Peacekeepers

Chapter 45: Memory

(Tw: drugs, addiction)

Anne was reading through one of the books Linus had given her, while he carefully worked at his chemistry set while Garreth watched with rapt curiosity. Sebastian sat next to Anne, reading through a book of his own but occasionally looked up from the words to keep an eye on Linus.

"So... why exactly do you have a muggle chemistry set, anyway?" Garreth asked, watching the fluids bubble through delicate pipes.

"I find it much more intuitive to distill liquids." Linus answered, waiting until the last tube at the far end  was coated in thick brown paste before pouring the thick sticky contents onto a small parchment.

"Interesting, and what exactly is it that you're making?" He asked, looking at the oddly dark and thick paste that was now in the vial.

Linus seemed to hesitate for a moment, looking over to Garreth with a bit of unease. "Something that makes the change easier to deal with."

Garreth glanced up at him curiously, his green eyes thoughtful at the multiple ways that could be interpreted. "Does it hurt at all?"

Linus reached up to gently touch the area around his bad eye and frowned. "Sometimes." He said softly, but went silent and didn't seem to want to say more as he concentrated on filling another vial.

"What is it you're distilling, anyway?" Garreth asked, deciding to focus more on that since Linus seemed rather uncomfortable.

Linus shifted a bit on his feet before answering. "The sap of a poppy flower."

Garreth's eyes darted between Linus and the vial in shock, before they ended on the man. What the fuck was he doing making something like that even more potent than it already was?

Sebastian was keenly aware of what it was as well, having read about opium and its derivatives in one of the many books he'd researched for Anne. The drug was potent, addictive and not to be trifled with.

Anne didn't seem to register what it was that he was making, instead frowning at the way Garreth suddenly seemed uneasy about the chemistry set. "Linus, you never really told us what actually happened to you. You said you contacted one of the entities, right?" Anne asked softly.

Linus looked back to her and nodded. "Yes... I did."

Sebastian rose a brow curiously. He'd been in contact with one of them as well, yet he was no unspeakable. He wondered if the Ministry knew about this... unlikely, considering he was refining morphine in his study.

"Which one?" Sebastian asked, his dark eyes still focused intently on Linus.

Linus looked over to him in surprise from the question, and he suddenly seemed rather uncomfortable under Sebastian's gaze. "I was arrogant and foolish." Linus muttered.

Sebastian let out a soft sound, seeing why that hadn't gone well for him. He remembered when he'd questioned Love, and the hell she'd put him through with the alternate reality she'd shown him. He was beginning to think that she had been very kind compared to the other entities.

But he didn't say anything, instead watched Linus expectantly for an answer. He wanted to know who... because he wanted to know who was involved.

Linus motioned toward the pencieve in the corner of the room again. "By using that I was able to access Memory." He said simply.

Sebastian looked over to the basin, humming thoughtfully. Memory... that was someone he hadn't encountered yet. "And?" He urged, looking back to Linus.

"I asked them if they knew about Origin. They didn't like that question. I was... insistent." Linus shook his head in dismay.

Sebastian frowned, knowing how bold and stupid it was to try to boss around a powerful god.