FIC - Moth meet Flame by whirl_gig - Prologue
To: govcampbell
Title: Moth Meet Flame
Chapter: Prologue
Author/Artist: whirl_gig
Pairing: Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione
Rating: M
Word Count: 800/ ?
Summary: A mystery Harry must solve turns into something far more deadly. Chaptered, WIP
Author/Artist's Notes: For govcampbell , who requested, among other things, a political drama with a very strong couples friendship between H/G and R/H. I tried to grasp the "All the President's Men" feel that he was after, as well as exploring certain elements of the relationship between Muggle and Magical worlds. As you'll soon see, I just sort of took the prompt and ran with it :D and I really hope that's okay. This is the first of many parts which shall be up shortly. Hope you all enjoy!
Also, a huge, huge thank you to rumpelsnorcack - I could not have done this without you. At all. *showers you with petals*
Moth Meet Flame - Prologue
The emergency light perched above the door in the alley like some kind of huge electric insect, pulsing dully, trying to attract a mate. Heavy footfalls could be heard slapping furiously against the concrete on the street outside the lane, becoming louder with each step taken. A man appeared suddenly at the end of the alleyway, out of breath and hands on knees, bent over and gasping for air. Checking over his shoulder, he straightened up gingerly, as though in pain. He didn’t know when everything had gone so very, very wrong.
He hurried down the alley, hand clutched around his middle, red light casting a sickly hue onto his already pale face. He reached the door and glanced up briefly at a tiny noise from overhead. A moth was circling the light, fluttering innocently in the dank air that permeated the alley. With one more backwards glance, he pushed against the door. There was a groan of hinges and then the man fell forward onto the landing beyond. The door swung shut heavily behind him with a boom that made him cringe, and everything was black.
“Hello?” he called out uncertainly. The air in here hung chilly and close, creeping in wet tendrils towards him making him wish he could somehow shake it off as you would a spider web. Something didn’t feel right. The normally lit stairs and room below were in darkness and seemed to want to block him out, pushing him back towards the wall and he shrank against it, suddenly wishing he had not announced his arrival so conspicuously. Something really didn’t feel right. He nervously fingered the wand in his pocket, gripping the thin strip of wood like it was his only life line (which, he reminded himself, it was, given the situation he was in).
‘Shut up’, he whispered to himself. He knew that kind of thinking didn’t help, not when he had known exactly what he was in for when he had signed on. Or thought he had, anyway.
Squaring his shoulders, he took a step further, feeling for the railing he knew was there. His hand tripped over it in the darkness and he gripped it tightly, enjoying for a moment the solidity of the cool steel under his fingers. With the other hand still clutching his wand, he started down the stairs. As he descended, he could see there was a light on down below, and he felt himself relax a little bit. Maybe they were just being cautious. He hurried down the stairs, his boots making dull clunking sounds on the thick iron steps. He could see the bottom now, could make out the room beyond where they should be waiting. He needed to tell them, as soon as possible, what had gone wrong. He reached the bottom of the stairs, and took a look around.
‘Oh shit.’
His face blanched and he stumbled backwards in shock, not wanting to believe his eyes. His calves hit the stairs as he backed into them and he fell backwards with a grunt of pain. He lay there on the stairs for a moment, not wanting to look up, not wanting to see any more. He closed his eyes and let the deathly silence of the room settle around him for a moment. He was too late.
*
Outside, three men crept along the alleyway. Arriving under the light, one motioned to the other two and they crept together, drawing their wands. There was a silence for a moment, two of the men holding their breath in anticipation as the other drew back his wand arm. There was a sudden burst of light and the door fell open with a crash and the three men hurried inside, kicking it closed behind them. The man sprawled on the stairs below leapt to his feet, but it was useless.
If anyone had been outside, they would have seen a sudden flare of red light through a grimy upstairs window, and then they would have seen three men exiting the warehouse through the heavy side door. This time however, they were dragging something with them. They glanced around and with a pop, all three men and the parcel they were dragging with them vanished, and all that was left was the tiny moth fluttering in the red glare cast by the light. The moth danced in and out of the shadows, playing hard-to-get with the warm glow and the light pulsed hungrily in return. All at once, too quickly to be believed, the moth fluttered a little too close to the light. There was a tiny zapping sound as the light sputtered briefly and everything the moth had ever felt or thought or seen ceased to matter as it fell to the ground, dead. The light, cold and indifferent, droned on.
*
Next Part Up Soon!...What did you think?
Title: Moth Meet Flame
Chapter: Prologue
Author/Artist: whirl_gig
Pairing: Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione
Rating: M
Word Count: 800/ ?
Summary: A mystery Harry must solve turns into something far more deadly. Chaptered, WIP
Author/Artist's Notes: For govcampbell , who requested, among other things, a political drama with a very strong couples friendship between H/G and R/H. I tried to grasp the "All the President's Men" feel that he was after, as well as exploring certain elements of the relationship between Muggle and Magical worlds. As you'll soon see, I just sort of took the prompt and ran with it :D and I really hope that's okay. This is the first of many parts which shall be up shortly. Hope you all enjoy!
Also, a huge, huge thank you to rumpelsnorcack - I could not have done this without you. At all. *showers you with petals*
Moth Meet Flame - Prologue
The emergency light perched above the door in the alley like some kind of huge electric insect, pulsing dully, trying to attract a mate. Heavy footfalls could be heard slapping furiously against the concrete on the street outside the lane, becoming louder with each step taken. A man appeared suddenly at the end of the alleyway, out of breath and hands on knees, bent over and gasping for air. Checking over his shoulder, he straightened up gingerly, as though in pain. He didn’t know when everything had gone so very, very wrong.
He hurried down the alley, hand clutched around his middle, red light casting a sickly hue onto his already pale face. He reached the door and glanced up briefly at a tiny noise from overhead. A moth was circling the light, fluttering innocently in the dank air that permeated the alley. With one more backwards glance, he pushed against the door. There was a groan of hinges and then the man fell forward onto the landing beyond. The door swung shut heavily behind him with a boom that made him cringe, and everything was black.
“Hello?” he called out uncertainly. The air in here hung chilly and close, creeping in wet tendrils towards him making him wish he could somehow shake it off as you would a spider web. Something didn’t feel right. The normally lit stairs and room below were in darkness and seemed to want to block him out, pushing him back towards the wall and he shrank against it, suddenly wishing he had not announced his arrival so conspicuously. Something really didn’t feel right. He nervously fingered the wand in his pocket, gripping the thin strip of wood like it was his only life line (which, he reminded himself, it was, given the situation he was in).
‘Shut up’, he whispered to himself. He knew that kind of thinking didn’t help, not when he had known exactly what he was in for when he had signed on. Or thought he had, anyway.
Squaring his shoulders, he took a step further, feeling for the railing he knew was there. His hand tripped over it in the darkness and he gripped it tightly, enjoying for a moment the solidity of the cool steel under his fingers. With the other hand still clutching his wand, he started down the stairs. As he descended, he could see there was a light on down below, and he felt himself relax a little bit. Maybe they were just being cautious. He hurried down the stairs, his boots making dull clunking sounds on the thick iron steps. He could see the bottom now, could make out the room beyond where they should be waiting. He needed to tell them, as soon as possible, what had gone wrong. He reached the bottom of the stairs, and took a look around.
‘Oh shit.’
His face blanched and he stumbled backwards in shock, not wanting to believe his eyes. His calves hit the stairs as he backed into them and he fell backwards with a grunt of pain. He lay there on the stairs for a moment, not wanting to look up, not wanting to see any more. He closed his eyes and let the deathly silence of the room settle around him for a moment. He was too late.
*
Outside, three men crept along the alleyway. Arriving under the light, one motioned to the other two and they crept together, drawing their wands. There was a silence for a moment, two of the men holding their breath in anticipation as the other drew back his wand arm. There was a sudden burst of light and the door fell open with a crash and the three men hurried inside, kicking it closed behind them. The man sprawled on the stairs below leapt to his feet, but it was useless.
If anyone had been outside, they would have seen a sudden flare of red light through a grimy upstairs window, and then they would have seen three men exiting the warehouse through the heavy side door. This time however, they were dragging something with them. They glanced around and with a pop, all three men and the parcel they were dragging with them vanished, and all that was left was the tiny moth fluttering in the red glare cast by the light. The moth danced in and out of the shadows, playing hard-to-get with the warm glow and the light pulsed hungrily in return. All at once, too quickly to be believed, the moth fluttered a little too close to the light. There was a tiny zapping sound as the light sputtered briefly and everything the moth had ever felt or thought or seen ceased to matter as it fell to the ground, dead. The light, cold and indifferent, droned on.
*
Next Part Up Soon!...What did you think?