Johann’s parting left the Head Healer and the auror uncomfortably alone in the corridor. Not adept at politeness to aurors, Miranda looked up at him with pursed lips. Her dark eyes scanned over where his leg should have been before her gaze once more met his.

“You should sit, don’t overstrain your leg.” Mira herself stood up and smoothed her healers robes with cold hands. “We do need to report this now, I agree. The ministry can…” But the words died on the witch’s mouth as her eye caught a tall figure approaching them looking rather unimpressed at having been dragged from his bed.

The wizard’s hand brushed her arm and he made a comment about her badly written note. It wasn’t the first time he or anyone else had pointed out her handwriting but this was not the time to point out how perfectly legible it really was.
Lips pressed together tightly as Storm suggested a few reasons for her note and Miranda said nothing for a moment, watching him carefully.

“Your cousin is here. He’s been bitten by a werewolf. His wife is being contacted but Johann is a mess.” Her eyes danced back to the auror. “Auror…” She didn’t know his surname, “Johann’s acquaintance here is eager to report it quickly.”

“I need the loo.”

Johann left abruptly. Suddenly the scene changed, and Omari felt weirdly uneasy being alone with the healer. He wasn’t sure how Johann knew her, or why he seemed to trust her, but Omari felt as if, whatever their relationship was, she might have something on him. He couldn’t be sure though, and he might be conspiring a bit too much - considering the time of night, that he hadn’t slept and a combination of the firewhiskey and potion.

“You should sit down, don’t overstrain your leg.”

Omari wasn’t sure if this remark was mockery but he straightened up nonetheless. He was just about to tell her that he was perfectly fine, when she continued. And then stopped. Omari followed her gaze, and watched in silence as a grey-haired wizard walked up to her and began talking away. He recognized him. Definitely a Storm.

“Auror…”

“Warrington, sir.” Omari filled in, holding his hand out to Ignan. “We met at Johann’s birthday party in January.”

The Healer finished her sentence.

“Aye,” Omari said, directing it to Ignan. “I’m off duty, but this incident, from what I gathered by Johann, should be brought to Headquarters’ knowledge as soon as possible. It seems werewolves were attacking Muggles. Maybe even because it was organised.”

"Your cousin is here. He's been bitten by a werewolf," Ignan's mind was quickly cycling through possible cousins to be bitten by a werewolf and it leapt to Johann as the obvious choice given the company he took, "His wife is being contacted but Johann is a mess." Not Johann - Wolfgang?!

Ignan's mouth fell open as if to ask the name, but no sound came out, Mira was dealing with things in a clinical way, as per her role. Nobody had died from what he knew, and he wasn't one to panic easily.

"Auror…" Her turn of the shoulders, "… Johann's acquaintance here is eager to report it quickly."

"Warrington, Sir. We met at Johann's birthday party in January." The man with the crutch extended a hand and Ignan automatically shook it. The Scot had a firm handshake, and Ignan's hand tried to meet it, though his mind was already trying to put his thoughts in order about the news.
"I remember now." He assured the auror as they let go. Omari could be considered easy on the eye, and through more recent embellishments of Johann's private life, Ignan could see more than one reason to keep a close friend of Omari.

"Aye, I'm off duty, but this incident, from what I gathered by Johann, should be brought to Headquarters' knowledge as soon as possible. It seems werewolves were attacking Muggles. Maybe even because it was organised."

"Then you must do your duty, Warrington. Friend or not, any delay may mean another attack." Ignan assured Omari without any hesitation. It was not the night to go off and try and hunt a wolf down himself. "Did he explain what happened? Where is he now?" He took a step back, looking up and down the ward, "Was he hurt as well?" He didn't much care for Wolfgang, even if they were blood - he paid that piece of work no respect of late.

"Mira says they've off to find his mother, and when she arrives, she will not be nearly as calm as I am, so tell me what you know, and I'll do my best to contain my bloody family." He looked from Omari to Mira, shifting into a familiar pattern of dealing with crisis by controlling others.

“Then you must do your duty, Warrington. Friend or not, any delay may mean another attack.”

Omari was pleased with Ignan’s answer, and resisted an urge to give the healer an I-told-you-so-look. He was still not convinced she was to be fully trusted. Instead he gave Ignan a confirming nod, and let him continue his questions. Ignan was someone who, if not actually trusted, respected fully. He was authoritative and seemed like he cared just as much about Johann as he did about doing the right thing. The Ministry needed to be contacted as soon as possible.

“No,” Omari answered. “Not hurt, but shaken. Clarted in blood. He was not very clear on the details, but it seems they were watching werewolves fightin’ muggles when Wolfgang was attacked. Organised fightin’.”

His face was grave as he let the seriousness of the statement sink in, before continuing.

“He’s aff to the loo,” he explained and cocked his head down the corridor. But just as he did that, his gut told him something was wrong. Something had been off in the way Johann had hurried off and he would’ve been back by now. Directing his eyes back at Ignan he continued.

“Or at least that’s where he said he’d go.” As he said it he knew somewhere that Johann probably had dun a runner. “Might go and check on the lad.”

"No, not hurt but shaken. Clarted in blood," Auror Warrington began, just as a fellow healer appeared, beckoning Mira back with a serious look[1]. Ignan's gaze momentarily followed her departure, but he kept listening to the auror's explanation.
"… not very clear on the details, but it seems they were watching werewolves fightin' muggles when Wolfgang was attacked. Organised fightin'."

A strange picture was forming in Ignan's head as Omari paused to let him digest that notion. He couldn't picture Johann watching a werewolf at all - he was considerably pro-were rights, and had two close friends afflicted. He'd been engaged to marry one seven, eight months ago. Though it had ripped apart the father-son relationship.

It was strange enough that Johann was even spending time with his father - he'd gone out of his way to avoid him on coming to Britain, spare for a few olive branches in the hope of moving them out of Ignan's house quicker. Wolfgang was incredibly anti-were, vocal, conniving, intelligent, and he had opposed Johann's ties with Hannah bitterly. Yes, he could see Wolfgang engaging in such sport, but not his son.

"He's aff to the loo, or at least that's where he said he'd go. Might go and check on the lad." Ignan's eyes had slid in the direction Omari indicated and he raised a hand.
"I'll check." He knew almost before he checked that his relative wouldn't be there, but there was a first for everything.

Returning to Omari a few moments later, he drew closer to the other man.
"It wouldn't be the first time, don't blame yourself. Just describe to me what he was wearing - he may still be here." As Omari's sharp mind recounted the usual business attire, and the familiar wool coat Johann was fond of, Ignan's was already considering where he might be.
"You alert the Healers that he's bolted, and I'll see if I can catch him on the hop." He took two paces back, turned to leave, and then added, "Apologies Warrington - old protocol still habit. Do as you need - call it in."

1.	Mel suggested this by PM

“I’ll check.”

The elder Storm rushed off before Omari could say another word. That might’ve been for the best though, with Omari relying heavily on his cane and missing his left. It had been a long night, and Omari wasn’t sure he would’ve been as quick as Ignan seemed to be. As he watched the older man return he knew before he even reached him that Johann had disappeared, and he felt an anger rise in his chest.

He quickly, and to the best of his memory, described what Johann had been wearing and as Ignan headed off gave a nod.

“Apologies Warrington - old protocol still habit. Do as you need - call it in.”

“Aye, sir.”

Omari watched Ignan leave, and gave a heavy sigh. This night had turned into something so much worse than he had imagined when leaving home. His hatred (and loathing) of hospitals had only grown after tonight’s events - seeing his friend covered in blood rose up memories that should be long gone. With one last look around him, he turned around and approached some Healers. After recounting what had just happened, and requesting them to send his leg back to his home, he headed down the stairs. It was time he called this in at headquarters.

Exit Omari.