Towers - Fred Weasley

82

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EBONY STOOD INSIDE THE WANDSHOP LIKE SHE DID EVERYDAY. The sky was dark and the athmosphere showed a worrisome amount of mist. It was a dark day, she knew this. Summer was nearing but the weather did not show this.  

There weren't many customers at all during the week but when the rain had began tumbling down, it was clear nobody would be showing up. She instead decided to spend her time experimenting a bit more with new wands and new wand cores which she had gathered. 

Snallygaster heartstring and Kelpie Hair were the two wandcores she had received about a couple days ago from none other than Alyx who gathered them from her home in Southern France. Ebony saw the woman as a friend and loved the way she helped her with her job.

The two cores weren't used by Ollivander and Ebony did not know anyone else who did know what they were useful for but she decided to try them out anyways. Wands made of Troll whisker deemed to be very unuseful so she gifted them to Fred and George to sell in their shop as prototype wands which could only create small specks of magic. Great for kids who haven't gotten their letters yet as they were proven legal wands by the Ministry.

Ebony was fiddling with the Kelpie hair as she tried to connect it with the willow wood but it did not seem to want to connect at all. It was weird, usually the cores immediately connect so she could start working it in more. 

The bell above the door rang and made Ebony look up. She hadn't expected anybody to come visit as she was sure the weather would keep people away. She walked over towards the counter but saw nothing. Maybe the wind opened the door and smashed it closed again. It was possible.

When she turned around, she came face to face with a tall person covered by a hood and a mask. It had become a familiar sight by now but her heart still leaped in her chest when she saw the Death Eater mark on the arm of the stranger. For a moment nothing happened, until she was smashed back against the wall behind her and the stranger's hands wrapped around her throat.

"According to our Dark Lord, the wands that were given are fragile, easily sabotagable and completely useless!" A dark voice spoke. Ebony felt the fingers of the stranger cut off her airway. "You will suffer for your crimes--"

Ebony reached down to grab her own wand from her pocket and held onto it tightly. She felt the fingers tighten around her before a bright orange light shot from her wand and hit the Death Eater square in the chest. He fell backwards and hit the counter. She took a deep breath, finally able to inhale oxygen again but she didn't have much time. The stranger had gotten up.

"Reducto!" The man yelled and made the snowglobe -- which Fred had left behind on the counter -- explode. Ebony covered her head and made sure she wouldn't be hit before pointing her wand and thinking of the spell 'Everte Statum'. The words hadn't even left her mouth when the Death Eater flew backwards in a flipping formation and hit the ground. 

She ran over, pointed her wand down once again and thought of the spell 'Incarcerous' to which robes tied up the man on the floor. She took a step closer, squatted down and took away the mask from the man's face to reveal his identity. She recognized him as Gaspar Avery, one of the Death Eaters on the many posters outside. 

Ebony immediately contacted the Aurors whom included Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt. They apparated inside her shop and took the man with them. While this happened, people in Diagon Alley were alerted and somehow the news got to Fred Weasley who rapidly ran down towards Ollivanders. 

"Ebony, not to be that person but I'm sure a visit to St. Mungo's wouldn't hurt." Kingsley stated as he saw her bleeding face. The explosion had made some glass cuts inside her cheek and neck. "I swear you will be able to leave very quickly after a quick check-up."

"Ebs?!" Fred asked and ran inside to see the many small wounds on her skin. The red blood colored her pale skin crimson and she seemed both startled and absolutely exhausted. The fight had drained her energy and the amount of blood she was losing made everyone panic a little. "I'll get you straight to Alyx."

"You're familiar with her, huh?" Kingsley asked with a smirk.

"She's my brother's girlfriend, I think we know her very well." Fred replied and took Ebony's hand before apparating away. He made sure to keep his body protecting hers until they arrived at the Burrow -- where he was sure Bill and Alyx were staying for a couple of days. "Alyx!"

"What do you--?" Alyx shut up the moment she saw Ebony. "What happened?" She asked the Weasley boy before turning to her own boyfriend. "Bill!" The man reached into her trunk and took out a potion which he threw her way. Alyx caught it with ease and walked over to Ebony. 

It looked to Fred as if they had been working together like this for years. "I don't know, I heard about an attack at Ollivanders and found her like this." 

"It was Gaspar Avery, he exploded the snowglobe you got me and the glass flew everywhere." Ebony explained, weakly. Alyx made her drink the potion and let her sit down on the couch. 

"Luckily mum isn't home or else she'd definitely freak out--"

"Oh, my! Dear, what happened to you?!" 

"Too late." Bill mumbled and watched his mom squat down in front of an injured Ebony. The story was told quickly, Fred repeated what Ebony had said moments prior and Molly seemed shocked to say the least. Of course she had to call Remus over and of course he was panicked.

"It's just a few small cuts, okay?" Ebony asked as she tried to keep Remus from worrying too much. "I won the fight, send him straight to Azkaban."

"Do you think it matters whether you won or not?" Remus asked back in a strict voice. "You should've known setting up Death Eaters like that was a cruel mistake."

"What was I supposed to do?" Ebony argued back. "I wasn't gonna let them hurt my Fred and I also wasn't gonna hand them twelve superior wands!" Her voice raised with every word she spoke. "I did what I had to do, if that makes me a target then so be it!"

"We're already targets!" Remus stated. "You are a Black and I was his best friend! We were targets the moment your father escaped Azkaban!"

"Then why do you care so much about what I'm doing with my own life?! Why does it matter that I handed those corrupted wands to the Death Eaters?!"

"Because they won't ever stop." Remus replied, defeatedly. "You made yourself an enemy, you painted a target on your own back, you just gave them a reason to prioritize your death." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "You are powerful, Ebony. So powerful that you create extreme valuable wands, that you manage to cast spells without uttering a word, that you became an Animagus at the age of fifteen." He looked at her with saddened eyes. "They will always want the biggest threats to go first."

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Written: 27/07/2023

Word Count: 1246