— — — — — —
"No way! I'm going too!"
At Astra Abyssum, Sirius slammed his hand on the table and jumped to his feet, protesting furiously.
They were going to investigate the vampires who attacked Nicolas Flamel, and there was even some mysterious organization called the Sun Chasers behind it. Just hearing that was enough to get his blood pumping.
He was itching for action. And then Lupin told him to stay behind while he went out himself.
Wasn't that just disgusting?
Tom didn't even look at him. He simply shot Lupin a glance. The meaning was obvious: you're the one who insisted on telling Sirius, so you deal with the trouble.
Lupin gave a wry smile and could only patiently try to calm Sirius down.
Tom treated their arguing like a comedy routine. Between the bickering, quite a few embarrassing stories from their school days slipped out, and Tom gained a whole new understanding of Lupin.
He knew it. If Lupin were really that honest and harmless, how could he have run with the Marauders? Turns out he was the quiet, sneaky type. Plenty of the more devious prank ideas had actually come from him, with Sirius and James Potter carrying them out.
Tom mentally took notes. He'd tell Snape when he got back. That should be entertaining.
Maybe because too many embarrassing stories had been exposed in front of a former student, Lupin started to look a little annoyed. He dragged Sirius off to settle things with a duel.
If Lupin lost, he'd take Sirius along. If Sirius lost, he'd stay behind at the guild and guard the place like a good boy.
Sirius, battle maniac that he was, agreed immediately.
What he ignored was the gap in their condition.
He'd wasted over a decade in Azkaban. And while Lupin hadn't had it easy either, at least he'd never completely abandoned his magic. He'd kept studying the whole time.
Against strangers, Sirius's aggressive style combined with the agility of his Animagus form could let him defeat opponents stronger than himself. But against Lupin, who knew him inside and out, it didn't work nearly as well.
In the end, Sirius was tied up with rope like a dog.
Actually, not like a dog.
He'd literally turned into one before being tied up.
Tom clapped enthusiastically. "Nice."
And just like that, Sirius was hauled back to the guild, dejected. He didn't even have the face to claim he was helping anymore, though he still looked worried.
"Remus, I trust your skills. But what about those few days every month?"
Lupin's expression shifted. Even with Wolfsbane Potion, he would still transform on the full moon. He just stayed conscious now, and his body became weak.
While he was hesitating, Tom spoke.
"Since I chose you for this job, I've already taken that into account."
As he spoke, he pulled out a dragonhide wallet expanded with an Undetectable Extension Charm, then took out a bottle of potion.
"Wolfsbane?" Lupin raised an eyebrow. He drank the stuff every month. He couldn't have been more familiar with it.
Tom corrected him. "An improved Wolfsbane. You'll still transform during those days, but the weakness is gone. No need to worry about anyone spotting a flaw."
Excitement flashed across Lupin's face, but Tom immediately poured cold water on it.
"Remus, don't even think about promoting this special version. It's not a potion most people can afford."
"Tell me, how much is a course of regular Wolfsbane?"
Lupin paused, then answered instinctively, "Thirty-five Galleons. That's the discounted guild price. Outside, it sells for fifty."
"One course is a month. You have to drink it every day for the seven-day period."
Tom pointed at the bottle on the table. "A single bottle of the custom version costs ten times that to make. The most precious ingredient is the heart's blood of an adult fire dragon. How many werewolves do you think can afford that?"
Lupin fell silent. The small spark of hope in his chest went out.
No one understood the living conditions of werewolves better than he did. Before he taught at Hogwarts, even getting enough to eat had been a struggle.
"Don't overthink it." Tom stood and patted his shoulder. "Changing the werewolves' situation completely isn't something you can do right now, Professor Lupin."
"What if you add me?" Sirius cut in, unwilling to see his friend discouraged.
Tom shot him an annoyed look. "The Black family must've built up a mountain of virtue to produce a spendthrift like you."
He decided he'd go complain to Phineas when he got back.
"Heh." Sirius just grinned. "Money's just trash if you don't spend it. At worst, Harry's inheritance will be a bit smaller. He won't mind."
"Fine. If Lupin gets results this time, I'll give you two an idea."
After making that promise, Tom left the Astra Abyssum Guild and returned to Hogwarts.
Only after getting back did he learn that Daphne and Astoria had already slipped away quietly. He went to find the other girls to see what their plans were.
Once he asked around, he realized everyone had something to do.
Only Fleur and Gabrielle would go with him. Penelope needed to manage the Herld Workshop remotely, and Hermione was preparing a paper she planned to present in Transfiguration today.
After making the rounds, the only additional recruit he gained was Cassandra.
Oh, and the little fox.
Tom sent Kamio a message. They agreed to meet in the Entrance Hall.
...
..
On the first day of break, everyone seemed sealed inside their blankets. The castle was empty. Tom idly kicked at the snow by the door.
He didn't have to wait long before Kamio appeared.
And the moment he saw her, Tom froze for a second.
Simply because… she was too beautiful.
.
.
.