1,442Beware of Multiple changes in PoV. I want to explain things from both of their perspectives and it's considerably hard to accomplish it by sticking to one point of view. But do not fret, my cute readers. There will be page breaks to indicate the change.
Disclaimer: It's always the people's inherent darkness that brings light to the world. Sometimes in ways that you can't expect. For even the miraculous light to exist, there must be cold darkness first.
"Harry, do you think your relatives will mind if I kidnap you?"
The fact that he was actually considering a stranger's rhetorical question was a testament to how much he despised his uncaring relatives. The thought process that triggered in his mind was instinctual, as in the sense that it was something that was not in his control. Even though the answer to the question was a deafening 'no', Harry couldn't help but feel that whoever the stranger was, he was a bit too late to rescue him from this life. He adapted to his miserable circumstances and now that he found the confidence that he could survive on his own, he stumbled upon the hero, who he hoped would liberate him from his piteous life.
"No", Harry answered truthfully but there was no relief on his face. "But I don't need saving, Moony. If I accept your help now, I will never be able to stand on my own feet again. Am I making sense?"
Remus gently patted the boy's head before ruffling his messy hair. "More than you know, Harry."
And his reply was filled with conviction, for Remus lived his whole life on a similar belief. That if he accepted help or was pitied by someone for his furry little problem, then the pride he held close to his heart would shatter like glass. It was the reason why he always protested when his friends went out of their way to help him after discovering that he was a werewolf. It was the reason why he never borrowed a galleon from his friends even when he was on the brink of starvation and why he never contacted anyone when he was out on the streets with only clothing to spare. It was the reason why he was currently in a dingy London alley, buying stolen wolfsbane potion from his friend and why he was still in the same state as he was ten years ago. For him, his pride was more valuable than life and if his pride was forsaken, then there would be nothing to live for.
In a distorted sense of perceiving the scenario, even the scrawny boy sitting before him was fighting for something more than life. Harry was clinging onto the final vestiges of faith he had in himself and if Remus tried to snatch that away from the determined boy, then he was certain that the raging fire in Harry's emerald green irises would die like burning embers in a heavy storm. He would be a hypocrite to do so.
"Do you know that your simple rejection makes me happier than your acceptance ever can?" Remus's grin broadened at the boy's vehement nod. "James would be bursting with happiness if he could see how much his son had matured. It was definitely more than what James himself had managed at your age."
A frown appeared on the boy's pale face at that statement. "James is my father?"
The happiness that was taking root in his chest dissipated like morning fog as the situation hit him like a thunderstorm in a desert. 'He doesn't even know his father's name?' Remus stared wide-eyed as the boy blinked up at him with those large green eyes. 'What have you done, Dumbledore?'
"Do you know my father, Moony?" Harry's voice gradually lost strength as he spoke, with the emotion withdrawn from his face. "Can you tell me about him?"
"Yes. I knew him", Remus replied, trying his utmost to not choke with emotion. 'Know him?' Remus scoffed mentally. "Where do I even start, Harry? That I was your dad's best friend for ten years? That even though he acted like a git, he was one of the kindest persons I've ever seen? That he loved his family more than anything and in the end, he died trying to save his family from an evil megalomaniac?"
"One detail at a time, please?" Harry requested as the man before him blustered like a sailor lost at sea before the last statement reached his ears. "What? Did he die saving his family? Weren't my parents' drunks who wasted their lives? Everything Dursleys told me was a lie, wasn't it? My parents didn't die in a car crash, right?"
Drunks who wasted their lives? This kid was going to give him a heart attack by the time this was over. Shouldn't he be the one who must be dropping bombshells upon the oblivious boy? But at this point, Remus was far too exhausted to even display an ounce of emotion.
"I have a feeling that this is going to be a long discussion", Remus exhaled heavily as he rose to his feet and the boy followed him without dissent. "Fancy a lunch, Harry? I know a place where they serve the best seafood."
The last thing that was on his mind at the moment was food and even though he could be less than concerned about lunch, Harry thought that he could at least be gracious enough to concede with the request of a man who seemed to be his best shot at learning more about his parents; who definitely did not die in a car crash.
With a tentative nod, Harry followed the man through a series of twists and turns before arriving at a shabby food corner at the end of a dilapidated street. Judging by the outward appearance, the restaurant might not be a famous place, but at the moment, Harry was not about to protest at the choice of the locality.
The inside of the restaurant even less welcoming and though the ambiance was exuding a sense of foreboding, Harry was sure that a better place could not be found to converse in secret. The restaurant was almost devoid of any customers and even the people who were occupying an occasional stall seemed more than happy to mind their own business. It was definitely not a place for a child to come on his own, proved by the sharp set of eyes from the shady corners that roamed his body, causing a chill to travel down his spine and the specks of blood that coated the decrepit walls and the claw marks that decorated the decaying wood of the tables.
"Sit here, Harry", Moony gestured towards a stall that appeared marginally better and more comfortable than the other stalls. "So tell me, what do you want to know?"
"What is your name? I mean, your actual name", Harry fired the moment the words slipped out of Moony's mouth. Though Harry would agree on any sunny day that having a codename was cool, it didn't apply in real life when the other person was playing that trick on you.
"I should have known that this will be your first question", Remus chuckled as he stroked his uneven beard. "But well, I guess there is no use in hiding it anymore as I am telling you the whole story. I am Remus. Remus Lupin."
They might have chatted for hours or days for all Harry knew, interrupted only by a creepy, one-eyed man who served the food, and by the time they finished, Harry was in a daze with all the information floating aimlessly in his mind. Remus appeared more tired than he was but that could be because he had to relive all the painful memories he had suppressed for a decade. There were moments when both of them were crying buckets but either Remus was a sensitive guy in general or he did not care about appearances.
His whole life was a lie.
No statement depicted his situation more perfectly than this one did. The fact that he was world-famous was less appealing than the emotion that filled his heart as he remembered that his parents forsook their life to protect him. While it saddened him to no end that they died for him, it was also immensely relieving that they were not the people he thought them to be. For the first time, he was happy that everything he knew about his parents was a lie. Because it made the truth that much sweeter.
"I think it's already pretty late", Remus remarked as he stared up at the sea of orange that blanketed the evening sky. In contrast to the person he met this afternoon, the Remus he was watching now seemed more relaxed. More content. The worry lines on his forehead faded into the background and a gentle smile was playing on his lips. Now that there was no visible strain on his visage, Remus appeared to be much younger than Harry thought.
"Hmm", Harry replied unconcernedly, making Remus turn to him with eyebrows raised.
"How are you going to reach your home, now?"
"The Dursley's home", Harry corrected before throwing a card with a flick of his hand. As the card sailed through the air, Harry abruptly vanished before plucking the card out of mid-air. "Like this."
Remus gaped at the spot at which Harry previously stood before glancing back at the boy who was standing a few meters ahead of him with his mouth wide open. "You can apparate?"
"Apparate", Harry scrunched his brows in thought before shaking his head violently. "I don't know what apparate means but this is called 'teleportation'."
"Teleportation", Remus parroted with a matching expression on his face. "How does it work?"
"I can appear at any place where my card is present", Harry gestured at the card in his hand before disappearing and appearing in front of Remus again. "Not that hard but it took me weeks to perfect."
"This sounds like a bastardized version of apparition and port key transportation", Remus mumbled speculatively as he eyed the card clutched in Harry's hand. "Wait a minute. How did you appear before me without the help of any card then?"
"Who said that I did not use any card?" Harry smirked as he patted Remus's left trouser pocket. With disbelief etched on his rugged features, Remus dug his hand into his pocket and to his utter bafflement, he found a card lying innocently between a piece of parchment and his handkerchief. Taking back the card from Remus, Harry bounced on his feet as he smiled up at the bewildered man. "Awesome, right?"
Remus nodded absentmindedly before he came to his senses and with growing dread, he fired the first doubt that struck his mind. "How did the card appear in my pocket? Can it appear at any place you wish it to be at? Then you could travel to almost any place. No. There must be some conditions. Should the place be within your range of sight or some location you had already traveled to? But you never knew how the inside of my pocket looked….Then how?"
'Woah. Remus must be a hidden genius', Harry mused as he watched the man ramble on and on until he was out of breath. "You are just complicating things", Harry pointed out as he twirled the card between his nimble fingers. "I placed it in your pocket while we are on our way to the restaurant. It's a useful skill called misdirection. You distract the person with something to shift their focus from the place you want them to avoid. I was nagging you about the place we were going to and when you ignored your surroundings for a moment to reply, that was all I needed."
Remus stared at the boy before him with something akin to wonder as he focused his complete attention on what the boy was explaining with fervor. What was even more amazing was that he acquired his skill on his own without the help of anybody and that was before he even reached Hogwarts! When the boy was chattering away before, Remus assumed that since he had no one to talk to since childhood, he was rather enthused to share everything with a man who would listen to him without complaint. But who in their right mind would have guessed that a mere child could be this cunning? That was a scheme worthy of Slytherin.
"So can you tell me when I placed the card I had in my hand in your right pocket?" Harry challenged with a perfect imitation of a cocked eyebrow he seen on his teacher's face.
"There's another card?" Remus threw his hands up in the air before inspecting his right pocket and with a sigh, he presented the card to Harry. He should have anticipated it the moment his gaze fell on the innocent looking who entered the alley. No boy in his right mind would dare to venture into a shady place without an ace up his sleeve but the boy took to following the adage on an entirely new level. An ace up his sleeve. Literally. "When I hugged to comfort you when you were crying?"
Harry flushed at that memory, embarrassed that the man saw him in a moment of true weakness. "No. It was a good chance but It wasn't then. Any other guess?" At Remus's knackered shake of his head, Harry grinned from ear to ear. "When you were looking into your left pocket for the other card."
Remus was too numb to even feel surprised. They chatted for a few minutes after that ordeal and after fussing over his safety like a responsible adult, Remus promised Harry that he would pick him up at the same place tomorrow if the boy was fine with it, to which Harry replied with a series of fervent nods.
"So, how do you go about with this 'teleportation'?" Remus inquired as Harry prepared himself for the trip. The entire concept still sounded sketchy and far-fetched to him but results told otherwise.
"I always have a spare card in the Dursley's house in case of an emergency. I was testing long-distance teleportation this morning and if I got it right, then this trip shouldn't take too much effort."
"You are placing your entire hope on an experiment?" Remus deadpanned after he converted what the boy was explicating into magical terms. It goes as 'I tried apparating for the first time today. It was a success and the second time shouldn't require much of my magical power to accomplish.'
He should teach the boy about magic in case Harry proved to be proficient at managing to cast spells with his cards. It could be an entirely new form of magic for all Remus knew.
"If you are worried about this then you should hear about some of the things I did just to learn this skill," Harry smiled cheekily before disappearing without a sound. There was no telltale pop of an apparition or the air displacement involved with the use of a port key. In fact, this technique seemed to bring out the best of those two techniques that the wizards frequently use.
"This boy is going to be the death of me", Remus smiled wistfully before disapparating from the spot. After all, he had a lot to think upon.
The next few days following that were enlightening, for the lack of a better word, to Harry. It helped that Remus was a patient man since the exuberance of Harry could not be quelled once it was unleashed from its confines. Remus was rather inclined towards taking 'baby steps' but Harry could not agree less. There was an entire world waiting on the other side for him and this was certainly not the time to impress upon caution.
Though there were not a lot of responsible adults in his life for Harry to depend on, Remus appeared at a time when Harry was about to lose confidence that adults could be trusted. It was slow progress and the trust was built upon words rather than familial bonds but then, Remus was unperturbed by Harry's habit of crumbling into himself. The tight cocoon he threaded around himself could not be unraveled in a day but at least no one ever came as close as Remus at bringing him out.
When inquired about his incessant insistence on giving Harry his time, Remus answered with a soft smile that he was once just like how Harry was but he found three friends who helped him to open up himself to the world. It was obvious that one of those three friends was his own dad but Remus always closed off when Harry brought up the topic about the other two. Well, if Remus was tactful enough to allow him his space then why couldn't Harry do the same?
So while Remus never prodded him about his life at the Dursleys, Harry never insisted upon knowing about the other two 'Marauders'. They skirted around the issue but after a few days, they were comfortable enough with each other to ignore the topic without leading to an air of awkwardness.
Harry elucidated the extent of his skill with the cards to Remus and to say that Remus was impressed would be an understatement. Apparently, the feats he accomplished with his cards were not too different from what the wizards execute with their wands and after a few demonstrations from Remus, Harry was inclined to agree.
His ability of bisecting objects with cards was a high-powered version of a spell known as 'Diffindo' and a less dark variation of a nasty spell called, 'Lacero.' Though after experiencing apparition for the first time, Harry protested ardently that his version with the cards was miles better and definitely less nauseating when compared to the vile apparition. His dry heaves were visible proof of his displeasure with apparition and if all the other wizarding transportation techniques operated on the same principles, then he was more than happy to stick to his graceful teleportation.
From that moment onwards, Harry made it his mission to replicate all the spells the wizards have in their arsenal with his cards and modify them into something much more efficient and powerful, as was the case of 'apparition' and 'Diffindo'. The moment he resolved the problem, Remus was beside him with a quill and parchment in either hand and a determined expression plastered on his visage.
Allegedly, Remus loved to teach but there were no opportunities available for him and occasionally when someone did hire him, he was eventually fired after they ferret out his furry little problem. It must be immensely frustrating but Remus merely replied that he got used to it. But Harry inwardly knew that no one ever got used to something as prominent as discrimination over something that was a part of you. He was speaking from experience, after all.
Remus cleverly divided the spells he was aware of into two categories: Card-friendly and Wand-necessary. Admittedly, not a lot of spells were under the list of card-friendly but Remus was confident that they could tweak the spells slightly to make them easier to execute without the help of a wand.
The first spell they tried was 'Accio', which was a fourth-year level summoning spell and at Harry's skeptical glance at the difficulty level of the spell, Remus simply responded that he had an inkling that Harry could thrive exceptionally under harsh conditions. What Harry did not expect was that placing his card on a heavily used London main road was a part of these supposed 'harsh conditions'.
Harry had to watch his card get trampled upon by a thousand vehicles as he struggled for the entire morning to summon the card from its precarious location. It was only when his card was about to get transported away due to it sticking to the tire of a van did Harry succeed in his mission and when the card rocketed into his hands, Harry kissed it fervently, unconcerned by the dirt coating it or the amused snickers of Remus beside him. At Harry's thin eyed glare, Remus shrugged while saying that from what he had inferred, desperation seemed to be the best motivation factor for Harry to accomplish his goals.
Harry flung his card at Remus in annoyance and that was when he acquired a second ability for that day; a low-powered 'Bombarda'. His card blew up the moment it touched a physical object but as usual, the card was left unharmed. Remus complained about burning up one of the few tweed jackets he possessed but the pride he had on his face revealed his true thoughts on the matter.
Unfortunately, the mind-blowing progress he had on his first day did not slip past into his practice the next day and at the disappointed scowl on his face, Remus reassured that students far more experienced than him took more time to learn a single spell and it was truly astonishing that he could achieve the feat in a single day. It did not alleviate all of his concerns but it was comforting to know that he did not lack the talent to flourish in the wizarding world. When Harry voiced it, Remus howled in laughter before commenting that Harry would be surprised if he knew how advanced he was when compared to his peers.
As the progress was slow during the next few days, Harry's mind drifted towards the subject that actually led him to Remus: card games. He was still itching to compete with the thugs playing in the alley and though Remus disagreed with his idea at first, he was mollified when Harry reminded him that he would be more than safe with his cards at hand.
Money was a necessity and the next time he arrived to meet Remus near the alley, Harry brought the entire money he stole from Dursleys during the past year. It nearly amounted to seven hundred pounds and when Remus noticed the stack of money in his pocket, his eyes grew to the size of golf balls.
"Where did you get this much money from?"
That was when Harry realized that he never informed Remus regarding his other habit: stealing. It took a precious few minutes to convince Remus that he did not steal this money from innocent kids in school and yes, the Dursleys totally deserved this. After all, he could not help but steal when he was annoyed by someone who thought that they could look down upon him. Apparently, this behavior was not unheard of and it did have a name: kleptomania. So, what? He was a kleptomaniac in the truest sense of the word but it was not as though giving a name to it would alter his radical views on stealing. Fat chance.
He ventured into the alley with Remus in tow and chose a random sensible-looking group to play. They sized him up with raised eyebrows, their glances skeptical, but when he withdrew hundred pounds from his pocket, their expressions turned greedy. It was no wonder he lost hundred pounds the moment the poker match began but instead of admonishing him, Remus suggested to place another bet but instead of directly raising the stakes to a hundred, Harry began at twenty.
It could be the fact that Remus believed in him or the fact that Harry hated losing at something he thought he was good at but Harry did not lose another match. After all, a straight flush was not everyone could manage in their third game, and by the time, he was finished, Harry was two hundred pounds richer than he was. Though the thugs were understandably rough looking, they were not as poor as they seemed to be and Harry did not feel any distinct sympathy for looting them.
At their confounded glances, as he managed a Full House next, Remus placed a hand on his shoulder before proclaiming loudly. "Don't be surprised. My boy is wicked smart."
It was no wonder that Harry was gliding in the clouds for the entire day. After all, no one ever loved him and certainly, no one ever lovingly called him, 'my boy' like Remus did. It made him feel as though he meant something to another person and that was when he perceived that there was no greater feeling than being praised by a person who loved you.
So, it came as no surprise when Harry doubled his efforts the next day and though the results were undoubtedly pleasing, as he had near perfected the summoning and blasting spells, Remus's compliments were even more so. Though another reason could be that Remus promised him that he would finally take Harry to a less populous part of Diagon Alley as his eleventh birthday was nearing.
Remus apparated over to the southern part of Diagon Alley, with Harry's seven of spades card resting in his coat pocket, and to his vast relief, the area was practically deserted. The shops in this part of the Alley were for specific needs and although the needs were not necessarily luxurious, a lot of people do not find the necessity to wander into this region. Harry appeared a moment later with nary a crunch or pop and without wasting a second, he summoned the card from Remus's pocket with just a flick of a finger. The card sailed effortlessly into the waiting hands of the boy and not for the first time, Remus was torn between feeling immensely proud and inexplicably frightened at the boy's progress at magic.
Remus himself was considered to be extremely talented at magic when he studied at Hogwarts but he could honestly agree that his impressive learning curve could not hold a candle to Harry's prodigious talent. That boy was undeniably a natural at performing magic.
Remus trudged forwards with his worn-out shoes scraping across the pathway while Harry was trailing behind him as he gaped at the sight around him with unconcealed awe. Remus slowed his stroll to allow Harry to catch up as he was sure that the boy would wander off to Merlin knows where if he shifted his gaze from the ebullient boy.
But it was a pleasant feeling to watch the boy loosen his tight hold on his emotions and act like the ten-year-old he was and not for the first time, Remus thanked fate for giving him another chance to redeem the wrongs he had committed and the promises he broke. Though Harry inherited his single-minded determination from his mother, he was extremely passionate about something other than training; learning everything he could about his parents. That was the only time of the day when Remus saw the boy display any of the feelings he cooped up inside his heart for years.
The last hour of the day before Harry left for the Dursleys was spent on telling stories about his parents to the boy and though it pleased Harry to no extent, there was another reason why Remus made it a daily routine. It was a chance for him to lighten the burden on his shoulders and as he watched the boy listen intently, Remus allowed himself to get lost in the sea of memories. Though there were times when Remus could not bear the guilt churning in his stomach, the effect had considerably lessened. It was on one of such occasions when Remus admitted to Harry that he failed him and his parents and the feeling that everything they fought for had ended up as a lost cause because he lost the only true friends he ever had to the evil they were fighting.
Harry simply stared at him for a few agonizing moments before uttering in an unsure tone. "I am alive, aren't I? My parents went into hiding for my safety and in the end, they succeeded, didn't they? Then, of course, it's not a lost cause."
Remus had no idea what was running through the mind of the boy at that time, but hearing those words, it was as though the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders.
Wait a minute….Remus shook himself out of the stupor to scan his surroundings but there was no hint of the green-eyed trouble magnet. He knew that something like this would happen!
Lucius was not a happy man at the moment. He woke up to the irate face of his wife who was considerably angry that he spent the previous night with some of the members of the old group and it was no secret that whenever they met, they were certainly up to no good.
He sat at the breakfast table, waiting for his wife to calm down and the wretched elf just had to burn his bacon that morning. He roasted the elf's hands on the same pan but even the elf's pathetic wails did not quell his vexation. Then out of all days, his son had to rush down the stairs to whine petulantly that he still did not present the kid with the new Nimbus 2000 released in the market. Hoping that fulfilling the wish of her baby boy could mollify his wife, Lucius set out that morning to Diagon Alley to purchase the new broom.
But luck was not on his side as 'Quality Quidditch supplies' was brimmed with people and if there was something he hated more than venturing into Diagon Alley on a bright morning, it was venturing into Diagon Alley filled with people on a bright morning. So, with an exasperated sigh, he ventured into the desolate areas of Diagon Alley and not a moment had passed as he had thought that this day could probably get better when a boy had collided into him.
"Watch where you are going, you filthy child", Lucius growled irately as he stared at the scrawny form of a boy wearing oversized clothes.
The boy glanced up at him with narrowed eyes and Lucius felt somewhere in the corner of his mind that he once knew a person whose eyes were this emerald shade of green. He ruthlessly squashed that nagging feeling but after a moment, found himself staring at the face of a clown printed on white textured plastic. The card vanished from his sight before he could blink and so was the boy.
With a sniff of disdain, Lucius stomped forward with a grace that only a Malfoy could manage but only to halt in his steps when he realized that he forgot to draw the galleons required for the purchase from Gringotts. With an angry shout threatening to escape his throat, Lucius sauntered over to the large marble building located at a distance.
Lucius stared condescendingly at the Goblin teller at the stall with his lips curled and he could tell that the goblin was no more pleased to see him. Hoping to finish this ordeal as quickly as possible, Lucius snapped in a cold tone. "I want to access my vault, teller."
The goblin gave a toothy nod and pushed his clawed hand forward. "Your key, Lord Malfoy", the goblin requested in a tone that belied its murderous intentions. But Lucius was far too aware of their inhumane nature to be fooled by their act.
He dug his hand into the pocket of his robe but to his utter shock, he did not find the key to his vault. He was sure that he placed the key in his robe pocket this morning before he left. Then where in Britain did he lose it?
"Harry! There you are!" Remus breathed a sigh of relief as he found the boy in the middle of a street, fiddling with something in his hands. There was a telltale glint of gold and Remus snatched the key in the boy's hand while Harry protested with a shout. "Hey!"
"Harry", Remus spoke as calmly as possible so that he would not frighten the kid. "Where did you find the key to a Gringotts vault?"
Harry smiled mischievously and Remus had to suppress a groan at the appearance of the smile. "I accidentally bumped into a silver-haired man and I was about to apologize when the man shouted at me like some rich bastard. You know I hate it, right? So I tried to steal something from his pocket but all I found is a bloody key! Now, what's a Gringotts vault? Is it some kind of treasure chest?" Harry mumbled excitedly as he skipped around and Remus massaged his temples to abate an oncoming headache. If what he inferred from the description was true, then the man's definitely Lucius Malfoy. Well, at least he did not steal from a hapless man. To be honest, Remus was struggling to quell the snicker that was threatening to escape but it would not do give Harry even more arsenal.
Lucius stared blankly at the annoyed goblin but on the inside, his emotions were in turmoil. He knew that he should not have stepped outside today but Merlin, he dared to hope that his instincts were misleading him. "It appears that I have misplaced my key but being the Lord of the Noble and Ancient House of Malfoy, I am certain that I am entitled to some leeway. After all, the Malfoy account is one of the richest out of the ones that Gringotts maintain."
The goblin seemed pained as it spoke in a gruff tone. "Indeed, Lord Malfoy. In exclusive situations, we could accept the wand of the wizard as a substitute for the key. I do hope that you are carrying your wand?"
A smirk involuntarily appeared on his visage as he listened to the goblin speak and a feeling of pride welled from within his chest. Being a Lord of the House of Malfoy did have its perks.
Remus lifted the hand that was palming his face and hoping that he could salvage the situation in some way, he brought his stare down to the green-eyed menace before him. Just as the apprehension was about to leave his body, Remus watched the boy brandishing a sleek black wand from his oversized shirt and Remus's mouth fell open in absolute shock as the boy waved it around.
"Goddammit, Harry! Where on earth did you find a wand of all things?", Remus yelled to the high heavens as he felt the forthcoming of a crippling heart attack.
"Oh, this?" Harry pointed innocently at the wand in his hand, appearing every bit like a cute child who picked up the wrong item from the basket. "I was pretty sad when I only found a key, so, I tried to steal the shiny snake-headed walking stick in his hand but only the lower part came out. By that time, the man seemed to be recovering, so I ran off."
The sound of Remus's palm hitting his face echoed throughout the alley.
Lucius presented his cane with a flourish and a mind-numbing thunderbolt hit him when he noticed that the lower part of the cane was missing. A shiver traveled down his spine as he shifted his worried glance to the teller sitting in the stall.
The toothy snarl-like grin on the goblin's face could cut through a sword.
Author's Note: As I've said, a simple interlude to fill the tiny gaps in the plot. So, did I miss any of the things that you readers feel that I should have covered? If you do, review your thoughts and if you do not, review your opinions. Thank You.