Chapter 20

The cold December wind sliced through his heavy winter robes and clawed at the clothes beneath, desperately trying to get to his flesh. If he hadn't known any better he would have thought the element possessed, but it was winter and this was harsh country not known for hospitality from its people or its terrain. Icy wind was the least of his worries in this place. Nevertheless, it was a relief to leave its enveloping grip and step into the dimly lit interior of the local antiques store. He paused a moment to let his sight adjust and to revel in the smell of things that are old (he would never tire of such a pleasure). When he moved forward his light footsteps were easily heard in the silence but he was used to such echoes, seeing as he had been teaching at Hogwarts for the last year and the emptied halls let no sound go unheard. He rubbed his hands together under the faded grey gloves, trying to warm them up. His toes were just as numb but there was nothing he could do about that right now.

He stopped and gazed at a small monkey sculpture and smiled when its head bounced around randomly when prodded. There was a beautiful old globe resting on one side table that would look wonderful in his office, but alas he didn't have much money to spend and the last thing he was going to use it on was something to satisfy his materialistic values. He had never held much to those notions anyway. His sensitive ears twitched and he heard the quiet breathing of the shop owner from across the room, but he refrained from looking up. The antique dealer was taking a moment to study his customer before announcing his presence and he wasn't inclined announce his awareness of his surroundings. Instead he pretended to examine a spoon.

"It looks rudimentary but I assure you it was handcrafted over two hundred years ago. Quite rare indeed!" The thickly accented voice broke the silence and Lupin looked up, his lips quirking as he looked at the tall shop keeper. The man had glasses that reminded him of Harry, owlish eyes blinking behind the thick lenses.

"It is beautiful, but unfortunately I don't have any real interest in spoons." He put the utensil back down carefully and moved to the next item, pretending to be interested in it.

"Oh? Perhaps I can help you find what it is you search for Mr…"

"Lupin." Remus supplied as he moved slowly along the table.

"I am called Piotr, and as owner of this establishment I might be able to find an item of interest for you."

"Thank you, but I think for now I will simply look around."

"That will not be a problem, please, enjoy." Piotr walked quietly to his counter and sat in a rickety old chair, pretending to look through an old book. Lupin moved slowly, playing along in this game of question and answer. Hopefully acquiring what he came here for wouldn't take too long as he didn't like the feel of this town, it made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. He was looking through a pile of dusty volumes, not recognizing the language but assuming it was the native tongue, when the owner spoke up again with an air of slight curiosity but no real interest.

"Pardon me for saying, but you don't look familiar. Are you from out of town?"

"I am, just passing through."

"I see. You will forgive me for being curious, as our humble town has only seen one stranger in the last three and a half years."

"That's not what I've heard." Lupin looked carefully at a small black tin before placing it back on top of its larger doppelganger. He looked over his shoulder and watched Piotr stare at him a moment, before the man shook his head and pursed his lips.

"You should not come in the day light, the villagers here do not take kindly to strangers. It's a miracle the last one made it out unharmed." Lupin frowned at this. When he had been informed that this store had what he wanted the informant had neglected to mention such an important point. But he was here now, so he might as well get what he needed and get out.

"I was unaware of this. Perhaps we should conclude our business accordingly then."

"Indeed. What is it you seek?"

"An amulet that has a centre of aperture quartz." The taller man stared hard at Lupin a moment before turning and leaving the room. He came back a moment later carrying a brown pouch smaller then his palm. He stopped directly in front of Lupin and the werewolf could smell a hint of unease surrounding him, as well as excitement to be selling such an extravagant item. Piotr opened the bag and carefully tipped it so the silver encircled crystal fell into his hand, picking up on the few rays of light leaking in from the dirty windows.

"This is the one, though it will cost you a great deal. There are not many left circulating the markets." Lupin picked it up and examined it carefully, and he felt relief when he realized that this was exactly what he had been searching for.

"Name your price."

After the rare crystal was tucked carefully in his deepest pockets Remus headed to the door and stepped back out into the cold, wrapping his robes tightly around his self. He was not ashamed to admit that he could never have purchased such an item with his own money. Being a werewolf had created far too few job prospects over the years and he had more often then not found himself in want of a decent meal and some clean clothes. Teaching defence against the dark arts the first time at Hogwarts had been his first decently paying job in several years. When Harry had defeated the bane of the wizarding world Lupin had declined an offer to return to the school, instead he took up a position at the ministry in the auror department, teaching the new recruits spells that Harry (and his two best friends) had already learned. It was only this last year he had returned to the school. So really, he'd never had a proper chance to build up any funds of his own.

Serius, however, had felt that it was necessary to divide his entire will between Harry and Remus himself. Now, as the wind tried to freeze the tip of his nose Lupin was grateful for the small fortune, because there was no other way he would be able to afford such an important ingredient. With this crystal he would be able to (with the aid of Molly and Snape) cast a spell that would allow a creature to find anyone in the world. They would be able to find Ron. Remus felt absolutely no guilt spending the money on this tiny little stone. Ron needed to be found, he had been living in fear for far too long.

The icy snow crunched beneath his feet as he travelled down the slippery road to the end of town. He had arrived by apparrating to the forest and then walked up, he planned to leave the same way. He was getting nervous though, as there were many more men and women on the road then there had been a mere twenty minutes before, and they seemed to be honing in on him as he walked quickly down the street. When four burly young men stepped into his path, just twenty meters from the edge of town he knew he was in serious trouble and he began to silently curse himself. He should have waited in the store, or gone out a back way. He had walked right into this in his eagerness to get the quartz.

He slowly began to withdraw his right arm, wand clutched carefully in his hand, but he didn't make it very far as something solid slammed into his back and drove him painfully to his knees. He took only a second to catch his breath before looking up calmly, hoping to talk his way out of this mess. The crowd of no less then fifteen people swarmed around him as he kneeled in the snow, one middle aged man bent down and picked up his wand, which had been knocked from his hand, looking at it in confusion.

"I'm sorry if I've caused any harm here, I was unaware that strangers were not welcome in your town." He held up his arms placating, hoping to calm them when he was struck on his back again, knocking the air out of him. He was vaguely aware of a voice cutting through the crowd, yelling loudly as he tried to catch his breath and focus. He saw that a man dressed in brown pants and a thick, ratty sweater with a yellow stained apron was talking heatedly with one of the men who had blocked his path. This man didn't seem affected by the cold as he gesticulated angrily at Lupin and then at the crowd, before turning on Lupin himself.

"What is your purpose in this town?" He demanded and Lupin answered the only way he thought he should, not wanting to get the antique dealer in any more trouble then he might already be in.

"I'm just passing through." The apron man translated this to the crowd and a dark grumble passed through the group as several more, louder voices joined the argument.

"They don't believe that a normal man can come from the woods to our town without more purpose."

"Do they honestly think I look like a threat?" It was a still two weeks to the next full moon and Remus had lost his wand. While he could hold his own in a fight he had no illusions of coming out triumphantly against this crowd. He slowly started to get to his feet when someone kicked his legs out from behind and he landed on his back, staring up at the crowd. He saw that one man was holding a shovel while several others brandished an array of knives and other gardening implements. Was that a crossbow? He rolled onto his stomach and slowly started to push himself to his knees, where he waited, feeling a pain pull at his entire back, already impeding his movements.

"He says only a foul creature of the woods would wander unafraid into this town."

"I'm no creature. It's true I came from the forest, but I hitched a ride in a truck most of the way. I was dropped off not far from this place. I can show you where." There was a rapid exchange of words and the crowd fell silent, staring at him with hostility. It was clear that he wasn't getting through to them. The man with the dark hair spit on him, the slimy glob dribbled slowly down the front of his robe and Lupin glared at the leader of the horde. Reason wasn't going to work and the man in the apron looked at him with something akin to regret before moving out of the crowd. Lupin didn't blame him, he was no more capable of stopping them then Lupin currently was, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try. He prepared to act as the hostility of the crowd seemed on the verge of ruling their actions when a calm (almost lazy) and utterly English voice cut above the angry shouts.

"It would appear that you're all a bit confused, he doesn't look harmful at all to me; I doubt he's the one you should be worried about." Lupin looked up but couldn't see who it was speaking up for him past all the bodies that were packed so tightly around. The crowd had, however, seemed to have lost some of their interest in beating him to death at that moment, which he was thankful for. The man with his wand was to his right, but the path to him was blocked by a rather terrifying woman who angrily clutched a meat cleaver and looked well equipped to use it. He could knock her away easily, but the three young men standing beside them would stop him before he proceeded further then that.

His knees were becoming numb from the snow and his robes were no longer holding the chill at bay. He looked around as the group was watched the English speaking newcomer beyond his view and decided that maybe he could get to his feet without to much protest. Slowly he got one leg under him and began to rise, when there were hands grabbing him from behind and showing him, face first, into the snow. He saw stars a moment as his forehead collided painfully with the ground and the wind was knocked from him again. A booted foot connected solidly where he lay and he gasped sharply. Before he could move a heel (probably from the same boot that kicked him) dug into his back and pinned him to the ground. He glared at the legs standing around him, it was then he noticed that the apron clad man had joined the group again, translating what the stranger had said. The leader stood even taller as he angrily spit words at the newcomer.

"He says you're the one who is confused, that you have no idea what that filth on the ground is capable of."

"Oh, I think I have a general idea."

"He wants to know why he shouldn't lay you next to him, since you seem to have something in common with him."

"Do I? Well, I suppose it would be irresponsible to deny it…" there was an aggravated muttering through the crowd and the boot dug deeper into his back, forcing a grimace from him even as Lupin listened intently. "I'll pass on joining him though, it doesn't look all that comfortable down there. I will, however, ask you to let him up." There was a moment of translation, a second of silence, and then the crowd seemed to burst into laughter as one; mocking, perilous laughter that bordered on hysteria as these towns people tried to figure out what to do. Lupin knew that they had probably never been challenged in such a manner. The man in the apron, Lupin saw, didn't seem at all happy with this situation, but then the crowd next to the interpreter and leader split, and a tall, broad shouldered and brown haired man stepped into the centre of the group. Lupin stared at the man as he stood there in his long, well worn jacket, looking for all the world as though he jumped into violent mobs daily. He tried to see the mans face, but could only make out the back of his brown head and jaw line. There was a smudge of dirt on his neck.

"Why is he still on the ground?" The English man's voice cut into the laughter. Gone was the blithe tone that had been in his voice only moments before, and in its place was the voice of a man hardened by life, the voice of someone that didn't like to be disobeyed. The leader shifted on his feet, but he stood defiantly and sneered in a way that would have made Snape proud.

"He is a creature from the woods, he is dangerous, and we will deal with him as we see fit." Was the snarled reply.

"He's not the one that you should be worried about." The tall man was staring down the groups leader, who suddenly seemed a lot more uncertain as he remained defiant. Lupin could smell the crowds emotions shift from hostility to anger and unease. "Let him go," he stepped forward slowly, entering the leaders personal space and forcing the man to take a step backwards, "because I will protect him, and that will not bode well for your town." Tension crackled and the air suddenly felt charged with energy. The flowing aura of magic was unmistakable to Lupin, but he doubted the others would recognize the charge as such.

"What are you?"

"I'm nothing. Now, let him up." The boot shifted from his back almost immediately and Lupin quickly stood, doing his best not to sway in pain or light headedness. "Give him back his stick." He ordered and the man who held it glared back at him defiantly. For a moment Lupin feared he would snap it in spite, and was about to move forward when it came flying through the air, right at him. He caught it and felt immediate relief as he could once again defend himself fully. He turned to look at the stranger, who was still staring at the dark haired man as though he was perfectly capable of tearing his internal organs out through his pores if he was given the tiniest excuse. It was a look that Lupin had seen before, when a young man had been protecting his best friend from a murderer, and it held real threat. He was looking at Ron Weasley. He pulled in a sharp breath, inhaling the young mans slightly changed but familiar scent and he belatedly wondered how he hadn't realized right from the start. He didn't show any other reaction though, and as Ron turned and walked out of the crowd whom hastily parted before him, Lupin moved beside him and they briskly retreated down the road together.

"Walk faster. The second they remember they have projectile weapons we're in trouble." Ron ordered but Lupin couldn't reply, trying to keep up with the younger mans longer stride was absurdly difficult at the moment, as his chest felt like it might explode and his back was cramping painfully. They reached the edge of town and followed the road, the deep snow making it difficult for Lupin to walk as they passed an empty pasture. In the distance, mountains loomed, but closer to them the road disappeared into the forest. Lupin heard a slight whooshing sound and looked sharply at the tail of an arrow now sticking up from the snow just in front of him. Ron swore.

"Can you apparate?" He asked harshly, breaking the tense silence.

"Yes, but I need the coordinates." He lifted his wand to prepare and froze as Ron roughly grabbed his wrist in a grip of iron, halting his action.

"Just apparate, I'll take you where we need to go." Lupin looked at him, trying to meet his eyes but Ron avoided the gaze by looking back at the group of villagers that Lupin could hear approaching. There was no time to argue, so Lupin did as asked, and prayed he came out of it all right.

TBC

Sorry, I have no time for comments right now. I'll write to you all next chapter!

Next update: Sept 2, 2005