March 2010
Lavender tugged the hood up higher on her very old cloak. It hung on her frame now. She was taking a big chance, but she had no choice. She looked up at the sign in front of her. She hadn't come here in almost ten years. She reached the handle and opened the door to the Leaky Cauldron. The sound of people laughing and joking reached her ears like a slap. She shook her head and tried to hurry through to the entrance to Diagon Alley.
"Get you anything, dear?" she heard a young, female voice ask. Lavender quickly shook her head no and pushed by the blonde woman, the back of her mind wondering why the pregnant witch seemed familiar.
The door to Diagon Alley was her goal. She had to get her task done quickly so she could catch the train back home. Tommy would be wondering where she was if she took too long. The lie that she was going into London to try to find a better job was the best she could come up with and while he may be drunk a lot, he certainly wasn't stupid. She had made sure she picked up applications at different places along the way so she could fill them out at home to allay his suspicions.
She took out her wand and hesitated before tapping the brick to open the wall. She had nearly forgotten which brick to tap, it had been so long. When the wall opened up in front of her, she couldn't help but smile at the sight before her. Diagon Alley, full of color and light and the center of wonder for her when she had been a child. Before she had gone to Hogwarts, trips to Diagon Alley had been the highlight of her life. She had loved to stare in the windows of the shops.
She walked down the Alley, carefully looking in the windows again, making sure her hood covered her face enough that if she saw anyone she knew she'd be hidden from them. Hannah Abbott! Her mind suddenly filled in with the name of the innkeeper. That was Hannah Abbott. Lavender remembered Hannah saying something once about Tom being her distant cousin. Looks like she finally got the place, Lavender thought. She smiled as she contemplated who the father of her child was, Either Ernie or Neville. Probably Neville. He was mad for her.
Lavender stopped in front of Madame Malkin's and took a quick look at the newest robes. She had gotten to the point where she actually liked muggle clothing better than wizarding robes, but she had always loved to dress up when she was younger.
Her goal was only a few more feet away, but she couldn't help but be distracted by the display at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. She chuckled when she remembered the look on Umbridge's face when Fred and George left Hogwarts. It had been amazing to watch. She was glad George had been able to come back from Fred's death. She didn't think she would have been able to lose a twin and stay sane.
The way to Knockturn Alley was right in front of her. She took a deep breath and started down it. She had only come here once before, on a dare by Parvati and Padma the one time they had been shopping for school supplies. She hadn't made it very far in.
She wasn't looking for a store in particular. She was looking for a person. She had seen him only once, but she knew he hung around here. She only hoped he'd actually survived the War. If not, then she'd have to fall back on her plan to brew the potion herself. She kept her eyes on the people she passed, hoping to see Mundungus Fletcher among them. If she had to deal with someone from the magical community, she'd rather deal with someone she knew could be vaguely trusted. He had been in the Order of the Phoenix, after all.
She had practically reached the end of the Alley before she saw someone who might be him. She followed a short, bandy-legged man into the pub he was entering. He sat at the bar and she sat next to him. He looked over at her suspiciously. The smell coming from him nearly knocked her over. It also made her pretty sure she had found the right man. She remembered some of Fred and George's descriptions of him. The body odor definitely fit what she remembered.
She didn't have any time to waste, so she just turned to him and greeted him with a whisper. "Mr. Fletcher, I have business with you." The man looked panicky for a moment before she quickly and quietly added. "Please don't Disapparate. It's not illegal in the least. I swear. I just have to be discreet."
Still suspicious and about to Disapparate anyway, Mundungus Fletcher studied the cloaked woman in front of him. He was a pretty good judge of who should be in this part of town and he was absolutely certain this woman was not one of those people.
"Maybe we should get a booth and ya can stand me a drink, then?" he asked her, willing to play along just as long as he didn't get into trouble with the Ministry.
She nodded, her face still obscured by the hood of her cloak. She got up, leaving a few sickles on the bar counter to pay for whatever he ordered and led the way to the empty corner booth. Once they sat down, she tugged her hood further over her face since she knew he'd be trying to see under it. She didn't want him to know who she was unless she had to tell him.
"Now, then, my lady, what can I do for ya?"
Lavender took a deep breath. "I need Wolfsbane potion."
Fletcher leaned back. "Ya have ta be registered wit' the Ministry iffen you're a werewolf and they give it ta ya at St. Mungo's. They've a special ward for it."
"Yes, I know that. But I'm not a werewolf. Neither is the person I need it for." Lavender's shoulders slumped under the cloak. "I'll be completely honest with you, Mr. Fletcher. We're latents. We need it to curb the pain, not make a harmless transformation."
Fletcher did some quick calculations in his head. "We, huh? Ya and someone else. Must be yer kid."
Lavender reared back at the surprising insight from someone she didn't expect it from. She nodded quickly. "He's only two and the pain tears him apart. It tears me apart listening to him cry."
"So why not jest make it yerself?"
Lavender shook her head. "My man is a muggle. I can't brew a potion in front of him."
"Ya live in the muggle world, doncha?"
Lavender nodded. Fletcher chewed his lip as he thought. "Why dja look fer me?"
"Because you were in the Order, and I thought I'd be able to trust you more than others I'd find here," Lavender stated almost under her breath. She didn't want to get him in trouble with anyone who might not know he had been in the Order.
Fletcher heard what she said and reared back a bit. "How'd joo know that?"
She sighed and pulled back her hood just enough to give him a decent look at her face and neck, but not others. "Because I was in the DA and we had your picture in the training room." She pulled her hood back over her face.
Fletcher nodded slowly. He knew the face, well, he knew what she had looked like twelve years ago. He'd seen it in the picture that had been in the Daily Prophet of the kids in Dumbledore's Army after the last Battle had been fought and Voldemort killed. It had been unblemished and almost impossibly young, then. The years hadn't been so kind to Lavender Brown.
"Miss Br-" Fletcher started to say her name but was interrupted.
"If you please, Mr. Fletcher, I go by Murray now. And I really would prefer not to have my identity released, if you know what I mean. I live a quiet life as a muggle. I'd prefer it to stay that way. The only reason I came here today is to secure Wolfsbane so my son can grow up without pain."
Fletcher nodded. "Won't be cheap. Gonna have ta pull some strings."
"I understand that. Please understand that while I can pay you in wizarding money for the first few times, after that I hope you'd accept muggle money." Lavender put her palms up. "I won't have a way to change the money without going to Gringotts's, which I cannot do without risking my identity getting out. I'd also like never to have to come back here, so if we could meet in the muggle world, that would be preferable."
"Probably better fer t'whole understandin', actually." Fletcher cocked his head. "Anywhere in particular ya'd like ta meet?"
Lavender reached into her robe and pulled out a slip of paper she'd stashed in a pocket earlier. "Here's the address of a pub in Guildford, Surrey. If we could meet there, I'd prefer it. Do you know how to use a muggle telephone?" Fletcher nodded. "Good. Call me at the phone number listed there on the New Moon and we can make arrangements to meet."
"How 'bout a good faith token?"
"Mr. Fletcher, my not shouting to the rafters about where I know you from was just that. Besides, I already bought you a drink. You know very well how much I'm going to want the potion. I'd say I'm good on the good faith part. I hope you will be to." Lavender stood up. "I'll just take my leave now. Thank you for your time. I hope you can acquire what I need." She left the wizarding world and Mundungus Fletcher in possession of a lot more than the few sickles she'd spent on his drink. She left him with all of the information anyone needed to find her if they so desired and he proved to be unreliable. She just hoped she had done the right thing.