Either somewhere that is completely normal, like a tea-shop or something that is completely wild, but the two of them treat like normal - like an underground fighting ring, which is just another tuesday for both of them
The case was this: there was a group of people doing a lot of kidnapping. No one knows the criteria but one, that they took strong people.
Harry didn’t like kidnappers or people who forced others in general. It just didn’t sit well with her.
Still, the Kingsley’s plan of, “Be bait,” was actually working. Walking home slowly and taking a lot of back alleys, reading a book and being the picture perfect person of oblivious.
She wasn’t surprised when they took her, but did they have to hit her so hard?
Sitting up, she winced when the ache on her stomach pitched into a throb. Fuck, but that hurt.
Looking around, she noted that it was an actual arena. Gladiator style, with cages upon cages of people and bloodstains on the floor.
People had died here, she realized with no small amount of anger. People had bled here a lot. The floor was a mess of stained blood and everywhere there was the scent of iron, of people still bleeding.
Her cage was shared with a group of other people. Most of them were angry, savagely pacing and occasionally rattling the bars. One man stood out of the entire group.
One, for how calm he was. And two, for how clean he was.
A lot of them had dirt or blood on their person somewhere, but this person…was spotless. He didn’t even have wrinkles on his clothes. He sat with that preternatural stillness of a snake, of a person who was ready to move at any given moment.
Others might have mistaken that posture for relaxation, but Harry had seen Aurors with less polished stances. She knew coiled readiness when she saw it.
Taking her courage and her curiosity at hand, she approached him.
“Excuse me,” she said politely. “Pardon me, but do you know what’s going on?”
He opened his eyes and looked it at her. It was almost like a trick of the light, but his dark eyes flashed red for a second.
“When the sponsors are ready,” he explained in a deep and calm voice. “They’re going to open the cages, and we’re going to fight to death. Whoever impresses the sponsors leaves here alive.”
Fuck.
It was worse than she thought.
Death matches. Underground fighting rings with only one person walking away.
Fuck it, it was actually an underground brawling ring, because she had no illusions that it would be a neat and tidy one on one match.
“Has anyone ever tried to leave?” she asked him, voice just as low and quiet. It wouldn’t do for anyone to hear.
He cocked his head at her. “No. There is something preventing people from leaving. Some sort of net. They can’t attack the sponsors.”
Attack was a very broad term. So many loopholes…
And something was niggling her mind about this person. There was calm and then there was calm. He was too freaking relaxed at the thought of a fight to the death.
Either he was insanely good, or he was planning something.
She tilted her head and considered him thoughtfully. Or maybe both.
“I want in whatever you’ve got,” she decided. “I have to get back to work on Monday. I can’t take too much time in this little holiday.”
He fully opened his eyes and looked at her. It felt like he was looking into her soul.
After a moment, he smiled.
.
.
Fon had gotten caught intentionally and he would bet that the very strong woman with incredible Cloud Flames was the same.
She was angry, focused and very smart. She’d taken one look at him and known he wasn’t there by accident.
He liked her. She reminded him of his old master.
When the cage doors opened, Fon darted out quickly and wasn’t surprised that she kept up with him. Even when he ran up the wall with carefully applied Storm Flames and jumped in to the sponsor balcony, she was right beside him.
The sponsors, the disgusting and vile men who ordered these matches, didn’t even blink. They weren’t afraid.
But honestly, the word attack was ridiculously broad. There were so many ways you could interpret it.
He broke the fancy chairs they were sitting on and then they started to be afraid. One woman started to tremble.
The Cloud caught on, which he knew she would. She darted forward and broke the wristband. It was the only thing identifying a person as a sponsor and it was practically unbreakable. She broke it.
Fon stared for a second, enthralled. What lovely application of Flames. Sure, he could have done it, but Storm Flames were uncontrolled disintegration. He could have accidentally disintegrated the sponsor’s hand just as well as the wristband if he moved that quickly.
“You can’t do this!” the man who had been a sponsor blubbered.
“Sure can,” the Cloud nodded. She tripped him over his ass and tossed him over her shoulder, over the balcony and down to the brawling mass of people. All of whom were no longer brawling, very much aware that something was happening.
Fon settled in front of the door, blocking it and smiling meanly.
Yes, the Cloud was scary but she was a woman. Most of them ran towards her.
The enterprising few who ran towards him were dealt with. He just had to think about targeting the wristbands and not attacking them. Because if he did, he would end up pulling his punches involuntarily.
Eugh, Mist fuckery.
He would have to ask Viper if he had any residues on him later, he didn’t want to think about that sort of order interfering with his jobs.
Fon finished, looked at the Cloud woman having so much fun tossing sponsors over her shoulder after breaking the wristbands.
He felt himself melt a little. She was so bloodthirsty, it was adorable.
When the last sponsor was done being tossed over, she went to him, flushed and smiling with glee. He resisted the urge to stroke her bloodied cheek. It would be inappropriate, he didn’t introduce himself yet.
Oh, but he wanted.
“Ah, I love doing vengeance,” she hissed, looking a bit disheveled. She fixed her hair into a braid and threw it back. “So, where’s the way out?”
He chuckled under his breath. She was so cute. He was willing to bet she was looking for the people who kidnapped her.
“Yes, I memorized the layout,” he said, appreciating the eldritch purple light in her eyes.
.
.
After everything and they were standing under the stars again, the man who’d introduced himself as Fon looked to her and said, “Monday is still four days. Want to come with me for a bit?”
The thing was, Harry shouldn’t. He was a stranger and a dangerous one.
Except, the entire time she was with him, Harry had also never felt happier, or more alive.
Sure, she loved her job and her life, but it had gotten to the point that after the Death Eater’s were hunted down and put away, it had gotten boring.
This man, she thought. He would never be boring.
“Yeah?” she asked.
“It’ll be fun,” he coaxed.
With a smile, Harry nodded and took his hand.
.
.
Harry is a bloodthirsty Cloud Lady here and Fon adores her.
