Hey You, Hey You, Devil's Little Sister
Astoria was shopping in Diagon Alley with her assistant Maxie. She quite adored the bubbly blonde. Maxie was holding up a steady stream of chatter. For some reason Astoria found it comforting.
"Hey, Tori."
Astoria smiled at Hera Warbeck. Since Marcus was jealous of the woman, Astoria was really beginning to like her. It was too bad he didn't want a harem.
"Holly," she replied, picking up a lock of the woman's hair. It was charmed black.
Suddenly the hair on the back of Astoria's neck stood on end. She walked purposefully towards the turn to Knockturn Alley.
"Um, Astoria..." Maxie followed.
Hera frowned and followed as well. She knew Astoria was a Seer. She's never witnessed much more than a word or two. This looked like a trance. It reminded Hera of this cartoon movie she saw once where a princess touched a spinning needle. The face was the same. As she recalled that had not turned out too well for the princess. Fairy godmothers and a prince had gotten the princess out of it. Well, Marcus might balk at being the prince, but Astoria had no fairy godmothers.
So Hera figured she had to do something.
Astoria was just walking.
"I can not believe you walk right to me."
Astoria sent a message through her bracelet to Marcus. He's here. Come kill him. She turned to face Antonin and frowned at Hera. She wasn't supposed to be here. In Astoria's dreams, it was only Maxie.
"You're not supposed to be here," Astoria said to Hera in awe. "Something's changed."
She screamed when Antonin grabbed her. He used his wand to slice open her cheek. It stung like fire. Astoria kept screaming. Maxie rushed forward, as Astoria had seen, her wand drawn. Antonin turned and hexed her off her feet.
Hera had never been in a fight in her entire life. She'd seen plenty of them at the Sticks, however.
But she was fairly certain this man was planning to kill Astoria right here in public if someone did not stop him. She ran, not intending to use her wand and jumped on his back. Hera grabbed two handfuls of his matted hair and pulled with all her might.
Antonin growled, throwing Astoria to the ground. He reached around and grabbed the menace on his back and slammed her into the side of one of the buildings. She crumpled to the ground.
Astoria was backpedaling away and crying. She was trying to get off her hind end, but her legs were refusing to work properly. She suspected whatever he'd used to slice open her face had more in it than just a severing charm.
Antonin leaned over her with a menacing look on his face. He started cutting her with vicious whips of his wand. Astoria started screaming again. It was going right through her clothing and drawing lines of blood everywhere. She was getting lightheaded. Her vision was blurring at the edges.
Hera struggled to her feet. Her face was bleeding. It was running down and blinding her left eye. She pointed her wand and sent a patronus to the bakery, to Angie. It would be a whispery swan that would screech to anyone who was within hearing distance that Antonin was trying to kill Astoria. Angie would get Marcus. He would end this. Hera was not good with her wand in a dueling aspect, so she opted for physical attack again.
She was on his back again, clawing at his face. Antonin growled and threw the gnat from his back violently. She hit the building again with some force but it did not kill her. He pointed his wand.
"Avada-"
Astoria threw herself at him, knocking his wand skyward. Out of his hands even.
Hera was trying to get up. She was seeing two of everything in her good eye.
Astoria grabbed the sides of Antonin's face and poured her life into his head. Mostly his son. Aleksey and Ben. The three of them as friends, and all the stolen moments she had walked in on. It sent the man to his knees. Astoria backed away and stumbled. She as trying desperately to escape. She wanted to stay with Marcus and Angelina, but she felt so cold, so tired.
"You bitch," he spat, shaking his head to clear it.
Antonin threw himself at her, hands going around her throat.
Her air cut off, and weakened as she was, Astoria's vision was black on the edges. The black started closing in. The last thing she heard before succumbing to the dark was the snap of someone apparating into the alley.
Hera was slumped like a broken doll against the building. She could feel the blood dripping off of her face and soaking into her tee shirt. She was so sleepy. She grinned when she saw Marcus Flint. She normally was not a violent person, but she could stand to watch this guy get his arse handed to him by Flint.
He had been working in the yard when he'd felt the sting of his Liberi silver announcing a message. He'd almost ignored it, figuring it was Chance, wanting him to go do something or other. But something made him glance down to see the message it displayed and his whole body went cold.
He didn't take the time to grab his shirt from the bush he's left it on. Instead he hot footed it to the edge of the apparition wards, disappearing as soon as he'd cleared the barrier.
He was still moving as he appeared in the alleyway, quickly glancing around to check both where he was and who was around. The sight of Dolohov choking his Princess made him impossibly colder and with a growl he tackled the man away from her.
Marcus didn't bother pulling his wand. He used his meaty fists to pound Dolohov's head, to erase that fucking face that had haunted his nightmares. All he could see was the bastard, tinted red in his own rage.
Dolohov tried to get away, his punches hitting Marcus in the chest and stomach. Marcus didn't even feel them.
Too soon the bastard's eyes rolled back in his head. Unconscious or dead, he didn't know. Not yet. He would make sure that it was the latter.
A noise from behind him drew his attention and he whipped his wand out and pointed it towards the sound, towards Warbeck trying to get to her feet. It took him a moment to remember who she was, that she was not a threat. It was touch and go for a moment.
He glanced back down at Dolohov, who he was straddling, and felt the slow rise and fall of his chest. The bastard was still alive. Marcus cast his strongest binding charms on him and got unsteadily to his feet, his whole attention now on Astoria.
Astoria could sense she was no longer alone, but her eyes refused to open. She did manage to make a whimpering sound that Marcus would not like. She needed a healer. She was fairly certain Hera did as well.
Marcus did not know what to do. Astoria was obviously hurt, as was Warbeck. They needed a healer. But he couldn't leave Dolohov lying in the alley. Or let the authorities see him, not if he wanted to finish the bastard himself. Fuck, he couldn't even produce a patronus to send for help.
He brushed some hair back from the Princess's face, checking to see how she was doing in the process. Her breathing was a little ragged, but steady. She would be fine for a few minutes.
He turned to Warbeck next, knowing that Astoria would be pissed if the woman died. She was at least conscious, which was a good thing, and watching him with wide eyes.
"Watch her," he said, before picking her up and setting her near Astoria. He found a wand and threw it at her. "I'll be back in a moment. If anyone asks, the bastard disapparated when I got here, understand?" He waited until the bint nodded before turning back to Dolohov. There were plenty of places to hide someone in London, abandoned warehouses and shops. He had one in mind for his task.
He grabbed Dolohov roughly and apparated to a rundown warehouse. This particular warehouse had been used for one of Chance's fights just a couple of weeks before, which likely meant that there would be no squatters around yet. Something about the fights kept Muggles away for weeks afterwards.
He shoved the bastard inside the dark building, casting a couple more spells as the man rolled from the toss. Spells to keep him quiet and to make sure no one else would notice him. Task done, he hurried back to the alley, back to Astoria.
Hera was just sitting there slumped. Her eyes were heavy as she saw Marcus walking towards them. Maxie was lying on her face near them, and Hera had one hand on her in anticipation of them leaving.
"We need a healer."
Astoria's hands moved when she heard Hera's voice. She groped for something to hold onto.
"I know," he said, grabbing both women by the arm and apparating them to Healing Hands. Warbeck had a hold of another unconscious woman as he did so and he stumbled a bit from the strain of transporting all of them.
"Nott," he yelled, not really caring if it was Nott or someone else who came running. "Nott! Get your bloody arse here now!"
"Loud," Hera complained. She was lying on her side and probably bleeding all over the floor.
Ginny heard someone yelling for Theo, but that was soon drowned out by the sound of the patients waiting for their appointments shouting in alarm. Leaving Ms. Murkle on the exam table, she rushed into the hallway, looking towards the front of the clinic. There were three people lying on the floor, a fourth one bent over, examining one of the prone forms.
"Theo!" she shouted, already moving towards the front and the wounded on the floor. "Emergency!"
Marcus growled when Weasley knelt by the unknown woman first. "Treat Astoria. Now."
Theo's stomach bottomed out. He checked the blonde lying on her face. She was alive but stunned. Hera Warbeck was bleeding everywhere.
"Astoria," Hera asked. "Is she all right? He was choking her."
"Hush," Theo said using wand light to check her eyes. "I suspect a concussion here."
Ignoring the growling tones of who she now recognized as Marcus Flint, Ginny saw the nod from Theo that the two other women would be fine and that Astoria was the one who needed the most attention. Turning her focus to the woman she'd seen not weeks before, she assessed her quickly.
There were several cuts on her body where most of the blood covering the floor was coming from. There were growing bruises on her neck, recognizably in the shape of hands and fingers, but she was breathing on her own. Her windpipe hadn't been crushed, despite what looked like a valid attempt to do just that.
"I'm going to exam room one," Ginny said to Theo, using her wand to levitate the bleeding Slytherin, leaving a trail of red droplets on the hardwood as they moved. She could feel Flint at her back, but didn't care so long as he didn't restrict the ability for her to do her job.
Theo levitated Hera to exam two. "Do you want me to owl anyone? Duff?"
"Arie. My niece. She's... she can't stay alone. Well, she could but she won't like it."
Theo nodded. "I'll handle it."
He didn't know how, but if he had to, he'd put Arie on a cot here. He quickly stopped the bleeding on her head. He gave her potions for the pain, to help clot the blood, and to keep her awake. No napping for Hera Warbeck. He really did suspect she had a concussion.
"I'll be right back," Theo said.
He was going to check on Astoria then collect the niece. Warbeck was no longer bleeding and a bit more comfortable. Twenty-four hours of observation would tell them more about that head wound.
Marcus was leaning against the wall of the exam room, trying to stay out of the way of Weasley as she worked over Astoria. He watched her wand waving carefully, not that he would have known if she screwed up or not. He was trained to cause damage, not fix it.
Theo stuck his head into the room. "How's Astoria?"
Flint didn't seem to like him asking, but she and Theo were friends, so he could get over it as far as Theo was concerned.
"She's going to be in pain for a bit, but she's also going to be fine."
{SUMMARY} Antonin finally makes his move on Astoria.
"Hey, Tori."
Astoria smiled at Hera Warbeck. Since Marcus was jealous of the woman, Astoria was really beginning to like her. It was too bad he didn't want a harem.
"Holly," she replied, picking up a lock of the woman's hair. It was charmed black.
Suddenly the hair on the back of Astoria's neck stood on end. She walked purposefully towards the turn to Knockturn Alley.
"Um, Astoria..." Maxie followed.
Hera frowned and followed as well. She knew Astoria was a Seer. She's never witnessed much more than a word or two. This looked like a trance. It reminded Hera of this cartoon movie she saw once where a princess touched a spinning needle. The face was the same. As she recalled that had not turned out too well for the princess. Fairy godmothers and a prince had gotten the princess out of it. Well, Marcus might balk at being the prince, but Astoria had no fairy godmothers.
So Hera figured she had to do something.
Astoria was just walking.
"I can not believe you walk right to me."
Astoria sent a message through her bracelet to Marcus. He's here. Come kill him. She turned to face Antonin and frowned at Hera. She wasn't supposed to be here. In Astoria's dreams, it was only Maxie.
"You're not supposed to be here," Astoria said to Hera in awe. "Something's changed."
She screamed when Antonin grabbed her. He used his wand to slice open her cheek. It stung like fire. Astoria kept screaming. Maxie rushed forward, as Astoria had seen, her wand drawn. Antonin turned and hexed her off her feet.
Hera had never been in a fight in her entire life. She'd seen plenty of them at the Sticks, however.
But she was fairly certain this man was planning to kill Astoria right here in public if someone did not stop him. She ran, not intending to use her wand and jumped on his back. Hera grabbed two handfuls of his matted hair and pulled with all her might.
Antonin growled, throwing Astoria to the ground. He reached around and grabbed the menace on his back and slammed her into the side of one of the buildings. She crumpled to the ground.
Astoria was backpedaling away and crying. She was trying to get off her hind end, but her legs were refusing to work properly. She suspected whatever he'd used to slice open her face had more in it than just a severing charm.
Antonin leaned over her with a menacing look on his face. He started cutting her with vicious whips of his wand. Astoria started screaming again. It was going right through her clothing and drawing lines of blood everywhere. She was getting lightheaded. Her vision was blurring at the edges.
Hera struggled to her feet. Her face was bleeding. It was running down and blinding her left eye. She pointed her wand and sent a patronus to the bakery, to Angie. It would be a whispery swan that would screech to anyone who was within hearing distance that Antonin was trying to kill Astoria. Angie would get Marcus. He would end this. Hera was not good with her wand in a dueling aspect, so she opted for physical attack again.
She was on his back again, clawing at his face. Antonin growled and threw the gnat from his back violently. She hit the building again with some force but it did not kill her. He pointed his wand.
"Avada-"
Astoria threw herself at him, knocking his wand skyward. Out of his hands even.
Hera was trying to get up. She was seeing two of everything in her good eye.
Astoria grabbed the sides of Antonin's face and poured her life into his head. Mostly his son. Aleksey and Ben. The three of them as friends, and all the stolen moments she had walked in on. It sent the man to his knees. Astoria backed away and stumbled. She as trying desperately to escape. She wanted to stay with Marcus and Angelina, but she felt so cold, so tired.
"You bitch," he spat, shaking his head to clear it.
Antonin threw himself at her, hands going around her throat.
Her air cut off, and weakened as she was, Astoria's vision was black on the edges. The black started closing in. The last thing she heard before succumbing to the dark was the snap of someone apparating into the alley.
Hera was slumped like a broken doll against the building. She could feel the blood dripping off of her face and soaking into her tee shirt. She was so sleepy. She grinned when she saw Marcus Flint. She normally was not a violent person, but she could stand to watch this guy get his arse handed to him by Flint.
He had been working in the yard when he'd felt the sting of his Liberi silver announcing a message. He'd almost ignored it, figuring it was Chance, wanting him to go do something or other. But something made him glance down to see the message it displayed and his whole body went cold.
He didn't take the time to grab his shirt from the bush he's left it on. Instead he hot footed it to the edge of the apparition wards, disappearing as soon as he'd cleared the barrier.
He was still moving as he appeared in the alleyway, quickly glancing around to check both where he was and who was around. The sight of Dolohov choking his Princess made him impossibly colder and with a growl he tackled the man away from her.
Marcus didn't bother pulling his wand. He used his meaty fists to pound Dolohov's head, to erase that fucking face that had haunted his nightmares. All he could see was the bastard, tinted red in his own rage.
Dolohov tried to get away, his punches hitting Marcus in the chest and stomach. Marcus didn't even feel them.
Too soon the bastard's eyes rolled back in his head. Unconscious or dead, he didn't know. Not yet. He would make sure that it was the latter.
A noise from behind him drew his attention and he whipped his wand out and pointed it towards the sound, towards Warbeck trying to get to her feet. It took him a moment to remember who she was, that she was not a threat. It was touch and go for a moment.
He glanced back down at Dolohov, who he was straddling, and felt the slow rise and fall of his chest. The bastard was still alive. Marcus cast his strongest binding charms on him and got unsteadily to his feet, his whole attention now on Astoria.
Astoria could sense she was no longer alone, but her eyes refused to open. She did manage to make a whimpering sound that Marcus would not like. She needed a healer. She was fairly certain Hera did as well.
Marcus did not know what to do. Astoria was obviously hurt, as was Warbeck. They needed a healer. But he couldn't leave Dolohov lying in the alley. Or let the authorities see him, not if he wanted to finish the bastard himself. Fuck, he couldn't even produce a patronus to send for help.
He brushed some hair back from the Princess's face, checking to see how she was doing in the process. Her breathing was a little ragged, but steady. She would be fine for a few minutes.
He turned to Warbeck next, knowing that Astoria would be pissed if the woman died. She was at least conscious, which was a good thing, and watching him with wide eyes.
"Watch her," he said, before picking her up and setting her near Astoria. He found a wand and threw it at her. "I'll be back in a moment. If anyone asks, the bastard disapparated when I got here, understand?" He waited until the bint nodded before turning back to Dolohov. There were plenty of places to hide someone in London, abandoned warehouses and shops. He had one in mind for his task.
He grabbed Dolohov roughly and apparated to a rundown warehouse. This particular warehouse had been used for one of Chance's fights just a couple of weeks before, which likely meant that there would be no squatters around yet. Something about the fights kept Muggles away for weeks afterwards.
He shoved the bastard inside the dark building, casting a couple more spells as the man rolled from the toss. Spells to keep him quiet and to make sure no one else would notice him. Task done, he hurried back to the alley, back to Astoria.
Hera was just sitting there slumped. Her eyes were heavy as she saw Marcus walking towards them. Maxie was lying on her face near them, and Hera had one hand on her in anticipation of them leaving.
"We need a healer."
Astoria's hands moved when she heard Hera's voice. She groped for something to hold onto.
"I know," he said, grabbing both women by the arm and apparating them to Healing Hands. Warbeck had a hold of another unconscious woman as he did so and he stumbled a bit from the strain of transporting all of them.
"Nott," he yelled, not really caring if it was Nott or someone else who came running. "Nott! Get your bloody arse here now!"
"Loud," Hera complained. She was lying on her side and probably bleeding all over the floor.
Ginny heard someone yelling for Theo, but that was soon drowned out by the sound of the patients waiting for their appointments shouting in alarm. Leaving Ms. Murkle on the exam table, she rushed into the hallway, looking towards the front of the clinic. There were three people lying on the floor, a fourth one bent over, examining one of the prone forms.
"Theo!" she shouted, already moving towards the front and the wounded on the floor. "Emergency!"
Marcus growled when Weasley knelt by the unknown woman first. "Treat Astoria. Now."
Theo's stomach bottomed out. He checked the blonde lying on her face. She was alive but stunned. Hera Warbeck was bleeding everywhere.
"Astoria," Hera asked. "Is she all right? He was choking her."
"Hush," Theo said using wand light to check her eyes. "I suspect a concussion here."
Ignoring the growling tones of who she now recognized as Marcus Flint, Ginny saw the nod from Theo that the two other women would be fine and that Astoria was the one who needed the most attention. Turning her focus to the woman she'd seen not weeks before, she assessed her quickly.
There were several cuts on her body where most of the blood covering the floor was coming from. There were growing bruises on her neck, recognizably in the shape of hands and fingers, but she was breathing on her own. Her windpipe hadn't been crushed, despite what looked like a valid attempt to do just that.
"I'm going to exam room one," Ginny said to Theo, using her wand to levitate the bleeding Slytherin, leaving a trail of red droplets on the hardwood as they moved. She could feel Flint at her back, but didn't care so long as he didn't restrict the ability for her to do her job.
Theo levitated Hera to exam two. "Do you want me to owl anyone? Duff?"
"Arie. My niece. She's... she can't stay alone. Well, she could but she won't like it."
Theo nodded. "I'll handle it."
He didn't know how, but if he had to, he'd put Arie on a cot here. He quickly stopped the bleeding on her head. He gave her potions for the pain, to help clot the blood, and to keep her awake. No napping for Hera Warbeck. He really did suspect she had a concussion.
"I'll be right back," Theo said.
He was going to check on Astoria then collect the niece. Warbeck was no longer bleeding and a bit more comfortable. Twenty-four hours of observation would tell them more about that head wound.
Marcus was leaning against the wall of the exam room, trying to stay out of the way of Weasley as she worked over Astoria. He watched her wand waving carefully, not that he would have known if she screwed up or not. He was trained to cause damage, not fix it.
Theo stuck his head into the room. "How's Astoria?"
Flint didn't seem to like him asking, but she and Theo were friends, so he could get over it as far as Theo was concerned.
"She's going to be in pain for a bit, but she's also going to be fine."
{SUMMARY} Antonin finally makes his move on Astoria.