Battle Of Gringotts

[Adonis Maddock]

The day was nice enough, the weather was clear; the sun was not shining too brightly. It was warm, but not quiet warm enough for him to break much of a sweat; He sat at a small table meant for two in front of a delightful little café that he couldn’t be bothered to look up at the name for. He had a newspaper in front of him, a small cappuccino mug on an equally tiny little saucer on the table which was otherwise empty of anything. He had long ago finished reading the paper, and the coffee was almost gone, only a tiny sip remained with the dregs, and little bits of cinnamon that had been decorating the top of the foam remained. The paper lay folding in half across his lap; he didn’t care for the pious way that most of the journalists commented on the world around them. It had a seedy underbelly that most of them would never have the precious honor to be a part of. If only they knew the truth about what the world was really like, but no, those with tainted blood would never have the pleasure of knowing it, because they would never be invited nor would they be allowed to coexist. He could see them now, walking past him, their bastard children tugging on various articles of clothing, begging for something or another. Their mousey voices pleading ’mommy please can I have this, mommy can we stop and get some food, mommy can I, mommy won’t you, mommy…mommy….mmmooommmyyy’ He was half tempted to throw scalding coffee on their tiny faces. He was of the personal opinion that children shouldn’t be allowed out of the house until they could conduct themselves in public, he knew that he sure wasn’t allowed to. He didn’t even associate with those not of pure blood until he was eleven. That, was only because there was no elitist school available to him or his family. To this day, he had never even come in contact with a muggle; he felt no need to wander around their towns, or to wonder what made them tick or how to figure out how they managed to function in day to day life without some sort of help from wizards. Their tiny brains would never know what they were missing; he didn’t see the reason that they shouldn’t be wiped from the planet entirely. It was the reason that he had brought himself to Austria in the first place.

London was his home; he had been born and raised in it, proudly marching up and down the wizarding streets like he owned the world. As far as he was concerned, he did. He came from a powerful family to begin with, his last name generally preceded him, and those who were ignorant of the power that his family held, knew of his own personal reputation. The one he had built and expanded upon all by himself. He could have easily rose through the ranks in the ministry, but their pansy attitude was more than he could tolerate. He preferred to rule with an iron fist, and whenever he heard rumors of a power rising across the pond, he had been the first to head over and check it out. Everybody who had ears had heard of the little attack on Minister Ragnall’s birthday bash, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that he had been smart and tucked himself away in hiding after the event. The idea of attempting to overthrow the minister and place himself behind that desk, to bend the world to his own personal views was tempting, and he was sure that he could have found a way to the top if he had so chosen, but whenever he was honest with himself, Adonis knew that he was not one for the limelight. He lacked the strong jaw and attractive features to run things; he preferred to be the one calling the shots behind the scenes, pulling the strings. The one who wrote the speeches that could put chills down somebodies spine. He had little to no luck finding the man, even with his entire impressive web of contacts. No matter, he would find the man eventually and make his services known, he didn’t know how to take no for an answer. Since it had been such a long time since the last large scale attack on the minister, or the population he was positive that he could be of great help to the cause. He had come across a few of his ‘followers’ over the past few months in his travels, all of whom were still too intimidated to say much of anything about the man, it was all good news to him. Even still, it was all that he could do not to go putting himself out into public, perhaps cause a scene large enough in scale to force the man to seek him out.

As for today, he was just biding his time, until some grand idea came to him. Luckily, he was good enough at people watching to have found a source of entertainment for the foreseeable future. He was glad that they seemed to have the same open table policy that they did in London, even if things seemed to move a little more slowly here, people took more time to do whatever it is that they were interested in. Gave him time to read all morning, have a little breakfast and finish his coffee without any pressure to clear out to make room for more new customers. Not a single person that he had seen today held his attention for longer than a moment, he was in for a very lonely visit as most of the people he would hardly pay to clean his shoes, much less indulge in actual conversation with. However, a loud scream coming from a little further down the street caught his attention. It seemed, that the first real action was about to happen, something interesting in an otherwise slow trip. He could see people heading in the direction of the noise, gasps and small children being ushered away. He figured, if it was really interesting then it would be going on in a little while, if it was over before he had time to finish his coffee, then it was not worth his time. Nonetheless, he did place a hand on the back of his chair just long enough to turn and see if it was even visible from his vantage point. It didn’t appear to be. Righting himself, he shuffled his paper, looking to see if there was a single article that he had not yet read. He could hear the sounds that sounded like metal colliding with stone, and more shouting, the waitress was standing at the table next to him, staring so fixatedly at the spot that people were running in the direction of that he wasn’t sure what to make of it, she was pouring iced tea down the front of somebody’s shirt and down into his lap, the strange part was, that the man didn’t even seem to care. Heaving a sigh he dropped the pretense of reading the paper, he had started to fold it whenever the waitress dropped the pitcher of tea to the ground, screaming and ran back inside of the establishment.

This grabbed his attention and held fast, turning just in time to see the people go crashing into a store front and more screaming, more hoards of people who seemed to finally be getting the sense to head away from the fray. He never did understand people’s morbid attraction to violence. If anybody should have understood it, it should have been him since he was so capable of dishing it out. The store front seemed to collapse in front of him, trapping people inside, and miraculously, the fair fighting rose to their feet and kept knocking into one another. He was beyond impressed with their stamina. He didn’t want to tear his eyes away, but he wasn’t stupid enough to go heading over there to see what the matter was, or to take pictures. He could almost bet that some fool from the paper he had just been reading was attempting to get some choice shots that he could use to force a story into the front page of the paper. He squinted just to see if that was indeed the case, but as of yet there were no flashes going off. What he did manage to see, was a stunning woman rise to her feet after the building had almost collapsed on top of her, even covered in dust he was intrigued, her shirt was falling off of her frame which amused him, and the fact that her arms exuded sheer power as she moved the rubble around her to go back onto the street. He had no idea what she was, or who she was but he wanted to find out. He was half tempted to curse the woman opposing her just to get her out of the way, and then to put himself in the path of the woman, any interaction would be much appreciated. There was an uncontrollable need to know her, his hand came up to his mouth, covering the lower portion of his face from view, his fingers tapping up against the underside of his misshapen nose. He wanted to not play into the ruse, the commonality of it all where he couldn’t stop looking at the fray, like a patron indulging in a pay per view event and he shouldn’t have any of it. The way her hair flowed, her eyes which even at this distance he could see a fire, or were they just red? He watched as they neared closer and closer to the bank, never once did the thought that they might knock into it, whenever it really should have.

He glanced from where they were currently beating each other into the concrete, then back to the direction from where they came, the street had pot holes, the cobbled path already broken into bits, he could see the eyes from various parts of the street, but their bodies were hidden from sight, he would not have been surprised in the least if he was the only person brave enough to stay in the street, it wasn’t like they were coming for him anyway. The table in front of him was knocked out by a few witches who seemed to be beside themselves with nerves. He had no patience for them. He would have much rather to continue focusing on the two marvels of female flesh. He was one to appreciate power, and this was it in the most raw, basic form of all. The one was exotic looking, with her raven hair and taut olive skin. No doubt she was meant to be a far darker shade of tan, but the rains that had been taking over and blotting out the sun had to of taken toll on her skin. The other was stunning, her arms rippled and the blood that matted her face and light skin. She had hair just as dark, just as wonderful; her voice had a raspy quality to it that made it near impossible for him to take his eyes away from her. The way that they were quarreling was fascinating. He didn’t know them, or what had caused this rift, he could only hope that it wasn’t for something as petty as boyfriend troubles, he was sure that these two would have their pick of the litter. While the people who had been dining around him scattered like roaches with the lights on, he stayed put. His table knocked away, but his frame and the chair it was resting on was undisrupted. He felt his face contort into a smile as he just watched, not threatened. It wasn’t until the beautiful one muttered something about the ministry that he rose from his chair, tossing coins onto the ground where his table had once been, he wasn’t going to dine and dash, and if these two ladies kept it up, they were going to need all of the monetary help that they could get. Folding his Daily Time stopper once more into half, and then half again he tucked it under his arm, smoothing out the creases in his black slacks, until they hung from his waist loosely, he wanted to finish the last drink, but now that was no longer a possibility, he decided that if he was going to continue keeping a low profile, moving away from the scene of the crime was likely a very good option. He had a white button down shirt tucked neatly into the waistband of his slacks, his hair combed down in uniform with his appearance. He looked polished; his clothing was perfectly tailored to his small body. He didn’t much care that he was going to have rubble on his black shoes now, but there wasn’t going to be much he could do about it until later whenever he could have a house elf polish them for him.

Stepping away from the girls, he found it near impossible to keep his eyes off of the pale girl, and he wasn’t exactly sure what. He did his best to follow their trajectory, so that he could put himself in a place that would ‘just so happen’ to be directly in their way not too far from now, his other plans for toward were going to have to be placed on a back burner, but it was an interesting way to pass the time for sure. He moved away from the store, jogging lazily across the street, ducking into Gringotts as the girls made their way out into the middle of the street, there were small windows that he could continue to watch from, and he would still be relatively out of the way within the large marble walls, upon entering, he noticed that everything was far too still, it was like nobody was speaking. He knew that there had been a bunch of commotion outside, but there was no reason that it should have been this bad already, they should assume that they were safe. The goblins didn’t even seem to be behind the desks anymore, there was an attractive blond witch screaming, but the sound was almost drowned out by the screams from outside, had she not been shaking he wouldn’t have paid her any attention at all, there was a couple with the man standing over the woman, she seemed frightened, now he was wishing that he had been inside here to see what had happened, was outside just a diversion to whatever was going on in here? Or vice versa? He was confused; it was not an emotion that came across him very often. Luckily, nobody seemed to be paying him too much attention, so he crossed over to a spot about halfway inside of the bank, just wanting to have a better view, standing with his back to a counter, he reached his palms up behind him, using his upper body muscle to lift himself up onto the counter top, wishing that he had popcorn or something of the sort to keep himself interested and occupied. For some reason that he couldn’t fathom, he was drawn to the couple who seemed to be having an argument. His steel grey eyes didn’t move from them, he was sure that the ministry was bound to show up soon, but he was no better than a ghost to them, they wouldn’t have any idea who he was, other than a ‘travelling businessman’ so he had nothing to fear. He didn’t care if others thought him odd, he watched the man. The girl was pretty enough; she was even more attractive with the beads of sweat moving down her forehead, and her eyes glistening with fear. Just meant that she was being put into her place. Whenever the man touched her forearm, his eyes widened, he couldn’t look away.

Pangs of jealously flooded him, he wanted a mark just like that, he wanted the burn spreading up through his arm and filling his body with pride. His father had a mark like that, from his own days in school; he had always admired the mark. Why was this inferior woman, who seemed to have nothing extraordinary about her at all deserve one, but he didn’t? He wanted to hop over and offer his services, but he was going to need to prove his worth before he was allowed a spot and the privilege of that mark on his arm. A lot of things were about to happen all at once, he knew the Ministry was about to come bursting in through the door, the female shouts were close to the door now, they would be apprehended or start picking off the Aurors, and soon, the Death Eaters he had heard so much about were going to come into the fight, and soon. He was lucky enough to have a front row seat, he was going to have to figure out what they are supposed to do, and then help them start to pick off the Ministry officials, and he was going to have to be careful to have the highest body count. Else, why would the Dark Lord have any interest in him, he had had an idea that the tall man who summoned the others was the one he had been searching for, but he needed to be sure. He just had to wait, he was almost abuzz with anticipation, he couldn’t wait, while the others in the room seemed to have expressions of fear and uncertainty, but he, he was alight with excitement.

[Deleted]

His fingers drummed impatiently on the armrest of the chair he was sitting in. He had been in here for nearly an hour now and was feeling worse than how he had entered it. Tristan had been waiting for this day for months. Years even. So much was riding on the outcome of this meeting that he truly felt if things didn’t work out in his favor, he was going to have to ask to be transferred to the Ministry back in Greece. He wasn’t unhappy in Austria. His life was normal, stable, and nothing different from what he had grown up being accustomed to. His job was stressful but paid decently. His hours had been easing up lately; permitting him to actually leave his office an hour or two after the work day had ended as opposed to the three or four. The extra hours had also been pleasing to a certain petite lady in his life. He and Kea had only been dating for a few weeks now, but he was the happiest he had been in a long time which could have given cause for his improved working environment. He had never been with a woman who had made him feel the way he did. She was supportive, comforting and most of all, encouraging. It was like she was an unworldly being, sent down from the heavens to get him out of the rut his life was stuck in. Things were going as well for Tristan as they possibly could, with the exception of the reason he was sitting in Rutherford’s office today and the feeling of unease at the head’s absence for nearly ten minutes now.

Sticking his finger into his collar Tristan pulled at it to give himself some air. The spacious office was about the same temperature as the blazing heat outside. At least it was to him. It was probably due to his anxiety resulting from this entire situation. This was the boldest step he had taken to advance himself since receiving his title as Auror. He had always been good, just never good enough to rank higher on the Auror chain of command. It had been a huge blow to his ego when he had received the letter that his skills allowed him the title of ‘part-time Auror’. The title itself was a joke. Part time? Tristan didn’t comprehend how law enforcement could be part time. Somehow the Ministry did and he would only serve them at a time convenient for them, only when the first and second higher ups needed backup. That’s when he was called. There hadn’t been a single need for his services though. Nothing extravagant had happened after the Minister’s Masquerade to require the use of all officials associated with the Magical Law Enforcement. He was tired of sitting back in his shadows waiting for his time to shine. He was sick of seeing others less worthy of the Auror title have such success in their jobs for doing nothing but taking credit for the hard work of others. Mostly, Tristan was tired of feeling like his talent was being wasted and that he was not living his life the way he truly wanted to.

Releasing an annoyed breath through closed lips, he ran his hand down his face. He had begun tapping his foot to join in the drumming of his finger tips on the wood surface. Where the hell did Rutherford go? Tristan turned his gaze to the papers shuffled across the man’s desk. They all belonged to him. They held his test scores, outside Auror rankings and their comments, and performance evaluations from training camp. He had been pleased with Rutherford’s comments. The man seemed interested in what he had to offer even giving him a compliment in regards to his admirable defensive spells. During training, he had successfully managed to encase himself and a group of ten other trainees in a dome unable to be broken unless the caster’s concentration was disrupted. He had so many other assets that would only show themselves if given the chance. Tristan knew he would be a benefit to the good side. He had the focus, the motivation, the drive, everything. He couldn’t understand why he wasn’t being noticed. Just because he was the head of another department in the building didn’t mean his focus had been shifted. He still frequently spoke with lessers in the law enforcement department to keep up to date with anything worth knowing. There usually wasn’t much, but he hoped that someone would pass it along that he had been making an attempt to stay informed. In his mind, anything would help.

When the door finally opened from behind him, the first thing Tristan heard was Rutherford’s voice. ”I’ll just need you for a bit of your time Wentworth. I value your opinion on the matter.” At the mention of Ashton’s name, his fingers stopped drumming and gripped firmly into the wood. Any optimism he had went out of the window in an instant. If there was anyone who could prevent him from getting what he had desired for so long it was the prat who had taken his place behind Rutherford’s chair. The sight was sickening and was one he had to look at for an additional two hours. He had to restrain himself on several occasions after seeing each of the prat’s condescending looks and scoffs. It bothered Tristan to no end that he was his superior in a sense. Though not as much as knowing Wentworth’s true intentions behind holding such a position. He had actually felt nauseous being aware that Rutherford had sent for him to stand in on what was supposed to be a private conversation. With Wentworth’s involvement, he didn’t stand a chance. ”It seems to me we’re doing just fine without you” Ashton responded after Tristan had mentioned the extra training he had sought after the camp had ended. His hand balled up into a fist at his side. “I don’t think we have room on the payroll for another active, but you are more than welcome to come work for free. Like a slave” He was humiliated. The frustration on his face apparent. He had never had his character belittled before in front of a superior and it was something he had no desire to experience ever again.

Looking to the ground Tristan bit down on his tongue until the taste of blood filled his mouth. The wound was easier to deal with then the punishment he’d receive from jumping across Rutherford’s desk to get to the smug bastard behind him. After his suspension from their first and last altercation in the building, he had been given a stern warning that any other fighting would result in far worse consequences. For someone who was trying to move up, jeopardizing any part of it because of testosterone and pride would be stupid. The sound of movement from in front of him brought Tristan’s eyes back to the two men in front of them. He glared as he saw Ashton grab at his badge on his chest while looking at Rutherford. Rubbing it in he supposed. He briefly considered sending him a post from a secret admirer to meet up at a secret location so he could pummel him. Though when he looked to see Rutherford’s reaction, his glare quickly turned to confusion. The man looked worried. ”Mr. Stavros. I apologize for the interruption, but I’m afraid this meeting must be put on hold. You’re free to remain here until I get back or return to your office to continue whatever work you were taken from.” The confusion never left his face as Rutherford did nothing to explain himself or why he and Wentworth all of a sudden looked concerned. Standing up, he followed behind both of them. Excited voices filled the air of the department floor as they exited the office. He had no idea what was happening but something of importance was taking place. He watched with envy as Wentworth and several other Aurors situated themselves to prepare for apparition. Suddenly, without realizing what he was doing Tristan closed the space between him and his enemy and grabbed the man’s arm. ”Where do you think you’re going? Our meeting is nowhere near over Wentworth. You’re not going to squash my chances that easily.” The repercussions from interfering with an Auror whose presence was requested were probably severe, but the anger that had built up within him during their meeting had gotten the best of him. He didn’t expect being shoved backwards or Wentworth’s final insult. ”You’re not ready to play with the big boys Stavros.”

Tristan would have punched him in his face if he hadn’t apparated so quickly. He was half-tempted to take his anger out on the wall behind him, but the chaos within the room was making him unable to ignore it. Groups of people gathered at the windows of the floor. Striding to one closest to him he pushed against the shoulders of a bulky man to get his own view. The building towered over the entirety of Alzubra Alley so his span was vast. Though as soon as his eyes caught sight of smoke rising from one corner of the strip near Gringotts, Tristan saw what had gotten everyone’s attention. He couldn’t see what was happening on the streets below, but his instinct told him that whatever it was it was on a grand scale and he needed to see it firsthand. He quickly walked away from the window into an abandoned cubicle. Rutherford had told him to go back to whatever work he had been taken from. All that was laying on his desk today where the order forms for equipment that would be used in the Quidditch World Cup. Whatever was going on outside took precedent to that. With the way people were reacting Tristan felt his skills would be better suited in that direction then figuring out how many quaffles and back-ups needed to be ordered. With his wand extending halfway out of his pocket, he gripped it and closed his eyes, envisioning the street outside of Gringotts.

The first breath he took as his feet landed on solid ground caused him to start coughing. The smoke that had been billowing up had instantly gone to his lungs. Kneeling over, Tristan continued coughing until his organs were able to take in air on the own. Shielding his mouth as best as he could until he got through a particularly heavy area of smoke he quickly advanced towards the scene that had everyone running in various directions. There were two females, one quite taller than the other, whom were duking it out in a way impossible for the average woman. The destruction they had caused in their wake was astounding. An entire shop front had collapsed as a result of just being in their way. Tristan’s eyes widened as he took in the scene around him. People were lying on the ground lifeless. Ministry officials were warding people off to safer locations. Spectators stupidly continued watching, unable to move their legs that had been frozen to the spot. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wentworth, playing the bloody hero and dashing up the steps of Gringotts to prevent the not-of-the-human-race women from entering. To his sick satisfaction, Ashton’s valiant efforts went punished as the tall one with the long black hair sent her opponent spiraling into Wentworth’s body causing the two to break down the heavy doors of the wizarding bank and force their fight indoors. Although a sick satisfaction ran through him, he would have had to have been an idiot to realize the danger this would cause. Without thinking, Tristan ran in the direction of the bank. His natural instincts taking over and urging him to go in and save the innocent bank patrons who would obviously get injured by the two women’s confined fighting space.

Once reaching the stairs, Tristan took the steps two at a time. When he had entered, he quickly looked around the lobby. The tall woman was approaching her opponent. However, it was the gathering on the other side of them that caught his eye. Standing next to Kaydence Morgan and from what he could see, her brother, was Wentworth and they were all looking at something on Kaydence’s arm. He was too far away to see what it was that had captured their attention, but a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that things were not as they had appeared. His legs carried him closer to the small group, eager for him to see what it was they were looking at.

[Keara Sonnet]

The sound of ice sliding into a glass echoed through the empty bar before blood was poured over top of the combination. Keara put the stopper back into the bottle before setting it off to the side and bringing the chilled glass to her lips. Normally she preferred hers fresh which meant warm, however today she was in a different sort of mood. Something felt off about today and she couldn’t put her finger on it, but she felt like cold blood might help calm her nerves. The glass reached her lips and the liquid slowly slid into her mouth. All of her senses woke up as they welcomed the feeling of bliss she always got from blood. It was interrupted moments later when the door to the bar opened and closed loudly. Keara raised an eyebrow as she peered in the direction of the door. Everyone knew Der Keller was closed today for cleaning. The crews were working on the vampire cavern at the moment, attempting to get all of the blood off of the walls and everything freshly painted. It had taken them three hours just to get the werewolf haven clean of blood this morning. She couldn’t imagine how long it was going to take them to do the vampire cavern. There was a chance they would have to stay closed for an additional night. She dreaded having to inform their customers of that information.

When the person came into view, Keara spoke up before they could get comfortable. “Cleaning day. We’re closed.” The person still advanced to the counter however and took a seat in front of Keara. She raised an eyebrow as they lowered their hood. “Andrew!” Keara’s voice improved tenfold as she realized the man sitting in front of her had been one of the vampire clan leaders that she had grown to love so much. He was the most fun out of all of the recruits Centara found across the country and she loved to have him around any time she could. “What can I do for you?” she asked, sliding a glass from under the counter. He quickly shoved it away from him however. ”Just needed to stop by and see if Cen was available. Heard from her lately?” Keara shook her head at his comment. “Nah, she took off from the Estate before I got here. I think she was going hunting for more clues. I can let her know you stopped by though. Sorry to make your trip here worthless.” Andrew only offered her a smile and shook his head. ”Never worthless. Tell her to summon me when she has time. I’ll be happy to come back and enjoy your company when I’m not busy,” he commented, raising his hood again before walking out the door. As soon as he was there, he was gone again. She sighed and put the glass back where she had found it, slightly upset that he left so quickly.

A moment later she had heard movement from the same location and wondered if he had come back. Perking up slightly, she realized that the door hadn’t opened again. Instead, a silver fox jumped onto the bar in front of her and spoke in Centara’s voice. “She’s in Alzubra. If you do not hear back from me in 45, come find me.” Keara raised an eyebrow before the fox disappeared back through the door from where it came. Keara shook her head before downing the rest of her glass. Chances were, Centara was just jumping to conclusions and Isis was still just stalking her, however she would not take it too lightly. She had said 45, maybe she would just give her about 20. “Why can’t she stop getting into trouble?” Keara grumbled as she refilled her glass one more time, only to drain it a moment later. Looked like her afternoon was going to change some.

Before she could leave, she had to inform the cleaning crew of where she was going. She would take her time considering Centara’s message hadn’t seemed so urgent. Twenty minutes would be enough time to give her to send a message back saying she was okay. That would give her plenty of time to inspect the club and ensure the cleaning crew was performing adequately. Keara made her way through the hallways, down to the separate areas of the club, and even into the conference rooms which had been cleaned recently from the meeting the vampires had in which the three remaining officers had been killed. Everything was looking good but the vampire cavern still had plenty of work to be done. She made her way through the room as the cleaning crew gathered around. “Continue what you’re doing. I’m going out and I’m not sure when I’ll be back. Make sure you lock up before you leave and don’t let anyone in here.” The crew nodded in agreeance before Keara left the room and made her way back to the bar. She glanced at the glass she had left in the counter but decided the crew would hopefully be smart enough to do that on their own.

When she exited the club, the air seemed off already. An explosion came from somewhere off in the distance and it seemed like some sort of brick dust was floating around in the air. In order to get a better view, she climbed up the side of Der Keller onto the roof and looked in the direction of Alzubra. Her head shook as she saw dust rise from one of the buildings, knowing full well that something was happening in Alzubra. “They better still be going when I get there…” Her voice trailed off as she began running across the buildings, leaping from roof to roof. She was always an advocate for vampires and werewolves getting along, but she never turned away from a fight between two that were relatively strong. They usually provided some of the best entertainment that Keara had ever seen. If she could even catch a glimpse of that fight, she would have a good time. However, she had to keep her mind on the fact that she was there to make sure Centara didn’t get herself killed. Even though the vampire was strong, she might not be strong enough to take down Isis on her own. That coma effects were still in place.

It did not take her long to reach the location where she had originally seen the dust, but things had obviously moved locations. The next moment, a building down the way had collapsed. Keara walked to the edge of the building, glancing around at the streets below. Windows were busted, the road was cracked and in some places busted, and witches and wizards were running from the direction she was running. It was becoming overly obvious that the two had not just gone their separate directions. They had gotten into a fight and she was actually enthused to see who was winning. Kea once again jumped across a few buildings, including one that was completely destroyed. Isis was standing in the middle of the street but there was no sign of Centara. Her eyes wandered around as she saw Ministry workers running in every direction. They were attempting to subdue the crowd and get everyone to a safer location. Further down the way, her eyes fell upon a man she knew. He was running in the direction of the Gringott’s stairs. “Ashton?” she wondered aloud, remembering him from the restaurant in muggle Austria. She had killed a person in his presence, sort of. If he was Ministry, she was screwed. However, giving a fake name was most definitely a good move on her part. And then it happened.

Suddenly a large crash echoed through the streets as the doors of Gringott’s were busted wide open. Isis was quick to make her way into the bank. The fight had been taken indoors. This could be a problem. A vampire and a werewolf in tight quarters was going to make things highly difficult. She was about to run in after them when he crossed her line of sight. Jumping from the roof of the building onto the ground, she saw Tristan run into Gringott’s and if she had a beating heart, it would have jumped out of her skin. What was he doing here? Sure he was an auror but this was the last place she wanted him to be. Balling her hands into fists, she raced in past the auror’s who were now realizing the fight had moved locations and dodged past the broken doors. When inside, it was pure chaos. The first thing she saw was Cen lying on the other side of the room, Ashton next to her. Above that was Kaydence who was on one knee for some odd reason and a man standing next to her. By things she had been previously told, Keara was sure that was Kay’s brother. Centara had described him years back when she still had a crush on him. From the distance she couldn’t quite tell what they were doing but she was immediately distracted in a rapid attempt to find where Tristan had gone.

Her eyes, feel upon his figure, walking swiftly towards the group in the corner of the room. Why was he getting himself in the middle of everything? Was he seriously crazy? Had she just fallen for a crazy man? Her feet began to carry her in the same direction until she saw Isis was doing the same. The wolf was heading directly for Centara. Keara wasn't sure who her concern should be focused on. The vampire who was still handicapped from the coma (or so she thought), or the man who was just that; a man.

[Isis Moswen]

All of the voices around her were giving Isis a headache. Heightened senses were usually an advantage, but in scenarios like this she wished she could have tuned them out. Everything was jumbled together. The screams, the orders being barked and the comments from their remaining audience, she could all hear them at once. Grimacing slightly from the inability to silence the voices in her head and the pain coursing through her body, things had taken an interesting turn indeed. If she would have been able to stand there and take in the hysteria that had been caused by her and Centara’s inability to get along she would have been truly amazed at what she was capable of. Osi was going to flip whenever he found out, but it was a lecture that would be worth sitting through. To know that she could inflict such destruction on an area and the people within it was exhilarating. There was no other word to describe it. Though Darren had refused to come when she had called, he would be pleased with what she had done. He had never seen her in action quite like this. Being able to show what she was capable of and being able to get away with it in the next day’s edition of the Timestopper was going to inflate Isis’ ego like nothing before. Darren would be forced to give her bigger missions and save the petty trailing missions for someone more suited to that kind of thing.

She had reached the bottom of the stairs when Centara vanished into thin air. Glaring at the spot her body once was Isis growled loudly. Had the girl abandoned their fight in fear of the Ministry? Looking off to her right all she saw was a group of them staring back at her with widened eyes. The other ones were too busy keeping citizens save from their wrath. If the bloodsucker had disappeared, then this would have been an automatic win for her. Not the type of win she wanted, but a win nonetheless. She would also make sure to point this out to Darren. How it was the werewolf who was the last woman standing, unfazed by the law enforcement surrounding her and not the leech. A sudden pop from behind her caught her off guard. As did Centara’s boot into her spine. Isis’ body was hurled forward into nearly the spot Zealon had been in. Pain shot from her ribs. Yelling again, she balled her hand into a fist and slammed it down onto the edge of the stair, breaking it off and sending the rubble rolling down the remaining steps. She rolled over on her back conveniently as Centara appeared next to her again, the smug smile on her face just as disgusting as the one before. She was unable to respond to her comment about lying down as another swift kick to her ribs was had. Isis was sure that one had completely dislodged a rib and it was now resting on her lung waiting to penetrate the tissue.

A need to cough rose from her trachea. Obeying, the copper taste of blood filled her mouth and went flying onto the marble stairs of Gringotts. The fact that the bloodsucker had now made her bleed several times couldn’t even give Isis the satisfaction of knowing that Centara’s shoulder was still badly wounded. The only thing that she was thankful for was the rush of adrenaline her rage had given her. Shielding her chest with one arm she wearily stood up, stumbling once or twice before regaining her footing. Her eyes travelled to the man Zealon was looking at earlier. Ashton Wentworth. An evil smile replaced the pain she had exposed. Out of anyone who wanted to meddle in their business, she was exceptionally happy that it was this brat. Ever since their meeting in his office at the Ministry, she had been waiting for her chance to show him what hadn’t come out for him that day. This could be her chance. Darren hadn’t given her any orders in regards to him, but surely he wouldn’t be too devastated if she accidently ripped a couple of limbs from his body. Wentworth had nothing to do with him. He had everything to do with Isis though. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Centara coming. Turning around to greet her, the adrenaline kicked in and she grabbed the bloodsucker by her dark locks. Yelling, she entangled her fingers deep in her hair and sent her flying into Wentworth by the strands she had taken hold of. The force she used on throwing Centara came from deep within. So deep that it managed to break open the closed doors of Gringotts and send the two sliding at least thirty yards into the lobby.

Isis didn’t waste any time in entering the building herself. Her eyes remained forward on the two who were now slowly starting to bring themselves back off of the ground. Wentworth had his attention on something else while Centara was trying to stand. As she got closer she saw what it was that had moved Ashton off to the side. Darren and Kaydence were off into a corner and he had confronted the two. She began laughing, seeing the look on all three’s face as they discovered the relationship between Darren’s sister and the highly praised Ministry official. It was only when she looked to see what they were also looking at. The Dark Mark on Kaydence’s arm was visible and Isis suddenly took notice of the stinging in her arms. The snake in her mark weaved effortlessly from the holes in the skull. Darren had summoned his followers. Then it all sunk in. DeathEaters were coming here. The Ministry was already here. He had used this opportunity as his next attack against the wizarding world. He was going to take credit for the chaos that had ensued. She knew she was set. He’d be grateful for her temper. She could see the chair he would have next to his at the training camp meant for her and only her. She had done well by losing her cool. Laughing as the loud sounds of pops began coming from outside Isis took her wand from her pocket and cast it towards the enormous chandelier that hung in the middle of the room. A blue ray of light spiraled from the end of her wand and went through the rod holding the thing into place. The chandelier fell and landed, causing the floor to shake slightly as the sound of glass flying everywhere echoed through the room.

Setting her sights back on Centara, Isis began twirling her wand in her hand as she slowly walked towards her struggling opponent. The smile hadn’t faded, especially not when she saw shards of glass sticking out of one side of the bloodsucker’s arm. “Here Zealon!” she called, quickening her pace towards the vampire. “Let me help you!”

[Centara Zealon]

In the few moments that Centara had been distracted by the man standing at the top of the stairs, apparently thinking he could do something to stop this fight, Isis had managed to come to her feet. The werewolf charged her down and Centara didn’t even realize until the wolf was right on top of her. In a moment, Isis’ hand was in Cen’s hair. For a moment, she nearly shrieked, not even realizing what was happening but she held it in. The next thing she knew she was hurled through the air and right into whomever it was that was trying to stop the fight. She could feel his body underneath her as they slammed into the doors of Gringott’s. It was a miracle that she did not feel every bone in his body crack underneath the pressure. The doors they had just hit were made of a hard metal and for them to be able to smash them wide open and him not have a broken bone was a miracle. When they slammed to the sides, dented and broken, the sound echoed through Gringott’s. The two of them slid through the bank, across the floor for quite a distance until they finally came to a halt. Cen’s head was spinning but she could feel the male climb out from underneath her limp body. Her head was pounding as she could feel every strand of hair aching from where Isis had wrapped her hands around it. She couldn’t be more furious that Isis had used her own hair against her.

Regaining her composure in a matter of seconds, Centara opened her eyes and was greeted with the bright florescent lights above her. Once again her head was spinning and her vision doubled until she heard the man she had hit muttered a name she knew all too well. Her eyes focused immediately fell upon the three of them and a grin spread across her lips as she realized where she had landed: right at the base of two people she knew all too well. Before she had a chance to react, the chandelier in the room happened to fall and shatter into plenty of pieces, some which decided to make their way in her direction. A moment later, searing pain when through her right arm which was already damaged enough. The last thing she needed was glass shards in it. Grimacing lightly, her eyes opened up again to see the three were still standing there. “Surprise meeting you here.” Darren was standing there while Kaydence was kneeling, looking in about as much pain as she had when the two had gone through training together. Her arm was crawling with the Dark Mark and she couldn’t help but be disgusted. He was using her to summon his followers and it was entirely messed up.

“If you don’t mind, I have a wolf I need to kill,” she said with a chuckle before pushing herself to her feet, her back facing the group. Isis had already begun walking in her direction and she was not about to let her get much further. Her clawed fingers pulled out the largest pieces of glass in her arm before she apparated again, hoping she might be able to pull off the trick one more time. She appeared directly behind Isis for only a moment before disappearing again. The wolf had turned in the direction she had hoped she would. A moment later Cen was standing behind her once again and slammed her elbow into Isis’ backbone, sending the wolf a few feet onto the ground. However, the hit did not only affect Isis. Centara grimaced as she realized she had just used her bad arm to deliver the blow. The last few pieces of glass fell out of her arm as the slits healed but her shoulder blade was still busted. She realized that the impact against the marble had shattered the bone along with widening the gash. There was no way for her to see it, but she knew it was there. Keeping in mind not to use that arm, she approached Isis once again, but the wolf got the best of her in that instant.

Apparently she had decided to not move and wait for Centara to get closer but the moment she was next to the wolf, Isis had lunged from the ground right at Centara. She had been knocked backwards by the blow and back onto her shoulder, causing her to let out a shriek. Every time it had a chance to heal, it was torn apart once again. Spots of blood littered the floor underneath her but her main concern was the wolf that was on top of her. Her hands were pinned at her sides by the wolf and only bad things were going to happen if she couldn’t wiggle her way out of Isis’ grip.

[Kaydence Morgan]

If she hadn’t been frightened by the thought of how Darren would respond to Cammie’s mirror hitting his head Kaydence would have laughed. The sound of the mirror made a soft clanking noise that echoed throughout the small area. Looking to her friend, she watched intently as she waited for some sort of reaction. Instead, the two simply stared each other down. Not a single word was exchanged between the two. Furrowing her brow, she continued rubbing gingerly at the spot on her head. This was strange. She knew firsthand how looks could speak a thousand words. Here was an example right in front of her. She didn’t understand it, but she doubted she could if she tried. Hurt was evident in Cammie’s eyes. Probably due in large part to her brother’s treatment of her. Before things had gone astray, Kaydence and her close group of friends had been loyal and dedicated followers of Darren. Anything that needed to be done was done by them and them alone. They had been young, but as her brother had praised them time and time again, their natural abilities made up for their youth. Cammie had always seemed much more motivated then her and Centara. Then again, the two girls were so spoiled as it was that they had never fully placed themselves in their career path until after graduation. Their blonde friend, on the other hand, was ready to jump when he said hop. She always gave that little bit extra. How her brother had so thoughtlessly tossed her to the side was beyond Kaydence.

He was once again doing it as he turned and continued heading for the window. He would never change. Kaydence made a face as another wave of pain came from the spot on the back of her head. She always managed to get injured at the hands of a man. She couldn’t understand it. It had been especially brutal since returning back to Austria. First Ashton, now her brother. The only one that hadn’t placed their hands upon her had been Maverick, but that was an entirely different story altogether. He had been one of the only men, if not the only, that had treated her like a princess. It wasn’t like she sought out getting hurt. Actually, she tried to avoid it as much as possible. However, her sharp tongue and natural ability to piss people off always seemed to get in the way. If she had been of right mind, Kaydence would have learned her lesson by now. She wasn’t though. And that’s how she kept finding herself in these predicaments. Mentally cursing herself for choosing to come in here today she used the wall to help bring her back up to her full height. “Cammie!” she called, in a hushed whisper. “Cammie! Come here!” With any luck, the woman would be just as ready to go as she was. They still had a chance for escape as long as they could both find some way to support the other. Kaydence figured they had both withstood enough damage that they would be unable to leave without some sort of assistance.

Her request went unanswered. Cammie ignored her, keeping her gaze fully on Darren and him alone. “Cammie! Come on!” Kaydence could understand wanting revenge. That was why she had come back to the country after all. Revenge was best served with a clear mind. Neither she nor Cammie were in any state of mind to dish it out. Her friend acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing. Groaning, she threw up a hand in dismay. She had the strangest feeling that the two needed to leave. Not only because of Darren, but because of something else nagging at her. Her gut feelings never failed her. It looked like her friend wasn’t going anywhere unless she took the initiative. Keeping one hand behind her head Kaydence used the wall behind her to guide her in the direction of Cammie. She was forced to stop in her tracks once seeing her brother come gliding back towards her. Aiming another spell at Cammie, her friend collapsed to the ground in agony. What had he done to her now? She moved backwards as he advanced towards her now. It was pointless given how the area they were in was enclosed, but she had no choice. Anything to try and get away from him. ”I need your arm.” Kaydence looked at him with confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?” She brought her free arm to her chest, but it wasn’t the one he wanted. He grabbed the arm that had the hand to the back of her head. Her right arm. Confusion settled on her features as she wondered what he was doing.

Then it sunk in. “No.” Kaydence attempted to wiggle his arm out of his grasp. His hold tightened. The fear was visible all over her face. Moving her arm harder, she gasped as he hit her forearm and made the tattoo she hadn’t seen in years visible. It was the only physical reminder of her past. Now that she looked at it, she couldn’t stand the sight of it. “If you’re trying to play in the big leagues Kaydence, I’m going to let you be the one to get the other players involved.” She shook her head, knowing exactly what he meant by that. “Please…don’t,” she pleaded. The only time her dark mark had been active was when she had been summoned by Darren. She had never experienced being the one to do the summoning. Nor did she know if the effects would be different since he would be using hers. Kaydence was frightened beyond words. She had no idea why he would want to call his followers to Gringotts of all places. Had she walked right into his trap? Was she, Cammie and all of the innocent people and goblins about to be subjects of a very slow and painful death? Her questions quickly faded from her mind as Darren spoke up again. “You’ve done this to yourself.” Not even a second later, his thumb pressed deeply into her skin. As soon as contact was made, she felt a searing pain burn into her arm, growing more intense with every passing second. She couldn’t help but to let a sound of pain escape from her mouth. It had been such a long time since it had been used. Kaydence didn’t know if it was just her mind playing tricks on her, or if the pain really was as bad as it felt, but it felt like her arm had been dipped in gasoline, with no signs of the fire being led out.

All of a sudden an explosion sounded from the left of them. Kaydence looked over in enough time to see the huge doors of Gringotts breaking open and two bodies sliding towards them as a result. The surprises just continued to come as the two stopped and begin trying to break free of the restraint from the other. Bringing her hand to her mouth she gasped as Ashton was the first one to push himself up. ”Kaydence? Who the fuck is this?” Leave it to him to always know how to make a situation worse. Darren looked back at him, confused by what he had meant. Her eyes travelled down to the badge around his chest. “Ministry…” she said to herself. That was the job he never talked about. He worked for the Ministry. Her heart stopped. She may have enjoyed the attention from the male race, but she had never stooped as low as to fool around with a Ministry official. His name was on the badge though. So was a hologram photo of his face and Ministry of Magic printed right underneath. Kaydence was speechless. She dared not looking in Darren’s face. If he was angry with her as it was, this new reveal would infuriate him. The pain in her arm went ignored; she was only able to focus on Ashton’s face as he took in the tattoo on her arm that Darren had moved so he could see it. The expression that he had greeted her with had quickly changed into something she couldn’t describe. ”Kaydence?” This was why she didn’t get into relationships. She couldn’t stand the look men gave her after finding out she wasn’t who they thought she was. She would never admit it, but disappointment killed her. The word had taken a whole new meaning after her family had used it against her. As well as when she had been laid up in the hospital after finding out about her miscarriage.

Kaydence slowly felt her world crumbling around her. ”Surprise meeting you here.” Centara’s voice broke her out of her shock momentarily. She had been the other half of the door-breaking pair. Before she could say anything, the sound of evil laughter rang from around them. Looking towards the door, she saw Isis walk in, looking just as battered as her former friend beneath her. Putting two and two together, she figured it had been the werewolf who had sent Ashton and Centara into the marble doors. The godly strength was impressive, but intimidating. Not nearly as much as the spell she cast towards a large chandelier. Doing her best to cover her head, Kaydence braced herself for the impact of the object falling to the ground. The ground shook slightly, but was nothing compared to the sound of millions of pieces of glass breaking. They weren’t right next to the area, but sharp pieces had managed to fly in their direction, several cutting into Centara’s arm. The injuries didn’t seem to faze the vampire though as the woman quickly dashed away to confront Isis. Kaydence’s jaw dropped lightly as she was left alone with Ashton on one side and Darren on the other end. Her eyes remained widened, letting the shock of everything show to whomever looked at her. She had never passed out before, but all of this was so overwhelming. Darren confronting her, her Dark Mark being exposed, Ashton’s career, finding out another secret from the man who had been hassling her, all of it was too much to take in. The pain in her head was blinding and if it hadn’t been for the appearance of several figures at the large hole in Gringotts wall, she would have just let her knees buckle under the pressure. Colored lights surrounded them as both hooded figures and men and woman wearing the same type of badge around their neck flooded in. Darren had seen the Ministry outside of the bank and had used her to call the DeathEaters to attack. Things had taken an unwelcome and all-too familiar turn.

[Isis Moswen]

Glass crunched underneath the heels of her boots. The smile on her face remained, somehow growing even more dark and twisted with every passing second. Frightened bystanders ran past her, screaming and tugging along their companions as they hurried towards the massive hole Isis had created for them. It wouldn’t matter though. Shortly, they’d be no safer out there then they were in here. She could already hear the sounds of spells being cast and yells as a result of Darren’s DeathEaters coming in for their turn for a bit of the action. She wondered what it was like, being so frightened because of one’s lack of ability to do anything powerful. She wondered how it felt not to be damn near invincible. How it felt having to hide to avoid being exposed and attacked. Though she was curious, not once did she wish she could be in their shoes. The power running through her veins had no desire to fade off just yet. No, it was only in its beginning stages. Waiting to get to her opponent and unleash even more wrath than she had given previously. It was a natural force that kept pulling Isis towards Centara. Even if she wanted to be finished with the bloodsucker, it wouldn’t let her. Not until it was fully satisfied that it had finished when it had started. She had no objections to letting it run its course. She had been pulled in too far now to simply stop what she was doing, turn around and go home. This was the action she had been waiting for. For three far too long years.

The vampire was within range of attack when she disappeared again. Rolling her eyes, Isis turned around. “That’s a nice tr…” She was cut off before finishing, feeling an elbow into her spine. The impact was not nearly as bad as it could have been. She was only pushed forward two or three feet, but stumbled and fell to the ground. The area that Centara had hit ached, but was considerably tame for the other injuries Zealon had caused. Frowning, she turned back around to see the vampire making a face while she looked down at her wounded shoulder. It did relieve her to see the woman having a serious injury like she had. As they had been trying to do for several minutes now, her rib bones were slowly fusing themselves back together. With the exception of the one bone she was sure was caught between the other bones and her lung. If that was the case, Isis would have to see her private doctor back home. He was the only person she knew that had experience treating werewolves. What was even better was that he didn’t need to be threatened in order to keep his mouth shut. Possibly he had received too many of them from other werewolves, but she didn’t ask questions. He did what she asked, she gave him money and left, hoping to learn from the mistake that had brought her there in the first place. She had only been there three times since she had turned but each visit embarrassed her. Her opponent should never get the best of her.

Her hands alerted her of a sudden pain coming from them. Looking away from the vampire for only a second Isis saw the shards of glass from the chandelier had found their way into her skin as a result of her using her hands to brace herself from the fall. She growled as she knocked out several in one swoop from her finger tips of the opposite hand. Then her whole hand itself on the other one still infected. Blood poured from her wound but she had more important things to worry about. The cuts were already starting to heal as it was. Using her lower body strength once more she kneeled to the ground before lunging forward and knocking Centara back down on the floor. Her shriek of pain was like music to her ears. Grabbing both of the bloodsucker’s wrists Isis forcefully pushed them down onto the glass-streaked floor. She wished she could have heard the glass ripping into her flesh, but it was drowned out by her moans. “Suck it up. After all I’ve done to you, you’re going to let a little thing like this hold you back?” She knew the bloodsucker’s shoulder injury was no joke. However, she found it necessary to keep provoking her. Smiling even wider, she took her hand and smacked it against Zealon’s shoulder, laughing as the vampire screamed from the pain she knew must have made her want to cut her own head off. “I know, I know,” she continued, fighting the urge not to rip her bloodshot eyes from their puny sockets. “I’d be upset if my superior was getting the best of me too. But if you want, I’ll be more than happy to go ahead and do you in so you won’t have to worry about the pain anymore. All you have to do is say so.” Isis lowered her face down to Centara’s. “I’ll turn right here, right now and sink my teeth into your neck if you’d like.”

[Damien Monroe]

His alarm clock had gone off hours ago. Why he had even set the thing Damien didn’t know, but after hitting the snooze button at least ten times the thing finally gave up. The night before had been a doozey. He had started at Halcyon for a round of shots, and then stumbled over to Mirage for several glasses of his beloved sherry. About an hour in, he met two ladies who wanted to go dancing. Being drunk and desiring female company in his bed that night, he agreed, but before they had insisted on him taking them to Nervosa all the way over in Ilfracombe. Though they were considerably more sober then he was, somehow they both lacked the ability to apparate. The thought that the two were probably still at Galaxia crossed his mind but Damien’s level of intoxication didn’t bother asking if they were even of age. All it knew what that it wanted some and would deal with the repercussions from the Ministry at a later time. Making the mistake of paying for both his tab and theirs, he threw a drunken temper tantrum in the middle of McBain’s bar. All the money he had made that day from hustling was practically gone. If his female companions expected to drink at the club, they were going to have to pay for it themselves or not get jealous when he used his charm on the first female bartender he could find for some free drinks. Once grabbing onto the waists of his jailbait, he apparated them to what he thought was Ilfracombe Resort. However, upon opening his eyes, Damien had brought them to Procter’s Pool Hall, a far different scene then what they were looking for. It took four more attempts for him to get them as close as he could to the resort. On the final time they landed on the sands of the Waterfront. ”Better than nothing” one of them had huffed as they pulled him towards the resort. “S’not…faultmy..yousuck..nomagical powers.”

He didn’t know how long they had spent at the club. When he briefly awoke earlier that morning, he remembered the bouncer throwing him out by his belt loops and a large bruise on his arm to show for it. Damien’s ladies hadn’t joined him for the night after all, but he had been happy they didn’t. He also remembered how annoying they turned out to be, constantly wanting to dance and ask him questions about his life. As an act of defiance, he had gone to up to an attractive cocktail waitress and snogged the hell out of her. That could have been what got him kicked out. Or it could have been due to his jealous companions telling the bouncer that they were sixteen and he was trying to take advantage of him. Regardless, he had found his way back to his room at the Dragon Scales Inn somehow and had spent the entirety of his day sleeping in bed. It was never uncommon for him to wake up before noon, but his normal wake-up time was usually well after. Today was no different. Damien had gotten up once to mix some headache power with a glass of sherry to nurse his killer hangover. He had gone to sleep instantly after. Alcohol was both his heaven and his hell.

Damien probably would have slept until nighttime if it hadn’t been for his rude awakening. He had been dreaming about swimming in a pool full of his nectar from the gods when his right arm began throbbing. Ignoring it, he continued swimming towards one of the sides that held a platter full of his beloved peanut butter and chocolate éclairs. The pain got worse. Confused, he had looked down to his arm to see that it was on fire while under water. His shock woke him from his dream only to find out that the pain in his arm was real. He looked down to see his Dark Mark exposed, the snake moving in and around the skull that housed it. Damien’s eyes dilated. The last time his tattoo had been moving and burning like that was as the Masquerade, Darren’s last attack on the Austrian wizarding world. The only other times it had been used were when he was summoned for a meeting between him and that foxy wolf that hated him so much. He had tried once to ignore it, but the fire had gotten so bad that he was convinced it had burned a hole right through his bone. Plus Isis had come looking for him and he hadn’t been able to decide which was worse. He had only spoken to Darren once this summer and figured he was just calling him to be his little errand boy again. Groaning, Damien pulled the covers of him and slid out of bed. He grabbed a black shirt, the first one he could find and his alcohol-infused jeans from last night. Not knowing where the location was he also put on his hooded cloak. Though he worked for him, Darren refused to acknowledge that he associated himself with him. He had also been warned to bring it anyway, just in case chaos ensued and his identity needed to remain secret. Damien doubted Morgan would be too devastated by his capture though. As he enjoyed reminding him time and time again, he was only useful because of his skill with a wand.

Popping a breath mint into his mouth Damien closed his eyes and allowed the mark to take over. The tattoo had a mind of its own, having an ability to do transport him itself to where Darren had beckoned him. Once his feet had landed on solid ground his ears were greeted by the sound of a spell flying past his ears and into the wall behind him. His eyes opened instantly. He was on the steps of Gringotts bank. In front of him on the street of Alzubra, a battle was underway between Ministry workers and DeathEaters. People were scattering in every direction. The street itself was cracked in places and caved in others. Buildings off to the right had their fronts destroyed. Bodies lay in crumbled heaps at various points though whether they were dead or alive, Damien couldn’t tell. He had been apparated straight in the middle of a war. Jaw opened, he turned around to see the frame that usually held the two massive doors to the entrance was one big hole. And inside of the hole even more destruction was taking place. Another spell hit the wall beside his head. He quickly ran inside in hopes that he wasn’t already being followed. Inside, the bank was no different from the outside. Fights surrounded him. A broken chandelier had parts littered all over the lobby floor. Near the center, Isis sat atop of another woman whose face he couldn’t see. Normally, the scene would have been one he would have been excited to see, but given the circumstances, Damien had a feeling that Isis was another player in the game of good vs. evil. He had no desire to make his way over to the two to see what else he could get them to do.

Looking around, he saw others engaged in their own battles. He saw Darren in a group off to the right, extending his hand in the direction of another male. He was confused as he saw Kaydence’s face next to his. She had dyed her hair and looked terrified. Damien’s first instinct was to go over and help her, but if Darren was already by her side he knew better than to interfere. His ears caught the sound of a small shriek a few feet away from him. Turning, he saw Juliet attempting to shield herself from an oncoming spell from a DeathEater. He didn’t know who it was doing the spell casting, but he quickly pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it in the direction of Juliet’s attacker. “STUPEFY!” A bolt of red light came from the end of his wand, shooting straight into the hooded figure. As soon as he fell to the floor Damien made his way towards her. No one was going to hurt one of his favorite ladies while he was in the vicinity.

[Darren Morgan]

Darren got a sick pleasure out of watching his sister being tortured. It was what she deserved for just showing up like this. He had no clue as to how long she had been here, but he hoped that all of this was making up for his obliviousness. With the anger flowing so freely within him he pressed his thumb down even deeper into her skin. Her reaction was exactly what he had hoped. She deserved feeling the pain that she had caused to their mother. Her eldest daughter, tainted by a man who wasn’t acceptable for their lavish lifestyle and dreams she had for her. He hoped the betrayal that her father felt had come off loud and clear as well. Kaydence would never know that it had been him who had prevented their father from taking action and seeking her out to kill her. It had been the last gift he had given her, but now that she had the audacity to return, he had no sympathy for her. So much, that he it took every fiber of his being to prevent himself from snapping her wrist with one flick of his hand. She was foolish for thinking that her presence in the country would go unnoticed. Unless that’s what she had wanted. The thought of his sister having some other motive for being here enraged him. However, he quickly reminded himself that she wasn’t intelligent enough to come up with any sort of plan for vengeance. She had been stupid enough to return to a country she knew she wasn’t welcome in. What exactly did she think would happen?

Before getting the chance to insult her further a loud blast came from the doors of the bank. Two bodies slid in their direction soon after. When they came to a stop a foot or so away from them Darren took in the two figures. One was a male, and by the looks of it, a Ministry official. The other was Zealon. Isis appeared in the doorway a few seconds later. So this had been who she was fighting. He cursed himself as he had forgotten about what they had planned. He had been so distracted by his sister that he had ignored the call altogether. Despite his anger with himself, he was pleased that Isis had inflicted as much damage as she could upon the vampire. He was happy to see the deep wound that was on her shoulder. As proven today, Moswen had a short fuse, but at least she didn’t let it blind her from getting the job done. ”Kaydence, who the fuck is this?” The sound of the male’s voice brought his attention back towards the two. How did the man know his name? Judging by the thumb pointed in his direction, there was a tone behind it that Darren was familiar with. He detected the hints of jealousy. Why he felt the need to be jealous was interesting. Once looking to Kaydence and seeing her reaction towards the male’s presence, he felt nearly as shocked as she looked to be. The idiot had gotten herself involved with a Ministry official. His grip tightened on her arm. He had no idea who she was. Bringing her arm forward, he smiled sadistically, wanting him to see what she was. It amazed him that Kaydence still continued to betray anyone that chose to get themselves involved with her.

Not even the sound of the chandelier in the lobby breaking could divert his attention from the situation before him. He was livid. Not only because Kaydence’s new lover thought him to be a boyfriend, but because his sister had been banished from the family and had still managed to shame the family name. They had been raised to hate the Ministry and everything they stood for. How contradicting it was to be associated with one, especially one as arrogant as this one. ”Kaydence?” There she had gone. Hurting another soul who had the misfortune of crossing paths with her. Though the man was to be blamed just as much as she was. He was a bloody Ministry official who had been prancing around with a DeathEater, regardless of her standing with him now. Darren laughed, amazed at the stupidity Kaydence had managed to involve herself with. Their ignorance made them like two peas in a pod. He was aware of the strong concealment spell his followers used for their arms, but even he figured officials did their background checks.

”Surprise meeting you here.” Darren almost couldn’t keep up with everything going around him. Glaring down at Zealon, he fought the urge to kick her in her face. “What a misfortune,” he responded, keeping his eyes on her as she got up. “If you don’t mind, I have a wolf I need to kill.” He smirked. That was doubtful. With the state Isis was in if she didn’t turn he’d be surprised. Centara was strong, but Isis had more experience. Chances of a rookie winning to a veteran were slim. As if on cue, he watched as Zealon knocked Moswen on the ground and his werewolf quickly push herself up and take her down. “Children.” Nearly forgetting about the tragic revelation in front of him Darren was tired of this official involving himself in their business. Squinting to look at the name, he was even more surprised when the name Ashton Wentworth reflected back at him. That was the name Isis had told him about. He was the Species Control Specialist she had been digging up information on. If she had been doing her job correctly though, wouldn’t he have known about this? Would she have been aware of Kaydence’s clear association with him? If so, why hadn’t she said anything to him about it? Questions dug at his brain. There was no way she couldn’t have known about him and Kaydence if she had been trailing him like he had asked, which meant that she hadn’t been following him like asked or she had been keeping this from him. It was unlike Isis to not do what he asked. With that in mind, it dawned on him that she could have very well been lying this whole time.

He had had enough. “Wentworth is it? I hope you and your boys are ready for what’s coming. Kaydence has helped me invite some friends who have been locked up for a little too long.” Raising his hand Darren brought his fingers to his palm before shooting them back out. Wentworth’s body went sailing backwards, straight into another Ministry official who had been advancing on them. Letting go of his sister’s arm he shoved her back against the wall. “Have you completely lost your mind?!” His entire body was shaking. “A Ministry official Kaydence? Can you sink no lower?” Moving towards the side he lifted up a decorative stand and swung it in her direction, missing her head by inches and hitting the ground behind her. He brought himself back closer to her. “You are worthless. Do you hear me? Worthless!” Rearing the back of his hand back he struck her in the face. His family ring struck her left cheekbone, causing a cut to appear and start bleeding almost instantly. “Get the fuck out of here before I kill you,” he warned her as he retreated towards the arrival of his followers and other Ministry workers. He hoped he would never have to see her face again.

As he looked to the scene of battle around him Darren felt eyes on him. He looked around until he found the source. It was a man, sitting on a counter top studying him. Not being in the mood to be studied, he noticed a coin scale sitting on a desk a few down from him. Looking to it, he snapped his fingers. The scale flew in direction of the man and hit him in the back. Hopefully it would be enough to teach him that it was impolite to stare. Darren turned his head back to the scene unfolding around him. There was so much going on that it was difficult to remain focused on one fight. Instead, he folded his arms and watched with complete satisfaction at everything he possibly could.

[jmj23435]

Jenelle wondered what was going on. Why was there so much violence going on around in the place. She didn't know where her mum was and so she tried to curl up tightly on the bench and block out the fight. She didn't want to be involved. Everyone was so much older than her and she chewed her lip, searching for the dark hair of her mum. She looked around and finally spotted her about 100 yards away lookng around confused.

Taking off as fast as her tiny legs could take her, the small girl dodged spells and ducked past fighting people. But she got there one minisule second to late. Someone's cure had missed the target and had hit her mum straight on. She knew what a green light did.

Kneeling beside her mum she could feel herself cry. She looked around for the source of the curse and took her mum's hand, though it did nothing. She sobed softly. A tiny little child, caught in the middle of all the spells being fred. She didn't know what to do. She looked around for someone familiar. Someone who could help her.

Then, she spotted her. Keara. The lady from that day in the Alley. She sped back across towards the doors. only to find herself caught in the crossfire of the man that her ball had hit earlier and someone else. She tried to call out, but her voice was drowned out by the people around her. Somehow she made her way back to the doors, avoiding curses as she did.

"Kea!" She squeaked, tears still falling down her now dirt streaked face. "My mum's dead. Someone shot a curse and it hit her..." She struggled to get the sentence out between her sobs, collapsing at the feet of the woman, the hard sobs racked her tiny body as she cried.

[Keara Sonnet]

Keara’s eyes darted back and forth between Isis, Centara, and Tristan. With her being neutral in this battle, it was making things awfully difficult to find out what to do next. Isis was advancing on the person Keara had called a friend for years now and Centara at this point wasn’t quite moving. Then there was Tristan. The two had been dating for a few weeks now and she truly felt like they could have a future, despite the large 67 year gaping hole she had left out of her life when telling him about herself. She knew eventually she would have to inform him of her deep dark secret and she was slightly afraid that it was going to happen today. Part of her wanted to run over to him and drag him out of the area, getting him far away from what could be. However, she knew he wouldn’t allow her to do that. Why would he abandon the one thing he wanted to do most in his life? He wanted to be an auror. She couldn’t stand in his way.

Before she had a chance to make up her mind which direction she would go, the chandelier shattered across the floor. Her arms went up to protect her face. Somehow she had managed to get away without glass in her body, however when she looked across the room, Cen hadn’t been so lucky. Isis was advancing on the vampire still, obviously proud of the job she had just done in destroying another part of Gringott’s. The place that had been deemed the safest location in the wizarding world was now being blown apart. However, her attention could not be on the bank. It had to be on the matter at hand. Her eyes roamed over the group where Centara had landed. Darren was still standing there, his hand on Kaydence’s arm. The Dark Mark was evident against Kay’s skin, but it was moving. That was when she noticed what exactly Darren was doing with his hand on her arm. Who the hell decided to leave her out of the information that Darren was the Dark Lord? Centara had been best friends with the sister of the Dark Lord? How could they think that was not an important piece of information to pass along? Centara and Damien both left her out of the loop. She would have been more upset if she wasn’t momentarily distracted by the increased noise coming from outside of Gringott’s. He had obviously called his followers and the Ministry had decided to increase the number of forces they sent this way. The battle was only beginning and Keara was stuck in the middle; exactly where she never wanted to be.

Keara turned back around to be greeted with the sight of Centara getting up and getting the glass from her arm. Thankfully, the vampire was not one to give up. She could handle herself which meant Keara was able to focus on Tristan. However, the next moment that she had tried to dash over to him, a small child came in her direction. “Janelle?” she questioned as she realized the girl knew her name. Just when she thought she would be able to the man she was longing to hug, something would get in her way. Was she not destined to get near him? When Janelle confessed about her mother being killed, Keara glanced around the room. Curses were being thrown in every direction and bodies had already littered Alzubra Alley. Gringott’s was starting to represent the same. She sympathized with the girl and was about ready to take her from the area when another sight caught her eye. Centara had managed to get Isis on the ground again but the tables turned quickly when Isis was on top of Centara. Her eyes widened when the vampire actually shrieked. Something was wrong. Neither of the girls ever shrieked even when they were slashed and bashed. What did Isis do that could cause so much pain? Even though she had no idea, she was not about to let the wolf get her fangs into Centara.

Kneeling down, she put her hand under Janelle’s wet chin and lightly turned her face to look at Kea. The girls eyes were bloodshot from crying but not as much as Kea’s were about to be the moment she attacked the damn werewolf. “Hey, I need you to be strong right now. I need you to run over to one of those desks and hide underneath it, okay? Don’t come out for anyone unless I say it’s okay. I know who to trust here,” she informed her, waiting till she was sure the girl would follow orders before standing up and moving quickly in the direction of the two females in the middle of the room. It was as if everything in the room came to a standstill. Noises stopped, movement quit, and the only things left in the room were the two vampires and the werewolf. Keara’s claws sharpened, her fangs extended, and her eyes went from black to red. In a moment, she jumped towards the two, her clawed hands grabbing Isis’ shoulders before pulling her right off of Centara. They rolled across the floor a bit before Keara used her grip on Isis to push her into the ground and halt their rolling. “I really don’t like how mean you’re being, Isis,” she stated, moving her hands to Isis’ wrists, holding her in the same position she had just held Cen. Her hands gripped tightly around the wolf’s wrists, Keara hoped to cut off her circulation in a moments time. Between the two vampires, Keara was the strongest with her age behind her and she was much less distracted. One thing she knew how to do well was to push everything she had been thinking of out of her mind and focus on the fight in front of her. “Now why don’t we just stay here until you learn your manners?”

Even though she was one to deal with distractions well, the one thing she hadn’t tuned out was Centara who was now moving on the floor. The woman had turned to her side and was now holding her bleeding shoulder. ”Keara, this isn’t your fight!” the woman shouted. Keara glanced over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing at Centara. That was the thanks she got for saving her? Granted, she knew how arrogant Centara was and how she wouldn’t back down from a fight. This was not her choice at the moment, however. Keara had been summoned here to help and that was exactly what she was going to do.

[erin]

Everything had happened so incredibly quickly. Erin had been shielding herself from view using the pillar, but that also meant she could only hear what was going on behind it. Her wand was at the ready when she needed it, but she wasn't sure when that would be. It wasn't her fight, whoever the man was yelling at Kaydence. She didn't really understand what he was saying, his back was to her and there was a pillar separating her fro the group. She cursed her idea to follow Wagner and Morgan in to Gringott's. It had turned out to be a very bad move, and she wasn't sure how to get out of it. She didn't want to get involved, but she also couldn't bring herself to leave. All of this was going on in her head while the scene played out behind her.

Then the two women crashed in to the bank. The sound of the door being flown open made her jump, and the sight of the two dueling individuals was enough to set her off for a moment. How could so much be happening at once in one place? This were getting absolutely mental. she did not sign up for this. She should have never come back to Austria, it was a dangerous place. The connections she once held to the place were now gone completely, why had it been a good idea to come back? The chandelier looming over everyone's head fell loudly to the floor, sending tiny shards to erupt around the bank. Her reflexes were not very quick, but she managed to shield her face from the flying pieces of glass. Her arm, however, was not so lucky.

Not many pieces made it her way, but a few rogue shards lodged themselves in to her left shoulder. She hardly felt them break the skin, the adrenaline was pumping so fast through her. But, she did a once over once all the glass had settled and saw a trickle of blood running down her elbow. Luckily her wand arm was in tact, but the fact that she was bleeding stunned her for a few minutes longer. People were crowding the bank by the time she came to her senses. Spells were flying every which way, people were screaming, and she could have sworn she heard children's sobs. Was there a child amongst this mess? merlin,s he hoped it was just her imagination. The blood from her arm started to drip to the glass covered floor, it was time to find a way out of the mayhem.

Stepping out from the safety of the pillar, glass crunched under her sneakers. She hardly noticed, and looked around for an exit close by. A red beam buzzed past her ear, too close for comfort. She moved out of the line of fire for the two people duelling around her, whoever they were, she didn't recognize them. Her eyes rested on Kaydence, slumped only a few feet away from where she stood. The familiar hooded figures of death eaters swarmed around the room, and it finally hit her. This was a Dark lord thing. She looked down and noticed the dark mark tattoo on Morgan's arm and scowled, moving towards her with her wand outstretched. "What did you do?" she yelled, leaving a trail of blood droplets with each step.

[Cammie Wagner]

“CAMMIE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” It was too late. The damage was done now, it was all that she could do to keep from running in the other direction. She had spent the most of her time with Darren attempting to please him, to do his bidding and keep him happy. No matter what she had done, it was never enough for him. She could work herself to the bone and he would never see her the way that he saw Kaydence and Centara, just because they had grown up with him, they were higher beings in his eyes. Of course, that had been then and this was now. She didn't expect to be treated as his equal, she was happy being his follower, but she wanted to be included. He had even valued Maeve more than her, then Isis replaced Maeve, she had never even been considered in the running. She was sure she was just trying too hard, but even with that being true she should have been rewarded for her extra effort. There was nobody who would ever have been as loyal to him as she had been, and if she had any say in the matter at all, nobody would ever get the chance to be again. Her resolve renewed as her compact made the small arc and hit Darren squarely in the back of his luscious hair. “CAMMIE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” A small bubble of satisfaction rose within her, making her feel brave whenever she really shouldn't have. She watched silently as he turned to look at her, he had to know what her face meant, they had spent countless hours together, he should at least be able to read her easily. Whenever he looked away from her, rage threatened to consume her, he was casting her off again, telling her that she was less than worthless. Why had he ever even recruited her in the first place? The thought that he might have just wanted her to be front line fodder crossed her mind and her body threatened to crumble.

She could tears pressing against her eyes but she refused to let them fall, she was not going to give in that easily. Shifting her weight so that it was evenly distributed between her feet she let her eyes dart in the direction Darren was looking, she thought that she heard something about the Ministry being here but she couldn't be bothered with it, returning to Darren she took a few steps forward, hoping to take advantage of his distraction and possibly curse him a little, if she was really lucky then she might get him to loosen the grip that he had on her friend, the girl looked on the border of hysterics. No doubt he was threatening to snap her wrist off, kill her, or worse. She had closed half of the distance between her and Darren whenever he rose to his feet, she almost didn't see his hand because it was flicked so carelessly in her direction. No sooner did she see the flash of purple light hit her in the stomach did she feel it crawl inside her, spreading from the contact point outward, she could see her veins turning a darker shade of purple, seeming to stand out on her skin, at first she was in shock, a morbid interest in why her skin was acting like that, then like the flip of a switch, her veins turned to fire. Not a visible one, but something that was invisible and surging over every inch of her body, with every heart beat it seemed to intensify. Her chest started to heavy rapidly, terrified gasps leaving her mouth, it was not her first time under this curse at Darren's hand, but this was the most intense and the least warranted. A compact didn't earn her this, she couldn't scream she was in too much pain. Her knees buckled, her fingers clawing at her body, she could hear the ripping of her shirt, but every time that her hand made contact with her own body it felt like she was touching a lit stove, both on her hand and the area that she had made contact with. She couldn't hold still because it hurt too much, but anytime her body made contact with anything at all, it was worse, even her clothing was offending her.

If Cammie had been capable of rational thought at this point, she would have been wishing that she had never gotten out of bed. She would wish that she had snuggled back into her covers, banishing sunlight from her view, pulled the fluffy white comforter up over her head and slept for another few hours rather than drag her tired limbs out into the cold air and get ready for yet another meeting with Kaydence. While, it was in no way her fault, Cammie found herself upset with her. Even though she had been the one to force her way into the meetings, insisting on using her club as the meeting place, being pushy and wanting information just like she always did, and this was where it normally got her too. Once again, she was collapsed on the ground, the pain in her body so severe that no sound was even capable of coming out of her mouth, it was choked. She felt like every organ in her entire body was on fire, like she was tied to a post and being tortured alive until the flames consumed her entire being. She was stuck in a horrible little dance, she wanted to drop to the floor and writhe, but she was stuck on her knees, silent screams leaving her mouth every few seconds. She saw the people moving around her, nobody stopping to help her, couldn't they see her? Couldn't they see that she needed help and was in pain? A few minutes later, her body finally gave way to the pain, her vision narrowed and she drifted into a very peaceful blackness.

She wasn't sure exactly when it was that the flames stopped, she just knew that everything but her arm was fine. Luckily, the person hovering above her seemed focused on her face. Thankful that she was blessed with good looks as she scrambled into a sitting position, her wand still clasped in a death grip in her palm holding onto it like it was her last tether at life. She just wanted to get out of here, to run very far away. The man was looking at her strangely, obviously wondering if she was alright. He seemed to be talking to her, but she had no idea what he was saying. Everything was just so loud, there was the distant screaming, peoples footsteps, the man in front of her shouting. He had to of fixed her, she wasn't where she had passed out, he had to of moved her out of harms way. She was sure he had better things to be doing with his time, but appreciated the fact that he was waiting to see if she was damaged or not, she couldn't see the healers but they had to be around here somewhere. Whenever she had passed out, it had been in a room full of fear, but the one that she had woken up in was a full on war room. There were just too many people, she didn't know what to do with herself. Bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them her teeth were still chattering, she could feel lingering fingers of the burning curse still within her, or was that just her arm. There were pops, she didn't know who was coming, but if her arm was any indication, the Death Eaters were arriving, so Darren had summoned them, meaning the man in front of her was Ministry. He couldn't see her arm. He tried to take her vitals, but she was being absolutely no help at all, refusing to move. Whenever he had finally pried her arm away from her body and pressed his index and middle finger against her palm he saw it, the writhing snake. She had forgotten how dark it was, the serpent sliding easily around her skin, weaving deadly little lines around the skull that was it's home. The man sat up, looking at her with a strange look on his face. His face hardened quickly, like he was about to read her her last rights.

That's when the Chandelier feel from that ceiling. Her voice finally seemed to find her, screaming as it shattered only a few feet from her, luckily for her the man who had cured her of whatever curse Darren had placed her under was directly in front of her, shards of glass littered his back and skull. There was no doubt in her mind that he was dead, as was evident by the fact that his weight was now crushing her against the desks. Grunting, she summoned what little strength she had left to shove him off of her body, all the while attempting to put back the pieces of her sanity. She was not going to let Darren get away with this, he had cast her aside for the very last time. Her legs were bleeding, her palms raw from having to use them to brace herself as she rose to her feet. She was sure that she looked like a mess, she could no longer see Kaydence, there was a dozen different things that she could imagine Darren to be doing to her at this very moment. He always was twisted like that, during their short stint together, at least she considered it together, she would get hexed anytime she so much as looked at another man, but he was never willing to commit. Grinding her teeth together, she tried to open her eyes a little wider, to take in the whole scene around her. There was no more door, just a gaping hole where she imagined somebody came crashing in, people were fighting everywhere, there was no time for her to hide the tattoo squirming around on her arm, she was just going to have to ignore the fact that it was still burning. She was not going to help him, she wasn't fighting for the Ministry either, she just wanted to get Kaydence, and get out of here. Merlin help whoever gets in her way.

Lifting her wand to shoulder height, aimed at the first person she saw, she didn't take the time to see if their arm had the mark like hers did, or if he was wearing a badge "CONFRIGNO!" her voice was clear, the person that her curse hit went blasting out of the way, his head hitting a bit of rubble, at least she wasn't going to need to watch her back for this bit. Still rattled, she was having trouble walking in a straight line, stepping over one of the bodies in front of her she kept her eyes peeled for any sign of her friend. She couldn't help but wonder if any of this was even planned or if it was just an opportunity that he had seized.

[shawnj]

Once again, he was stuck doing paperwork. It seemed like all he did nowadays was paperwork to clear up the messes that had been created. One day, he would go out with his team and fix any magical maladies and the next two days would be filled with doing paperwork that went along with that problem. It was amazing how many papers had to be filed just because some twelve year old got mad at their muggle neighbor and turned them into a chocolate frog with intents to eat them or a drunken idiot had decided to try and get into a club but unable to control their instincts, turned the bouncer into an angry, boil-covered man. Two days ago he had found himself with a new job that he hadn’t had in the past. This time it was a thirteen year old who had turned her parents into rabbits. Apparently she had decided that they were too mean by not letting her leave the house after dark so she decided to turn them into her new pets. He had arrived just before the child had stuck their parents into a cage with some carrots. She would have had plenty of brothers and sisters if he hadn’t stepped in beforehand. The parents had been baffled by what set their child off and that she would even consider doing magic on them, but he had explained to them how children didn’t quite have control of their magic at this point. Things could just happen with no real reason behind them. No matter what he informed parents, he still could not believe some of the things these children did without any formal training. Of course his job wasn’t always based around children’s magic. The accidental magic squad also answered calls for adults, but usually they were drunk and not so interesting. Unfortunately, no matter what the incident, the paperwork was all the same

It had taken him two days to do the paperwork because, along with the incident report, he was also required to describe the method used to turn fix the problem (in this case, the method used to turn the parents back into human beings) along with a procedure that should be used to prevent the incident from happening in the first place. The amount of papers he had to file for a single incident these days was ridiculous. It was almost like the Minister wanted people to waste paper more than he wanted them to use their wands. After all, how many times could he state that the best method of prevention was to teach the parents not to make their children upset or to just bind everyone’s magic in the first place? This had been a joke, of course, but many times he had been tempted to write that as the explanation and just shove the papers away. If he got many more of these types of requests, it wouldn’t be a farfetched idea. If it meant that the paperwork would not take so long and his team would be able to perform their job better, than he was all for it.

Sighing as Shawn finished the last piece of paperwork for the girl the days before, he leaned back in his chair and placed his feet onto his desk. The whole building was crawling with people today and the accidental magical squad was no different. His team was all around him, waiting for their next call to go take care of something absolutely ridiculous. Of course, his team didn’t care. They all loved what they did because it kept them on their toes. Sure, there were days when they wished they were in the actual law enforcement office, but in Shawn’s eyes, the accidental magic squad was more entertaining. He was able to be a fun boss, taking his team out every so often for drinks. His boss didn’t seem to care what they did as long as they got the job done and didn’t get any complaints. How many people actually complained about having their problem fixed? Shawn’s team, despite their professional moments, seemed to have the most fun out of anyone on the floor. That’s what made him stick around in this team despite the stupid calls they got.

He was hoping that soon they would get another call but he decided until that time came, he was just going to go bug everyone to see if they had gotten their wand certification done. Every year they were required to show they still had the skills to be in the Ministry and everyone on his team was due this month. He never got a chance to do so, however. The badge that he wore when at the office was now attempting to get his attention to inform him that it was time to do the other half of his job. Shawn had always been a secondary member of the Auror team and that was fine with him. He never cared about being first on the scene considering usually they got the crappy duties. If someone called for something petty, they were the first ones to show up. He was satisfied with being back up if that meant he only got called when it was actually important. Pushing himself out of his chair, Shawn walked around his cube and noticed that the noise on the floor hadn’t just been because people were actually in the office. Everyone was surrounding the windows, including his own team. Quirking an eyebrow, he jogged over in the direction of the window and took a glance outside. It didn’t take him long to realize Alzubra was where he was being beckoned to. Out of his team, he was the only one who was an active auror and he could see the disappointment on their faces when they realized he was going to be heading out to join in the fight.

He shrugged as they gave him the look like “Don’t you dare leave us here and go down there”. He had nothing to do with the fact that none of them could get approved for active duty. Hell, some of them hadn’t even passed their training camp run yet. Apparating on the spot, he landed with his feet on broken cobblestone at the base of the Gringott’s staircase. He dropped to the ground when he saw a spell heading in his direction rather quickly. The first responders were already engaged in an attack on the DeathEaters that had appeared. So the Dark Lord was finally making his move, was he? Even though he shouldn’t be happy about it, Shawn couldn’t help but grin knowing that he had made the right decision in moving to Austria. He was going to get a fight for once. Slipping his wand from his pocket, Shawn rose to his feet and sent a curse in the direction of the DeathEater that had nearly hit him when he arrived. Watching the man crumple to his knees was pleasing to the eye, however he wouldn’t be able to stand around and enjoy the scene unless he wanted to get cursed.

[Ashton Wentworth]

“Ministry…” To be honest, he was glad that she knew, it would be easier this way. He hadn't ever brought it up because of her 'no questions' policy, and he had been fine about it. He just assumed that she had put two and two together and already knew. However, apparently that was giving her too much credit. He couldn't get over the look on her face. A dozen emotions were going through him all at once, he knew that they didn't do much talking. But she should have at least at some point mentioned that he was a DeathEater, he wouldn't have minded if she had just dropped it in as a breakfast conversation at some point, just 'Hey, how are your waffles? Oh and By the way, I devoted myself to an evil purpose' would have been all he needed. How dare she let him chase after her, want to be around her whenever they differed on such a fundamental level. Sure, joining the Death Eaters was the natural career choice for Slytherin graduates, but he didn't actually think that any of them were that stupid. Sure, they all liked to Drink and have a good time, but to actually attempt to overthrow the Ministry? The image of a Harold clutching Caulfield and a drunken Monroe with death eater scars crossed his mind, it was almost laughable, there was just no way that it was even remotely possible. Then again, looking down at the woman in front of him everything that he thought that he knew about himself and the company he kept since he had returned to Austria was being questioned. He was in utter shock, never mind the war raging around him, it was like a distance noise. Like the sound of train tracks from inside of a house, muted and somehow less important. He could hear the pops coming from all around him. He could only hope that there were more Aurors then there were Death Eaters, yet somehow he doubted it. He had a job to do, and he needed to focus. There were two supernatural women in a king kong death match only yards away, Kaydence should have been the least of his problems, yet he couldn't tear his eyes from her. He wanted to wallow in the self pity, in the disappointment that she was causing him. He felt like such a fool for believing anything that ever came out of her mouth, and he knew it had to be evident on his face. He wanted to show her even a fraction of the anger he was feeling about her. “Surprise meeting you here.” He hardly had time to look at the woman causing all of the trouble before she was gone again, once again leaving him alone with the pair of people that he apparently knew nothing about.

This was different than the balcony, different than her stupid dog and different from any tryst or fight they had ever been in. They might have fought about petty things, their egos not wanting to fit into the same space, or her being upset that he had once again tracked dirt into her apartment, that his shoes were obnoxious or that she didn't like that she couldn't control his hair. Those were all insignificant, things that he was willing to overlook for the bigger picture, but this irritated him to his core, she had lied about the fundamentals of who she was and he wasn't sure that he could ever forgive this, even if he wanted to. Which as of now, he didn't. He heard the crash, but somehow it didn't connect, he was thrown for a loop by this latest revelation. He didn't notice as the glass flew around the room, sliding to a halt against his boots, he wasn't sure if any of it had hit his back and he wasn't going to allow himself to feel pain in order to check. He was just focusing on not collapsing. “Children.” At the sound of the man's voice, everything seemed to click into place, she had brought all of these people here, she was to be treated like an enemy, yet he couldn't stand watching her in pain, even if she did deserve it. “Wentworth is it? I hope you and your boys are ready for what’s coming. Kaydence has helped me invite some friends who have been locked up for a little too long.” He spat at the man's feet, not wanting to hear anything that he said, which only seemed to fuel his fire. The arrogance of the man in front of him astounded him, he didn't seem to be much older than he was, the possibility that Ashton could be in real danger never crossed his mind, he was far too busy sizing the man up, ready to fight for what he believed to be his. He would deal with Kaydence and her issues, this man had nothing to do with it. Them being over was an understatement, his fist clenched, his eyes darted to the man causing her harm and he almost didn't want to do anything to stop him, then the fact that he knew even after all of her indiscretions that he was the only one who was allowed to hurt her took over. He had managed to wrap his hand around the man's own arm, to have him move away from the lady, then his fingers flicked, and he was flying.

As he was soaring through the air he spotted Stavros' face for only a moment before his body feel directly on top of his. All of the pain that adrenaline had been hiding from him, the cracked ribs and the bruised well, everything came to the surface all a once. He knew that after all of his trips to the hospital they had started giving him things that would help him stay out of the hospital, more vitamins to keep his bones nice and strong, pills to control his aggression that he never took, at home bandages and taught him how to do his own stitches, or else the fall that he had taken earlier might have killed him. It had to be pure battery acid pumping through his veins, those doors were enforced, they had to of been at least cracked, yet he had no time to dwell on the fact that he was in excruciating pain before his nerves took over once again, pushing the pain to the back of his mind and wanting to run on autopilot. He pushed himself to his knees slowly, while his mind was still moving at regular speeds, his body wasn't wanting him to. What was Stavros even doing here? He remembered the man being told to stay put, he had no business being here. He was going to be killed, and if he got the Aurors distracted or in more trouble than they already were, he was going to kill the man himself. Finish what they had started a couple months ago. Grinding his teeth together, his jaw pulsed, spitting blood into the rubble he gingerly probed at the spot on his side where he was having trouble breathing, he didn't dare lift his shirt until they were done and he was safely inside of a pristine room in St.Everdines, no doubt his whole torso was going to be one mottled shade of blue and black. He felt Tristan getting up, no doubt wanting to use the fight as an excuse to beat the crap out of him as soon as he could stand. So, being proactive, he moved over to where the man was rising, placed his open hand over Stavros' face, and shoved him back to the ground with as much force as he could. He considered hexing him just for the hell of it, but couldn't bring himself to do it. He had far more important things to do, like his job. Pointing a single finger at Tristan he warned "GO HOME Stavros, you're no good here" He was past reasoning with anybody.

Whenever he forced himself to his feet, he spotted another girl joining the fray, she was smaller, somehow she looked very familiar. The group of fighting girls were not more than a few yards from him, his lungs ached. Not from a lack of smoking but no doubt from a bone being not where it was supposed to, he was glad he believed in mind over matter, he needed to find another Auror, or a healer or somebody to fix him up just enough to get back into the fight. Looking around the room it seemed like every single person was engaged in some sort of dueling match, nobody was spare, there were quiet a few people hiding behind the desks, one woman seemed to be shielding a group of children with her body, just pushing them as far into the corner of the building as she could get them, not caring what happened to her. The woman should get a damn metal for that, he could see spells fling every which way, causing him to dodge them and duck every few minutes. The fray was getting out of control, coughing up a little more blood he looked around him for just long enough to locate his wand "IMMOBULOUS" he saw the yellow light jet out of his wand and hit somebody in the fray, although he was not sure who or where it hit. He was hoping at it his somebody in the chest, then they would be forced to stop moving until somebody countered it. Granted, it might be an unfair advantage to whoever was still moving, stumbling closer to them he could tell that it was definitely a vampire, and Isis, she was a werewolf, nobody else could be that strong. It was a wonder that she was still in her human form. If he could just get close enough, he could lock her in her human form and cart her away. They would have to stop fighting if there was nobody to fight. The third girl he had only met recently "Natalie?" He wheezed to himself, they had met at a muggle bar, now he had a sneaking suspicion that Natalie was not her real name at all. He saw her eyes connect with his for only a moment, he was going to hate dragging her to Azkaban if he got his hands on her, she had been so nice to him before. He smirked for just a moment, just long enough to let her know that he knew her secret, and would be coming for her next.

Whatever damage he had done, it didn't seem to be making the least bit of difference to the trio "STUPEFY" He shouted, a red beam of light jetting from his wand, he knew somebody was going to be hit by this one. He took a moment to use a few hand gestures to the third wave of Aurors coming onto the scene, he knew that the second had to of been here by now, this was definitely a situation that warranted a lot of back up. Since he was point man as far as he could tell inside of the bank, he waved them to the woman in the corner, and they started protecting her, apparating the children out of the building, it was search and rescue now. The members of the third wave were so rarely used that they didn't have very much training, they wouldn't be of much help to containing the actual fight. About that time, he heard an all to familiar scream. He was the only person who was allowed to make her scream like that, and hopefully he would never have to. His eyes darted over to where he had been before that prat had blasted him. Who was he? Was there any chance he was the Dark Lord or was he just another Death Eater? He would be the one to personally find out, there was nowhere that Kaydence could run from him that he wasn't going to find her. He managed a limping jog, until he saw them, and what he was doing to her. Her face was bleeding, why was she bleeding? He started to limp towards her, but spotted the man who had done it to her on the way, walking toward the Ministry officials whenever Ashton broke into a run, wanting to knock the fool to the ground and spend a god while punching the teeth out of his head, one by one. A body connected into his mid-lunge. He wasn't sure who or why, but Kaydence was left helpless in her little pile and the man was getting away, "NOO!" he screamed in the mans direction, his arm extended, wanting to grab hold of his clothing and take the man down with him, then he connected once more with the marble floors, his ribs threatening to give way. Glass pressed into his clothing and torso, staining his previously white shirt with his own blood.