I'm The Violence In The Pouring Rain - Bella, Tris, Teagan

[Alecto Carrow]

Saturday March 1, approx. 2 a.m.

As she stomped down the ill-lit Muggle street, Bellatrix keeping pace at her side, aggravated sparks flew from the wand clenched in the young woman's hand. They danced chaotically on the pavement behind her until the unrelenting spring rain extinguished them. In the short time since they'd been walking from the apparition point, Alecto's hair had become drenched, long blonde tendrils clinging to her face and jacket. But she - always up for complaints - couldn't care less about the relatively small annoyance of that, and the chill rainwater seeping down her back. There was a much more significant frustration - one she'd thought would be impossible - consuming her.

She'd never thought it could happen - she and her brother were a team. They so often worked as one that no one expected one without the other. They could read the other with a look, and act in fights together as seamlessly, beautifully, as if they were a choreographed duet. Amycus had always had her back, always. But tonight in a meeting with the Dark Lord, while she'd argued her point, fully expecting him to second her...

Her darling brother remained mute. Telling her with a fierce look to stop talking, for the both of their sakes. And so she'd had to stop. To hold her tongue. Alecto wasn't daft - she knew she couldn't change the Dark Lord's mind alone. But without Amycus to back her up, she'd had to apologize for the "error of judgement" she hadn't thought she'd made. It was embarrassing, infuriating, to have to sit there and listen as conversation resumed between the two of them as if she hadn't spoken. Amycus was supposed to be hers, and hers alone - when had that changed? She knew he idolized their master, but wasn't she still the most important to him? It made her more than uncomfortable - it was an inexcusable notion, but one that seemed...true. Alecto had been buzzing impatiently, just wanting to leave, but had been forced - by etiquette - to remain until they were dismissed. As if they were schoolchildren.

Not that it needed to be said, but the shouting match between the Carrows that followed hadn't left either in anything close to a good mindset. Alecto left him for Bella, looking to use her to get her frustrations out, but after their time in the married woman's bed she'd still felt just as frazzled as when she'd arrived. There was no way she could sleep, not when she was like this, and she knew it. She needed something to do. The thunder and lightning outside of Bella's bedroom window didn't deter her from suggesting they go muggle-baiting, and thankfully her partner was game to come with her. They knew the parts of town where the young muggle adults and teenagers would still be out at this hour, and quickly made their way to one of them - they were nearing a street of lit up pubs and clubs, it'd be simple to find a few victims, and with the claps of thunder still in the air, it'd be even easier than usual to go unnoticed in an alley...

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

This arrangement between her and Alecto Carrow had been going on for years at this point, and it was the perfect arrangement. As far as Bella concerned, Alecto was all but hers - except for those times in which she had to share Alecto with Amycus. And while the pair had certainly invited some others to share the bed with them, at the end of the night Bellatrix had Alecto wrapped around her finger. And Alecto was, by all means, Bellatrix's favorite companion to have. So when they young woman had shown up, Bellatrix had not even hesitated to bring her inside.

It was obvious something had happened, but Bella wasn't about to pry. Whatever had driven Alecto into Bella's arms was well worth it in the long run. Especially with how fired up Alecto was, promptly suggesting that they go looking for even more fun. Bella was not one to turn down a little fun with muggles, and the storm that was brewing in the hours of the morning practically assured that they would go unnoticed. Muggles out at this hour simply wouldn't be missed.

So as the two walked, sparks flying from an obviously irritated Alecto's wand, Bella smiled with glee. Perhaps after all this fun, the younger woman could be convinced to spend the rest of her night back in  Bella's bed, picking things up where they left off. There was something enticing about seeing Alecto this angry and upset, and Bella was dying to take advantage of the situation in as many ways as possible. As they approached a local muggle club, Bella spotted two girls leaving the building, smiles and laughter on their faces. She gave a nod to the pair as she made eye contact with Alecto, taking the lead and sauntering up to the two.

"Evening ladies, having fun are we?"

[Deleted]

There was a dull buzz zipping through Tris’s body, half from the bits of alcohol she had been consuming the entire night, and half from her excitement for her friend. “I can’t believe you guys are getting married! And having a baby! This is insane!” The vivacious girl exclaimed as they exited the club. It was late and with her friends new state she felt they should take it easy; though Teagan had been doing that all night while Tris danced and drank and told anyone who would listen about her friends excellent news.

“This is insane.” She repeated linking her arm with the taller girls, thinking that yes this was indeed insane. But she would deal with that later, she would deal with Elliot later, right now she was the adoring friend. She looked at her friend with excitement in her eyes and an indulgent smile as they made out for the walk to Teagan’s car parked a few blocks away.

Teagan was such a beauty and an amazing friend and Tris thought herself incredibly lucky to have found her. But then again she really didn’t believe she had found Teagan at that show that night so long ago, it had to have been fate. T belonged in their world, they were all meant to know her, she could handle it; Tris just had to get Elliot to see that, especially now that Teagan was more than likely carrying a magical baby.

Her friend distracted her from her thoughts then and Tris laughed, about to comment when…Her blood ran cold as she carelessly glanced behind them and then did a double take. The voice hadn’t sounded familiar but as she looked back to see who was speaking, well the faces, she knew those faces. She froze, stupidly –they needed to keep moving!- and stared in wide eyed shock at the two witches . They were so obviously not of this world, this muggle world.

One was fair –Alecto, the other as dark as night –Bellatrix; they were oddly beautiful in a most deadly way, perfect foils for the other. Kingsley. Her mind thought desperately; she needed him now so much. Covertly, almost without even realizing she was doing it, Tris's hand stole into her bag and wrapped around her wand; she tried to imagine King's solid presence and draw strength from it. Tris held fast to Teagan with her other hand, stunned words coming to her despite herself, she hadn’t meant to speak to them –they needed to run! “What are you doing here?” Of all the stupid, idiotic, moronic things to say!

[Teagan Edwards]

Things has certainly changed quickly in Teagan's life. It had only been last September that she had gotten up the courage to ask Elliot Thomas to go on a date with her. And now? She was getting married to him, as well as having his baby. Both reasons were cause for celebration, even if her initial reaction to the pregnancy test had been complete and utter panic. Still, Elliot had handled it well, and she really couldn't be happier. It seemed like everything I her life was falling into place, even the pieces that she couldn't really understand. There was something about Elliot, and about Tris and Kingsley she still hadn't been able to figure out.

"I know, it is insane. I can't believe this is all happening, to be honest. If you had told me in September that by March this would have all happened I would have told you that you were crazy," Teagan answered Tris with a laugh. This would be their last adventure to the club together, as there was no way Teagan would be showing up after she actually started to show. It was already bad enough that her baby bump was obvious if you actually knew she was pregnant.

Linking arms with Tris, Teagan dug in her purse as they started walking the few blocks to her car, when a voice behind them caused Tris to freeze. Teagan turned to see two woman, unsure of which one had addressed them. There was something about them that made Teagan uneasy, and the rain wasn't helping the situation. Tris was holding onto Teagans arm tightly, and Teagan stood taller. Whoever these woman were, Tris knew them.

"We were just heading home, our families are expecting us," Teagan answered, taking a step back as she tugged on Tris. Whatever these women wanted, it didn't seem nice.

[Alecto Carrow]

Part of Alecto knew she should put away her wand, as any of the late-night walkers could see it and its magic - but it would only burn a hole in her jacket if she hid it. And she should not have to hide. She was Alecto Carrow, a formidable and unpredictable tool of the Lord Voldemort's, a proud and worthy witch. In the world that was to come, she would be setting fire to the street with no one and no qualms to stop her. The muggle filth so idly, drunkenly, wandering about would instead be on their knees before Bellatrix and herself, finally knowing their places - just pieces of trash waiting to be swept away with the rest of the litter by the river of water ravaging the gutters.

Some of the youths they passed already looked half-drowned, as did the sickly pale pureblood, but the pair of Death Eaters continued on silently until Bella spied a giggling pair of young women. Alecto gave a quick nod of assent at the other's look, and followed the dark woman towards them, adopting a leisurely gait that she didn't feel as she stalked towards them, icy eyes darting between the pair. She almost heard her brother in hear ear - always good to get the prey's blood pumping before the hunt, makes for a tastier meal, a more tender meat - but shook her head sharply in agitation, swatting away thoughts of Amycus. He didn't deserve any space in her mind, not tonight.

At Bella's purely innocuous question, the smaller of the pair turned towards them, and the little thing near sh*t herself. Not that Alecto could blame her - she knew that she and her partner were a frightening sight to both the informed and the uninformed. Because even if these muggle girls didn't know who they were, Alecto knew from watching just how terrifying Bella could be on a night like this. How she could make grown men tremble with a look, their bones cracking like the thunder rolling overhead...to be frank, it riled her up in the best way, but if she was in the shoes of these girls...

You don't even feel sorry about sh*t like this anymore, do you?

The girls were like any idiotic prey when unexpectedly faced with their natural predators - too shocked to move, their doe-eyes wide and fearful as she and Bella moved in. The smaller one seemed to know them, which bothered Alecto, because that couldn't be right. Who would know them and be here? Her eyes narrowed as she considered the pretty woman, not sure where she could know them from. She looked younger than Alecto, who didn't become known to muggles and them have any memory of it, which meant...

Sweetheart, if you're a witch, you're going to burn for this.

The other - seeming not so in-the-know as her friend - chose to speak up too, giving a laughable response. Which Alecto gave into, a cruel laugh tumbling out of her before she stepped closer and verbally snapped at the two of them.

"She was just making conversation. What happened to ladies helping each other out? We could be looking for somewhere to continue the party, and you're assuming the worst of us? It pains me." She turned to Bellatrix, thick eyebrows raised high. "But that was interesting though, wasn't it? Your families are expecting you?" She looked back to the girls, focusing in on the taller one as she agitatedly spun her wand at her side. "You know, that almost makes it sound like you don't think you're going to make it home. Sometimes you muggles are oddly perceptive. Too bad it won't do you any actual good." Her wand arm moved quickly in the shape of an upside-down cross, the Pugiunculus spell muttered under the sound of the rain - How is it you haven't become proficient at nonverbals yet? It's no wonder Amycus prefers him. A conjured silver-handled dagger shot from her wand, a spinning blur of blade-over-pommel at the taller one. There was no need to make this go too quickly, after all - why not see if the girl really could dance?

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

Bellatrix thrived for the looks they received as they walked. The fear that was always behind the eyes of the muggles was entertaining. And no muggle men dared to approach her or Alecto, or even call out. For while they were beautiful, they were fierce. It was obvious they were not to messed with. Sometimes, a muggle man did make the mistake. And they always dealt with him when that happened. But tonight they needed some real fun, and so Bella ignored many of the muggles walking by, enjoying the storm and the hunt.

And when she stopped them, the two girls laughing and leaving the club, she knew it was perfect. She knew Alecto would agree, and she grinned to herself as their pace changed, as they hunted. And the look on the girls faces when they turned around? This was what she lived for. It was no surprise the two were scared - they needed to be. But it did almost dull the hunt, knowing that these girls would hardly put up a fight.

But at the question the shorter one proposed, Bellatrix raised an eyebrow and looked at Alecto. Did this muggle know one of them? They didn't associate with mudbloods, so it was highly unlikely. Which meant that this woman couldn't possibly be a muggle. A muggle born perhaps? Or was she a witch. Bellatrix studied her slowly, a smirk pulling at her lips with every passing second as Alecto took charge.

Pulling her wand carefully from her sleeve as Alecto spoke, Bellatrix nodded along with her words. "Indeed love, it is a very interesting thing to say. Seems these two won't be as fun as we thought. Ah well..." Trailing off, she watched with glee as Alecto began her attack, twirling her wand in her fingers as a dagger shot from her partner's wand.

"Don't kill them too quickly, you'll want to savor this," Bellatrix added slowly, pointing her wand towards the smaller girl who was digging around in her bag. "Now what shall we do to you?" Waving her wand around, a light shot out and towards the younger girl.

stinging hex : spell cast by bellatrix

[/b]

[Deleted]

The buzz had grown and grown in her ears until it was affecting her entire body. Her heart was pounding wildly, adrenaline coursed through her and the world was sharp and clear. Tris logically knew that there was still alcohol in her system but she suddenly felt so sober. Most likely due to the fact that she and her dear friend were in mortal danger; if Tris didn’t do something fast she knew she and the muggle next to her would greet death tonight.

Her hand was sweaty around her wand but she grabbed it tightly, her mind spinning. This isn’t my thing! I don’t fight, I can’t do this! Her mind thought traitorously. No. I won’t let them get their hands on Teagan. She sternly told herself, pushing the other -more frantic- voice from her mind. All of her emotional turmoil had felt like it was suspended in time, she had been standing here panicking for years surely; but in reality it must have been only a few seconds.

Alecto was speaking now and Tris had to work to keep the fear at bay at the blonde’s words. Focus! She scolded herself. With a deep breath she shorter girl tugged her friend closer and pitched her voice for the other girls ears and hers alone. “You have to do exactly what I say T, this is not a game, they will kill us.” She said quickly, speaking out the side of her mouth; her eyes were too busy sizing up their attackers to look at her friend, but she was confident the taller girl understood that this night had taken an awful turn. “When I say so, run. Run as fast as you can to the car. Give me one minute, then leave, find E.”

Tris hoped Teagan didn’t try anything heroic, she hoped that she would really leave if the curly haired girl didn’t make it. Which was a likely outcome. Alecto was still speaking and her voice sent chills down Tris’s spine, stiffening her resolve, making her bite her tongue on the angry -terrified- words that wanted to jump from behind her lips. She couldn’t let them bait her again; she needed to be ready to move fast, besides she had proven no match for them verbally already. Or magically...No! She halted her thoughts, she couldn't afford to think like that right now.

Tris allowed herself a few moments to think of Kingsley while Bellatrix spoke; mostly just to remind herself of how much she loved him and all the things he had tried to teach her about defending herself. If she made it out of this alive she would owe him everything; making it out of this alive was a long-shot. I'll save Teagan then. She thought resolutely. The next several things happened very quickly and Tris barely had a second to think about each move. Luck had to have been on their side, otherwise….

Alecto was a quick caster but so blatantly obvious Tris had no problem pushing Teagan away from her and out of the way of the blade. “Now! Run!” she shouted and turned back to their advisory’s just as Bellatrix’s spell came whizzing her way. The dark haired witch was much more subtle than her blonde friend and Tris had barely seen it coming. She ducked but she wasn’t quite quick enough. Pain flared in her shoulder and black spots sprang before her eyes. Tris blinked tears away and the spots when with them but she was still gasping in pain, trying to fight through it. Before either one of the dark witches could attack again she ripped her wand from her bag and took aim at the two witches. Tris sent up a silent prayer they didn’t expect this, otherwise she was dead.

“Confringo!” she roared, the length of ebony wood snapping at the last moment to train instead on the space of pavement that stretched between her and her foes. Her eyes widened at the brightness of the orange light and the force of the explosion. She could hardly believe she possessed such power, but she was already turning away from the scene before she could fully process it. She needed to run and that is exactly what she did. Beatrice Malkin ran like the wind, like an Olympian track star, or a wild horse; she ran like she was running for her life.

---

Confringo - cast by Tris

[Teagan Edwards]

This joyous night of celebration had quickly turned into a situation that Teagan didn’t understand, and the way the air changed when these two approached put her on edge. Tris was obviously not fond of these two women, whoever they were, and it was really just best if they left. But it was apparent that the blonde and raven haired women had no intentions of letting them walk away. While she was listening intently to what the blonde was saying, Tris was pulling on her and whispering into her ear. What did Tris mean that these women would kill them? And did she honestly think that Teagan was going to run to her car and drive home to Elliot and just leave Tris?

But suddenly the blonde was saying things that didn’t make sense, what was a muggle? The other woman was talking about killing them, and Teagan reached out to grab Tris’ arm. They both needed to run, not stand around and wait for something to happen. But she felt frozen in place, especially as the blonde started waving a stick around and – what was appearing in the air? Before she could think Tris was pushing her out of the way and she stumbled back, and then Tris was gasping in pain. Before Teagan could even say anything, Tris was saying something in…latin? And an explosion happened on the street. Tris was running and Teagan wanted to, she willed her feet to move, but she couldn’t, not with what was happening in front of her.

"Tris!" 

[Alecto Carrow]

Alecto held back a roll of her eyes at the slight chiding she got for going in blades blazing - but perhaps Bella was right. The smaller woman pushed her target out of the way, yelling at her to run, and in doing so was hit by Bella's hex.

But then - an actual surprise.

So we are dealing with a witch, Alecto thought as she quickly sent up a shield between Bella and herself and the pieces of pavement blasting their way, both gleeful for the added challenge and infuriated by the woman's decision to be in the company of muggle-folk. The force of the surprise blast wasn't completely blocked, sending her dank hair flying, but as the rugged pieces of pavement heavily fell to the road, the bright lights from the explosion beginning to fade, Alecto cut off the shield and started towards the women.

The...woman?

The witch was high-tailing it away down the ill-lit street, leaving her muggle friend in the metaphorical and literal dust. With an exchange of looks with Bella, now even more fueled to bring an unpleasant end to the women's evening, Alecto set off towards the muggle while her partner began after the witch. Alecto shot an Impediment Jinx at the runner before muttering "Incarcerous," wand trained on the young muggle as she encroached upon her space, keeping her partner's previous words in mind. You don't always have to be so impatient, but best to wrap her up and get her out of here, someone must have heard the boom. And people said she wasn't subtle. "Bet you've never seen anything like this before," Alecto commented in a calm that didn't suit the scene as rough, thick, bands of rope began, snakelike, wrapping themselves around her victim's torso, trapping her arms. "There's a first and last for everything, I suppose. But you should've - you should've seen your face," she said, letting out a short, harsh laugh. "You had no idea what she really is, did you? And now she's left you with me."

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

Bella couldn't contain the laughter that escaped her as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. The smaller woman pushed the other out of the way, and in doing such was unable to avoid Bella's hex. Good. If one was going to try and protect the other, separating them would be the key. It would be more fun that way, letting the smaller girl watch as they emptied any life left out of the taller one. But she was caught off guard by the sudden spell that was returned, and frowned as she watched through the shield that Alecto was quick enough to put up.

A witch hanging with a muggle? Tonight was going to be more fun that they expected.

She watched with amusement as the explosion faded and Alecto dropped the shield, heading towards where the two women had been. But Bella could easily see that only one woman remained, and she caught the glance that Alecto gave her. With a nod, she went gleefully after they younger girl, shouting as she ran. "Oh dearie, do come back. You won't want to miss what Alecto does to your little filthy friend!" Her laughter filled the air, and with a quick flick of her wand she cast another spell towards the fleeing girl, causing a barrier to appear in front of her.

"No where to run sweetie, why don't you want to play with us?"

---

curse used by bellatrix

[Deleted]

The wiz of a spell shot past her and singed the brick wall next to her. Her name rang through the air and Tris almost cried. She could feel the telltale pricks of tears in her eyes and without looking around she knew that Teagan was not with her. Why oh why did she not run like she was told? ‘Because she is confused.’ A voice in her head answered calmly. Tris closed her eyes, coming to terms with what was happening around her; they had T, she had to go back. But before she could do that, before she could fling herself back into the fight, before she could even stop and turn around, she was flying through the air. 

It took a long moment to realized she had ran smack into an invisible barrier and by the time she wrapped her mind around it she was hitting the ground and she couldn’t breathe. Time seemed to slow. She could see Bellatrix stalking her and she could hear T and Carrow further back and like a mac truck slamming into a building everything was moving at normal speed again. The world moved on around them. In the distance she could hear cars and not too far away people were beginning to come investigate all the ruckus. She had to do something, there was no escaping. Stall. Yes, that was it, they may not be able to get away but they could stall for help. 

They needed to call for the Aurors. Kingsley. Tris thought desperately. As quickly as she could she stood, her back protesting, and pain shooting through her extremities. Warmth spread from her mouth and she wiped away the moisture hastily, her hand coming away red. She stared at it for a moment, her body beginning to shake. No, no! She could not lose it. T needed her. Pull it together! Lestrange was dangerously close and her voice was taunting; Tris had to work hard to not whimper in fear. She needed a plan. But she couldn’t think, all she could see was death on her doorstep and it was terrifying. 

Kings was an Auror, he had told her some of the things the Death Eaters got up to, this was childs play for them. She knew she had to do something. “Play with this!” she shouted angrily, tears leaking onto her face; and she threw out the first spell she could think of. ”Ascendio!” She didn’t wait to see if she had hit her mark, Tris turned tail and ran back into the fray, back the way she had come; her body screaming for her to flee from the danger but she fought the flight instinct. Then quite suddenly she was flying through the air again, this time forwards, her head snapping at the contact with the cement. Tris wasn’t sure if she had tripped in her haste to get away or if Lestrange had jinxed her but she didn’t have time to find out. 

Thankfully, if she was seriously hurt the adrenaline in her body was keeping it from her because she was able to scramble back to her feet with little problem, swiping another trickle of blood from her face. “Stupify! Stupify!” she yelled frantically, twin red beams flying from her wand; and just in case, as she turned to run, she threw up a shield. It was all Bellatrix needed to kill her was the opportunity. And just like that she was back in the street; she could see Tegean bound and helpless, Carrow looming over her. A pretty sizable crater dominated the street, dust still curling up from it. Instinctively she threw another stunner over her shoulder, knowing Bellatrix was still in pursuit. 

She was approaching her friend and one of their attackers quickly and Tris couldn’t think again, she didn’t know what to do! Any spell she could think of Alecto would surely deflect; she had lost the element of surprised, they were in serious hot water now. Her mind told her that she needed to set Tegean free so they could flee, so she sent out a silent apology to the girl before she aimed her wand at her -not easy to do at a run- and tossed a spell out that would burn the ropes away. Then, without thinking or planning, or any real confidence, Beatrice simply ran head long into Alecto Carrow. It was all she could do. With as much force as she could muster Tris tucked her head in and tackled the blonde to the ground; all the while screaming as loud as she could: “Run! Run Teagan run! Get Kingsley! Get out of here! Omph…”

[Teagan Edwards]

What exactly was she supposed to do? Tris was fleeing and she wanted to run, but what exactly was going on? The three of them had sticks and things were flying around and then was all too much to handle. Her stomach flew to her stomach, covering it almost instinctively. You have to run. Tris could explain this all later, but she needed to move. Except as the dust cleared and she looked up, the blonde woman was walking towards her. And the look on her face said a lot. Before she could move, more bolts of light were flying and the woman was upon her, and Teagan just stared as rope began to wrap itself around her out of no where, rendering her arms useless. "You should see your face, hasn't anyone ever shown you how to use a mirror?" She shot back bitterly, doing her best to squirm. Whatever these women were - whatever Tris was. That didn't matter. What mattered was getting out of here.

Surely someone would hear the noise and come investigate, she could hear Tris and the other woman shouting at each other, unsure of what exactly was going on. She was afraid to look away from the woman in front of her, scared of what might happen if she didn't maintain eye contact. "Sounds like your friend could use a little help." She sincerly hoped that was the case, because she couldn't bear the thought of Tris getting hurt. Before her and blonde could get any further into it, however, suddenly the ropes were on fire and she panicked, only before realizing she was free. She heard Tris' words, and without hesitation she grabbed her bag from the sidewalk and ran back towards the bar, fumbling anxiously for change. Once she managed to get it in the slot, she realized she didn't have Kingsley number - but Elliot would have it.

The people she ran towards looked confused, and frankly she couldn't blame them. As soon as she heard someone pick up the phone, she realized she was crying. "Elliot, you have to help. These women attacked us and they have Tris and she said to get Kingsley and I don't know what's going on. There are explosions and light shooting everywhere and they are all talking in latin-" She paused to catch a breath, looking back. "I can't leave her alone. Just come and find us." And with that she hung up, before turning and steeling herself to face what was happening behind her.

[Alecto Carrow]

"Hurtful." The eye-rolling reply surely cut the bound woman as much as the ropes that were digging into her, and she let out a laugh at the notion of Bella needing help with one lousy unsuspecting witch. "I sincerely doubt that - comfortable?" Alecto gave a smirk, muttering a spell of encouragement, and the ropes tightened in one smooth motion. True, it sounded like the woman was giving Bellatrix a bit of fun - prey fighting back wasn't necessarily a bad thing - but the seasoned Death Eater would surely be able to handle it...but then...there was the sound of running, the woman was shouting spells as she neared Alecto and her new friend.

Trusting that Bella would take care of the nuisance, Alecto raised her wand arm to redo the bindings on her captive. But before she could speak, she was barreled over, shoulders skidding on the rain-slick road as the witch held on to her, screaming bloody murder in her ear. "You'll die for this, you mudblood-loving b*tch!" Alecto screamed, twisting under her until she had enough space to move semi-properly - well, properly enough to knee the woman in the gut. If there had been anything Alecto didn't want of this evening, it was to be further embarrassed - being underfavored by Amycus and overlooked by the Dark Lord had been bad enough, but this? Pinned to the ground by a witch not worth her weight in salt? Head pounding from the hard landing of the tackle, hands grazed and bloody from the road? On top of it all, she'd lost her wand upon the tackling; in the frantic midst of bodily getting the woman off of her - Circe's sake, when had her arms gotten so bloody weak? - her head turned from side-to-side as she searched for her wand.

After a furious serious of punches to the woman's kidneys, she felt the other grow limp enough for her to get out from under her; Alecto roughly pushed the other's body aside, aiming a kick of a boot to her face, and swept her rain-limp hair off of her face with her gravelly hands. Fury was fueling her, amplifying the feeling that had brought her out into this night. She didn't look to Bellatrix, hating that her partner had seen her like that, and instead found her wand as quickly as she could, resting in a puddle at the edge of the crater in the road. "I don't want to hear another word out of you," she spat in a voice dangerously low, sending a Silencing Charm at her as she stalked towards her.

[Elliott Thomas]

...is that the phone?

The newly engaged Elliott Thomas was woken up by the absolute clanging - never noticed it was such an awful ring - of the phone in Teagan's flat. He slumped out of bed, not bothering to cover his yawn as he picked up the phone; in his utter un-wakefulness, honestly, it was mostly to get the thing to stop making noise. He'd gotten the first part of a hello out when coming from the earpiece was Teagan. Crying. Scared. Something about being attacked - she needed Kingsley - Latin - Suddenly very much awake, or at least struggling to be so, Elliott quickly cautioned, "N-no, Teagan, stay where you - " 

Not fast enough. The line clicked dead, and he was left in the quiet-again flat with a cold sheen of panic-sweat. Because all of that, that was, that was his worst fears coming true. Teagan and Tris, out for the night to have a friend's celebration of the goings on with his love and himself, were being attacked. Witches who had something against muggles - possibly Death Eaters, possibly aspiring. Whoever they were, they had to be stopped, and - only stopping to grab his wand from its hiding place and put on shoes and send an S.O.S. owl to Kingsley - he was Apparating to the part of London Teagan had said they'd be dancing in.

But he couldn't be headed to a fight. A real fight. He was just Elliott - he was out of the war, out of all that nonsense. He'd never done well in Defense - too much pressure. He wasn't one of those Gryffindors always ready to pick a fight out of nothing - no actual practice in this.

None of that can matter right now, get yourself together. It's Teagan and Tris - and the baby.

He Apparated into the semi-darkness of an alleyway, the noises of late-night London still quite high as he started to walk at a brisk pace towards the street proper. Once in it, he tried to tune in, hear something out of the ordinary, see something even vaguely familiar as he squinted against the rain...his pajama'd power walk took him past a club, the flickering neon sign of which spelled the name of a club he'd swear Teagan had mentioned. Another alley was just beyond it, and was it just him or did it seem much darker than the one he'd come from? Don't freak out. Do not freak out.

But, honestly, how could he not? He'd spent the last months keeping magic from the woman he'd fallen in love with, and now she was in the middle of a magical firefight, and now he was going to have to pull some spells out of his arse to save the day until Kingsley got to them. Her life's more important than secrets - get a bloody move on.

From his quiet steps into the entrance of the alley, Elliott could see too much.

Women who were assuredly not Teagan nor Tris were on their feet, there was a body on the ground, and while he didn't want Tris to be hurt, Elliott selfishly hoped it was her and not Teagan. He couldn't see her, hopefully she was just hidden in the shadows, but wherever she was - he knew she wasn't going to miss what part he would play in this.

One whispered Accio later, the blonde woman's wand was in his hand.

Didn't think past Step 1, did you?

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

As much as it was muggle hunting with Alecto, Bellatrix would never admit the hatred she still harbored for her partner. They'd had a rocky relationship in the past year - with Alecto going off on her own and getting pregnant of all things. And then she chose to stay with Aaron, Bella's other play thing, and they were going to raise a baby. Together. It was disgusting and laughable. And it still burned a hole in her chest when she thought about it. Did Alecto really believe that she was special enough that Bella couldn't find a replacement for her? Just because the blonde was her favorite didn't mean there weren't consequences to her actions.

Bella gave a laugh as the witch she was following ran straight into the barrier, what a silly little thing. She took a moment to glance back to Alecto, amused by the fact the muggle girl had just stood in place. Unfortunately the traitor witch decided she was going to fight, and Bella barely dodged the spell as the girl sprinted past her. This only increased her laughter, and Bellatrix followed slowly, twisting her wand between her fingers. What exactly was this witch planning to do to save her friend? The fire was a nice touch, but surely Alecto would notice the incoming girl.

It took all of her strength to not laugh as Alecto was knocked to the ground. Bella could have stopped the girl, but this was all so amusing. She didn't even bother to chase after the desperate muggle - who was she going to get, more muggles? That would simply make this night even better. Instead she continued toward Alecto, doing her best to put on a smirk that didn't show how funny she found it that her partner had let herself be bested by a muggle loving traitor. She stalked closer, giving Alecto a grin once she was off the ground. "Seems like this one thinks she can take us. Such a shame, really." This would all be over too soon unless the timid little muggle returned.

And as luck would have it, as Bella was standing there smoothing out Alecto's hair from the fall, she caught the girl trying to sneak up to them out of the corner of her eye. A quick flick of her wand was all it took to petrify the girl, and another swish and flick floated her further down the alley and out of sight. They could deal with her later, but first this witch needed to learn her lesson. Bellatrix looked back down for only a moment when Alecto's wand went flying, and she spun around to see that some one new had arrived.

"You think it's best to play with us, do you?" she barked at the new arrival, wand raised. "I'd suggest you return what you've taken."