In a dirty pub in Romania, Remus Lupin sat slumped in his chair wondering when his "contact" was going to finally arrive. The slight signs of madness and anger that flashed every so often in his eyes kept the other wizards in the crude establishment from approaching him. His honey-colored eyes flashed dark with anger once more as the wolf inside him fought against the magical tracking charm that the Werewolf Registry had placed on him just that week. Remus entertained himself by imagining that Moony fought the tracking charm with all the fury and frustration he had once seen a great black dog fight his lead. This line of thought was brought to a close before his feelings became too intense by the arrival, in a flourish of lilac robes, of his contact, Gilderoy Lockhart.
Remus snorted softly at the man's dazzling arrival. He had to admit that, of all the people the Ministry could have leashed him to meet, Gilderoy Lockhart, Wizard Adventurer Extraordinaire, was not one he had considered. Remus had read the man's latest book. Squinting at him through the dazzling shine of his rather brilliant smile, Remus would be willing to eat his meal with a silver fork if the man had ever met a real banshee.
"Lockhart. How can I help you?" rasped the frail-looking werewolf before him.
Gilderoy Lochart gave another sparkling smile at the realization that his tablemate had recognized him right off. His new book must be selling better than his publisher had thought, Gilderoy mused. Gil took in the appearance of the man before him. He's too thin, yet was probably always slender. His hair is a rather mousy-brown with far too much gray and desperately needs to be cut. His hands were rather extraordinary: slender with long fingers, perfect, oval nails that needed just a bit of a scrub, and flawlessly smooth in the way that hinted that Lupin's ragged appearance belied his true age. Gil had almost dismissed Lupin completely until he looked at his face as the shaggy hair fell away. 'His eyes are like the sun. Shining and golden, just like the sun. Look at the sun too long and it'll blind you, said Mother. I would gladly be blind if the image of his golden eyes were to be my last sight,' Gil jumped back from Lupin quickly as those golden eyes flashed a dangerous ray of warning at him.
"You know me then! Have you read my latest?" Lockhart gushed.
Remus felt annoyance flair inside him from the wolf. 'I know what you mean Moony. He surely can't want much from us though. He's too much of an idiot to be a serious threat,' Remus comforted the beast within himself with his thoughts. He wondered what the performer in front of him could possibly want. 'Why is he staring?' Remus wanted to howl his frustration at the situation to the whole pub, but settled for flashing it to Lockhart with a cold glare.
"Lockhart. I think every member of the wizarding community knows you. Your face is on everything and your new book's all WWN has been broadcasting about for the last fortnight. Now, what do you want me for? I would like to have this charm taken off as soon as is possible, if you don't mind," the werewolf hissed softly, golden eyes searing Lockhart to his core.
'He's a feisty one, isn't he though,' Gil mused to himself. He decided that perhaps getting to a more private place was more of a necessity now than it had been before. Gil couldn't wait to get a good firm grip on Lupin's memories.
"Oh! They put a tracking charm on you, did they? Yes. The Minister is ever so concerned for my safety. He's quite a fan, you know," Lockhart babbled out happily.
Remus tried not to see the stupid comments as a threat, but failed. 'Lockhart must be a bit smarter than I thought, Moony. It appears he knows he's got friends in high places, and, if we want to keep our head attached, then we had better go along with him quietly,' Remus mused.
"Yes, they used a tracer. I, like the rest of the hearing community, have heard the Minister's statements regarding your work, Lockhart. I think that advertisement of his runs every quarter of the hour at least," Lupin murmured quietly.
Gil tried not to think of the anger that lurked under Lupin's fragile exterior. He didn't want to think of the ill-will the other man must wish him because of the charm. 'That charm makes sure the Ministry knows where he is at all times. They can sense his magic through it, and would know in an instant of any spell he tried to use. It must be like living with a cage around your soul,' Gil thought, 'Let's get him free of that cage as soon as we can.'
"Why don't we go somewhere a bit quieter? That way, I can ask my questions faster and get your answers far more accurately, too. Wouldn't want to be misquoted, now would you?" Lockhart suggested with another award-winning smile.
'And you can get rid of that charm quicker if you cooperate,' Remus added internally. 'Well, Moony, it appears we are going on another trip. Let's just hope Lockhart is quick about it.'
"Fine. Let's go then," Lupin agreed gruffly.
Gil couldn't help but notice that he staggered a bit as he stood. He took Lupin's arm and disapparated them from the pub without stopping to ask if there was a bill to settle.
Remus tried to recover from the dizziness that always accompanied dual Apparating, but was knocked even further off balance as a heavy metal cuff was latched around the arm that Lockhart still clutched. He screamed in pain as the silver bracket touched his flesh. 'Burns. Burns. Too much pain. Take it off. Take it off. Rip it off. Tear it off.' Moony's frenzy over the new imprisonment only caused Remus to babble incoherently as he tried to both wrench the poisoning metal from his body and prevent Moony from tearing off his own hand to make the cuff easier to remove.
"Off. Off. Off. Burns. Burns. Burns," Lupin whimpered softly.
Gil was surprised at his vehemence. He tried not to panic as he saw the blood oozing from Lupin's arm as he tore his flesh with his almost-perfect nails in his desperation to remove the cuff. He had never thought that the metal would hurt him this much. 'The text said that it was a slow poisoning! I thought that meant he wouldn't suffer. Must get it off him, but he'll hurt me! He's mad! I can't let him loose, but I can't stand to see him suffer…Of course!' Gil allowed his panic to subside a bit before he used his wand to remove the cuff the same way he had put it on. Then, he immediately replaced the cuff around Lupin's leg where the ragged material of his trousers offered him some protection from the painful metal.
Lupin clawed at his arm for a few moments more before he collapsed into a pitiful heap on the floor of the cabin they had apparated into. He cradled his wounded arm to his chest and attempted to curl up as much as was possible while avoiding touching the cuff around his left ankle. Lockhart sighed in relief as he saw the bleeding slow and stop. He had been really worried about the depth of those scratches. 'How well do werewolves heal?' Gil mused for a bit. He really couldn't remember. Studying had never been his forte. As coherence once again dawned in Lupin's sunny eyes, Lockhart frowned slightly, 'This is really not going according to plan.'
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Remus snorted softly at the man's dazzling arrival. He had to admit that, of all the people the Ministry could have leashed him to meet, Gilderoy Lockhart, Wizard Adventurer Extraordinaire, was not one he had considered. Remus had read the man's latest book. Squinting at him through the dazzling shine of his rather brilliant smile, Remus would be willing to eat his meal with a silver fork if the man had ever met a real banshee.
"Lockhart. How can I help you?" rasped the frail-looking werewolf before him.
Gilderoy Lochart gave another sparkling smile at the realization that his tablemate had recognized him right off. His new book must be selling better than his publisher had thought, Gilderoy mused. Gil took in the appearance of the man before him. He's too thin, yet was probably always slender. His hair is a rather mousy-brown with far too much gray and desperately needs to be cut. His hands were rather extraordinary: slender with long fingers, perfect, oval nails that needed just a bit of a scrub, and flawlessly smooth in the way that hinted that Lupin's ragged appearance belied his true age. Gil had almost dismissed Lupin completely until he looked at his face as the shaggy hair fell away. 'His eyes are like the sun. Shining and golden, just like the sun. Look at the sun too long and it'll blind you, said Mother. I would gladly be blind if the image of his golden eyes were to be my last sight,' Gil jumped back from Lupin quickly as those golden eyes flashed a dangerous ray of warning at him.
"You know me then! Have you read my latest?" Lockhart gushed.
Remus felt annoyance flair inside him from the wolf. 'I know what you mean Moony. He surely can't want much from us though. He's too much of an idiot to be a serious threat,' Remus comforted the beast within himself with his thoughts. He wondered what the performer in front of him could possibly want. 'Why is he staring?' Remus wanted to howl his frustration at the situation to the whole pub, but settled for flashing it to Lockhart with a cold glare.
"Lockhart. I think every member of the wizarding community knows you. Your face is on everything and your new book's all WWN has been broadcasting about for the last fortnight. Now, what do you want me for? I would like to have this charm taken off as soon as is possible, if you don't mind," the werewolf hissed softly, golden eyes searing Lockhart to his core.
'He's a feisty one, isn't he though,' Gil mused to himself. He decided that perhaps getting to a more private place was more of a necessity now than it had been before. Gil couldn't wait to get a good firm grip on Lupin's memories.
"Oh! They put a tracking charm on you, did they? Yes. The Minister is ever so concerned for my safety. He's quite a fan, you know," Lockhart babbled out happily.
Remus tried not to see the stupid comments as a threat, but failed. 'Lockhart must be a bit smarter than I thought, Moony. It appears he knows he's got friends in high places, and, if we want to keep our head attached, then we had better go along with him quietly,' Remus mused.
"Yes, they used a tracer. I, like the rest of the hearing community, have heard the Minister's statements regarding your work, Lockhart. I think that advertisement of his runs every quarter of the hour at least," Lupin murmured quietly.
Gil tried not to think of the anger that lurked under Lupin's fragile exterior. He didn't want to think of the ill-will the other man must wish him because of the charm. 'That charm makes sure the Ministry knows where he is at all times. They can sense his magic through it, and would know in an instant of any spell he tried to use. It must be like living with a cage around your soul,' Gil thought, 'Let's get him free of that cage as soon as we can.'
"Why don't we go somewhere a bit quieter? That way, I can ask my questions faster and get your answers far more accurately, too. Wouldn't want to be misquoted, now would you?" Lockhart suggested with another award-winning smile.
'And you can get rid of that charm quicker if you cooperate,' Remus added internally. 'Well, Moony, it appears we are going on another trip. Let's just hope Lockhart is quick about it.'
"Fine. Let's go then," Lupin agreed gruffly.
Gil couldn't help but notice that he staggered a bit as he stood. He took Lupin's arm and disapparated them from the pub without stopping to ask if there was a bill to settle.
Remus tried to recover from the dizziness that always accompanied dual Apparating, but was knocked even further off balance as a heavy metal cuff was latched around the arm that Lockhart still clutched. He screamed in pain as the silver bracket touched his flesh. 'Burns. Burns. Too much pain. Take it off. Take it off. Rip it off. Tear it off.' Moony's frenzy over the new imprisonment only caused Remus to babble incoherently as he tried to both wrench the poisoning metal from his body and prevent Moony from tearing off his own hand to make the cuff easier to remove.
"Off. Off. Off. Burns. Burns. Burns," Lupin whimpered softly.
Gil was surprised at his vehemence. He tried not to panic as he saw the blood oozing from Lupin's arm as he tore his flesh with his almost-perfect nails in his desperation to remove the cuff. He had never thought that the metal would hurt him this much. 'The text said that it was a slow poisoning! I thought that meant he wouldn't suffer. Must get it off him, but he'll hurt me! He's mad! I can't let him loose, but I can't stand to see him suffer…Of course!' Gil allowed his panic to subside a bit before he used his wand to remove the cuff the same way he had put it on. Then, he immediately replaced the cuff around Lupin's leg where the ragged material of his trousers offered him some protection from the painful metal.
Lupin clawed at his arm for a few moments more before he collapsed into a pitiful heap on the floor of the cabin they had apparated into. He cradled his wounded arm to his chest and attempted to curl up as much as was possible while avoiding touching the cuff around his left ankle. Lockhart sighed in relief as he saw the bleeding slow and stop. He had been really worried about the depth of those scratches. 'How well do werewolves heal?' Gil mused for a bit. He really couldn't remember. Studying had never been his forte. As coherence once again dawned in Lupin's sunny eyes, Lockhart frowned slightly, 'This is really not going according to plan.'
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