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Charles Hollingberry EraAll historical records pertaining to Ministry of Magic RPG under Minister for Magic, Charles Hollingberry [IC March 2097 - present; OOC November 2018 - present]
Secret passageways and hidden rooms are generally considered features of haunted houses or grand mansions, but in 16th Century England, these mysterious rooms and passageways became commonplace thanks to the Protestant Reformation. Any witch or wizard versed in history should know that the Ministry of Magic was built on top of the Department of Mysteries, which dates back to at least 1672. So why wouldn’t this building also have a secret means of concealment or escape that could be used at a moment’s notice?
This particular entrance was an unlit circular staircase that went down and down, stopping at a small corridor that diverged out. Soft chirping noises, guano on the floor, and the smells might remind a few employees of the year the Ministry had reverted to using owls instead of interdepartmental memos. One path to the left was flat for a meter or two and then started an upward climb. A path to the right curved and disappeared into darkness so black one might believe Lumos would not pierce it. The path most directly ahead? Well, it was marked with dark splotches as if something bloody had been carried or dragged through there.
To anyone brave enough to follow the gruesome path, at the end they would find a room that once was meant to function as a safe room, but now looked more like the lair of an animal. Bluebell flames trapped under a bell jar on a ledge high on the wall cast eerie shadows on the bed in the corner that looked more like a nest. The wooden table and chair in the middle of the room were littered with remnants of fur and feathers. Piles of bones lay in the corners, and from the looks of them, the bones had been there for a year or two.
Dem Carters | even 🕊🕊 have pride | | Expecto PAWtronum 🐈 | U-NA-GI
He was definitely feeling the effects of the Homenum Revelio, but he wasn't allowing his face or his body language to show it. Doing so could be dangerous to those on the other side of the rubble. Instead, Ronan started moving position slowly, almost as if stalking, to a position where if Goldwasser wanted to aim for him again he would have to turn his back completely to the pile of broken wall.
Or at least he was until Pendragon decided to make his presence known again, in the most annoying and Pendragon-ish of ways possible: playing superhero-saves-damsel-in-distress-only-in-his-own-imagination. Ronan ducked quickly to the floor as the Unspeakable's Flipendo-propelled body flew by and popped just as quickly back up once it was past. He started his movements again, stopping this time exactly where he'd intended to. It was then that he sent another silent Sectumsempra in the vampire's direction, this time aimed directly at his wand arm. Yes, silent. It gave one's opponent less of a chance to anticipate what you were doing and come up with an appropriate counter.
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You?
Baguette | there is no D in my name | TRAITORclaw | Queenie of Narnia
Text Cut: Jake & Kevin
Quote:
Originally Posted by Felixir
Onward, through the doorway, along the path. The safest thing would have been to go quiet and stealthily, if these mysterious and unnerving passageways were anything to go by. But with a group so big, the action well underway, and a not inconsiderable suspicion about the nature of Bain Goldwasser, that was pointless.
So Jake sped along, at first ducking beneath the fleeing bats and then heading for the source of the distant noises, doing his best to ignore the reek of the place. As the path diverged he went straight ahead, because of course following the noise would lead them down the bloodiest path. Only natural.
Except... it stopped. Jake skidded to a halt, rubble, blocking the way, dust barely settling. Muffled voices and duelling noises coming from the other side. Once again, he cursed to himself, and stared at the impromptu barricade.
"We need to get in." He spoke quickly but softly. "Or at least see if we can... make some kind of gap to send spells through. Carefully." The structural integrity of this place was not... promising. Otherwise, he'd have blasted right the way through. Perhaps if they could stabilise it with magic, then start shifting things, but it was risky; what if they brought the whole room down anyway? "We can check the other paths too, see if there's another way."
Without knowing what was going on inside, or who was there, or what was happening, calling attention to themselves was a bad idea. However, there was an option available which would kill several birds with one spell. "Homenum Revelio."
Jake made no effort to conceal the effects of the spell on the targets, so those inside would (hopefully) understand that someone was out here, working to get in. Bain - suspected non-human - would (hopefully) feel nothing, but if so, he wouldn't be revealed by it either, which was the main benefit of the spell otherwise. It wasn't much in the way of practical help, but it was what he currently had to hand until they could get work their way inside.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi
Having never stepped foot at this location, at least, not that he could recall, Kevin made sure to not get the group out of his sight as they moved along the path. Up ahead, he saw another group of bats and lifted his wand but then chose to lower it back down as he realized that they were not attacking but fleeing from the loud noises in the distance.
He felt like they had to move faster as dark splotches of blood were seen smeared over the place and he picked up his pace before...He came to an abrupt halt. What's wrong? Oh... The sight of the rubble blocking their path and stopping them from continuing on was a major setback. He nodded his head once and moved away for a moment to see if there was another pathway that would lead further and they didn't need to get rid of the rubble. Surely someone like Goldwasser had another escape route in case he got cornered?
As she hurried along down the passageway, Penelope couldn't help scanning the walls, wondering if anything might jog something in her memory. It was entirely possible that she'd been down here, though unwillingly. Now that certain theories seemed confirmed, at least in her mind, the stupid so-called bear memory angered her even more than it already did.
But all of that pushed into the back of her mind, as she usually did. Right now, the present situation was her focus.
It wasn't difficult to follow the sounds of voices and spells to their destination...which was blocked by rubble. Wonderful.
Checking other pathways for an alternate route wasn't a bad idea, but how much time would it take? Kevin appeared to be moving to check. Would it be wise to split up at this point? If sections here were already crumbling, maybe other paths could too, and then more of them would be trapped.
What was the best plan? Penelope wasn't sure. She just wanted to get in there. Every second they weren't was another second Bain Goldwasser might escape again.
Homenum Revelio was useful; at least it would give them a better idea of how many were already in there, Carter among them. But what could be used to actually get in?
"Mending Charm?" she suggested softly. "Might not be subtle to fix the whole thing. But if this is the only way in..." Then maybe subtlety wasn't an option. Maybe another pathway led to this room, but maybe none did. Maybe they could get a small opening without the rest of the passageway crumbling, but maybe any spells aimed their way would send the rest of it tumbling down onto them. Maybe Goldwasser was just as trapped as the others in there. But maybe there was another exit in the room, one that didn't connect to any of the passageways here. Maybe he still had an escape plan.
There were a lot of maybe's right now. A lot of ways this could turn out well, but a lot where they could go south too.
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if we fall, we will fall together; and when we rise, we will rise together__________________♥♥♥♥
together we are dangerous; together with our differences; together we are bolder, braver, stronger
Outside the Lair with Jake, Kevin, and Penelope (believe Scott will be there too)
Mom says I have no sense of direction, so I packed my bags and right.
Saul moved through the tunnels at a speed that could be attributed both to the urgency of the situation and the stench of location he found himself in. his hurried steps helped him reach the others quickly. Stopping once again behind the Aurors to note the cave in, and the sounds of a duel happening from the other side of the debris. Who was in there right now with Bain?
"I don't think we should go down those paths without knowing where they lead." Saul interjected. "At most we could station a few of us where the passage ways start. So if they are potential escape routes we can head him off." If there is a chance after, they should explore these tunnels further. Who knows what they might find.
As for the rubble. "Clearing for gaps could benefit us. It would give us cover from any harmful spells. And it would keep Goldwasser pinned in there." So if there were ways to escape and they had people at the passage Ways that would effectively pincer Bain in his location.
Apologies to those who were trapped in there with the Vampire.
Scottie was here! He had followed Saul and Penelope, his wand at the ready for any funny business. He also felt void of ideas as to how to proceed, especially since his eyes were fully squinted at the idea of Goldwasser being so near.
"We just gotta blast in there!" He said, his hand tightening his grip on his wand. They couldn't just STAND there and let Goldwasser have more time to escape. "Do we need a plan if we have backup?!" His youth might be showing (He wasn't THAT young, just angry and GRYFFINRAWR) but, you know. He was TIRED of Goldy being free. He was tired of it!
But...his eyes were on Upstead. What did his boss think?
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"You can justify anything if you do it poetically enough."
His fire spell bounced off the back wall of the room, splashing sparks of fire around the space like a firework. He was distracted from watching the redirection of the fire by the feeling of something tugging on his wand. He tightened his grip on it as another spell bounced off his shield charm which sparked, showing it had weakened significantly.
Bain felt absolutely no effect from the Human-presence-revealing Spell. He wasn’t human after all. The yapping and the noise in the room might have masked the noise outside in the corridor, but he scented that more people had arrived, blocked by the rubble behind him. There were some familiar secnts there too - Upstead, Primeaux, and Ferguson to name a few. Clearly Carter’s patronus has delivered its news. Very well, playtime was over. One sent, however, drove him to distraction - Grimm. His mouth watered slightly remembering how tasty she had been. Too bad he hadn’t finished her off when he had the chance!
Distracted by the smells, Brody’s jinx slipped through his shield. He shook his head violently like a wounded animal just as Carter’s Sectumsempra slashed at his arm. He moved, but the spell caught him enough to pull a loud yowl from the vampire that shook the walls. He pulled his wand hand back and waved it as though snapping a whip. A long thin flame flew from the tip lashing out first towards Carter and then towards Brody.
Dem Carters | even 🕊🕊 have pride | | Expecto PAWtronum 🐈 | U-NA-GI
His ears may have been ringing from the sound, but the vampire's yowl still brought a satisfied smirk to Ronan's lips. Unfortunately, the spell hadn't done enough damage to stop Goldwasser from performing another spell. Another fire spell. A tactic that, while effective, was growing rather boring rather quickly. The auror tried to dodge out of the way of this one too, but unfortunately, it managed to graze his arm. He let out a pained hiss at the burn, a sharp contrast to the injured vampire.
The injury didn't stop him, though. Ronan this time aimed at the flaming whip coming from Goldwasser's wand, casting a silent Glacius to extinguish the fire. He quickly followed this up with a Brachiabindo at the vampire's arms.
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You?
Damian didn't always have to be loud, he just preferred to. Projecting confidence and power, he strengthened his own spells, while intimidating his enemies. On the rare occasion though, he even knew when to show weakness and be quiet. Surprising, I know.
The wizard laid where he had been tossed Goldwasser's spell. Though a pair of cracked ribs knocked the wind out of him, he would swear he could get back to his feet if he wanted to, but chose to appear motionless on his side. "Wingardium leviosa." He whispered repeatedly. motioning with his wand, his back to the action. Though his wounded ribs threatened to take from him his breath and his concentration, the unspeakable managed to lift a sizable rock from the piled debris.
Rolling onto his back, his wand pointing at his target, Damian let the missile fly toward the vampire. He was smiling now. Look what they could accomplish when they worked together. They just had to keep focused on Bain, and not each other.
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
Brody tried to focus on everything pertaining only to the small but steady battle going on around him. He knew Goldwasser was beyond dangerous and it was likely that he and the others could be attacked if they did not play their cards right. There was a triumphant moment for him when his spell hit Goldwasser and found it satisfying to hear those yowls. Brody wanted to take advantage of this moment but Goldwasser’s flame got him smack in the center of his chest. Looking down, he saw that the flame had burnt through his clothing and had deeply gashed him. The young man let out a hiss of pain. Not oddly enough, this only made him more determined to get back at the vampire.
For that reason, he sent his spells, ensuring they were well aimed. Quick thinking had him selecting a curse that could work well with Ronan’s. “Locomotor Mortis!” The Leg Locker curse was one that certainly could be handy. And if that wasn’t enough… “Mimble Wimble!” Take that Tongue Tying curse for good measure, Goldwasser!
Damian would be right about them working together, which had been Brody’s aim when he had ordered Damian to shut up earlier and Ronan to focus on the task at hand.
Scottie couldn’t just STAND there anymore once he heard more noises from within the lair, his anxiety and fear bubbling. He couldn’t let Goldwasser hurt more people - and RONAN was in there - and he knew blasting through had been a dumb idea, but he pointed his wand at the small slit opening and sent a well-placed freezing charm on it, icing it in place. He then glanced around at them. “Anyone can transform us into small animals so we can fit through?!” He didn’t trust transfiguring himself but could probably produce it better on someone else.
Wait.
Was that FIRE he was hearing?
Was his frozen-rocks-in-place going to MELT!!????
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"You can justify anything if you do it poetically enough."
Some of the rubble occasionally crumbled to the ground showing that possibly one big blast or even spell could get a clear entrance in or out of the lair and could be a quick way to get out of there.
With more and more of the lair crumbling, Scottie couldn’t stand around and chat anymore - he had to get in there to help them have backup against Goldy. So, without asking or whatever, Scottie sent a blasting spell at the crack that was crumbling to get them all the hell IN THERE.
GOLDWASSER, YOU WERE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.
“BOMBARDA!”
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"You can justify anything if you do it poetically enough."
As the spell blasted it's way through the rubble and debris, it added a bit of oophm! to Pendragon’s levitating rock. But unfortunately knocked it off course. The rock flew past Goldwasser to crash into the wooden table which was so old and rickety it didn’t stand a chance. It splintered and cracked as Pendragon’s rock took it out like a muggle bowling ball took out pins.
As for the rocks and timbers from the blocked entrance? Well, they rained down around the people inside the chamber, hitting the ground with pop-pop noises as the blast noise echoed it’s way back up the entrance.
Boring they might be, but fire like oxygen and unlike the other people in this room, Bain didn’t need to breathe. So effective? Yes, but more than that, it was a tactful move. And fire spells had always been one of his strengths. And what else was a tactful move? Ronan’s Brachiabindo spell. Water splashed his face as the fire rope hit the icy cold air created by Ronan’s freezing spell. A moment later, he felt the cords wrap around his upper arms.
He managed to point his wand at his chest and mutter Emancipare. As the bindings around his arms fell free, felt more wrap around his ankles. Only he realized it too late and took a step forward - face planting on the ground with a loud crash. Or was that the table?
A second later, debris from the blocked entrance rained down on him. He could move, but not much. A beam had pinned him between the shoulder blades. His growling got louder and louder, the longer he was trapped under the stones.
Dem Carters | even 🕊🕊 have pride | | Expecto PAWtronum 🐈 | U-NA-GI
Quiet wasn't a sign of weakness any more than loudness was a sign of strength. After all, there was a reason for the saying 'beware of the quiet ones'. Also, it took a lot of magical strength for nonverbal spells. And magically flinging a rock at anyone? Not at all impressive and could've just been achieved by simply picking up said rock and flinging it. Magic made some people so lazy.
More useful? Brody's Locomotor Mortis. Luckily, his Glacius did exactly what he'd intended, as had his Brachiabindo and the Locomotor Mortis. But then something happened he hadn't been expecting. Ferguson's Bombarda. Which, while it caused pieces of the wall to fall upon them like so many hailstones (and giving him many small surface cuts and bruises), it also effectively added to the trappedness of Goldwasser, so excellent.
And the vampire could growl all he wanted, it wasn't making Ronan any more eager to dig him out. Especially not after the burn on his arm, which was really starting to smart more now that the adrenaline of the moment was starting to wear off. "Hey, guys," he greeted his coworkers with a wary smile, keeping both an eye and his wand trained on the trapped vampire.
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You?
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
Already jumpy, irritated and wanting nothing more than to get out of this dank, dreary room, Brody was left startled when the entrance was blasted away. He had no intention of moving his eye from Goldwasser but the debris on him… instinctively Brody threw up his arms protectively. Rocks scraped his hands and a particularly bigger chunk smacked him hard on the right hand fingers. Pain shot through his entire arm.
Ronan, of course, saved the day. This much the Coordinator realised when he wincingly lowered his arms to take in the scene. It was actually a winning combination of the Auror’s spells and the blast that did the trick. It was satisfying to hear Goldwasser’s growls of rage? Frustration? Defeat? Whatever they were, the vampire was now trapped.
Brody remained silent as he scanned the faces joining them, directing his wand back to Goldwasser. Was Gabriel there?
Already on the ground, Damian was spared the projectile spray of debris when the bombarda removed the impromptu wall he had inadvertently made. What he wasn't safe from was what was left falling down on top of him. The unspeakable did his best to roll out of the way, while his cracked ribs shot white hot pain through his body. Pressing his palms against the cold, stone ground, Damian tried to pull himself to his feet, but something was keeping him down. A pair of stones kept his right leg pinned to the floor.
This was the big moment where the cavalry arrived heroically. But here he was, mere feet from the monster who had been haunting the ministry. Unable to reach his wand, Damian strained and twisted to try and free his trapped limb. "Ugh. Get off."
Trapped under the stones he may be, but he was still armed and he was still powerful. While everyone sat around staring at each other, Bain’s long fingers were sneaking closer to his dragon-shaped Cypress wand. He was trapped. He knew there was no way out, but he wasn’t done fighting. There was nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal vampire after all. He was already forming the curse in his head when his hand closed around the wand. ”Crucio!” he shouted, not caring which of the three men his charm hit, although he hoped it was Carter.
Baguette | there is no D in my name | TRAITORclaw | Queenie of Narnia
Well. That was one way of doing it, Scott Ferguson.
A couple quick, silent strengthening spells were sent at the other rafters in the passage to ensure the rest of it didn't come tumbling down on top of them. And then Penelope rushed in, quickly assessing the scene inside. The rocks and rubble everywhere. The three men there, one with his leg pinned by rocks, the other two still standing, Carter among them. Greetings would have to wait though because there was Bain Goldwasser, pinned but still conscious. Still with his hand on his wand. Casting that spell.
Quick as a cat, her wand aimed at the trapped vampire, she fired off a nonverbal Stupefy, fueled with all the adrenaline and the fury racing through her, followed up with an Expelliarmus for good measure.
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if we fall, we will fall together; and when we rise, we will rise together__________________♥♥♥♥
together we are dangerous; together with our differences; together we are bolder, braver, stronger
Dem Carters | even 🕊🕊 have pride | | Expecto PAWtronum 🐈 | U-NA-GI
Well that moment of triumph lasted about a minute. Ronan saw the vampire's hand moving towards something out the corner of his eye, but realized too late that it was his wand. The spell hit him like so many sharp objects in his skin and fire in his bones and he hit the floor writhing and screaming in extreme agony. Unable to do anything but those two things. Not even think. Just the never-ending, intensely agonizing pain of the Unforgivable racking through his body.
Even when the spell ended, the Auror simply lay on the floor trying to catch his breath. A task that seemed impossible. On top of that, his throat felt scorched from all the screaming and small pockets of less intense pain were still racking his bones. So, yeah, he wouldn't be of much use to anyone for a while. Though he so desperately wanted to return the favor. Maybe even try out some of those tricks for ridding a place of a vampire that he'd read about a stake seemed most plausible at this point.
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You?
He was allowed the briefest moment of pleasure as he heard Carter scream. The only thing that might have given him more satisfaction was if the curse had hit Ferguson, because he didn’t believe for a moment that Ferguson was here to help him. There was the briefest flash of light before his wand was flew out of his hand. The screaming stopped and then a second flash of red before his head smacked the floor.
He was unconscious. But for how long who knew? He wasn’t human after all and spells affected non-humans differently.
Scottie ruuuushed into the lair as soon as his BOMBARDA had, you know, made their entrance a little less than ideal and maybe not at ALL quiet, but it had done the trick, right? So many things happened so fast that his instincts hardly knew where to go first - Goldy was trapped, Ronan was screaming, and one of his colleagues, Damian, was trapped. Scottie wanted to rush over to the now unconscious Goldwater and gloat, but he didn’t.
He jetted straight for Damian, using his wand to try to maneuver the rocks up, levitating them carefully away from atop his leg. “Are your legs hurt? Did anything break?” He asked quickly before looking around. “Someone should, er, tie him up. Or something. Before he wakes up and escapes,” he gestured at Goldy with a nod of his head.
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"You can justify anything if you do it poetically enough."
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
There was nothing Brody could do to shield himself or his companions, for that matter, from the Unforgivable Curse. It all happened so quickly since the next thing he knew was Ronan’s screams filled the enclosure. Brody winced violently. But he froze otherwise, unable to move. There were flashes of light, the screaming eventually stopped and all was still. Was it over? Had Goldwasser been taken down?
With the rest of MLE here to save the day, Brody didn’t think he needed to stick around. He turned and headed for the newly created exit. It was to a Healer he had every intention to take himself to.
He jetted straight for Damian, using his wand to try to maneuver the rocks up, levitating them carefully away from atop his leg. “Are your legs hurt? Did anything break?” He asked quickly before looking around.
"They've been broke before, and this aint it. Cheers, mate." Damian gave a confident smirk to Scottie, before getting unsteadily up to his feet. The pain in his leg was dull thunder compared to the lightning shooting from his ribs. "Thank you, my friend." He found his balance as he clasped a hand on his rescuer's shoulder.
The unspeakable was searching for his wand in the dim blue light, and coming up short. But, he did find a wand, it just wasn't his. Wincing as he bent over, Damian took Bain's wand into his left hand, grasping it tight. A little stiff, a little heavy, but it would do.
In his left hand was strength.
It'd almost be poetic for Goldwasser to meet his end at the hands of the successor of the man he killed. With his own wand, at that. To strike the vampire down with great vengeance and furious anger had increasingly consumed his thoughts since he had first come to the Ministry of Magic. Now his moment was at hand, and soon Bain would be out of everyone's misery.
But in his right was mercy.
And the moment slipped through his fingers. Instead, Damian chose to kneel at Ronan's side, placing his right hand on the wizard's chest. "The worst is over, but your body is still in shock." The man from the Death Chamber knew a hundred ways to kill, but his strongest magic was his compassion. "I'm going to try and sync our hearts. You should feel your muscles relax, and your breathing steady in a moment." Damian said, softly. There was no animosity, absolutely no hint that the two wizards had been at each other's throats only a couple minutes ago.
Bain was under control, for now. The only way to chase away the shadows of the Neo Alliance was to cast off their fear, their anger, and move forward. Together.