It was training day. Brett stood outside of an old house in wizarding London, next to her brother. She was excited- it would be the first time she had gotten a chance to work with Jacob. A chance to redeem herself after last nights mistakes. The scenario was simple enough. There was a dark wizard who had taken hostages. Priority was to rescue the hostages, second priority to capture the wizard- if necessary, to kill.

"You ready?"

Brett nodded. "Born ready," she said with a confident grin. Wand out, they approached the house. She easily picked up on the ward around the outside. It took her a few minutes to dispel it, but she managed.

The door itself was trickier. There was a rune on it- a rune of protection. She had NEWTed in Ancient Runes. But she didn't recognize this one. It was... more of a combination of a few different runes. With her wand she drew a few runes of her own. They glowed brightly, then sank into the wood of the door. She tapped the rune that had been there before hers, and it flickered then seemed to erase itself.

"Good work, sis." Jacob pushed ahead of her, slinging the light of his wand to the left once they entered the house. Brett swung hers to the right. "You check the upstairs. I'll take the ground floor."

Brett nodded and made her way to the stairs. She paused at the bottom of the staircase, and nearly laughed. There was a wire stretched across it that led to a non-magical trap. She traced the wire to it's source and disabled the trap. Nothing dangerous- just something loud. Before going up the stairs, Brett cast silencing charm on her feet. Then she cast a muffling charm up the staircase- for double measure.

She walked up the stairs, and made her way through the top floor. She didn't see anybody- and no signs that anyone had been there. There were a few traps, runes, and spells along the way. Brett was only caught by one of them- a spell which had blasted her backward when she opened a door. After checking the top floor- every room, every closet, the bathroom- and satisfied it was empty, Brett went back downstairs.

Brett hadn't heard her brother in a while. Just to be safe, she decided to check the ground floor as well. It was as empty as the top floor had been, devoid of any traps or spells. Jacob must have cleared it properly then. She didn't see her brother anywhere.

Eventually, Brett found the door to the basement. It had been cleverly hidden. Masked as a window looking into the backyard. Brett wouldn't have found it if she hadn't mucked up her aim in an attempt to dispel something else.

The door was already cracked when the illusion dropped. Her brother must have found it first, and moved ahead. Brett pushed the door open, and stepped onto top landing of the stairs. She could hear shuffling from below. Quiet sobs and sniffles, clattering of chains. This must be where the hostages were being held.

Since her mishap with Zora, was sure to clear rooms properly. But there hadn't been anyone in the house- just booby traps, wards, alarms. Things that Brett had cleared. It hadn't been particularly easy, but with patience and hard work she had managed it. She was quite pride of herself, even now as she placed a silent step on the rickety stairs she felt that it was almost over. Brett would impress them. She would show them that she was competent and that she was meant to do this. All Brett had wanted, since she was a young child, was to be an auror. Nobody in the office took her seriously. She was determined to change it.

Brett put the light out on her wand as she neared the bottom of the stairs. She could see the hostages chained against the wall. She knew it was just training, but she couldn't stop the way her heart caught when she saw the thin wrists of children shackled- two little girls who looked severely beaten. Brett placed a finger to lips, indicating them to stay quiet.

But it seemed to have the opposite effect. The girls wailed- it was an eerie sound. Something that sounded pained and hopeful. Brett chewed her lip, and forced herself not to look at them right now. She had to figure out what else was in the basement before she could worry about saving the hostages. Seven she had counted. The two little girls, a teenaged boy, four adults. Two families from what Brett could gather. The men looked far worse off than the women, probably struggled more. At least the adults had kept quiet. One of the women was trying to soothe the daughters, frantically whispering for them to stay quiet.

Swinging around from the stairs, Brett was halted in her tracks. On the other side of the basement was her brother. He lay, huddled up in the corner. A cloaked figure stood over him. The figure took no notice of her, and neither did Jacob. She could feel her gut wrenching. How had Jacob gotten caught? He was a better auror than that! The fact it was only for training was out of her grasp, seeing her brother in danger. Jacob had always been closest with her. She had idolized him- always. He was infallible. Had no weaknesses.

Brett pointed her wand at the figure- but paused as it started to speak. It was talking to her brother. Obviously the figure had not realized Brett was in the room. Now would be the perfect chance to release the hostages. Get them out while the bad guy was distracted. Brett moved over toward them, and cast a silencing spell on each of them.

"Are you ready to play again?" the figure asked.

She turned when she heard her brother whimper. Jacob didn't whimper. He held up his arms, shielding his face. She could hear the clattering of the hostages' shackles grow louder as Brett took a step away from them and toward her brother.

"Crucio!"

Jacob screamed. And when he screamed- do did Brett. But her scream was lost in his. And the figure didn't turn around. If she had paid closer attention, she would have realized there was no light from the spell. It was cast- but it wasn't meant. It wouldn't have worked. But the acting fooled her. Her senses already heightened, the way her brother writhed on the floor in mock agony seemed very, very real.

Brett had to look away- but the only other thing to see was the innocents chained to the wall.

Her brother was still screaming. And the more he screamed, the more she couldn't focus. Brett covered her ears, the sound. Merlin damnit that sound. "No," she whipsered. "No. No. No."

There was a flash of green light, and her brother stopped screaming. Stopped moving. The cloaked figure turned toward her, wand raised- and shouted. She dodged the spell that was aimed for her.

And Brett ran. Not toward him, not toward the hostages- but out. Up the stairs, back through the house, onto the street, and back home. She couldn't do it. Brett couldn't face seeing her brother dead, couldn't fight the cloaked figure who had done it. Tears were streaming down her face as she found her way into the house she shared with her friends. Brett went straight to her room, locked herself inside, and screamed. A painful, hollowing scream. It was like the very life had been sucked out of her when her brother had fallen motionless on the cement floor of that basement.

Her entire life Brett had only been sure of one thing- that she was going to graduate from Hogwarts and become an auror. Now she wasn't sure. Now Brett was sure of just the opposite- that she couldn't do it.