A late night was followed by an even earlier morning as Remus stepped out onto his dew covered lawn behind Kingsley.
Both men had elected to wear muggle street clothes for their ventures of the day, and Remus was lamenting the cold wet grass on his slacks.
It had not helped things that because they'd obviously not learned their lesson from their younger days, Remus had split a bottle of fire whiskey with Sirius the night before. He had a bottle of hangover tonic, but it didn't completely dull his headache, though he supposed some of that could be from the stress of overthinking.
He'd packed light and meticulously, making sure not to take anything at all that could have any considered value, less it be taken from him. Everything he chose fit in a mid-sized leather duffel, which he carried over his shoulder as they walked.
"I don't suppose there is any chance of gaining access to Ms. Hawkins' flat?" Remus ask after navigating through the typical British small talk that accompanied polite conversation.
"I have the key with me, yes." Kingsley nodded.
"And I'd like to see what Olivander's records could tell me of her wand. Prisoners and new comers all have to forfeit wands until proven trust worthy. If I know what I'm looking for, I can possibly get it back for her- save her the pain of re-adjusting to a new one." Remus added.
"You know, you'd make a hell of an Auror, Remus." Kingsley complimented with a grin. "Like I said, I can hire who I please."
"I'll have to pass." Remus laughed. "But a boring childhood and home full of murder mystery novels gave me a lasting gift or two."
"I'll keep that in mind. One of these days I may make you a position. Private consult, like Sherlock Holmes himself. He refused to work for the Scotland Yard, didn't he?" Kingsley mused.
"Because he thought they were idiots." Remus replied, perhaps too quickly. Kingsley stopped and looked to the other wizard, an eyebrow raised.
"Remus Lupin, are you telling me, right now, you don't think the Ministry are idiots?" His face was serious, but Remus knew him too well, and he could see the humor betraying his tone behind his eyes.
"Present company excluded." Remus grinned.
They both shared another laugh as they continued on their way, walking down into the village where Remus lived for a spot of breakfast before the two men disapperated to London to begin their investigation.
Olivander's was a quick stop, Remus had only mention Hawkins' name and he was able to have the wandmaker recount every detail of her wand. Olivander also wished both wizards good luck on their mission as they left, so the next stop was the girl's flat.
Phoebe Hawkins had been living alone in a block of flats, not terribly far from the antiquities shop in which she'd worked.
She was on the third floor, only had two neighbors in her part of the building, as the complex had a few openings that the landlord mentioned as Kingsley when they stopped in to let them know they were 'with the police investigation' and Kingsley had shown a badge as part of their cover. Remus found it particularly heartless that the bloated bullfrog looking muggle bloke in the flat block office was more concerned with getting renters than the missing one, but he kept his mouth shut and waited by the door.
Once inside, Remus began to take note of the place.
If she was taken, the abduction did not occur in her home.
The place was tidy, though lived in. A sweater thrown over a chair here, a pair of shoes laying haphazardly there. The tell-tale signs of someone who lived alone. Kingsley stood back, leaning against the wall, eyes fixed on his partner for the day.
"Alright, Sherlock. Tell me what you see." He joked.
Remus moved from room to room, taking stock of person affects, belongings that would've absolutely been taken if she'd left for somewhere of her own free will. Photographs, jewelry, clothes, all still right where they'd been left. Remus noted that on her desk in the corner of her bedroom, there was a small problem. The smell had caught his attention first, but it had taken him a moment to find.
"We have a body." Remus called, and Kingsley came running down the hall, only to be very unamused by Remus' joke.
"That's a goldfish." Kingsley deadpanned.
"No, its a blue beta fish." Remus corrected, as they both looked at the belly up blue fish floating in his bowl. Thick algae had begun to bloom, possibly being the cause of death to the poor creature, who died without his owner there to care for him.
"That's really sad, actually." Kingsley sighed.
"Indeed." Remus said, gently levitating the tiny corpse from the water with his wand. "Best not leave him, though."
"What do you think we should do with our missing person's dead pet, Remus?" Kingsley ask, his voice barely masking how absurd he found the whole thing to be.
"Bury him at sea, of course." Remus said, nodding toward the bathroom. Remus flushed the fish and came back to Kingsley's side. The other wizard looked Remus over, still less than amused.
"You're not going to say a few words for the dearly departed?" He quipped. Remus rolled his eyes.
"It was only going to make a worse smell if we left it. I'd hate for her to have to come home to that after all this." Remus replied simply.
"Fair enough, I suppose." Kingsley sighed. He once again stepped back and let Remus look around, which took another good hour or so, before meeting back up with him in the sitting room.
"Here is what I have gathered." Remus said, sitting carefully down on the very edge of the couch, hyper aware of being technically uninvited to the home he was in. Kingsley, it seemed, either didn't realize or didn't care- or more likely had grown tired for sitting up straight while waiting for Remus' clue hunt, and had settled into the armchair near the window rather comfortably.
"What's that?" Kingsley replied, sitting up a bit as Remus spoke.
"Ms. Hawkins is an avid reader, an artist, and potions master in the making, if her kitchen cupboards are to be believed. Though the only things that are extravagantly out of the norm for a home apothecary for a witch her age are the surplus of ingredients used for the wolfsbane potion."
"Interesting." Kingsley said, now sitting forward in his seat.
"She also has a couple cases of jars, like canning jars? I assume she stores it in there. They look used or reused." Remus replied. "You said her father was no longer with us, correct?"
"Gone several years now." Kingsley confirmed.
"So she's making it for someone. Who, we don't know. But I think finding out would help. But alas, I think my time with you draws short. I think we should probably get going."
"Unfortunately." Kingsley agreed. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Remus stooped down and took his duffel back up onto his shoulder. He stood quiet for a moment, just looking around the sparse and lonely flat.
"I'm too invested now." Remus agreed. Kingsley placed a hand firmly on Remus shoulder and disapperated them with a small 'pop'.
It was a long walk, a few kilometers on foot, from where Kingsley had bid Remus goodbye and good luck to his destination.
In his bag, he now also carried an emergency portkey, an old, broken, fishing lure. 'A good luck charm, no value', Kingsley had said, when explaining why he'd picked the object he did.
Once in sight of the manor home estate that Greyback had taken over, he was met with two guards. One that Remus was sure he'd recognized from some dealings with the pack, an older, sickly pale man with a beard as long as his shirt, and completely unkempt. The other was a fairly young boy, maybe fifteen or so, and looked completely terrified to actually see someone coming their way. Remus stopped on the road as he was ask, hands in the air, and he waited for them to meet him on the trail.
"Name?" The older wizard grunted out, wand directed at Remus chest.
"Remus John Lupin." Remus replied, keeping his tone flat, emotionless. The younger guard's eyes grew wide as he exchanged a look with the elder.
"That's-"
"Yes." The older guard interrupted. "Aye, he's been waiting for you, boy."
"I figured as much." Remus replied simply, lowing his arms.
"Right then, follow us." The older guard growled, gesturing both younger werewolves to follow his limping, unsteady lead. It hurt Remus to watch this man, who had to be over 80, forced to work in the pain he was clearly living with. Still, he kept his mouth shut and did as he was told, following the elder wizard's lead.
The estate itself was beautiful, and there were at least a dozen or so people out doing various jobs to maintain the place. There were about four women out in a vegetable patch, working to pull weeds from the rows of new growth sprouts. A couple young men were tending to some livestock in a paddock near the wellhouse. It was a nice place, Remus had to admit, at least from the outside looking in.
They continued all the way up the path, Remus making note of how there were new construction houses, maybe even multi-level flat style homes flanking the manor house, which seemed absurd, considering how many rooms really must be in the castle itself. Still, he kept a mental note of each detail he saw as they moved, and he was brought into the main entry of the castle itself.
It must have been something that had once belonged to an Earl or something, Remus thought, a lower level royal somewhere along the line. It was lovely, if a bit ran down, but still very nice. A dusty chandelier hung down between a split staircase, and the railing also looked more worn than need be. There was plenty of animal taxidermy on the walls, but Remus noticed that though some of them looked quite old and even moth-eaten, such as the exotic game, others looked to be newly added. It made his skin crawl to look at, so as they made their way up the stairs he elected to keep his eyes forward.
After a turn or two, Remus was finally brought into a large, overly cluttered study and told to have a seat, and the two guards took their leave.
There were stacks of books, boxes of what Remus assumed was the forfeit possessions of those who had come to be under his care, stacks of fine china and brass figures... His attention so caught by all there was to see around him that he'd not noticed when he was no longer alone in the room.
"I knew you'd be here, sooner or later. Didn't think it would take thirty damn years."
The voice was so deep and rough, there was nearly no humanity left in it. Remus' blood ran cold, but he did not turn to face the owner, who soon rounded before him, towering over him.
Fenrir Greyback had to be every bit of seven feet tall. He'd embraced and even added to his wolfen half so much that he barely resembled a man any more. His teeth were always extended and razor sharp, his eyes piercing gold. His body, neck and most of his face was covered in hair much thicker than normal human body hair, but still a bit too thin to truly be fur. He was a nightmare in the flesh, and the sight of him set Remus' stomach to knots.
"I- I suppose I had to try to forge my own path." Remus replied, trying to steel his resolve. "I have to say, this is a very impressive place."
"Its a home." Greyback corrected. "For those without. Those the others find to be lesser. We have everything we could need, no one goes without. Even offer the wolvesbane potion to those who would dull their senses with such... devises."
"It does well for the pain, I've found." Remus replied simply.
"I can't say I've felt pain in many years, young blood." Greyback growled in reply, taking a seat directly across from Remus. "You could learn to live that way, too, you know. We could teach you."
Remus looked over the other werewolf's face. He could tell this offer was sincere enough, though not something Remus was interested in.
"I'm not sure what I want at the moment, to be honest." Remus lied. "I lost my lodgings and income in one move, I'm afraid. I had no where else to turn."
"Indeed." Greyback crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, things in the pack have changed since you were last with us as a boy. Our home here, we have rules. Some which you remember."
Remus swallowed hard as he took out his wand and handed it over into Greyback's outstretched, misshapen claw of a hand.
"Do not worry, it can be earned back." He assured him. Remus' eyes fell to the floor, but he nodded his understanding.
"Now, let's talk about your position with us." Greyback relaxed back into his chair, his haunting yellow eyes reading every inch of Remus. "We're about 58 strong, now. Everyone has a job. Tell me, where do your strengths lie?"
"Usually in book keeping, when employed." Remus answered honestly. "Factory floors, store night audits. Things like that."
"Cataloging it is." Greyback gestured around. "I have yet to find anyone suited to the task. There are many things all over the homeplace that need cataloging. You'll do well with that, I dare say."
"Thank you, sir." Remus bowed his head. Mentally, he took this as a triumph. Cataloging would allow him to look around the grounds, unsuspected.
"We have some new construction homes outside, single sleepers. I think you'll find it suitable. Bells sound for dinner. Everyone takes meals together in the main hall. Other than that, I have someone waiting to show you to your accommodations. You can start to work tomorrow."
"Sir." Remus bowed again, coming to his feet and making his way back into the hall. However, the guide he met outside the door nearly knocked the air from his lungs.
"You must be this Lupin the master keeps speaking of." The man growled as if disgusted. "The prodigal."
"I suppose." Remus shrugged. "Remus Lupin."
Remus held out a hand, but the other man simply looked at him with more anger.
"Edwin Desmond." He responded, turning on his heels. "Come on, I'll show you to your new home."
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