Our Corrupted Souls

Part XV: The Wolf in the Woods.

"It is silly to go on pretending that we are brothers. The truth is most likely that under the skin we are all cannibals, assassins, traitors, liars, and hypocrites."

                    ~ Henry Miller.

The Creaking Caves were a set of underground caves interlocked to form a maze only certain aurors had the clearance to memorize and freely move through them without getting lost. The only entrance to the artificial caves were located under the statue constructed by the Norsemen in the fourteenth century on the Evergreen Forest. The statue was that of a man facing north. A hatchet was on his feet as he held it with his right hand, on the left, he carried a round shield. He wore the typical dressing of a Norseman, along with the helmet. On the side of said hatchet was an engraved upside down V with an A going through it inside a circle. This was a statue of secrecy with various Notice-Me-Nots around it. The charms were very powerful, enough to stop any curious muggles camping here from taking notice of a wizard or witch vanishing from sight upon running the tip of their wand through the engraved crest.

Upon arriving, Lennox pulled the wand he had out of its holster and lightly traced the crest defining the pattern of the Creaking Caves. Upon having his magic being read in, Lennox tucked his wand back in but was quick to stop out of mere awe. Magic never ceased to disappoint. He was still quite far, but from where he stood, the blond could see the desillussioment charm wear off and take notice of the large rock part of the forest's hills, have its center collapse from the inside. He quickly stepped through the statue, being brought into a completely different world, one that was reserved for just magical beings.

Although the forest was only visited by very little muggles, he could now tell that these woods were completely deserted if he were to deduct the two men in grey neck high robes keeping watch outside the now visible cave.

Lennox breathed in the oxygen-rich air before taking long strides towards the two men. His robes were short, only going down to his knees and even so, having the back of them be mended to his black and silver silk shirt that covered his arms and neck, and yet, they manage to partially flow through the wind as he walked. His hair, which had been slicked off to the side bounced with every step he took. Already prepared for today, he wore a pair of black knee high boots, which allowed him to walk with no inconvenience through the muddy ground thanks to the heavy rainfall the previous day had brought. Once he reached the the aurors, he took note of their hostile behavior, so Lennox kept his movements predictable and slow. "I'm here to visit R.J. Lupin," he mentioned as he handed one of the aurors a serie of documents, in them, had been the letter annulling the previous ruling over Lupin.

The auror he spoke with made a show of grunting as he scanned over the paper, while he was busy, the other standing guard reached out with his palm face up. "We'll need your wand." Lennox nodded and visibly handed his wand with the handle directed to the auror. After being given the go ahead, the auror with Lennox's wand casted a quick spell, that although sounded simple, was hard to have the magical strength to master. This would protect the blond from the few prisoners awaiting trial or transportation. When the two stepped into the cave, Lennox curled in his fingers in order to suppress the sudden wave of power. The magic that coursed through his veins was stripped in an instant, leaving him weak in the knees.

It seemed like the sun had vanished when they stepped into the narrow tunnel that was the entrance of the caves. Everything was pitch black. The only thing that provided a source of light had been the outlines of the auror's robes shimmer slightly with the same soft metallic light that was radiating from the tip of his wand. Not long passed until the narrow tunnel branched off into seven different passages. The auror took not time awaiting Lennox before taking the one second to the right. It seemed like the caves were made out of limestone. To the touch, the walls were oily and slippery. A shallow river was what it seemed to Lennox that he walked on, for he had to pick up his feet in order to to not splash as much water. The the light was bright enough for home to notice further details. When he looked up, seemed to him like icicle shaped formations of rock hanged from the ceiling. Its sharp tips dripped old mole-ish water that landed with a soft melody on the damp ground.