A Visit to the Apothecary (OTA - tag Draco)

[allsignsoflupin]

It took a while to find the apothecary - one would think his sort would have better directional skills, but Remus made a long series of false turns before managing to walk down the street toward the building. Perhaps it was not just poor direction, but dread at having to confront the Malfoy boy that made Remus stray from his path more than

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[black_nimbus01]

Wednesdays were usually Draco's day off, but he couldn't help it if the shop had everything he needed to play with experimental potions now could he?

To be fair, he had done some shopping beforehand. An Apothecary doesn't normally carry liquid nitrogen.

Upon hearing the call, Draco popped out of the door leading to the lab with rubber gloves and apron on, safety glasses, and a pair of tongs holding a frozen, smoking banana. The jury was still out on whether he was actually a mad scientist or not.

"Oh. I wondering when you would stop by."

[allsignsoflupin]

Remus had to stifle the impulse to laugh when he saw the boy decked out in full mad-scientist regalia, holding a banana of all things. But he controlled the impulse, straightened, and summoned all the courage he could - although he needed Wolfsbane dearly, it shamed him to be going to a known Death Eater for it.

"Well, the full moon's in a week and a half, so I figured it was about time to pay a visit," Remus said formally.

[black_nimbus01]

"Come on back then, we've got a whole cauldron full," he said, and waved at Remus with the banana.

The lab was quite a normal apothecary's lab, besides what was obviously the corner Draco was currently using for the banana. Several cauldrons were bubbling away on the long tables. Draco led Lupin to a rather large one that would smell familiar.

"There are several different types of werewolf in the village, and nearly all of them react differently to the moon and the potion," he said with a potion-maker's annoyance. "You're actually of a normal sort around here."

[allsignsoflupin]

Remus followed Malfoy, careful not to bump into any of the tables. As he reached the large cauldron he recognized the pungent scent - this was proper Wolfsbane, all right.

"I see you haven't figured out a way to make it taste acceptable either," he said, half in disappointment, half facetiously. "And what do you mean, different types?"

[black_nimbus01]

Draco snorted. "What do you think the banana is for? But no, not yet."

Out of pride, he wasn't going to say how long he'd been working on a solution to foul-tasting potions.

"Different types," he said with a shrug. "Some only shift when full moon light hits them, some change whether the moon is behind a cloud or not, some have their wits about them when they change, some don't, some always have remnants of the change affecting their strength and smell, some don't perpetuate the species by biting. I've met dozens. I even married an Animagus that insisted that he was a werewolf where he came from, but he was by far the most tame sort. Except for the appetite - that was rather terrifying."

[allsignsoflupin]

Remus was struck by a realization at this banana comment: Draco cared about someone other than himself. Experimenting with potion taste for werewolves, of all things, an optional variable, and a group of people who'd always been persecuted by his lot - it was unlike the little snot of a boy he'd known at Hogwarts. The boy had looked older, certainly, but perhaps he'd been in Haurvatat long enough to really change. Or he was simply doing it for business practices. Remus found that theory easier to believe.

"I've met one such Animagus, claimed he didn't have 'moon madness,'" Remus said, "But I never imagined there'd be so many different kinds. I suppose every disease has its different strains."

[black_nimbus01]

The reason was both that he had changed in some ways, and he cared about his business - and he liked tinkering in the lab, doing experiments, trying to improve things.

"There are countless universes for this village to pull people from," Draco said. "I've always thought of this place as more of a...hmm. What do muggles call them? The things with dirt in them and ants. I don't know remember the proper term."

[allsignsoflupin]

"An ant farm?" Remus suggested. He didn't quite get the reference, but he supposed it would do. "So these different universes have different rules, then," he said in wonder. "I'd been hoping to find someone who could help me figure out how to handle my change here - but if their rules are different, their methods may not even apply."

[black_nimbus01]

Yes, that's it! An ant farm. We're one part entertainment, to two parts social experiment. Sometimes they like to tap on the glass."

Which usually didn't end well.

"Yes, most of that happens with mere numbers in ledgers," Draco said. "Which I prefer because there is no bank, and I don't really want to be a literal dragon with a hoard of gold in his room."

[allsignsoflupin]

Remus felt chilled at the analogy. "They?" he asked, not even sure if he wanted to know who 'they' could be. Had he been trapped here purposefully? If he could find whoever did it... he wouldn't make the mistake of being merciful again, like he'd done with Pettigrew.

[black_nimbus01]

"Also known as The Powers That Be," he said with a wrinkled nose. "No one knows who or what is responsible for the village - it's practically a theological argument."

[allsignsoflupin]

"But something is responsible?" Remus scrubbed a hand across his face. "I feel like an experiment."

[black_nimbus01]

"That is the correct reaction," Draco said. "As long as I've been here, there's been a theory - or rather a myth in my opinion - that each person is brought here to learn a lesson of sorts. You can decide for yourself whether that holds water or not."