This was the second time Hestia had been caught unaware, and it was equally terrifying. Maybe even more so this time around. Whenever she was with the Order, she was always on alert in a sense. Not expecting the windows to get kicked in, by any means, but aware on a wholly different level than usual. The Ministry was supposed to be the safe part of her life but now her two spheres had crashed violently into each other. And even worse, this time she was alone when it happened.
There was nobody to lean on as she bounced through hallways, wand at the ready, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. The first silver mask she saw had almost stopped her heart. This wasn’t happening. Maybe had she been any braver, Hestia would have stood her ground and fought. The part of her brain that was constantly weaving excuses figured that nobody could connect her to the Order; she was simply defending the Ministry. But this was way past being an Order member, and Hestia was alone. So she had stunned and bolted.
Once familiar hallways now seemed foreign in the chaos as she slunk through them, desperately trying to orient herself as to what was happening. Her adrenaline was so high, she almost flung a spell at Fabian the second he came into her line of sight. Hestia let out a shaky breath.
“Fabian!” she called, rushing over. Relief spread through her; whatever was going on, at least she wasn’t on her own anymore. Her hand clenched around her wand. “What is happening? Death Eaters are here – is the Order?”