Official Search Tent Headquarters
Date: Sunday, 12 November
Time: Set up by 7:00 a.m., will remain at the Wood's residence until Winifred is found.
Place: Set up just outside the Wood's cottage
Characters Involved: Anyone and Everyone who wishes to participate
( Because Merlin knows the Ministry can't be counted on to conduct the search properly! )
Time: Set up by 7:00 a.m., will remain at the Wood's residence until Winifred is found.
Place: Set up just outside the Wood's cottage
Characters Involved: Anyone and Everyone who wishes to participate
( Because Merlin knows the Ministry can't be counted on to conduct the search properly! )
Having spoken with Ginevra and assured himself, now, that June was as looked-after as he could hope for in the circumstance, Severus once again returned to the main tent, where the crowd was thinning as people headed out, some with broomsticks in hand, some on foot.
At last he spotted Remus, and made his way directly toward the werewolf, who appeared to be collecting his own 'assignment'.
Severus waited until he could claim Remus' attention without calling undue attention to himself. He didn't like the look of the werewolf's complexion - the blasted potion forced the lycanthrope's body to work precisely contrary to its nature. There was a slight flush to Remus' cheeks as though he had been undergoing exertion, yet the flush poorly over-laid the pallor beneath which spoke, to the trained eye, of the stress his body was under.
There would be hell to pay for Remus and Derrick when the potion wore off, damn it! And if the child wasn't found - they'd risked serious illness for nothing.
However, done was done. There was little Severus could do about it, now, other than try to ensure the stubborn werewolf didn't compound the problem by following his usual habit of not eating much most of the early part of the day after transformation.
"You'd better eat something before you rush off," he said quietly, sure of not being heard by any but lycanthrope hearing.
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Remus shook his head gently at that, however. Severus' potion might be keeping him on his feet right now, but he was under no illusions that he was at all capable of handling a broom! Remus was a good man in the air, but a Potter he was not. It would be just his luck to passout while still aloft.
"I'm afraid I'd be putting the team to more trouble and danger were I to go on broomstick at the moment," he said ruefully. "But I can go in on foot. Has word been sent to the castle yet? Hagrid probably knows that forest better than anyone."
"We sent word to the Headmistress a while ago, but no response as yet." The young auror looked aghast at the suggestion of entering on foot. "But, surely you shouldn't be going into the forest on foot. There are things in there that hate hu-"
"While I thank you for regarding me so highly," Remus chuckled, catching her slip as she almost said 'human', "I am a werewolf, Miss Popplewaite. Things that would normally kill you on sight, will at least give me a moment's consideration. In fact, I can probably put together a team to go in on foot made up of not a single fully human individual."
"But, last night..."
"Was the Full Moon, yes, which means this is the absolute best time for me to be tracking a small child."
Remus knew Minerva McGonagall well enoough to know that her response would be to send Hagrid and any others of the staff she could spare down to aid the search. She most likely would not come herself as she was currently overseeing both Gryffindor and Slytherin houses due to his and Severus' absence. But she would send Hagrid, perhaps Fleur. The two of them, plus Remus and maybe Perry, at the least would be able to canvas a decent-sized portion of the forest before the inevitible crash put Remus and Perry out of commission.
Honestly, the mere fact the search was only being conducted in the air left a gaping hole that might have already allowed for the child to wander or be taken well out of the area by now.
"I suppose you have a point, but..."
"Miss, Popplewaite, I am sure between the Defense Professor and the Groundskeeper, we can be of more service to Wini on the ground."
"I'll tell Carson, I guess. But I doubt he's going to like it."
"I'm sure he'll be able to appreciate having any option at his disposal by now."
Once the doubting Eleanor had moved off to speak with Carson and check to see if the contingent from Hogwarts had arrived yet, Remus turned his attention to Severus, whom he'd sensed approach during the end of his conversation with the auror.
"I'm not rushing anywhere until Hagrid gets here," he replied dismissively, focusing on the other man's split lip, purpling face, and general dishevelled appreance. It looked like he'd run into someone's fist.
"What the hell happened to you?" he growled softly, maneuvering them into a more out of the way spot just outside and to one side of the tent. "Is June alright?"
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"Mr Wood and I had a bit of a discussion, it's nothing. I've taken Ginevra to the house. She'll check in on June periodically, so she'll be well-tended. In a few hours, June will be in better condition than you are - by a great deal if you don't eat something before you go chasing Acromantuals with Hagrid. I've provided him with plenty of anti-venom already this term. Apparently he is having some difficulty controlling the population."
He smirked, which was unfortunate, because it opened the cut on his lip again.
"If you have to kill one of the beasts, I'd be most interested in its venom."
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Until he knew what happened, he would reserve judgement, of course. And yet, he could already feel something, well, possessive growling in warning at the idea of someone laying a hand on Severus in such a manner. It took more effort than he wanted to admit to focus on the task at hand instead of allowing his instincts to seek out Oliver Wood.
"With any luck, we won't have to kill anything while we're in there. Honestly, conducting a search of the Forest from the air. What are they thinking?" He dabbed lightly at Severus' split lip as he spoke, hoping the dry, but soft handkercheif wouldn't irritate. "If I promise to eat, will you tell me what on earth could have resulted in fisticuffs between yourself and Gryffindor's coach?"
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"I may have... provoked him... or at least not been as patient as others have been. There was not even a standard dead bolt, Remus! Nothing to keep a moderately intelligent flobberworm confined into the house if it had a mind to get out! I have more wards on Spinner's End! I know precisely when the doors open and close, when I am home, and our household is composed of competent adults, not helpless children!"
He drew breath to calm himself from going off on a completely useless rant and compose himself as well as may be.
Severus didn't feel the least bit remorseful about the altercation - but he was trying to see it from Remus' perspective, and June's, and realised that they might not be sympathetic to his own point of view.
Which did not mean he would lie, though he had no compunction about trying to give weight to his 'side'.
"I commented on the lack of a bolt, and left the house. June asked me not to say anything to Wood in his distress, and so I made the attempt to hold my tongue.
"When he followed me out of the house and suggested I was attempting to 'cover the tracks' of my 'evil partners', I might have unleashed my verbal repertoire, with more relish than necessary.
"However, I assure you, Wood threw the first punch, and landed four to my two."
Severus was actually embarrassed to admit that much, and amended, somewhat defensively, "Physical combat has never been my forte. Had there not been dozens of Aurors in the area, I would never have allowed him to hit me. I did not dare draw my wand.
"I did not retaliate, as evidenced by the fact Hansen was not allowed to haul my arse to Azkaban."
Finished with his explanations, he nodded his head back toward the tent, where the still untouched breakfast trays for Derrick and Remus sat on the edge of the table.
"I'm fine. Your turn. There will be hell to pay when that potion wears off. Don't make me regret providing it. You should eat."
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Though he disagreed with the man's rather, well, blunt methods on occassion, he couldn't blame him for reacting thus, either. Remus had seen him with the little girl just the once, but he thought he knew Severus well enough by now to know that even having once let her into his heart like that scene had suggested, any protectiveness he felt was only going to grow.
"Well, you probably shouldn't have taken qhite as much relish in the verbal evisceration I am sure you unleashed, but that still doesn't give him the right to lay hands on you."
Now, the growl was back in his voice. Oliver Wood should just feel lucky Remus himself hadn't been there to witness the act. So soon after the full moon, he was just as likely to lay hands on Wood in a much more brutal manner in payment for the offense. There would have been hell to pay for a werewolf to physically attack another person, even in human form -- especially after what had happened to Bill! But, Remus was afraid he would have gladly suffered the penalties.
He after all was more than capable of holding his own against other werewolves half his age and twice his size. Wood would have presented no challenge.
"You're not fine," he countered, dabbing at the abused lip once more before pocketing his handkerchief to clean-up later. "But you are no longer bleeding, so I suppose that will suffice."
Flicking his wand at one of the bowls, he summoned it to where they stood so as not to interupt the brief moment he was sure they would have in the midst of all this chaos.
"What will you be doing while we traipse off into the forest?"
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His tone was flippant, but worry and guilt rested heavily upon him. Knockturn was not as dangerous for him as it was for many people, but there were plenty of his former associates who believed as Bellatrix Lestrange did - that Severus was a traitor to their 'cause' and deserved execution - not necessarily a 'merciful' one.
"It seems to me if the child was still in the immediate vicinity, all the location spells ought to have found her by now. If she was removed from the area by an outside force... well... I am going to try to find if anyone has suddenly acquired a fresh source of exceedingly valuable and equally illegal Potions ingredients."
The mere thought of which disgusted him, and added to his shame since he had used many of those 'ingredients' himself over the years.
"So I will be embarking on a trip down Memory Lane complete with likely meetings with old friends," he said bitterly. "A complete lark compared to your afternoon with Hagrid and his dangerous Beasts."
Satisfied that Remus was at least making an effort to eat, Severus regarded him with what little he could reveal of his emotions in his stoic expression.
"Be careful, Remus," he said quietly. "Be at the house no later than two o'clock, before the potion wears off."
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He was not fine, the stubborn prat.
"I battle the inhuman monsters and you take on the ones that only look human?"
He was barely tasting the stew, too preoccupied to notice it. Instead, his attention was riveted on the signs of worry and concern in the voice and mannerisms of the man in front of him. Not to put too fine a point on it, Remus wasn't happy that Severus would be going where he was either. The only trustworthy person there would be Severus, himself.
"I'll be fine," he said finally. "You watch yourself, too. I want to see you before I'm forced into unconsciousness and I'd prefer it if you were in one piece."
It was practically still the Full Moon. His Alpha nature was at it's strongest and he wouldn't rest until he was sure Severus was unharmed, potion or no potion. He wanted to find Wini as much as anyone else, but he wouldn't sacrifice Severus, or any others of his pack, to do it.
Which didn't apply to himself, at all, of course. Sacrificing his own time and energy was acceptable.
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"Precisely," he agreed. "The wolves in sheeps' clothing and all that rot."
He glanced about to ensure no one was paying attention to them in the chaos of the moment, and then risked a brief touch, reaching out to clasp Remus' shoulder for an instant.
"You won't be rid of me that easily, werewolf," he said quietly. "I'll be home to see you settled in bed before you sleep."
Severus had check in, himself, with Carson, before he could leave - more in self-defence in case he was 'caught' in the areas he intended to travel, he would at least have legitimate reason to be there.
"Go on, then," he continued, dropping his hand after a final squeeze. "You'd best gather your party, and I've got to be on my way. I'll see you at the house shortly before two o'clock."
He stepped away and slipped back inside the tent without a backward glance.
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