Figured You Out

16: A Single Fatality

Amber stood inside the Auror department at the Ministry of Magic. People were running along, rushing to their destination and paper airplanes were buzzing by her head to reach the elevator in time. Amber ran to her cubicle, to find her desk covered in a mountain of papers and Aurors crammed from wall to wall. Their voices echoed throughout the entire floor and probably were deafening in the tiny section that was her office. “Amber!” A voice called through the meshed bodies.

“Kingsley!” She called, recognizing his voice. She stood on the tips of her toes, not daring to enter her crammed office, knowing it possibly exceeded the body limit. Then she saw him driving toward her through the crowd, his hand in the air.

“Amber, good you’re here. Sorry to have to take you away from Harry’s party but we’ve got problems.”

“Why are all the Auror’s in my office and not out fighting the Death Eaters?” She said urgently as she started to grow angry. “I got a note telling me that the Death Eaters were out tonight, causing havoc!” She threw her arms up and then folded them over her chest.

“Nice hair by the way,” he grinned.

“Don’t change the subject!”

“Alright, they’re around Diagon Alley, killing any witch or wizard for no purpose necessary. They’re yelling that they want Harry and if they don’t get him then they’ll continue executing innocent people.”

Her eyes narrowed and became severely dark, flashing with rage. “We’ve got to stop ‘em. If we don’t then it’ll be a blood bath.”

“Either way it’ll be like that.” He told her.

“Get them out of my office! We need to go! NOW!” She screamed as the office went silent. She turned to their shocked faces, “did you hear me or do I need to pull at rabbit out of my arse to get you to respond?”

Evidently those were the keywords they needed to hear because in a blink of an eye, the entire squad of Auror’s were off to fight.

Amber apparated to Diagon Alley, to find herself surrounded by her fellow Auror’s, however no sign of Death Eaters or commoners. With her wand out, it worried her to find no one in the streets because she expected to find bodies everywhere, either dead or alive. She swallowed hard, “alright. I want everyone into groups of at least three, no less! Search the premises.”

“I thought I was supposed to say orders?” Kingsley said beside her.

She smiled guiltily, “ever since you put me in charge of my own operations, I guess I got used to it.”

“Eh – don’t worry about it. I was thinking the same thing.”

They moved together and in utter stillness there was a small pop. Amber and Kingsley spun to find a yellow haired Tonks. “Dora, tone your hair down a bit.” Amber whispered.

They moved slowly throughout the deserted streets of Diagon Alley and suddenly there was a shrill scream. Amber, Kingsley and Tonks sprinted into the Hogs Head, charging through doors and climbing up stairs. They stopped in the hallway to the rooms, black paint peeling off the wooden doors with old golden numbers hanging off crooked rusty nails as they began to approach each door as silently as possible. Amber was first, her ordinarily full pink lips were set at a thin line and her intense emerald eyes narrowed, constantly shifting from side to side, searching for the cause of any sound. Her breathing was regular, which wasn’t abnormal for her, for she was the calm one in this type of situation.

As she slowly walked down the hall in ready position, there was a creak of a floorboard. She shot a quick glance at Kingsley who nodded and she continued. Estimating that the floorboard was approximately ten steps ahead of her, she assumed it was two doors beyond. Taking a silent breath, she trekked down the dreary hallway, noticing a dim yellow light seeping between a door and a wall. As she slowly allowed her free hand to travel to the doorknob a wild cackle from the room split the thick placidity. Her hand shuddered from the disturbance and restrained her hand from going any further. A whimper wavered from the room, creating an urgency in her to ripe open the door and save the innocent.