Hello again! Sorry to have kept you guys waiting. I could say I have been "bogged down with school work", but it's not so much that as I have the motivation of a fat sloth high on nutella. That, and the fact that this IS my first ficcy, and I want to get it right. This chapter was thrown together the day after I posted Ch.1, but in truth I've just been editing it more and more, never sure if it was "quite right". That said, I decided I needed to get on and post it, so here it is!
Also, you might notice another new character this chapter. He is known as Mr Line Break, and now that I've actually found him, I'm sure he will be invaluable. That is all.
Lyall Lupin closed the door behind if, leaning back on it with a long, exhausted sigh. He closed his eyes. It had been a long day.
"Home at last," he muttered to no one in particular.
He surveyed his cramped, east London flat with an affection not yet afforded to the place. Lupin had only had the place eight months now, and what with the long hours spent in the ministry, not much had been done here besides sleeping and the odd cup of tea. Hell, even then, many a night had been spent asleep at his desk.
Lupin was not well suited to city life. A coastal boy he was – practically born in the sea. He longed for his large, open house on the front, the friendly atmosphere, the salt air and the garden – oh, the garden! His mother had always laboured over that thing…
And now, here he was, in a flat smaller than his dormitory back at Hogwarts. The cold, concrete balcony led into a small room, with a hard bed tucked into one corner, a writing desk in the other. A door to the left led to what might have passed as a wash closet, and that was it. Not even a fireplace to access the floo network on. No shelves on which to put his books. No windows, nothing.
Why the ministry had stuck him in this place, Lyall could only dream. He understood London accommodation was not cheap, even for Muggles, and he was glad to have been put up by his employers, but this was ridiculous. He had even tried to fathom why they would need him in London, and had stated his case that he was a perfectly adept apparator, thank you very much, and skipping a couple of cities twice a day wasn't going to kill him, but the Department said they needed him "on call".
On call without floo. Right.
After a while, the young man eventually drew on the courage to push away from the door frame and pull his greatcloack from his shoulders, wincing as he did so, to hang it on the small handle to his right. He then dared a look at the small clock resting upon the desk, and groaned. It was six o'clock in the morning.
That made it almost thirty hours he'd been awake now. I need a pay rise, thought Lyall wistfully as he settled into his little bed and pulled the bedding over him, forgetting to undress or even remove his boots. His mind reset to the last time he'd been in his bed…
He'd been woken just gone midnight by a squad of irritated aurors at his door the previous night, who swiftly told him to dress himself and come with them as a matter of urgency, refusing to divulge any more information until he had complied, despite his many protests. His curiosity had been peaked, however, and so Lyall complied. Within twenty minutes he had found himself standing outside what appeared to be a very large, sprawling manor house, surrounded by large fields and woodland.
Lyall tried again. "Look, will one of you please tell me what is bloody well going on?" It had come out more viciously than he had intended, and the small gaggle of aurors looked slightly affronted, and maybe a bit embarrassed.
One wizard, maybe slightly older than the rest of the group, stepped forward. "Aetius MacTully, at your service." He spoke with a thick Geordie accent, and his heavy frame coupled with a long, thin scar down his left check suggested that this was not a man to be trifled with. His hair was thick and grey, what was left of it anyway. The hair from the very top of his head was long gone - in fact, it seemed to have found a now permanent residence in his bulging eyebrows, so thick one could wonder how he managed sight at all.
Lyall offered his hand in return. "Lyall Romulus Lu-"
"Yes, man, we kno' who you are! Why in Merlin's name would we call your out 'eah in the middle of the night if we didn't kno' 'o you were? Lyall Lupin, born '32, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, expertise in the field of Non-'uman Spirituous Apparitions? Recently assigned t' six months of fieldwork concerning Containment of Dark Creatures and Disruptions of Non-'uman origin? Correct?"
Startled, Lyall stood to attention, responding to the military air in which the other man had spoken.
"I- that is, to say-…um- Y-Yessir?" Lyall managed to stammer out. O'Groats had mentioned something to him about the possibility of fieldwork, to accompany his research, but Lupin had not, apparently, received confirmation of his placement. Until now, that is.
"Speak up, man! Stop stutterin' like some squib! You may be a Ravenclaw, but don' for one second presume that to allow you a lack of backbone. A sharp mind is nothin' without a sturdy one, I say."
"Sorry sir, yes sir." Lupin had recovered now, and was beginning to appraise the rest of his companions. There were three of them – a tall, lanky man, who had to be at least 7 foot, stood above the rest. He had a relaxed look to his thin face, with maybe the shadow of a grin, and a face almost concealed by freckles. Next to him was a shortish wizard who couldn't have been older than twenty, wearing a strange mix of nervousness and paranoia on his face, with maybe a hint of excitement. He was broad shouldered, stooped, and couldn't seem to keep his skittish eyes still. Closest to Lyall was a tiny girl, ebony-skinned with a long dark plait down her back. She had a stern, mistrustful look on her face, her lips hardened to a tight line.
MacTully grunted approvingly. "Meet your new team for the next six months – Abbott, Moody and Okoye. Abbott and Okoye 'eah have recently passed their auror trainin' programme with full marks, figuratively speakin', and young Moody here we got fresh out o' Hogwarts, some of the best instincts I've seen in a very long time. He's getting some work experience, if you will, with us before 'e and the other recruits enter the full programme – chance to weed out the weak ones early, see?"
There was an uncomfortable pause.
"Sir, this is very educational and all, but what on earth are we doing here?" Lupin ventured.
MacTully grinned. "See man? Toughening up already, I see. That said, no speakin' t' superior officers like that or else I'll have your hide, undastood?"
Lupin shook his head, and then quickly changed to shake it.
The older wizard continued. "Welcome t' Donnelly 'Ouse, a private boardin' school for rich Muggle kids. Seems 'ey got 'emselves a bi' of a poltergeist issue. Been there for ages, not doing much but rattlin' chains 'n' knockin' over lamps, usual "Haunted 'Ouse" crap. Recently though, it's been getting' a bi' more nasty like, nearly killed a kid with a piano earlier today, so we've finally got off our arses to get rid o' it." The auror was pacing across them all now, once again a military man. "We've 'ad the Obliviators and the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee in t' convince 'em there's some fire 'azard, so the 'ouse is deserted. You guys got a simple enough task – get rid o' tha' poltergeist. Banish it, convince it go 'n' haunt another school, kill it, 'ell marry the damn thing, I just want it out."
And with that, the auror had dramatically apparated away with a quick crack!.
Thus had begun Lyall's first task out in the field.
The poltergeist had lead them on a wild goose chase around the school, even across the 150-odd acre grounds of sports fields and woodland. During this time, in between bouts of shielding, shouting, ducking and running, the team had got to know each other well – they had all attended Hogwarts, and Abbott was a Hufflepuff whilst the other two, Okoye and Moody were both Gryffindors.
"I haven't been seeing that many Bird-Brains since joining the programme, you know." noted the girl, Amy Okoye. "Most of them go into research, like you. Only a couple of aurors – that I know, anyway – from Ravenclaw."
"Oh really?" Enquired Lupin.
She and Lyall were taking a rest stop to catch their breath, and we making conversation in the school kitchens. The food had appeared to make the small girl lose her stern attitude, and she was smiling up at Lyall.
"Yeah. Most of us are Lions, a fair few Badgers and a scattering of Birds and Snakes. Don't know why the Slytherins even bother – why spend years training to defeat dark wizards when your just gonna become one anyway?" She grinned, biting into a sandwich she had rustled up.
"Wow, Gryffindor-Slytherin prejudice, even now? How long have you been out of Hogwarts?" Lupin smirked.
"Shaddup, you know I'm right. " She had quickly returned from that jovial, chatty attitude, to the girl with the tight lips and a set face.
He had let the matter drop.
The others were pretty good too. In between bursts of hexing and fleeing run-away pianos, the three men got to know each other. Abbotts's amiable banter and cheeky grin betrayed his incredible skill, and Moody (who preferred to just go by "Al") had a sure attitude and thick, steady voice, decorated with a slight Scottish accent. He was the paranoid one of the group: "Never risk somethin', when ya got th' chance t'be sure," he'd admonished.
By the time the job was done, the sun was rising a second time. They had only got rid of the damn thing by cornering the thing in some poor kid's bedroom and shoving it into a small glass bottle, charmed up by Lyall. Exhausted, the small band were nearly collapsed before it was sent away for the Ministry to deal with. An owl was sent off to MacTully, and a couple of weary goodbyes offered whilst each apparated away.
Lupin had barely been in bed ten minutes when there was a soft, yet insistent tapping at his door.
He lifted a single eyelid. The tapping continued, small but very, very clear, and coming from the base of the door. Lyall groaned.
It was a goddamned owl.
What he wouldn't do for proper wizarding accommodation right now…
"Not now…" Lupin mumbled, turning again.
The tapping continued, and as Lyall continued to ignore it, the infernal thing got more impatient, first tapping louder, then faster, now squawking bloody murder.
"Fine!" He yelled, swinging out from bed and planting his boots on the floor. The man stormed over to the door and opened it moodily. The little barn own sitting on the threshold looked at him quizzically, before swooping in o land on his desk. It stuck out one arrogant leg, a small roll of parchment tied to it, while it looked round disdainfully.
"Hey, it's not my fault I'm here, alright?" Lyall admonished, maybe being a little rougher than necessary with the untying of the note.
After the barn owl had swept regally out of the flat into the bleak dawn light (leaving a little present for his customer to clean up, of course), Lyall unrolled the parchment and read:
Dearest Lyall,
Look, I know we've been nagging, but we still need your help. I've told you umpteen times about this boggart young man, and I know your busy but spare a thought for your dear old mother. We've been asking for weeks and you keep promising to visit but you never do. It's driving your father and me insane and you know our magic isn't what it used to be.
Look, just pop down today (I know you don't work on Sundays so don't you dare try that one on me, young man) and we'll have a nice, warm breakfast on the table for you by nine, all right love?
Your poor Mother, Clara
P.S. Next time it's a Howler.
Lyall fought the urge to scream. His parents we perfectly capable of handling one stupid boggart.
"'Magic not what it used to be' my arse." He muttered. If his mother could send a Howler, she could cast a simple Ridikulus. Besides, he was not exactly up to an apparition all the way down to South Wales right now.
He jumped back under his covers, determined he was going to get in another three hours at least.
A HUGE shout out to vainintrain, Mornen, and GreenieMerry, my first reviewers! I've never understood how excited authors get about reviews, but reading your thoughts made me want to just burst. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)