Take Twelve: The Radio Tower (Battle Sonata)

"Mr. Lupin," started Kakashi in a drawl.

"I do insist on Remus."

"Mister Lupin."

(It was the little things that mattered. There were, after all, firm ways to assert authority in a situation out of his control.)

Poking at the knobs of the panel located by the door, Kakashi continued, "We walked through the front doors, passed the guards in broad daylight, went down a corridor and ended up in a closet." Of all places. A closet. Kakashi cleared his throat. "It's a very lovely and dark closet but we've been standing here for near ten minutes now. A change of scenery would be nice."

If the shinobi could see his expression, he'd likely spot the bashful embarrassment. Remus' voice practically oozed of this when he replied, "I – yes, sorry. Lumos." Wand in hand, he smiled sheepishly, "We have waited for a bit, haven't we? The radio staff should be shortly."

"So." Kakashi leaned against the wall. "This magical closet is broken?"

Remus muttered lowly, "Well it's supposed to take us up to the radio broadcast headquarters."

"Hm…" He jabbed at the panel again. "The least they could do is install a light…" He trailed off when a button on the panel glowed a fairy pink.

A tinny voice emitted from a speaker somewhere behind their heads. "We apologize for the long wait of – ELEVEN MINUTES AND FIFTY-TWO SECONDS. You will be buzzed in shortly. Please wear the numbered guest badges around your necks in a visible fashion. Thank you and have a nice visit."

Remus released a short breath and selected two badges off a pile that was hanging from a clothes hanger above their heads. Passing one to Kakashi blindly, he mumbled another embarrassed 'sorry' when his hand met his arm awkwardly.

"Here you are, Mr. Hatake." Remus exhaled in relief when another button on the panel fluoresced a forest green. "Let's go then."

Slipping the door open, the 'guide' of the duo stepped through the entrance (née closet) while the 'tourist' followed suit in a slower manner, badge swinging around his neck when he turned his head to take in the sights.

It seemed that the closet really was a secret entrance to the magical radio tower as the corridor that it used to connect to had changed into a grand, circular atrium composed of sheer glass walls. It was certainly bigger on the inside than outside. Thin silver-coloured metal formed the frames of the goliath structure, twisting and turning down the glass like ivy columns. At the centre, a giant silvery staircase spiralled up into the awnings and to the front-left, a half-moon reception desk sat facing the entrance door. Two women of near identical features smiled at them and greeted concurrently, "Welcome to Great Britain's Radio Tower as run by the British Magical Radio Association. How can we help you today?"

Kakashi noted their names written on the placards. Daisy and Violet.

Remus started, "Ah – yes, we would like to take a tour as guests-"

"Thank you for wearing the guest badges in a visible fashion," they echoed, twin smiles equally wide and disturbing.

Interesting. The shinobi shifted his eye from one identical witch to the other, itching to discern if this was a wizard equivalent of the shadow clone technique or if the ladies were just very creepy doppelgangers.

"Ah – right." Remus cleared his throat, "Well then, like I was saying-"

"Yes?" repeated the two witches in chorus.

"-Telepaths maybe? They're very smoothly synchronized."

His 'babysitter' made indistinct restless motions with his hands. "We require a tour guide."

"Of course," agreed the witches amiably, both heads tilted in the same direction as they smiled. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Maybe they share a brain…Or perhaps a Bloodline Limit..."

Remus answered, "Ah, No…"

The twins explained simultaneously, expressions similarly apologetic down to the last tic, "The Radio Tower is not normally opened for public viewing."

"But we have a letter of good faith from Professor Dumbledore-" fumbled Remus.

"Very good!" The ladies smiled in approval.

"Hm. Bloodline Limit like the Sharingan that allows them to predict each other's words? No, too convoluted. Must be clones." Unable to resist, Kakashi released a tendril of chakra, allowing the energy to split and slowly inch towards the receptionists. If they were similar to shadow clones, their chakra would have a void-like feel to it-

"-Stop it," practically growled Lupin in sudden ire to what appears to be empty air.

But the shinobi recognized the instinctual warning as his senses zeroed in on the prickling skin along Lupin's visible nape. "Interesting. Another 'magical being', as Professor Dumbledore would put it, sensitive to chakra."

Violet and Daisy leaned slightly closer against the half-moon desk to peer at Lupin inquisitively. "Stop what sir?"

"I don't know." Lupin rounded on Kakashi as he rubbed the back of his neck, irritated. "This is probably – but I can't explain-" Releasing a deep breath, the wizard stalled, "There's something – we should go."

He stilled everything (-chakra hanging like a prized fish lure-) and responded as plainly as possible. "What about our tour?"

Quickly taking in his ally, there were the faint signs of aggression and fear lingering behind Lupin's countenance, just like the ghosts in Hogwarts then when faced with 'distilled' chakra.

"Maybe…later," started Lupin as he raked an agitated hand through his hair and addressed the twins, "…Do you have a poltergeist in this radio tower?"

The twin witches said surely, "No sir. We do not-"

Lupin interrupted them. "-We should go anyway."

"I don't think that's necessary." Kakashi disbursed the chakra thread and Lupin's expression cleared, though the caution was not completely erased. "I want the tour, Mr. Lupin."

"…"

He might not be an actual diplomat but let it never be said that he wasn't diplomatic. He was quite matter-of-fact as he started the opening line of the negotiations. "I was stuck in a closet for eleven minutes and fifty-two seconds."

That grabbed his attention but resistance lingered.

Delivering the one-two, Kakashi continued in a drawl, "This visit has to be worth at least half of those eleven minutes and fifty-two seconds."

"…"

"Oh my. Again, we do apologize for the long wait," fretted the twin receptionists.

Remus remained stonily silent as he eyed his surroundings in restrained paranoia before the wizard rubbed the back of his neck one last time, nodding guardedly. "…Right. You're right." Lupin seemed to steel his resolve. "Sorry about my behaviour, Mr. Hatake. I'm not sure what came over me."

The shinobi saw through the deceit, even though he had no idea what Lupin could be lying about, but did not comment outright. "That's fine, Mr. Lupin." A lie for a lie.

"If everything is good?" Without waiting for their response, Violet stood up with Daisy and they bowed. "We will call for Esquire Schrödinger."

A knob on the desk glowed a pixie pink at their words and a few moments later, a loud resounding crack filled the space four steps left of the reception desk.

The wizard that apparated into the lobby was quite the portly man, donning a small petticoat that seemed one size too small. He was clean shaven but had the most massive walrus-like eyebrows that drew immediate attention. With blotchy cheeks, a stubby nose and uneven eyes, the man would certainly not win any 'most dashing wizard of the year' awards in the near future.

Yes, that award was real. He stumbled over its existence in a Witch Weekly magazine given by Professor Burbage who, he believed, thought him a charity case.

"Harrump!" The Esquire asked the twins impatiently, "What is it?"

"Esquire Schrödinger. We have guests requesting for a tour," replied Daisy and Violet brightly.

Turning towards them, the Esquire crossed his arms and puffed out his chest in a self-important manner. Kakashi noted any other features he might have missed on his initial assessment and added 'potentially colour blind' to the list when he saw that the older gentleman wore a red sock on one foot and a green sock on the other.

…Or of course, it could just be another strike of eccentric wizard fashion.

His eyebrows, peppered black and white, moved up and down as his eyes did the muggle elevator; Schrödinger asked, "Are you Asian?"

"Yes." Kakashi deadpanned. "Is there a problem?"

"Problem?!" he sputtered. That answer seemed to fire him up. "What are you high and mighty lot-"

"-Vacation."

"Vacation?!"

"Well more like sightseeing-"

"Sight. Seeing?"

Sensing Schrödinger as one of those people, ones with a myopic, self-important complex, he added, "I'm employed at Hogwarts as their Me-"

Schrödinger looked just about ready to go into a cardiac arrest. "What does such an esteemed school have to do with you, you little lout?"

"Esquire," Remus finally intervened, cringing, and passed a note to the fuming man. "Here's Professor Dumbledore's vote of confidence."

The Esquire seemed to openly judge Lupin and his ratty, bedraggled look before taking the proffered piece of parchment. Opening the note with a loud snap of paper whiplashing air, he mumbled disbelieving after several seconds, "Says here he's a diplomat."

"You-" Remus looked at Kakashi searchingly, concerned that that tidbit of information didn't make past the first ice breaker. He silently mouthed at him with a downturned sour expression, "You're a diplomat and you didn't tell me?"

Kakashi's eyebrow rose in question at that and shrugged. It was definitely dismissive and if the lower half of his face wasn't covered, Remus would have seen him mutter, "Blame your boss. I thought you were told."

The Esquire grumbled, breaking Remus' attention, "Diplomatic business duties…Harrump! Duties? And what's this Mediator business? What awfully pretty words that don't mean a horse's droppings to the Asian Ministry." Eyebrows danced suspiciously as the big but short man leered at them both. "Fine. I'll take the good Professor's word. But. Don't touch anything!"

"Okay."

The Esquire returned the crinkled note to Remus and turned away. "Follow me."

(Remus asked again in a low voice, "You're a diplomat?"

"Yes."

"…Why didn't you-?"

"You didn't ask."

And that was the end of that uneventful conversation.)

Kakashi and Remus trailed after the Esquire, skirting around the reception desk, past the creepy twins, and towards the spiralling staircase, the centrepiece of the lobby. From their perspective on the ground, the sparkling stairway was built to go up into a solid ceiling. A dead-end.

Schrödinger pointed with a meaty finger. "See these stairs here? Mix of real silver and gold. Gilded. Wrought back in the 1700s. Don't touch and leave your grubby fingerprints on it."

Remus, even though knowing the last message wasn't directed at him, nodded, an uncertainty hanging over him, "We won't."

Schrödinger's eyebrows twitched violently when Kakashi responded with a simple, "Okay."

"Up we go then." The man tottered onto the third step and beckoned them to follow. Once all three stepped on, the stairs began to magically turn upwards and as they neared the ceiling, they phased into the next floor, bypassing the illusion.

Kakashi took a good look around as they stepped onto the floor. It was a bland grey maze of cubicles as far as the room permitted, stretching from one glass wall to the other with no sign of empty space. There was also the strangest sensation, as if there was thick cotton fluff muffling his ears and the air itself. It was eerie; an office full of desks but there was no noise, no sign of life behind the walls.

The Esquire spoke, voice peculiarly subdued from its previous boisterousness, "This is the office. People work here." Eyebrows wriggled angrily as he warned menacingly at Kakashi, "Don't touch anything!"

He deliberately leaned against a cubicle wall and said, "I won't."

"I'm watching you sir." Nose firmly pointed up, Schrödinger moved to the centre of the hallway all the while muttering, "Harrump! Asian Ministry thinking they're hotshots…"

Remus quickly apologized quietly for his ears only, "Don't mind Esquire Schrödinger. He is…old fashioned."

"Old fashioned? What does that mean?" Kakashi frowned and couldn't think of an instance where his research went deeper into the historical relationship of the Asian-British wizards. Another oversight he needed to rectify soon.

"Harrump! Are you two listening?" Growling, Schrödinger waved a hand at the carpeted hallway. "You see how the hallway is a different colour from the carpet in the cubicles? It's like that for a reason."

Standing straighter in attention, Remus nodded dutifully. "I think I heard of this before."

"You better have, boy." The Esquire finally chuckled, though arrogantly. "This piece of magic contributes to your culture. The Pathway of Desires. You think it and it'll take you there." Schrödinger grinned a tad darkly at Kakashi. "Like this, Mr. Diplomat."

Immediately, the floor beneath their feet jolted at an incredibly fast speed. Both Remus and Kakashi stumbled at the initial pull before righting themselves. Their surroundings blurred into a mess of grey as they turned the sharp corners of the cubicle city and just as quick as it began they were transported to the Esquire's desired destination. Again, they stumbled at the abrupt stop, catching themselves at the change in inertia.

The Esquire twitched his eyebrows as he pointed inside the cubicle. "This is Dave Copper, our famous Quidditch broadcaster."

"Shucks." Dave, lazily sprawled in a chair, grimaced. "Thanks sir."

The rotund Esquire jabbed a thumb in their direction. "Headmaster Dumbledore's guests."

"Oh." He waved, relatively friendly, and greeted, "Davy's fine, guys."

Kakashi catalogued the man tipped back in his seat. 'Davy' was a Caucasian male in his late thirties with long brown dreadlocks and rockstar-level piercings in his right ear. He also seemed severely lacking in organizational skills because his office space was messy. It looked worse than the aftermath of 'whirlwind Guruko', an incident where his restless nindog was trapped in his small confined apartment space and Kakashi learned that teething puppies should not be left alone with his Icha Icha Paradise.

(He still found bits and pieces of confetti-like paper depicting his favourite porn under his bed, nesting with the dust bunnies.)

"Welcome. Please come into my quaint 'lil booth here."

There were colourfully loud posters of different sporting teams cluttered on the surface of the cubicle walls, some overlapping others in a mishmash war of clashing designs. Also, his desk was lost in a mire of paper and collectible moving figurines of sporting legends. Hanging right above Davy's head, there was a microphone that towered above the allotted space, decorated with stickers of Quidditch equipment and a Firebolt broomstick 'ornament'. Even the very air space of the room was cluttered with multiple sheaves of newsprint, fluttering in midair as they were suspended by magic.

Davy noticed his guests' attention on those papers and said casually, "They're the sports reports from the past week. See here – the Daily Prophet. Baboon's Brochure. Sports in Movement. Seeker Weekly. Much easier to sort like this if I can read 'em as I go. You get it?"

Remus nodded sharply, "You must read a lot of articles in a day."

"It's good work. Everyone loves Quidditch." Davy shrugged, "I read stuff. Talk about Quidditch. Debate about it. It's good."

"I see," hemmed Remus.

"Yup…" Davy took a swig of water and tried to ask, "So I don't think I caught your names?"

Lupin smiled, pinched, "Remus Lupin. This is…ah…Kakashi Hatake."

"Cool."

The conversation petered out again when Kakashi refused to participate and Schrödinger was too busy glaring at him to join. Remus shuffled his feet and pointed at a news article drifting by Davy's right ear. "What's this one about then?"

Snatching the thin paper, Davy started with a laugh, "Oh this one's a hoot. You know the mascot for the Swedish Quidditch team is an osprey? Take a look at this picture."

Davy showed them the newsprint with the photo that was taken by the article writer. The picture depicted a person dressed like a giant hunter bird trapped up in a tree. Kakashi watched as the mascot wrapped his arms around the trunk of the tree, distressed and shaking, as down below, a giant wolf frothing at the mouth tried to claw up the tree to attack him.

"The Osprey. That's the mascot. See this. Embarrassing situation where he was stuck in an ash tree. Ironic, since he's representing a bird, the poor bloke. Someone had to levitate him down after setting a tiny little squirrel to scare off the wolf."

After a pause, the shinobi responded, "Hm." Kakashi smiled, eye curving as he found humour in the scene. Even across different nations, human ospreys, it seemed, should expect to be stuck in a tree at least once in their lifetimes.

Flashback

Wraiths bathed in the soft light of the stars, they stood weary in their black cloaks. Their faces were shrouded by the white lacquered mask, a tool that when used effectively could act as an unfeeling wall, a boundary that separated their emotions and identities from the outside world.

Exhaling softly, Osprey fidgeted with his disguise, showing discomfort despite his best judgement not to ("Can't show weakness in front of the Captain!"). Unfortunately for the operative, Hound quickly tapped him on the back of his head and reprimanded, "Stop that."

"Sorry sir."

After several long, agonizing seconds, Osprey unthinkingly scratched again at the edge of where his mask was digging into his skin.

"Stop." Hound intoned, followed by another sharp knock against his skull.

Osprey apologized meekly, "Sorry."

"You must be suicidal. Hah! Defying the Captain twice like that," sniggered Rabbit.

"…Uh." Osprey bit his tongue, refusing to respond to the taunt. Again, the skin where the mask met itched and throbbed and felt inflamed…

"Stop."

"But I didn't scratch-"

"You were thinking it," Hound drawled, his Sharingan eye flashing behind the peephole. If Osprey knew his Captain better, he would have known that Hound was only teasing him.

As it was, Osprey, the newbie recruit, didn't get it and instead flushed a terrible red that was visible by the tips of his ears. He muttered, "Of course, Captain. I apologize again."

Snickers echoed across the training field.

"Quiet," whispered Cat and the other rookies fell silent.

Hound stalked and circled the 'fresh meat', 'hmm'-ing and 'ahh'-ing until the newbies seemed to all hold their collective breaths in tension.

Cat, who previously participated in several other 'hazing' scenarios, had seen this enough times to be bored. All Cat thought of this was that Hound assigned the seniors with the short end of the stick time and time again.

Gathering the rookies at three in the morning.

Putting itching powder on their masks.

Replacing their kunai with rubber lookalikes.

Taunting them in the dark.

Cat sighed. The commands came from the 'golden mouth' of their Captain but who did all the work? The 'esteemed' senior operatives…

"Hey, cheer up," cajoled Rabbit, leaning into Cat's personal space. "You get the fun part."

The newbies tensed even more, if that was possible, when they heard the word 'fun' because they knew it would be the furthest definition of fun. Crazy seniors.

Irritated, Cat nearly growled, "Then why not you do it then?"

"Can't. Prior commitments."

Cat would have punched Rabbit's lying lecherous face in if the agent was not wearing a mask.

It was as if he had a sixth sense when his operatives were thinking of rebelling. "No switching roles." Hound stopped in front of the pair and nodded at Rabbit.

"Okay, okay, geez Captain." Rabbit started. "Whelp. Blindfolds, rookies. Put 'em on now. Under the mask. No cheating. Captain will rip out your beating heart and squeeze it in front of your eyes if you do."

In less than five seconds flat, the fifteen ANBU candidates donned the blindfolds.

"This is an exercise. A race." Hound recited the scenario, bored, "Run and navigate with only the chakra that flows through the Forest of Death. The finish line? Well, there's no fun to be had if I just tell you where it is."

Cat warned, "The last one there, however, will be suitably punished."

"Understood?" asked Hound, flanked by Cat and Rabbit.

"Yes Captain!"

The grass blew around the ANBU dramatically. In the next heartbeat, the Captain waved his hand in the air, once, silent.

Two of the candidates, one of them Osprey, moved and disappeared. The rest of the newbies stood there like sticks in the mud.

Hound shot his senior underlings a look and sighed despairingly, "This will be a tough group to babysit, neh, Rabbit?"

Rabbit sniggered. Cat pointed out calmly, "To be fair, they are blindfolded."

"Right. Since when do we play fair anyway?" asked Rabbit mockingly.

The trainees shifted on their feet. Seven more seemed to realize that the Captain already gave a general 'go' signal before hurriedly disappearing into the forest to tail the two others ahead of them.

When the other remaining candidates were still standing in the training field, unmoving, Hound remarked, "Anyway, rookies, see you at the finish line, maybe.'

And finally, the rest of the newbies moved.

"A few of them aren't very intuitive," commented Cat after the last trainee left the field.

Hound shrugged. "Well then…More fun for you, neh, ANBU Cat. Go and confuse the rookies. If they run face-first into trees, or better – can't even get down from them – that'd be an added bonus. Trap Bear and Osprey first, they showed potential."

"Demonstrating some tough love, Captain?" ribbed Rabbit.

Their Captain grunted and 'accidentally' elbowed Rabbit.

"Hey!"

Cat ignored Rabbit's death wish. "Yes yes senpai," muttered Cat as the agent sauntered towards the Forest of Death at a more leisurely pace. "Doing all the dirty work again…"

Hound called out, sing-song. "Don't be cute, kohai! I can still hear you."

Shoulders tensing, they knew ANBU Cat was sputtering now. Rabbit laughed, "Time to hit the bars, Captain, now that the kids are out to play."

"Sure." Hound disappeared in a wisp of smoke. "As long as I'm not paying."

"Come on now, don't be such a cheap bastard," retorted Rabbit as the operative followed him, leaving ANBU Cat spitting curses at them.

End Flashback

It started when a high pitched whining pierced through the sound-muffling spell like a claxon. The hush that normally pervaded the office was lifted and suddenly, Kakashi heard the exclamations of hundreds as heads popped up and over cubicles to ask their neighbors the question:

"What's going on?"

"Harrump!" Esquire Schrödinger took out a silver pocket watch and squinted at the words imprinted along the dial.

Davy tried to yell over the pitched noise, "That's the security alarm."

Kakashi didn't comment when Remus took a few steps closer; he figured that Dumbledore assigned him as a guard as well. "It's very shrill," commented Remus as he clutched at his ears.

Schrödinger's giant eyebrows furrowed when he finally deciphered the message on the clock face. "Evacuation, Davy. Call Evacuation."

The normally laidback man jumped up as if physically shocked. "Evacuation? Okay... Never done that before. But okay. I'll do that. Desk and Sonorus, right?"

"Yes." Providing no further instruction, the Esquire seemed troubled as he took his wand out from a pocket in his petticoat and gave it a wave. The loud alarm was silenced.

Absentmindedly rubbing his left ear, Kakashi watched warily as Davy clambered onto his desk, stepping and slipping on his papers. He asked Schrödinger offhandedly, "Why not do it yourself?"

Schrödinger looked like he swallowed a lemon when he answered curtly, "Davy's taller."

"Ah. Right. The partitions to the cubicles. Schrödinger's too short to reach past them even when standing on a desk."

With a soft Sonorus, Davy's voice amplified and easily reached all the workers. "Hey everyone. Attention. This is not a drill folks. Got Esquire Schrödinger's blessing to pass on this message. Please evac. the building. Apparate or use the stairs. Okay? Thanks guys." He added in afterthought, "Hey. And don't panic. It's not like it's an emergency, I think. Um." He turned to look at Schrödinger, voice still bellowing. "It's not an emergency, right?"

Red faced, Schrödinger growled, "Just get down from there."

"Err. Right." Davy grinned sheepishly and called out to the rest of the office, "I think it is an emergency. Evacuate people. See you outside!"

After Davy's little speech, Kakashi winced when an explosion of loud pops and cracks erupted in the office space as people scrambled to vacate the premises. Schrödinger was among the first ones to disapparate as soon as Davy was finished, evidently disregarding his guests.

"Ready?" asked Remus, unfazed, as he proffered an arm out to him.

He frowned, "Side-along apparition?"

"Beggars can't be choosers if you don't have a license. Good thing I got mine renewed. Time to vamoose, friends!" Davy stood up on his feet and did a turn; however, there was no signature crack after that disapparating attempt.

"Uh." Davy frowned, panicked. "Why didn't that work?"

The people still left in the office shared Davy's alarmed sentiments; his neighbor, a petite female donned in business attire, appeared at the doorway of the cubicle and whimpered rather pathetically, "Davy! What's going on? I can't seem to disapparate and the Pathway of Desires isn't working!"

Remus grabbed both Kakashi and Davy by their arms and exited the cubicle. "It's likely anti-disapparating wards. Is this normal emergency protocol?"

"I don't know…" Davy shook his head and spoke to his co-worker, "Bethie? Calm down Bethie and tell me you're responsible and read the employee manual."

'Bethie' sniffled wetly, "Ye-yes, I've read it. It said-"

-STUPEFY.

Time slowed.

Shifting his eye from Bethie's half-conscious expression, Kakashi spotted a wraith-like figure-

(-wraiths bathed in the soft light-)

-six cubicles away. They were faceless-

(-shrouded by the white lacquered mask-)

-white mask glinting in the artificial light of the office, and cloaked in an open black robe with a hood pulled low.

(-weary in their black cloaks-)

Underneath their robes, he could see an armor-like chest plate and utilitarian pants.

(-unfeeling wall… emotions… identities-)

The enemy was pointing a wand in their direction, looking ready to fire another spell at them-

-Remus snatched Kakashi and Davy by their limbs, forcing them to duck into Davy's cubicle as a potentially lethal spell whizzed by. Bethie collapsed face-first into the carpet, knocked out cold.

Three more screams rented the air from somewhere deeper in the office. More enemies.

(ANBU)

"Bethie!" Shaking, Davy gasped, "Merlin. What is going on?"

Adrenaline thrumming under his skin, Kakashi murmured, "Definitely knows magic. Doesn't look like a Death Eater. Similar but not the same."

Remus looked at him before saying quietly, "I won't ask when you saw a Death Eater but we'll treat them as such until we know who they are." He then turned to Davy, disregarding his distraught, and demanded in a hushed whisper, "Were you capable in your Defense Against the Dark Arts classes?"

"Uh – I don't think I failed-"

"Are you good with a shielding charm?"

"I think so-"

Remus interrupted him sharply, "-Good enough. Stay with Mr. Hatake."

"Wh-What?! What about you? We have to get out of here."

"We can't run out there if we don't know how many enemy wizards are in this building," snapped the ex-Professor grimly. "I'll clear the way; you watch my back."

"Just like guard duty…" Kakashi nodded before clapping a serious hand onto Davy's shoulder. "You better tie back your dreadlocks. It's about to get busy."

"Right." The Quidditch broadcaster took out his wand again, hand shaking slightly, and asked Kakashi in an undertone, "Wait. And what about you?"

"I – ah – don't have a wand." Kakashi then procured several heavy ink wells from Davy's desk, weighing them in his hand. His eye crinkled when he smiled. "I'll make do, though."

"Which leaves us as the magical protection detail, Davy." Readying his wand, Remus inched towards the wall of the cubicle silently.

Worrying, Davy muttered, "I'm a Quidditch broadcaster, not a player. My reflexes aren't that great."

Kakashi, without any malice to their resident cubicle club member, hoped there were some inexperienced 'Davy's in their enemy's ranks. Remus looked capable enough-

"Expelliarmus! Stupefy! Stay back. One is coming our way."

-but not if they were overwhelmed by numbers.

TBC

A/N: Hey there everyone. Did you miss me? :) I know I missed updating this story. Anyway, still more to come.

~Phoenyxx