(Untitled)

[tatiana_w]

Week Name/Date/Time: 'Traitors in the Mist' / Saturday, 11th March 2006 / 4:13, 14-ish PM
Location: exiting Hogsmeade
Open To: noble!Hargy, maybe witnesses?
Currently Involving: panicked!Tatiana

((OOC note: I cut right to the actiony bit. Mind?))

The cashier handed Tati her purchase, and the girl headed for the exit. With a pink, beribboned shopping bag

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[tatiana_w]

((I LOVE THIS THREAD ALREADY.))

Merlin. Shopping would be the death of her.

Tatiana was reduced to tears on the spot, her feet rooted to the ground. Actually, it was the heels of her stilettoes that were rooted to the ground, but there wasn't time enough for her to dwell on the precision of that.

A series of disturbing thoughts and memories hit her in the face in the space of two seconds. Was this what those psychic freakos called 'near-death experiences'? Tati was actually beginning to regret some aspects of her life. For one, being an arse to her sister. Just because Adriana was a terrible person didn't mean Tati had to be, as well. For another, Tati regretted buying that skirt from last fall. It was horrendous. Brown herringbone? WHAT HAD SHE BEEN THINKING?

Odd that she might be cursed to death because she happened to be shopping at the wrong time. Maybe if she'd hurried earlier, she'd be back at the castle already? Damn. Damn it all to hell. ...Well, this was probably the first time Tati had cursed--even if it was in her head.

"HARGREAVES?" Tatiana managed to shriek, her voice coming out shrill and keening. She whirled around and, tripping on herself in the process, teetered backwards and let herself fall, hoping she could dodge the masked man's spells that way. It worked--a jet of bright-orange grazed her side, leaving her largely unharmed. With any luck, her cousin could get out of the way as well.

BUT OH GOD--her cashmere sweater was ruined. And Hargreaves appeared to have taken the brunt of the man's first spell for her. On the ground, Tatiana buried her face in her hands, determined that she was going to wake up because this HAD to be a dream.

"HARGREAVES!" she said again helplessly, wishing that when she opened her eyes, her cousin would still be there. He was. Thank Merlin. She scrambled to her feet, scraping her knee in the attempt, and made a grab for Hargreaves's arm, trying to tug him back. If they really tried, they might be able to slip away! ...Right? RIGHT?

[hargreaves_b]

Hargreaves felt his stomach lurch as he was hit with a powerful blasting curse right in his chest. He yelped out in pain, feeling all the air soaring out of his lungs, falling down next to Tatiana. Catching his breath, he picked up his wand and looked over at Tatiana fearfully. Something told him Oh bollocks, it's not worth it, what do you care?

Some other side of him won out, though. If anyone, even a Death Eater, someone he was aspiring to become, was stupid enough to attack his cousin? Or most likely a more noble blood line than their own?

He had to defend her. (And him, also. Nobody was threatening anyone related to the Becketts.)

The man stepped closer, threateningly, pointing his wand right at both him and Tatiana. No, don't run, he'll kill you if you do, Hargreaves thought to himself. He carefully stepped up, grabbing onto her arm firmly, staring the Death Eater back in his face. Er, mask. Still fighting to catch his breath, he heard the man grumble something about names meaning nothing when it came to defending a mudblood.

He turned white in the face and looked at Tatiana. "Stupid, get behind me," he hissed, keeping one arm wrapped around her as he shielded her, and the other with his wand right at the Death Eater.

His only chance, or so he thought, to prove to himself, was to at least try to hex this tosser. Death Eater or not.

[tatiana_w]

It had not occurred to Tatiana that she wouldn't be worth saving. In fact, she was thinking quite the opposite. Generally her thoughts at the moment were something along the lines of 'aren't I too beautiful to die?' or something as shallow.

This was a Death Eater, Tati realised--Queen of Slow Reaction Time, she was. Even when the mask was a dead giveaway. When the man hissed something about her being a mudblood, Tati shook her head wildly, her hair getting into her eyes. Uncharacteristically, she didn't reach up to fix it. Desperate situations called for disregard, after all.

"Oh no," she said meekly, from behind Hargreaves, "We're not mu--" and narrowly missed being hit by another jet of light. She let out a strangled scream and stumbled back on the cobbled path, silently cursing the whole situation.

Her cousin's touch was oddly comforting. She faintly remembered home and her father, who was never with her, exactly, but always seemed to be. As a child, she adored being in her father's presence because he was so solid and safe. Tatiana watched Hargreaves's expression with a mixture of awe and respect.

The way Tati saw it, this was hopeless, whether Hargreaves intended to put up a fight or not. The man was insanely tall and obviously much older than they were. They were students, for God's sake, and Tati could barely hold her wand correctly, much less take on a full-fledged Death Eater face-on! Panic made her mouth go dry. It was a weird, cotton-bally feeling and didn't make matters much better.

They could fight, then die. Or they could just die. So Tati figured she'd better help herself and her cousin. Either way, they were surely gone.

She let out a high-pitched scream and let her shopping bag fly towards their attacker's head, hoping the fact that its contents were heavy leather boots would count for something. What a sacrifice.

And yet the man only seemed to be more pissed off. Damn it. Again.

"This is the time to RUN," she hissed at her cousin.

[hargreaves_b]

Hargreaves' eyes darted back and forth fearfully, panicking, not at all knowing what to do. He was stuck, and gulped loudly. If only his father were around, he'd. . .No. It was up to Hargreaves now. He was now taking on a Death Eater, and for some reason, he knew he'd pick up some negative sentiment for that.

Oddly enough, this time around, Hargreaves wasn't scared as he held his cousin tightly, trying to protect her. Usually the thought of physical contact would send him into convulsions. Certain sacrifices had to be made, or perhaps he was so shocked that he didn't notice. "No, you sodding IDIOT, you DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Hargreaves yelled, flinging his body backward to dodge another similar curse. He regained his bearings and realized he couldn't get any farther back as the Death Eater cornered them.

Hex? Or run? Hex? Or run?

Hargreaves' wand hand flew to his ear, hearing a girlish scream he recognized from his childhood partly, and dodged a huge pink shopping bag. Thankfully he heard a clunk on the attacker's skull, but knew Tatiana's strike wouldn't have enough force for any real damage.

Hargreaves nodded and grabbed his cousin's hand instantly, too terrified to make a move, still remaining firmly planted, seeming to be rooted into the ground. "Go," he said, holding his wand out, face even more pale with fright.

[tatiana_w]

Tatiana could only stare up at their lofty attacker, a fish-like, open-mouthed expression on her face. Hargreaves's voice sounded to be a gazillion kilometers away, and she was having a hard time deciphering his words...

"No, you sodding idiot" came to her ears as "So, blue shopping Marriott," which didn't make an ounce of sense to Tati. All the same, she nodded dumbly, eyes fixed on the man's mask. It didn't make SENSE, why was he still coming after them? Hadn't he heard their words? Didn't he recognize them? Obviously not.

She edged backwards, feeling against the wall behind them, keeping her eyes forward. Tatiana let out another screech as her heels caught in a groove in the pathway, pitching her out backwards. Her head made loud contact with the ground, and tears--again--sprang to her eyes. Why was she so bloody clumsy all of a sudden? BLAST IT ALL TO HELL.

She DID understand the word "go."

Half-stumbling, half-crawling, Tatiana ignored the creases forming in her skirt and desperately hurried away from the scene as best as she could manage. A distance away, she glanced back, searching her line of vision for her cousin. Where was he? Had he been able to follow her away? And most importantly, should she go back for him?

"HARGREAVES?" she called back, before realising it was a stupid move. The attacker could probably follow her voice. She also realised she was shaking like the devil. She was a mess--hair wild, clothes mussed and dirty, knees bleeding, head ringing--and still had no word from Hargreaves.

[hargreaves_b]

((OOC: This must be one of my favorite threads ever. EVER. I love the dramaticness. It's lovely.))

Hargreaves felt Tatiana trip again, hearing her fall to the floor and reaching out a hand to help her as he was hit square in the chest with another very powerful blasting curse. Lifted off the ground, he was thrown up and against the wall, sliding down in a heap. Weakly, he lifted his head, now bleeding, to see Tatiana stumble off and escape. Or at least, hopefully escape.

The Death Eater turned away from Hargreaves, stalking in the direction of his cousin. Panicking, knowing she was in more danger than he would be, or at least willing to detract attention from her, he let out a strangled "Hey!" and tried to get the Death Eater's attention. He winced and tried to pick himself up, not able to just yet. Hargreaves sent a weak "Expelliarmus" at the attacker yet again, closing his eyes and bracing himself.

Thankfully (for Tatiana, at least), he heard a devious laugh and heard the muttered blasting curse, head slammed back into the brick wall even more. He felt dizzy and knew there was no way for him to even possibly make a dent on the Death Eater, his entire body seeming to be in pain.

He heard his cousin's voice yell out among other screams, and opened his eyes again, trying not to feel so hopeless and despaired.

He had to think. He had to find a way to stall the Death Eater.

[tatiana_w]

((OOC: Hee! I'm glad we rock. And drama owns, in more than one way, hey hey? XD I think you know what I mean.))

Tatiana was hysterically attempting a call for help when a spell caught her in the back. A strong burning sensation engulfed her limbs, and though Tatiana could see nothing actually smoldering, the pain worsened as she moved. She dropped to her knees, rubbing at her skin and wondering what the hell was wrong with it, and risked a glance backwards.

The Death Eater, having left Hargreaves behind, was nearing and bellowing something, but she didn't want to hear it. She wanted to cover her ears with her hands and scream "SHUT UP" or something akin to it, but her throat had closed up and she was finding it hard to breathe, much less think straight. The Winters-Beckett names were all the protection she had, but the man had ignored it. So what were they to do NOW?

She sprinted back for Hargreaves and tugged at his arm yet again, this time with more urgency. If they could get back to the castle grounds before their attacker did, they had a chance at losing him.

"Move," she hissed, pulling at him. Her next words came out in an untelligible rush. "I'm not running back without you. Don't think you're being noble--you're being stupid. He'll bloody kill you! MOVE!"

[hargreaves_b]

((OOC: OH SNAP! XD Of course I know!))

Hargreaves only knew trip-jinxes, having practiced them behind pillars on various Hufflepuffs and other such types. Types that were clearly NOT Death Eaters. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Death Eater take off past the corner, towards Tatiana's direction. He fought back hopeless tears, hating himself for being a coward, being too weak to do anything. He heard the man's voice bellowing, and let out a yelp, being ignored by the other students running off in chaos in the streets. "HELP! PLEASE!" he whimpered pathetically, grasping out on the wall to lift himself up. A foot kicked his leg as a seventh year ran off, instantly causing him to lash back in pain.

Getting dizzy and feeling too weak to move, he felt himself slipping back down just as he felt a hold on his arm. He couldn't hear anything the person was saying, but saw his cousin's face and grabbed at her shoulder, trying with great difficulty to stand up. Shaking his head, Hargreaves held onto her shoulders with one arm, the other on the back of his skull. "Go, run, go," he said, looking back at the street towards the castle.

The street the same tall Death Eater was walking down, pointing his wand at them.

Hexes, jinxes, spells. . .Davenport. Maybe it was the loss of blood or the concussion he was facing, but Hargreaves suddenly had an idea, at least one to stop the Death Eater from following them as they made their escape.

Hargreaves gained the strength needed to shoot a Jelly-Legs curse at the attacker, square in the kneecaps, the same one he'd been so infuriated by when the fifth year Lion would use it on him. The pansy proved himself with the same bullying spells used on him, seeing the Death Eater's legs wiggle and sink to the ground, as if made of rubber.

Still holding onto Tatiana, he fearfully looked at the man as he made a run for it, "Hurry, let's go." He gave her a shove in the direction of the castle, knowing that would be their only safety, despite previously believing it was the one place that should have been attacked. He ran past the Death Eater, hearing an angered growl.

If they ran fast enough, they could escape, that Hargreaves was fully aware of. That only left them a few seconds until the Death Eater reversed the childish spell's effects.

Even a few seconds would be valuable, precious time.

[tatiana_w]

Hargreaves may have only known trip-jinxes, but Tatiana knew just about nothing. Oh, she well knew what it was like to be trip-jinxed, having grown up with Adriana, but that was quite a different matter!

Tatiana breathed a sigh of relief as Hargreaves stood, and the man fell over, cursing. NOW they had to make a run for it. The path back to the castle had never appeared longer in her entire school life.

She began at an awkward jogging pace, her strides slowed by the five-inch heels on her feet. And because she was just lucky like that, one of the heels decided to snap clean off. Cursing under her breath, Tatiana tugged her shoes off as she ran, heading for the grass--it would be easier on her feet than stone, obviously, and if she had a distance to cover, she might as well take the easiest path.

Every now and then, Tati glanced over her shoulder, her hair ragged and flying into her eyes, trying to make sure her cousin was still nearby. But he was covered in blood...! Even while running, Tatiana shuddered--Hargreaves was an absolute mess. She actually doubted for a moment if he would be able to make it back to the castle in his state, but he was standing, at least. Surely he'd be all right? Surely he hadn't lost too much blood?

She was sprinting across the grounds by now, out of breath, a stitch throbbing in her side. Collapsing against a familiar tree, she paused to catch her breath, careful to stay hidden in the tree's shadow, on the opposite side of whence she had come. She could no longer see the Death Eater--a good sign. But where was Hargreaves?

Oh God. Tati may have been a naive little fool, but she wasn't bloody crazy enough to think that the Death Eater would've let Hargreaves go. She was still feeling barking mad and confused...why had that man come after them, even when Hargreaves had announced his bloodline? That bloody didn't make any bloody sense, now did it?

Unless--and this was quite a breakthrough for her--the man had assumed she was a blood traitor or muggleborn...which wasn't entirely improbable, she supposed. Either way, she could have really done without this attack.

She watched the distance for a moment, still waiting for Hargreaves, tears welling up quickly. Blast. Limping slightly, she turned and faced the castle, eager to get inside.

[hargreaves_b]

Hargreaves didn't look back as he ran. Well, his running was more of a steady trudge, as his head spun and he began to feel nauseous from the unsteady ground under his wobbly legs. He fell to the ground a bit, pulling himself up, hearing the Death Eater reverse the spell and shoot another blasting curse at his back. Propelling him farther away from him, Hargreaves landed on the hard cobblestone, right on his knee. Yelping in pain yet again, he breathed hard and tried to fight the impulse to simply give up.

It was hopeless. But as long as Tatiana was okay. She was long gone by now, Hargreaves had taken the attention away from her. Rolling over onto his back, he saw the hooded figure walking towards him. "You DON'T understand! My father. . .Richard. . .you idiot," he gasped weakly, holding his wand out to his attacker weakly.

He should have known the attacker was far from believing him. Just as the Death Eater was about to raise his wand, Hargreaves tried one last time. "Petrificus Totalus!" he yelped loudly, only managing to hit the man's wand arm, freezing it, pointed towards the ground.

Merlin. Did a spell actually WORK from Hargreaves?! He scrambled to his feet and tried to get away just as the man growled and kicked him hard in the ribs. Hargreaves gasped loudly, stumbling back, the fleeing impulse seeming to overtake the pain. At least, only a little. He ran faster than he could, hearing the man call out names, knowing he had to get away before another Death Eater caught on his trail.

Holding his bruised ribs, Hargreaves sprinted and gasped painfully, running away from Hogsmeade and up the path, seeing the castle nearing. But Tatiana wasn't anywhere, and he'd left her. . .What if all this distraction was for not, and she was still snatched up by another Death Eater? He screamed his cousin's name desperately, not seeing her anywhere. He tried to keep moving, checking for any attackers on his trail, but knew he couldn't leave without his cousin. He looked into the trees, back behind him, spinning around helplessly.

[tatiana_w]

Breathing hard, Tatiana stood stiffly behind her tree, and decided that she would count to ten in her head and Hargreaves would come waltzing up, perfectly safe and unbattered. It was a far-fetched notion, yes, but it would help her to keep her sanity until someone chanced by to help them.

One...two... Tatiana's knee throbbed, distracting her. She glanced over her shoulder, thinking she'd heard a voice, but saw nothing, and turned back, squeezing her eyes shut. Three...four...

Dear God,, she thought, let cousin Hargy be all right. I promise I'll never buy another pair of Christian Louboutin shoes again. Okay, maybe one more pair. Or at least not as many as before?

Five...six...seven... Tatiana squirmed impatiently. She longed to open her eyes and look, but silly superstition told her that if she looked, Hargreaves wouldn't be coming back.

Eight...nine... Hmmm, this was a bit childish, wasn't it? No matter--it had seemed to work when she was a five year-old, running from the boogeyman.

TEN. There was a crunch of feet on grass. Tatiana's eyes flew wide open. And lo and behold, MERLIN, THERE WAS HARGREAVES, calling her name. Tatiana rushed over, crying, "Hargreaves! HARGREAVES!" and stumbled over barefooted, not even beginning to wonder where she'd dropped her shoes previously.

"Where is he? Is he gone?" she asked about their pursuer. And then she saw the blood. Yurgh. Tati felt her head spinning, but tried to keep her cool...which she was rapidly losing.

"Come," she said, looping her arm through her cousin's, "the castle is just up there. We need to get you some help..."

It was probably the first time she'd shown any true concern for another's well-being. But it was well called-for--her cousin, Hargreaves bloody Beckett (literally), had probably just saved her life. What was she supposed to say about something like that? "Thank you kindly"? Vocabulary wasn't her strong suit...then again, nothing was. It was probably best to keep quiet for now.

[hargreaves_b]

Hargreaves' chest heaved as he looked around, terrified, not wanting to stay out in the open, but not wanting to leave his cousin behind. He yelled one last time until his vision went blurry again, feeling dizzy and holding his forehead, biting his lip to stop the nauseous feeling.

He tiredly looked up, hearing a sobbing noise and his name yelled, to see his cousin running over to him. The ground beneath him seemed to spin quickly, and he held both of his arms out to his side to keep balance. Nodding weakly, he replied, "I think. . .I froze his. . .we haven't got much time, let's. . ."

He let out a groan as he felt a piercing ache in his head, most likely from the repeated blasting curses. Nodding slowly, he clung to her arm and tried to hurry as best as he could, knowing the castle was his (and his cousin's) only safety.