CHAPTER 10: THE HUNT IS ON
Good God.
Jimmy O'Bannon's stomach lurched as he approached the cows, or rather, the lumps of torn flesh that used to be cows. He grimaced as he studied the huge gashes in the side of the nearest one, its intestines spilt onto the ground. He swallowed over and over again, fighting back the nausea bubbling to the surface.
"Okay. No way a Chupacabra did that." Jared pointed to one of the mutilated cows.
O'Bannon halted and scanned the people surrounding the dead animals. The Weasley twins and Rosa stood to his left, and had been the first to discover the grisly scene. Shortly after, they summoned the rest of them here. Him, Jared, Artimus, Bill, Mr. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody.
"You positive about that?" Moody grumbled, his fake electric blue eye expanding as it targeted Jared.
"Hell yeah, I'm sure. Chupacabra don't rip apart animals like this. They do it vampire-like. Bite, suck and run."
"So if it's not Chupacabra, then what is it?" asked Fred.
"Werewolf maybe?" Rosa glanced at the others.
Lupin's head slowly bobbed from side-to-side. "It's not uncommon for werewolves to go after livestock."
O'Bannon bit his lower lip. Could Rosa be right? Could it be a werewolf?
Icy tingles crept up his spine. He thought back to the Guild of the Light meeting and his disappointment at not being given a more serious mission.
Well, werewolves certainly made for a more serious mission.
Deadly serious.
"I want this entire area thoroughly searched," Moody ordered. "Tonks, with me. Fred, George, Infante. Check to the west. Bill, take O'Bannon and Rand and head east. Arthur, you, Lupin and Diaz look south."
They all mounted their brooms and took to the sky.
Artimus drifted close to O'Bannon, his chest noticeably rising and falling more rapid than normal. "J-Jimmy. You . . . you really think this could be a werewolf?"
"Maybe. Heck, for all we know it could be anything from an adolescent Welsh Green to a tiger that got loose from a private zoo."
Artimus silently nodded and stared at his broom handle. His shoulders visibly tensed up. "I bet it is a werewolf. You . . . you know how they like to rip apart people and animals."
"Well, if it is a werewolf, we'll do to it what we do to Death Eaters and dumbass aurors. We'll kick its ass." He slapped Artimus on the shoulder.
His friend nodded and gave him a brief, forced smile. O'Bannon sighed quietly. Artimus wasn't the best at trying to put on brave fronts. Then again, the air of confidence O'Bannon projected was also a brave front. Who the hell wouldn't be scared at the prospect of facing a werewolf? Not all of them acted like Remus Lupin, who made sure to isolate himself from other people on nights when he had to change. Some of them, like this Greyback psycho his British friends had talked about, relished putting themselves in a position to attack innocent people when they transformed. Stuff like that made it easy to understand why the Wizarding World had nothing but disdain for werewolves.
Unfortunately, people like Lupin paid the price for that fear and hatred.
O'Bannon scanned the hills and woods below him, though his thoughts turned more toward Lupin than finding any sign of a werewolf. He remembered several incidents back at Salem when his fellow students spewed absolute venom about werewolves. Some of it came from witches and wizards he considered more open-minded, like Gregory Lancemore, who told him all werewolves should be put on an island and promptly sunk. When O'Bannon had asked about those people who took precautions not to harm innocent people when they changed, Lancemore dismissed it with an uncharacteristic, "You're Muggle-born. You just don't understand."
No. What he didn't understand was why someone as cool as Remus Lupin should suffer for an affliction forced upon him. Many of O'Bannon's British friends told him Lupin was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher they ever had at Hogwarts. For most of them, that opinion didn't change when Lupin's lycanthropy became public knowledge.
Well, at least Rosa, Jared and Artimus didn't view Lupin as a monster. Of course, at times Artimus did keep a noticeable distance from the man.
It could be worse. Lupin could be a Wendigo.
There O'Bannon's tolerance could only go so far. He found it hard to be sympathetic or accepting of a creature brought about by an act of cannibalism.
"Let's check those woods over there." Bill pointed to a sprawling thicket of leafless trees to their right.
The three landed by the treeline and drew their wands.
"Well, at least we know we won't run into any werewolves in the daylight." Forced confidence coursed through Artimus' voice.
"If it is a werewolf we're looking for," Bill stated.
That made Artimus swallow. Still, he followed O'Bannon and Bill into the woods.
They found nothing. No tracks, no obvious broken branches, no werewolf poop. No nothing! Of course, it wasn't like O'Bannon had been trained as a magical creature tracker. For all he knew, he may have walked right past a clue indicating the presence of a werewolf without realizing it.
This is where we really need Jared's dad. Irving Diaz commanded an elite unit in the U.S. Department of Magic called the Special Magical Creature Action Team, or SMACRAT. Surely he'd be able to locate any sign of –
A silvery light flashed in the corner of O'Bannon's vision. He whipped around, tightening his grip on his wand.
An ethereal jaguar stood a few feet away. He recognized it immediately.
Rosa's patronus.
"Guys!" It spoke with Rosa's voice. "You better get over here. We found something."
The jaguar patronus shot into the air. In its wake it left glowing arrows. Locator Charms.
He looked to Artimus and Bill. The eldest Weasley boy shrugged. "You heard the lady. Follow the patronus."
O'Bannon cast his own patronus message to let Rosa know they were on the way. A ghostly, silver bear leapt from his wand and streaked into the sky. Seconds later he, Artimus and Bill mounted their brooms and took off.
The Locator Charms led them to another stretch of woods roughly fifteen miles away. Tonks and Moody were already there. While Moody bent over and stared at the ground, Tonks glanced over his shoulder, a disinterested look plastered on her face.
O'Bannon jaw stiffened. More than anything he wanted to know what was bothering Tonks. He thought back to their night together in the Room of Requirement, how they moaned with delight when they kissed and nibbled and caressed and . . .
Now she didn't seem the least bit interested at seeing him. Sure, what had happened between them had been a spur of the moment fling. They both knew it could never become anything long-term. Still, even before they slept together a strong bond of friendship had developed between them. In a way, Tonks had been something of a mentor to him as much as she'd become a friend.
So why did his presence not elicit a spark of enthusiasm from her now?
Before he could ponder it further, Mr. Weasley, Lupin and Jared arrived. O'Bannon shoved his worries for Tonks aside. Now wasn't the time to bring them up anyway. Later, perhaps . . .
"So what's so damn important, cuz?" Jared sauntered over to Rosa.
"How about . . . that!" She thrust her finger toward the ground.
O'Bannon looked down. His eyes widened.
Four footprints stood out in the dirt. Definitely not human. Each one had three long thin toes and a triangular-shaped heel.
Lupin knelt down and studied the tracks. "They're not werewolf, that's for sure."
"Chupacabra?" Mr. Weasley turned to Rosa.
She shook her head. "They're way too big for a Chupacabra."
"These four tracks are the only ones you found?" Lupin looked up at Rosa and the twins.
"Yes, Professor," Fred nodded. "They just went along this little path, then . . . well, nothing. Like the thing just disappeared."
Lupin nodded and looked back at the tracks. He then stood up and pointed his wand at one of the footprints. Cracks formed in the ground around it. Seconds later a chunk of dirt lifted out of the ground and hovered in the air. With another wave of his wand, Lupin cast a transparent orange bubble around the chunk bearing the footprint.
"I'm going to get this to Hagrid, see if he has some idea what made it."
As Lupin guided the sample back to his broom, Jared sauntered over to Rosa and slapped her on the shoulder. "Well, cuz, I think your prayers have been answered. Looks like we have something a lot more dangerous than a Chupacabra to deal with."
"Yeah, it looks that way. Just one problem, though."
"What?"
Rosa drew a breath before answering. "I'd really like to know exactly what we're facing before we run into it."
O'Bannon quietly nodded. He couldn't have agreed more with Rosa.
XXXXX
The combined Order of the Phoenix/Guild of the Light group searched the area the rest of the afternoon, but failed to turn up any other clues as to what killed the cows. They took a break as the sun started to go down, but planned to resume their search during the night.
When they returned to the Burrow for dinner, Harry, Ron and Ginny bombarded them with questions about their search, which led the three to speculate what sort of creature it might be.
"Too bad Hermione's not here," Ginny said. "She'd probably come up with the answer like that." She snapped her fingers.
For some reason, Ron lowered his head and silently contemplated his roast chicken. His shoulders sagged as he slowly rubbed his fork with his thumb and index finger.
Once again, Rosa and George conversed almost exclusively between themselves. O'Bannon couldn't help but notice the two sat so close their shoulders touched, not that either one seemed to mind. They continued to eat, talk, laugh and stare into each other's eyes.
The scene made him smile. One of his best friends from Salem and one of his best friends from Hogwarts had obviously fallen for each other. How cool was that? At least he knew George would treat Rosa right, unlike a couple other dipsticks she'd dated at school.
Dinner at the Burrow also included a new face. Tonks, though it took a bit of badgering by Mrs. Weasley to get her to stay. When Tonks finally relented, Mrs. Weasley made sure to seat her next to Bill.
"Mum's been trying to get Tonks to come round for supper for months," Fred whispered to him. "She's hoping Bill will take an interest in her and dump Fleur."
If that had been Mrs. Weasley's intention, it didn't seem to be working. Tonks barely talked to Bill, or anyone else, during dinner. Fleur, however, seemed to take offense at Tonks' presence so close to her fiancé, shooting several distasteful looks at her. Then again, Fleur seemed to take offense at everything. O'Bannon picked up a few of her indignant mutterings to Bill.
"Will you ever be able to convince your muz'air zat you cannot 'ave a proper dinner weezout wine?"
"'Ow can we enjoy dinner weez your bruz'air Zheorge and zat American girl laughing like 'yeanas?"
O'Bannon rolled his eyes. He started to question Bill's judgment for wanting to marry this woman. Sure Fleur Delacour could put any Playboy centerfold to shame, but from a personality standpoint she seemed way too high maintenance. At best, she'd make a hell of a one night stand, the kind that resulted in twisted, sweat-soaked sheets, overturned furniture, scratches all over your back and an inability to walk for at least twenty-four hours. But marriage? How the hell could anyone put up with all that piss-moaning and self-importance for any length of time before putting their wand to their head and screaming, "Avada Kedavra!"
Thank God Mireet Miradeaux hadn't been like that. Her beauty rivaled Fleur's, but more importantly, she was smart, friendly, caring, strong, and most definitely not a snob. She was the kind of witch you could easily spend the rest of your life with.
All of O'Bannon's muscles clenched. He stared at his water glass. Dude, what the hell are you thinking?
He closed his eyes, forcing an image of Talia to appear. She was his girlfriend now. Mireet . . . that all happened two years ago. An ocean separated them now.
Why couldn't he keep the past in the past?
He then glanced down the table at Tonks, who picked at her food.
O'Bannon frowned. His heart sank as he studied her, trying to imagine her with spiky pink hair and a vibrant expression instead of her long face and mousy brown hair. He recalled some of Tonks' more sarcastic comments, laughing inwardly. Then he remembered the woods outside Hogsmeade when they'd made their escape from Hogwarts. He'd been a bloody and broken mess after crashing on his broom. He'd been on the verge of unconsciousness as aurors closed in on him. But at the last second, Tonks swooped in and saved his ass.
She helped me. Time I returned the favor.
After dinner, Lupin split them into four-person teams that would search the Glastonbury area in three-hour shifts. O'Bannon's group, which consisted of Tonks, Bill and Jared, drew the first patrol. He smiled at that. Hopefully it would give him the chance to talk to Tonks one-on-one.
He didn't get the chance during their three-hour stint in Glastonbury. Everyone, himself included, had been too occupied trying to find any sign of whatever creature attacked the cows. But their three hours of searching turned up squat.
They returned to the Burrow a little after 10:30 and gave their rather uneventful report to the others.
"Right then. You lot get to bed," Moody told O'Bannon's group. "Looks like we're going to have a busy next few days ahead of us. We're going to need as much rest as possible."
"Sounds good to me." Tonks put a hand over her mouth and yawned. "I'll see you tomorrow." She started across the living room toward the front door.
"I'll walk you out." O'Bannon strode over to her.
Tonks halted and stared at him. She offered him a weak smile, then continued on with him by her side. He held the door open for her. As soon as she was through, he followed, shutting the door behind him.
O'Bannon worked his jaw back and forth as they walked down the dirt path toward the Apparation point. What would be the best approach? Some casual small talk before asking what was bothering her, or the direct approach?
Tonks, to his surprise, spoke first. "I feel sort of bad, Jimmy."
"Huh?"
She glanced over her shoulder at him, slowing her pace so he could catch up. "You've been here for a few days now, and I've hardly said more than five words to you. I mean, everything's been so busy with this Chupacabra business, and now the cows today. Still, that's no excuse. Not after everything we've been through."
"It's okay." He maneuvered in front of her, forcing her to stop. "So, how's everything with you?"
"Oh, all right."
"Bullcrap." O'Bannon folded his arms. He tried to look into Tonks' eyes, which proved difficult since she now stared at her shoes. "You've been down-right depressed ever since I got here. Something's bothering you. What is it?"
Tonks let out a sigh and turned her head from side-to-side. "Um, it's . . . Look, it's just something I need to deal with. Don't worry about it."
"Too late. I am worried."
"Don't be, then. It's nothing you can help with."
"How about letting me try before you decide that?"
Tonks didn't answer. Her shoulders sagged as she returned her gaze to the ground.
"Tonks." O'Bannon gently grasped her shoulder. "You've given me more swift kicks in the ass than I can count. So now I'm gonna return the favor. So enough with the whole stiff upper lip crap and talk to me, friend-to-friend. What's bothering you?"
She sighed again, though this time she met his gaze. She bit her lip for a moment, then spoke. "You know about the battle at the Ministry of Magic back in June."
"Course I do."
"Then you know how Harry's godfather, Sirius, was killed fighting Death Eaters."
O'Bannon nodded.
Tonks continued. "I . . . I was battling Bellatrix Lestrange. My mum's sister, believe it or not. Utterly psychotic. One of You-Know-Who's most devoted followers. I was holding my own against her and was just about to hit her with a Deboning Curse when I tripped on a loose stone. My dear Aunt Bella cast a Redactor Curse. Struck just a few meters away from me. I went tumbling down the steps, pretty much out of it. By the time I regained my senses, Bellatrix . . ." She drew a deep breath. Her jaw trembled. "She'd already killed Sirius."
A tremor racked her body. "If I hadn't been my usual damn clumsy self, if I'd hit her with that curse, Sir . . . Sirius would be alive and . . . and . . ."
She lowered her head and sniffled.
O'Bannon pulled her into a hug. He gently stroked her hair while she buried her face in his shoulder.
"Tonks, you did your best. You couldn't have known that would have happened."
"It doesn't matter. Sirius depended on me. They all did. I let them all down."
O'Bannon tightened his hold around Tonks. His brain froze. He had no idea what to say. Tonks had always been so strong, so confident. To see her like this, filled with so much guilt and self-doubt, it totally threw him.
Dammit, say something. Anything.
Help her!
"Um . . . look, I really don't think Mister Lupin and Professor Moody and the others think you let them all down. I mean, you're here, aren't you? You're still helping the Order?"
Tonks pulled away from him. The moonlight reflected off her tear-filled eyes.
"You know, regardless of what you think of yourself, I'd still want you by my side if I was ever in a really bad scrape."
"You sure about that?"
"Damn sure. Outside of Rosa, you're the only woman I know who could kick my ass in a fight."
Tonks coughed out a laugh. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to compose herself.
"Ugh . . . um, uh . . . sorry about all that," she muttered, looking away.
O'Bannon gave her a sympathetic smile. Just like Rosa, Tonks was the kind of woman who despised crying.
She looked back at him with a half-hearted smile. "Thank you, Jimmy."
"Anytime."
Tonks drew a couple deep breaths and rolled her shoulders. "So, um, like I said. We really haven't had a chance to catch up since you got here. How's life in the States?"
O'Bannon cranked an eyebrow. He wondered if any of his feeble words of comfort sank in to Tonks, or if she just decided she didn't want to deal with her guilt over Sirius' death for the time being.
Either way, he played along. "Things are pretty good. I'm working for the Young Wizards and Witches Athletics and Activities Association. I put together Muggle games for kids to play."
"I thought you wanted to become an auror."
"Yeah, I wanted to. But I mucked up the Potions part of my NEWKs." O'Bannon referred to the National Examination on Wizarding Knowledge. "That put the kibosh on that dream."
"Sorry to hear that."
O'Bannon shrugged. "Yeah, well, what can you do?"
Tonks' lips twisted in thought. "So, um, how goes the love life?"
The veins in O'Bannon's neck stuck out. Part of him hesitated answering that question, especially when memories of their night in the Room of Requirement flooded his mind.
C'mon, man. We both knew it was just a one-night thing.
"I'm seeing this girl I work with. Talia's her name. Actually, her uncle used to be the U.S. Ambassador to Wizarding England."
"Really?"
"Yup."
Tonks forced a smile. "Well, I hope this Talia appreciates the fact she snagged herself a rather wonderful man."
"I'd like to think she does." He grinned back at her. "So what about you? You dating anyone?"
"Nope. Still single. But, well, there is . . . somebody. Problem is, he's too thick to realize how I feel about him."
"Well, I'm sure you can blast your way through any thickness and make him open his eyes."
"Yes, one would hope." She gave him a weak smile.
O'Bannon chewed on the inside of his cheek. "So, um, who is this guy you like, or would you rather not say?"
Tonks stayed silent for several moments, contemplating something on the darkened ground. "I don't know. I really haven't told anyone else. Sometimes I wonder if I'm -"
"Tonks?"
O'Bannon jerked in response to the new voice. He looked past Tonks, who'd spun around.
Lupin ambled over to them, broom in hand. Behind him came Rosa and the Weasley twins, obviously on their way to take over search duties in Glastonbury.
"I thought you'd gone home already," Lupin said to her. "Everything all right?"
Tonks responded with a grunt. A moment later a sharp crack split the air and she was gone.
Lupin blinked at the spot where Tonks had just Apparated. He bit his lip, looked to O'Bannon, then back to where Tonks had stood moments before.
"Yes, well . . ." Frowning, Lupin walked past him and mounted his broom. O'Bannon watched as the former DADA teacher and his three friends soared into the night sky.
His brow furrowed as he stared at the darkness that had swallowed the four. He turned back to where Tonks had Apparated, then stared back into the black, starry sky, thinking of Lupin's reaction.
Tonks hadn't said a word to the guy before she left. And Lupin sort of looked bummed out by the fact.
Wait a minute.
He replayed the scene in his head. Lupin had appeared before Tonks told him the name of the guy she had the hots for. And the way they reacted to one another . . .
Could Tonks be . . .?
Could Lupin be . . .?
O'Bannon scrunched his face. "Nah!"
TO BE CONTINUED
AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: 2/16/09: My apologies for the long delay in getting the latest installment of "Midnight's Blood" posted. I was forced into a mini-hiatus from writing due to a very nasty cold that turned into a case of bronchitis. This illness kicked my ass for about two weeks and it was just a couple days ago that I began to feel like my old self. Dealing with a fever, persistent cough, fatigue and all the other crap that comes with this sort of illness is not conducive to being creative. Even though I'm not back to 100 percent health, I'm close enough to it that my creativity has returned, so look out! I'm diving back into writing with a vengeance. Oh, hope you enjoyed this latest chapter.
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: Jimmy O'Bannon's patronus. Why did I choose a bear? Well, who's Jimmy's favorite hockey team. The Boston Bruins. And what's a bruin but another name for a bear. What can I say? Jimmy, like me, loves his sports.