Should Have Had Better Service

Mad had made a portkey to deliver herself and Misses Black and Tshering to an abandoned alley a short distance from the muggle establishment, Corner Brews. The woman had made two other portkeys, as well, one of each having been given to the girls with strict instructions to leave should things not go according to plan.

This had been done without proper authorization, of course. Mad was not overly concerned about this detail.

"I trust you ladies remember how to cast the spell?" she inquired. "Every twenty paces along the back east and west walls. I will take the front of the building facing the streets.

"If either of you have any questions, now is the time to ask."

Karma looked up and down the alley, counting windows, doorways, hiding places, escape routes. This was probably the safest of the four walls. Therefore, this one should be for the Ravenclaw girl. Her eyes searched the street for any movement. There was just enough that they shouldn't go that unnoticed.

"I remember, Professor." She said briskly, Nightmare sitting next to her (she'd followed through the portkey). "I'll do the back wall." She fingered the old button that was her Emergency Portkey. She didn't want it to come to that, but if it did, she was ready for both fight and flight. It was always best to have both options.

Anna nodded instead of saying anything, trying not to drag any attention to herself or make any noise. The young Ravenclaw had never done anything like this before, so her heart was full of adrenaline. Anna had her Portkey in her pocket, directed straight to her parents' flat should anything go wrong. She had artfully disguised it as her 'House Key', which was not that terrible of a description considering that's where it led her.

"Very well," Mad gave a sharp nod. "Set to work. Providing nothing goes awry, I shall meet you both at the back entrance, shortly.

"And ladies, you will use your portkeys if there is any trouble. Understood?" She gazed sternly at each of them in turn. "Off with you."

Mad made her way out to one of the streets. There were several reasons she had elected to lay the charges along the front walls herself. First off was the fact that she needed neither her wand nor and incantation to do so. Secondly, any trouble would be more likely to come from the street side of the cafe. And finally, there was nowhere to hide in the front of the shop. Mad could easily apparate or battle her way out of any confrontation, but a portkey in nervous hands could take a moment to activate.

"Should have put them on chains," she murmured to herself as she went about her task, keeping her senses on high alert. The woman hurried along, though, to anyone passing by it would have appeared that she walking leisurely around the outside of the small shop.

Karma walked toward the back of the cafe, nodding to the Ravenclaw before turning the corner. She looked both ways before pulling out her wand, waving and tapping it where and when needed to perform the incantation.

She walked along the wall, her eyes searching the alley even as she completed the spell. Now all she needed was for Professor Lewis to signal that it was time to detonate.

Anna nodded. She then walked to her side of the shop, keeping an eye on what was going on. She made sure she found the right spot, drew out her wand and muttered the correct incantation as quietly as she could.

Finishing her walls, Mad made her way back into one of the narrow alleys, checking the charges that had been laid along that wall. "Are you quite finished, Miss Tshering?" the woman asked as she caught up to the girl. "There's little need to be quite so meticulous." She waited until the girl completed her final charge along the wall, then gave an approving nod.

"Come along. Ten o'clock is arriving soon." Mad walked around the corner, senses alert, approaching where Karma waited for them, checking her work as she walked. "Well done, both of you," she told the students.

"Our presence has not gone completely unnoticed. Let's get this done with before curiosity leads someone to come investigate," the woman said. She turned to the Slytherin girl. "Miss Black, if you would do the honors." Mad moved in hand to demonstrate the necessary wand movement. "Ignire."

She placed a hand on each girl's shoulder, ready to apparate them all to safety.

Karma grinned a devillish smile as she copied Preofessor Lewis's wand movements. "Ignire." The answering explosion made her grin. Take that, muggles.

With a faint smirk of her own, Mad apparated them away from the side, depositing them in Diagon Alley.

"Congratulations," she uttered dryly. "You both have played a part in taking down a muggle establishment. Now, use your portkeys to return to wherever it is you ought be." The woman waited for the girls to comply so that she could depart as well.

Karma let herself relax through the apparation, knowing that if she didn't it would feel even worse, but tensed up the second they landed. Her eyes swept Diagon Alley even as Professor Lewis told them to use their portkeys. Something seemed a bit... off.

However, Karma knew better than to disobey a direct order, and pulled her small portkey out of her pocket. Her eyes were still suspicious when she rubbed the portkey and activated it, feeling the pull from behind her navel that told her she was on her way home.

Anna nodded. She grabbed her cleverly disguised Portkey and looked for a secluded spot in the alley so she could go away safely. She then felt herself moving into something, and she ended up back in her bedroom in her new house in Scotland.

Mad waited until the girls had gone, standing still for a moment or two, before turning her head a bit. Karma was not the only one to note the Alley was not as vacant as it ought to have been.

"Well?" the woman asked placidly.