Catch Me If You Can, 4th Attack pt1

[Kryshna]

Hogsmeade Village, April 30th, 1973 8:34pm

It was time for the next attack. Kryshna was as healed up as she was going to be while still trying to get this kill done as soon as possible. She was going in weaker, but not exponentially. It was her choice to go in now. She would wait no longer. At this point, the longer they waited, the more time Rutger would have to catch onto her trail. She had already lost on kukri in the last fight with him.

Kryshna had prepared herself this time. She had taken the old scimitar off the wall and had spent a week preparing it, working with it, training with it. The last time she had held the weapon was when she was going in for the attack on Rutger. She was ready for a fight this time. And one kukri and her wand would not be enough.

Kryshna and Leander were waiting in a safe house in Hogsmeade. They were waiting on their contact inside Hogwarts. Kryshna was up and pacing back and forth. Something was wrong. It was early in the night and the vampire was becoming impatient. Her eyes kept flicking back over to Leander, like she knew something was going to go wrong.

She stopped suddenly and turned to look at him. Her intense stare stayed on him for a long moment. This was her leash. This was the thing, the person that took her to where she needed to be and released her when she needed to kill. Despite the harsh environment she was kept in by the Master, Leander had taken care of her, even if he didn’t want to. He had saved her when Rutger’s group had found her. He had sacrificed his blood so that she might heal. She had never spoken a word to him in a language he would understand. She had always known what he had said, though.

She took a crystal out of her pouch and touched her wand to it, muttering words in Arabic once more. The crystal reshaped itself into a small blade that she wrapped with leather cording like a necklace. She walked over to Leander and offered it to him. At that point, she spoke the first words in English that he had ever heard her say.

“Thank you.”

[Leander Zarek]

Leander was feeling uneasy, too. The air felt heavy, like it was closing in on them. And watching Kryshna pace around the room like a caged animal wasn't helping at all. He felt like a lion trainer locked up with his charge.

He was seated, twirling his wand between his fingers in a vain attempt to calm himself. He should have been trying to keep busy, but if he looked over the information about the attack one more time, he was sure he was going to back out. They were so close now... all they had to do was wait for Bellatrix to lead them in. She'd be here any moment.

He watched as Kryshna continued to pace, wondering to himself whether she would stop if he asked her to. He was thinking of trying it when suddenly she stopped and stared straight at him. Her unwavering gaze made him uneasy, and his body tensed. She'd already had a taste of his blood; what if she wanted more?

So what she did next shocked him utterly. He watched as she took out a crystal and transfigured it into a blade. As she held it out to him and thanked him in English, it felt as though she were saying goodbye.

He raised his eyes to hers as he took the blade from her and slipped the cord over his head. "You're welcome," he said, not sure what else to say.

[Kryshna]

The creature sat down in a chair in the room, looking at Leander. In her mind, she searched for the correct English wording to what she was trying to ask. It took her a moment of dead staring at him before she finally found what she was trying to say and spoke.

"Targets... you know them?"

Her English was very broken and thick with a middle eastern accent, but it was a very old accent. No one of Voldermort's people knew anything about Kryshna. Not even her previous handler. She had barely spoken a word to him. It had taken her even longer to allow Leander to know that she could speak English because of what the previous handler had done. Her trust was not easily given, but, bottom line is that this man saved her. That was enough proof for her. She owed him.

[Leander Zarek]

He still felt a little uneasy when she fixed that gaze of hers on him, but he no longer felt any fear. He was beginning to understand her, at least to a point. Brutal and animalistic though she might be, she had a certain code of honor. He had saved her, sacrificed his very own blood for her when she was too weak to regenerate. He hadn't wanted to, but he had done it anyway... and she was grateful. It was almost touching in an odd sort of way.

When she spoke again, he showed no further reaction to her use of English. Clearly, she had understood more than he had realized, and she was reaching out to him in his language.

He nodded. "Yes. I knew them for a time. They once worked for the Master, but they betrayed him. They are strong fighters, both of them.... very knowledgeable about Dark Arts. We're going to have to catch them unaware. Perhaps in their sleep."

[Kryshna]

She nods slowly, turning her gaze away from him for a moment. She pulled out her remaining kukri and looked down at it. The other was missing. Rutger had it. She would have to get that back from him eventually...

She looks back up at Leander and studies him a moment before sliding the kukri back into its sheath. She stands back up and resumes her pacing, occasionally looking towards the door. They were still waiting for their inside contact.

Kryshna didn't like this. She didn't trust people and already had a hard enough time working with Leander. But bringing in someone who she didn't know at all on such an important mission bothered her even more.

"When will female come?"

She glanced at Leander then back to the door.

"We strike tonight?"

[Leander Zarek]

He wasn't sure whether he was more unnerved by her looking at him and speaking with him in her thickly accented, broken English or by her restless pacing.

It was easier for Leander to think of her as a thing, a creature, not as a sentient being with a mind of her own. Yes, she was indebted to him for saving her, and she was no longer a threat.... but somehow the idea that there was someone in there, someone capable of independent thought, who could still perform such butchery, made him uneasy. He was ever aware that she could turn on him in a second, like the trained lion who turns on its master. If she were desperate, who knew just what exactly she could be capable of?

He sighed and glanced up at the clock. Bellatrix would be here soon. He didn't care much for the girl. She was young.... skilled and unquestionably loyal, but still very young. And far too secure in her place with the Dark Lord. But she'd been eager to help with this mission. If the Rothschilds were dead, she would no longer have to stay at the school and spy on them, and she hated her position at the school.

"She should be here soon. It's almost curfew at Hogwarts," he said. "We'll strike tonight," he added as confirmation. He would have been more comfortable if they had taken a little more time to prepare, but Kryshna wanted it this way. And it made a certain amount of sense. The longer they waited, the more time for the aurors on their trail to figure out where they might strike next.

[Bellatrix Black (temporary)]

As it happened, Bellatrix was on her way. She couldn't have been more eager to help out with this little plan. Working as Rothschild's assistant was positively nauseating. The woman was always cooing at her stupid baby and talking to the wretched thing in syrupy tones. It was enough to give Bella cavities. And if that weren't enough, she had to actually help the snot-nosed brats in Defense Against the Dark Arts class... and she had to work in the same building as her blood-traitor sister.

Yes, her Lord had assigned her to work at the school to get close to the Rothschilds, and of course Bella would do whatever her Lord asked. But now, it seemed he wanted to sic his little plaything on the Rothschilds, possibly freeing Bella up for juicier assignments. So of course she was more than willing to help.

It had taken her a little longer than expected to shake Rothschild for the evening. For some reason, the woman insisted on grading papers until almost curfew, and of course, Bella was expected to help. She wondered if the woman noticed that Rabastan's grades had taken a sharp increase in recent weeks.

Once she finally was able to get away from Rothschild, Bella slipped out of the castle and made her way to Hogsmeade to meet with the Death Eater Leander and his little pet. As she approached the place where the safe house was located, she carefully removed all of the protections that the Dark Lord himself had placed. The very last bit was a scrap of paper on which her master had scrawled the address for her. Taking it from her robe pocket, Bellatrix caressed it lovingly for just a moment, because her Lord had once touched it. Then she read the words, concentrated on them for a moment, and tucked the paper back in her pocket. As she thought of the words again, the air in front of her seemed to shimmer, and a small house slowly appeared.

Bella paused to fluff her hair and pull down the neckline of her dress to expose more skin, then at last she knocked on the door.

[Kryshna]

Kryshna's head snapped in the direction of the door as the knock came. Her eyes studied it a moment before glancing at Leander then back to the door. She silently, but quickly moved towards it and her hand landed on the door knob.

Even though she knew who it should be on the other side, her paranoia was very high. She waited for a second before opening the door, remaining behind it and out of sight of the person on the other side.

Once Bella finally stepped inside, the door snapped shut behind her, revealing the Creature standing there, staring coldly at the girl.

[Leander Zarek]

Leander hadn't reacted fast enough. He was still deep in thought, and hadn't heard the knock on the door right away. But before he knew it, the door was open, and Bellatrix was standing there. Kryshna was staring the girl down, and Bella wasn't blinking either. He jumped to his feet and quickly inserted himself in between the two.

"Bellatrix," he greeted the girl. He hadn't had much contact with the young witch in the past, but seeing her now, he could easily understand why she was rumored to be such a favorite of the Dark Lord. She was beautiful, and if he had more time.... but no. No, they had to complete their mission first. Perhaps after, when the Rothschilds were dead and he and Kryshna were safe, then he and Bellatrix could celebrate together....

"You are sure the way is clear?"

[Bellatrix Black]

The door opened, seemingly by itself. Bellatrix took no notice of this, it wasn't uncommon for such objects to take action on their own in response to witches and wizards. Even when it snapped shut she hardly moved, other than to fix a lock of curls that had been blown askew from the movement of the door.

She was not as oblivious, however, to the thing lurking behind the door. Though the creature was clad in black she hardly blended in with the woodwork, at least in this part of the world. Bella turned her head slightly and took in the thing that had apparently let her in. This would be Kryshna; her Lord's attack dog. "She seems friendly," Bella mused in Leander's direction as she stepped further into the room and away from the piercing eyes of Kryshna.

"Good evening, Leander. I hope I haven't kept you two waiting long." She glanced back at Kryshna, almost in amusement, the creature was still just staring at her. "Yes, curfew has been called," she answered his question before giving him a chance to respond to her niceties. Why should she care if he was inconvenienced, she was the one stuck with Rothschild and her incessant working? "We should encounter no problems tonight."

[Leander Zarek]

Leander watched her warily. Perhaps he had been spending too much time with Kryshna, it was making him too suspicious of people. But he had heard a lot about Bellatrix. She could be unpredictable at times, but she was also unfailingly loyal to the Dark Lord. Still, Kryshna was also unpredictable, and if she took a dislike to Bella, there could be a problem. And he'd be the one who would have to diffuse the situation.

"No, it was no inconvenience," Leander assured her, though he would have been very surprised if she actually cared. "The important thing is that it's safe... we can't get caught."

He glanced at Kryshna now. She was even more tense than before, if that was even possible. He couldn't blame her, though. This was far more dangerous than breaking into someone's house or even a hotel room. Even Kryshna couldn't be ignorant of the danger they were facing by walking into the school filled with students, highly skilled professors, and Aurors as guards.

"Ready to go?"

[Kryshna]

Kryshna moved forward, behind this Bellatrix female. She sniffed the air around the girl. The Creature didn't like it. It was a random factor, an unknown. It scowled, taking a step backward then made a wide arch around the girl toward Leander. She kept her eyes on the female as she moved until she finally came to a halt a few feet from Leander and looked at him.

The look she gave him was a look of worry. She knew something was not right. But she also knew she had to go through with it. She quickly did a short nod to Leander before turning back to Bellatrix. The words came out of her mouth in Arabic. Her voice was dark and foreign to this new girl, but the word Leander would recognize to mean she was ready.

"Yalla"

[Bellatrix Black]

Bella wouldn't do anything to jeopardize her status with the Dark Lord, so of course she would take the utmost caution during a mission such as this. Even if hers was a small part, it was an important one. One that her master had obviously planned long ago and simply couldn't divulge his plan until now. She nodded at Leander, it would be safe.

No matter what Leander thought of Kryshna, which was obviously enough to be her 'handler', Bellatrix disliked the creature. And her distaste for the beast only increased as she spoke in a foreign tongue. Bella attempted to hide her sneer, "I suppose she's ready, then?" Bellatrix looked curiously at Kryshna, then back to Leander. "If we are to go, we need to go now."

She eyed Kryshna warily then headed for the door. They would be taking the same passage she took to leave the castle. The opening was just outside the village, hidden by a large boulder in a field of giant rocks. It would take only a few minutes to get there, if they didn't come up against any distractions.

[Leander Zarek]

Leander had already gone farther for Kryshna than he had ever expected. He still felt a mixture of fear and revulsion for the creature, and yet when she had been weakened from the last attack, he had fed her his own blood to help her regain her strength. Of course, if he had failed to do so, there was always the possibility that she would have attacked him and taken what she needed by force instead... and it just seemed a good idea to keep her on his good side.

He didn't look at either of them, instead making a quick mental sweep of the cabin to make sure all was in order. "Yes, she's ready," he said absently, as though he were merely confirming a change in the weather.

At last he raised his eyes to Kryshna again, and a strange feeling seemed to come over him. He had the feeling that after tonight, he would not see her again. And really, what could be next? This was easily the most brazen attack they had yet attempted. They were walking into Hogwarts to commit two murders. Perhaps Kryshna did not understand the significance of that, but Leander did. They would be literally right under Dumbledore's nose. If they weren't caught, it would be a miracle.

He didn't say another word, but these thoughts were heavy on his mind as he followed Bellatrix out of the cabin.

"When we get to the castle, point us in the direction of Rothschild's office, then get to the other end of the castle as soon as possible. And make sure you are seen by someone. You must have an alibi, in case anyone suspects you."

[Bellatrix Black]

She didn't like being left out of the fun, and Leander's words only reminded her that she was only a means to an end in regards to this plan. She wasn't going to be partaking in the death of the woman who was currently making her life a nightmare and who's life was keeping Bellatrix apart from her love. This would be a great moment in history, the night the Dark Lord and his followers broke into the fortress that is Hogwarts and took vengeance on those who scorned the Great Wizard. "I know my part," she replied bitterly.

Bellatrix looked at Leander for a moment as she stopped in front of the boulder that would admit them into the long passage up to the castle. She kept her eyes fixed on Leander as she uttered the incantation. As the form in front of them shuddered slightly, Bella reached out her hand as if to touch it but her fingers were not met with the pressure of stone. The rock was now passable, they could pass through it as if they were ghosts. She stepped inside and raised her wand, "lumos".

"We'll be coming out on the first floor, near the Hospital Wing. You'll need to go past the suits of armor, but I've placed a sleeping charm on them. They won't be a bother." They were getting further into the tunnel now, they were only minutes away from the castle. "Rothschild's office is in the Defense classroom, the oak door at the end of the corridor."

[Leander Zarek]

Unlike Bellatrix, Leander was quite glad that he was not expected to take part in the murder. He liked killing as much as the next death eater, but he preferred the killing curse. It was cleaner... not so... messy. Having seen some of Kryshna's work in the past, he was more than content not to take part in the killings.

His job, of course, was to make his way up to the astronomy tower and put up the Dark Mark. It would be a bit tricky this time, because he wouldn't be anywhere near the murder scene. He wouldn't know the exact moment to conjure the mark, and he'd have to run back down afterward to take Kryshna out of the castle. The chances of being caught were actually greater with his part of the job than with Kryshna's.

Leander didn't respond to Bella, assuming that she didn't really want to hear words of thanks from him. If this worked out, most likely she would get a reward for her part in this from the Dark Lord himself. Leander was pretty sure the only reward he could hope for was another assignment and the chance to continue breathing.

And if it didn't work out... He shuddered at the thought.

He glanced back at Kryshna. When he had been assigned as her "handler," he had sworn to himself never to turn his back to her. He knew that she had some sort of "code" and that she probably wouldn't attack him, but it was still best to keep an eye on her at all times. To this end, he slowed down a little to allow her to catch up.

[Kryshna]

Kryshna didn't pass him. She walked just half a pace behind him. Just enough to where he could see her out of his peripheral vision. Her eyes remained on the ground, a few steps in front of where she was walking. Her hands remained at her sides, her right beside her remaining kukri, her left, where the other should be. It felt wrong... Her left hand kept twitching to the empty sheath. She would have to compensate.

Her scimitar was strapped to her back and ready to be used. Her mind focused on the kill. She had studied the castle they were headed to. She knew where the prey should be located. She knew what paths and hidden passages to go through without being noticed. So what was so wrong?

She had this unnerving feeling in the back of her mind. That damned little voice. But it wasn't just the voice that was making her unnerved. There was something else.

Her mind went back to the previous murder. She analyzed it, worked to figure out what went wrong. It was him, the boy. She had seen those eyes before and it had stopped her in her tracks, distracted her from what she was suppose to be doing. The Creature didn't understand it. The assassin didn't understand it. But there was a very small part of her that did. But that side was so smothered under the other two that it no longer had much of a voice to say anything to the other two.

For now she ignored it. The image of him kept popping up, but she continued to push it to the back of her mind, letting the creature and the assassin rule her mind.

[Bellatrix Black]

They walked on a bit more in silence, Bella was sure they were going over their plans in their heads and she wouldn't disrupt them by making chit chat. Finally the passage took a step slant upwards and she had to put a little more effort into walking at the same pace. This slop didn't last long, and soon enough they were at the end of the tunnel. Their way into the castle was cloaked by one of the suits of armor who normally questions everyone who passed. All of the students hated this particular suit, he was obnoxious, and no matter how hard they tried they could not hex him off his stand. It was Rabastan that had first jinxed it silent and given Bellatrix the idea, though it only lasted about 10 minutes. But that was all they needed tonight. From behind the suit of armor she silenced the him, as well as the others, and emerged slowly into the castle. She eyed the hall carefully, but they were alone.
"That way," she said to Leander, pointing in the direction of Rothschild's office. She looked down the hall behind her quickly, then added, "be careful." Her concern was not for the creature or Leander, but for the mission itself. If they were caught it would put her master's plans in jeopardy. That was unacceptable. She didn't stay any longer, they had work to do and she needed to get as far away from them as possible. She turned and dissappeared down the corridor, on her way to the third floor. She would 'accidentally' run into whomever was on night watch tonight, strike up a conversation about work, and clear her name from what was about to happen.

[Leander Zarek]

Leander stood and watched her go. There were thoughts that night have crossed his mind if they were in a different situation, but now was not the time to allow himself to get distracted. Bella was right; the success of this mission was crucial. If they succeeded, the wizarding world would be in shock--the so-called impenetrable fortress that was Hogwarts broken into, powerful wizards murdered under its very roof. There would be no more doubts about the strength and power of Lord Voldemort.

They could not fail.

Leander took a breath, then turned to Kryshna. "You know what to do," he said. "I will meet you soon."