With a dark wizard's rise to power, the International Confederation has assigned two aurors from the British Ministry to apprehend Gellert Grindelwald. The responsibility to protect the wizarding world and to stop an outbreak of war lay on their sho...
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Slowly, her eyes fluttered open. There was a ring in her ear as she smelt smoke. Blurry images entered as Ariadne tried to make sense of her surroundings. Her eyes focused on the face in front of her, staring down at her worriedly.
"How are you feeling? Bailey Thatcher asked, trying not to flinch as a blast was sent nearby. They were hiding in a kitchen, the exterior wall had been demolished and Bailey worriedly peered out into the courtyard. She was lying on the floor behind a counter as he crouched down beside her.
"Like I've been knocked out," she rubbed her head, her body ached.
"Well, you were the one that came up with that," he joked dryly. He helped her up. Her back now leaning against the counter. "Here," Bailey handed her a small vial and Ariadne downed the liquid in one go. Squeezing her eyes shut at the burning sensation, Ariadne coughed as the potion went down her throat. Opening her eyes, Ariadne's dark hair transitioned to blonde. Her hands were paler and pinkish. "This should give you half an hour. Ready?" Bailey outstretched his hand and Ariadne clasped onto it, pulling herself up.
Accessing the battle scene, Grindelwald was nowhere to be seen. He was somewhere here, he was not the type to shy away from a fight. His acolytes had quickly arrived, providing support against the aurors. A blast thrown their way separated Ariadne from Bailey as they dove out of the way. Quickly taking out her wand, Ariadne sent a stunning spell towards an unsuspecting fanatic. Turning around, she dodged a flash of green sent her way, her eyes wide as her heart pounded. Ducking behind a large piece of rubble, she took a death breath in.
Standing up, she held her wand steadily. Sending a curse towards a pair of acolytes, her eyes caught wind of a familiar face.
"What?" she muttered to herself. Looking more closely, Ariadne recognised the blonde hair but her facial features were slightly different. "Dara," Eloise's younger sister, was an exact copy of her older sibling, it was almost uncanny. Ariadne shot a stunning charm towards her legs. Dara easily dodged the spell and narrowed her eyes towards Ariadne. With her eyes, Ariadne dared her to follow and the younger blonde girl did.
"Was it worth it?" Ariadne queried, running purely on adrenaline, "Leaving your sister?"
"Who are you?" her accent was thick. Unease was in her voice.
"Her friend."
"She'll understand when we are all safer after the elimination of Non-Magiques," Dara raised her wand and exploded the wall closest to Ariadne.
"Arresto Momentum," she cried, dodging out of the way as pieces of rubbled slowed as they fell. "So much for peace," Ariadne mumbled. With Ariadne's attention diverted, Dara sent three curses towards the girl. Stepping back, Ariadne blocked all three with difficulty. Before Ariadne could compose herself, Dara fell stiffly down, stupefied by Theseus.
"You look different," he commented, a slight smirk on his face.
"Only a little," she retorted, less jest in her voice compared to him. "Where is he?"
"There," Ariadne turned to where he pointed. Grindelwald was duelling with two aurors about 20 metres away. Theseus grabbed her arm before she could move, "He's killing everyone who comes near him. They can't touch him."
"Well come on then," there was a silent agreement as their eyes connected. They were the two best aurors in their department. They had been assigned to this case for a reason. Everyone in their department wanted this case. Both of them had so much to prove. Slowly, Theseus nodded.
Ariadne sent a stunning spell towards Grindelwald's back but was intercepted by one of his followers. With daggers in his eyes, the man started to throw curses at Ariadne and Theseus. His spells were easy to block, his aim was sloppy. Within a few moments, Theseus sent a spell that successfully knocked him out. There was a flash of green and Ariadne hastily glanced over, finding a body of her fellow auror who had been fighting Grindelwald. She slowly exhaled, she would not let herself be tipped off the edge yet.
They must have sensed the aurors' motives as more of Grindelwald's followers gathered around the pair of aurors. Back to back, they were surrounded by 4. With her wand in her hand, Ariadne saw Theseus nod from the corner of her eye.
Before Ariadne could do anything, an eruption rang through the courtyard. The ground shook and the stone gateway collapsed. Through the dust that flew out, more wizards walked in. Ariadne's eyes flew to Theseus'. They hadn't hadn't called for backup. Were they supporters of Grindelwald? Though half her questions were answered when one of them sent a killing curse to Grindelwald's acolytes.
Ariadne flinched as the sound of green whizzed closeby. Her eyes found the floor as she inhaled. A soft hand was on her shoulder as she glanced up at Theseus' worried blue eyes. She took a step back, letting his hand fall while taking a glimpse into her surroundings, Grindelwald's followers had apparated away or were currently surrendering. Grindelwald was nowhere to be seen. Footsteps approached them and Ariadne's mind was buzzing with questions.
"I'm Aaron Beechwroth from the International Confederation of Wizards," he flashed them his identification. The badge of his intergovernmental organisation made Ariadne furrow her brows.
"What have you done?" she uttered.
"I'm sorry?"
"You just killed them," Ariadne pointed to the bodies of Grindelwald's supporters, "No trial, no second chance. You just took their life," Theseus softly grabbed her hand, silently pleading with his eyes for her to calm down but she was beyond pissed. She had strictly told her division to stun, not to kill. There were people who didn't fully agree with him, people like Edwin. Actually, she was just thinking of him.
"I have orders," he replied sternly and she scoffed, "Miss, if you cannot stay calm I will have to escort you off the premises."
"Oh, I'll stay calm," quipped Ariadne. Knowing her place, she walked away, hoping to find something else to distract her. Instead, her eyes drifted through the scene. Bodies laid on the floor and with bile rising and panic overflowing, it was hard to tell who was truly still alive.
"Ariadne," Theseus was right behind her. It was getting warmer and harder to breathe. What if she had changed just one little detail and all these lives could have been saved? How could she have been so stupid? "Ariadne?"
"I need space," she let out, her chest rising up and down. There was an itchy sensation in her arms now, her legs felt like they were going to give up on her. And she couldn't bare to look at Theseus' concerned eyes. He reached out to her while she apparated away.
