Revenge | JEONGIN

Twenty

"It's time, guys."

The Aurors, Alese, and Jeongin were gathered around the Auror Office, with a map and the various routes marked on it and some marked places where they could find Ella and Tom with the rest of the Death Eaters. The group was going to move all together, so they didn't lose any encounter they could have with the enemy. The pockets and bags were full of potions, the wands were drawn, the itinerary was set, it was time to begin the operation. The first location was a known one for having Death Eaters around, despite being an almost totally abandoned area, Knockturn Alley. The group passed through the road where Tom and Ella were seen by Felix, and they even investigated the dead end where they disappeared but nothing.

"Was it here where they disappeared?" Chan asks Felix.

"Yeah... They rushed through here and just disappeared all of a sudden." Felix describes one more time.

Chan tried to throw something at the wall, to see if it was a fake wall, where they could have gone through it, but the little rock got kicked back by the wall. Jeongin was standing between the footprints left by Ella, Tom, and Felix on their last meeting there. The boy sighs, trying to contain his tears in, thinking on the worst scenarios. He took deep breathes and tried to focus on the investigation as if it was a normal victim. Alese got closer and stopped behind Jeongin, who was trying to understand if they were there some hours ago, after disappearing from Ella's house. The blonde woman noticed the sad and heavy mood of Jeongin, who was probably blaming himself for not making enough effort to protect Ella or incriminate Tom sooner.

"I need you to focus, or we won't find her," Alese asks for Jeongin's total attention.

"I'm doing the possibles and impossibles to find something, but being on the field isn't my specialty." Jeongin gets mad at himself and kicks the air, wanting more from himself, even though he knows his inexperience on the matter at hand.

"And do you think it's mine too? Do I look like Indiana Jones for you?" Alese tries to cheer up the poor boy and make him calmer.

"What do you think he did something to her?" Jeongin looks for a more appealing reality than the ones he imagined.

"I don't think he'd touch her. Somehow in that deep black heart of his, he actually managed to love her." Alese doesn't give the reply that Jeongin was looking for, but it was already good enough to hear the typical scary Slytherin.

Jeongin let out a little smile, giving a feeling of mission accomplished to Alese, who said goodbye to him and went back to Malfoy, who was running the whole operation, due to his recent injuries and to Alese not letting him do the hard work. Malfoy was talking with two Aurors specialized on secret passages so they could look into the wall in the dead end where Ella and Tom disappeared.

"How is he handling the situation?" Malfoy asks his woman about Jeongin.

"Not good as expected." Alese gives obvious information.

"Yeah, I can imagine... I mean, I can't, because I never lost you like this." Malfoy puts himself in Jeongin's shoes.

"Too bad I can't say the same because I actually know what he's feeling." Alese hits Draco again with the fact in a couple of months we went to the hospital twice and almost died. Draco shakes his head feeling bad and hugs the blonde woman in front of him, "Anyway, did you got something?"

"Edward and Richard are looking for any kind of secret passage on that dead end. Meanwhile, I sent a group to infiltrate the buildings around here and gather clues or maybe even find them." Malfoy reports the situation.

"Well, in the meantime I'll try and find them as well I guess." Alese prepares to go look for her friend, but Malfoy grabs her by the waist.

"Or you could stay here with your leader," Malfoy suggests, biting the lower lip of the witch.

"My leader? We're not in Hogwarts anymore." Alese points out, arching her left eyebrow.

"But I-" Malfoy was about to explain himself but gets interrupted by Edward.

"We have a secret passage, and at the end of the alley, there's an old tavern, we should check it out." The Auror reports, and Alese makes her way into the alley, followed by a group of other Aurors sent by Malfoy and Jeongin.

They advance slowly through the narrow alley, with their wands drawn, ready to eliminate any foe. Leading the team, Alese was going on front, and at the end of the alley, she lays her back on the wall and looks to the street, making recon of the field. She doesn't see anyone, which makes her believe that they were wasting time. Finally, she starts walking to the middle of the street and with the help of other Aurors, they secure the perimeter outside. Chan, Jeongin and Felix were preparing themselves to go inside the old abandoned tavern. The establishment seemed to be really old, and its state confirmed that. Wooden doors with burn marks, the ornamented windows with broken glass, a sign indicating that the tavern was closed, a wooden sign with a worn out paint. Chan goes on the front and opens the wooden door, who squeaks with the motion. The room was dark, some glasses were found on the balcony, some drinks behind the bar. The place seemed to have been used recently, which makes the wizards alert for any inconvenient encounter. As they continue their investigation, Jeongin faces a situation that takes the breath out of his lungs. There she was, in a state of a deep sleep, with her breathing suspended, her eyes shut down to never open again. Jeongin falls on his knees with that cruel image that pierces his heart like a million needles. His palm meets her cold cheek and pale skin, hoping that the touch of his warm skin would wake her up. Chan and Felix quickly catch up to Jeongin and face the same brutal image. 

Chan tries to get Jeongin up and out of there, but the boy refused to leave without Ella, crying rivers of regret for not standing by her side when she most needed, for giving up on a low time after all their highs and for all the unsaid things. Felix rushes outside, but the wooden doors got shut down as if they were made out of metal. That catches the attention of Chan, who quickly understands the situation. Felix tries to push the doors but they just won't budge. The black paint who covered the paintings hanging on the wall start to reveal two portraits that the Aurors know well. The first big painting showed the Dark Lord himself, Voldemort, and right by his side, a bigger painting reveals the one who followed his legacy, Tom. Behind the counter, three figures appear in black robes. They go towards the Aurors near Ella's body and look deep into their eyes, without showing any emotion. The Aurors point their wands at the unknown wizards and wait defensively for a move on their part. Felix quickly comes back and joins Jeongin and Chan. The mysterious man in the middle looks to each of the Aurors and finally takes a deep breathe.

"It's starting."