A gust of cold air blasted Perpetua as soon as she entered the blindingly white room, making her pull the grey pea coat around her thin form even tighter. The deafening silence within the chamber was broken only by the bubbling fountain of Amortentia which sat in the centre of the enormous chamber, casting a pink glow upon Perpetua's ivory clad colleagues. Two of whom were carefully siphoning the pearly potion into crystal beakers while another stood scribbling frantically on a notepad.
These white coated chemists were called Tinkerers, and experimented endlessly with the love draught; usually creating versions of Amortentia even more dangerous than the original.
Demortia, which was rumoured to smell strongly of cinnamon, was created by stewing two moonstones during an eclipse. The result was a blood red liquid that provoked feelings of such intense emotion that all five test subjects had been driven insane within hours of taking it. Then there was Anti-Amorentis; created by an innovative Tinkerer who decided to add a few strands of his wife's hair into the mixture. The poor man had become utterly repulsed by her the moment the concoction touched his lips.
Nearly two hundred strains of Amortentia had been invented to date - of which the public knew none.
Aside from a wayward sniff that could result in insanity, the Love Chamber was by far the most dangerous room in the entire Ministry. The Unspeakables in this department had unlimited access to every single piece of information within the Ministry, and even more information the MoM had no idea about. The study of mating, courting, deprivation and separation had lead to an inordinate amount of illicit and explicit content over the years - many subjects even hand picked from different departments within Whitehall.
But oh, how Perpetua adored it - the study of love. The most powerful, yet enigmatic force known to humanity.
A faint tingle that had nothing to do with the cold ran up her spine as she scanned the amphitheater style room; massive staircases leading to row upon row of crystal vitrines which held the stark red, blood stained hearts of over a hundred and twenty different species.
Of the entire collection, only two glass cases remained empty. One of which was labelled Werewolf.
Perpetua clutched the file in her hand a little tighter and bustled towards a series of plain, white desks lining the perimeter of the chamber.
The flushed Unspeakable quickly smoothed out her creaseless, black skirt, before taking a seat behind one of the Record Stations.
She took a deep sigh and set Remus Lupin's file in front of her, glaring at the tattered folder as though it had just called her a cow. She could very well be grasping at straws, but If she remembered correctly, this little hunch could lead to the greatest breakthrough of her career...
The wizened witch reached towards the corner of the station and pulled forward an enormous brass machine called the König Wheel - after the old German professor who, after his fifty-sixth visit to the Archives in one afternoon, vowed he would never again leave his desk for personnel records.
Decades later, they had been left with an invaluable instrument which cut redundancies, filing errors and interdepartmental travel by nearly ninety percent; and naturally, the Unspeakables were the only ones who knew of its existence.
The contraption was in essence a giant cylinder with hundreds of multicoloured tabs and plastic jackets jutting out in labelled rows of letters, numbers and symbols. A small brass handle protruded from the right and a series of blue, red and yellow levers stood at varying lengths to the left.
Hodgkins carefully cranked the brass shaft and the wheel groaned mightily as it turned, a dozen green tabs flopping forward limply before a sea of red replaced them. She spun until a cluster of pale yellow tabs surfaced, each decorated with a thin, crescent moon.
The Werewolf Registration.
Perpetua reached forward and pried apart the slick plastic jacket, revealing rows of alphabetical markers. Gently tugging on the letter 'A', a small flap fell open and the woman pulled out a blank square of parchment.
Digging into the breast pocket of her coat, she retrieved her wand and traced the name Ackerman, Richard in glowing red letters onto the paper before tucking the slip back into its dusty home.
The old Unspeakable jammed the brass handle into the side of the machine until it clicked in satisfaction before giving it one full rotation amidst the sound of grinding, metal teeth.
A few seconds of impatient finger tapping passed before the König Wheel gave a faint - Ding!
Perpetua yanked open the single drawer carved into the front of the desk and peered down at the solitary folder which had appeared upon the scarlet, velour lining.
She set Ackerman's file down on the shining desk next to Lupin's; his was considerably thinner than Remus' and had the word DECEASED stamped across the front in shining black ink.
Perpetua flicked through Ackerman's fruitless attempts at employment with the Ministry before gingerly pulling out the bright blue Obliviation Report.
Her familiar, painstakingly neat handwriting filled the entire page.
Ackerman, Male Werewolf, 32 years of age "accidentally" set woman aflame following physical contact. Anna Fitzgerald, Female Muggle, 29 years of age has been healed and has had her memory successfully modified on this 16th day of September 1965 by Perpetua J. Hodgkins.
Let the record state that Ackerman has been forthwith forbidden from contacting Miss Fitzgerald.
A few spaces below, in what looked like a messy scrawl, she had added "- 6 days primus lune."
Hodgkin's clicked her tongue as she recalled the incident. She had been working as an Obliviator in those days and could see the pale, sickly visage of Richard in her mind's eye. Blonde hair a mess and scarred face streaked with tears as he wrung his huge hands in anguish while Perpetua erased every memory of the monster from Anna's mind. The young woman, naive and overly sensitive, had fallen for Richard's quiet, reserved demeanour. That was until she gave him a peck on the cheek and he'd set her clothes on fire.
The wolf pleaded with Perpetua, claiming they were in love, but she had been appalled by the mere thought of a werewolf in those days. That thing deserved to be locked in a cage, not free to cavort with innocent Muggles!
Hodgkins nearly smiled at her own stupidity in handling the matter. Who knew that twenty-one years later she would be a specialist in interspecies mating, and would kill to recreate those very same circumstances.
Her cold, grey eyes suddenly burned bright with excitement as they settled on Remus' file - now, fate might have given her a second chance to study love in one of the most dangerous beasts known to Wizardkind.
She pulled forward the pale green Accidental Magic notice that Ermine's secretary had retrieved earlier today and stared at the description.
Lyall's son had set off a few small explosions at the grocery store in the presence of two muggles; a male and a female. She wondered idly which one had acted as the emotional trigger.
The old witch suddenly put down the notice as though it had burned her and took a deep breath.
You're getting ahead of yourself. You need evidence. You need something substantial.
She let out an irritated huff through her beak-like nose as she glared at Ackerman and Lupin's files, her eyes abruptly lingering on the dates.
The cogs in her mind slowly turned as various incidents and ideas connected and formed. She re-read her small note at the bottom of Richard's report '-6 days to primus lune ' before her eyes flicked like a knife to today's date on Lupin's notice; June 26th.
Forty-eight hours before the next full moon.
Faster than she could even comprehend, her wrinkled hands began moving towards the König Wheel.
A minute and a half later, Hodgkins was nearly screaming with excitement as she pulled out file after file of registered Werewolves, all of whom had Accidental Magic notices well into adulthood and various Obliviation reports. Of the twenty folders she had piled onto the Record Station, every single one had occurred within a week of the full moon and in the presence of a potential love interest.
What did this mean? Did it correlate to them letting their guard down? Was is some strange connection between the lunar tides and their hormonal chemistry? Was it the inner wolf alerting their non transformed self of a potential mate? A soulmate?
Questions buzzed in her mind like a swarm of angry hornets but she spent her excited energy madly scribbling the dates of every occurance in the small notebook she had produced. This was almost enough to propose an Effect.
But what she needed now was a case study. A living, breathing, manipulatable experiment.
Nearly forgetting to return all the personnel records, Perpetua flicked her wand at the stacks of files and sent them whizzing back into the drawer in one fluid motion.
Grabbing the only file she had entered the room with, the old woman launched herself towards the shining marble staircase, the sound of her polished heels muffled by the blood red carpet that lined each step until she reached the second last row.
Snaking her way through the narrow aisle, Perpetua came to stand before the empty display.
The disembodied hearts in the Love Chamber belonged to all manner of beasts and beings, but what had proven next to impossible for them was to procure the organ from a Wolf while fully transformed.
That was about to change.
Hodgkins traced a bony finger over the glass case, a small smile threatening to break her stern visage as she tucked Lupin's file under her arm.
This dog won't get away.
Tinsley's Tally
6:00 PM
Tired, sweating and aching all over, Remus finally finished his shift. He wasn't used to being on his feet for so long and the distinct lack of food didn't help the matter. Perhaps he was lucky that this would be his first and last day here.
The melancholy wizard trudged towards the staff room, the crushing weight of guilt and self-loathing heavy on his mind.
"Remus!"
Tinsley's chipper voice broke through the shroud of misery surrounding the lanky shelf stocker as he turned to face his boss.
Former boss.
Lupin forced a tight smile at him.
"Well, how was your first day?" Terrance asked excitedly, and then before he could even think of a reply, the shopkeeper kept talking. "A little crazy, and perhaps a tad unorthodox - I know! But that's how we do things here! Never a dull moment!"
Remus smiled again, this time he could feel the warmth reach his mossy eyes as he stared at the unsuspecting Muggle with unmistakable fondness.
"It was perfect."
And in an odd kind of way it had been. He had met Neoma and although he'd never see her again, the fact that he knew she existed would be enough for him.
"Are you coming down with something, son? You look awfully peaky," Terrance noted, his voice laced with concern as he scrutinized the tall man.
Remus shook his head and Tinsley smiled before he reached into his apron and pulled out a creaseless cheque.
Lupin knew before he had even accepted the position that it was only a matter of time before he'd have to leave, so he had requested to be paid after every shift -a request that was usually denied. But not only had Tinsley agreed to the terms, he hadn't even asked a single question in regards to it.
"If you're feeling ill next shift, don't you worry about coming in. Just call me and I'll sort it out - can't have my newest employee sick on the job, eh?"
Lupin was genuinely taken aback by his generosity, suddenly feeling ten times worse for having to disappear on the man. He managed a slight nod before he accepted the cheque and Tinsley clapped him on the back as high as he could reach.
"Atta lad! Now be off and make sure you get some rest."
" All I need is a good steak," he muttered under his breath as he reached the small, green door to the break room. The wizard yanked it open and thanked the stars - it was blissfully empty.
A series of small, circular tables littered the room, each with a few high backed chairs pushed around haphazardly. Bright blue lockers lined the walls on either side and a well kept leather sofa sat in front of a large, clunky television in the centre of the staff lounge. The screen was currently playing a Muggle football match, and its giant antennas stuck out from either side like a pair of metal antlers.
The thought of a certain pronged mischief maker from his youth brought a small, sad smile to Lupin's lips.
"If only you lot could see me now," he whispered to long lost friends who stood watching from unknown places among the heavens.
And all of a sudden he felt it; five long, miserable years of near starvation and utter solitude, of heart wrenching betrayal and anguish.
Then before he could stop himself, Remus punched the solid steel locker closest to him with everything he could muster.
A garbled yelp escaped his lips as the beautiful, mind numbing pain coursed through his damaged fingers, effectively distracting him from his debilitating despair.
Breathing heavily through his nose, the man focused on the pain in his hand and let it wash away any remnants of sorrow.
A few seconds passed before he looked up to assess the damage to the wall. There was a good dent in the blue metal and the wizard sighed heavily.
"Reparo," he muttered as the shining locker returned to its pristine condition.
He looked at his fist, about to repair his fingers when he thought against it - at least the pain would keep his mind off his hunger.
Quickly pushing his way through the maze of chairs towards the end of the room where his musty, moth eaten coat hung within an otherwise empty locker, Remus was ready to take his leave.
But when he yanked open the small door, he nearly did a double take to make sure he'd gotten the right one.
Inside the compartment, on a single shelf, sat an overly brown apple pie with a small note attached to the shining, silver tin.
All he could do for a good thirty seconds was stand there and stare at them as though if he waited long enough, they'd disappear.
But when they didn't, Remus reached towards the pie with trembling fingers and gently picked up the paper.
He could smell her on the stationary and had to stop himself from bringing the sheet to his nose and drowning in her scent.
Dear Remus,
Thanks for all your hard work today and welcome to the team!
Neoma
Her large, messy penmanship caught the man off guard but he smiled at it nonetheless.
He supposed she was full of surprises; full of life and love and beauty.
Full of everything he wasn't.
For a split second, Remus stood back and allowed himself to wonder what life could have been like if he wasn't a monster. There wasn't a chance in hell he would have let Neoma leave today without asking her out for a cup of coffee at the very least. But as circumstances had it, he'd barely given her more than a nod as she had waved goodbye.
He scarcely had enough money to pay for a tea bag let alone a restaurant and their fancy lattes.
No. He deserved to be alone and she deserved someone so much better.
Lupin tucked the woman's message into his pocket, knowing that it would serve as a welcome memento of his humanity the morning after his transformation. If he was lucky, perhaps he'd still be able to smell her scent on the paper while he cradled his bruised body on the cold basement floor of Lupin Cottage.
Wordlessly casting a stasis charm on the note, he reached into the locker and pulled out the pie.
"Fuck!
He nearly dropped the entire dessert as his forgotten injury flared in agony.
Carefully reaching into his coat pocket, he withdrew his wand.
Perhaps he'd been too quick to assume he'd need a distraction from his hunger tonight.
"Episkey!" He winced while he watched and felt the bones in his fist magically begin to mend.
He smiled ruefully at his healed hand and hung up his red apron before slipping into his beige coat, replacing his wand in the breast pocket.
Gingerly cradling the pie in his arms as though it were a newborn baby, the wizard left Tinsley's Tally with a bittersweet feeling in the pit of his stomach.
The cool, sweet breeze of a midsummers night met him as he exited the main entrance, sweeping back his sandy hair while he squinted into the rutilant sunset.
For the briefest moment, Remus lost himself in the stunning splendor of the setting sun - he was seventeen again, surrounded by loved ones sharing a bottle of Firewhisky over conversations about everything and nothing.
In that fleeting minute, he was whole again.
And then he blinked.
The memory shattered into a thousand pieces around him as he came back to reality, utterly alone.
Or was he?
The eerie sensation of being watched set the hairs on the back of his neck on end as the wizard furtively looked around the car park, half expecting to meet the gaze of some kind of monster. But all he found were the beady black eyes of a striking bird with lustrous grey feathers staring him down from a cement divider.
Lupin cocked his head at the animal; something about it seemed so familiar...
But before he could think on it any longer, the beast stretched its massive wings and took off into the trees.
~~~~~O~~~~~
Remus shrugged and hurried off towards the dense shrubbery behind the grocery store to apparate home.
Lupin busted the creaky, splintered door of the cottage open with his hip as he tore into Neoma's pie like an animal. Bits of perfectly tart apple filling and flakes of fluffy crust flew everywhere as he inhaled his second handful of dessert.
Maybe it was the month long diet of beans, or the fact that he hadn't eaten since morning, but this pie was the single most glorious piece of food he had ever tasted.
Reaching back with his foot, Remus gently kicked the door shut before aiming to switch on the lights, already on his third slice. He would have one more piece with a cup of tea before saving the rest for breakfast tomorrow.
Shrugging out of his coat, the lanky wizard set the half empty dessert tin down on the small table just inside the living room.
"Hullo, Remus."
Stifling a scream and a curse at the same time, Lupin nearly doubled over. His heart threatening to jump out of his throat at the sound of the man's familiar voice.
There on his deep blue sofa sat a middle aged man with sandy brown hair, kind hazel eyes and a huge smile.
Remus blinked twice in disbelief before his nonplussed expression broke into an ear splitting grin.
"Dad?"