Chasing Freedom {Book 3: Chasing Butterflies}

Chapter 8: All Too Familiar

Hey everyone! Sorry once again for the delay. The last few months have been crazy! Class is over now (at least for a little bit) and I have less than 3 weeks to go for my wedding. So I dunno if I'll have another chapter up before then (I hope I'll be able to, but no promises), but I'm holding myself to getting the other two stories uploaded by then too. Came up with a plot twist today for this story with MrsDButler, so dedication goes to her. :P Hope you all enjoy, and aren't too mad at me for my delay. :P

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"You could try to take us, but victory's contagious." –Glory and Gore, Lorde

          When Audrey had decided to go out to dinner, the last thought on her mind was dealing with any type of attack. But the girl should've known better. While the folk attending the restaurant with their loved ones had nothing to offer the Death Eaters, it certainly didn't stop them from launching a full out attack on the eatery.

            It had taken a few moments for the girl to realize what was going on. It wasn't until a spell narrowly missed her head that Audrey was fully aware of the situation. Before she had time to react, she felt someone push her from her chair, and then pull her behind a nearby wall. She went to protest, until she realized it had been Draco, who now stood in front of her in a defensive pose, peering around the corner as he fired off spells towards what everyone was now fairly sure were Death Eaters.

            She patted her pockets, trying to remember which of them she had stowed her wand in. Audrey began to panic when she checked the last pocket and realized she didn't have it. Just my luck, she thought.

            "Bloody hell," she mumbled out loud. "Of all times to leave my damn wand at home..."

            Draco shot his wife a stern look over his shoulder. "You have got to be kidding me right now. Seriously? You didn't bring it with you?"

            Audrey shrugged. "Wasn't really planning on being attacked."

            Draco averted his attention back to the battle raging on around the corner. "We'll talk more about this later. Just stay back."

            The girl rolled her eyes; she was never going to hear the end of it if they made it out of there alive. Since she was of no use in battle, she began to scan the part of the restaurant she could see, trying her hardest to find a possible escape route. There were windows, but there was no way to get through them without getting cut. And then she spotted a door towards the back of the hallway. From what Audrey could tell, it led towards the outside. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be outside, as the Death Eaters could very well have them surrounded, but it had to be better than it was in the restaurant.

            She looped her arm around Draco's and pulled him away from the corner, with him still trying to hex anyone who came too close or tried to curse them. Audrey led him down the hallway, glancing over her shoulder to see if anyone was following them. She was glad to see only her husband and her friends as she reached the door. The group pushed their way through the emergency exit and out into the street. Not that that was any better.

            It was mass chaos. Audrey hadn't seen such confusion and disorder since the final battle. Witches and wizards were running in nonsensical patterns across the street, trying their hardest to get away from the evil that was unfolding inside the restaurant, and surely other buildings throughout Diagon Alley.

            "Well this isn't much better," Fred retorted.

            "Got any better ideas?" Audrey shot back, growing ever more irritated by the situation.

            Before Fred could respond, there was suddenly an explosion from behind them, knocking the group from their feet. Audrey braced herself as she flew through the air, preparing for when she inevitably went skidding across the pavement. She felt the concrete scrape across her arm and tear a hole through her jeans, scratching her upper thigh in the process. Audrey counted her blessings that she had landed the way she did; her arm and legs took most of the impact, hopefully meaning the baby was alright. She would be sure to get checked out later, just to be safe, but for now she shook the thought as she struggled to sit up.

            Pushing some of her hair from her eyes, Audrey looked around, trying to figure out where Draco, Fred, and Krystie had landed. Sure enough, they weren't too far away from her, all in varying states of injury. They were all trying to do the same thing, each with a difficulty of their own, it appeared. Before any of them could ask each other if they were okay, three figures emerged from the smoke and debris from what was once one of the walls to the restaurant. Audrey studied the figures hard, but couldn't make out anything outstanding; they were all wearing hoods, shielding their faces from view.

            The girl squinted up at them while they approached her and her friends as Draco somewhat shifted towards her in an attempt to protect her from the Death Eaters. The three Death Eaters stopped only feet in front of them, something that was enough to make Audrey's skin crawl with both fear and rage. All three of the hooded figures looked down at them, the two on the ends snickering lightly to themselves. The one in the middle, also the tallest of the three, silenced them with a simple gesture of his hand.

            "Haven't you two been warned enough already?" he hissed, glancing between Audrey and Draco. Audrey swore his voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it right then- mostly due to her ears still ringing from the recent explosion. "If you don't stop meddling, I will have no choice but to put a stop to it personally," he went on. "You should consider this your final warning."

            "Are you sure that's how you want to handle them?" one of the other hooded figure's added; Audrey was somewhat shocked when she heard a woman's voice speak.

            "Yes," the one in the middle mused.

            Although Audrey couldn't see Draco's face, she was almost certain that he rolled his eyes before he said, "We're not afraid of you, nor are we going to just let you start another revolution."

            "We'll just have to see about that," the tall Death Eater retorted. "See you around, Draco." He glanced at his companions, and then they were off in a flurry of black smoke.

            The two couples sat uncomfortably on the ground, all still pretty mystified by what had just happened. They had just been face to face with Death Eaters, and had been let off with a warning, while just a few moments ago they were killing people inside the restaurant. Something about the whole situation was suspicious, and it couldn't just be a coincidence that they were left alone.

            "Well that was strange," Krystie said, wincing slightly from her injuries.

            "Tell me about it," Audrey muttered in agreement.

            "Let's just... forget about them for a moment," Draco joined the conversation. "Right now we all obviously need medical treatment."

            Audrey had to agree with him there. Every moment was more agonizing than the last. She glanced down at her arm, and immediately regretted it. Blood was steadily pouring out of the cuts, dirt and debris caught inside them. She didn't even want to imagine what her leg looked like. "That may be a good idea," she sighed. "The sooner we get help, the sooner we'll feel better. And the sooner we can get to the bottom of what the hell just happened."

            It certainly was strange, but the strangest bit of it all was how familiar the one Death Eater's voice was. This was someone Audrey knew, undoubtedly, though she didn't know who. That made the situation all the more deadly, just when she was thinking it couldn't have been any worse.