "It'll leave behind a nasty scar, but you'll live. At least it wasn't your wand arm."
Audrey nodded and looked down at her shoulder, which was wrapped in layer upon layer of bandages. Just by looking at it, remembering how she got it, the pain seemed to be revived and it made her wince.
"We gave you some Blood-Replenishing Potion - you lost quite a bit - so you might be feeling a bit light-headed, but other than that, you'll just need some rest," the Healer continued.
With newfound strength, Audrey swung her legs over the side of her bed and planted her feet on the cold floor. "I'm going for a walk," she stated as she slipped the hospital shoes next to the bed onto her feet.
"Oh, I don't think that's - "
Audrey stood up. "I'm walking."
She turned and exited her hospital room as the Healer sighed in resignation. Audrey's stubbornness tended to have that effect on people. As soon as she exited the room, Audrey's eyes landed on Daphne Greengrass, waiting to greet her with a worried frown on her face. Audrey immediately felt a surge of anger.
"Daphne, you bigoted idiot!"
Audrey leapt forward and grabbed Daphne's shoulders. She looked threateningly into the younger witch's eyes, ignoring the strange feeling of nausea that was hitting the back of her throat - her anger far surpassed it. Daphne's brown eyes widened in fear and regret, as if she already knew what Audrey was going to say.
"How could you not tell me Brady was alive?" Audrey exclaimed. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you?"
"Audrey, please, I didn't know he was kidnapped, honestly," Daphne explained. "I thought he just wanted to return early to Hogwarts. You know how he was, never telling anyone his problems. I didn't realize something was wrong for months. Only when the battle started, and he was duelling one of the Carrows at one point - "
"Then why didn't you say something in the summer, you stupid girl!" Audrey shouted.
Tears welled up in Daphne's eyes as she managed to squeak out, "I didn't see him after, so I - I thought he died. I'm sorry Audrey, really."
Audrey let out a shaky breath and slowly pulled Daphne into a hug as tears started flowing down the younger girl's cheeks. Audrey instantly felt horrible for yelling at the Daphne. She could be irritating and close-minded, but she was a family friend, and she never meant any harm towards Audrey. Besides, after what Gemma had told her about Daphne regretting their conversation in the summer, Audrey felt a pang of sympathy for the younger witch. "I'm sorry for shouting," Audrey said quietly. "How'd you already hear about all of this?"
"Gemma," Daphne answered. "She's someone's assistant in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
Audrey should have thought of that. Even after all these years, Gemma looked after her and Daphne.
"Merlin, can you believe she's dating Marcus Flint?" Daphne said suddenly.
"I know," Audrey replied. "Downright ridicolous. I mean, Gemma is really smart, and Marcus..."
"Failed a year," Daphne supplied with a laugh.
"Exactly," Audrey said quietly. With one last gentle pat on the back, she stepped away from Daphne and said, "I'm still disappointed that you didn't tell me anything about Brady. I had no idea where he was, Daphne."
"I'm sorry, I just - I didn't want to talk about him being dead," she replied, wiping the tears off her face. When she looked up at Audrey, her eyes widened in shock, "Do you think he's alive?"
Audrey sighed. "Hell, if I know. I've been asking myself the same thing. Just go home, Daphne," she said. "If you really want, I'll let you know if I find out anything."
Daphne nodded and declared that she had some other matters to attend to anyways before waving goodbye and leaving the hospital.
Audrey took a deep breath before turning and shuffling her feet along the tiles of the hallway. She didn't get very far when Percy had suddenly exited a room and stopped in front of her.
"You're fine," Percy observed, but his tone was filled with relief. It sounded like the statement was meant more for his own sanity than just a general declaration of knowledge.
"Yes," Audrey said as she nodded. "It'll scar, Dark Magic does that, but I'm fine."
"Good," Percy said, a weak smile coming to his face. "Listen, we - "
Suddenly, the door to the unit burst open, and both Percy and Audrey turned to see who was causing the commotion. Percy quickly recognized his mother leading the pack that consisted of Bill, George, and Ron.
"Percy!" Molly exclaimed as she barrelled into him, her arms immediately encircling him in a tight embrace. "I was worried sick when I got the Floo call!"
"I'm fine - "
"What were you doing in the Auror Office, mate?" Ron asked.
"Just some - "
"Hospital gowns are really your style, Audrey."
Everyone ceased their fussing over Percy to turn towards George with perplexed looks, then to the brunette woman that he had addressed. Audrey had one hand on her hip, the one connected to her injured shoulder - her left hand - hanging limply by her side.
"Har har, George," she replied sarcastically, her eyes narrowing at an amused George Weasley. "So bleeding original."
"And were you there with Percy, then?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "He did say you see each other at work."
Audrey opened her mouth to answer, but Percy beat her to it by saying, "Yes, we're acquainted."
For the second time in just five minutes, Audrey felt a surge of indignation. Acquainted? Bloody acquainted? she fumed to herself. What am I, a sodding pen pal? How does this idiot go from "Oh, Audrey, please date me!" to "We're acquainted," anyway?
Audrey stood in her spot, her face contorted into an expression that could possibly only be described as murderous, if George's extreme amusement was anything to go by. Soon after, a Healer came to escort the Weasley family out of the hospital unit and asked them to remain in the waiting area.
Once they left, Percy turned to Audrey and started, "Anyways, as I was saying - "
"Spare me," Audrey snapped. "We're just acquaintances, right?"
Audrey stormed back towards her room and plopped down on her bed with a frustrated groan. She tried to push Percy's hurt and regretful expression out of her mind, as hard as it was, and instead focus on her investigation into Brady's disappearance. She racked her mind, trying to brainstorm places he might have escaped to after the Battle of Hogwarts, when the memory came hurtling at the forefront of her thoughts like an avalanche.
Audrey's mother - Lucille on her birth certificate, Lucy to anyone that liked living - pushed aside her plate of breakfast and tore open the envelope beside her with evident excitement. She quickly pulled out the letter and started skimming over it. "Oh, this is so lovely..." she murmured.
"Mum?" Audrey asked.
Lucille's head snapped up as she got pulled out of whatever stupor she was in. "Your Aunt Camille sent a letter," she replied with a small smile, "and photos! Her and Daveth are in Germany now."
Lucille first turned to her husband, photo clutched in hand, but he refused to look up from his plate. With a dejected look on her face, she turned to her other side and passed the photo to Brady. He looked every bit like Audrey, with the same signature dark brown hair and upturned nose that Audrey had, but inherited their mother's brown eyes and their father's height. Once Audrey got the photo, she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. Camille and Daveth were standing in the middle of a cobblestone street, eagerly waving at the camera and holding steins of beer.
"It looks beautiful," Audrey said in amazement.
"I don't think they should have left," her father said stonily. "Not now."
Lucille's cheery smile faltered for a moment, and Audrey could tell her mother was trying hard to remain calm. Her father had been in the worst of moods since he gave his resignation to the Auror Office to go into hiding. Even though he knew that it was for the best to remain neutral, that didn't change the fact that he loved his job.
Audrey couldn't blame him. She had been in a similarly bad mood ever since she ceased her Auror training.
"Brennan, please, you know how things will get soon," Lucille said quietly as Audrey passed her the photo. "Daveth's a muggle-born. It's not that easy."
"Hey, mum, I've been meaning to ask something," Brady started with a cautious tone. "Why wasn't Aunt Camille disowned? I mean, I love her, don't get me wrong, but if anyone merely says the name Andromeda near Draco, he goes into a right fit about the consequences of marrying filth, or something like that. I'm just... curious. That's all."
Brennan looked up in shock at Brady's question, but then he turned to Lucille with an eyebrow raised. "Do you want to explain, Lucy?" he asked.
Lucille narrowed her eyes at her husband before turning to Brady and replying, "When your Aunt Camille was nineteen, she found out that she couldn't have children, and our father..." she trailed off as her face contorted into a frown, as if she was trying to choose her next words very carefully. "Our father thought this liberated her from her duties to our family, so he didn't particularly... care who she married. Camille didn't marry Daveth to rebel - that's just who she loved. That's just how it worked out."
"Oh," Brady said quietly. Then, he added, "We should visit them. Not now, of course, but when all of this is over. Germany would be a nice place to wait for the dust to settle."
"You sound like you think this is going to end soon," Audrey said with a scoff. "It's hardly started."
Brady scowled at her. "It's called being proactive, Audrey. Clearly, I didn't just get all of the good looks in the family."
Audrey rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but agree with Brady. Germany sounded nice right about then.
Her aunt and uncle's house in Germany would be a start. Aunt Camille always loved Audrey and Brady to bits, and she would have kept Brady's whereabouts a secret if he had asked that of her. Not that it made any sense for him to do that, but Audrey was trying to hold out hope.
She only wished it wasn't false hope.
"Audrey!"
The shout of her name dispersed Audrey's thoughts and when she looked up, she saw Erin hurtling towards her with her arms outstretched. Audrey winced as she felt a pressure being placed on her shoulder, but kept herself from protesting.
"Thank Merlin you're okay!" Erin exclaimed as she stepped away from Audrey. "You know, they tried to keep me from coming in here. Something about having to finish paperwork, yadda yadda yadda. Honestly, I'm your emergency contact."
Audrey chuckled at Erin's annoyance. "I'm happy to see you here, but please keep it down. My head is pounding."
"Je m'excuse," Erin said meekly. "Anyways, I heard you helped take down three rogue Death Eaters. Nice."
"Yeah, what's not nice is the scar I'm going to get from this stupid Dark Magic injury," Audrey grumbled. "Oh well. I guess I can just tell people that they should see the other guy. Or, you know, the other three guys."
"That's the spirit, Audrey!" Erin exclaimed. "Listen, my Portkey for practice leaves in about fifteen minutes, and apparently I'm not allowed to take you home quite yet, so I'll see you this evening, ouais?"
Audrey nodded. "Sounds good."
"Don't try apparating in your state," Erin ordered. "Oh, and your supervisor - mean looking guy with lots of scars on his arms - said, in these exact words - " Erin paused to place her hands on her hips and a poor attempt at a mean frown on her face before continuing, "'If I knew all it would take to get a lead on Death Eaters inside the Ministry was leave Callaghan standing in the middle of a hallway, I would've done it ages ago! Oh, and tell her she has the next week off.'"
"Aye aye, captain," Audrey replied with a mocking salute.
Erin gave her a playful pout and a wink before turning to leave the hospital room. Audrey let herself fall back on her bed with a heavy sigh, her head spinning with more thoughts than she could handle.
One, impulsive snogging.
Two, weak Patronuses.
Three, impromptu Death Eater attack.
Four, demoted from possible girlfriend to acquaintance.
Why Audrey even bothered keeping count was beyond her.
Clearly, Audrey has it rough. Please leave your thoughts on this chapter in a review! :)