title: then you haven’t been paying attention (part 2 of 2)
characters involved: icarus carrow, sera carrow, anna moon & james potter ( @seracarrow )
trigger warnings: death, violence, blood, general gore
Icarus was not yet finished monopolizing on the chaos. Eyes wild and manic, he continued his tirade with Sera at his side. They had pushed out of the main hall and into another hall where others were trying to find a way out. But they would not be fast enough. Seeing a dark-haired woman herding a cast of people, the canine of his teeth gleamed as he moved to cut off a handful of them, drinking in their horrified expressions.
Sera had fired off more curses and freed a few hostages, but the chaos within the house soon spilled out into the night. A group had formed at the exit, and Sera quirked her brow at this escape plan. There was no where to go, and when the brunette was informed she did little more than square her shoulders and step forward. Sera let out a sharp laugh before glancing at Icarus. "So how is this going to go down?"
Icarus had a laugh that was hollow yet echoing, his grin stretching. "Well, dear sister, it appears this one isn't going to go down without a fight. So brave for someone who is on a team that is so cowardly." It was easy to recognize the woman. A couple years older than him and in the same House, Anna Moon had been known during her time at Hogwarts. "Such a waste of pure blood. You never deserved it." Tilting his head toward his sister, he suggested, "We should take the blood back, don't you think? After we first take care of the rest?" He indicated toward the crowd of people -- likely Order members, most of them Hogwarts students.
Sera scanned the crowd, waiting to see if anyone was dumb enough to run. She glanced at her brother, but her attention snapped towards Anna when she uttered something that sounded like 'fucking take it.' The girl took another step forward, and Sera matched. A few lost lambs were ushered behind the blood traitor and Sera rolled her eyes. "Playing the martyr card already?"
Icarus balked at heroics. "I could puke. You lot brought this onto yourselves." The Death Eaters had not come to the masquerade tonight with ill intentions, but if this was the game the Order wanted to play, Icarus could play as well with the rest of them. In fact, he could show them that the Carrows were above it all and could singlehandedly take over their siege. Out of the corner of his eye, Icarus could make out an approaching figure, and soon enough another was joining them at Anna's side. The messy dark hair was easily recognizable.
Sera stood stoic, though her usual temperament had her inclined to withdraw and disengage, a passive disinterest and a sneer of disgust following in her retreating wake. However, seeing Jac thrown to the floor not once, but twice, encouraged the swell of rage she so often choked back. She gripped her wand a little tighter and remained poised by Icarus' side. "Here's the part where you plead, and we ignore it, but I'll grant you the courtesy of doing it anyway."
Icarus held up his wand, aiming it not toward James or Anna, but instead toward one of the students. "And I suggest you make it quick, without any thoughts of escape, lest someone else be caught in the crossfire?" He knew neither of them would go without a fight and he saw Anna begin to brace herself, as if to move toward James, and with a flick of his wrist, he angled his wand in an instant, the Killing Curse spilling from his list, a putrid green emitting from his wand. He wanted to prove just where heroes and martyrs, champions for their lost causes, wound up.
Sera flinched when Icarus changed his aim, striking down a different target. It was then when Anna sprang forward, coiling her wrist around Sera's and twisting it. Sera bucked and kicked, but was ultimately pulled from the steps and into Anna's grip. 'Take me and let them -- ALL of them -- go.'
Icarus was not about to beg. Nor was he about to take orders from a blood traitor. He knew a far more effective way to get what he wanted -- to get Anna to release his sister, if not to get under her skin. He pursed his lips into a thin line, amused no longer. "I don't take well to demands. And, unfortunately for you, Moon, you are not the most prized target in this room," His hand lifted once more. He heard jostling and saw Potter lifting his own wand. Their hexes were sent at the same time, but Icarus' was far more lethal and ill-intended. His wand was disarmed from him an instant too late.
Sera clawed at the hand holding her's back, but steeled her nerves when Anna snaked her other hand around Sera's throat. She stopped the struggle as she faced Icarus, brows knitting together. Anna gave a tight squeeze as she flicked her gaze towards James, silently conceding. Suddenly, two bodies thudded to the ground at the second flash of green light. Sera rose indignantly while Anna Moon did not.
Icarus could have predicted the following motions: James Potter attempting to keep him distracted while shouting orders for the crowd to get going even while most stood petrified; Anna letting Sera go in favor of coming to James' aid; lastly, heroic antics ending in death, as they always did. Anna Moon had gotten to be a martyr after all, a shield to the bitter end. While Potter scrambled to her fallen form, body still, Icarus took the opportunity to reach for his wand, jutting his chin out in Sera's direction, indicating to her that he wanted her to grab James next.
Sera 's eyes flicked up to the on lookers, and seeing no quick moves of intention to help, she let out a snort of disgust. Fucking useless. "Just go." It was true that a lot had happened in the last few fleeting seconds, but the commotion inside continued whereas a tense hush had rolled in. "Go, shoo," Sera reiterated before stooping to pry James from the body. "Except for you."
Icarus 's first move to make when his wand was curled safe around his fingers once more was to bark out "expelliarmus" in James' direction. He would not be losing his own wand and James soon would have no further use of his own. As Sera grabbed ahold of the older man, Icarus took over and gripped his free hand around James' head, forcing him to his knees. There were tears pooled in the other male's eyes, but there was also a defiance, a grit in his jaw. "Perhaps, next time, your side will not attempt to act so foolishly, and will remember who in this war is the lamb. And who is the butcher." He then nodded toward Sera. "Do you wish to have the honor, sister, or shall I?"
Sera guided James' body up slowly after the initial yank to the knees. She coaxed his arms back, pinioning them in place and nudging him to take a half-step forward. She was wavering, but a sharp scream from inside jolted her back into place. It could have been Kat, Tis, or Val's. A quick glance to a group of huddled students, and the knowledge that the Order had brought children to a massacre made her heart sink and her feet to be planted. She shot Icarus a look and nudged James forwards once more. "He's all yours."
Icarus would never grow tired of games. Life was a giant chessboard that he could manipulate as he pleased. If he didn't like how the game went, then he would simply overturn it and start again. The Order had made a bold move that night, but their members were merely pawns and had gained nothing in positioning as a result of this night. But Icarus had gained purpose, a vengeance, and adding that to his existing propensity for violence was dangerous. His teeth gleamed as he faced James. "Would be more fitting if this were all Hallow's Eve, don't you think? That was when the first James Potter met his match, no?" He didn't wait for an answer, paid no attention to any word that James gave. They were all flies to him, buzzing around and serving no purpose except to be a nuisance. "Too bad I'm not too patient, as I do appreciate irony." Throwing up a careless shrug, he wasted no more time. The more hubbub that they caused, the more likely they were to be disrupted. It was not his wand that he lifted this time. It was his hands. Those days in the fighting pits had paid off, and he cupped James' head. With one fluid motion, Icarus cracked his hands at an angle with an intense amount of force, and a snapping sound joined the fray of violence.
