This is stupid. This is so stupid!
Already panting, already stumbling, my body’s pathetic performance is more proof than anything of my thoughts. Yet, still I ran. Still I rushed toward the danger as fast as my untrained, malnourished, and incredibly gangly legs could take me.
The very notion of helping had scarcely entered my mind before I charged toward the source of the screams at best speed. That speed being that of a bloody turtle, but I hardly had the presence of mind to do anything about it.
Danielle had been left behind after a brief, cursory check to see if she was okay.
Once I’d confirmed that she wasn’t hurt, my traitorous limbs were already moving. And I had absolutely no doubt that they were taking me to my death.
I wasn’t ready. I was so not ready for a magical confrontation of any kind, and what else could this be? This was a Veela colony. There was only one reason anyone would attack it, given how capable these women likely were in a fight.
What the hell did I think I could do that would make a damned bit of difference?
Did my body obey the good arguments my mind was making against this folly? Of course, not! So, I kept racing past scared children as their mothers bundled them up and took them indoors. I kept running towards the rising cloud of smoke and dust, as flashes of fire and light were already clashing.
And I was actually going toward it!
When I finally came across the first evidence of collateral damage, my lungs were burning, and my legs were leaden. At this point, I was afraid that if I stopped moving, I would just fall over. So, instead of coming to a standstill, I just slowed my pace to scan my surroundings.
Several Veela were moving chunks of stone walls that had fallen over unfortunate victims. Debris was being cleared, though the reason for it currently escaped me.
People covered in dust, blood, and tears were being guided toward safety, but that was only because a few meters away, women were exchanging spells with men in dark robes. Some were tossing fire, already transformed into their more avian bodies. Others were casting with their wands, and the sight of those little sticks reminded me that I had one of my own.
Having run here without an actual plan, I had to wonder what I even intended to do, but nothing came up.
Even as I watched, one of the transformed Veela was cut down by a curse I didn’t recognize. And since I had Snape’s memories, that was saying something.
Taking out my own wand, my mind went on overdrive.
At first glance, we were dealing with a large group of attackers. Two dozen, at least, and they were all capable combatants. From what I could see, the women were holding their own, but they were no warriors.
Whoever these bastards were, they relied on aggression and fast-paced assaults to overwhelm their opponents. Likely a tactic to get in, get out, and laugh as they run away with their prizes. If I were with an experienced and highly-trained force, we could beat them with tactics and coordination.
Since I was basically on my own, there was only one realistic solution to this predicament: use their own methods against them.
Additional good reasons to go this route are my lack of martial training and my body’s extremely bad state. I simply didn’t have the instincts, muscle memory, or physical capacity to prosecute prolonged engagements.
What I did have was an as-of-yet unexplained gift for casting certain spells with practically no limit.
So, combining that with my own perspective on modern combat and the few practice sessions I’ve been able to do these last few weeks, I levelled my wand at the closest cackling raider. There was half a second of doubt as to whether or not I was even capable of what I was planning, but a whisper of reassurance came from the back of my mind.
I wasn’t sure where it came from, but it finally eased my worries on this score.
Visualization clear. Intent primed. Will engaged.
Paint the world red.
As soon as the thought formed, a rain of Stunning spells fired rapidly from the tip of my wand at blistering speeds. And I do mean blistering.
My target had no chance at all to block or dodge because there was simply no feasible way for him to do so. I essentially saturated his immediate surroundings with Stunners only a fraction-of-a-fraction of a second behind one another.
This was something percolating in my head since arriving in this world and accepting the very real possibility that I’d have to fight.
I would neither be duelling nor sparring with Death Eaters. They would be trying to kill me, and I had to find a way to not let them do that. My answer was neither elegant nor traditional, but it was damn effective.
From the way the battlefield froze in shock at my performance, with the participants watching the lump of meat that just got hit by nearly a dozen jets of red light crash to the ground, I succeeded. Naturally, as I was the one to come up with this strategy, I was also intimately aware of its weakness.
Taking cover behind an intact wall corner just in time, lethal spells careened past my previous location.
Oh, yes. I’d just made myself a target to be eliminated ASAP.
Brilliant.
Good news: I had successfully alleviated the pressure on the Veela, who were getting overwhelmed.
Bad news: That pressure was now on me, and I was completely unprepared for how messy a battle really was. Case in point, I was hacking up a lung as dust came with every panting breath, which made the panting worse since it was now wet and wheezing.
Moving along the wall in a crouch wasn’t the easiest thing to do while occupying an incredibly unathletic body, either. Christ on a cracker, I knew this was a bad idea!
I’d already been pushing my luck with the comparatively mild exercises that I had been doing instead of just letting the potions do their job and allowing this body to rest and recover. But considering the time constraints I was working with, I thought that it was a good trade-off.
Apparently not.
My mind was already swimming, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of magical strain, oxygen deprivation, or just plain exhaustion.
Stopping to figure it out would be a bad idea, though, as exemplified by the corner wall exploding into bits just as I shuffled to the other end. I guess I really messed up their plans if they were this intent on killing me.
As to what I was doing, my next move was simple: a flanking maneuver.
Only idiots stayed in one place during a fight without a damn good reason, like covering the retreat of allies. You either get out of Dodge, or you find a way around to take down your enemies from behind or the sides.
I’m going for the latter. Why? I honestly couldn’t say.
This part of the village appears to have been cleared out, so I managed to weave my way past residences and shops through the windows and side doors. From the sounds of things, the attackers have turned their attention back on the Veela. So, they either decided to reprioritize or they thought they’d gotten me.
Both were fine, as it meant I wasn’t the center of their ire, for the moment. That was about to change.
Carefully leaning over the window I was crouched behind, I saw several members of the raiding group with stunned and trussed Veela on the ground. Yep, I was proven right. These guys were here to capture and enslave, likely selling their captives to wealthy buyers.
I could count at least twenty bound figures, four guards, and… is that a cage? The thing was encased in solid steel walls and a large door with a narrow gap with bars. Small air holes were drilled along the seams, too.
Are they using that to transport people?
Sick bastards.
Two of them were arguing fiercely, though I couldn’t understand what they were saying.
Among the tied-up bodies were the very young, which lit a fire in my belly. Fire that I had to control. If I used anything lethal here, there’s a chance that I would hit innocents. So, making note of the positions of those standing guard, I made my move.
Honestly, if I were better trained or this body were more physically capable, I would’ve preferred to do this quietly. Beggars can’t be choosers, though, so I went with what already worked.
One went down from my hailfire of Stunners just as easily as my previous target. The second noticed and managed to move to the side, but couldn’t escape so many jets of light sent his way. The third conjured a shield that actually held the first few impacts until the bubble of protective magic was overpowered.
Weirdly enough, the fourth didn’t try to dodge, protect himself, or cast a spell in my direction. Instead, with wild eyes and a face contorted in rage, he waved his wand toward the cage before going down.
Thinking that his last move was intended to make the captives impossible to retrieve or a similarly despicable last-ditch middle finger to rescuers, I ungracefully vaulted over the window, nearly face-planting as a result, and stumbled toward the bound captives in a rush.
As it turns out, I was completely wrong in the worst possible way.
The asshole wasn’t trying to trap the people they tied up. He was unlocking the cage, and thus, releasing what the large door was keeping inside.
With a thunderous bang, the heavy slab of steel was thrown outward, and a massive form leapt out. Lithe, sinewy, four-legged, and bristling with spines and teeth. The newcomer had elongated jaws, sharp claws, and, for some God-forsaken reason, actual mandibles. It even made disturbing clicking sounds, and its four eyes somehow glowed with malevolence.
My first thought went thusly: As final lines of defense go, this one is pretty good.
My second thought, which was more meaningful to my survival, went thusly: I’m so fucking fucked.
I had just enough time to feel relieved that it didn’t land anywhere near the hostages before being forced to reorder my priorities. Whatever this monster was, it was rushing toward me, and I now had to be chiefly concerned with my own survival.
Running back the way I came, I carelessly dived through the window. It was timely, too, as the beastie was apparently just inches away from clamping its jaws around my neck. So, as I rolled like a ragdoll from my inexpert feat of forward motion, it smashed through the stone walls with its much larger body, careened through the air, and crashed through a wooden staircase where it got buried by debris.
Not questioning my luck, I pushed myself upright with trembling limbs before making for the door as fast as my stumbling form could manage.
Two seconds later, I heard the snapping of wood and the crunching of stone as the thing dug itself out. By this point, I was out on the street and making for the space between two buildings. Narrow enough for someone as thin as me to pass through, but not anything too big.
A great way to restrict the movements of a giant bug-dog thing that’s far too fast for its size.
No sooner had I crossed into the gap than I felt burning pain on my back, where strips of flesh and skin got torn by sharp claws. A strangled cry escaped me even as the force of the blow sent me sprawling forward.
Allowing momentum to put more distance between me and the alleyway’s entrance, I let myself tumble further in instead of trying and likely failing to keep my footing. When I looked up, I saw it had been the right move, as the creature was swiping frantically just a foot away and above me.
Its limbs and claws might be long, but not long enough, what with the rest of its body held back by the tight passageway.
Seeing my chance, I pointed my wand at its ugly form, ignoring the screaming pain coming from my back, and let loose bolt upon bolt of Stunners at its oversized body. The impacts launched the living nightmare backward, and for one glorious moment, I thought that it was down.
But to my horror, it immediately righted itself and let out a warbling screech.
My mind had just enough time to wonder how it shrugged off enough spells that would have put a dragon to sleep before the thing launched itself against the mouth of the alley again. The weight and power of its collision caused the two buildings to shake, but thankfully they held.
Seeing that it wasn’t getting any closer to me, though, it pulled its arm back and began scrabbling over the wall.
This was my signal to start running.
And so I did.
My hurried passage was accompanied by the rattling symphony of claws against tiles, stone, glass, and wood, making the source of the racket impossible to pin down. Was it skittering to my left? My right? Above?
Somehow, not knowing for sure ratcheted up my dread more than the idea of facing it again.
At least I knew that I could knock it back with enough Stunners.
Just to prove me wrong, though, the space I just passed with my shuffling gait was showered in splinters of brick, stone, and dust as the creature smashed through the wall. The shriek that escaped me as I was forced to dive away would have definitely been described as girly, but that was of little concern. The bigger issue was the jump scare that this thing was apparently capable of.
And as I watched it pull its limbs, head, and torso back into the hole it made, I had to wonder exactly when I switched from urban fantasy to horror.
The thought didn’t linger, though, as I was running again.
Never in my life did I think I would play the role of a damsel constantly tripping over their feet, but here I was.
Another smash through the wall, and another swipe with its claws threw me against a stack of crates, nearly shattering my shoulder. Fear, pain, and rage momentarily overrode good sense, and I sent several Bombarda spells at the retreating monster.
The aftermath immediately reminded me why I decided to stick to Stunners, as the building began to collapse around me.
Nothing else mattered after that except for escape.
Ignoring the large chunks of the wall cascading down around me, I ran. I also ignored how the other building’s facade was bending inward as its opposite now leaned against it. I even ignored the crack of snapping bone as one of the heavier pieces landed on my shoulder.
Spending even a moment considering any of those would mean my death.
Before I knew it, I managed to come out the other side mostly intact and immediately collapsed on the street. Lying facedown, I found breathing nearly impossible, as my lungs seemed to be filled with more fluids than air.
Even my fingers proved uncooperative as they slackened their hold on my wand. So much so that most of my focus was directed toward just keeping a grip on the stick.
It was undeniable now.
My stupidity put me in a predicament that was beyond my current capabilities.
Jumping into battle so soon was beyond foolish. I already knew this. I knew it from the start, yet I did it anyway.
I couldn’t even blame the hormones this time. At least, not entirely.
Snape was a Slytherin, not a Gryffindor. He wouldn’t have gotten involved. No, he would’ve taken the Portkey and escaped, which is exactly what I should have done.
But I couldn’t just do that, could I? Couldn’t ignore the cries of children. Couldn’t leave the Veela to their fate.
Never mind the fact that they would have contingencies for these kinds of scenarios. They would’ve had to, considering how tempting a target they were for human/magical species traffickers.
Mustering the last of my strength, I decided that I’d done enough.
The captives could be retrieved, the attackers distracted, and the colony’s defense made easier by taking a total of five raiders off the board. Anything more than that is beyond my current self, and I wasn’t going to die just to be a damn hero.
Finally getting to my feet, I was just looking around to get my bearings when a thunderous landing down the street informed me of my pursuer’s reappearance. I immediately went in the other direction without bothering to check, as that could cost me precious seconds.
It didn’t matter, though.
After only a few steps, I was snatched off my feet by a powerful grip that was threatening to crush me. Operating entirely out of instinct and blind panic, I started casting every spell that I could think of, both with my wand and my hand. All of them directed at the snarling face of the beast.
Spurts of green blood from Diffindos, gouts of flames from Incendio, and blastwaves from Bombardas filled the air.
Miraculously, it let me go. Unfortunately, it did so in a way that I hadn’t intended.
Instead of just dropping me on the ground, the monster reared its arm back, and I only had a heartbeat to realize what was about to happen before I was flying through the air.
The bastard threw me! Like a pitcher slinging a baseball down the field!
Wind whipped at my face, and the constant spinning threatened to make me hurl, but what really caused the most concern was the rapidly approaching side of a large building.
I knew that if I didn’t do something in the next two seconds, I’d be a bug on a windshield.
Unfortunately, whether it’s due to exhaustion or shock, my mind had blanked.
I honestly couldn’t think of anything.
Absolutely nothing.