just me and the lavender moon

"Appreciated Miss Davis, thank you." Putting his badge back into his pocket, Remus followed her gesture and pulled up a chair beside her bed, settling in to begin speaking with her. Remus was not well practised in the art of interviewing, having only really taken photos before, but he knew the Order needed to get ahead of this and so using his badge where possible was necessary. "Well I'm glad to hear that and I'm glad to see you're doing okay. I just wanted to start by saying I'm really sorry to hear what happened to you Miss Davis and I hope you are okay and if I can get you anything before we start, I'm more than happy to run and get you a tea or a water? I'm sure you're sick of people asking you questions by now."

"Ah James!" His tone instantly changed upon seeing his best friend, standing up and smiling at him in acknowledgement. "Just the person I wanted to speak to actually." Agreeing they should speak in private, Remus followed James round the corner and fell in step with him towards The Fountain of Fair Fortune, keeping his voice low to avoid people overhearing it. "I came across Gilderoy Lockhart today... or rather he came across me, and he mentioned something very interesting about where the werewolf came from, but I don't think you're going to like it."

"Remus." a charming smile now on his face, "It's almost as if you're interrogating me." Gilderoy worked with icons such as Rita; he knew when a journalist was gathering intel. "It came from Mr Mulpeppers Apothecary. Didn't you know that – actually," his voice trailed off. "I didn't see you and your gang the entire night, that's unlike you. What was your handsome face up to?"

@luhpinus

"I'd like to say they're hard to come by, but apparently they're wandering the streets of London." He hadn't said it out loud yet, but selfishly, Remus was less than impressed about this attack. The Ministry were already gagging to crack down on creatures, which is understandable after the past couple of years, but Remus had managed to create a life for himself he'd been happy with and it seemed like it was about to be ripped away from him.

"Me? Never," he joked, pointing to himself and shrugging off the comment. Jokes and confidence seemed to work with Gilderoy, who readily gave him an interesting piece of information he'd certainly follow up on. "Mr Mulpeppers? Very interesting... oh myself and my friends had gotten drunk too early, bit of a classic day drinking symptom, Peter and I in particular were pretty out of it and James and Sirius were too drunk to stay out and also were massively overdue a turn on bucket duty."

Pausing, Remus put his hands on his hips and looked towards Knockturn Alley. "I'm sorry we weren't there though, I'd like to say we all could have done something, I just wish we hadn't gotten that drunk."

      pulling the hood of her coat close, corin darted through the alleys as if a wraith, stopping only when she happened upon the pools of blood she understood were of her making. so, this is where she was being kept all that time? knockturn fucking alley. the she-wolf's head can only rage against her, yelling at the stupidity of her being there whilst her heart begged earnestly for answers. some semblance of clarity and closure so, that corin could at least attempt to set aside the guilt beginning to gnaw away at her. not that she could ever be so foolish as to believe it would be that easy but she had to try. she had to know what went on, what was going on and most importantly, what had become of those she'd unknowingly attacked. after all, it was often said that perpetrators returned to the scene of their crimes and well, here she was.

"Probably for the best," Remus replied, standing up and shaking his head. "Nasty scenes, the fewer people who were around the better, no knowing what would have happened if the alleys had been packed to the brim." Suffering from the same affliction as the person who had created the incident in question Remus felt awful for them. There was no knowing what they were feeling at the moment, or how much they even remembered.

"Well by the looks of things," Remus began, surveying the crime scene. "Four attacks. One, here, one there, one there and then one further down the street. I've been attempting to interview a few of the victims to help out the aurors, it's not really my area of work but with this many casualties I thought it was best to start trying to help where I can." He had never really been interested in auror work, not really liking eyes on him- but his work with them had proven he had an analytical mind and sometimes the best way of fitting more pieces into the puzzle was to go and find them yourself.

His gaze returned to the girl in front of him. She was a similar age to him but Remus couldn't recall placing her at Hogwarts, but not everyone in the wizarding world attended Hogwarts, she could have been from out of town. "Um no, I wasn't there. My friends and I were suffering from a classic ailment- drinking too much too early and ending up crashing out..." "

You from around here?"

" remus! sorry... was talkin' t'myself. " caught off guard by the younger man's sudden questioning. " didn't see most of the attack. i got stuck in the crowd when t'screaming started ," he let out an almost silent whistle of air, " all this from one creature? only read the stories, never actually seen it. "

"Oh Arthur, hello!" Remus had asked the question quite absentmindedly, going into detective mode without really seeing who he was asking it to. Standing up, Remus slid the lens cap back on the camera and looked at the scene with his hands on his hips. "It's tragic," Remus started, eyes scanning the bloodshed. "I imagine the person this morning responsible is feeling very upset with themselves today, or at least they certainly should be." The worst part of the curse undoubtedly was the loss of control, but what was more harrowing was the fact that your mind is along for the ride on the journey and waking up to remember every vision and every emotion the next day. It was why they felt themselves age prematurely.

"It could have been much worse, thankfully no one was bitten and no one died. I'm sorry to hear you were held up in it all Arthur, must have been quite horrible for you." Turning to Arthur, Remus lowered his voice. "Have you or Miray heard anything through the... channels? Does he know anything?" Remus was of course referring to order business, but with the times as they were of late, you couldn't be sure who was listening.

"Ah some things never change Padfood, I think hell would freeze over before any of the Blacks were pleasant." Remus was happy to say he'd never had much of a relationship with Sirius' family, but from the stories his friend had told him, he wasn't really missing out. "It's their loss mate," Remus offered with a shrug. "And our gain, for sure." Eyeing the clock behind the bar, Remus checked the time. "Too early for a pint?" He mused to Sirius. It was 2pm, they'd started earlier before. "I'm going to go to the hospital I think and start asking some questions." Turning slightly in his tool, he turned to the left then the right. The pub was relatively empty, no doubt due to what had happened last night, but Remus lowered his voice nonetheless. "Dumbledore been in touch yet?"

She found the man standing there vaguely familiar until it hit her. He was a member of Narcissa's cousin's friend group, wasn't he? They'd always been getting into something unseemly back at Hogwarts, stirring up trouble. But, all that seemed so far away now, especially as the man described himself as an investigator.

Oh, right. She thought vaguely to herself. I suppose this would be considered news. The werewolf attacks had been ravaging for a while now, and Valeria often forgot her own status in the wixen world. Sure, Father and the Bulstrode Family at large were nothing to sniff at, but Valeria herself? Often on the sidelines of the latest high society drama.

But, this was far more important than drama. It was her duty to help law enforcement in any way she could. No matter what she looked like.

Valeria sat up a bit straighter and turned to face him, more out of respect than anything else. Seeing the badge extended towards, she politely took it, turning it over in her hand, not entirely sure if she was meant to be looking for something.

"Um, no, of course, I'm willing to answer any of your questions, Mr. Lupin."

She glanced around the room, suddenly, recalling Mother's training. This was technically hosting, wasn't it? She saw one chair, placed awkwardly far from her bed. She rather lamely indicated it with the hand still holding the badge.

"Would you care to sit?"

As she caught sight of the badge still in her hand, she began to backtrack.

"Oh, I'm sorry-- Should I...?"

Valeria awkwardly mimed handing the badge back to him.

Remus watched as Valeria took the situation in, acting rather uncomfortably, which probably wasn't too shocking given what she'd been through. Upon first impressions she seemed odd to Remus in an endearing way, most high society girls thought out every movement which made them look like they were floating even when they walked. Valeria didn't come across that way, she was refreshingly human.

"Thank you Miss Bulstrode." Making his way into the room, Remus followed her direction and pulled up the chair shoved against the wall slightly closer to her bed and settled down, before noticing his badge flailing around in the air. "Oh, thanks." Leaning over, Remus plucked the badge from her hand and quickly shoved it back into his pocket before settling back in once more. From his coat pocket he produced a notepad and a biro pen and began jotting a few notes before looking back up at her and giving her his full attention. "Firstly, how are you feeling Miss Bulstrode? I can't imagine how you must be feeling about last night. Can I get you anything, a water before we start?"

Gilderoy was still trying to deal with what had happened the night before. He stood in Carkitt Market, watching as wix fixed their stores and aurors raced around the crime scene. "You know, perhaps I should write a book about werewolves." he mused to himself, not realising he was standing next to Remus, "Maybe something along the lines of Wandering with Werewolves."

"Wander with many werewolves Mr Lockhart?" Gilderoy Lockhart seemed to Remus, like the sort of man who said their inner monologues out loud with little care ho heard him. This felt like one of these moments. "I heard you were at the scene last night, did you see anything in particular about the werewolf, do you know where it came from?"

Rosaline was bored. She detested hospitals, and her release couldn't come soon enough. It was early in the afternoon, and she had finally gotten herself out of bed and changed into something more her, and done her makeup after one too many comments from her mother. You never know who is going to visit, Rosaline, she had said, and not having the energy to argue for once she had just done as she said. She felt a bit like she was going through the motions, while simultaneously trying to ignore thinking about what had happened last night. The knock on her door wasn't a surprise, she was sure that it was Cordelia coming to check in on her, so she called that the door was open.

"I'm feeling fine..." she trailed off when she saw the guy from the Hopping Pot that she had bought a drink for standing there. "You're not my sister," she remarked. "Can I help you, Mister...?" She trailed off, realizing she didn't know his name.

Remus allowed her to adjust for a moment, he imagined she was feeling tired both from the events that had transpired and no doubt the persistence in people asking to see her. "No I'm not." He replied with a friendly smile, walking into the room as he dug his badge out of his pocket. "Lupin. Remus Lupin." Producing the badge, he showed it towards Rosaline and waited her to be satisfied with it. "I'm with the auror's office I'm a crime scene expert. I know you must be feeling tired but I wondered if I could speak with you about what happened last night? It's okay if not, I can come back another time, I wouldn't be shocked if you've have had enough of speaking to people. Especially people you don't know asking questions you probably don't want to answer." He added, pushing the badge back into his pocket.

Date: March 27th, 1986

Time: Mid-Afternoon

Location: St. Mungo's

For: Open Starter

Valeria had heard the word "horrible" before. She'd heard it used to describe an ensemble, a meal, even, on one occasion, a particular DADA examination she'd managed to flunk.

She'd also heard others say that one cannot understand something until it has been lived, and the more studious side of Valeria had vehemently disagreed. She'd read many a book describing the indigenous homes of many of the plants she'd worked with, and could have sworn she'd gone there as well. A friend could describe their pain, and she'd feel herself grow teary-eyed beside them.

But, no description she could provide could ever account for every molecule of pain she'd experienced.

The attack itself had, somehow, been the least of it. It was over in a moment, and Valeria could remember very little. Blinding pain, as though her body had been torn in two, but only for as long as the blink of an eye, and then silent darkness, which had been a welcome reprieve.

It was the coming-to which had been "horrible."

What had awoken her was the sound of shouting, of voices she had recognized. She'd heard Mother. Mother was wailing, asking if she were alive, asking if she'd been bitten, which sent a horrible chill through her body. Had she?

Then, came Father's voice, there to remind her that she was worried about all the wrong things. Who cared about what they were unsure of? The most pertinent, most "horrible" thing, was her face.

"Oh, Merlin, what would she do now? What would become of her? Her face..."

At that moment, Valeria had chosen unconsciousness over listening even a moment longer.

She'd been awake for about two hours now and unable, no matter how she tried, to will herself back back to sleep. From what she could see of it, her bed had been decorated quite nicely, a bouquet of pansies left at her bedside with a note from Mother asking her to get well soon, but the bandages crossing over Valeria's left eye and down the side of her face had left her entirely unsure if that would ever be possible.

She'd been assured she hadn't been bitten. But, scarring in werewolf attacks was common. Her face may never be the same.

As she was about to try once again to fall asleep, she heard a knock at her door. Without turning her head, she used her voice for the first time since the attack, it coming out far foggier than she'd intended.

"Come in."

Knocking on the door, Remus waited patiently outside before hearing soft voice ask him to enter. Remus didn't know Valeria Bulstrode, she was older than him. A Slytherin, friends with Sirius' cousin. They were from very different worlds, but yet here they were about to be sitting together with a common enemy and almost with a very similar backstory.

"Miss Bullstrode, I'm very sorry to bother you," he began. "My name is Remus Lupin, I'm with The Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I'm a crime scene investigation specialist." That wasn't completely true, his role was a photographer, but he had become something of a specialist and in his experience, people like Valeria often liked a long winded more important sounding title. "Is now a good time?" He asked, pulling out his badge in preparation for her to look at.

Opening the doors to The Leaky Cauldron, Remus stepped inside swiftly and made a beeline for the bar, looking around intermittently as he went. The events of last night had him shaken, despite Remus not being there. Pulling up a stool, he slid into it in one motion and leant on the bar so he was closer to Sirius. "Padfoot, have you heard the news? What in Merlin's beard happened here last night?"

“Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione. Only one out of three, I’m afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don’t want Harry dead. But I won’t deny that I am a werewolf.”

Walking to the bar, Remus surveyed the menu and found himself feeling somewhat overwhelmed. His eyes naturally looking for something which closely resembled anything to a pint, the menu was mainly concoctions and cocktails and Remus didn't have any idea which of them were good and what my turn his hair blue or something worse.

A soft voice came from beside him, belonging to a fair haired witch who seemed to Remus like she might have some form of understanding of the menu. "Yes please, actually. Do you know what's good here, this is my first time and I was trying to avoid looking clueless in front of the bartender."

Turning to face the man, she thought that he looked vaguely familiar but couldn't place him. There were plenty of people running around though, so she supposed that it wasn't surprising. Millicent had said that the event was welcome to everyone.

"I can't remember the last time that I was here, but I have always been rather fond of elderflower wine. But if you are more of a spirits man then I would suggest a red currant rum, that was always my grandfather's favorite." Glancing at him again, she raised an eyebrow. "You look a bit lost. Not a big drinker?"

"I feel like I've always wanted to get into wine, pairs well with certain foods- but I've always been a bit too lazy I suppose. What about you, do you come here often? I suppose if I look lost, you must know it well enough to know who looks out of place."

"Why are in here again Lily?" Remus asked for the third time, although he knew fine well why they were here. Remus hadn't told anyone about his secret outside of the marauders, but the longer he had known Lily, the more he realised she could be trusted, and as such had told her a few years past when she had seem him struggling at work after a particularly difficult moon cycle. "Do you not think we're going to get caught? I mean where even are Alice's family? This is very bad for business."

Picking up one of the wolfsbane flowers, Remus turned it in his hand. "Do you need any help brewing it Lily? Potions isn't my strongest suit but I can chop some things up or do something else with your guidance..." His voice trailed off as he looked inside her cauldron. "Wouldn't want to mess it up."