Morning, the woods around Hogsmeade.


The trees were barren still, spindly branches reaching for the cloudy wintry sky. Layton checked his pocket watch and returned it to his coat pocket. He was making his way through the wood, towards a clearing that he knew would be somewhat visible from the peripheral lanes of the village. His false identity - Joseph Leslie - had been residing in Edinburgh since Christmas but was accustomed to visiting Hogsmeade for dominoes and drinks[1]. He had a thorough understanding of its nooks and crannies by now.

Of course, it was best to keep out of plain sight. Especially as he was wearing the form of Feliks Spectre.

This feat had been achieved sneakily enough[2] in December, through the simple act of walking by the boy in the narrow space between bookshelves. A lock of dark curls brushed off the shoulder, a well-brewed cauldron of Polyjuice.

To anyone who saw him stumbling out from the wood, on to the frosty path behind the shops, it looked like the first year Slytherin had found a way out of the castle. Layton stuck a hand into his hair and shook it out, irritated by the curls. They were cumbersome and resembled Storm too close for comfort. Outside of that, there was little to complain about.

Ira Almasy's son was a fine specimen. Taller than most his age, healthy. Wiry but strong, for a boy. Layton checked his watch again. It was far from a quiet day in Hogsmeade - even at a distance from the hubbub of its main street, he could hear throngs of people. Talking, chanting, yelling. The werewolf protest was underway. A good distraction... an ironic one, too.

He pulled up his hood. The oversized, emerald green sweatshirt and joggers were reminiscent of Slytherin colours. His black duffel coat was fairly unremarkable. Layton slipped his wand up his sleeve, heading for the closest street just off the centre of the village.

1.	15th Feb - Play the Bones You Pull
2.	20th Dec - Is Coming to Town

Today had been dull, other than the protest there was little going on, and she was getting bored of it. A massive protest for both her sake and others, while ultimately it meant for little for her, she was still by herself in the end. She wasn't upset with being alone, well she was, but not that much. Maybe that was a lie, but she was doing her best, she was managing, that was what mattered really wasn't it? That she managed and continued on, regardless of what was happening.

So it was that she was wandering Hogsmeade by herself, it seemed somewhat more lonely when everyone has someone going with them. Or a big crowd all chanting together and waving in a large joint activity. But its not like it bothered her too much, she wasn't going to ask anyone to come with her, no one asked her, so its all fine after all. Its not as if it would of been more fun with anyone anyway right?

Today she hasn't been...anywhere really, aside from awkwardly being there for some of the protest she hadn't done much at all. Mostly looking at windows, ultimately it mattered little really, she'd been here plenty already, was there really anything new to discover or explore? Maybe the shrieking shack. Going into the building fully, its not like she's really that scared of ghosts inside there. She doubts anything can be worse then Peeves.

Lucinda sighed and moved away from the Honeydukes window, maybe later she would get something but she wasn't entirely sure as to do now, she kept her hands in her hoodie pockets and groaned. She half wondered if Greer was doing alright, it was her first time in Hogsmeade right? Admittedly with the protest going on it wouldn't be best introduction, Greer should be fine though, right?..

Greer barged out of Honeydukes with her head down, smiling as she rummaged around in the pathetically small bag of candy she'd just purchased. She'd taken her time selecting a mix of glowing gummy flobby worms, chocolate glummy bumbles, and sour sally-manders. She popped a glummy bumble in her mouth and stopped short, looking up at Lucinda just outside the door.

"Oh shit," Greer blurted, glancing around the street for any obnoxious signs and posters waved by too many Hufflepuffs, or that nerdy group of Ravenclaws who actually liked taking notes for the excitable Hufflepuffs.

But Lucinda was alone - just like she'd said she was that day in the common room when they'd argued.[1] No friends. Bundled up in her trademark hoodie.

Greer ignored a twist of guilt in her stomach and ducked her head into the collar of her coat. She was alone, too! She was just glad about it today. She could pretend, here among so many people, that she belonged like any other student in her Gryffindor hat, which was a little small for her, as she'd had it since she was a first-year. She could pretend that her mum and dad were just around the corner, and that her brother was one of those young voices heard calling down the street. He would have gotten the biggest bag of candy without worrying about reminding their grandparents about spending money and how wizarding coinage worked. Greer was running out, but she didn't want to bother them when they'd only recently allowed her to come to Hogsmeade.

The protest must be winding down if Lucinda were here. Maybe it had gone badly.

"Tired of hollering about nothing?" Greer snarked at Lucinda, though she slowed her pace on the pavement.

They'd made it through the March full moon civilly enough. It had felt so weird that Greer had resorted to making conversation with the Headmaster.

1.	Whatcha doin

Lucinda jumped a little bit as someone started talking to her, who was it? The snarky voice, annoying attitude? Oh right, Greer. Maybe if she thinks of people enough they appear in real life? It happened with Greer just now...A charming prince, a charming prince, a charming prince.

Knowing it most likely wouldn't work, she turned to look at Greer and sigh, hadn't she already told her? She wasn't really there for protesting, she barely cared about the product, it was more...well...it seemed rude not to. She sort of had to be there...right? Otherwise it was people arguing on behalf of a group that...didn't want to go...themselves...No, better to clear that thought, maybe there were some others there, those adults that showed up perhaps?

"How are you doing?" She asked softly. "Enjoying your first time in Hogsmeade?" It atleast wasn't a horrible day, other then the protest, she hoped Greer was enjoying it nonetheless, especially as it was her first right.

She felt somewhat bad not speaking to her since their argument, she had even been unusually not..sweary. Was that a word? It bloody well was now. She was always very quiet after the transformation and getting up in the morning, but even going there...

"I didn't really say much." She shrugged in reply to Greer's attempt to get a rise.

Greer blinked in surprise. The protest had taken all the fight out of Lucinda, and she'd reverted to a softer tone, even remembering that Greer had never been to Hogsmeade as a student before.

Still, Lucinda could become too sappy or too snappy without warning, and Greer wasn't so sure she trusted this nice, milder version of Lucinda. It was the version that she liked best and understood least.

"I'm good," Greer shrugged in return, pocketing the rest of the sweets. She'd spent her day window-shopping mostly, glad to be out and about.

She curled her hands up into her too-short coat sleeves, walking slowly enough for Lucinda to walk with her.

"You might not have said much, but I heard Zeta all the way from the Shrieking Shack," Greer continued, her snarky tone a little less and the glint in her eye almost teasing.

She gave a nod as she walked alongside her, Greer was moving slowly for some reason, she didn't know why but she was, its not as if she'd have trouble keeping up with a little brat like her but she supposed Greer wanted to sightsee somewhat as they walked along, oh well.

"Yeah, it was too loud." She had sensitive ears, both her ears and smell had become more sensitive since...everything. And it made it so much more annoying to be at school, let alone at something like that, where you had someone using a spell to amplify their voice and deafen you. Especially when you're standing right next to them!

"Hey, you want a butterbeer? I'll buy." She wasn't sure how much money Greer had, but she knew herself was given a fair bit, she figured it was her parents feeling guilty. Or to try to make up for not wanting to see her anymore, or atleast it felt that way. So they gave her money for when Hogsmeade came up, allowing her to buy alot of stuff, well, not a broom or something big like that, but still.

"I mean, unless don't want to be seen with people cooler with you." She shot her a teasing smirk.

If the real Feliks Spectre were sneaking out to Hogsmeade, Layton supposed he would have an easier time of it. There were many perks to being a metamorphmagus, and the boy's mother had certainly made use of her skill.

Unfortunately he was saddled with Feliks' face, sans ability, and was careful to avoid the students walking about Hogsmeade; easy to recognise by their age or affinity for house scarves. Layton stuck to those little lanes between and behind shops - passing by rubbish bins and old Missing Posters peeling off the walls. An old lady pouring rancid potion into the gutter offered him a hot drink inside if he was hiding from bullies; he refused but thanked her in a bumbling way.

             "...want a butterbeer? I'll buy," spoke Lucinda Temple. "I mean, unless... people cooler with you."

There were a couple of young witches around the corner. Layton walked towards them, close to the wall, with a quiet step. He was surprised for a moment - both the werewolf girls? That felt like a good omen. Due to his disguise, he expected being able to target only one or the other. Two was a gift.

"Cooler?" the wizard laughed out loud, leaning against the side of a building and wearing a grin that would have suited Feliks very much. "You witches wouldn't be anywhere near cool even if you weren't a couple of werewolves."

He was standing at where a narrow lane intersected a quiet Hogsmeade street; he wasn't keen on stepping into plain sight of other people. Layton folded his arms and shook his heads at them, a typically know-it-all brat.

In terms of personality, he had his glancing Christmas interaction and Camille's chatter to go by. Feliks was smart, bookish, full of questions and quite unable to repress voicing his opinions. "I can't believe they let you out of the castle," he raised his eyebrows. "But I guess all dogs need to be walked."

Greer rolled her eyes in a friendly way, wary of Lucinda's good mood but in a good mood herself. She picked up her pace, confident that Lucinda had decided to walk with her. This day was getting even better. SAWS had nothing to holler about and the Headmaster had no reason to worry. Here in Hogsmeade she was just a young Gryffindor, and the shopkeepers were extra friendly and nice to a student browsing alone.

Lucinda could pay for her butterbeer if she really wanted to. They were just two Gryffindors, two reluctant acquaintances, two-

Werewolves.

Greer froze, catching the dreaded 'w' word. Someone young and dumb was talking. Someone younger and dumber than Greer.

Feliks Spectre? He was the only one looking at them, and she'd recognize his curly hair and smug grin anywhere. He annoyed the older Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws by asking lots of questions, and he got away with it, being young and dumb.

Greer stared at him. Why was a first-year even here?

"I can't believe they let you out of the castle," he raised his eyebrows. "But I guess all dogs need to be walked."

Not a lion, but a dog. The candy she'd just eaten soured in her stomach and her ears felt too warm. She hadn't felt this way all day.

"Shut up, Spectre," Greer stammer-scowled, tilting her chin up. She wasn't much taller than the kid, and couldn't even trust the curls on her head to outdo his, as hers were caught in her hat.

"Who let you out? You're not supposed to be here."

Greer took a small step towards him, her eyes flashing. The unfairness of it struck her - the sight of this kid who had a thousand professors doting on him and a hundred ickle firstie friends, this kid who could sneak around and wander alone and insult her without a care.

Greer seemed to be cheering up, or perhaps more friendly, or perhaps she was wrong on both. But it did seem like she was happier now and that was excellent, and that she was fine for going to get butterbeers, also fine. Even if they didn't speak much to each other that is fine, it would be good and fun to do so. And at the very least neither will be lonely will they. So they can both go and enjoy a relaxing drink.

Lucinda's mood was cheering up more also. After the loud and weird protest, after just hanging about Hogsmeade by herself. Atleast she has someone to go with, if Greer didn't find it horrible, and if neither of them tear out eachothers throats over the smallest thing, then perhaps even tomorrow? She knows a few places and things about Hogsmeade, how to get some extra sweets from Honeydukes for example. They could try exploring the Shack together maybe. A small smile was coming over Lucinda, in some ways perhaps Greer could be like a younger sister, annoying, horrible, loud, rude, little sister. But she supposed most were like that anyway.

However that changed quickly.

That brat from Slytherin was here, what was his name again? She didn't think she'd ever heard it before, maybe she had, she could barely remember. But here he was, hurling insults. She knew Slytherins were bad, but trying to infiltrate SAWS to just hurl insults at Werewolves? Really?

Her fists clenched a little, giving a smirk as Greer shot back at them. Now that. That was the Gryffindor spirit.

"What are you doing here? Did you come here with your mummy to pretend that you could be mature enough to be a first year?" She said back to the kid, sure, it was a kid, but the kid was hurling anti werewolf speak at her. She wasn't going to let that slide.

"Or have you lost your friends from demonstrating a lack of brain cells that would make even Giants call you an idiot."

Were these the bumbling pups who shared the same hallowed halls as Ira Almasy's son? Layton sneered at the older girl without meaning to, unimpressed by her convoluted insults. He shoved back his hood, looking from one werewolf to the next. Calm.

"I'm only here to look around," he shrugged, trying to maintain the same earnest and oblivious manner he'd encountered in that bookshop over Christmas. "And nobody let me out. Obviously."

Layton had learned another thing from his encounter. He learned that Feliks was the kind of kid who simply volunteered information, in the chatty way of children. Certainly he'd been more than happy to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger that day. It was bold in a child but it served a good purpose now.

"I found a way out of the castle." Layton gestured carelessly over his shoulder, down the lane he had come from and the woods beyond. "So I can leave anytime I want. Are you going to tell on me?" he narrowed his eyes at Greer Grant.

Then he pulled a face, as if though coming a sudden decision. "If you don't, I'll show you both the way I got out."

This kid. Lucinda hadn't seemed surprised by his insults, and now he was acting like he hadn't just insulted them. Maybe this was normal behavior for Feliks. Maybe he'd hung around SAWS to get ideas for how to taunt them. Or maybe he just didn't think much about what he did or said. Greer's ears turned redder and redder, realizing that he could be so thoughtless while she had to be so careful.

Was she going to tell on him? Greer's lip curled in response. She was a lot of things, but she was not a snitch. The last thing she wanted to do was whine to a professor about this kid wandering around Hogsmeade. He'd just lie about it, anyway.

He had probably used his weird metamorph ability to get out. That's what Greer would have done.

"I don't want anything from you. You're not special," Greer shot at him, bouncing a little on her feet. The faster she scared him off, the faster she could get a butterbeer and forget about Feliks Spectre and his thoughtless words.

"Go slither away before you find out how hard a dog can bite," she glared at him for all of three seconds, then glanced at Lucinda, hoping the older girl would smirk again.

A secret path in and out of the castle...that was...tempting. It would be extremely useful for her to try to escape, if he wasn't lying. Greer didn't seem to agree with the idea, but she didn't need to run away from the castle did she? She wouldn't have a reason to do so. Whereas...it could be useful, she'd always planned on using the Forbidden Forest to try to escape through, although from what she's heard of the 90's, Broom flying is a way to leave still and could be worth it. If not...she likely wouldn't be able to come up with a second plan.

She wasn't going to report the kid for being in Hogsmeade, although she was sorely tempted to report him to a Professor for going after them, it was so tempting to do, if nothing else she'd try to tell Zeta. And if she did report to the Professors...then it would just have to slip that he was in Hogsmeade wouldn't it? Otherwise how would she know he said it to them when they were out of the castle.

She gave a smirk with Greer's comments but then decided something better, she wouldn't break any rules, unless blackmail wasn't allowed in Hogwarts, in which she'd break it quite a bit, but its for a good cause, namely her hunting down a rogue werewolf funds, that's a good one right? Less people being turned like her. Maybe she'll try a bakesale later for it, make it a full charity.

"Add on five sickles." She said flatly to him, that would cover two butterbeers and have a bit leftover to help her, or just to buy Greer some more sweets or something. But if the kid could risk it to go to Hogsmeade, he must of had some money to make it worth risking, atleast a few galleons.

He sensed a kind of scrappiness in Grant, though instinct told him that she was more bark than bite. Layton had learned to trust his instincts - it was why he was more concerned about Greer getting away than the other one. Temple was frank, brash. The turns in her mood would not be subtle. The younger witch, however, was a creature of nuance. If her mood turned he might not be able to see it coming, even with Leglimency.

Pity, considering all that nuance gets thrown out of the window every full moon.

            "Add on five sickles."

The wizard laughed. It was a condescending laugh but in Felik's frame, it came across as incredulous. Layton crossed his arms, tucking his hands in under his coat as he looked at Lucinda with a thinking face.

"Fine," he said, as if the choice had been unclear. "Three sickles now and two sickles later, so I know you won't squeal until I'm back in the castle proper. Yes?"

If the girls knew Feliks well enough, they might have detected the way his words tilted in a more English direction than that of the foreign first year. Layton tried to stick to simpler sentences even as they were pulled away by nostalgia. The easy, casual cadence with which he spoke when he'd been a good Hufflepuff soldier.

"And you can't tell anyone else, alright? Unless you absolutely have to." he added, putting on a serious face. "Promise." Layton took out a few sickles from his pocket and held them out in the palm of his hand.

It was such a skinny and pale hand. Ira's arms were like this; long and slender, and sinewy beneath the flesh.

Greer looked at Lucinda, her face falling. Damn. She should have known that Lucinda would jump at the chance to sneak out of the castle whenever she pleased. If a friend had offered to show her instead of a smug first-year, Greer would jump, too. If she had friends. And here they went around again.

As Spectre's laughter rang out, Greer shoved her hands into her coat pockets and looked out at the shops lining the street, where a group of older Slytherins had stopped to peer at the brooms displayed in a window, standing shoulder to shoulder. Greer watched without trying to be obvious about it, hunching her own shoulders.

Now that Lucinda had found her, she didn't really want to be alone for the rest of the day. She scuffed her shoe against the pavement, aware that Lucinda had already chosen the secret castle entrance.

All she had to do was follow along.

Had Spectre finally stopped talking? Greer looked at the kid's extended hand. His bargain, like being outside of the castle made him forget he was young and dumb.

"Yours," she told Lucinda. "I don't want it."

She could use it, definitely. She might even need it at some point, the way that candy and butterbeers felt like a necessity.

But she didn't want it.

Greer was not fond of the idea, Lucinda understood it, but she didn't seem willing to go alone either now, she'd find a way to make it up for her, they're actually being friendly for once! That was amazing all in its self. If nothing else came from today there is that at the very least. But she'd get something to make up for it certainly, maybe a couple butterbeers, or whatever drink she wants. She'll have the extra money to use after all from the kid.

"Only to see where the tunnel is, then we'll get drinks, courtesy of Feliks." She said to Greer gently as she gently smiled at her, hoping that might cheer he a little, she didn't want to do either really, but it was a chance to escape the castle. Lucinda needed all the escape routes she can get. One to Hogsmeade is even better, then she can Floo herself away to get distance from everyone else and make it almost impossible to be found when the Professors...and likely the WCU come looking. It was something she needed to do, she can likely pay someone to use their Floo.

She gently took the money from Feliks and nodded down at him as if to lead on, quickly the sickles were pocketed and that hand was offered towards Greer somewhat protectively. Not always were passages safe she found. Some were still booby trapped by Peeves from Umbridge, or from the battle.

"Where is the tunnel at Hogwarts. And why are you even out here? None of your friends are and you're far too late to have joined SAWS."