Chapter 6: A New Acquaintance and Some Beef Jerky
Regulus strutted inside of the warehouse, a reluctant looking Addilyn following behind. Lily was trailing after them in the invisibility cloak, amused at Addilyn's distress at being forced to play Regulus's death eater girlfriend. There wasn't enough room under the invisibility cloak for both Addilyn and Lily to keep out of sight, so Regulus had suggested Addilyn be his fake girlfriend. He had outfits all planned out for himself and Addilyn, which he magicked into existence. Addilyn's shiny black combat boots clunked as she walked, plainly pouting. Her snake earrings brought glamour to her plain black dress. She wore a skull choker to finish off the look. Even though Addilyn did not approve of the situation, she had to admit she loved the outfit. Regulus was matching with Addilyn in a leather jacket with the dark mark insignia in white on the back. He also wore a necklace of chainmail.
Lily shuddered at the dark, cluttered warehouse with cobwebs in every corner. The walls looked like they were moving with the thick layers of cockroaches and beetles. There were boxes upon boxes of dusty magic carpets stacked to the ceilings. To say that the place was unkempt would be the understatement of a century. Shadowy figures scampered around busily doing their work.
Lily quickly reviewed the plan in a whisper. "Remember you and Regulus find Ignatius and ask some questions about the business; pretend you're interested in helping out for some easy money. I will go in the back rooms to see where they are getting all the magic carpet shipments from.
After only minimal quarrelling, Addilyn and Regulus decided to go up the rickety staircase on their right. "We'll meet back at the car in approximately thirty minutes; if something happens we will come looking for you" Addilyn said, giving Lily one last look before hesitantly following Regulus.
The pair ascended the narrow staircase in silence, before reaching a large oak paneled door. "Okay, well, you can say what you want about this place, but that is the most beautiful door I've seen in my life." Regulus said. There was a design of twisted snakes and thorny roses on the door.
Rolling her eyes, Addilyn pushed open the door. The room behind the door was so startlingly different from the rest of the warehouse that both Regulus and Addilyn were completely caught off guard. There were windows with velvet drapes, a crystal chandelier and a glowing fireplace with a silver mantel. There was only one explanation for why such a grand room could exist in an abandoned warehouse-magic was at work here.
Suddenly, there was a movement at the front of the room. A throne-like chair with gold embellishments swiveled around and none other than Ignatius Prewett was sitting in the chair, contemplating his two uninvited visitors.
"It's polite to knock you know, even if you're family." Ignatius thoroughly resembles a corpse and it is unsettling to see his skelatal face mimic a smile.
"I'm terribly sorry Uncle. I know that I gave you no prior warning, but I simply wanted to discuss the business offer that you had mentioned. I thought that the best way to decide if it was an advantageous endeavour would be to come here and see for myself." Regulus, as always, is completely composed.
"Sure, sure. Now, who's this you've brought with you? And I assume you were looking for me…?" Ignatius's dead eyes linger on Addilyn a moment, before returning to Regulus with an inquisitive look.
"Oh, this is my girlfriend.. . Darcey Midderian. We met at a death eater gathering last summer." With this Regulus put a protective arm around Addilyn, with a muttered "sorry". Luckily, Ignatius didn't seem to notice Addilyn's scathing glare.
Ignatius inclines his head slightly. "Anyways, you're here now, so what exactly did you want to talk about?"
"Well, I was wondering if you could tell us more about the operation you have here, you know, how long have you had this place, for starters?"
Ignatius looks instantly suspicious. "I don't see why you need an entire history of my life in order to figure out if you want to work here."
"Forgive me, merely curious."
"Well, who are your suppliers? I think that is a fair question, I mean, we need to understand the risk of discovery before we agree to anything." Addilyn interjects.
"Nice try. I don't know what you're playing at Regulus, but I read the Daily Prophet. I saw you with this girl on the front page. I believe there was something about an Amateur Auror mentioned?" Ignatius snatches the newspaper off of his desk and holds up the article in question.
The door opens and two burly bodyguards are revealed. "Take them out of my sight." Regulus tried to protest, but Ignatius would not hear him out, and so the guards forced Addilyn and Regulus from the room with wands at their backs.
"Where are you taking us? I'm friends with the Dark Lord you know, and if he hears that one of his best death eaters is being manhandled like this…" Addilyn says, leering at the guard behind her.
"Nice try. The Dark Lord cares nothing about his followers, and especially not little rascals like you two."
Addilyn and Regulus go along willingly for a while, until they reach a more open area of the warehouse. Addilyn and Regulus made eye contact and then Addilyn mouthed three…two…one.
The two whip out their wands and begin shooting spells at the bodyguards. "Expelliarmus!" "Petrificus Totalus!" The combined efforts of Addilyn and Regulus are enough to fight off the guards, as both have had battle experience, and the guards are no pros.
As the guards are pausing for breath, Addilyn and Regulus sprint down the hallway sweaty, energized, and inexplicably laughing. "You might not like me Addilyn, but you have to admit-we make a pretty good team." Regulus jokes.
"Well, it did help that the only spell the guards seemed to know was 'stupefy'." Addilyn replied, trying not to smile.
When the two get back to the car they are both cracking up for no apparent reason at all. "Okay, so I don't even know what's so terribly funny but-" Regulus pants. He cuts himself short when he sees the way that Addilyn is looking at him, an unexpected mixture of admiration and tenderness.
Surprising even himself, Regulus impulsively grabs Addilyn's face and starts kissing her. Addilyn was completely caught off guard, and it might have been the unexpectedness that prevented her from murdering Regulus on the spot. It might have been, if not for the fact that she kissed him back.
After a couple minutes, they climb into Regulus' Trans Am, which they had previously covered with shield charms and concealment spells. There was an awkward silence. Then Addilyn spoke "Well, I don't know about you but I'm starving! I just realised we missed lunch."
Regulus began digging in the glove compartment. "I mean, I have expired beef jerky….want some?"
Left alone under the invisibility cloak, Lily walked around until she came across a room labeled: Only For Staff. Scoffing at the wording, Lily entered the room as the door loudly screeched. Wondering at the unlocked door, she entered a cold dim hallway. There were rows and rows of metal doors lining the hall. The doors had large locks that seemed to taunt Lily.
Two burly bodyguards stood in front of one of the doors. Cursing under her breath, Lily went to go back the other way, but suddenly an owl swooped in and dropped a letter in front of the bodyguards. "Boss says that there is a disruption in the main office. He said to hurry." The two took off at an incredible speed considering their size, and Lily had to dash out of the way to avoid being trampled.
Fortunately for her, the bodyguards left a ring of keys in the lock to the door they were standing in front of. Lily twisted the keys and the door opened slowly. Coughing at the dust, she entered the room and much to her dismay there was a box labeled "Blood Quills". Lily knew that Blood Quills require no ink. The ink is your blood and what you write becomes engraved on your hand. Blood Quills are used mainly to torture people. Horrified, Lily went over to a different box that was also filled to the brim with dark artifacts. Lily looked in and this one was even worse than the one she spotted before! There were dried up hands with a wrist bone sticking out, and blood curled around it. The label on the box said that they were meant to be bad luck charms for enemies. Lily swore she saw one of them move! She wondered who the hands had belonged to, and if their owners had died, simply for a selling opportunity. It seemed totally barbaric.
As Lily explored the different rooms she saw more and more dark artifacts. The only thing they sold at the front of the warehouse was the magic carpets. Lily guessed that the dark artefacts were sold only to the most loyal customers or most loyal death eaters. Rats scurried across the cold moldering floor. The more Lily saw of this place the less she wanted to be here. She knew that as an auror she had to put an end to this no matter what.
She passed more doors without looking in them, for she already had seen enough. Lily heard scratching behind a door, but she did not even bother to look over because she assumed it was only filled with a bunch of rats. Suddenly, a faint voice weakly called out. It was most likely calling for help. Lily knew it was probably nothing, but she could not live with the uncertainty if it was a living human. So Lily entered the small room.
No boxes laid in the room, only several piles of bones. The rancid smell of a decomposing body was close by. The room was practically a closet-smaller than any of the other rooms but there were a surprising amount of bones in it. Lily wondered if this is what happens to workers that disobeyed or people who went against the organisation. A frail voice again called out for help. At the back of the room, a limp, pale body with blond locks lay on the ground. Lily was shocked at discovering a sign of life in this ghastly place. "Who are you and how did you get here?" Lily inquired.
She could hardly speak, and her voice was a whisper, but the almost dead girl began her story: My name is Bella. I am an auror in training, and was desperate to prove myself. I got some information from a friend about this place. I did not know if it was a reliable source, so before calling for a team of aurors, I decided to check it out on my own. I entered but the guards saw right through my disguise. There was a struggle, but the guards overpowered me and locked me up. It was daft of me to go here without letting anyone know. No one knew that I had gone on this mission, and so no one came looking for me. I've been here for three days and haven't had any food or water. The guards left me to rot in this makeshift graveyard forever.
Lily had heard enough of this atrocious story to know that Bella needed food and water instantly. Helping Bella to her feet, Lily carefully put the cloak on top of both of them. She made sure not a single limb was showing. Lily knew it was risky hiding both of them under the cloak, she did not have the heart to leave Bella here to die. Bella limped along, putting a lot of her weight on Lily.
Lily hurried to the car, thirty minutes had already passed and Addilyn would definitely go looking for her. Quickly, but quietly Lily made her way back to the car. Even with the concealment charms, Lily knew that the shiny, black Trans Am was nearby. Lily pulled off the invisibility cloak smiling, she rushed over to the car, and opened the door, only to see Addilyn snogging Regulus! Equal parts surprised and annoyed, Lily loudly cleared her throat to get their attention.
"This is Bella, she's starved half to death! I'll explain everything once we get driving, but do you have any food?" Addilyn looked guiltily at Regulus, and paused midchew.
"We did have some beef jerky, but Addilyn ate it all." Regulus informs Lily, throwing Addilyn under the bus. Addilyn and Regulus immediately began bickering again. Lily found it incredible to think that a couple of minutes ago they had been snogging.
Before leaving, the group sent up red sparks to signal the location of the warehouse to the more professional aurors. Before riding off, they sent the letter with the tracking spell with Regulus' eagle owl, so that the other aurors could find the warehouse. Then Regulus drove off. The newly formed foursome was eager to get as far away from the wretched place as possible.