And Again Once More (Closed)

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Normally, nothing could have broken Michael's concentration, but it was incredibly hard to keep himself from looking at Dare, so eventually he had looked at him. This was where Dare had been this whole time? Why would Dare leave him just to come here and get tied up, then ask to be taken home? He should have been looking for Dare before!

[Ivy Somers]

That was the chance she needed. Ivy looked over at Lalita and gave the signal, then let the spell fly from her lips. "Avada Kedavra!" She didn't have any intentions of actually killing Dare, she only wanted to make it real enough to scare Michael. The most Dare would get from her spell was a nosebleed. It was Lalita's silent stunning spell that would make it look realistic.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's eyes widened in the moment before the spell hit—from the wrong direction, though it didn't register. He was knocked out again, and slumped to the floor, messy, colored curls falling half into his face. He was alive, he was breathing, but the past days hadn't been kind to him, and the breaths were shallow and nearly invisible.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael's heart stopped at the first sound of that horrible spell. He saw the flash, saw Dare slump, all in slow motion. He would never have been able to see Dare breathing, especially not when everything sped up again and anger and pain rushed through him. His eyes narrowed and he was sending out a Crucio to Ivy before he could even think about it.

[Lalita Harshini]

Lalita's timing couldn't have been better. From the instant she saw the signal, she muttered the stunning spell in time to see the green flash. Dare fell, but a second later another unforgivable curse was said. Lalita whipped her head back to Michael, expecting it to hit Ivy but in case it didn't, she moved fast enough to deflect if it were aimed at her. She pulled her wand out and grasped it tightly in her defense. If Michael's wrath were to be directed at her in the near future, she would be ready.

[Ivy Somers]

It hit Ivy, nothing she hadn't expected, but so much more than she had imagined. The pain was unbearable, even though she had no choice but to let it flow over her in wave after wave. Those screams couldn't be hers, could they? They were loud and hurt her ears, that couldn't be her voice.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael wasn't paying attention to Lalita, he had eyes only for the one that he had seen kill Dare. He felt no pity, it didn't even occur to him that he was doing something wrong. There was pain in his eyes, but also hate and anger. Everything had been going great, they had gone months without anything bad happening, and then Ivy had come in and messed it all up.

[Lalita Harshini]

Lalita winced at the screams before instinct kicked in. "Expelliarmus!" She shouted, her voice not carrying over Ivy's scream. If she could just get Micheal's wand away from him....No time to wait for that spell to work though. Almost immediatly after that spell she followed up with, "Conjunctivitis!"

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael reacted to the voice before he had time to process what was even being said and blocked the spells. At least his father had done something good for him. Soren had been an amazing duelist, and had passed on those skills to his son. "Who are you?" he demanded, only now beginning to care that there was someone else in the room. Maybe he should have just cursed her, as well.

[Eros d'Avonderre]

Whatever the girl's answer was, it would have to wait. Eros had gone after Michael at Mano's behest, and though he'd been quick enough about it, he hadn't expected to arrive at a literally shrieking shack. The screams were heart-stopping, and all Eros could think as he raced up the stairs, wand drawn, was that Michael had found the Somers girl.

In the doorway, he didn't stop to think. Michael was the first in his view, so he aimed his first stunner there, hoping to stop whatever had been happening. The next stunner went toward the only other person standing.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael wasn't aware of someone else coming, though he should have been paying more attention. But how could he pay attention when his focus was narrowed to nothing more than Ivy and this girl? They were the reason Dare was motionless on the floor, how could he think about steps on the staircase? The spell hit him and he fell in a heap to the floor, wand clattering from his hand.

[Ivy Somers]

Ivy had still been shaking when the spell lifted from her and she couldn't have done anything to help Lalita or to prevent the man sending out the spells. She saw Michael hit the ground, but couldn't summon any joy for it as her eyes immediately turned back to Lalita and she tried to find her wand.

[Lalita Harshini]

Lalita had been so focused on Michael that when the new person came into the room, her mind didn't register it. She was in mid thought, wondering if she should answer Michael's question, when the spell hit her. The unfamiliarity of being stunned widened her eyes and she fell to the floor as well. Somewhere she heard a wand drop just before hers did the same.

[Eros d'Avonderre]

Eros's gaze had begun a sweep of the room the moment his marks were down, so the blonde didn't stand a chance. He needed someone awake though, someone to tell him what the hell was going on. Accio wands, he thought, summoning any that might be in the room before silently casting ropes at the only other person conscious in the room. "I am truly sorry, darling, but I'll have to hold onto that for now," he drawled.

[Ivy Somers]

"Who are you?" Ivy asked, eyes wide at the newcomer. "Did you see what he did to me?" she asked then, looking down at Michael. She didn't know who he was, but she wasn't about to just blow everything and not inform him of what Michael had just cast on her. She had not expected to be tied up.