James kept walking through the forest until he arrived at the beginnings of the village. The village was like the other ones they had previously seen in their travels. Several cottages strewn about, a church at the end, a blacksmith, an inn and a bar. Several people were walking around, children were chasing after a dog, and a small group was surrounding a group of musicians. So far, there had been no signs of magic
Knowing where to go for information, James headed towards the bar called The Green Faery,with a dainty faery sitting on top of the word "Faery". Seeing this, he had faint hopes of it being a wizard's bar and that they might accept his money. With Anticipation following him, he opened the door and stepped into the bar
He was expecting for the small number of people inside to stop their conversations and drinking to get up and kick him out, but nothing of the sort happened. One or two men looked up from their drinks and looked at him, but nothing else. It felt like they were used to having a newcomer intrude on their haven, linger for a while and leave. The bartender also looked at him for a while and went back to polishing a tankard with a greasy rag. It was hard to tell exactly how many people were in there because the windows were dirty and kept the sun from penetrating. There were candles overhead, but most were dying stumps and the few that were lit weren't enough to cast light on the unfamiliar faces.
James shuffled towards the bar, hoping to talk to the bartender, when a young girl stopped him. She took him by the arm and smiled. He looked at her, her plump figure was covered by a fading blue dress and her head was covered with soft brown ringlets. As he looked down at her, he noticed that her eyes had a sort of longing to them, and this feeling was further expressed by the small smile that overtook her lips. "Would you mind my company?" She asked in a soft voice.
"No, of course not." James said as she led him deeper into the bar.
"You're not from here." She stated.
"No."
"I'm sure you don't feel welcome."
"Um...I don't know. I just got here." James mumbled.
"I'll make you feel welcome. The villagers call me 'The Welcome Girl'. I welcome every stranger who visits our village, and they feel so welcomed that they forget about their journey and stay."
James didn't say anything to her unusual greeting. She probably bought the various travelers a drink and put a Love Potion into them, so he decided not to accept anything from her - that is, if she truely was a witch.
"If only I could see your face in clear light. You look like a very handsome man." She said as she ran a hand down Jame's left side of his face. "But of course, I can't go outside. The villagers don't like me. My home is here. I can only guess how you look."
For a fleeting second, James thought of taking out his wand and saying lumos, but he wasn't sure if she was a muggle or not. She started touching his hair and then came to the cold frame of his glasses and she drew her hand away. "You are blind as well."
"I'm not blind, but yes, I do have some vision problems." He said, feeling uncomfortable.
"I'm blind too, spending all my time in here, I can't see very well. I -"
"REBECCA !" A man yelled.
The girl looked around, acting like a rabbit about to be killed. The bartender walked towards her and James, and as far as he could tell in the dim light, the bartender looked angry. He tore the girl away from James, slapped her and threw her to the ground in one motion that it reminded James of a Japanese drawing, in which the lines were drawn in such a way that they showed movement in a still drawing. The bartender looked at James. "I apologize for Rebecca, sir. Every time someone new comes, she immideatly latches on to them. Filthy whore."
Rebecca, still on the ground, whimpered.
James looked down at her, bewildered. "She wasn't bothering me, though." The man laughed bitterly.
"It's better if she leaves you alone, other wise, she'll do something that leaves every young man pining for her. The church claims she's a witch , but believe me, a witch wouldn't be a whore."
Rebecca started to sob and the man kicked her. "Get up and go do something useful." She scrambled up and ran away to another section. The man led James out of the secluded place and led him to the bar.
"By the way, m'name's Henry."
James nodded. "If you don't want to tell me your name, i's okay. I'm used to that. We get all sorts of weird folk. There's nothing that will shock a man like me." Henry said as he climbed over the bar. James drew up a chair and asked for a drink.
Despite all the time he had already spent in there, James couldn't tell if it was a muggle community and he didn't want to ask right out. As Henry poured him a drink, he talked to James.
"Yeah...I know your type."
James's eyes widened, could he tell he was a wizard?
"Always traveling, right? A way faring stranger of some sorts. Listen, settle down, get a wife and a home."
James stayed quite, taking a sip of his drink. After he was done, he said, "I guess you've got that right. You told me you get all sorts of weird folk around here ?"
"Of course !" Harry said. "Why once there was a man who claimed to turn water into wine and birds into flowers. The town dismissed him as crazy, of course. The poor man was so angry that no one took him seriously, that he pulled out a stick and waved it around threateningly. He got laughed out of the village. What do you say about that ?"
"I've met crazier people." James said, smiling as he thought of Sirius.
Both didn't talk for a while until Henry made an odd remark. "Promise me that you'll continue on with your travels. Don't stop here."
"Why not ?"
"Many men before you have fallen in love with Lilly Evans, the daughter of Count Evans. And many have tried to woo her heart, don't. She is in an arranged marriage with the son of a baron by the name of Malfoy. Just a warning to you."
"Right..." James said and continued drinking, believing that Lilly was an ugly girl with pasty skin and greasy hair but the pasty skinned and greasy haired person was not Lilly but someone else who sat down next to James.
Henry looked pained at this man's arrival. "Good evening Severus." Severus ignored the greeting and ordered a brandy. While he waited, he looked at James.
"New comer, are you." He stated."I'm just stopping by." James said coolly, he felt a sinister air around Severus, perhaps it was the way he stared down at James with his lifeless black eyes, or perhaps it was the nasty smirk plastered on his face.
Once he got his brandy, moved to the same place where Rebecca had taken James. "He gives me the willies, that man." Harry said while shivering.
"He seems like an unpleasant man." James remarked.
"Unpleasant doesn't even scratch the surface. He claims to be a werewolf hunter..."
James stayed quiet, he must be a wizard if he's a werewolf hunter. "Has he killed any ?"
"No. The whole village is afraid of him, but we don't do anything about it."
James looked behind him only to see Severus going out of the bar, his black cloak billowing behind him.
Angel's Above: Don't worry, everything will get explained in the next chapter :)
Lykaios Nyx: I hope you liked this chapter :)Remember r/r if you want :)