attack on hogsmeade [[GLOBAL]]

[indica]

Indica d'Antoine had been enjoying a rather lovely cup of tea at Madam Puddifoot's, seated at a table for two by the window, when all hell broke loose on the streets outside. She'd been too intent on trying to figure out each and every ingredient used in the tea through her taste buds and nose alone, that she hadn't noticed when the sky began to darken. The Ravenclaw, in fact, didn't notice anything was wrong until she heard that first scream. She jumped, then squeaked as she spilled hot tea onto her legs.

Biting her lip, she quickly set down her cup and pulled her wand out of her robes. Her thighs had gone red from the hot liquid, as she'd opted for a skirt that day, but she had a feeling that that would be the least of her worries.

Indica was not a very good duelist, having focused more on studying Herbology and more practical spells. Therefore rushing outside to join in the fray was not the first thought to go through her mind.

She momentarily considered making her way to one of the back rooms of the building, to hide out there until whatever was happening had passed. But that hope was shattered along with the window she'd been sitting by moments earlier. A piece of glass cut along her cheek, and the sudden sting made her burst into action.

Madam Puddifoot's was not safe enough; she had to get back to Hogwarts. As she burst out and into the street, Indica was nearly run over by numerous witches and wizards running this way and that. In their panic, many of them appeared not to be aware of where they were going. Though of course the smoke, screams, and curses were perfect for causing confusion.

She had to keep her head cool, had to keep her mind focused, however the adrenaline along with everything that'd confused everyone else...was making it quite difficult. A curse hit the door behind her, just above her head, causing her to gasp and run.

The girl kept close to the buildings, knowing that she'd be an easier target out in the open, and tried to make it toward Hogwarts as quickly as possible. She had no idea what was going on, and she didn't plan on sticking around to find out, all Indica knew was that it was best to get out of there.

Another curse flew her way, and he soft voice quickly called out, "Protego!" That spell, at least, she knew a little better than Stupify or any of the other spells meant to attack. The spell along with her being a moving target, spared her from being hit, though she did trip over a pile of rubble due to having taken her eyes off the road in order to cast the spell.

She fell forward and found herself catching on to fabric. Not just any fabric but someone's robes! Startled gray eyes focused on the face above her, and she found herself looking at Alastair. Wait no...not quite...Something about his appearance was not quite right, and he was wearing Gryffindor colours? His brother?

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TAG - alastair & devon :3
WORDS - 619
NOTES - fweee
CREDIT made by mee

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[river]

So this was what her numbers were trying to tell her.

The past couple of weeks, every formula she tried, every scheme she filled out, showed a great dark force, looming in the future. The constellations always suggested something explosive, violent, no matter how many times River had repeated the divinations. But still, the Arithmancer had a difficult time believing the forecast fully, or rather, applying it to herself. While the numbers had shown a vague hostile force in the background for as long as River could remember, and the predictions were consistent with the hushed voices in the hallways, talking about a threat to the wizard world rising. But the Ravenclaw always thought it was the business of grown-up witches and wizards, and the matters didn't concern young students like herself. And with a similarly unclouded mind did she dismiss the warnings about the outburst of dark power.

Yet now, an unnaturally dark skies above her, River found herself regretting her foolish disdain of the threatening predictions. It was the Hogsmeade weekend, and the girl had been eager to search the book shops for curious finds, and had made plans to meet up with Indica after that. However, a sense of direction wasn't one of River's strong suits and she hadn't actually gone to explore the town on her own before, which resulted in her getting lost in one of the narrow streets far from the centre of the wizard town soon enough.

A familiar feeling of panic and heaviness in the chest soon descended upon the young girl when she noticed flashes of light from spells and curses being cast. Always one of the worst students in Defence Against Dark Arts class, River had a horrible time coping with pressure to do what is expected of her quickly, and feeling a real danger only added severity to her inability to perform. Even when her survival instinct kicked in, and the only thing on her mind was finding the next best way to flee, the panic that had set in in her chest had it's freezing cold grip on all of the small girl by now, making her legs too heavy to move.

Sighing with frustration, River let herself sink to the ground. There was nothing she could do. It was quite a secluded alley, and it was her only hope that the evil-doers would miss her. On the other hand, if one should go after her, it would be highly unlikely that anyone else who was able to help her would come by and do just that. Her brows were knitted together over her watery eyes as they desperately darted between the flashes of light. What was going on? She could only guess what the extent of damage and horror was by the distant screams and sounds of colapsing buildings.

And then there was a sound much more closer to her. The sound of certain, hurried steps, and they were headed in her direction. A new wave of panic hit the girl and made tears roll down her cheeks. In a vain attempt to defend herself she extended her wand, her slender fingers wraped around it so tightly, the slin around the knuckles turned white. Yet her mind was as blank as a clean sheet of paper, void of the diligently memorised spells. At least for a moment, the attacker wouldn't realise it though.

When the dark figure finally emerged from behind the corner, River's eyes widened with surprise to actually see someone familiar. Although she wasn't exactly good friends with Regulus Black, the Slytherin boy sneering at her and her lack of skill in their only shared class together - Defence Against Dark Arts -, the girl was truly glad to see him. "Regulus..." she spoke his name, more appropriate words escaping her in this moment of panic and despair, the voice shaking with fear, much like her whole body. Her blue-grey eyes looked up at the boy, pleading for help.

[mitzeh]

Now that he was further from the centre of the village and therefore not in such danger anymore, Regulus slowed down just a little. His steps were still quick and hurried, but at least he was no longer running and his breath was slowly returning to normal. He recalled briefly Redwood’s brother shouting something after him, although what it had been he had no idea – not that it would matter anyway, he wouldn’t have stayed with them no matter what. Red and gold on the other boy’s robes was like a big, viciously coloured sign that said “Hex me, I’m here!”, and Regulus had no intention of being anywhere near a Gryffindor right now, even if that one certain Gryffindor he’d left behind was his prefect’s sibling. He could only hope Alastair would make it out alive, it would be a pity if someone like him got accidentally hit with an Avada.

Although he had allowed his thoughts to wander, the boy remained alert all the time, well aware that even here he could run into some of the Death Eaters. Of course, it would be much easier to talk his way out of such encounter with no one else around, but he didn’t really feel like being hit with a curse by someone lurking in the dark anyway. Better safe than sorry, after all. The area was eerily quiet – most of Hogsmeade inhabitants had either run to help or were cowering in fear inside their houses, pretending they weren’t there – and, with the adrenaline still pumping through his veins, Regulus’ senses were heightened; no wonder he heard the sniffling sound way before he reached the alley they were coming from. He stopped shortly, wary, but it most certainly wasn’t a threatening sound – it was more like someone was trying to cry and be perfectly quiet at the same time, and not succeeding. Probably a student, female, if he was correct. He shrugged and started walking again, primarily planning on ignoring whoever was there – if they had managed to get this far, they should as well be able to make their way out of the village as well, and if not, well. It was relatively safe here, for now at least, someone would probably find the poor soul in the morning; it wasn’t really Regulus’ business that some girl decided to have a breakdown in the worst possible moment. His curiosity, however, took better of him and instead of walking past, he turned to enter the dark alley.

Never letting his guard down, Regulus had all kinds of nasty spells at the tip of his tongue, ready to cast any of them in case things got out of hand. A building was burning somewhere behind him, so he was clearly visible to whoever was hiding there, but the alley itself wasn’t very well lit, so he only managed to catch a glimpse of a wand pointed at him – his instincts kicked in and he cast Expelliarmus without so much as opening his mouth or moving his hand. Only then he heard his own name spoken in a soft, shaken voice, probably even more scared now that he’d hit the other student – a girl, indeed – with a disarming spell. The Slytherin sighed. Dealing with a hysterical kid, just what he needed. “Lumos,” he murmured, and then promptly rose his eyebrows, surprised to see a girl who was actually his age. River Lyndon, fifth year Ravenclaw, they had DADA classes together. She was really bad at it, he recalled, mildly amused. No wonder she had run instead of fighting. He might have said something snide, Merlin knew he had many unpleasant comments running in his head this very moment, only then he caught her gaze and – he was suddenly lost. Dear Salazar, what was he supposed to do with her? Now that he’d actually decided to notice her, he wouldn’t forgive himself for just leaving her behind, that was not an option. Regulus had been raised to be an aristocrat and a gentleman, and although he was no hero and the first one to admit it, he couldn’t act indifferent towards a woman in such bad shape. He took a tentative step forward, one, two, and soon he was kneeling beside the girl on one knee, not even minding the mud. “Lyndon. Lyndon! For Salazar’s sake, get a hold of yourself,” he said, brows furrowed, having absolutely no idea how to deal with her. “It’s, um, it’s alright now, I’ll take you back to the castle,” Regulus added, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder. “Okay? Just, just get up. You can stand, right?” he asked, suddenly terrified that she had been actually hurt and now he would have to carry her all the way back.

[ALASTAIR REDWOOD]

"Obviously." Alastair said quickly, although without malice. "I think Regulus had it right....the direct path to the castle is clogged, but I don't know if the longer distance will be any safer with..." He was thinking with you dressed like that, but he didn't say it out loud. They really didn't have time to fight, "You should have gone back to the castle though!" He shouted over the noise. He was definitely safer in this situation than Devon.

He whirled around, wand bearing down on the sudden new arrival in their group, before his narrowed eyes widened and he shot forward to help right the elfish creature of a girl, "Indica?" He breathed, "I didn't know you were here today! You're alright aren't you?" He asked quickly, obviously concerned. Although when it came down to it she was probably safer than any of them, since she was pure-blood.

He and the pixie girl had formed an odd sort of friendship over the course of time from their first meeting. Alastair liked her inquiring mind and he found her oddity rather endearing even if he didn't know what to do with it at times. He also found her to be very pretty, which of course he would never admit out loud, but it certainly added another layer to his interactions with her.

"Come with us, we're getting out of here!" He said urgently, grabbing her by the hand and giving Dev a pointed look, "I don't know what the best route is, but we need to move! We can't stay here like sitting ducks." Indica's hand entwined with his and his wand clutched in the other he pelted down a lesser used path, hoping it wouldn't lead them straight into trouble.

No such luck.

Turning the corner they were faced by a group of three masked men talking animatedly to one another. The men froze when the students rounded the corner, their expressionless masks, glinting coldly. Alastair cursed, knowing the range was too close to turn away. Leaving their backs exposed was a bad idea. "Dev!" He yelled, unable to look back at his brother, "Back me up! Make sure no one gets us from behind!" He hoped Indica would take watch on their sides, but he didn't have time to say this because one of the men lobbed a brillant purple jet of light straight toward his heart.

With superb reflexes, Alastair cast a silent shield charm. His eyes were narrowed and suddenly he seemed much older than his appearance would suggest. He was a natural dueler and his arsenal of spells was vast, his aim expert. They may have been older, but Alastair certainly was no pushover.

He sent a curse at the man who''d attacked him, the walls of the buildings crowding them in glowing bright blue for a moment. He struck true and dodged a green flare that looked suspiciously like the killing curse, "Watch out!" He yelled at the two behind him, "These guys are playing seriously." Growling as he brought his wand down in a slashing arc the man fell back, his friends moving, the one Alas had hit was getting up and heading straight for Devon.

[DEVON REDWOOD]

Devon was about to snap something snide back to his brother, annoyed that he was already starting a fight here in the middle of a battle, but something stopped him. He felt a tug on his robe sleeve and looked back at the girl, confused. Where the hell had she come from? She looked like a fairy straight out of a story book, but he soon realized that she was wearing Ravenclaw colors and was, therefore, obviously from Hogwarts.

His brother very nearly raised his wand to her and Devon raised an arm to protect her. "Alas--" He was cut off as Alastair studiously ignored him and helped the girl -- Indica -- up. Did they know each other? She certainly was a pretty girl, Devon thought. What if Alastair and this girl were together? That was something Alas would do, date a girl and not even have the nerve to tell his twin.

He realized shortly that this was not at all the time or place to worry about something as petty as that, more so when his brother and Indica took off running. Devon would be the first to admit he wasn't the best at magic, but he was more athletic than his brother and caught up quickly, running just behind the girl to help keep her safe. He had no idea where Alastair was taking them, and hoped to Merlin that the Slytherin had some idea.

Devon was honestly infuriated as he saw the three masked men. He raised his wand somewhat awkwardly until he received the order from Alastair. His brother was a surprisingly excellent dueller for his age, which he proved as he protected against the adult wizard's spells. Even Devon could see that these bastards were using unforgivable curses, and he wanted to return in kind, to tell the truth.

Devon's eyes went back to the wizard who had cast the most recent spell, eyes going wide as he realized how close he was getting. Devon's instincts were nothing like Alastair's. His first thought was not to use his wand, not when an opponent was in such close range. Completely forgetting himself, he lowered his shoulder and suddenly charged the masked man, driving his arm against the man's solar plexus to knock the air from his lungs. It was much easier to catch someone off guard when all they expected was another spell. The wizard backed off, trying to catch his breath, and Devon cast a quick offensive spell against the third man. "Flipendo!"

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[lily]

As more time passed Lily slowly got her bearings more and more, the world came more into focus instead of the blur the mixture of pain and tears had caused. Where was Molly? Hadn't she been with them? Glancing around she saw little of her fellow fiery-haired friend and it made her heart drop, first Erebus, then Molly...both gone into the fray it seemed as she sat there curled in Sev's arms like a child. Meanwhile the world around them was still an explosion of chaos. People lay still on the ground and it made a cold fear creep through her that those she cared about would soon join them. Looking at Sev she knew she was slowing him down...sweet Merlin save them, why didn't...

A small voice caught her attention as she turned her head to see the familiar young boy next to her. Reaching out she touched his hair and smiled, "Sorry? For what? I'm fine. I feel like a million Galleons. I'm glad you're safe." She let her fingers brush over the top of his head gently, though even as she did so her arm tightened in pain. Something wasn't right...at least not right physically, the young Gryffindor tried her best though not to show it.

What an odd sight though to see and hear, in the middle of battle suddenly to have two Slytherins lecturing her on why exactly she wouldn't go back or be put down. From Erebus to hear the veiled threat she opened her mouth to argue with him only to have Sev start in as well on her. If fear had not been so present she probably would have been laughing but as a bolt whizzed pass them and over Erebus she was reminded of what was happening. Before she could stop him though he was gone, winging his own curses back.

A third year out fighting, and she was still stuck in Sev's arms trying to either physically or vocally get him to put her down. His words though hit her sharply. Her own becoming louder, more insistent, "I can help! I know I can...just please...Sev....I need to..." Her struggles grew a little weaker as he cut in once more.

"Dumbledore will be sending in reinforcements soon!----Wizards who can actually be of help! People with training! This is no place for us we have to get back to the castle."

Wizards who could actually help? She could hear the students fighting back as she looked over his shoulder back at Hogsmeade. She knew her defense skills were not at good as other's but she wanted to fight, wanted to save her friends, protect people like Erebus, or what about her family if the time came? Her expression turned to something sour as she rested her head on his shoulder, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Bloody hell! Sev! I can help, please just set---" She went quiet looking on as through the crowd a small figure dressed in black started towards them, the shape under the robes something feminine, but still ominous as she stalked closer to the two of them wand aimed as she listened to the muffled curse aimed for the unprotected back of her friend, "Watch out!" She cried, ignoring the pain as she flung one arm around Sev's shoulder pointing her own wand.

"Protego!" The spell hit and bounced back, but the other dodge it, still she held up the shield as best she could. Lily went limp against Sev, panting, barely anything left in her as fingers grasped at his robes as another curse bounced off the weakening barrier.

[river]

It was to be expected the boy's first instinct would be disarming her. Although she hadn't heard him speak the spell out very loudly, he must have muttered it quietly, for there was no way her trusted wand would leave her hands with such force on it's own. It was a dark alley after all, and most of her delicate frame had been covered by a big shadow. Coming from a much lighter area, his eyes would need to adjust themselves to the darkness before he could make out it was actually a familiar figure in front of him. He couldn't have seen River was actually a fellow Hogwarts student, and it was only logical for him to assume the worst and disarm a potential enemy.

Yet some part of her wondered – even if it was for a mere split of a second – what if he disarmed her because he knew her? What if Regulus Black was actually on the other side? Whenever one heard murmurs about a secret dark force rising, one would always hear fears of enemies within the own rows. Even if the girl didn't want to assume the worst of the teachers and much less students, she was far too careful to dismiss the danger completely. Could it be that the one person to stumble upon her during this battle was a student with an allegiance to the attackers? But once the Slytherin spoke a spell for light and River witnessed his facial expression change in reaction to her pitiful condition, her fear about his loyalty was gone. Silently, a fresh set of tears rolled down her cheeks in relief when the boy walked towards her, the blue-grey eyes never yielding from his pair.

Even if Regulus' handling of the situation was anything but skilled or particularly empathic even, and his movements could more fittingly be called crude or abrasive, the Ravenclaw saw them for what they were – an honest attempt to help and comfort her. And surprisingly enough, it worked. Nodding to his promise to take her back to the castle safely, River wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. ”I think so... I'm not hurt.” there was still a hint of helplessness in her soft voice, yet the taste of sheer panic was almost gone, as she tried to dispel his possible worst assumptions. ”I-I might need some assistance getting up though.” With a glance asking for permission, she put one arm over the boy's shoulders. Leaning some of her weight on Regulus, the small girl felt stable enough to attempt standing up.

Because of their height difference, it would have been impossible for River to keep her arm around the boy's shoulders without lifting of the ground once they were both standing tall, so she let it slip down, but grabbed a hold of his elbow for further support. ”Where is my wand?” she inquired quietly, looking around for it without effect. It must have been in one of the darker areas, or further away, considering the unusual rich yellow colouring of the wood would caught the eye immediately if it had been near by. Accio, the spell for summoning things came to her mind, yet unfortunately, it was useless to her since she was wandless. Leaving without her treasured wand was not an option though, and she looked up at Regulus. ”Would you summon it for me please?”

[mitzeh]

Not hurt. Able to walk. That was good, in the very least, it meant that his assistance would be limited to slowing down enough for her to keep up with him and watching out for possible danger just like he had been doing before. (The fact that he had not been watching out enough to notice his brother before running into him – that, well, let’s not talk about that, okay. At least Sirius was safe, well, had been at the time. Not that Regulus cared, of course. And no, he definitely wasn’t trying not to think about Sirius throwing himself in the middle of the fight in his Gryffindor robes with his Gryffindor behaviour and his stupid Gryffindor face that was known to every Death Eater present. And had a huge TRAITOR sign on it. Sirius was a big boy. Big enough to make his own decisions, like the one to risk his life or, you know, leave his little brother behind.
No, he wasn't still bitter about that. He wasn't.)

Regulus cringed slightly when River touched him. He wasn’t one for physical contact, with a glorious exception of sex of course, and he didn’t like people getting overly friendly with him. Or just friendly in general; it seemed to be a rather common trait among Slytherins. Under other circumstances he would probably move away immediately, but, well. Gentleman, right. Still, the hastiness in his moves was hard to miss as he straightened quickly as soon as River was standing on her own. He looked her over, just for good measure, wanting to make sure that she really hadn’t been hurt; sometimes people wouldn’t even know that they were, say, about to bleed to death, shock making them immune to pain. Lyndon surely looked like someone had cast a stunning spell on her just moments before. At least she didn’t sound as panicked now, so it was possible that all she had needed was someone's company.

She probably wasn't very lucky to have got Regulus. It was almost surprising how someone as good with spells and solving problems in general as him could be this impatient with other living creatures. The fact that he had never had a particularly soft spot for Lyndon didn’t help either. He wouldn’t go so far as to say he hated her, or even strongly disliked, but frankly he saw her as kind of useless. It was really hard for him not to think lowly of the girl after seeing a few of her performances during their DADA classes; he had, after all, grown up in an environment where Dark Arts were common knowledge, and so was the ability to protect yourself from them. Like many other Slytherins, the younger Black had never had any problems when it came to that particular subject at school, while Lyndon – let’s face it, Lyndon was pathetic when faced with a spell more powerful than Expelliarmus. He highly doubted she would even be able to cast Protego, should the need arise. He let out an irritated huff when she clung to his elbow, although he couldn’t bring himself to remove her hand. “Why did you even take it out, Lyndon, you couldn’t cast a protecting spell if your life depended on it,” he said flatly, looking around. Indeed, River’s wand was nowhere in sight. Regulus sighed and mumbled “Accio wand” – sure enough, a moment later he was handing the girl her property.

The dark haired boy made a few steps forward the exit of the alley, until he stopped again, throwing River a rather annoyed look. “Listen, Lyndon, if you’re looking for a knight in the shining armor, then you got the wrong brother,” he spat rather impatiently. Salazar, he just wanted to be out of here. Why had he even stopped to help her again? Oh right. Those eyes. He cursed inwardly as he watched her face change after his harsh words. “Just, could you not cling to me the whole time? You can follow me, I won’t run off, promise,” the boy said, barely stopping himself from rolling his eyes. She wasn’t even a pureblood, and yet he was going through all this trouble just to help her. And people said he was the smarter one, honestly.

[RASMUS BLACKEBERG]

Rasmus bent over the boy, leaning his forehead against Chord's and panting softly, heart pounding, lungs contracting painfully. He felt sick, his stomach twisting painfully into knots, unable to say anything much less move even though his mind was screaming at him to do something.

They couldn't stay here, it was dangerous and Chord was in no state to fight, Rasmus doubted he could even stand. He ran a hand through the soft blonde hair, pulling back to look over the boys face with an cloudy, pained sort of gaze. What if he had gotten here sooner? Would he have been able stop this from happening? Why was it that when it was important he was never there at the right time!? He hadn't gotten to say goodbye to Maja, he hadn't been able to save her and she had died without him there. Alone. He could have saved Chord, but he was too fucking slow.

"Are you.." His voice cracked with emotion and he swallowed it down, closing his eyes to take a deliberate breath, "What spells did they use?" He asked, fumbling for the wand in his robes and leaning back further to run a diagnostic charm over him. The results were not promising.

Rasmus had somewhat of an affinity toward the healing arts. Ollivander had told him, the day he had gotten his Holly wand that it would prove to be a useful, that it was meant for a healers hand. He had recently been entertaining the idea of taking on an apprenticeship at St. Mungos once graduating seventh year. It seemed a bit more practical a career than hoping to get drafted on a professional quidditch team.

He worked deftly, scanning the boy as quickly as he could to asses the damage done. There were residual traces of dark-magic, and several places that glowed to signify a broken or cracked bone. "They used the cruciatus didn't they..." He murmured to himself more than anything, eyes narrowing into hard slits and a kind of cold anger seeping into the tension.

He didn't know who the hell these people were and why they were attacking the village, but he hoped for their sakes that none of them crossed his path because he would repay them in full for what they had done.

"We have to get back to the castle..." He said, his voice tight, not able to look into Chord's eyes in order to compose himself. He placed a featherweight charm on the boy, only to ease the tension against the afflicted areas, as well as a kind of numbing charm that the nurse had taught him once when he had been in the hospital wing after a particularly rough quidditch game. It had made the pain in his broken arm much more bearable as she prodded it and fussed, Rasmus only hoped it would do the same for Chord.

"We'll be back at the castle soon..." He murmured, picking up the broken boy as gently as he could manage. Although he could be vicious on a quidditch pitch, he could also be incredibly gentle, he had learned that from his sister. "I promise I'll keep you safe...."

"Is that okay?" He asked, concern wavering in his voice as he finally looked down at Chord, "I'm sorry if it hurts....but I promise it will only be for a short while longer..."

[SEVERUS SNAPE]

"No!" He cut across her sharply, narrowing his eyes, "Listen Lily....these people." It was quite the task to try and convey information in a subtle way to someone while subsequently carrying them and running at the same time, "These people aren't to be pushed! They are organized and they receive their orders directly from...." He stopped, "They won't hesitate to kill...their whole purpose of being here is to stir up trouble and incite fear, they aren't here for a bloodbath, but they won't hesitate to kill you for fun!" How else could he convince her that this was far too much for her to handle!?

As a Slytherin, a watchful and intelligent one at that, he was privy to certain information that the majority of the school and the Wizarding world even, were not yet aware. He knew who the group attacking Hogsmeade was, knew who they followed even if his intentions were still unclear to Severus. However he would never have expected something like this, it seemed far too brutal, far too merciless for a group that preached magical cooperation and pride. Admittedly he had been drawn in by pretty speeches on not having to hide as a magical community, being able to coexist and relish in their superiority. And he hungered for power, power he knew that aligning himself with them could bring him, the ability to rise above the muggle shithole he lived in and take his place in the Wizarding world. To be somebody, to be more than what he was somehow.

But he couldn't have everything he wanted. He could either hope that aligning himself with darker forces could bring him power, or he could have Lily. Because neither one would ever coexist with the other and he knew that now. And really...was there any comparison? Once he thought it would perhaps even make him more impressive to her, but he had realized the folly of his ideals when they all fell through, easily and quickly enough to know that he was on unstable ground.

But this. This had all but cemented his decision. This was a disgraceful ploy, thoroughly ostentatious and lacking any sort of finesse. A bunch of masked idiots running around a civilian village and blowing things up to scare people. Attacking school children. This was nothing like the civilized talks and discussions he had attended in Slytherin common room. Severus sneered, an intense dislike burgeoning inside of him.

And Lily....how dare they hurt Lily. He didn't know why he was surprised, of course they would target her. Why wouldn't they? Had he actually been deluded enough to think she would be safe just because she was his friend? In fact, he realized, that only served to make both of them more of a target.

"Listen!" He snapped again, as her protests and struggling ensued once more, "This is serious! This isn't some silly duel! These people want you dead!" His voice rose with his frustration, his need to keep her safe that she wasn't making easy. His tone lowered again, eyes burning as he shot a demanding gaze down at her. He should be paying attention to where they were going, to who was around them. "These people are after people that they don't think are....suitable...." He swallowed, "People whose blood status' don't fall under their bloody fucking categories of whats acceptable. Don't make it easy for them!" Severus hissed and then she yelled and he instantly reacted.

Feinting just as a spell came towards them, he was incredibly glad Lily had cast that shield charm, seeing as his arms were otherwise occupied. Then she went limp against him, as though even the smallest exertion had completely drained her. Alarmed, he wondered how long she had been subjected to the cruciatus curse. He looked over towards their attacker, seeing as how he didn't know whether she could walk or stand in this condition he was left without many options, he couldn't effectively duel with her in his arms, but hell would freeze over before he let go of her in this state. Teeth gritted he knocked the masked figure back with a disarming spell, pointing awkwardly with his wand. They obviously hadn't been expecting him to try anything and had been fumbling after their initial attack had not worked, so it was easy to disarm them. The mask was knocked from the persons face, revealing a woman with handsome features but there was incredible venom in her gaze. She glared at him defiantly, crouched, on tenterhooks to spring for her wand or to flee. But he matched her gaze and easily ripped into her mind.

Legilimency was a skill Severus had a natural ability for. Quite like the sight, talented legilimens were born rather than trained. He had developed the ability through diligence and extensive study into realms of darker magic. Legilimency in itself was not a tool used for the dark arts, but it was commonly used alongside forms of dark magic as it increased one's power by making an opponent much more vulnerable. Severus was much more adept at Occlumency, but he was skilled enough to twist images into this woman's mind, confuse her enough to stun her and have time to get away.

The mind was much like a hallway of doors, one need only open the right one and the psyche would do the rest of the work.

He pulled out of her mind, eyes refocusing on the real world and glared hatefully at her blank, vapid expression. He wasted no time, and dashed past her prone figure towards his original destination. However he was stopped again, a tall figure, this one male apparated right in front of him, the crack barely audible above the din of the battle.

Shit.

[indica]

As if summoned by her thoughts, there was Alastair, suddenly helping her right herself. Though really it made more sense that Alastair would be with his brother, rather than thinking that she'd mentally summoned the boy. Indica shook her head a little as if to clear it; she wasn't odd enough to believe in that sort of thing anyway. Grey eyes focused on the twin that she had befriended, "Hmm? Ohh I'm fine."

There was the bleeding cut on her cheek, and the burns on her thighs, but neither would impair her from walking or running. Indica hadn't stopped to try and figure out just who the cloaked figures were, and what they were after; she'd just run for her life. And even if she'd figured it all out through a sudden burst of insight, it wouldn't have mattered much. Yes, she was a pure blood, but she was probably not very highly-regarded in the world of those extremists due to having been sorted into Ravenclaw. The blue and gray crest was quite evident on her robes, as was the matching colours of the scarf tied loosely about her neck.

When he said that she should go with them, Indica nodded, not speaking a word of protest. And her fingers clung to Alastair's hand without much thought as they began to run, hopefully in the direction of safety. Had this been a regular day, a normal situation, Indica would have flushed quite brightly at having this boy hold her hand; but as it were, surviving this event took top priority in her mind. She would surely dwell on it later, when safe in her dorm room.

This brought her mind to her best friend River. She'd been waiting at Madam Puddifoot's for the other girl when the attack on Hogsmeade started. Where was River now?! Indica sincerely hoped that something had come up and the other girl had never left the castle. Her brow creased with worry, and her hand clutched Alastair's a little tighter.

But she was soon forced to worry over the safety of the two boys with her as well as her own. Reluctantly, and with guilt weighing on her heart, she had to push thoughts of River to the back of her mind. They were suddenly faced with three of the evil-doers, she had no name for them seeing as she was uninformed about this whole event.

Despite having no battle experience whatsoever, she found herself keeping a lookout on the sides of their little group. It made complete sense to her, Alastair was watching the front, Devon the back, therefore the only place left of her to take care of was the sides.

Their little set-up was thrown off, however, when one of the dark wizards/witches rushed at Devon and the boy responded by using physical force rather than a spell. Her eyes went wide, and her wand arm shook a little as she tried to keep it raised and steady. She knew that she was useless at attack spells, therefore keeping the word Protego on the tip of her tongue. One of the three aimed a spell at Devon while the boy was still dealing with the attacker he had used Flippendo on. "PROTEGO!" the spell was strong enough to deflect the hex, but it fell apart a split moment later.

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TAG - alastair & devon :3
WORDS - 658
NOTES - fweee
CREDIT made by mee

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[ALASTAIR REDWOOD]

He would have laughed if the situation hadn't been so life threatening. Honestly he was shocked Devon had physically attacked that man, like a brawler. Completely forgetting about wands and spells, he had just leapt at the masked man. Of course the man hadn't been expecting that, and that was what made it so genius. He would never have been expecting his victim to react that way. Unfortunately though, it wasn't a tactic that could be kept up for long. Once the initial surprise and shock had worn off, he was sure to be expecting such an attack and this would make it virtually impossible for Devon to use physical force as a defensive or offensive measure. No matter how fast or strong he was, the kind of magic these people employed was faster and stronger. Besides he'd have to get the man's wand out of his hand and then what would he do about the other two?

Despite being hit, these masked men were obviously veterans of battle and the spells of three Hogwarts students weren't doing much to keep them down. Alastair intercepted a flash of light meant for Indica with a shield and sent back a hex towards the man who had attacked.

One of the men lay still on the ground, two were still up and fighting. "Dev! Indica! Watch out behind you." He yelled in urgency.

"What's a Slytherin like yourself doing in such inferior company?" The man in front of him asked, his voice infuriatingly snide and patronizing. Alastair hated being stereotyped and grouped with certain ideologies because of his house. This man knew nothing about him, yet he could make such accusations based on the colors of his robes? Of course...the tone in his voice was teasing, subtle cruel methods of taunting. Instead of giving him a response Alastair growled shielding another curse and sending one back in kind before the man had time to prepare his shields.

They were in a small street and buildings crowded around them, raising his wand Alastair sent a beam from the rooftop crashing down on the man, who unfortunately moved just in time. But his recovery from dodging the beam, left him wide open. Eye's narrowed in concentration, Alastair could barely see anything but the distance between him and this man, the enemy. Every slight move prevalent to his hawk-like vigilance. His anxiety for his brother and Indica was there as well, but it was strangely muted as his mind was focused. Focused on what was between him and his enemy. He lobbed a flurry of spells at the man, dodging and weaving to avoid the ones the stranger was retaliating with. Finally after he had been forced to take cover behind a wall, he set fire to the man's clothes, emerging from behind the shelter with a paralyzing spell as the man tried to extinguish himself.

He fell with a hard, sickening noise, and Alastair approached, looking him over with a dark gaze. He grit his teeth and kicked the man in the stomach, using his wand to quell the flames still licking at his clothes. "Be glad I let you live." He said, and his voice was strangely unfamiliar, cold and laced with a hard edge. Standing over the man he had beaten, one who belonged to a group of highly trained wizards made him feel incredibly powerful.

Finally though, he came back to himself and the situation. Alastair took a breath, willing himself to rid his mind of the dark thoughts that had been lingering on the outskirts of his mind. "Everyone okay?" The brunette asked, turning back to his brother and Indica. His blue gaze resting on her a little longer than necessary. "Lets get back to the castle." He said, stepping closer to them and offering her his outstretched hand.

[DEVON REDWOOD]

Devon watched with obvious awe as his brother dueled. He was amazing, especially for their age, something that Devon had never really been jealous of until now. Devon still had his wand out and some of his Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons were coming back to him. He cast spells that half of the time the dark wizards were able to dodge, but at least he was casting. "Incarcio!" One of the wizards fell with ropes twining around his limbs and Devon grabbed Indica's arm to pull her along to the next safe spot.

They were jumping from cover to cover now, with Alastair attacking and defending the trio on his own. Devon ended up wrapping his arm around Indica's shoulders to keep her covered, feeling some kind of obligation to protect her. She was just so small and he had only heard a few spells coming from her. He felt like she wasn't doing too well on her own and, being a Gryffindor, was stepping up to keep her safe.

He ended up close to his brother again, shouting spelled shields to protect them from behind, and he caught the condescension with which the dark wizard spoke to his brother. He swallowed, glancing back at him. What if it was him? What if Devon was bringing his brother down, putting him in danger? These wizards were judging them by the house colors they wore. The fact that Devon and Alastair were both half-bloods didn't seem to matter now, and he was afraid that his presence alone could have hurt their chances of getting out of this mess unscathed.

"Protego!" he snapped as the previously roped wizard got back to his feet and cast a shot of violet sparks at him, barely getting a shield up in time. "Alastair, we need to --" His eyes went wide as he saw his brother magic a weakened beam over as if to crush the offending wizard. If he hadn't dodged, Devon wasn't sure he would have escaped with his life.

Devon's fear was mounting, not of their situation, not even for the girl between him and Alastair, but of Alastair himself. He was showcasing his dueling skills, holding his own against an adult, trained wizard who wasn't afraid to lob unforgivable spells at young students. But he was doing so with such accuracy and with a look on his face that was altogether unfamiliar even to his twin. Devon couldn't bring himself to say anything, just watching and holding Indica close to him, making sure to cast protective spells when they were needed.

The Gryffindor winced as he heard the man's body fall to the ground, peering at the fiery pile with worry. He stepped closer, the danger momentarily diffused. "Alastair," he said softly, his heart hammering in his chest. Those words, that voice, terrified him. He swallowed and dropped his hand onto the Slytherin's shoulder. "We're fine," he said. "Let's go."

Devon glanced at Indica, then to his brother. "Keep up with me," he said, turning to jog off toward the route he knew. It was longer, but fewer people would know it as well as the direct route. This was his territory, he supposed, his adventures having led him to secret passageways and escape routes galore all over Hogwarts and the surrounding areas. Alastair would protect their trio with spellwork. Devon would get them back safe.

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[river]

Being the observant girl that she had always been, River could easily recognise the discomfort in Regulus. It was obvious from his behaviour – the stiff movements, the flinching away from her touch, that face he was making when he looked at her – that the Slytherin boy very much disliked the situation he found himself in. Even at this emotionally exhausted state she was in, the Ravenclaw girl could very much understand how having an additional person to take care of when trying to save your own self would be stressful and even somewhat annoying. But then again, she couldn't help but ask herself, just how much of Regulus' annoyance was due to the person he was burdened to take care of being herself. Would the Slytherin less displeased if it had been someone else he had found in the alley?

Regulus' harsh words didn't get much of a reaction out of the blonde girl. Part of it was due to the shock she was still in, but reacting aggressively to insults wasn't in River's nature either. Without a comment, she took her treasured wand from his hands when he offered it to her and tucked it away safely under her robe and behind the belt, where it wouldn't fall out even if they took on a fast pace on their way to the castle.

River did wonder if the boy thought of her as utterly useless though. In all honesty, it wouldn't have astonished her much. The only time Regulus Black ever got to see the other fifth year student was in DADA-class, and it wasn't much of a secret she was one of the worst performing students in it. It would have been more of a surprise if he actually thought she had it in her to excel in other classes. Even if River chose not to believe in prejudices, she also knew there was no smoke without fire, and now, after hearing Regulus' insult, she was convinced the boy had judged her by the cover, a quality that she often heard being described to the Slytherin House. And, had the Ravenclaw girl been more prideful, she would have felt compelled to recite her academic achievements, try to prove him wrong, or challenge him, even. Yet out of all the human emotions, that often seemed confusing to her analytical mind, pride was the one thing River just couldn't get a grasp on. As far as she was concerned, it only caused harm by making people make irrational choices, and there was no evolutionary value to that emotion whatsoever.

And yet... River had always been dumbfounded by romantic affections, too, and she had found herself having quite a lot of thoughts about what it'd be like to be in love lately. She wondered, what it would feel like, having someone like her, and feeling the same about that other person, what the touch of another person's skin felt like, when it wasn't just casual physical contact but coloured with the need to be near, what a kiss felt like...

When Black accused her of having these thoughts about him, all River could do was stare at him in utter surprise with pale eyes opened wide. She had been dealing with the boy who hadn't missed one opportunity to make a snide remark on just how pathetic her performance was when she froze up the way she had been dealing with most unpleasant things – ignoring him. Which was the exact opposite of what he had the nerve to assume of her. (And to River, ignoring somebody was the opposite of love, and not hate, since the latter was a passionate feeling that could translate into affection within the right circumstances. Or at least, that was what she was told.) On a more casual occasion, River would have probably would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation. But now, all she could do was offer the boy a short nod when he instructed her not to touch him and try to keep up with his hasty steps when they made their way back to the castle. While doing so, River made sure to tuck all of her blonde strands of hair under the hood of her dark robe. They didn't want to draw attention to themselves, after all.

[seriouslysirius]

Inside the Three Broomsticks, Sirius pulled his arm across his face, coughing his lungs out into the sleeve of his jacket. Trying to breathe through the crook of his arm, he screwed his eyes against the huge black clouds of smoke that engulfed everything around him. Where the hell were Prongs and Moony? Moisture fell from the corner of his dark gray eyes, the heavy burnt air irritating his sight. It was a mess in here, and he had to find his friends quickly. Sirius moved further into the Three Broomsticks, kicking broken burning chairs and tables out of his way with his heavy boots. He had no idea that both his friends where outside while he had run in this hell pit to look for them. He'd never heard or seen them call out for him as he half dashed, half skidded for the pub.

The sweltering heat was unbearable, he was surrounded by fire, fire burning the roof, fire consuming the furniture and part of the wooden floorboards, and nearby flames that had started licking at the leg of Sirius's jeans. With his eyebrows mashing together in confusion Sirius extinguished the fire on his leg with a flick of his wand. It was so bloody hot in there, he hadn't even noticed he was on fire.

The sweat broke out on his forehead, and he wiped his face with the back of one hand, wiping sooty grime across half of his face as he did so. It was too hot in there, and he couldn't see a thing. For all the chairs and tables he turned, bloody James and Remus where no where in sight. Then, he heard a rather loud noise coming from behind him. He snapped around, coughing at the wild gust of smoke and dust the new crash had brought with it. He never realized, but the pub's door frame had crashed down once he'd gotten in, and now, apparently, someone was trying to kick it in.

The collapsed door gave in and a figure stood in the doorway, fierce red hair burning in the back-light. " Lily?", said Sirius uncertainly, narrowing his eyes and trying to adjust them against the sudden brightness. He wasted no time, but walked right for her, catching the girl by the elbow before she could go any further into the pub. Quickly he realized that it wasn't Lily after all, but her friend, Molly. "Oh, it's you, Molly " he said, surprised to find that the redhead he held rather roughly by the elbow was not the same one he'd thought. He blinked a little down at the girl, his thoughts not quiet connecting. It must have been all that inhalation of smoke. "I can't find James and Remus" he said, looking around them at the destroyed pub, his voice breaking at the mention of his friend's names. He had looked everywhere for them. He'd even gone into the toilets shouting for them. The only place he hadn't looked was right in the middle of the pub, under all the rubble of the broken roof. He looked at the broken and burning stone and wood, something more than just the black fumes choking him, ". . . I just can't find them"

He was so upset thinking he had lost his friends in here, that it had never occurred to him that they might have been outside. That was why it came as a shocked surprise when he heard first Remus, than James, shouting his name from the entrance of the Three Broomsticks. His head whipped round at the two shadows standing over the collapsed door, "REMUS! JAMES! YOU BLOODY IDIOTS!" he shouted, kicking over the burning and broken shit on the floor to get over to them, all the while properly dragging and manhandling the small shape of Molly Prewett with him, his wand in his free hand, putting out any fire that threatened his path.

"Where the hell where you, you two?" said Sirius angrily, coughing the smoke, and thumping Remus, because he was closest to get the abuse, right in the chest with the tight fist he held his wand in. "Bloody damn idiots, i thought you were both dead!" said Sirius, glaring from Remus to James. This was one of those situations one could use the term Sirius was 'both happy and angry' to see his friends.

Something behind them exploded in the flames then, making a loud noise and producing even more flames and smoke in the Three Broomsticks, throwing splinters of furniture in the air. Sirius felt something solid, like a piece of wood, hit him square in the shoulders. "Oww" he grumbled, stumbling a little forward towards James as he was hit. "Come on, let's get out of here! " Sirius said, pulling Molly Prewett with him, still gripping tightly on her upper arm. He had no intention of leaving anyone behind in this fire. Sirius put out his free arm and pushed the other two boys out of there with him. "Let's go!"

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