Ch 8
A/N: Hey guys. So this is my first try at a battle, please let me know how I did. I honestly had no clue how I was going to do this, but it suddenly came to me as I started writing and I hope I did ok with it.
Over the next week Victoria was more on edge than she'd ever been in her life. She knew it was only a matter of time before Dumbledore came back to say that she was chosen for a mission. Each day as she went to work she would hold her breath waiting for him to be there saying it was the day. Finally one day, she didn't have to wait any longer.
As she was getting ready for work one afternoon she heard a knock on the door to her flat. She couldn't help but wonder who it could be. The only other people that knew that she lived there were Mr. Florish and Remus. Remus was already there visiting with Sirius so she knew it couldn't be him. She waited as she heard Sirius answer the door and came out into the living room. Dumbledore was there looking rather more forlorn than normal. He also brought another man she didn't recognize. She wasn't quite sure what to think about this man, his appearance seemed to indicate that he'd been in his share of fights. He had dark brown hair that was quickly turning salt and pepper while scars crossed his features. The thing that she noticed the most was this man had one eye that was a coffee brown while the other was a bright vivid blue and seemed to be moving of its own accord.
Dumbledore's eye's met her's and he gave her an apologetic look, "Miss Knight, I am sorry for intruding. However, I am afraid it is of the upmost importance."
"Please Professor, it's no trouble." She said leading them over to the comfortable, yet mismatched furniture.
They all took seats, Dumbledore and the stranger taking the green and white striped couch, Remus took the wooden rocker in the far corner, and Sirius perched on the arm of the blue paisley chair Victoria had chosen. Dumbledore began again, "I believe the last time we met I informed you that I would have to ask for your assistance on a few missions for me."
She nodded, afraid that answering would give away the fear that was creeping up from her stomach.
"I am afraid the time has come." He stated simply, a grim look crossing his face.
"What kind of mission is it?" Sirius asked for her.
Dumbledore hesitated for a moment; he didn't know how much information he should be revealing. He explained, "One of the Order has been taken by the Death Eaters. We do not know how long they will able to resist."
"Who is it?" Remus asked gently.
"I cannot say." Dumbledore looked away from the two men, making Victoria wonder if they would know the person.
"Get on with it Albus!" The stranger spoke up for the first time, his voice coming out in a low growl.
"You are right Alastor." Dumbledore gave a short nod, "Victoria I am sorry but you will have to leave immediately. This is Alastor Moody, he will be accompanying you along with Fabian and Gideon Prewett."
"But what about…" she started to ask, but was cut off by him again.
"Do not fear, I have already discussed your absence with Tom, everything is taken care of." He smiled reassuringly.
She nodded turning to Sirius, hoping for some words of encouragement. He gave a short laugh pulling her in for a hug, "Don't worry Vicky. You'll be in there with the best. Moody won't let anything happen to you. Those Death Eaters will have more to worry about than you with Gideon and Fabian."
She pulled back giving him a small unconvincing smile. "Have either of you been on one of these missions before?" She asked looking between Sirius and Remus.
Sirius looked grim for a moment, "I'm not going to lie, usually we're quite outnumbered."
"That's comforting." She moaned.
Remus crossed the room to her and throwing an arm around her shoulders, said in a gentle yet commanding tone, "Just remember, it is the quality of ones convictions that determines success, not the number of followers."
She sighed, turning and throwing her arms around Remus in a quick hug. Then she threw a quick glance back at Sirius, "Don't burn the place down while I'm gone."
He laughed, "So little trust."
She shook her head smirking at his attempt to lighten the situation. Finally she knew it was time and stepped away from the two men turning to Moody, "Well, I guess we better be going."
He grunted in response and walked quickly out of the flat causing her to nearly run to keep up with him.
…
Not long after their departure from her place she found herself in a field having just arrived by sidelong apparition with Moody. In true English fashion it was raining, soaking through her ice blue robes. She looked at Moody for a minute; he seemed to be waiting for something as he kept looking around. With a small pop she knew instantly what he'd been waiting for because suddenly two men, twins, stood next to her. They had shockingly red hair, soft caramel eyes, a stocky build, and identical mischievous smirks on their faces.
Moody growled in their direction, "It's about time."
"Sorry Moody," the one closest to her spoke.
"Yeah, Molly didn't want us to leave, kept crying over us." The other explained.
"Only got away when Ron started crying." The first added.
Moody grunted something incoherently.
The men seemed to notice Victoria for the first time a moment later. The one closest to her smiled, "Well look here Gideon, we have a new playmate."
Gideon smiled, "So I see." He took her hand shaking it, "Gideon Prewett at your service."
She laughed as he kissed her hand in an overly extravagant manner. "Victoria Knight, nice to meet you."
"Clear off." The other man said playfully pushing his brother out of the way. "Fabian Prewett, just remember I'm the one who's not a complete git."
She laughed, "I'll try to remember that."
"Who are you calling a git, you bloody idiot!" Gideon retorted quickly.
"Enough trying to chat her up." Moody growled physically pulling the men away from her.
"Sorry Moody." Fabian said with the trace of a smirk still evident on his face.
"We were just trying to get to know her." Gideon added quickly.
"Do I need to remind you that we're on a mission here?" Moody grumbled casting both men a dark glare.
"I think I remember hearing something about that. How 'bout you Fab?" Gideon asked jokingly, getting a small laugh from Victoria.
"That would explain a lot." Fabian retorted giving Victoria a wink.
"Would you two put a cork in it?" Moody grumbled.
"Maybe." Fabian answered.
Gideon nodded, "Potentially."
Victoria laughed, seeing Moody become increasingly irritated. She could see that he wasn't someone to get upset, but it didn't seem to faze the twins. Moody shook his head, "Do you want to know what we're doing here or not?"
Victoria knew if she didn't answer then they would start him off again and would never get an answer so she quickly answered, "I don't know about them, but I would like to hear it."
"Suck up." Fabian whispered in one ear.
"Spoilsport." She heard Gideon whisper in the other.
Moody started as if he didn't notice the two men next to her. "Peter Pettigrew, one of our members was taken last night. Our sources claim that this is where they're hiding him."
"Pettigrew? What do they want him for?" Gideon asked seemingly now interested.
"It's not like that little rat can tell them much." Fabian said looking confused.
Moody huffed, "From what I'm told he knows more than we originally thought. If they get to him before we do, there will be lives in danger."
Victoria looked around confused. She didn't know who this Pettigrew was, but she couldn't figure out how they were going to find him in the middle of a field. There seemed to be nothing around them for miles, at least that she could see. "Um, are you sure this is where they said?"
"Of course it's not here." Moody growled as if she were stupid, "The place is just over that hill." He said pointing to a hill in the distance, only barely visible through the now pouring rain.
The group didn't need any further instruction. They started climbing, their shoes squishing in the soft ground as they trudged up the hill. On the other side of the hill they came to a small wood. Between the thick vegetation and the rain falling down, it was like walking into a cave. The little group stayed together, picking their way carefully through the mass of downed branches and knotted roots that threatened to trip them.
As they reached the edge of the woods Moody stopped them with an outstretched arm, which Fabian proceeded to run into. They looked up to see a group of people at the gates in front of a large house. "Constant vigilance." Moody whispered back to them, and then turned back to the group a little way away from them.
Sirius had certainly been right in his assumption that they would be outnumbered. From Victoria's count there were six of them in front of the house and who knew how many inside. The fear that had started to bubble inside her at her flat had become more prominent, making her want to do nothing more than run back the way they had come and apparate away. The feeling of foreboding coming from the large house could be felt even from their position. The darkness weighed on them as they continued to watch in silence, squeezing them until they knew it was now or never.
Suddenly Moody started to move, beckoning them with a wave of his hand. They walked forward, still staying within the clutch of trees for protection. Silently Moody sent out a spell lighting the dark sky around them with a bright yellow glow. The spell hit one of the men squarely in the back, his wand was torn from his hand and he whirled around landing on the ground. The rest of the group started, looking at the place where they'd seen the spell come from. She watched in horror as she knew that the battle had begun, the group in front of the house ran towards them.
Soon there were spells filling the air, causing a rainbow of colors to permeate the dark sky around them. They were casting and dodging until they found themselves locked in individual battles. Somewhere in the confusion more Death Eaters had joined them. Fabian and Gideon were now fighting with five of them, seemingly holding their own. Moody had three more on the run as he cast spell after spell, not even giving them the chance to cast back.
Victoria on the other hand found herself locked in a duel with only one woman. The woman's dark hair matched Victoria's in color, but was curly as it flew behind her as one of Victoria's spells flew past. Her classic good looks seemed in contrast with the intensity of the dark spells flying out of her wand. Her dark heavily hooded eyes held a look of malice as she laughed in Victoria's direction. A jet of red suddenly shot out of the woman's wand hitting Victoria square in the chest causing her to fall back into the wet ground. The mud didn't even register in Victoria's mind as an excruciating pain soared through her body. She felt as if multiple swords pierced her flesh, tearing through it with red hot blades. She pulled herself into a ball screaming out as tears sprang to her eyes.
As suddenly as the pain started it stopped. Victoria jumped to her feet, ignoring the pain that continued to throb in her aching body, seeing the woman on her back in the mud. Looking up Victoria saw Moody, his wand still pointing in the other woman's direction. "Constant vigilance!" He screamed, "I won't be around to save you every time." He growled running after the Death Eaters again.
Still terrified Victoria knew this was her chance, she sent another spell at the woman who was still lying on the ground. Her wand sprang suddenly from her hand landing somewhere in the mud, getting lost in the darkness. The woman didn't hesitate for a second, not needing the wand to cause damage, she took a silver blade from her hip throwing it at Victoria. Luckily she was quick enough to dodge the blade and sent another spell throwing the woman into the air and back down again, knocking her out temporarily.
Victoria looked around, knowing that the others were in their own battles elsewhere. She spotted both groups not far from her. Moody still had the three Death Eaters on the run, but Fabian and Gideon seemed to be in a bit of trouble. The group around them had only been reduced by one, who was currently running back towards the house. She sent a spell flying in the direction of a man closest to her. It connected with him and caused him to hit the ground with a sickening squish.
One of the others seemed to notice her presence at that time and turned on her. The man was dressed in a long flowing black cloak with greasy hair that hung around his shoulders. His skin was so pale it nearly glowed as the spells around them lit up the darkness. His black eyes seemed to hold something more than just the intensity she could see in them, it was almost a curiosity. She however, didn't have much time to think about the look he gave her as she saw a spell fly in her direction from his wand. She blocked it easily, sending out another without success. They continued in this manner for a few minutes, neither besting the other until she heard a stirring behind her. She sent out another spell quickly as she felt a hand come around her neck.
"Drop your wand," She heard a female voice in her ear as she felt the cold blade against the flesh of her neck. "Drop it!"
Victoria knew it was the end. She only had two choices at that time; either drop the wand and risk almost certain death, or keep fighting and probably die anyway. She nearly laughed to herself at her bleak outlook. Knowing that the man in front of her had no intention of stopping she knew her choice immediately. She sent out another jet of yellow at him, this time catching him off guard as his wand was wrenched from his hand flying high into the air as he was thrown back into a tree. Then turning on the woman Victoria felt the blade cut a shallow line across her neck. Putting her wand directly into the woman's stomach she sent her flying into the air again into another tree, knocking the woman out once again, this time she saw a small trickle of blood come from her hairline.
Once the two were out of the way Victoria turned back to the twins. They had gotten their little group down to one single man fighting against both of them. She watched in horror as unexpectedly she saw a jet of green hit one brother and then the other. They doubled over in unison, falling to the ground dead.
It took all of her willpower to not run to them although she knew there was nothing she could do for them; instead she shot another spell at the man who had done the killing. He was caught off guard and thrown into the air landing a little way away unconscious. She took the opportunity to run to them at that point and saw them both lying face first in the puddle of mud. She turned them over as gently as she could, seeing a smirk still evident on their faces although they were no longer there. An overwhelming desire to cry hit her, she hadn't known them well, but she realized that they were some of the bravest men she'd ever met. She let a single tear trail down her cheek as she looked away from them, knowing that the battle was not yet finished.
She saw Moody a few feet away from her. He'd managed to lose two of his Death Eaters at some point, now he stood dueling only one. Shots were being sent back and forth in a constant stream. They were fighting so fast there was no possible way she could see who had sent what and could only point her wand at the other man and pray that it hit. Surprisingly her spell hit perfectly, knocking him back into the woods.
However, just before her spell hit, he'd sent one out which connected with Moody taking a large chunk out of his nose. Blood poured out of the wound, flowing down his face and staining his shirt. She ran to him, cursing herself for not knowing more about medical spells. He was cursing profusely as she pointed her wand at his face, causing the blood to slow, but not stop. "It's fine." He growled after a minute, "We have to go. Now!"
She looked at him skeptically, but followed orders. His hand was still up at his nose trying to stem the flow as they ran towards the house. There was nowhere that Victoria could think of that she would like to go less, but she diligently followed.
They went through the gate, surprisingly seeing no one around them. Continuing to run into the house it was eerily quiet. At that point she suspected that someone had managed to get back and tip off the others of their presence. Stopping suddenly as Moody came to a halt in front of her, she could hear soft voices above them. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she continued to follow Moody as he led her to the stairs.
Making their way up the creaking stairs as quietly as they could she could now hear the voices better. One seemed to come out in what seemed to be a high pitched hiss, while she could barely make out the other as he was speaking in a squeaky voice just above a whisper, seemingly as terrified as she felt.
Finally they made their way to the landing of the stairs and saw a high backed chair, but could not see the person sitting in it. The man who stood in front of the chair was the one who had been whispering. Seeing him for the first time she had to wonder if this was Pettigrew. She thought back to something one of the twins had said about him being a rat and she immediately thought that they had been right about their wording. The man had small watery eyes, a long thin nose reminding her of a rat's and mousey brown hair. Moody motioned at the man and she nodded, she'd been right.
She held her breath wondering what they were going to do next. She didn't have to wonder very long as she saw Moody run in ahead of her catching both men off guard. He sent a stunning spell at the man in the chair, causing him to go rigid as Victoria grabbed Pettigrew. The three ran to the stairs, knowing they didn't have very long before the spell wore off. They didn't stop running until they were back into the woods to the spot where Fabian and Gideon had fallen. Victoria kept her hold on Pettigrew as she took a hold of one of Fabian's hands. Moody took one hand of each of the twins and they all apparated.
She didn't know where they were going but when she looked around after they stopped she saw what looked to be, at one time at least, a farm-house. However it looked like rooms had been added as necessary and was so crooked that it could only have been held up by magic. A short, plump woman who stood just inside the door, ran towards them when she spotted them. As she got closer Victoria could see that she had the same flaming red hair as the twins, she heard a wail come from the shorter woman, "Fabian, Gideon, no!"
"I'm sorry Molly." Moody said gently, it being the kindest thing Victoria had heard him say yet.
"How… how…" Molly managed to squeak out between sobs.
Victoria answered hating to hear the sobbing coming from Molly as she felt like doing it herself, "They fought bravely. There were five Death Eaters against the two of them. They had managed to get rid of four, but the last one got them."
Molly looked up at her through the tears and gave her the slightest of smiles, "Thank you."
Victoria gave her a tiny smile back. Moody simply gave her shoulder a squeeze and turned to walk away. Victoria still had a hold of a silent Pettigrew as she followed Moody.
A little way away from the house Moody turned to her, "You did well back there."
She smiled sadly pushing a stray piece of her raven black hair out of her face, "Even though you needed to bail me out?"
"You were fighting Bellatrix Lestrange. The woman loves causing pain. Her speciality is the Cruciatus Curse which is what you got a taste of tonight. If you didn't need help I would have been amazed."
"Well thank you." She said honestly, not able to look at him, she still felt like she'd failed somehow.
"I'd work with you any time." He said quietly.
Her head shot up, unsure if she'd actually heard what he'd said. She didn't even have time to thank him as he turned away looking at Pettigrew, "Gotta take this one back to the Order." He grumbled turning away. Calling over his shoulder he growled, "Remember, constant vigilance."
She almost laughed as she saw them apparate away, following suit a moment later.