Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [7]

⚡️ Chapter 11 ⚡️

"Stupefy!"

Vega's wand was pointed right at the two workmen who had entered the café moments before, and who had not expected her to notice them or their suspiciousness. Ron, a few seconds late in realising what was going on, lunged across the table, pushing Hermione sideways onto her bench just as the Death Eaters retaliated to Vega's move.

The force of the Death Eaters' spells shattered the tiled wall where Ron's head had just been but Vega's Stunning Spell hit the great blond Death Eater in the face. He slumped sideways, unconscious and Vega jumped forward to fight against the other one.

His companion, fired another at Ron: Shining black ropes flew from his wand-tip and bound Ron head to foot – the waitress screamed and ran for the door – Harry sent a Stunning Spell at the Death Eater with the twisted face who had tied up Ron, but the spell missed, rebounded on the window, and hit the waitress, who collapsed in front of the door.

"Expulso!" bellowed the Death Eater.

At once, the table behind which Harry was standing blew up – the force of the explosion slammed him into the wall and he felt his wand leave his hand as the Cloak slipped off him. Vega waved her wand, making the Death Eater's wand fly away –

"Petrificus Totalus!" screamed Hermione from out of sight, and the Death Eater fell forward like a statue to land with a crunching thud on the mess of broken china, table, and coffee.

Hermione crawled out from underneath the bench, shaking bits of glass ashtray out of her hair and trembling all over. Vega marched forward to look at the Death Eaters, her fingers clutching tightly around her wand in case they freed themselves.

"D-diffindo," Hermione esaid, pointing her wand at Ron, who roared in pain as she slashed open the knee of his jeans, leaving a deep cut. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Ron, my hand's shaking! Diffindo!"

"Be careful," Vega warned them.

The severed ropes fell away. Ron got to his feet, shaking his arms to regain feeling in them. Harry picked up his wand and Vega climbed over all the debris to where the large blond Death Eater was sprawled across the bench, looking down to see who he was.

"He was there the night Dumbledore died," Vega commented. "I should've recognised him... I believe his name is Antonin Dolohov?"

"That's Dolohov," Ron confirmed, nodding at the pseudo-blonde. "I recognise him from the old wanted posters. I think the big one's Thorfinn Rowle,"

Vega turned over the darker Death Eater with her foot; the man's eyes moved rapidly between her, Harry, Ron and Hermione. She pursed her lips in annoyance.

"Never mind what they're called!" Hermione said a little hysterically. "How did they find us? What are we going to do? Vega? What are we –"

"Listen to me," Vega instructed. "Hermione, you lock the doors, and Ron, turn out the lights," She glanced at Harry. "Harry, your appearance is out. Get your Cloak around yourself quickly,"

While the others scrambled to do as they were asked, Vega looked back down at the paralysed Dolohov, thinking fast for their next move as the lock clicked by Hermione and Ron used the Deluminator to plunge the café into darkness. Vega could hear the men who had jeered at her and Hermione earlier, yelling at another girl in the distance.

"What are we going to do with them?" Ron whispered to Vega through the dark; then, even more quietly, "Kill them? They'd kill us. They had a good go just now,"

"I'm not very fond of killing," Vega said as she jerked Dolohov's face away from them. "But you're right in saying that they would've killed us. Or well, you two and taken Harry and I,"