St. James' District, London
12:15 PM
The two had arrived at a small, classy looking pub called The Clarence, situated right across the street from Whitehall. It looked incredibly busy; teeming with Muggles dressed in expensive business suits, but Miriam assured the suddenly self conscious young man that finding seats wouldn't be a problem.
Sure enough, as soon as they entered the front doors, a slender woman sporting a red dress spotted them from behind the front counter and flashed Miriam a bright smile.
"Not raining, is it?" The hostess asked breezily.
At first Remus thought she was trying to make conversation but the pointed stare she was giving the witch seemed to indicate otherwise.
"I'm sure it's pouring cats and dogs along the Equator," the young Ministry employee replied with a smirk.
The scarlet clad woman nodded once, as though satisfied with the nonsensical response and plucked two glossy menus from the counter before beckoning them to follow her away from the main dining room.
The Werewolf took a quick glance around himself, utterly confused, but trailed behind the two women as they turned a corner sectioned off by bright yellow dividers.
They entered an extremely narrow, poorly lit corridor where up ahead - nearly indistinguishable from the dark wooden walls - a massive staircase came into view.
Before anyone spoke another word, the hostess pulled out one of the chopsticks from her blonde chignon and gave it a wave, levitating their menus up the stairs and out of sight.
Remus gaped at her and Miriam laughed.
"You'll be at table five," the witch informed with the faintest trace of a smile before she turned and walked away, fixing her wand back into her golden hair.
"Come on, unless you fancy eating down here with the Muggles," Miriam teased, already halfway up the polished steps.
The man smiled incredulously but made his way up after her, wondering how on earth he hadn't known of a Wizarding pub so close to the Ministry.
They ascended the staircase and emerged onto an extravagant dining room with enormous crystal chandeliers. The off-white ceiling was tastefully painted with two shimmering globes, mapping out various seas and land masses before intersecting in the middle; the colour scheme above their heads matching the gold veined marble counters at the bar.
A massive oil painting stretched the expanse of the entire back wall, the vibrant figures on the canvas talking and strolling about the lush scenery in a casual yet, refined manner. The demure ladies had giant feathers in their hair and lace parasols that matched their luxurious gowns while the men all donned top hats and fine black suits - even the paintings here were better dressed than Remus.
The broke Lycanthrope swallowed nervously, feeling his wallet grow lighter with every step on the solid hardwood floors towards their expensive cherry oak table, complete with a glowing number five hovering above their menus.
Miriam seemed completely at ease, throwing casual waves in a few directions at her colleagues, whose smiles faded as they stared at the scarred, shabby clothed man stumbling behind the woman as though he'd followed her in by mistake.
Remus kept his head down and tried not to acknowledge the lingering glares, instead focusing his energy on casting a weak summoning charm on the high backed chair his acquaintance was reaching for.
When the plush, red seat pulled back for her to sit, Miriam looked around herself unsurely, dark blue eyes turning to the Werewolf in slight shock.
"Did you just…"
"Sorry, did you not want me to?" Lupin apologized sincerely, knowing a few women who thought such acts of chivalry were misogynistic and demeaning.
But the young witch smiled, waving her hand in dismissal as she sat down."No, did you just perform wandless and wordless magic?"
Remus felt his ears glow red as he nodded, trying to brush it off as a commonplace skill.
"That's incredible!" She exclaimed, laughing slightly at his attempt at nonchalance. "It takes decades to perfect wandless magic alone!"
The wizard, not used to praise, was cursing his overly sensitive capillaries while trying his best to phrase the carefully constructed explanation.
"We didn't know if I'd make it to Hogwarts since we moved a lot growing up,"-he shrugged while taking a seat, omitting the glaring fact that his Lycanthropy was to blame-"so my dad started teaching me how to harness my magic long before starting school."
"That's right!" She exclaimed, her expression lighting up as though a switch in her brain had been turned on. "I remember you and your little boy band, always breaking the rules," she laughed.
Remus stared at the girl, trying to sort through the countless faces and names he'd encountered while at Hogwarts, but failed to place Matthews.
"You lot were in fifth year when I first started," she explained, catching the rather guilty look on the Werewolf's face. "Besides, I wouldn't expect a mighty lion such as yourself to pay attention to a slithering snake like me," she teased with a playful smirk.
Lupin chuckled, but hated the truth behind her words. His last three years of school had been fraught with the worried whispers and paranoia of impending war. There were few Slytherins he and his friends even considered human, let alone wanted to befriend.
In retrospect he was thoroughly ashamed of his prejudice, realizing that he was just as quick to judge a group based on their stereotypes despite everything he'd been through with his condition which might have taught him otherwise.
"Ah, the blissful ignorance of youth," he whispered solemnly, more to himself than to the woman sitting opposite him.
"Well, your magical skills are fantastic and should definitely be on your resume." Miriam declared proudly, realizing she'd hit a soft spot that was better left untouched. She pulled out a translucent file folder from her handbag and set it on the table.
He was grateful that the witch was ready to get down to business, as a part of him didn't want to feign interest in small talk any longer than necessary. The stares from all around him seemed to be burning into his skin, making him feel even more like an animal than he already did.
The faster he could leave this place, the better.
Ministry of Magic
1:30 PM
"You don't have to walk me back," Miriam insured as she turned to spot Remus trailing a few paces behind with no intention of leaving. Her tone was disapproving but the small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth said otherwise.
They had spent the better part of an hour working through nuisances on his application, but Remus had barely been able to concentrate while he swallowed his 7 Galleon portion of bangers and mash; consumed with guilt as he thought of the weeks worth of food he could have purchased with the money instead. But they arrived back at the Ministry with full bellies and optimism, sifting their way through the busy crowds in the Atrium.
The young wizard smiled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "Actually, I'm heading over to meet someone on the first floor."
"Really? And who might that be?"
"P. J Hodgkins."
All traces of good humour were instantly wiped clean from the woman's features and she stared at him as though he'd just called her mother a cow.
"P as in Perpetua? The Unspeakable?" She nearly spat the name and designation, making the Werewolf uneasy for a moment.
"Er..I'm not sure actually. I saw a post on the job board and thought I would check it out."
Miriam's short hair whipped about as she turned and headed straight for the giant black board, leaving Remus clumsily following after her.
"Where?" She asked, her blue eyes darting over every golden letter in sight. "I don't see it."
Lupin came to stand beside her, frowning slightly when he failed to spot the posting as well.
"Strange…" he muttered, scratching his chin. "It was right there only an hour ago. Perhaps the position's been filled." He shrugged, not concerned in the slightest about the situation.
Miriam bit her lip, the faintest trace of worry painting over her angular features as she gave the Lycanthrope an odd stare.
"What?" He probed, certain that the girl was hiding something from him.
"It's just...do you mind if we head down to her office anyway? She confiscated a few files of mine yesterday and… I'm curious to see if she's doing something with them."
The wizard furrowed his brow for a moment, wondering how on earth her files had anything to do with him, but from the look on Ms. Matthews' face, he knew better than to ask any more questions.
"I don't mind at all."
The young secretary nodded and they both headed towards the lifts, an uneasy silence between them as they were let onto the first floor a few minutes later.
If Remus had felt out of place at The Clarence, then it was nothing compared this.
The luxurious purple carpet that covered every square inch of floor in sight was immaculate; not a single stain or speck of dirt visible as Lupin nearly scourgified his shoes before stepping forward. The golden walls shimmered as though a thousand stars were trapped beneath the lacquer and the grandiose paintings which hung from the surfaces were housed in extravagant frames.
There were dozens of smartly dressed Ministry officials puttering about, their varying degrees of arrogance apparent from just how high they held their chins as a few disappeared behind a series of gleaming mahogany doors.
"Come on, the Unspeakables are further back," Miriam called, snapping the Werewolf out of his visual trance.
The young man quickly hurried after his acquaintance, starting to feel a little exasperated at constantly being left in her wake when she turned a corner up ahead.
The further they traversed, the fewer people they found milling around until finally they came to a deserted corridor with a huge bronze plaque off to the side, listing the names of each department head.
The two perused the directory quickly, famous and familiar names jumping out at the Werewolf - Saul Croaker, the renowned expert on the study of time, Levina Monkstanley, the inventor of the Lumos charm - until they found her.
Perpetua J. Hodgkins - Study of Love Rm. 302
Remus peered into the hallway, his skin suddenly covered in goosebumps at the eerie lighting and deathly quiet ward. He was instantly reminded of the Muggle horror movies which Sirius had been so fond of in their youths. The hairs at the back of his neck stood on end and the wolf inside him growled as he prepared to turn around and walk away.
"Over here," Miriam called, clearly unperturbed by the macabre atmosphere. Walking straight ahead as though she was heading into a spa, the girl seemed effortlessly at ease with her surroundings as she trekked further into the darkness.
"Shit," Remus muttered to himself before gulping audibly and following after her again.
They walked slowly, the thick purple carpet was noticeably absent here as their footfalls echoed throughout the empty space; each high heeled clip-clop making the Werewolf cringe as though Miriam were stomping around in a pair of cinderblocks.
The young witch came to a stop and pointed to a gleaming door with a small gold placard engraved with the numbers 302.
Moony was practically growling within him as he reached for the brass handle. As soon as his hand curled around the knob, Remus let out a sharp hiss and retracted his fingers at once.
"What? What happened?" Miriam inquired anxiously, stepping a few feet closer to the man who was examining his stinging digits in the faint light.
A few drops of scarlet blood oozed lazily from his thumb, and he frowned at the door. Ducking his head to examine what exactly had injured him when, out of his periphery, he noticed a shadow flicker at the end of the corridor.
Everything inside him tensed and froze as he let the animal take over just a fraction more, succumbing to Moony's superior senses, while straining to hear, see or smell anything out of the ordinary.
But there was nothing.
"What the shit?" Miriam's outrage brought Lupin back to the surface and he snapped his head over to find the woman with a screwed up look on her face as she knelt down to examine the doorknob herself.
She reached for it when Remus grabbed her wrist, shaking his head lest she get pricked as well when he noticed the way her pulse quickened at his touch.
He released the girl quickly.
"T...that's a spider pinch," Matthews whispered, suddenly looking around herself furtively before coming to stand even closer to him. Lupin was careful not to seem rude as he stepped back while giving her a blank stare. But she didn't notice.
"This is a major violation of Orpington's Law," the secretary whispered fervently, her eyes lighting up. "I could have that old hag sacked for this!"
Just then, a sudden thud at the end of the hall made them both jump.
"Let's go," the wizard urged, quickly ushering the girl out in front of him.
The hackles on his shoulders raised as he felt someone staring holes into his back, while the sheer amount of sweat which seemed to be pouring off him was absurd - Moony was not on guard, he was nervous.
The thought terrified him slightly, but neglected to let it break their frantic pace as the two acquaintances fled down the poorly lit hall.
His breath barely returned to normal when they reached the now comforting velour carpet and just as he turned to take glimpse down the corridor, he caught the flutter of a cloak from around the corner.
They were both silent and rather jumpy as they made their way towards the lifts again, sighing in relief when the doors slid shut, closing them off from the first floor.
The stinging sensation had yet to leave Remus' thumb, but he waited until they were out of the elevator before turning to the girl again.
"What's a spider pinch?"
Miriam frowned at him.
"My brother is a Healer at St. Mungo's, and they use those pinches to collect blood samples."
The wizard examined his thumb again, wiping the now dried droplets onto his jacket with a scowl.
Who in Merlin's name would want his blood?