Marauders - Always - Part One

In the Corridors

Albus Dumbledore grabbed James's shoulder tightly, catching him before he could fall over. James blinked up at the old wizard in surprise, "Bloody hell, sir, you gave me a right turn!" He put a palm across his chest, "What are you doing h---"

Dumbledore motioned for James to be quiet, cutting him off midword, then hissed, "Put on your cloak," and he looked about, waved his wand, and went invisible.

James scrambled for the cloak and pulled it over his shoulders. "Sir?" he breathed, and in response he felt Dumbledore's hands grasp onto his shoulders, guiding him toward a clump of brush and trees against the wall. A stone door that was so well concealed it might as well have been invisible opened then, and man came out, looking about, eyes squinting against the light. He looked around the field of aconite and started toward the west side of the tower, inspecting the ground as he walked. James felt Dumbledore grab onto his shoulders and push him toward the door that led into the tower walls, conveniently left wide open. James's heart hammered in nervousness as the door swung closed behind them.

There was a pulse of magic that James felt go out from where Dumbledore stood, moving like a ripple down the hallway. After a pause, Dumbledore's voice, low, said, "I am here looking for the same thing which I believe you are looking for - answers - on Order work."

James started to take off the cloak, assuming they were in the clear now, and Dumbledore said, "Don't. Stay invisible. And avoid speaking names."

James frowned, pulling the cloak back round. "Sorry," he murmured. Then, "But sir - how did you --"

"My contact also has access to any information which yours has access to," he explained cryptically.

"So this is it? This is the headquarters?"

"One of them," Dumbledore murmured. "It appears the pack here is of such size they've split into families - one in each tower."

"But these are attractions, aren't they? There are queues to get in and shops and tickets and --"

"The pack makes its money somehow," Dumbledore said. "And with so many temptations on the grounds, is it not easy to understand now how so many bitings have occurred?"

A shiver trembled through James as he thought of the clusters of school kids he'd seen queuing up 'round front.

"The question," Dumbledore said, not able to see James's tremor, "Is not whether this is the pack's house but whether this is the particular section of the pack's house in which our quarry resides currently. The level of security here tells me that perhaps it is not, at least at this time."

"Well, it isn't the full moon right now, is it? They aren't confined to any one place, are they?" James pointed out. "Could be anywhere."

"Indeed," Dumbledore murmured. Then, "Hush."

The door they'd come in was reopening and the man who had stepped outside slid back into the corridor it hid, and slid it closed again. James noticed he'd never once drawn a wand, but kept his hand close to his hip instead, suggesting he might be armed with muggle weapons instead. The man let that hand drop away though as he closed the door, clearly assuming safety within the tower walls, and started ambling down the hallway in the dark, limping on the right side as though his hip were rolling painfully with every other step. He carried a muggle torch which lit the floor as he moved through the dark.

James felt Dumbledore nudge him and he moved to follow the headmaster through the hall as they both followed after the werewolf.

They moved in silence, James being careful not to scuff his trainers on the uneven flagged stone floor. Eventually, the man paused, pulled a ring of keys from a deep pocket, and opened a door on the left. James felt Dumbledore hurry forward, and before he could even react, the headmaster had slipped forward into the room along with the man, just before the door closed, leaving James in the corridor alone.