Chapter 4 - Finding the Trail
Matt, Billy and Chuck stared helplessly as the younger boy started cleaning the house manually. Yes - manually. After Jeric had settled, he vowed to himself that he would never use magic again unless it was a matter of life and death. But he had his wand tucked safely in his back pocket in case of emergency. He scrubbed the floor first, washed the dishes and was currently wiping the accumulated dirt at the glass windows. He was even singing softly to himself as he did so."You know I think we should put him out of his misery. He doesn't really need to do this." said Billy as he watched the boy struggle with the stubborn dirt on the rough edges of the window.
"Yeah, besides this is taking too much time." grumbled Matt as he fiddled with his drumsticks, letting it roll around his fingers.
"Hey, Jeric. Cut that out. We did not invite you in to be our housekeeper." yelled Chuck.
"It's okay. I want to earn my keep." replied Jeric a little nervously. He was not used to people treating him this nicely aside from his friends at Hogwarts.
"You can earn your keep by helping us with our music." argued Billy and he forcefully pried Harry away from the offensive windows.
"Okay, you win. So where do we start?" said Jeric as he resigned himself to enjoy his good fortune of having met them.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Meanwhile, at one of the Hogwarts' dungeons, a very irate professor was busy poring through a muggle map, focusing on the area where Harry Potter was last seen. He paused occasionally to scribble something on a tiny piece of parchment then to take a delicate sip of his steaming hot coffee which was the only thing that was giving him satisfaction at the moment.
"If I had my way, I would be giving that idiotic boy exactly what he was looking for - trouble!" He mumbled through gritted teeth. "The Headmaster is spoiling him!"
"The first sign of madness is talking to yourself." said a witch on a nearby portrait who had been watching him with fascination since he arrived at his private domain.
"Did I ask for your opinion?" The professor glared furiously at the witch who had wisely decided that maybe this was not the time for jesting.
"Potter, I really hope that you're worth all the trouble I'm being forced into." He continued grumbling to himself, saying all the things he would have wanted to say with a wide array of colorful expletives to discourage the Headmaster from giving him this mission but did not have enough courage to say in front of the wise old man. He respected the man so much that he was willing to sacrifice a little - no, a lot - of his time on this mission that he deemed pointless.
After finishing his coffee and altering his apparel to be inconspicious in the muggle world, the professor made his way to #4 Privet Drive. As expected, the house was empty which was just the way he wanted it. He did not really possess the patience to deal with those abhorable relatives of the boy. 'This would make things a lot simpler.' he thought as he opened the door knob with a simple unlocking charm.
He went straight to the boy's room only to find it empty aside from a small cot which he properly deduced as too small for the boy and a tiny cabinet which did not even look like one to him. All of the boy's books were gone, so was his trunk.
'This is just a waste of time.' he thought in disgust and he apparated immediately to the restaurant, being careful to appear on a deserted place indicated on the map.
Without even a glance at the waiters who greeted him courteously, he walked straight to the male's lavatory. And he found nothing. No sign of Potter at all. But it all happened a few days ago. Maybe the cleaners found something. He groaned slightly at the thought of having to deal with muggles to get information - the muggle way. At this crowd, he would not be able to use magic to get it.
"Excuse me." he called to a nearby waiter who seemed only too eager to serve him. "A friend of mine went to the male lavatory a few days ago but he did not come back. He was a bespectacled seventeen year old young man with unruly black hair. He was with a fat man with a moustache, a bony woman and an overweight teenager. Do you think you can help me talk to the one assigned to clean the restroom that night?" he asked as politely as possible.
"Oh, I remember those three. Quite a rowdy bunch but they did not make a fuss about the person missing." said the waiter then he continued after a short pause. "I was the one assigned to clean the bathroom that day but I did not find anything that could be of help." The waiter gave him a calculating look that did not escape his notice. He was not the Order's best spy for nothing.
"That's alright. I'll be leaving now but just to let you know, it would be worth your while if you can tell me anything. Anything at all." He enticed as he pretended to leave. People were just the same everywhere, may they be muggle or wizard.
"Wait....I think I remember something." the waiter stopped him immediately. The professor smiled widely as the man handed him a calling card. A quick glance at the paper made him think that he was indeed on the right track. "I found that inside the bathroom that day. I'm not sure if that could help but --- "
"Never mind. I'll find out myself." said the Professor as he casually slipped a number of bills into the man's palm as a token of his appreciation.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"Now what?" said Matt as he too placed a silver band with a tribal design around his forehead. Jeric had convinced the band members to wear those bands for effect but more so because he wanted to hide his scar. He just could not tell them that."Now we play." Jeric said simply. They had practiced the song for hours and even though he still could not keep up with their playing, he knew that he could get better at it with constant practice. Billy and Chuck could now concentrate on singing and playing rhythm and base since he was playing the lead guitar and Matt had learned the art of controlling his strength in pounding on the drums.
"Whoa! That's a good practice." said Billy after their lively performance.
"Yeah." said Chuck admittedly then he took a good look at Jeric as if he was seeing him for the first time. "Hey, Jeric, are you from around this town? You look vaguely familiar. I just couldn't place it."
"No." replied Jeric truthfully.
Curiousity got the better of Matt and Billy and they stared at him too. "Yeah, now that I think of it, you look very familiar..." said Matt thoughtfully.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you look like..." said Billy then shook his head as if he found the thought highly improbable. "No, of course not. Maybe you just have some similarities but definitely not."
"Who?" asked Jeric curiously. If that person resembles him then maybe he had a relative here somewhere that Dumbledore and the others had no knowledge of.
"Hmm...." said Matt as he tapped his foot warningly.
KRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG!!!!
Jeric and the others jumped at the sudden noise.
"Damn that phone! Billy, I told you adjust the volume of that one." said Chuck as he reached for the phone attached to the wall with a small screen above it that enables the receiver to see who was calling them. "Hello, who's calling please?"
"Nice device, isn't it?" said Billy in amusement as he saw Jeric's fascination with the item. He obviously thought that the boy was just amazed by their hi-tech gadget.
"Yeah, I've never seen anything like that before." said Jeric distractedly as he stared nervously at the screen. 'Snape! How the hell did he find me so fast?' he thought as he struggled to think of a way to tell Chuck not to tell him where he was.
"Good afternoon. This is Mr. Atherton. Are you from 'Voldie's Downfall'?"
"Yes, what can I do for you, sir?" said Chuck politely, oblivious of Jeric's frantic gestures.
"I got hold of one of your calling and I'm wondering if you would be available for a performance tomorrow. I'm going to hold a party and unfortunately, the entertainers I commissioned backed out at the last minute. Rest assured that you would be amply rewarded for your services."
"Let me just check with my band mates for a while sir. Kindly hold on." said Chuck and put the caller on hold. "So, what do you think?" he asked the others excitedly.
"That's okay with us." agreed Matt and Billy at once.
"No! Please turn him down." pleaded Jeric.
"Why? Do you know that man?" asked Billy in confusion.
"Yeah, please turn him down. I'll explain later." said Harry.
"Alright but your explanation better be good cause I'm about to turn down a very good opportunity." said Chuck but he did not really look that remorseful as he returned to the caller. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, sir, but I don't think we could make it tomorrow. Our schedule is so hectic these days."
"Oh, is that so? Then, can I just possibly get your address so that I can see how you perform and maybe I can acquire your services at another time?" pressed the man who seemed intent on checking them out. Chuck glanced at the nervous figure of their new apprentice and politely declined. "I'm sorry, sir, but we don't give out our address to strangers. I hope you understand."
"I understand perfectly. Thank you for your time." said the caller but did not seem too pleased as he hung up.
Chuck, Bill and Matt turned to Harry at once.
"Now, what was that all about?"
"Umm --- err..." Jeric struggled for the appropriate words to express his concerns about the matter. "I --- umm....you see that man is ...."
"Get on with it, boy. We don't have all day!" said Matt impatiently.
"I ran away because I want to escape from that man and others like him." said Harry quickly in his anxiety.
"What do you mean by people like him?" asked Chuck probingly.
"You mean that man is bad?" asked Billy with narrowed eyes.
Jeric nodded as he considered it to be the best explanation for his behaviour. After all, Snape could not be exactly described as the epitome of goodness. But it did not seem right so he settled with a simple, fool-proof reason that he was sure would be acceptable and closer to the truth.
"No, not really. They are just pushing me to be someone I don't want to be and I'm sick and tired of it."