Just an honest day's work (Aurors and victims only)

Calvin was no hero; he’d never been brave enough – or lucky enough, for that matter – to do anything courageous, but it seemed as though fate had something else in mind that afternoon. Calvin had stepped up to a plate that he never would have dared to turn his eyes in the direction of before then, and for a moment, things had appeared as though Calvin's efforts were to be successful.

What the young man didn’t realize as he rapped against the main entrance of the bookstore, shouting to those within, was neither Batman, nor any other superhero Calvin looked up to, had ever saved the day without receiving some sort of injury.

“Come on – let me in! I’m here to help!” Calvin called. He’d managed to gain control of the fire that had once blocked the group of three from getting to the door, but Calvin had a sinking feeling in his stomach that suggested that the deadly Fiendfyre was sure to return, and would spread fire along the walls of the shop once more. “Hury!” Calvin added, accidentally shouting over the warning that he’d received from Frank Longbottom; the warning that could have saved him from the unbearable pain that he was to experience when the curse that had been fired his way hit him.

“Pick her up! I can bring her St. Mungo’s as soon as you get -” Calvin told the pair of men that had kept the student safe during the attack, but he was interrupted towards the end of his sentence when a bolt of electricity sliced through his back, and continued on through the other side. Calvin’s eyes went wide as he stared through the shop window, and crumbled to the brick road beneath him.

Calvin curled his knees inward, folding into himself on the ground as his tortured screams ripped through the air. Chase! his mind shouted, as he was physically incapable of speaking aloud at that moment. Chase! Please help me… he continued to think as tears slipped down his freckled cheeks, and the volume of his shrieks increase.

Frank's hex reached him, but it had arrived far too late, and did nothing more than flip Calvin over on his other side.

The Fiendfyre saw the moment as an opportunity to make a comeback, as Calvin was no longer aiming the end of his wand at the creature, and quickly slithered back towards the shop’s entrance, engulfing the door frame in flames, and continuing on towards the building’s foundation, where Calvin lay.

A pained scream split through Calvin’s throat, and echoed throughout Diagon Alley.

Rupert cackled with delight as the younger man's screams reverberated around the confines of Diagon Alley, bouncing from wall to wall and right down to the end of the street.

Somehow Crucio always made people scream louder than with any other spell, Rupert had always found, maybe it had something to do with the violent nature of the magic running through the victim's body, maybe it was because it just hurt so damn much. Who knew, all that mattered was that it sounded so much better.

Of course it had to come to an end, too long and you could lose yourself in the sound of their pain, it was always far better to just stop and start again, the destruction of their hope always made things more fun as well.

Sadly the Auror had other plans, apparently, shouting something about the Ministry and how he was now under arrest. Sheesh, some people really needed to pull their heads out of their arses, as if he was going to stop simply because someone told him to.

But magic had that effect sometimes, and when you don't see the explosion of ropes heading your way, they do have a pesky habit of catching you on the unawares.

Grunting as the ropes smashed into his ribs Rupert fell and cursed as he grabbed ahold of one of them, concentrating and feeling his skin burn as the deadly cords froze solid in their place. With a shout of anger he stood up, sending shards of ice flying straight at the Auror, god that trick had taken ages to learn.

"Come now, I'm going for life as it is, do you really think I'm going to let you take me quietly?" He shouted in a mocking tone. "No, I'd far prefer to send you off in a wooden box, Avada Kedavra," He shouted, sending a jet of green light flying in the direction of the slightly more skilled man before turning on his heels and running further up the street in the direction of Gringotts, and away from that dreadful burning bookshop.

Calvin screamed and Frank turned, shouting, "CALVIN!" He did not have a chance to focus on Calvin though. He really had to think about getting this guy back to the Ministry and into Askaban, especially after how he treated Calvin. Calvin was a nice guy, it was hard to be mean to him, let alone as cruel as this terrible wizard was being.

He turned and watched the ropes hit the man and he heaved a few breaths of relief.. This thing was finally getting under control. But the man seized the ropes and they slowly began to turn to ice. Frank felt himself back away and it was for good reason too, because suddenly, shards of ice were hurling towards him through the air.

Frank let out a strangled yell and tried to dive out of the way, though some hit his leg, cutting it up fairly badly, causing him to yell out again. He hit the ground, landing and skidding on his shoulder painfully, his injured, bleeding leg banging against the ground, painfully jarring Frank, making him cry out painfully. He pushed himself up and brought himself to his knees.

Frank opened his mouth at the man's words. but threw himself out of the way of the green jet of light that could take his life. He pushed himself up and took after the man, throwing a tripping jinx after him, followed by, "Immobilis!" knowing that either could very well be what helped bring this man in.

Fear was a good motivator, Rupert had always found. A good motivator to jump that little bit higher if it meant making it over the fence, sprint a little bit faster if it meant making it away from your pursuers, or fighting just a little bit harder if it meant an ultimate victory.

But it was too dodgy, too unreliable. No, fear wasn't going to help Rupert today, he'd decided. For starters he'd suspected that fear would be replaced by adrenaline, something he now knew was true, and also he'd known that potions could have far better results, hence why he'd taken so many, and hence why he wasn't feeling scared to death, but recklessly bold... Why he wasn't feeling pains in his chest, but rather an itching to eat brownies.

Still, all this was really unimportant, because right now Rupert only had one thing he should be thinking about, and that was the pesky Auror chasing him down Diagon Alley.

At least he'd been slowed down though, he could hear the man screaming for his colleague, that had to be at least a small delay. Large enough for him to get into Gringotts for sure, but maybe not enough to ensure his safety once through the great doors.

With that in mind he began looking over his shoulder in the aim of catching sight of his pursuer, maybe even halting him with a well aimed spell.

Unfortunately by the time he did this, the first spell, a tripping Jinx, had flown too close, and it was with a heavy thud that Rupert felt himself hitting the ground, slamming his face into the paved ground with enough force to break his nose.

But really he was lucky to be in this agonising position, as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle as a spell barely missed him, soaring over his prone body and further down the street. "Fidite incadtadteb," he shouted, his words blurred by the blood beginning to seep from his nose, and his spell failing. With a snarl of anger he pointed his wand at his nose and felt it click back into place, though still hurting like all hell.

Cursing inwardly he pointed his wand at his legs and felt them free at once, allowing him to spring to his feet and take in the position of his attacker.

"Tempestas," he shouted, a sense of accomplishment flooding through him as the wind in Diagon Alley picked up, whistling and howling until the windows of all the shops around burst out, the intensity of the wind having been too much for them to bear.

"Confringo," he cried out, aiming through the dust that now filled the street at the blurry figure of the Auror.
"You think you can take me down, it'd take a lot more than you, little man, to best me in combat. Come back with more help, or consider your life forfeit," he shouted, before pointing his wand at the cobblestones below and beginning to lift them, hurling them at random towards the Auror's position.

As the Death Eater's curse lifted, Calvin began in his attempt to climb to his feet - but he only made it as far as his knees before he fell to the ground once more. Every ounce of strength that had once allowed Calvin to stand on his own without support, and to run about in that spastic manner of his, had been drained from him when that bolt of evil magic had met with his spine.

Calvin rested his forehead against the street as he wheezed. Was it possible for that particular Unforgivable Curse to pierce one's lungs? Calvin was not certain, but he was positive that it felt as though it had.

Having remembered the group that he'd previously attempted to free from the burning building he lay beside, Calvin dragged his eyes in the direction of the bookstore once more. His efforts had been for nothing, he realized as the heat of the fire that had spread once more began to burn the skin of his face.

Calvin panted, and with a sudden determination, gave standing another go… but even after having given the attempt his all, he was incapable of such a movement. He slid downward, and return to his original position on his forearms and his knees.

"I..." the young man began to speak, forcing his heavy tongue to move, in hopes of being heard by the innocent child that was lying on the opposite side of the shop's locked doors. He could almost picture her there beside him, despite the barrier that separated the two. "I am going to put this fire out..." he added, though his words did not sound nearly as strong as he'd desired, as he was having quite a bit of difficulty speaking. "I..." Calvin began again, but he did not get the chance to finish his sentence, for he lost consciousness just after he'd uttered that single letter.

The last of the tears that Calvin had cried before passing out, fell from his partially closed eyelids, and met in a miniscule puddle just below the side of his face.

Frank Longbottom was on his own.

Brian had not been planning on exactly making an announcement of the fact that his resignation from the aurors had never been accepted. And he wasnt' planning on doing it today either. But Fate seemed to have other plans. He had been minding his own business, coming into Diagon Alley, and he seemed to be coming up behind some kooky dark wizard who had taken it upon himself to mount all sorts of havoc. He sighed, frustrated, drawing his wand, as he watched Frank and Calvin trying to take him on and finding it a struggle. He apparated himself right in front of Frank and Calvin. Perhaps they would appreciate a bit of backup, he thought.

"Contego!" he shouted, surrounding them with a shield.

"Hey, Ugly!" Brian shouted. "You want a dueling lesson? I'll give you one! Expelliarmus!" He sent a powerful blast from his wand towards the dark wizard.

The arrival of yet another Auror on the scene only served to make Rupert even happier, in his opinion things were only just about to get interesting... until now he'd been facing a one sided battle with no chance of his own defeat, now it seemed as though he was at least going to have to put some sort of effort into besting his opponents.

And this newcomer... well, Rupert did have to admit that the man had a decent amount of style, and judging by the effectiveness of his shielding charm, it was accompanied by a decent amount of power too.

"Come on, we're not resorting to name calling are we?" Rupert drawled, flicking his wand lazily and deflecting the oncoming disarming spell out of harms way. "Aren't we two civilised men?" He asked, smirking challengingly at the newcomer who's spells didn't seem to reflect the power he appeared to hold.

"However I can't just let that slide, sticks and stones brother, sticks and stones. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to be mean to others? Conjuntiva!" He cast, pointing his wand at Brian and sending a conjunctivitis curse his way. "Didn't she ever tell you to play nice? Bombarda!" He shouted, this time aiming his spell at Brian's feet with the aim of blasting them off... or distracting him, whatever worked best. "Didn't she ever tell you that you should play with kids your own age? Sectumsempra!" He cried out, flourishing his wand with as many movements as possible to cut more and more with his spell.

"Well, clearly one of us is civilized. I'm not sure what your mama did to you that you're not, but whatever," Brian shrugged. "And my daddy taught me to stop anybody in their tracks who is doing their best to make other people miserable for just for kicks and giggles."

He let his shield hold to ward off the Conjuntiva. The bombarda blew away bricks at his feet, but Brian never took his eyes off his opponent as the shrapnel from the bricks hit his feet and his shins. The sectumsempra slashed across his shoulder just as Brian was mounting his shield again.

"Contego!" he shouted, firing a strong shield around him and his fellow aurors. "Langlock! Evanesco!"

Frank had managed to close the gap between himself and the man when he lept up and sent a spell at him, but he flung himself out of the way, hitting his head hard against the ground. For a moment, he could not move, stunned by the pain. He saw a spell coming towards him and tried to roll, though his jacket caught fire. He managed to fling it off and in the process, take out the fire, though his wrists and fingers blistered with the heat. He looked up and saw large stones hurling towards him. He let out a cry and flicked his wand, exploding the one closest, sending rubble onto him.

Frank pushed himself up and the world spun around him momentarily. He stumbledf backwards and heard a shout. Brian Quinn had arrived to help. Frank let out a sigh and raised his wand to his head, healing his injuries as best he could. The men began dueling and Frank threw a shield charm towards Brian and Calvin before pointing his wand at the bad man. "Stupefy!"

Rupert threw his wand up just in time to block the older Auror's spells, feeling the energy crackle just through his shield as Rupert pondered his choice.

"Evanesco? You were trying to curse me into oblivion?" He asked, a skeptical tone in his voice. "Bit morbid for an Auror isn't it? Would that even work on a human?" He shouted, shaking his head with a disappointed look on his face, the man was desperate... or deluded, regardless, Rupert almost felt sorry for what he was about to do.

"Enough of the silly games," he called out, "I'm done playing, and I'm done with you, Avada," he shouted, turning as he tried to curse Brian, only just noticing Frank rising.

Now, the funny thing about thinking someone's done, is that when they curse you you don't really see it coming.

It was because of that whole 'Surprise' thing, that Rupert found himself on the receiving end of a stunner, shot from the wand of one of his opposing Aurors, cutting him off mid-curse and sending him to the ground, a jolt of paralysis spreading through his joints, locking them into place.

Crap