Elixa cursed to herself, measuring the fresh ingredients once more. Her mind was very much preoccupied with her early rise.[1] As such her stomach considered it lunchtime when it was only just gone nine.

Upstairs there was a fresh werewolf bite in, and Johann's parents were on the Creatures ward. She was laying low on purpose, having smuggled Johann out of the place a few hours earlier without question. She didn't want to answer to them if they saw her, and she didn't want to believe it had happened either.

She had seen much of werewolf bites and treatment growing up - her parents were both healers at the Frolich Institute in Sweden which took part in cutting-edge research of the condition. Still, she didn't want to think of people she knew being afflicted, even if she had never found Wolfgang particularly good company.

The hospital apothecary bell rang on the desk. The morning rush of people had been before nine, patients discharged first thing, or some out patients there to renew specialist prescriptions before a day of work. Her colleagues were off delivering and restocking the floors and wards while she brewed nutrient-rich potions to replace solid food for patients.

Turning the heat down on the cauldron, she dusted off her hands and made her way out to the front to serve. As she emerged between the rows of tall shelves full of glass jars, she recognised the face, and approached with caution.

"Can I help?"
"Where is he?"

The question was ever so quiet, but the gaze didn't waver from her face. Elixa visibly swallowed. Her hands twitched and she slid them into the pockets of her apron to hide them.

"Who are you looking for?"

The gaze only seemed to become more intense, and the mere body language from the other side of the counter had Elixa's overactive imagination visualising him planting one hand on it and flying over the top of it to throw her against the shelves by the collar. Her altercation with a desperate wizard in the apothecary a few months back was still haunting her and undermining her confidence.

She bit her bottom lip and tried to steady her breathing which was shaking. He was leaning forward, knuckles resting on the counter, wand in hand. She closed her eyes and swallowed.

-----

Her feet led the ascent up the stairs.
"Joh! It's ok, it's just me. Joh!" She turned into the empty living room, the curtains open, spilling morning sunshine across the sofa and the armchair Arcturus had preferred before his trip abroad had taken him away for a while. The kitchen was as she had left it, dirty dishes stacked beside the sink, and the pantry held no more than food.

"Joh?" Her feet ascended the second flight, up the turn midway and up the last few steps to the bedrooms and bathroom. She pushed the doors open to each of the three bedrooms - hers as she had left it in a bit of a hurry, the spare room empty apart from a couple of trunks, the bathroom devoid of life and Arc's room in perfect order. Well, apart from it looked like someone had sat on the bed.

"He's not here." She rushed into the bathroom, throwing open the window over the yard below for the Divination shop that sat below the flat, but there was no sign of anything unusual there either.

Her silver haired shadow drew his wand, uttered incantations about the place, retreating down the stairs after a few moments. Elixa stepped into Arc's room a moment, looked about herself, reached out and put a hand to the disturbed bedspread for signs of heat before smoothing it out again.

By the time she reached the living room, she found the front door wide open at the foot of the stairs. Johann's professor cousin was long gone, and presumably without what he was looking for. She cursed herself as she swung the door shut on Diagon Alley. 

1.	Summer's Gone