a long and bloody night

Luhan stood back as he cast the last spell over the wall and the tapestry swung back into place to guise it. It had been a long and bloody night, but he wouldn’t pretend that the shadows under his eyes and the bruises marring his face weren’t anything but a trophy for it. The Ollivander heir had fought back hard, but eventually, after a week of torture, he and Danny had managed to finish him off. He’d put the wizard to cleaning up the mess while he secured the body in the wall, and now at last, with all done and dusted, he was looking forward to a cup of tea.

Business was going well. The plan and execution out of the way, he was now free to expand his wand shop to the sought after Diagon area. All he had to do was bide his time and the customers would flock to him after the disappearance of the last Ollivander, and then he’d make his move. And after he’d taken the spot in Diagon, next – the world.

Early morning light crept into the windows, stealing across the darkened interior of the shop to burn shadows. Lumos was small and poky, not nearly so large as he should like, with its walls crammed to the low eaves with wands, all carefully made himself with the products he and Zimmer had hunted for over an entire year. He’d have to open in an hour and then after a dull day he’d retire early to bed. It was a simple life. Luhan almost liked it.

And then the door opened, revealing a face he had pushed aside in his memory, and the hatred came creeping back.

Dominic entered the relatively new shop, glancing at the forest green walls around him. The shelves here were packed with wands - as, well, they would be, given that the name of the shop (and its purpose) was selling them.

He was not entering to buy a wand, though.

No.

His intent was beyond this trivial purchase. Ghastly. Behind the new wand enterprise, too, was none other than his sneering, rather unpleasant adversary from the darkest days he'd experienced at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Unfair. That was the only word that came to mind now.

Looking at Luhan again - after two years of not being in his presence - was chilling. He saw the loathing; the twisted expression that promised only ill will and suffering.

"Hello!" It was an awkward fumbling greeting. He coughed, leaning on the desk. "My, my, been a while, hasn't it?" He tried to grin at the boy. "Good to see you're making a name for yourself, quite, quite literally too..... Lumos? I like the pun, excellent, mmm."

Oh dear.

“Not long enough.” Luhan found his words and managed to make them both flat and empty. Dominic Knight was most certainly not welcome in his shop; the man had to be stupider than he’d given him credit to find his way willingly back into his life, and he could therefore only assume that he needed something.

Luhan waited for him to spit out exactly what it was, but Knight blithered on. He leaned back on the tapestry shielding the cold grave and folded his arms, lifting his chin to regard the man beneath scathing, black eyes. “What do you want, Knight?”

"Well, it's a funny thing....." Dominic whispered; taking a step away. "Not so much funny, as, umm, there's...."

He took a breath; adjusting his coat. Eleanor had bought him this expensive label for their anniversary present, and he wore it with love and pride every day, a sentimental token to how precious their marriage was.

"There's been a nasty disappearance... and the last place this - certain individual was seen just, well, happened to be inside your shop." He bit his lip. "I am not in any manner blaming you...."

A pause. Was he? Dominic certainly wouldn't have put it past Luhan to be involved in something as hellish as this....) "I just need to get a few facts, and I was wondering if maybe you'd seen anything odd recently?"

There was an even longer pause, broken only by the sound of the door opening.

"Who - ur, who does the cleaning?" he asked. "You have a.... very polished desk."

Not again....

At last, the man arrived at the point, although it had taken longer than Luhan should have liked. With the missing posters up since the heir’s disappearance, he wasn’t surprised that someone would come calling eventually, only that it was in the form of this prize fool. “Names, Knight. I need a name if I’m to be any help at all. I have a list of customers who have purchased wands here… if you’re part of the MLE.”

Which he was quite sure he wasn’t, unless he’d had a dramatic career change. More than likely, Knight was just poking his nose, sniffing for a story. “Aren’t you?” he arched an eyebrow and smirked, then turned to gaze at the complimented table. “An elf, idiot. Certainly not myself. Would you like to admire anything else? The wands, the tapestries? Maybe you want the grand tour.”

Dominic raised his eyebrows. "My goodness!" he cried. "That was almost a compliment.... No no, still writing for the papers, although many years ago I did think perhaps I could be an Auror..."

Could he have been wrong about the boy? Was there a possibility that he'd grown up and realised that with a little bit of common decency, everything would work out better for him in the end? Then, breaking him from his reverie, Luhan asked for a name.

"Ruby Derrington Golloware," said Dominic. "She popped in...." He paused, bringing out the notes that had been hidden inside his coat pockets. "Three days ago, said she saw a man begging for his life, now, this is where the information gets a little sketchy...." He pointed at the notes again. "The person she said she saw was none other than the last known living Ollivander.... but unfortunately our witness is prone to heavy drinking. Needless to say, we can't rely on her word."

Sarcasm. Oh.

He waited, hoping for some advice..... a horrible, ugly sensation now turning his stomach inside out. Something was wrong. Very wrong.... and it was now painfully difficult to ignore the fact that every bad feeling was leading back to the boy behind this desk.

“I didn’t ask for your life story, I’m checking your right to be here asking irritating questions. You do know we’re not due to open for another ten minutes?” And that Luhan would very much desire the boy to be on the other side of the wall, with the missing person, rather than standing in front of him now. It all depended on how much he knew… always he had surmised that the man would meet an end at his hand.

Dominic was very stupid. He’d just supplied Luhan with the name of the witness he needed to erase. A small smile curled across his lips in thanks. “If you can’t rely on her word, then why are you here?” Luhan owed no explanation, not to a journalist.

"I thought you might declare something like that." Dominic grinned fully now, flashing his reporter card. "If you must know, also, the Ministry of Magic is now a huge supporter of The Daily Prophet.... seems we've turned a corner in their often scathing reputation towards us!"

No reply, and yet, Dominic didn't like the way Luhan was watching him. It was a cold look of evaluation that didn't go away. What was he thinking about? Did he want to know? Probably not, unless he knew something about the man's disappearance....

Unfortunately, this was a pressing itch that needed to be scratched....

"I wanted to see if she'd said anything to you..." He blinked, gulping. "I hate to confess that my opinion of you is not high still as I'm sure yours is for me?" Resting his head in his hands, a disconcerted look fell over him, like the cover of a starless night. "If you're hiding something from me, it really would be in your best interest and - indeed, the interest of your shop.... to tell me."

He took another step back.

Waited.

Luhan straightened, took the few steps to cross the shop floor and reach Knight, and snatched the card from Knight’s hand. He crumpled it in his hand. “Whatever regard the Minster holds you in, you’re still a piece of shit to me.” And he dropped the card to step on it, squashing it into the ground.

Knight was as haughty as ever, speaking as if Luhan owed him something. He wondered if fright would drain his face bloodless if he knew what rotted in this very room. “And it would be in your best interest to leave now, while you still can. You don’t think I’d work so hard to begin a business only to let someone as meagre as you to tear it apart?”

Danny strode through the doors, trying not to think about the Firewhisky deal he'd made with Luhan. No alcohol on the job, or he'd be in big trouble. Oh man. How stupid was that? He sometimes missed the days when they'd just live in the forests, killing unicorns and partying for hours. The only thing that had been missing were the smoking hot girls, and after being away so long, he'd made sure to get them back again. In six months, he'd had four relationships (well, the other three hadn't known about the first, but who cared?!)

Danny Zimmer was Sex on Legs.

Always had been!

"Heya Luhan! Dude, what the hell? You look so tired this morning......" and then his gaze slipped onto a guy with a really long vomit coloured coat.... "I don't mean to be rude, but who the actual fuck are you?"

And then came something else.

Recognition..... but from where, he had no idea....

Dominic gasped, bending down and scrambling to pick up the now tattered remains of his reporter card. "I just don't understand," he whispered, "After all this time, you still haven't grasped the most fundamental of human behaviours! Courtesy, a word that will never exist in your language." He frowned at more pieces on the floor. "You're  a child, I've never felt so affronted, I'm almost glad that I put that Leglimens spell on you...." Yet, no sooner had the words spilled out... "Forgive me, been a long week." He bowed his head. "I will remove myself from your company for now, but this is not over, Luhan...." He turned to leave, and then gave a start.

A tall man or boy trying to look like a man had just entered the shop. His black leather coat made Dominic think of a movie star, except that the way he was gawping and now insulting Luhan, this was a terrible misconception.
He had now just turned to him.

Who the actual fuck are you?

Now really!

"I think the more important question is.... were you born with the manners of a troll, or did you learn them through your poor choice in leather jackets?"

“Idiocy is a common theme in yours,” Luhan rolled his eyes and stepped even closer when the man dared to lecture him on manners and language. Luhan bet he spoke more languages than Dominic could guess and his manners were only extended and patient enough for those deserving. Knight was already on his list of people deserving death, he just wasn’t very high up and had slipped over the years, as Luhan simply hadn’t cared. The man’s mention of casting the spell during school that had shattered his memories and bled them into the wizard’s mind didn’t matter. He knew nothing of who he was now.

To his dismay, Danny blundered through it all, interrupting Knight’s exit. Of course he was tired this morning – they had just cleaned up after a corpse. “Secure the door,” he warned the wizard, changing his mind about simply letting the wizard go. “We’ve a guest with poor expectations. Might as well fill them, don’t you think, Knight?"

Dominic gaped. Idiocy! He'd had such a long week, with a horrible boss breathing down his neck... and now this? Not for the first time did this cause him to rethink about the life choices that he'd made..... What was going on? Maybe he should have abandoned being a reporter, but it was everything to him, well, that and his beautiful Eleanor.

The boy or man in the leather jacket said nothing, but looked very much like he wanted to slam him against the wall....

Luhan spoke again.

Uh oh.

Had he heard that right? Surely he would have let him leave, not.....

And then the man-boy locked the door.

"Expectations?" Dominic said, inching closer to the window. Perhaps if a passer by noticed he was in distress..... "Are you telling me that you know more than what you previously alluded to?"

Silence.