Crash

I instantly open my eyes. Slowly, I push myself up and glance over at the muggle woman in my bed besides me. Fuck, I can't remember her name, but right now that's not important. I glance at the foot of my bed, hoping that maybe it was just the cat, but to my horror Persephone is still sleeping at my feet. Motherfuck.

I slowly slide out of bed, grabbing my wand from under the bed, ignoring my robe. It'd be too tedious to get my prosthetic on to tie it closed. I grip my wand while quietly moving to the open bedroom door. The entire apartment is dark as I sneakily peek out of my room and into the hallway. Shadows shroud everything, not even moonlight daring to enter the space.

I peer at the digital clock on my bedside table. Three in the morning. No muggle could get past my barriers or even my magically enhanced lock, so there was no doubt the intruder was a wizard. With one last glance at my sleeping muggle companion, I whisper "Lumos." A small circle of light appears at the end of my wand, illuminating everything within two feet of my wand. I move around the apartment quietly, my sharp eyes noting every shadow. After checking the entire apartment and finding nothing I resign myself to having imagined the noise.

As I start back towards the bedroom, I lower my wand and turn on the hallway light, only to find my worst nightmare in front of me.

A man with dirty, matted blond hair and a nearly chest length beard stands before me. In his arms he tightly holds the muggle woman still, wand pressed to her head. I say nothing for the first moment, my words stopped by what I see in his dead blue eyes. He grins with rotten teeth. "Do you remember me?" His voice is like sandpaper on a chalkboard. He looks different, but I'd know that voice anywhere.

"William Ludenberg? Didn't I put you away twelve years ago for what was it? Harassing Muggleborns at a Quidditch match?" I respond, trying to put up my poker face despite my vulnerability. I feel his eyes rake over my naked body, his eyes stopping at my missing right arm. The grin on his face widens.

"So everyone was right. The famed Auror lost her arm." He taunts. "That will make this much easier." Without second thought he waves his wand. "Avada Kedavra!" With a quick flash of green light, the muggle woman falls in a heap onto the floor, the sound of her body hitting the hard surface vibrating in my mind.

Furious, I flick my wand in an attempt to petrify him, but he quickly turns into a rat and scurries away. I angrily start throwing curses about, hoping that one would hit the fucker. As I duck to avoid a ricocheting stupefy, I don't see him scurrying behind me until he turns back and pins my back to his chest.

He easily uses one hand to twist my wrist, making me drop my wand, the second gropes my chest. The next thing he says really ticks me the hell off. "I always wondered if that handsome partner of yours ever got a chance to hold these." He whispers in my ear. There are few things people can say that'll piss me off, but bringing up my ex-husband is really high up on that list.

Using his lecherous grip on me as a balancer, I hook my right leg behind his knee and knock us both to the floor, with me on top. In his initial shock, I quickly roll off of him and make a grab for my wand. But as fate would have it, today was not my day. William grabbed hold of my ankle and easily pulled me back, rolling on top of me. After more than a bit of wrestling he gets his hands around my neck and starts squeezing. I gasp for air that won't come as I kick at him fruitlessly. My left hand manages to grab hold of his cheek and ear and in that moment, I wonder if I could really use that spell. The spell I swore to never use again. It's my only possible way out, but I'm not even sure if it would work without a wand.

Dark spots start clouding my vision and I know it's now or never. I grip his ear furiously and whisper "Sectumsempa." Instantly, he howls in pain as blood seeps from between my fingers. I smile triumphantly as he scrambles off my body, clutching the empty hole that was once his ear.

"You bitch!" He screams out, taking a moment to punch me in the face. It hurt, bad, but not enough to deter me from grabbing my wand. He sees my actions and somehow manages to ignore his pain enough to reach for his own.

We speak in almost unison, our voices filling the apartment with dark green light.

"Avada Kedavra."