"Me? I'm a trusted Ministry member, I'm going to pull Potter to safety of course," Yaxley replied with a wry smile. "When everyone is fighting you, I'll stun him and then apparate away. When I get back I'll need you to stun me as well, make it look like I failed to protect Harry Potter. Do you understand the plan?"
Goyle nodded and ducked into an alleyway. When Yaxley heard the crack of apparition he started to walk more swiftly after Potter.
"Arthur?" Yaxley said when he got close enough. "Weasley is that you?"
Arthur Weasley turned abruptly to see who was calling his name. He smiled in greeting as he recognized another senior member of the Ministry. "Yaxley, I didn't know you lived around here."
At the name, both Harry and Hermione whirled as well; both grasped their wands expecting to fight. Confusion raced between them as they watched Arthur hold out his hand and shake Yaxley's offered one. It then occurred to them that no one knew he was a Death Eater at this time.
"I don't, I'm visiting someone," Yaxley lied. "What are you doing around here? I thought you lived down south."
"Of course," Arthur replied. "Just up here taking care of a few things."
Yaxley's eyes moved over the two teenagers. "Merlin, could this be the infamous Harry Potter?"
"Yes," Arthur beamed. "But you shouldn't say anything about seeing him. I'm escorting him to the Ministry to help keep him safe. They're going to see Madam Bones in fact."
"Really, about the matter from last week?" Yaxley said as he stalled for time. He glanced at his watch and knew he had to keep them another minute or so. "I'm headed into the office as well. Mind if I join you?" He asked. "Another wand never hurts."
"Of course, of course. Definitely appreciate the help," Arthur replied. "We're just going to catch the Knight Bus up ahead," They had planned to walk over a couple of streets but they'd have no way to explain that necessity to Yaxley.
They started walking and with every step Yaxley tried to maneuver closer to Potter. He knew he'd need to be the closest person to him so it would seem he reacted instinctively in trying to save Potter.
Harry looked at Hermione, both trying to figure out what they could do to alert Sirius or Arthur. It was obvious neither considered Yaxley a threat.
"We can't just attack him or even blatantly accuse him unless we have evidence," Hermione said as she glanced out her peripheral vision at the Death Eater.
"I'm going to let Sirius know. He'll believe me. It's got to be a trap."
"How.." Hermione started but Harry had already acted. He purposely stepped on one of his shoe laces, causing it to come untied. He stopped and knelt down to tie it, when Sirius came close he whispered softly. "Yaxley is a Death Eater. We fought him in the future."
A low growl from the dog made it clear that he'd gotten the message, but Harry had forgotten that Sirius was not a man to be patient. Padfoot immediately leapt toward the man with his teeth bared. At the same time two cracks were heard directly in front of them. Two large Death Eaters materialized in their path. One of them was overweight while the other was tall and thin.
Mr. Weasley was shocked into inactivity. Between Sirius attacking a fellow senior level Ministry employee for apparently no reason and the appearance of two Death Eaters almost simultaneously, his mind just couldn't react quick enough. The Death Eaters, seeing him as the only threat besides a dog, attacked. One hit Arthur with a stunner and as he collapsed the other one smashed his right arm with a bludgeoning hex.
Harry and Hermione had not been taken off guard though. From the moment they'd seen Yaxley they'd been ready. Their wands had been palmed the entire time. When they heard the apparition cracks they reacted. Though the street had seemed almost empty moments before, it now was filled with people screaming and running in various directions. The mayhem did not distract the soulmates. Their focus remained entirely on the two masked men. They knew they needed to get one of the Death Eaters out of play quickly to even the numbers.
"Left one," Harry said to Hermione who instantly knew they both should hit the tall thin Death Eater. Harry had noticed the large fat one had been much slower in attacking Mr. Weasley and presumed he'd be the lesser threat.
The Death Eater was not expecting an attack from two underaged kids even if one was Harry Potter. He'd turned and looked for any additional Order members that were sure to be around and didn't have a chance to defend himself. One of the bludgeoning hexes hit him in the ribs while the other crushed his shoulder. He collapsed in a heap as his wand rolled away.
Harry then turned to see if Sirius needed help while Hermione fought the remaining masked Death Eater. In the second it took to see that Sirius had Yaxley's wand arm in the vise grip of his mouth and was violently shaking it, Harry heard Hermione hit the remaining masked Death Eater with a cutting hex.
"You MUDBLOOD BITCH! You'll die for that," The Death Eater snarled as he felt the blood pouring down his side from the open wound. His wand arm came up and he started the all familiar curse, "AV..."
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