#whoisleftattack

[savingdavey]

AU: One More Night || Emma & Davey || Amnesia Verse

AU: Life is good for the Gudgeon-Vanity family. They should have one last good day before their world turns upside down.

By some small miracle, they had a few minutes to themselves. He’d managed to get Gemma to nap—never a small task—and they boys were playing a game they’d made up and weren’t arguing over the rules of yet. The moment Gordie realized Gabe was skewing them all in his favor, it was bound to start, but his older brother could keep the ruse going for a while. Davey appreciated it far more now than he had when Galvin used to do the same.

To think they were about to add another.

He stepped out of their closet, trying to get the button at his wrist with his right hand and wandering over to where Emma was sitting. He caught her eye in the mirror and smiled wider. He abandoned the button for a moment and rested his hand on her shoulder, leaning down to lightly kiss her cheek. When was the last time they had the chance to do this? Not to take their time, not really, but just to get ready together without a sitter called early to occupy the kids and then it was truly rushed. At three, five, and eight, one of them was always with the kids, usually both.

He wouldn’t have it any other way, but every once in a while, it was nice to settle into the calm before the storm with Emma. The person he’d signed on to do all of this with.

“You ready?” he asked, not referring to their ability to walk out the door at this moment. No, this was entirely about telling his family. This one should be easy. A chance to tell his mum and his siblings and their families, not quite a small group anymore, but a more manageable one than the extended family that would be at the holiday party in a few days. They would come with jokes about it being the fourth and how they said Gemma would be the last. Ten parties, so many with news, and at least now, there was complete confidence in the support rather than the nerves that had come with their first engaged.

“I think Mum might’ve guessed at it. I didn’t mention any sort of news, I swear, but you know that uncanny ability of hers. Either that, or I’m so convinced by it by now that I’m ready to assume she knows in all cases.” Davey gave her shoulder a light squeeze in turn. This was going to go well. Of course, it was going to. The first had, the last would, and his nerves might always rise slightly, but it didn’t change how happy he was. The idea that could dim brushed with impossible.

@emma-whoisleft

[benjy-whoisleft]

chipped, now cracked || ministry

Benjy would call it a nightmare situation, but he had plenty of those and still none of them quite measured up to this. Adrenaline and a touch of anger was all that was keeping him going; he could feel it already. It wasn’t healthy or sustainable, but it was what he had. He wished he could say he was up against a side of the wizarding world he really hadn’t seen, but it wouldn’t be true. He had no more confidence in the security of the Ministry than he did in those claims anymore that Hogwarts was safe and Hogsmeade tangentially so. The protection that busy places offered.

It was all untrue.

This was on a larger scale, that much was for sure, but otherwise, he was afraid for himself and the crush of the massive amounts of people trying to get anywhere. Spells were flying, and still, more than anything, he was trying to keep his eyes on the panicked faces of those around him. He lingered for longer than he should, as if he was searching someone, but in truth, it all came back around to the masks. The cowardice of hiding, of knowing this was wrong, didn’t lessen their impact, and if he stayed on one too long, he started slipping which he absolutely couldn’t afford. He almost always lingered.

He only just pulled himself away to see a statue blown to pieces. It was too late to get far, ducking into an inactive fireplace that he willed to take him anywhere. He couldn’t say if it was the lockdown they were now yelling about or these assailants who had cut it off either. It wasn’t enough, he was too slow, but it was a bit of cover from the still settling shards and dust that made it hard to see more than a few feet.

Slowly, he reached his free hand up to feel for a cut that sure enough was there, shallow and on the side of his neck, forcing him to turn and see he wasn’t alone. He should have noticed that. He should have checked for it first, just in case, but he made the same mistakes over and over again. He lingered and lost track of the situation, falling back on others and how it was happening again only for this sharp reality check and (hopefully) fortunate recognition. It was a burst he needed.

“We can’t stay here,” he said, peering out again only to see it still floating in the air, a more distant explosion adding to it. “I can clear the dust, but…” he trailed off, knowing what was next and unsure if the line of thought would be followed. As much as it limited them, the dust was providing a layer of protection. Removing it would expose them, and there were only approximations at just how far someone dangerous might be.

[lucinda-whoisleft]

driven out || diagon alley

For all she had been doing her best to get people off the streets, Lucinda couldn’t stay there. It proved fruitless anyway, the man—he got in way too easily and had come from her. There was little room in her mind for the rationale that it could have been so much worse. The shop could have been destroyed again. It could have been one of those savage beasts, intent on hurting, on killing. Those who had come in very well might have sighed in relief when they realized the bulk of the interest—for now—was in a petrified seventeen-year-old. Under other circumstances, she would have been one of them.

Except for the fact, she was the terrified person in question.

Finding her legs again, all she could think about was getting out. Not about the danger that was surely beyond the doors and how poorly it could end for her, no. If she had to stay in those walls that were pressing down on her for another moment, facing a crushing reality she had so steadily ignored, she would throw up or have a panic attack, quite possibly both. Outside was horrible, and she vaguely heard a few confused voices as she turned the doorknob, but she couldn’t take them to heart.

Her family had been directly threatened. She was tasked with delivering the message. The only good sense she had was to lie about where they were, an instinct and one that was easy to pull off when it was so close to the typical truth.

She was out there a second at most, entirely unsure what to do now and realizing what a mistake it had been. She should turn back. Face the shop. Do something. Right as she turned on her heel, someone slammed into her in the chaos, and she screamed. Panic engulfed her as she fumbled for her wand, why wasn’t it in her hand, and took a couple steps back until she hit a wall, still trying to untangle her robes and repeatedly muttering “Please don’t hurt me,” a wish and a comfort for herself as much as a plea to the person. She had to believe they were a person, not a werewolf or she’d collapse. She had a bit of denial in her yet.

[evanrosier-wil]

Cry Havoc || Bella

Evan and Andromeda had started a new tradition this summer: dinner overlooking the water. Once Evan had found out about her position at St. Mungo’s it only made too much sense to use her job as an excuse to explore a new culinary area of London. They found a nice restaurant overlooking the river on their first evening stroll. Dinner-by-walking-around was verifiably the best way of discovering restaurants. The restaurant they found that first night was discrete, classically beautiful, and, most importantly, wizarding-run. 

So, as Evan had done nearly every week since school got out, he arrived at St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries sometime after 8:00pm to pick his cousin up from work. Andromeda and he had a longstanding reservation for a late dinner. Now Evan had to wait for her to finish up, just as he did every other week. 

While waiting patiently wasn’t Evan’s forte, time that particular evening seemed to tick by more slowly than usual. The portrait inhabitants were uninteresting, sleeping, or both, and the available reading material was uninspired, to say the least.  waited for Andromeda to finish. He could actually hear his watch ticking. It was mocking him. 

Tick. 

Tick. 

Tick. 

He would have taken his watch out to check the time, but the darned thing was being so stubbornly slow that he refused to check it out of principle. 

Then all hell broke loose, delivering Evan from boredom. Spells, hexes, and curses flew every which way. It didn’t take long for him to recognize the dark robes adorning the perpetrators of the beautiful chaos enveloping the hospital. The infernal tick of his watch was drowned out by the sound of objects breaking and people screaming. It was just the symphony he needed to boost his spirits.  

The hexes and curses sailing through the air beckoned Evan to join in. The world had cried havoc and Evan was all too happy to oblige. Besides, it wasn’t as though he were the only one in civilian clothing joining the fray. A cloud of dust enveloped the hall as plaster exploded, providing Evan with just enough visual cover to get a few spells off. Even he wasn’t brazen enough to join the chaos in full view of anyone who might happen by. He was in a smaller hallway in a lesser traveled part of the hospital, but Evan didn’t want to end up locked up again. Last summer was a waste. He was in no rush to repeat the experience. It was hard to tell through the dust, but if he was where he thought he was, he was near where he usually picked Andromeda up. 

“Expulso!” 

A hand yanked him away from the chaos. 

“Wait- what - Bella?”

@bellatrix-whoisleft

[benjy-whoisleft]

to the ground || davina & benjy

Benjy wished he could say he was surprised this was happening and he was caught up in it. Again. That’s what got him. Nothing was changing. Shock was fading. The reactionary state caused an insurmountable level of frustration in him more than anything. Of course, he was panicked as they were descended upon, but that doesn’t mean he was surprised. The time for that had long since passed.

To think, he almost wasn’t there. He had a file to drop off and was told it had to be in the right hands by nine. That meant a couple more hours to work, not skipping out on the earlier side by his standards to get the task done. Had he known, he probably would have left earlier. Maybe. He was struggling to define his limits lately, and while it wasn’t like he wanted to be here, at least, he was doing something. That hardly made sense, but now was not the time to question it.

It was the masks that got him. Hooded figures with hidden faces that could be absolutely anyone. Someone he knew, the masked assailant from Halloween, maybe a few who were ashamed, why else? If they were doing anything right, there wouldn’t be a need to hide. It was a strong rationality, but that rarely proved to be enough against the encroaching memories. Anger gave him a touch of clarity, but the intrusive thoughts still came, and he was lost again in the most critical of moments, losing his bearings and feeling as afraid of the anonymity as he had before, that slight nauseousness of uncertainty.

He needed… something, he didn’t know what. Anything to grasp as he cut through the crowds--everyone running, it wasn’t like anywhere was safe. His wand was firmly in his hand but had yet to go used. There was a distinct difference between practicing over and over again in an empty classroom and being up against a threat that had haunted him.

He finally caught sight of a familiar face. Not enough to shake it completely, but he could pull himself forward slightly. He knew so few people who worked there, let alone would be there so late. It was something to hold onto; he didn’t have time to question if it actually made sense that Davina was there or if it was a good idea to continue in her direction. It was a start.

He had a bit more clarity and awareness. He had a goal. If he was focused on a face he knew instead of the masks or the ones he didn’t, it proved to help him. If nothing else, oh, if nothing else, he was faster than he had been. Over and over again, he’d run the spells, and he was almost to her when he saw someone send one coming their down. “Down,” he yelled, taking a couple quick steps in her direction and throwing up a shield charm. He could feel the spell rippling off of it, too close for comfort, but it was still up for the time being. How long it could work on the whole was a question. It was only getting worse. “You okay?” he asked, turning to Davina and taking a second to breathe while they had it.

@davina-whoisleft

[remus-whoisleft]

london calling / piccadilly circus

It was supposed to be a perfect night, and it had been a perfect day so far. He’d managed to take the floo from Wales to London with very little Floo Sickness afterwards - the full moon was only a couple days away, after all, which meant Apparating was definitely on the no-go list, he would have had vertigo for the rest of the day - and met up with Lily and Mary for a day of shopping (well, window shopping, as was the Lupin Way) in muggle London. There were dinner reservations later that night in Piccadilly, too, once Sirius was done with his business at the Ministry; so yes, it was supposed to be a perfect day, a perfect evening, perfect night. 

How quickly that had changed. He’d been inside a record store, flipping through the secondhand bins, not even sure if Mary and Lily were in the shop with him anymore. Suddenly, it seemed, the storefront windows had blown out in a loud cacophony of shattering glass and horrified screams. No gradual build up, no easing in: Remus’s wand was out in an instant, muggle London be damned, pushing his way to the front of the store, looking out in a wide-eyed panic. Spells were flying through the air, that much was obvious. Muggles didn’t have anything that looked like Stupefy, Confundus, or Confringo barreling through the air in red, orange, multicolored static. 

His heart was racing, knuckles white where they clutched his wand; he had to find his friends, had to help the muggles who had no real way of fighting back. He blinked away his terror, rapidly, looking around, catching a glimpse of someone familiar as he took his first step out of the shop.

“Hey! Hey, are you okay?”

[benjy-whoisleft]

a rock and a hard place || emma and benjy

Benjy didn’t need anyone to tell him this didn’t bode well for him. He might have reason to be at the Ministry late which would work on a normal night, but this was far from it. His excuse was weak under scrutiny, and there was no question it was going to wind up that way. Spells flying, panic spreading, and people running every which way in order to get somewhere. His wand had been in his hand since the moment it started, shield charms being his standard, but he’d reached an impasse.

It hardly seemed to be slowing even as guards tried to get order in the masses. Lining people up and checking credentials he didn’t have. They didn’t say where it would land those of them who failed. There was no question in his mind that he would, and it could leave him a sitting duck since he couldn’t get in, couldn’t get to anywhere safe. Staying on the outright defensive didn’t seem any better. There were any number of ways that could be taken badly. He knew this. He knew all of this. He could see it so clearly, but there was no answer surfacing as he hoped it would.

If nothing else, he was steadier than expected. Anger was proving to be that way, a fact he couldn’t examine in the moment and adamantly refused to after. Fear ruined him and brought him back, but the fact that this was happening again had him angrier more than anything. They couldn’t live like this. On edge at all times, waiting for the next incident. It was unsustainable and this time—this time he was caught off guard as ever but fighting through it. It was easier when he’d mostly been able to play it smart, not confronted directly but able to duck away and keep out of the majority of harm’s way.

He was slowly making his way towards the line, not hurried by any means and still uncertain of his fate, but seemed like better odds in terms of making it clear which side of this he was on. An arm caught him suddenly, and he whipped around, wand up and panic seizing him stronger than he had yet. It took him a second to see through it, to place Emma and drop it away from her, heart beating even stronger now. “What are you doing?” he asked, voice low, not that it mattered.

@emma-whoisleft

[regulus-wil]

Piccadilly | open

It was startling how quickly a perfect day could turn into complete chaos.

Everything had been fine, indulging Charity in her Muggle obsession as they wandered around the streets without the usual care they had. No one would recognise them, at least no one that would get Regulus in trouble so they could be more open with their friendship. It was a wonderful feeling. And when Charity ran off to get him what was more than likely another bizarre food concoction, Regulus had just laughed and turned his attention to a shop that his Hufflepuff had pointed out early and wandered towards it with the intention of getting her something.

If he knew what would happen in the following seconds, he wouldn’t of taken his eyes off her. But suddenly, the familiar crack of Apparition filled the air and horror ensued. A red light flashed past his ear and he turned quickly, brandishing his wand to defend himself. Whoever sent the curse was masked, ready to attack again, but immediately halted their actions as if they recognised him and moved on their way. And if it were any other situation, Regulus would of followed the crowd of Death Eaters just to watch and study.

But as his gaze then turned to the horrified Muggles fleeing in every direction, his heart dropped to his stomach. Where was Charity? No, no, no. This could not be happening. She could not be left in a situation like this, she did not have the same immunity he did. The only reason he was not attacked further was his heritage but it would not make him invulnerable if they did not see his face first. He began to run, carelessly pushing people out of his way to try and get to where he had last seen the blonde, trying to drown out the multiple screams and the various flashes of green.

“Move! Move out of the way!” He attempted to yell above it all.