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“Hold your position!”
The Muggle soldier did his funny little shuffle step closer, the black circle at the end of the gun in his hands was pointed directly between Theo’s eyes. Theo stood still, hands held at the requisite angle to indicate submissiveness. Is it a machine gun, or an assault rifle? he mused. What’s the difference? Is there a difference? Must remember to ask Natasha later.
“Identify yourself!” the soldier barked.
“Kris Kringle!" Theo said with a wide grin. His smile faltered slightly as the guard tightened his grip on the gun. "Ho ho hail Hydra?" Confusion painted the guard’s face as Theo added a wink for good measure.
A sharp pain stabbed at Theo as the pressure shifted suddenly; his ears popped and everything felt like it had been plunged underwater. Between one blink and the next, the guard vanished from view, his gun dropping with a soft sound into the thick snow.
The quiet sounds of the night returned to the forest glade and Theo shook his head, one finger pushed into his ear. "That was… unpleasant," he muttered. Removing his glasses he pinched his nostrils and swallowed a few times. Replacing his glasses he pushed his hands into his pockets and moved forwards. His breath steamed in the chill air, and his footsteps crunched in the snow as he weaved between the barriers that were wrapped in thick barbed wire. "I didn't think there would be such a vacuum."
His earpiece crackled gently. "Might need to tighten the radius of the Muffliato before we Apparate in next time," said a female voice.
"Good thinking," Theo said, lifting the metal latch on the gate and shoving the heavy wooden barrier open. The bottom of the gate dragged through the snow, forcing Theo to lean into it. "I am surprised there was only one guard," he said, his voice a little strained with the effort. "I expected a little more resis… Oh!"
Three more guards were stood in a loose semicircle, guns already trained on Theo. Their winter camouflage had done its job!
"Uh…Gëzuar Krishtlindjet, gentlemen!" The soldiers didn't move or respond. "So," Theo drawled, hands held up again, "I'm guessing this isn't Santa's toy factory?"
"Down on the ground," one of the soldiers ordered, gesturing with the barrel of his rifle.
"In these jeans?" Theo said, glancing down. "Seriously, I won't be able to get back up. These things are ridiculously tight, but the ladies love it, so what can you do? He knows what I'm talking about." Theo indicated one of the guards with his wand. " Lumos ."
Light flared at the tip and the guard reflexively narrowed his eyes. The remaining guards shouted a warning and Theo dropped his wand. "Sorry! No harm meant, honestly."
"Down! Now!"
"Look, can we talk seriously? Man to man?" Theo said, keeping his voice even. "After all, it's just you and I here. No one else."
The guard took a swift glance around, noticing that his two colleagues had vanished. "Wha…?"
"Honest opinion?" Theo said. "Do you think these jeans are too tight?"
There was a soft thump as the gun dropped to the bare dirt and Theo was alone again. He sighed and lowered his hands, collecting his wand from the ground. "You could have let him answer."
"You look wonderful, darling," said a different woman's voice in his ear. "The view is quite nice, especially from behind."
"You're not the one with squashed testicles, my dear."
"Can we focus on the mission, please?" said the first woman's voice again; the tone was strict, business-like. "We're running out of time and we have a strict schedule to work to."
"You and your timetables, Hermione," Theo chuckled. "That was better though, no more popped eardrums. Masterful control, love."
"Thank you, Theo," Hermione said, and Theo grinned at the pride he heard in her voice. "Now, onwards."
"You are keeping an eye out for snipers, aren't you?" Theo jogged forward, eyes shifting around nervously. "I don't fancy a piercing if it's all the same to you."
"We've already taken care of both snipers, don't worry," said Hermione, a hint of smugness in her voice.
"I still say you'd look good with a nipple piercing. Or two"
"Thank you, Natasha," Theo muttered.
"I agree," Hermione said with a giggle, "It would give us something else to play with."
"Not that we don't have plenty to play with already."
"Yes, thank you, ladies." Theo rolled his eyes, stealing forward in a crouch and flattening himself against the side of the building. "Timetables, remember?"
Pulling a small, black leather roll from the pocket of his coat, Theo eyed the lock on the door. "What are the chances...?" he muttered, pulling the handle down. The door clicked and swung open. Theo laughed. "Okay, I'm going to have to write to old skull face and tell him the security protocols are sorely lacking at his Albanian facility!"
The women laughed softly in his ear. "I'm not sure Johann will be taking correspondence from a time-travelling spy, magical or not," Natasha said.
"True," he conceded, "and at least I don't have to break our deal just yet.” He slipped into the building, closing the door behind him and crouching, still and silent in the gloomy interior. “Oh look,” he muttered sarcastically, “I’ll be able to use the one spell you’ve allowed me… This is an important mission; why did I let you talk me into being basically defenceless? Why Lumos? Why not at least let me have Expelliarmus or something?”
“And where would the fun in that be?” Hermione asked. "Plus it ties in nicely with the Operation name, Silent Night."
"How?"
"We take the guards out silently, thanks to the Muffliato. It's night. Also, the song mentions Jesus' birth, which was overseen by a bright star, so there's the Lumos."
"Tenuous, at best, love," Theo said, rolling his eyes.
“Besides, you wouldn’t want to miss the sight of the two of us... working together, right?” Natasha said, her voice purring in his ear and making him shiver.
“These are not the jeans to be wearing when you talk like that, Natasha…” Theo groaned.
“And this is not the place to be getting lost!” The heavily accented voice boomed out over a tannoy and the wall front of Theo fell away, flooding the area with light. “Drop the weapon and put your hands on your head. Now!”
Theo lifted a hand to shield his eyes. He heard the girls swear and knew they had been blinded by the sudden shift in light. Their shared vision, thanks to Stark’s special glasses Theo wore, flickered and fragmented as it tried to recover from the sudden glare. Through his fingers, Theo could just about make out the shape of several soldiers, all heavily armed. Many of the weapons glowed with dangerous energy, no doubt the product of Schmidt’s messing with forces beyond his ability to control.
“Okay, vision restored,” Hermione said quietly.
“Not for me,” Theo said, trying to move his lips as little as possible.
“We’ve got this, sweet-cheeks,” Natasha said. “Objective in sight; he’s chained up to a chair towards the back,”
“Must be unconscious,” Hermione said. “There’s no way chains can hold him.”
“Drop the weapon and get on your knees!” the voice barked again.
Theo complied, his wand clattering on the hard floor. He slowly began to lower himself to his knees. He got halfway down and then stopped with a wince, straightening back up again. “I’m really sorry,” he said, his voice strained.
“Get on the floor, now!” the voice screamed.
“I would! Honestly, I would!” Theo cried. “But my girlfriends made me put on the most ridiculous jeans this morning. They are so tight… Is there any chance I can just stand here, meekly? I’ll be good, I promise.”
Two soldiers were making their way forward. Theo’s vision had cleared and he could see the slumped, dark-haired form of the man they had come to rescue.
“Two down,” whispered Hermione in Theo’s ear.
The soldiers came closer, reaching out and grabbing his hands, wrenching his arms behind his back. He cried out in pain. “Steady on, fellows, it’s nearly Christmas! You don’t want to upset Babadimri, do you?”
As they shoved him forward, Theo caught sight of two black-clad women--one with short, dark hair, the other with wild and curly brown hair--materialise behind a machinegun wielding guard. Hermione jabbed his side with her wand, paralysing him, while Natasha clubbed him across the back of the head with her baton. Holding hands, the two women vanished, dragging the unconscious guard with them. They made no noise.
“Three,” Hermione whispered.
“There’s only five left in the building,” Natasha said, “think you can take those two, Theo?”
“With one spell allowed? Sure,” he said jovially. “Close your eyes, girls.”
“Silence!” the guard on his left shouted, shaking him.
Theo pretended to stagger with the force, twisting and freeing an arm. He grabbed his wand, held loosely in the other guard’s hand. “ LUMOS MAXIMA! ” he cried, squeezing his eyes shut. As the soldiers cried out, stumbling away, he threw himself down, sweeping a leg out from under one of them, punching him in the face and knocking him out. “ Nox! ”
The soldiers, half-blind and stunned, were no match for the three of them. Hermione apparated in, with Natasha in tow, not bothering with the Muffliato spell to cover them this time. The pair looked so good fighting together, magical and martial prowess working hand in hand; Hermione’s wand swooped and stabbed, felling a soldier with a blast of purple energy, his gun unable to get off a shot. Natasha almost seemed to defy gravity as she leapt at her target, a flurry of strikes and kicks battering him into submission. The leader of the squad received a blast of magic to the back, forcing him forward in a rush, only to be met with a sharp crack across the forehead with a baton; he almost did a full flip in the air from the force and landed in a crumpled heap. Theo’s second guard was a lot stronger than he looked, but a swift kick to the groin eventually subdued him. Within moments the room was silent again.
“Well,” Theo said happily, “that went well.”
“I think you cheated, Theo,” said Hermione, stripping a key from the belt of the guard captain.
“It’s the same spell!” he protested.
“Debatable,” she replied with a sniff. “What do you think, Natasha?”
“I’ll allow it,” Natasha said after some thought. “It’s still the same light spell, just… bigger.”
“Thank you,” Theo said, rolling his eyes. Moving forward he pulled Natasha into an embrace, planting a firm kiss on her lips.
“And where’s mine?” Hermione protested. She wasn’t protesting for long, as both Theo and Natasha kissed her soundly.
“Now,” Theo said briskly, “let’s get this show on the road.”
Hermione stepped forward, unlocking the chains that held the prisoner. Natasha caught him as he slumped, slapping him gently around the face. He was young, handsome in a stern sort of way. His dark hair and fine cheekbones gave him a noble bearing.
“Up you come, sir,” said Theo, getting on his other side and supporting him.
Groggily, the man opened his eyes. That familiar cold expression was tempered with a sliver of something like fear as he looked around at the trio. “Who…? Who are you?”
“Nott, sir. Theodore Nott, of the House Nott. This is Hermione Granger, a witch of great strength and power, and Natalia Romanova, an extremely powerful warrior. We’re here to rescue you.”
“I was captured by… Muggles?” the man whispered in disgust as he looked around at the unconscious soldiers.
“No one will ever know,” Theo assured him. “We’re just here to make sure you can do what you need to do, and ensure the timeline doesn’t get messed up.”
“Where is my wand?” the man asked softly, a dangerous tone to his voice.
“Right here, Lord,” Hermione said quickly, stepping forward and handing the elegant wand to the man. A shiver ran through him as he took it, and Theo could see his strength returning rapidly.
“Are you able to stand, my Lord?” he asked.
“I am,” the man replied. “You have my thanks, though I do not know where you came from.”
“We will meet again, Lord, in the future. For now, we must leave you. You have a lot to do, and many people rely on you succeeding.”
Theo, Hermione, and Natasha stepped away, huddling together as Natasha activated the recall device. The tall man watched them, his dark eyes narrowed to slits; wary, cautious. Theo and Hermione pulled their sleeves up, flashing the symbol tattooed upon their inner arms. The tall man smiled darkly and nodded as the three held hands.
With a blinding flash, they vanished into the timestream, leaving Lord Voldemort alone.