Kaleidoscope || t. scamander

Bloodbath

Roo and Theseus stared in horror at the unfamiliar figure -- whom they'd thought was Credence -- staring back at them with wide, confused eyes.

"Wha-What--" Theseus choked on his saliva, "--Who are you?" 

The individual's clear grey eyes swept back and forth between the two aurors with panic settling over his pale features, "P-Please don't hurt me!" he squeaked as his arms came up in an attempt to hide away. 

Roo cleared her throat, "We're not here to hurt you." the words she spoke didn't sound real, didn't seem like her own. She felt far away and detached from the whole situation, her mind still boggled at the fact that they had failed. 

But she wasn't ready when the senior auror suddenly pulled out his wand and stuck it under the shaking man's chin, "What are you doing here? Who sent you?" 

"Th-They forced me to!" He squawked back, half-offended and half-traumatized by the said wooden stick, "They said they'd take my wife away if I didn't!" 

"Who did?!" Theseus growled.

A prolonged silence ensued. The man's head dipped down in what seemed to be a shameful position, and yet, Theseus pushed his wand even harder against his throat, practically jabbing at him. 

"Talk." The auror growled. 

"Gr-Grindlewald." 

Roo's heart dropped to her stomach. They both stared the man down with such shocked expressions that their jaws would've hit the floor if it could. Silence hummed in the background. 

Shit. 

Theseus dropped his wand from the man's chin and the latter's face filled with relief. But it was short-lived, for the said auror instantly knocked him out with a spell just a few seconds later. 

"Theseus!" Roo protested while gaping at the now unconscious figure sprawled across the floor. When she turned her gaze onto the said man, he gave her a shrug before he spoke, "Easier than chasing him down the street." His face was set in stone, serious and gaze practically blazing with determination and pure loathing, "We need to go. We need to go now." 

She would've argued with him, if not for the expression on his face that told her it was probably wise not to. So she just nodded, pulling the unconscious man by the arm before Theseus grasped onto her shoulder. 

Crack!

They apparated right in the middle of an ocean of wizards running for their lives. Roo dodged a man that would've thundered right through her body without a passing glance, and was glad that the auburn-haired auror used his tall frame to get them to a place of mild safety, away from the millions of scurrying panicked people. 

"Theseus," Roo's eyes darted right and left at the panic roaring through the crowd. Waves and waves of wizards kept crashing through and distant sounds of screams made her shudder impulsively, "What do we do?" 

The fear was obvious in the creases of his face. But he clenched his jaw, determination flickering through his eyes, "We need to find him. There's a good chance there's still in the Court room if people are coming from that direction." 

"Okay, but what do we do with him?" She nodded down at the man's figure. 

"Leave him be, for now. He probably just got hired to do the job." he turned towards the crowd, took a deep breath and glanced back at her over his shoulder, "Let's go." 

She was glad that he was so tall, for it seemed easier for him to find his amidst the crowd of bustling bodies shoving and pushing past each other. But that was easier said than done. People were panicked and scared and kept screaming in each others' faces, so much that the young wizard found herself countless times struggling to push through and keep up with her senior's pace.