A/N: Don't expect these updates to come so quickly anymore, back to work in the morning. Now we are gonna kind of start seeing the beginnings of the plan coming to life.
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"Tell me exactly what happened!"
Neville and Ginny were holed up in the most urgent of Mungo's ER wards, trying to explain just what had befallen the two aurors restrained on the operating tables in front of them.
"It happened too fast to hear the incantations," Neville explained, while Ginny tapped her feet with folded arms, chewing on her bottom lip. "it was a quick-cast curse, never intended to kill. These two didn't have the reflexes to guard themselves, the rest of us got out of the way fast enough. In the ensuing battle I fended off two variations of a stacio curse and one green-tinted hex I couldn't hear the incantation for but assume it was some kind of lower-body bind. That's really all I've got."
As the doctor used this minimal amount of information to check over his patients, Ginny, who'd been quiet ever since arriving at the hospital, finally spoke up.
"One more thing," she said, staring straight ahead and seemingly deep in thought. "there were five wizards, but I can't recall more than just the two curses being thrown at first apparition. My memory retention rate is very good, and I'll use a pensieve memory recovery charm to be sure, but I believe the curses that took out Chris and Jordan were thrown first. I'm not sure the other curses were ever even intended to harm us."
The doctor largely ignored her comment as it did not in any way effect his medical treatment, but the words resonated with the soft-spoken Neville. "You know, now that you mention it, I think you're right."
"I know I am."
Neville bowed his head and shook it back and forth. "Nothing from this night is making any sense whatsoever."
"Not at all, but there is something much bigger going on here, I can feel it." It was on the tip of her tongue, but Ginny just couldn't grasp what it was about the night that eluded her. "It all just seems very…calculated."
Exhaling, Neville confirmed her belief in his own opinion. "I know exactly what you mean."
"Okay, well I'm going to get to the Ministry and see what help I can offer Luna and Hermione; and I gotta text Dean and make sure he locks himself up good tonight. I'll catch you later…I know you are gonna want to stick around a while longer."
Squeezing his arm affectionately Ginny parted from Neville with a gentle, sympathetic glance, knowing full well that there were two other Longbottoms in this hospital he would be eager to visit. Neville watched her leave while typing on her cell phone; a muggle device that Dean had convinced each of the eight of them to purchase so they could be in constant contact. Although most purebloods would never admit to it, this cellular device was actually far more advanced than any method of correspondence wizards had available to them.
Nevertheless, he knew full well what Ginny had been referring to, and as such he slowly made the long walk to the Mungo's Mental Ward, he hadn't paid his parents a visit in far too long.
***
Dean plucked his cell off the coffee table upon which it rested when it vibrated; he was laying back on the couch watching film of the Liverpool game and wondering when Ginny would be coming home.
Strange attack tonight, working late. Make sure you activate the security guards around the house, be on your guard, just in case. I'll text you again later if I hear anything new. I love you.
The urgency of Ginny's text startled Dean, but he knew his girl could handle herself. Regardless, he activated the security hexes they had implemented around the house before returning to his tape, an uneasy feeling forming in the pit of his stomach.
***
"Well it certainly wasn't a poison, and none of them had any kind of chemical reaction to the curse itself," Hermione commented, speaking into a voice recorder to keep notes. "Each of the victims experienced a quick aneurysm, some nerve impulse from Seamus' curse triggered a reaction in the brain that set off the sequence of events that lead to their deaths."
"I've never heard of anything like this before."
Coming from Luna Lovegood, that statement meant a lot. The brilliant young blonde woman had heard of a large array of exceptionally extravagant stories, theories, creatures, and the like. While she believed in many strange and outlandish myths, Hermione had discovered through the years that many of those fables had come from past truths, and more than once one of Luna's Quibbler articles had lead them to an important discovery. It was not enough to get Hermione to read the magazine herself, but she now at least restrained herself from admonishing the publication like she had done so many times at Hogwarts.
"Not in practice, anyways." Hermione commented, continuing to speak into her recorder and allowing her brilliant mind to wrap itself around the library of knowledge she'd accumulated from years of research. "in theory, I've heard speculation of putting a curse on someone that will cause a reaction when activated by a specific hex or spell, but it's still in developmental stages, and was never intended to be so sinister."
"We are not the only authorities on spell development and discovery Hermione," Luna said softly. "we have to be open to the fact that someone has discovered this technique and just displayed it with brutal success."
"If that is true, than this situation could be bigger than the worst of the apocalyptic scenarios we've dreamed up ever since Voldemort died."
"You are not suggesting the dark lord had something to do with this?"
"Not at all," Hermione closed her eyes and dropped her voice. "but the research and experimenting to discover that type of technique would take years and could only be done by someone of the utmost authority. It is very possible whoever did this has been in play since long before Voldemort fell; and has only just now chosen to reveal themselves."
"Well, let's not immediately jump to conclusions here."
An uneasy silence settled in as they each pondered just what might have happened this night, and whether the threat was over or had only just begun. If it had been planned this far in advance, there was no telling how much more could still be in the cards.
A beep from the overhead comm interrupted the quiet. "Miss Granger, Miss Lovegood; Miss Weasley has arrived and is requesting access, I need one or the other of you to come up here for authorization please."
"I'll go," Hermione moaned, as she saw Luna head towards the door. "I need to stop by the loo anyways. Try a memory tap or a prior incantum on their wands, see what you can find out. I'll be back in a few."
"Yes ma'am. And Hermione?"
"Hmm?"
"It's all going to be alright, no one will outsmart us."
Hermione smiled back at her friend and long-time lab partner as she slid her identification card through the door lock and proceeded towards the lobby to see what news Ginny had for her.
***
Luna pulled her wand out from her waistband holster and went about getting to work. She had a special technique she liked to use for curious cases such as this one. Steadying her mind, she slowly touched the tip of her wand to one of the deceased wizard's temples, and slowly allowed the remnants of his last streams of consciousness to flood into her.
Violent images from the battle appeared before her eyes, followed by the wizard being defeated, then bound, then…a curious eagerness was born. She pressed deeper, retracing the man's last few thoughts. When he'd begun the bleeding from his aneurysm and he knew he'd die, his mind wandered again; my death, transport to lab, analysis, trap…
Before she could register shock her wand hand was suddenly struck by an immense pain that shot up her arm and froze her neck before pouring into her brain, a pain like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Then she saw a final, blindingly hot, white flash, and then she felt nothing at all.
***
"Find anything out?"
Ginny was to the point right away, as the girls walked down the long corridor towards the lab. Their heels clacked on the marble floors, echoing down the silent hallway.
"Not really," Hermione sighed. "best we figure is someone discovered how to implement a reactionary death curse within their system that activates on a trigger which must have been Seamus' binding curse. The idea has been tossed around for a while in theory but--"
"LUNA!"
Ginny screeched like Hermione had never heard her scream before, and instantly saw the reason why. Crashing in through the outer door to the lab the girls rushed to Luna's side, who was laying in a puddle of blood on the floor beside the main observation table.
"Oh no no no she doesn't have a pulse Hermione!"
"Ennervate! Ennervate! ENNERVATE!!!"
Clicking the comm Hermione screamed, "Get medical personnel to lab one now!"
But it was no matter, they both knew, as Ginny clutched the still bleeding body in her hands, rocking back and forth, tears streaming down her face and uncontrollable wails echoing across the room, that it was too late. Hermione stared at her lab mate of more than five years form in disbelief.
Luna Lovegood was gone.