Remus got his first glimpse of the missing girl at dinner that evening.
It was a fleeting glance, as Greyback had guided him away to a table at the head of the dining hall to sit with him, going over a few things about the new job, his rooms, how he was finding their little 'village' thus far, etc. Remus saw her long enough to notice her face was blue and purple on the left side, her lips and eye swollen. She was being beaten into submission, he knew, and it a great deal of his willpower not to react upon sight and spirit her away to Kingsley and safety. Remus knew any rash moves like that would only spell certain death for both of them. His attention was called away from scanning the rest of the crowd and back to the pack leader when Greyback mentioned something very strange.
"Did I tell you about our seer?" He smirked. "She's quite useful."
"Seer?" Remus ask, genuinely curious. "A real one? Not a tea leaf-guessing in the dark type, right?"
"No, the real deal. She frustrates me, sometimes, because she's not in full control of it. But with a little... persuasion... She usually comes 'round with a prophecy or prediction for me. It's been quite handy." The larger werewolf bragged.
"Interesting." Remus replied, scanning the crowd once more before turning back to Greyback. "She one of us, or?"
"No. Not for now, anyhow. I've thought of turning her, but I can't be assured it won't have some sort of affect on her third eye." Greyback replied with a snort. "Her father, though. He was one of our kind. She was raised by him, can make the potion perfect for those who want it."
Fuck, Remus thought to himself, she's not just some under-wolf's prize. She's useful to him.
"So, I've never met a real seer..." Remus mused, just keeping the conversation going, trying to gather clues. "How does it work?"
Greyback picked his teeth with a chicken bone for a moment, then threw it onto his plate with a loud clatter before answering.
"Sometimes, they just hit her. Others, she can touch someone, and she'll get a glimpse. I've used her skills a couple times before going after someone, or before going on a supply raid. Anything there might be trouble with. Like I said- she can't control it, so sometimes we have to help her remember how." Greyback smacked his lips as he spoke around the food he continued to shovel in.
"How do you encourage a seer?" Remus pondered. "Silence? Crystal ball?"
"Swift knock with the back of my hand usually does it, tough occasionally it takes two or three." Greyback replied, still garbling his words over his food.
"Ah." Remus swallowed, nodding and looking down at the table.
"Come on youngblood, I know that isn't your style." Greyback smiled. "Call it tough love, if you need to. I see to it she's taken care of otherwise, if it helps you feel any better. Don't let any of the others have their way with her or anything like that. Too valuable.-" Greyback paused, belched, and continued, "Hell, at first, she was a prize for one of my boys. But then we found out about her little talent, and I couldn't just give that away, you know?"
"Oh no, I understand." Remus nodded. "Completely. Never had the stomach for such myself, but I do understand its place in the world for those who are able."
"See, that's what I've always liked about you, Lupin. Unlike your cocky piss-ass father, you know your place." Greyback compliment, and Remus gave a halfhearted, all fake smile.
"Thank you, sir." Remus said with a deep nod of the head.
"You want to meet her?" Greyback suggested, catching Remus off guard.
"Sir?" Remus sputtered, looking back up.
"The seer. Phoebe." Greyback repeated. "You want to see if she has something for you?"
"I- er-" Remus stammered. "I don't know, sir."
"Mmm." Greyback grunted. "I suppose we do have quite a lot around here to take in. You don't have to tell me what hell new places can be on the senses, yeah? Just take a day or two to settle in, get comfortable. Then I'll set you up a time. And I promise, if she doesn't have a vision for you the first time, I won't strike her for it. You can just try again a new time. Though, most of the time, when she meets someone new, she has one."
"Sounds good, thank you, sir." Remus gave a small bow of his head again.
Remus did not want to seem over-eager to meet the girl.
The emergency portkey was burning a hole in his pocket, but he knew better than to make any sudden movements. While many, if not most of the pack were still mostly human, Greyback was more like dealing with a wild animal, and slow, easy movements made sure both he, and the girl he was sent to rescue, stayed safe.
So for over two weeks, Remus kept his head down. He did as he was told, took stock of all the things Greyback had hoarded away. Careful calculations of the amounts of food, clothing, furniture, everything they might continue to need in their 'village' as he put it.
Not stirring the pot, keeping to himself and only speaking when spoken to gave Remus plenty of time to listen, and the next time Greyback offered him a chance to meet 'his pet seer', he accepted the invitation.
Remus found they had her in a private 'house', a two room shack, a bed room and bathroom. As he'd guided Remus down, Greyback had explained the set up well enough, but he was not expecting to see the chains. It seemed a bit too cruel, especially since there were several layers of wards that prevented her even attempting an escape. Remus knew the type of chain, they'd extend to allow her to move over to her restroom, but required the person who locked them to be the one to unlock them. Remus' father had used them on him when he was very young, before they knew much about helping him during full moons. A problem Remus knew he'd have to ponder on for a bit. As they came in, Greyback and growled at her, commanding her to do her best to give Remus a vision, and Phoebe didn't even look up.
She sat in a small wooden chair, the brunette curls from the photo Remus had seen now hung in lump, dirty strands around her face. She looked exhausted, with deep, dark circles beneath her eyes- or at least Remus assumed under both, as one eye was still swollen from where she'd been hit. This barely resembled the Phoebe Hawkins from the photos he'd seen. She'd been broken by the pack, a shell of herself.
Remus was thankful that he had not been dependent on a wand since his youth, so as he entered he put up a simple silencing charm, to keep everything said from being overheard. He carefully knelt down before her and cleared his throat.
"Phoebe?" His voice was soft, gentle. He spoke the way he would with the first years who got too afraid in his class. Her eyes snapped up to meet his, startled by his use of her name. He noticed that the sky blue they were before was more like clouded. The whites of her eyes were deeply bloodshot.
"Who are you?" She snapped, then winced back, as if she expected him to strike her before answering.
"Shh. I'm not going to hurt you." Remus promised. "My name is Remus, I'm here to help."
"How do you know my name?" Phoebe ask, still skeptical.
"Because an Auror from the Ministry, a friend of mine, hired me to help find you." Remus explained.
"You don't have to lie, sir." Phoebe whimpered. "I know no one is looking for me. Just tell me what you want, and I'll do my best." She held out a trembling hand, wrapped in strips of cut clothes he assumed one of the elder women had tried to do to help her, but he could see where her blood had soaked it in more than one place.
"I was truly hired by the Ministry, Miss Hawkins. I swear that to you." Remus promised. Rather than taking her hand, he held his own out, palm up. "Here, try me. I don't care what you see, use it to see if I'm telling the truth, if you'd like, or can. I'm not entirely sure how this works."
Phoebe looked at his hand for a moment. Then she careful laid her hand on his palm and closed her eyes.
At first, it seemed things were swirling. There were people- so many people. A party? No. A wedding. Phoebe squinted her shut eyes tighter, trying to make sense of the crowd. She saw this man, Remus, in a suit that looked as if he was in fact a member of the wedding party, swirling a girl in a lavender dress on the dance floor, her bubblegum pink bob swinging as she swayed with him. So it wasn't his wedding, she mused, as this was not the bride. Not theirs, though it looked like maybe it should be theirs next. Phoebe looked harder. An entire family of redheads- The Weasley's, she realized, after seeing Bill and Charlie, who she'd known from school. Phoebe kept pushing through the crowd, looking for the bride and groom so she could tell Remus what she saw. Until she came to a large, gold framed, full length mirror on the wall and realized- she was in the wedding dress. It was her reflection looking back at her. Phoebe nearly jumped at the shock of it all, seeing herself in a glimpse of someone else's future had only happened a couple other times.
Curiosity took over her, and she tried to look around to see a groom. A hand took hers- a hand with runes tattooed across the knuckles. She moved to look at the owner when the vision faded. She cursed herself, and jerked her hand away.
"Well?" Remus ask quietly, giving her a small smile.
"The girl with pink hair- you were made to dance with her. She'll make you happy." Phoebe answered, omitting much of the vision.
"What?" Remus sounded startled. No one he knew fit the description. Phoebe shrugged.
"I saw a wedding. Not yours, but she was your date. Guess you will get us out of here, though, because I was there, too. That's all I've got." She revealed a bit more.
Remus looked around her makeshift prison and then back to the girl, who had her eyes back on the floor.
"Alright, fair enough. Seems like we have a party to get to- so I'll get to working on that. Try- try to hang in there, Miss Hawkins." Remus bowed slightly as he left.
Phoebe went back to her darkness, a bit nauseated, but deep down, she felt a new hope that this would not be where she died.
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