Away

It was a chilly, breezy December morning. The sky was a soft gray and the sun was invisible behind marshmallow shaped clouds. It was a quiet day. No birds singing in the distance; not even the roar of an engine. A small pale yellow house stood at the end of the street. It wasn’t a mansion but it was a well-loved house. Inside this house a woman was hard at work, getting breakfast ready. She wore pastel blue colored sweat pants and had her light hair up in a messy bun. A sober expression threatened to fall on this beautiful woman’s face, but she hid it behind a cheery smile. A few feet away, and never out of her sight, was a high chair, which held a five-month-old baby. Blond curls exploded over her head already and her earth-toned eyes were curious. The woman, now about done, began putting eggs onto a plate, just as the toast popped out of the toaster. She walked toward it and began to butter it lightly. After she was through, she set the knife into the sink, and set the toasted bread onto the plate. Just as she was walking to the table, a man walked through.

“Good morning Benji. About time you woke up.” Emmylyne smiled at her husband.

“I didn’t want to get up. Thank you.” Benjamin said, as she set the plate in front of him. She kissed his cheek, and then began to go make herself a plate. They ate their breakfast in silence. A small tension built in the room that the couple tried hard to ignore.

When he was through with his food, Ben stood and walked to the sink. He turned the faucet on and began to rinse off the plate. “Oh Ben. You don’t have to wash dishes. I’ll do them.” Emmy said, jumping up from her seat. He could tell by the look on her face she was hiding something. His gut was telling him she was anxious. It didn’t take a genius to tell that she was slightly on edge.

“Its ok Ems. I want to.” He said smiling at his wife. Pushing a piece of his long, chocolate curly hair from his face, he finished washing the dishes and turned back to Emmy. She was leaning over the baby now, cleaning up her mouth with a moist rag. He watched her as she continued to clean their daughter.

It still blew his mind that he had married Emmylyne. It gave him goose bumps knowing the little girl she was cleaning was his daughter. He could never decide whom she looked more like. She for sure had his curly hair, but it was lighter, like her mothers. She did have her mother’s eyes, no doubt about that, but did they come to the conclusion that she has his nose. Even for her age, Lainie was curious. She loved to look at everything and touch it. Ben didn’t think there was a single thing in this house that she hadn’t touch.

Finishing with Lainie, Emmy looked up and saw him looking at them. “What?” she asked. He didn’t answer but walked over to her and kissed her deeply.

When they broke apart Emmy looked at him with a silly schoolgirl grin. “What was that for?” she asked.

“Em you know I love you right?” Benji said, ignoring her question.

“Of course Ben. Are you alright?” she said, looking into his chocolate eyes.

“Yeah. I’m just…I don’t know. This mission doesn’t feel right for some reason.” He finally admitted.

“You don’t have to go you know. You can stay here with me and Lainie.” She said. He knew she would never say it, but she hated when Ben left on auror missions.

“I have to Emmy. Its my job.”

“Well if you don’t feel right, don’t go.”

“Don’t worry. Its just pre-mission jitters. I always get them before I leave.” He said and kissed her on the forehead.

“I know Ben. But really. If you have a feeling-“ She was interrupted by green flames bursting in the fireplace. A round-faced man’s head appeared and blinked up at them.

“Morning Emmy. Ben its time. Be in my office in ten minutes.” The round-faced man said. Then as quickly as he has come, he was gone.

Emmylyne sighed and turned back to Lainie. She picked her up gently from her chair and held her in both arms. As one, they slowly turned back to face him. Emmy’s earth-toned eyes held so much sadness in them, he almost said he would stay. But he couldn’t. Today was an important day. They were finally going to catch the few dark wizards who had murdered the family down in Edinburgh. One of them was rumored to be the guy who kidnapped Axel. He had to go. If it meant finding his best mate he would definitely go. But the look on Emmylyne’s face was making him feel guilty for leaving.

Wrapping his arms around them both, he held onto them for more than a minute. When he let go, he took Lainie into his arms and held her up close to his face. He bounced her in the air, making her giggle. Ben smiled and kissed her on the cheek. The baby cooed and waved her little arm in the air. He chuckled and set her back down in the high chair. Turning back to Emmy, he caught her biting her lip. He hated making her worry like this. But it was habit to her by now. Nothing major had ever happened to him while away on a mission, but she still worried until he came back. In a way, he appreciated that she worried about him. But that didn’t mean he wanted her to worry.

He took her into his arms and held on tightly. She pressed her head onto his chest and sighed. “I’m going to be alright Ems. Don’t worry.”

“I know. I just don’t like it much when you leave.” She said quietly.

He lifted her chin to make her look up into his eyes. “I love you. I’ll be back before you know it.”

He then kissed her lightly on the lips and turned away toward the fireplace. Taking a gray powder into his hand, he threw it into the rich flames. “Ministry of Magic.” He said loud and clear as the flames turned an emerald green. With a last smile at his wife, he began to spin very quickly. He loved traveling by floo powder. It was like a ride to him. All too quickly, he made it to the ministry.

Already the place was packed. People were popping out of the many fireplaces, and others were magically appearing out of thin air. He walked toward the lifts and climbed inside. Waiting patiently as it rode up, he fingered his wand in his robes. It was a nervous habit he had gotten into, that came from being an auror. When the door opened again, a man with mocha colored skin walked in. His dark haired resembled his, but was straighter. Not a single curl was seen on his head.

The man gave Ben a nod and stood next to him. “Good morning Benjamin. How is Emmylyne?” he asked in a strong Spanish accent.

“She is good. Well a little anxious I guess cause I’m leaving today. But she’s good. How are Jodie and the baby?” Benji asked.

Santana Venezula smiled, as a memory over took him. “Everything is great with them. Obie keeps Jodina on her toes.” He chuckled. Benji chuckled along with him, as the door to the lifts opened again.

“This is my floor. I will be seeing you San. Give Jodie a kiss for me.” Benji said.

“I will. Good luck today.” Santana said as the doors closed.

Walking down the hall, he turned sharply into a room that held three other people inside. One of them was the round-faced man who had been in his fireplace eight minutes ago. The man closest to Benji, had pitch black hair, that was held into a ponytail, Robert Solis. He looked off into space, in a dazed expression. Ben knew he was going into his zone, a place where he forgot about the world and concentrated on the job before them. The other man standing in the room was young, with shocking red hair, Casey Bishop. Just graduated from Auror School. It was going to be his first mission. He held a determined look on his face, but Ben knew he was nervous. You would have to be a fool to say you weren’t.

“Lawley. Glad you can make it. We are just waiting on Nunez and Smith. Then we will be leaving. I will go over the details when they arrive.” The round-faced man said. Benji nodded. He was glad to have Edmund Brown as his head auror. He trusted the man with his life.

Another minute later, and two other men joined their party. The both had brown hair, but the one farthest away had a beard and a scar on his left temple. He also held a stern look that could scare a little kid away. This was Jordan Smith, one of the top aurors. He was second in line to Brown. The other was a scrawny looking man, with a wild grin on his face. Jack Nunez. Ben had gone to Auror School with him. That man was crazy, and he knew it. But he knew how to take orders. One of the only reasons why he passed.

“Right on the dot you two.” Brown said. They both nodded and stood up straighter. Jack gave him a sheepish grin. “Alright we are going to arrive in a wood close to Edinburgh. Grizzly Wood. Make sure you appear in Grizzly Wood. Its crucial you don’t get the wrong place. Nunez.” Brown said, pausing to look at the scrawny man.

“Hey now! You told me to go to Wales. You just didn’t tell me when.” Jack said with a sly grin.

Edmund rolled his eyes and continued. “We are going to arrive there at nine sharp. Its now 8:50. So I have ten minutes to give you directions. When we get there, it should be clear. But I’m not going to guarantee that it is empty. Always be on guard. After we arrive, I want to split up into two groups. Smith, Bishop and Solis, you three are going to take to the east. If you find anything, don’t do a thing. Send a patronus west, and it will find us. I repeat! Don’t do anything. You will need back up. Nunez, Lawley, you two are with me. We are going to take to the west side of the wood. Remember the people we are dealing with killed a family of seven. Maybe more. I don’t know. We must work as a team. Bishop, you are going to have to prove yourself today. I chose you for my team, but I can easily replace you with somebody else.” Casey nodded.

Benjamin knew Edmund was pumping Casey up. By using a little fear, it makes a man stronger. Something Casey would learn in later missions. Ben looked back at Edmund as he continued with his plans.

“We don’t know how many are there, so we need to be on guard at all times. If there are more than twenty, we retreat. No matter what. If I say ‘fall back’, you better fall back. Am I understood?” The five of them nodded, and Edmund picked up his wand from his desk.

“Alright ready in five.” Edmund said. He tapped his foot five times and disapparated. Ben followed after him, thinking hard about the wood he was suppose to be reappearing in. With a ‘pop’ he found himself standing in a clearing where Edmund was, looking hard at something. Four more ‘pops’ announced that the others had made it.

As Ben looked to what Edmund was staring at, he realized they weren’t the only six in the clearing. “Wands out!” Edmund hissed, already aiming his own. Nine men stood huddled near a tree. They all looked up at their sudden arrival and immediately took their wands out and started throwing curses their ways.

The six of them spread out and the fight was on. Benjamin had settled on a bulky one, with dark robes on. The big ones were easy for Ben. Just aim at the knees and they were down. “Stupefy!” He bellowed and took the guy out. Smiling at himself, he turned to a blond headed one who was fighting with Jack and shouted “Expellarimus!” The wand shot from his hand, and he looked around confusedly. Jack shot Ben a wink before ropes shot from his wand toward the blond man.

Not far from him, he saw Jordan and Edmund both fighting two men apiece. Robert was almost waving his wand lazily at his dark wizard. But he could see Casey struggling with his. Ben shouted another disarming spell at the dark wizard, making him lose concentration. But that was all Casey needed, hesitation. The red head shot ropes from his wand and looked over at Benjamin triumphantly. He didn’t see the dark wizard sneaking up behind him.

“Casey! Behind you!” Ben shouted, shooting toward him with the speed of a cheetah. Just as the dark wizard called an unforgivable, Ben tackled Casey. They both hit the dirt with a crash. Benjamin’s body began to shake uncontrollably, that can only be caused by a curse. But the curse the dark wizard had shouted hadnt hit him, so what was going on?

Casey quickly shot up, to fight with the dark wizard. His back was to Ben, so he couldn’t see the pain that was shooting through his body. He held in a bone-chilling scream as hands took hold of his body. He looked up into ice blue eyes. The man’s face was hidden, but the eyes were so bright, he could see them under the man’s hood. Benji will never forget those eyes.

Looking around at the others, he realized this guy was not with the other dark wizards. The ones they were fighting all had the same black robe on. The man that was now dragging Ben away had a grimy brown one on. His wand was pointed at Benji, holding the curse on him. Pain was exploding through his very body. He couldn’t scream. He couldn’t fight. He couldn’t even hear the others anymore.

He was not going to go down like this. Kicking his leg with all the force he could conjure, he got the guy in the stomach. The man faltered, but was too fast for Ben. He yelled the disarming spell and caught Ben’s wand. As he snapped his wand into two, the hope left his body. How was he suppose to fight this guy now? Shakily, Benjamin got to his feet and swung at the man. He missed, but the hood fell from the man’s face. Revealing milky white skin that seemed to bring out the color of his eyes more. The guy looked so familiar. But he couldn’t place him. Instead, the man aimed his wand at him and muttered in a cold voice, “Crucio!”

Pain electrified through his chest, where the curse had hit. He couldn’t breath the pain was too unbearable. He screamed in sweet agony and his body twitched uncontrollably on the ground, trying to escape the wicked torture. Finally the curse lifted, and Benji struggled to breath.

“Time to go Benjamin.” The voice mocked. But Ben finally realized who it was. It was that guy. What was his name? Blair’s brother. Remus? No. Reggie? No. Remington! That was his name. What the hell did he want with him?

Remington grabbed Ben by his curly hair and pulled his head to face him. “Shout and you die.” He breathed in his face. Ben wanted nothing more than to hit the guy in the face, but he couldn’t get his arms to move. He couldn’t do anything but let Remmy take him away. Away from his team. Away from his home. Away from his family. Away from his friends. Away from Lainie. Away from Emmylyne.


Credit:

Emmylyne and Laine is Gracie's

Remington is Dani's

Mentions of Axel is Shan's