Hot Spells in the Dark
Author's Note- Adult-on-adult violence. Comparable to JKR's fight in Department of Mysteries, but little gore.
Thank you for your comments.
HPHPHP
They turned off most of the lights in the assembly room so their eyes acclimated to the low light. They were also sitting down so they wouldn't have the clown show of fully kitted Aurors falling down in the dark. She heard the other Aurors breathing. She had just taken another deep breath when their Sergeant said to stand up. It was time to go.
They had a rope strung out for the first wave. They picked up the rope and each of them checked on the Aurors to their left and right. Did she look like that with a face as still and stiff as stone? She put her face shield down. She grabbed the rope with both gloved hands. She hung on and bent her knees. The rope was a goblin-made portkey, but the landing zone was farmland, not a golf course. She landed and then stumbled on the uneven ground.
She checked her teammates to the left and right. She saw an Auror being helped back to his feet. She looked around. There remained a faint glow of light behind them and another glimmer of light peaking over the ridge in front of them. That faint orange light was barely visible through the trees but it was nice of the munchers to give them a homing beacon. The bright moon was on their left. That helped as she got her bearings.
The portkey vanished. She grabbed and secured her wand. Like a huge centipede moving sideways, the two platoons of Aurors began their slow and careful steps to the top of the rise. She scanned the line and adjusted her pace. They wanted to reach the top of the hill at the same time. She was just past the ridgeline when the lights behind them went out. That was their signal. They began to move faster and as quietly as they could.
There was always some noise. She heard the faint crunch and swish as they stepped through hayfield stubble in late July. There was the rustle of clothing and the occasional clink of kit as they ran. She felt her sheath knife rub against the outside of her right thigh. There was the constant sound of the Aurors moving next to her. Her face shield filled her ears with the sound of each breath. No one spoke.
The scene looked surreal like the Munchers were standing around a huge campfire and listening to a lecture. It was natural to be drawn towards the light and it took discipline for the formation of Aurors to stay spread out. She closed to 15 meters from the campfire. The nearest target was a few meters closer than that. She didn't want to be seen so she went prone and crawled forward through the stubble. As planned, they waited for the slowest Auror to crawl into position.
They had worried about making too much noise during their approach. Short of playing bagpipes, it didn't matter. The muncher with a snake face was casting a Cruciatus curse on someone. The victim's screams hid the sounds of the Aurors as well as riveting the muncher's attention. It must be hard to maintain situational awareness when one of your fellow Death Eaters is getting tortured right in front of you. Their loss was her gain.
She saw a dozen of the munchers fall when the staff men cast their Stupefy spells. The stunners were invisible and cast without incantation. That was her signal. She cast silently. Snake face was hit several times and went down. He fell near the bonfire. The munchers who were closest to her went down like their strings were cut. Someone was dragging the burning man away from the fire. She cast a cutting hex and they dropped snake face back on the ground. She got off a half dozen cutting hexes before she heard one of the munchers cast a Protego charm. That charm changed everything.
She saw and felt the staff men open up with the Unforgivables. The plan was to use the invisible hexes until the munchers put up shields. After that, the Aurors would cast the green steaked AKs that couldn't be shielded. That worked for a minute. A tight knot of Death Eaters were standing to this side of the largest cauldron she'd ever seen. A Bombarda spell hit the cauldron and threw dirt and dust into the air. She followed up with more curses on the munchers who were still upright and on any others who raised their heads.
The Death Eaters were casting spells in all directions. A few of them hexed and AKed each other when they stumbled into their own line of fire. Some of the Death Eaters fell from the sky as they hit the anti-apparation wards and splinched. Then she saw the snake.
Some of the Aurors started to shout when they saw a large snake crawling up the slope toward them. Fortunately, the wind was in the Auror's face so the snake couldn't find their scent. The snake soaked up a lot of their curses. That gave the munchers a chance to regroup.
The snake reared up to strike someone to her left. The second time the snake lifted its head, it suddenly flew up into the air and out of sight. It was most of the snake. She was sure of that. It could have been all of it, and it was definitely the head of the snake. It was hard to tell over the shouts and explosions, but the whoosh that the monster made as it shot through the air would have the snake landing somewhere a few klicks out at sea. That was probably a Banishing charm from some wizards carrying staffs. Merlin bless the artillery.
The munchers started to run. At first they hid behind the large cauldron. The firelight from under the cauldron made them easy to see. Spells were glancing off the metal sides of the cauldron and beating the ground. One of the staff men cast another Bombarda that shattered the giant pot. That broke the fire discipline of the munchers, those who were still upright. It also extinguished some of the bonfire as the potion flowed into the ground. It was harder to pick out targets in the moonlight and smoke. The smoke and steam clung to the ground and blew toward the Aurors. She could still see from her position. She cast another Avada Kedavra.
"Shields up and move. Shields up and move," she heard.
Now the Aurors were targets as they stood and moved down the slope. No one wanted to walk into the light near the bonfire. The Aurors split their platoons. That was great for a pincer movement. It was also a great way to end up casting against your own team as the encirclement became complete and the fight became more disorganized. She was far enough away from the smashed caldron that there were plenty of targets. Every few steps she checked her position in the line.
The munchers were throwing bright green Unforgivable curses but they were losing the fight. Each spell the munchers cast gave away their position. Each spell the munchers cast was met with a handful of Unforgivables in return. The Aurors couldn't run downhill because they still had the gravestones underfoot. The munchers had clear ground behind them so they could move faster. Most of the munchers turned and ran into the darkness. She kept casting and felt the drain on her magic. Alternating between casting a shield and an casting an Unforgivable was hard work. It drained her magic. She was tired, but it was a familiar feeling.
Now it was the Aurors who had the remaining light of the bonfire at their backs. Some of the staff men cast brilliant Lumos spells that hung above them. Those lights cast strangely stark shadows across the ground in front of them. The spells lit up the fire zone and now it was the munchers who had the glowing orbs in their eyes.
The few munchers who stood their ground were cursed by the broad line of Aurors. She felt the wave of a Homenum Revelio spell pass through her. The munchers who had gone invisible now glowed in the dark. She cast twice and stepped to a new position. The Auror on her left fell down. She moved over to fill the gap.
Some of the munchers threw up their wands. No one saw their empty hands in the darkness. They fell where they stood. Some dove onto the grass. No one had time to bind them. If the munchers were lucky then they were stunned as the strike team advanced. The Aurors weren't about to cast stunners when there were still AKs flying toward them in the night. She nearly tripped over a body lying in the grass. She cast a stunner and moved on. A few steps later, a spell knocked her off her feet.
She sucked in a breath of air and rolled to her knees. She retrieved her wand by its lanyard. She had her wand back in her hand. She kept using her primary wand rather than switching to her backup wand. She scrambled forward to fill in the line. Now she noticed that she'd landed on rough ground and they were out of the graveyard. She noticed the stubble of cut hay underfoot. She cast at anything that was standing in front of her. The Death Eaters were disorganized. Some of their spells plowed the ground in front of her. Others curses flew over her head. Merlin only knew what invisible spells were flying through the night. She saw one of the Death Eaters hit from behind as another Death Eater carelessly cast a spell. The Auror's night training paid off. She searched, cast, and moved time after time. It was better to cast now than to save her magic and let the munchers get in another spell.
She felt and heard the copper tokens buzz in her pockets. The ward line glowed off to her right side. The two groups of Aurors slowed and merged back toward each other. They formed a single force with the staff men now mixed side by side with the wands.
She heard the grunts and groans as some of the Death Eaters slammed into the ward line. She watched a Death Eater splinch as he ran down the slope. Another muncher collapsed awkwardly as she met the wards. Security wards have no friends. The few munchers who remained cast their spells wildly.
One of the munchers flew up into the air screaming as the witch got close to the picket line of elves who were burrowed behind the wards. It was good to have friends.
The Aurors stopped when none of the munchers were left standing and the glowing ward line was directly in front of them. The Aurors reformed into one group with the wand men on the outside and the staff men behind them inside the circle. Some of the staff men continued to cast Homenum Revelio into the darkness. Others kept casting the Lumos spells. As a group, they dropped to one knee. They looked for the flash of spells in the night. She caught her breath before she heard the cries and groans coming from the field above them.
She felt her Sergeant step behind her. He patted her shoulder. "Are you hurt?" he asked.
She continued to stare into the dim. She was still seeing the bright spots where spell-flash had stained her vision. She nodded and slapped his hand as her breathing slowed. Her wand stayed pointing into the darkness. The Sergeant moved on through the group. They saw a wounded Auror put up a Lumos spell from halfway down the slope. They reformed and walked slowly up the hill. Again, the staff men cast brilliant Lumos spells that lit the field. They searched for survivors as they climbed step by step into night.
She heard a sizzle as the ward line was taken down. She saw the elves cross the line a moment later. She heard other squads called back to search both sides of the ward line.
She saw a body in the grass and called for the elves. She cast an Incarcerous compression charm that was high and tight on the Auror's leg followed by an Episkey healing charm. She took the Auror's wand and made it glow. She pressed it back into his hands. The wounded Auror was one of the wand men like her.
An elf tapped her leg and she continued up the slope. The line of Aurors stopped time after time. They made sure that no one was missed, alive or dead, as they slowly made their search. She had to turn off her emotions. Like everyone else, she cast Homenum Revelio and Lumos again and again. It was hard work, but easier than casting AKs. She heard one of the wand men cast a stasis charm. The Healers could sort out those who they could save. If the wizard in the grass was alive, then at least the search team had bought him some time.
She saw a white robe in the grass. Who would wear a white robe into battle? They might as well have worn a sign that said 'Hex me first.' Her uniform was a mottled gray and charmed to blend with her surroundings. She rolled the body over and recognized the wizard. Lord Malfoy had been a monster, but a handsome monster. A cutting curse had hit him in the back. Now he was another dead muncher with ruined robes. She didn't see Malfoy's wand. She cast a stasis charm over him. Then, she pulled a glow stick from her thigh pocket and broke it. She dropped the glowing stick onto Malfoy's chest to mark him for the elves.
The Aurors worked their way forward side by side. They were halfway up the slope when she felt the thump. The Anti-Apparition Charm was lifted. The lights of the skate park came back on a few seconds later. She heard someone swear and cast another stasis charm as the light revealed another body. She looked up the hill and saw two Aurors and two Unspeakables standing near the remains of the cauldron. She didn't recognize them.
She heard the muffled pops as elves apparated away with the wounded. The Aurors finished searching the graves and headstones with their distorted shadows. She saw several teams of Aurors in uniform robes coming over the rise. They would take prisoners and collect evidence. They would pick up wards and wands.
An elf offered her a canteen of water when they reached the top of the cemetery. She finally remembered to raise her face shield. She could see better now that the dirty shield was out of the way. Someone was putting out a fire that crept slowly up the hill through the cut hay. She looked for her squad. She found six of the eight and walked over to stand with them. She slipped the lanyard off her wrist and reholstered her wand. She had to slow down and drink carefully from the trembling canteen. Her legs and arms were heavy. She glanced down the hill at the shattered cauldron and the smoldering fire.
The Healers asked anyone with injuries to come forward. Her squad mate shook her arm and pointed his gloved hand at her face. She didn't feel the cuts until the Healer cleaned them. The Healer cut open her uniform where she'd taken the curse between her shoulder and her heart. The dragon hide was in one piece. Of course it hurt when the Healer pushed there. Why did they bother to ask? A detached part of her noticed that the Healers gloves were still clean as the Healer pulled the edges of her cut uniform back together and cast a mending charm. That was good. They put bandages over her wrist and neck. The healer slapped her hand away when she tried to feel the bandages with her gloved fingers.
She'd picked up some cuts and scrapes. What of it. She felt a rivulet of sweat run down her back.
Eventually, the Healers would examine everyone, first in the field, and then again in the Auror's den when they'd pealed themselves free of the dragon hide. There was still the debrief interview and the taking of memories ahead of them. It would be hours before they would wash up and change back into robes. She wondered what had happened this night.
They would spend days reconstructing the attack. At least she'd be going home in a few days. They had brought 60 Aurors to face an unknown number of Death Eaters. There were another 60 witches and wizards held in reserve and support. She was pretty sure that all of them had made it to the top of the hill. Forty to fifty of the munchers had been around the fire. Some might have escaped, but not many. Hopefully none at all.
The Death Eaters earned their Dark Mark by murdering a muggle or a first-generation wizard. The Death Eaters came to kill, and this time had been killed in return. It felt like to her that they'd lost a dozen Aurors before they made it to the bottom of the wards. Her Sergeant would find out in the next few days. She hoped they got all the munchers even if it took every last Auror on the force. There was no point in dragging it out for years. Those who wanted to rule by the wand had died by the wand.. and it was about time.
The moon was still climbing into the night. She was sizzling alert and bone-tired at the same time. It was several hours after sunset yet sleep seemed impossibly far away. Her Sergeant called the squad together. Most of them were there. He said they had done a good job. He led them up the hill in single file.
No one spoke.
HPHPHP
Author's Notes- Feedback is appreciated.
I've written an aftermath chapter in other stories, but this is my first curse-by-curse HP battle scene. It is a fairly long chapter but I left out most of the gory details. Since this is my first scene like this, would you please offer additions, corrections, or deletions to make it better.
I was wondering about the Death Eaters having some Werewolves but decided against it. This was supposed to be Voldemort's encore performance so Voldy would not have invited Weres.
Do wizards have night-vision spells? NVGs without batteries or a lump of metal puling on your neck would be a dream come true.
Slow