Harry Potter The Final Straw

Smyth ducked behind the one of the shelves containing wands when the door was blasted apart. Shrapnel peppered the wall and counter with lethal force making him glad he was lucky enough to get to safety. Before the dust settled, he fired two quick blasting hexes in the direction of the front door and dove behind the shopkeeper's counter.

Yaxley was climbing over the remains of the front door when the first curse struck his shoulder spinning him around in a shower of blood. He landed in a heap next the door frame where his partner, Gibbon calmly stepped over his bleeding body with a shield at the ready.

"Come out wand maker and I'll make your death quick." Gibbon hissed in anger. With a flick of his wand the dust in the air dissipated and he took stock of the situation. There were dozens of wands scattered about from where he had blown in the door but no sign of the wizard that owned the shop.

Smyth knew he only had moments until his hiding spot was located and he would be forced to fight for his life. He knew that he needed to give Kingsley more time to get the old man to safety so he crept to the edge of the counter and held up a transfigured mirror inches from the floor.

He could see a black robed figure just inside the hole in the front of the shop and the feet of another lying in a pool of rapidly spreading blood. Steadying himself, he rolled clear of the counter and barked, "Avada Kedavra!"

Gibbon saw the movement out of the corner of his eye and instinctively yelled, "Avada Kedavra!" at the unidentified person.

The two killing curses struck each other and the magical explosion that followed ripped apart a good portion of the shop. Gibbon's last thought as he was sent flying through the air was of his family before his neck was snapped by the force of the impact with the stone wall.

Nigel's eyes widened briefly in surprise before he was blasted backwards into the base of the shelves behind the sales counter. The shelf teetered for a moment before it came crashing down onto the counter burying the injured auror under hundreds of wands.

Moving slowly to protect his injured ribs and hip, Smyth poked his head up to assess the situation. Before he could move any further, the shelf above him gave an ominous creaking noise and split in half and his world exploded in pain before he blacked out.

.....

The explosion sent the residents both scurrying for cover and peering from their windows to see the commotion. Once the smoke cleared, some people ran forward to see if they could help Mr. Davidson while others flooded the floo network with calls to the Ministry of Magic for help.

The auror on duty, the freshly demoted Dawlish, sent a flying memo to his superior and went back to reading Rita Skeeter's recent article about the disaster in Hogwarts and grumbling about a lack of respect.

Fifteen minutes later, the desk sergeant received the vague memo and dispatched an auror to Edinburgh's version of Diagon Alley to investigate. He then sent a memo to Amelia Bones letting her know what happened and what action was taken before returning to his mountain of parchment work.

Amelia was sitting in her favorite chair by the fire in the den of her row house not far from the Prime Minister's residence when a lynx patronus burst through her living room wall and began to speak with Kinglsey's voice.

"The wand maker is secure but we ran into trouble. Smyth held them off while we got out." The lynx finished speaking and faded from existence, its purpose fulfilled.

"Damn." Amelia muttered as she rose from her seat and headed for the floo, her tea and book forgotten on the end table.

As she stepped out of the fireplace into her office, she noticed a memo floating around the room. Snatching the annoying piece of flying parchment out of the air, she ripped it open and read the missive. She checked the time on the memo before tossing it down on her desk and heading for the duty sergeant.

"Masterson!" Amelia barked when she rounded the corner into the greeting area where the desk sergeant's desk was located. "Gather up a full squad with a healer and send them to Mr. Davidson's wand shop in Edinburgh. Tell them that we may have a man down and I'll meet them there in thirty minutes." Without another word, Amelia strode out of the office to the apparition point in the atrium before vanishing with a soft pop.

....

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