Oh where, oh where has that little girl gone?

[inner_human]

Date: Wednesday, November 15, 2000
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Location: Diagon Alley
Characters Involved: Peregrin Derrick, Winifred Wood, Dora Wimple (NPC), Remus Lupin, Severus Snape
Rating: G

Comments

[inner_human]

He stopped at the bottom of the stairs. She was already half a flight up, and now he needed to regroup.

She'd turned and looked at him-directly at him-and he'd kept his pace, turning his slightly to feign staring off in some other direction. But he wasn't sure if she had fallen for it; not yet, anyway. Still, she wasn't rushing up the steps.

He counted the next half-flight.

He was nuts, tailing some woman he didn't know, with the hopes that her perfume was the very same used to spray her letters. It hadn't been the first tactic on the list when he'd decided how to approach the woman, should he actually find her. But being straight with her would not have worked; what would he say? He could ask questions about Wini, but she could lie, and nothing would be accomplished. He needed to get close; he needed to see her with the girl.

Another half-flight. Now he resumed his pursuit, and he frowned every time his heavy steps caused a sharp creak. There was little chance of hiding his presence now. He listened carefully for her progress to know how many flights she climbed and exactly what floor she stopped on, and as he hit the third floor he took the stairs two at a time. He'd have to be quick to catch her before she went into her apartment.

[fi_npc]

Dora reached the door of her apartment, and she could hear the creaking noise of someone coming up the stairs. Her heart started beating fast, fast, faster. Was it just a neighbor? Was it someone following her? Was it that man from before?

With one hand on her doorknob, and the other trying to hold the groceries, Dora couldn't reach her wand. She dropped the bags to find her wand in her purse, gripping the stubby wood tightly in her hands, just in case. She could hear muffled cries behind the door and knew that her silencing wards were wearing off, just as the potion obviously had worn off Wini.

She stood, ready to try and defend herself.

[inner_human]

Well, nothing's more suspicious than pulling a wand on a total stranger. It either means you're incredibly paranoid, or you have something to hide.

So Perry was on his guard when he reached the sixth floor and, striding toward the woman, realized she had her wand out and ready. Her posture was tense, on the defensive. It was his impulse to grab his wand as well, but instead he slowed his steps (though did not stop his advance) and held up his hands. He'd have to be ready to dodge if she attacked him.

"Wait, miss... I didn't mean to startle you. I was hoping you could help me?"

Great, now he had to think of what he needed help with. He really should have thought out this dialogue beforehand. In the meantime, he tried to close as much distance as he could between them. He had to keep her talking, long enough to find out something useful or to get a glimpse inside her apartment. Thank goodness for keen hearing... within the walls of her apartment he could distinctly hear a voice. A child's voice.

Wini's? He didn't know, but it was pretty curious.

[fi_npc]

"What... What do you need help with?" she said cautiously. Wini was making noise in the background. She needed to get in there and silence her somehow. Damnit. She gripped her wand tighter, but made her best effort at a pleasent smile. "How can I help you, sir?" she asked. She was wary. There was something wrong about this man coming up 6 flights of stairs to ask her for help.

[inner_human]

Perry didn't answer right away; he was keeping his steps, and his responses slow, and his eyes were trying to keep up with her facial expression and her wand at the same time. One hand stayed up, placatingly... the other he moved into his pocket.

"I'll tell you if you put the wand down, miss." Just another few steps would put him in reach of the door. He could hear the movement within a little better, and sense the young woman's apprehension. Both helped to trigger his adrenalin.

He fixed her with a serious gaze and nodded toward the door. "How about we step inside and talk properly?"

Within his pocket, his fingers curled around the handle of his wand.

[fi_npc]

"You -- You better just go," she said quickly. "I don't allow gentleman callers." Taking a gulping breath, she moved her wand quickly, trying to cast the bat-bogey hex on him.

Too bad Dora was a terrible witch.

[inner_human]

Gentleman caller? Is that what he sounded like??

Not that Perry had time to dwell on it. It was a few tight seconds of spying the movement of a wand, then ducking out of the way when the incantation was spoken. His wand was out and shooting off a full body bind before his attacker had a chance to retreat.

Now there was time to think.

The bat-bogey hex. He hated the bat-bogey hex (nevermind that it was absolutely hilarious when used on other people). The fact that she'd chosen that spell against him caused some annoyance; he liked her even less for that than deciding to try and hex him at all.

But Wood's training certainly did some good, didn't it?

Though yelling "Petrificus Totalus" in the hallway of an apartment building had not been the best idea. He left Dora where she stood a moment, maneuvering around her to try the knob. Seemed he'd got to her before she had a chance to unlock it. "Alohamora," he said in a hushed voice, pushing the door the moment it was unlocked. He then grabbed Dora by the waist, dragged her inside, and locked the door behind him.

"Just relax a moment." That had to be the most unhelpful comment in the world to what had to be a very shaken young woman. But she'd thrown the first punch, as it were. Perry kept his wand out, and it didn't take long to find what he was looking for. In fact, Winifred Wood was sitting in that very room, looking groggy and teary-eyed.

Fucking hell, so this woman was the kidnapper. For a moment he stood rigid and still, because confronted with a sniffling child (Oliver Wood's child no less), he wasn't sure what to do. The woman was obviously quite mad (as if her letters to Wood weren't proof enough); and it was that thought that spurred him to pocket his wand and kneel down in front of her, quickly-but gently-checking her over for signs of abuse.

Perry surely had made a very poor impression on the girl the two times they'd met. And now here he was, tilting her face up toward him so he could look at her eyes-they seemed a bit unfocused-and patting her on the head. What did that woman think she was doing, really? The more he looked at Wini, the angrier he got. He had a little sister; he wasn't completely oblivious to proper treatment of a child.

"None too worse for wear, are you?" he said gently, his big hand stroking her hair back. Wini was certainly distressed, and she looked very weary, but it was nothing critical. "How about we find your Da now?" He hoped the mention of Wood would reassure her.

...But how to find "Da" was the question. Perry wasn't going to risk leaving that woman here alone (what she needed right now was a few Aurors and a trip to Azkaban). But calling law enforcement right away didn't sound very appealing, either. A werewolf, a frozen woman and a kidnapped girl? There was a recipe for disaster.

So he pulled out his journal from an inside pocket. He typically kept it with him, for emergency's sake. Who knew it'd actually come in handy? He got up and found a quill, then quickly scrawled a message.

Found Wood's kid. Diagon Alley, sixth floor. Look for the sparks.

He set the charm to include Snape, the pack, and Wood, hoping at least one of them would see it and get there first. Next, he picked Wini up and carried her over to the window. With one hand he opened it, then leaned out.

"A bit of fireworks, first." Red flares; another hopeful distraction for an unhappy little girl. He kept the wand out but leaned against the window, using both hands to steady Wini against him.

...Another look at her sniffly face and he thought maybe he should have left her in the floor. But he was reassured by the thought that he would have time to put her down before anyone noticed him coddling a little girl. So he just sighed and willed that someone-someone useful, anyway-arrive as soon as possible.

[m4moony]

Remus had decided to cancel his office hours for the evening. Having such a crazed start to his week, and throwing in the pushing of his limits so soon after the transformation and the subsequent crash when the strengthening potions wore off after, had left him feeling a day late and a galleon short ever since. Instead, he thought he'd skip dinner that night and settle in with his marking in his quarters where he could at least relax a bit without worry of interruption. With all the chaos and searching for Wini, he hadn't had much of a chance to check in with Bill and Fleur to see how they weathered this last moon and he was worried over the length of time their separation was stretching into.

To that end, he flipped open his journal, intending to scrawl a quick missive to Fleur. Instead, his attention was immediately drawn by the entry from Perry.

He'd found Wini!

But, they were in Diagon Alley? The sun had set a short time ago. If anyone were to find Perry with a kidnapped child after curfew...

And those sparks would surely draw attention the darker it became.

Snapping the book shut, he ran into his room long enough to exchange wands -- no good breaking curfew with a registered wand to track his movements. Throwing off his robes so as to be less identifiable as a Hogwarts professor, he rushed back out to the hearth in the sitting room and threw a handful of floo powder in.

"Severus, it's Remus!" he called, by way of announcement, "I'm coming through."

Once the brief spin of floo travel down to the other man's dungeon quarters ended. Remus stepped out only long enough to ensure Severus was indeed present before turning to unlock the connection to the house at Spinner's End.

"Perry's found Wini," he explained rapidly. "He's in Diagon Alley and called for assitance. Curfew was about twenty minutes ago. I'm heading home to apparate from there if you want to follow."

Coordinates to one of the less public apparationpoints in the wizarding shopping district followed this explanation. Tossing powder into the flames once more, he stepped into the sitting room at home when the spinning stopped this time, startling poor Zak who had just been settling in with his French practice after work. Remus spared the pack Omega only a brief explanation, confident the young werewolf would pass the information on to the rest of the house while the Alpha ran for the back garden to apparate to Diagon Alley.

Worried brown eyes turned toward the sky almost immediately upon landing, searching for the sparks which were then immediately apparent. Lady Luck seemed to be with him as he'd chosen an apparation point very near the building directly beneath Perry's signal.

Schooling his countanence into one of relaxed calm, Remus strolled casually up to the entrance of the flatblock. Once inside, he allowed his pace to quicken, carrying him up to the sixth floor. It wasn't difficult to discern which flat he was looking for -- it was the one with a petrified woman in front of the open door.

"Perry?" he called cautiously, entering the flat warily, alert for any signs of trouble, such as she'd had an accomplice and Perry was now hurt.

[subtle_simmer]

Severus was scarcely two paces behind Remus the entire way. He'd known it was Remus because no one else (except Minerva, of course) could burst through his floo without Severus dropping significant wards. When they had started... er... seeing? each other - It was starting to be annoying not to know what to call their... association...

But I digress.

When their association had altered, Severus had modified his wards to permit Remus free access to his study. It only made sense, anyway, since this was the only floo access to the house from Hogwarts.

Severus was slightly behind Remus in getting to the house, just because he, too, had to shed his robes, grab is small potions-wallet he carried everywhere, and leave his Registered wand. He caught up the distance because Remus paused to speak briefly with Zak, making Apparation merely a matter of following Remus' signal.

Severus arrived too late to see the sparks, but again, he merely followed the other man, trusting werewolf senses and whatever information Remus had that Severus did not, to lead Remus where they needed to be.

The stunned body was a surprise, though he thought he recognised the woman as a former (very poor) student. Nigh on the capacity of Longbottom, if his memory served correctly - her features were somewhat distorted by being frozen in place.

He flanked Remus, turning slightly to his side so they were almost back-to-back, watching warily for any pursuit up the stairs. Soft whimpers could be heard through the open door, and Severus railed at the delay, even as he, too, was aware of the need for caution.

[inner_human]

The moment Perry heard footsteps in the hall he was on his feet, wand still in hand, Wini in the opposite arm. But when Remus entered he relaxed slightly. He didn't need to check that either he or Snape were who they appeared to be; his sense of smell was still keen enough to decide for him.

He'd never been so relieved to see Remus and Snape. But he wasn't admitting that. He was just glad to see it was them and not... well, anyone else, really. The last thing he wanted was for an Auror to catch him out after sunset. He closed some distance between them, glancing out the door briefly, listening for any other movement. And he adjusted Wini in his arms... perfectly aware of how he must look, Peregrin Derrick, holding a little girl so protectively.

"There's your culprit," Perry said in a low voice, nodding toward the frozen Dora. "She's been stalking Wood, sounds like. I found the girl in here, but I think she's on something."

He could smell the remains of the potion on her breath, and somewhere else in the little apartment. But he hadn't bothered to investigate. He looked from Remus to Snape expectantly. He wasn't sure how long they had before people started investigating the flare. Perry's muscles tensed. They needed to do act.

...And someone needed to take Wini. Or at least let him put her down. Ugh, how did he get into this position?