Chapter 36 - Blood is Thicker than Water

April

"C'mon...c'mon…" It was nearing midnight and close to freezing, so his frosted breath wound around the words as they left his mouth. James pressed his back up against the cold steel of the shipping container as flat as he could, though even underneath his corduroy jacket his skin did not thank him for this.

"We were supposed to get a signal ten minutes ago," Dorcas whispered through chattering teeth. "Should we call it off?"

Gideon shook his head. "No, just give them a little more time."

"I thought Remus was meant to be in our group," James asked, turning to Marlene.

"He was supposed to be in Em's group, but he got held up on some business for Dumbledore."

"Look!" whispered Edgar. He was pointing off to the left down a row of containers where the faint glow of a lumos charm could be spotted about a quarter mile away. Alice's signal.

In turn, Gideon raised his wand and lit his signal. "Now we just wait on Dedalus."

They stared intently off to the right at the rendezvous spot for the final group.

"Give him a minute," Gideon reassured them.

"...Maybe someone should go check on them," James suggested.

"We're not moving until we see that light."

"What if something happened?"

"Potter, if you move from this spot you could jeopardize the entire operation!"

"Your brother's over there!"

Dorcas stepped away from the container wall. "Both of you, stop it!"

They all fell silent when off to the right, the third group finally signaled.

Everyone froze as Gideon peered around the container's corner to wait for Alastor's final signal.

In the distance by the water's edge, he saw a tiny beam of light.

"Move," he ordered.

The group peeled off around the container and began running towards the Thames. As she ran, Marlene turned her head and saw Alice's group on her right, but to her left, there was nobody.

"Stop!" she urged, slowing to a halt and pointing to where the other group should have been. "Something's wrong."

Sure enough, only two out of the three squadrons seemed to be proceeding as planned.

"Damn it all," Gideon cursed.

"I'll go back and check on them," James offered again. Emmeline was supposed to be in the missing group.

"I'll go with you."

But Gideon had already turned back towards the containers. "No McKinnon, I need you with the rest of the group. James and I will go. Everyone else go on ahead, and stick to the plan."

James squeezed Marlene's shoulder before running after Gideon.

When they again reached the rows of shipping containers, they maneuvered through the maze in the vicinity of where they'd seen the supposed signal, wands drawn.

"Dedalus signaled, they've got to be here somewhere."

Gideon turned to look at James, but his eyes focused on something past him. "That wasn't Dedalus."

James spun around just in time to duck out of the way of a jinx from the masked figure behind him. Gideon blocked the attack, but didn't see the second death eater at his own back, so James darted past Gideon to cover him.

Moments later, James felt himself being pulled by the collar as Gideon dragged him through another corridor and into a sprint. "What've they done with Dedalus and the others?!" he hollered.

"I don't know, but we've lost the element of surprise! We have to get back and tell the rest of the group!"

"What about the missing company?"

"No time!"

They skid around a corner and had the dock in sight - but not for long. Suddenly, one of the shipping containers stacked atop the maze was propelled down into their path. The massive metal container landed with an earth-shattering crash and nearly flattened them.

"This way!" James motioned for them to head down another lane, but again, a shipping container was thrown down to block them.

Upon more careful inspection, Gideon noticed masked death eaters walking along the top of the maze. "We're being herded."

The pair kept running, changing direction to try and outrun the maze-makers, but were continually thwarted in their attempts to get back to the dock. To make matters worse, curses began raining down on them, further complicating their escape plans.

They were able to round a corner and lose the attention of the death eaters for a brief moment. "Wait! In here!" Gideon hissed as he yanked James into a nearby open container.

Inside the steel box, the pair was greeted by pointed wands.

"Fabian?!"

"Gideon!" the twins whispered simultaneously. When his eyes adjusted, James realized they'd found the missing group.

"James!" Emmeline stood from her place next to Dedalus and embraced him tightly.

"Em! Thank Merlin..."

Peter emerged from a shadowy corner in the back of the unit. "Were there any chasing you on the ground?"

"Not recently," James exhaled, approaching Wormtail to hug him as well before leaning up against the wall to catch his breath. "Won't be long before they come down here looking for us, though."

"We never made it to the signal point," Emmeline explained, motioning back to Dedalus. Blood was dripping down the side of his leg onto the metal floor. "We were spotted by a patrol. It was too risky to send a patronus."

"He isn't fit to apparate and whoever spotted us called for reinforcements, so we've been stuck in here," Fabian continued.

"One of them must've caught on and given us a fake signal," Gideon concluded. "Which is why we have to go - the others could be walking into a trap."

"How many did you count outside?" asked Peter.

"Dunno," said James. "Four? Maybe five?"

"What about Dedalus?" asked Emmeline.

"You lot go, I'll be fine here!"

"We're not leaving you," she assured him rather sternly. James and Gideon got the impression that this had been a point of contention before their arrival.

Gideon fell silent for a moment as he looked back at the door, slightly ajar, and letting in the only sliver of moonlight illuminating the container.

He turned to his brother. "We've taken on five death eaters before, right?"

"...Not all at once," Fabian replied, an intrigued smile creeping across his face. A challenge.

"What are you suggesting?" asked James, coming away from the wall.

"A diversion," said Gideon, sporting a similar smile. A challenge indeed.

"...What, just the two of you!?"

Emmeline shook her head. "Absolutely not."

Fabian turned his attention to Dedalus, assessing his leg. "Pettigrew, do you think you could give Dedalus a hand with a side-along? Take him to St. Mungo's?"

"Y-Yes," Peter nodded, ever willing to get out of a fight. He and James helped their wounded comrade off the floor and placed his arm around Peter's shoulders. The pair disapparated.

"Let me and Emmeline come with you, that will make it a more even fight!"

"No James, that will take too long," said Gideon. "Once we lure the death eaters away, you two will have to get to the dock as quickly as you can."

Having no other ideas himself, James turned to Emmeline in the hopes that she would have a better suggestion; but she nodded in agreement with the Prewetts. "They're right."

Fabian readied himself at the door, his brother close behind. "Wait two minutes for us to clear the area. We'll see you after it's over."

"We'd better see you after," James said with a concerned smile, placing a hand of camaraderie on each of the brothers' shoulders. With that, the Prewetts nodded to each other, then bolted out of the metal container with wands blazing and voices raised.

After a few minutes had passed, the Prewetts' shouts could no longer be heard from inside the container. Emmeline poked her head out the door. "...I think we're clear. Let's go."

Off they went. Emmeline ran after James as he tried to navigate a clear path back to the dock. The frigid air burned their throats as though they were sprinting through a wildfire and not the freezing cold - yet they did not slow down. Over the rows of shipping containers, they saw a faint orange glow over the water. It looked like the sunrise, but how could it have been? It was the middle of the night...

"That can't be good," James remarked, picking up his pace.

After several minutes, they finally located a way out of the rows of containers - but when they had a clear view of the port, they saw that half a dozen ships were engulfed in flames.

"We're too late," James exhaled. "He knows we're here."

"Maybe, but we can still join the fight." Emmeline pointed to distant flashes of light exchanged between the wands of foes.

James nodded in agreement, and though they were already exhausted, they pressed on.

As they ran, a cry from the maze prompted Emmeline to turn back around. A smoky dark mark was already forming in the sky.

"No," she breathed, slowing her pace. The Prewetts were still in the maze. "No!" She began to shift her course back towards the containers.

"Wait, Em!"

But she stopped in her tracks when the group of death eaters emerged from the maze and headed towards them.

"We have to keep going!" James beckoned, staggering back to grab her arm and dragging her back into a sprint. Hot tears singed her icy cheeks as they ran.

When they reached the water's edge, they stopped only for a moment to heave a few deep breaths and stare begrudgingly at the icy river. No brooms or portkeys available to get them to their destination.

"You think we could apparate?" James wheezed, his hands on his knees.

Out of breath herself, Emmeline shook her head. "I can't even see the deck, it's too risky."

Swinging back around, James looked to see how far off the death eaters were, then turned back to ledge. "We're going to freeze to death."

"I'll take hypothermia over a killing curse any day," Emmeline quipped, casting a bubble head charm. James followed suit.

They dove in.

Stunned into momentary paralysis by the cold water, Emmeline's muscles were reluctant to propel her forward. She turned her head to James, who was motioning for her to follow him underneath the eaves of the dock. She puzzled at him; the fight was in the opposite direction. He grew impatient and swam towards her to yank her under the dock with him, keeping his eyes on the water above.

It seemed that the death eaters were reluctant to take the plunge as well, as evidenced by muffled shouts from the surface above. Finally, one was flung into the water, and judging by the position at which their body had broken the surface, they'd been pushed. Emmeline moved her arm to cast a jinx, but was again stopped by James. They were perfectly hidden under the darkness of the eaves, and if they stunned one death eater before the others dove in, it would give away their position. Emmeline realized this and steadied herself, hoping that the rest of the group would join their comrade in the water before her blood turned to ice.

After searching for the pair to no avail, the first death eater kicked up to the surface and spoke to the other four still standing on the dock. One by one, the rest of them dove in. James held up his fingers and counted down. Three, two, one.

Their spells flew through the water and stupefied their opponents before they even had a chance to register their presence. Dragged down by their heavy black robes, each death eater slowly sank towards the bottom of the marina.

No longer pursued, James began swimming toward the fiery ships, but he was stopped by Emmeline. She tugged angrily at his foot, pointing down at the bodies sinking into the depths. She'd already killed one death eater, and living with that had been tormenting enough. Could they really just leave them to drown?

James had no qualms with this, as his friends' lives were at stake and every second they wasted saving the life of a death eater was time that they weren't protecting those they loved. But Emmeline insisted. Using a levitation charm, she lifted one of the sinking bodies up out of the water and back onto the dock. Reluctantly, James assisted her until all five death eaters were safely on land. Emmeline figured they'd still be passed out when the aurors came to round them up. Together, she and James swam undetected towards the ships.

They reached the closest ship after what seemed like an age, hoping that there was still a fight to be joined. Newly marking the sides of the sip's exterior were large, black char marks where the fire had recently been put out. Once they kicked up to the surface, both shivering violently, James and Emmeline climbed up a metal wrung ladder onto the ship's deck. It wasn't long after James reached the ship's surface that he suddenly keeled over with a pained shout, clutching his ears with his hands.

"AGH!"

"James!" exclaimed Emmeline, who was prevented from helping her friend by a death eater that began casting curses in their direction. Towards the bow, she noticed Alice suffering a similar posture to James.

Once she'd disarmed the death eater, Emmeline knelt down next to James, frantically searching for the source of his pain. "What is it?!"

"It's him," he let out a strained wail. "He's in my head!"

In the distance, Alice cried to the wind. "I'll never join you!"

Emmeline could not remain at James' side for long, as another two death eaters were making their way towards Alice. She sprung up and aimed jinxes at them as she charged.

She had enough time to disarm the two death eaters before a splitting pain shot through her own skull. She dropped to her knees, taking hold her head.

"Your friends have thrice defied me." whispered the raspy, serpentine voice. "They have sealed their fate as well as yours. Now, you will all die."

When the voice left her mind, Emmeline clutched her abdomen, fearing she was going to be sick. She was lifted up to her feet by James.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice still strained.

"How can he do that?!" she sputtered, hunching back over, a mix of cold and nausea weakening her posture.

"I don't know."

"They're all gone," Alice reported as she joined the pair. "All the death eaters just disapparated." She began to dry them off with a hot-air charm from her wand. "Was I the only one that heard him?"

"I think we all did," said James.

"They all just left," Alice remarked again. In her stupor, Emmeline hadn't noticed the death eaters on the deck taking their leave.

"If that's the case and they really are gone," Emmeline began, "we would do well to get back to the rendezvous point before the Coastguard arrives."