only going to end up drunk and alone (OPEN)

[theodore lupin]

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Yesterday he had decided that he had needed a bit of space from his grandmother. He booked himself a room at the Leaky Cauldron, but as he lay in the bed after an action packed day at the ministry he kept tossing and turning. The full moon was getting closer. It was getting harder and harder to sleep, although the noises coming from the room next to his wouldn’t have been helping the young man’s attempts at sleep.

He tossed and turned.

Turned and tossed.

Before eventually he gave up. He ran a hand through his hair (which at this point was a dark red) not helping the already bed headed look that had over ruled his head before slipping a pair of sweat pants over his boxers. He didn’t bother to pull on a shirt for he already wore a black muscle shirt with white speckles scattered all over it.

The sound of his flip-flops echoing off the cobblestones of the since abandoned stores. The streets were actually quieter than he had ever seen them, even in these small hours, but his wand wasn’t far from reach. It was an instinct that he had had drilled into him within his first week as an auror.

Aurors had many enemies and even the most harmless looking of bystanders could be plotting to do something sinister to him.

As he walked he tried not to wallow but like usual his thoughts kept sliding to his father. What would he be doing right now? What would he think of him and the choices that he had made thus far? It was the sound of music that pulled him away from those darkest of thoughts.

The music called to him… drew him closer and closer. It was different yet at the same time it was almost familiar too. He found that he couldn’t put a name to the notes and the lyrics that he did manage to catch through the almost abandoned streets.

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TAGGED: Open

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[Deleted]

Dulf was making a game of it. The approaching full moon had his blood hot. Even if he wouldn't actually hunt tonight the urges, and impulses were there, as he followed the young man. He kepta respectful distance, noting the other's wariness, but the game was this; don't let him get out of sight for more than a couple of moments. Wizarding prey could apparate if you let them slip away and have a calm moment to picture themselves safely at home, so you had to keep them close, but unaware until you were ready to pounce. There wouldn't be a pounce tonight though, no taste of blood. The patient hunter knew that. This was just a chance to keep his wits sharp, against a target more alert than most.

The legilimens almost wanted to reach out, to read his would-be prey's mind. to discover what the other was thinking. He kept his wand so close by him. Had he noticed that he was being followed? Dulf decided not to risk it. Besides if the other did notice, if a fight did break out, that would be a lot of fun. He wanted to test the other's skills, and sharpen his own. When had he last dueled? That said, he could have just as much fun if there was no duel.

The game was coming to an end. The music reached his ears too, and it masked his footsteps. He closed the distance, silent and stealthy as any hunter could be, before speaking, almost conversationally. "Always liked this song." He said, though he hadn't ever heard it before, and he still wasn't sure of the music's origin. The soft smile on his otherwise gruff face said what his words didn't. That he had the other. He could have savaged or killed him by now. If it had been a full moon, Dulf could even have turned him by now, and there's every chance he would have.

[theodore lupin]

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There was a rather large jump from the young man as the male's voice reached his ears. He hadn't been aware of the other man's presence so of course it was a little spooky to the nineteen year old. He turned around to face the man, only to find himself virtually chest to chest with him. It was clear that the other man was stronger than him, but was he older too or was that just the beard talking?

His heart raced as adrenaline flowed through his veins from the freight that he had been given by the stranger. Was this man going to hurt him or was everything going to be alright?

"What song is it? I've never heard it before... but it has a good beat!"

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TAGGED: @dulf

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[Deleted]

Dulf savoured that moment of fear. Prey often had the same sort of reaction to him in his wolf state, before the true terror fit in they were usually startled, on edge, sometimes jumping like this one had done. Of course the other wouldn't get hurt, unless something dramatic happwned, but the reaction alone was quite enough. in most situations. It tasted sweet to Dulf, and that showed on his face, in that rugged, moon-lit smirk. He was going to have fun with this one, he was sure. Such a wary young man, in a state of fear all ready.

"Honestly, I'm not sure... But I've heard it a few times when I've been out for night-time walks and I like it. It feels like a part of the night, if that makes sense." His tone was almost sweet as his head bobbed slowly in time with the tune. His eyes flickered to the busker for just a moment. A witness? An audience? Or maybe just an inconvenience. He could have been any of these things. It struck Dulf as slightly strange that someone might have been playing this late into the night. Dulf wondered if the man played often. Either way he reached into his pockets, and with a wry wink deposited a  couple of bronze knuts into the performer's instrument case.  He turned back to Teddy with that same grin.

"I've not seen you walking around of a night here before? Staying at the Cauldron?" He asked gruffly as he leaned against a nearby wall now, his hand moving to the spot on his jeans where his wand was secured, he didn't draw it but he was a wary sort himself. "What has you so alert, anyway? It looked like you were ready to start slinging jinxes for the last block."  Dulf didn't really bother to hide the fact he'd been following now. Part of the fun was having the other know what could have happened if he'd meant to do harm.


theodore lupin

[theodore lupin]

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The only thing that Teddy was savoring was the company that Bardulf was supplying him with just at this moment in time. Being somewhat fresh out of Hogwarts, socialising was sometimes still a difficult area for the Gryffindor Alumnus so now that he had someone standing right there in front of him and willing to take part in a conversation there was no way that he was just going to throw that to the wind.

Once the man had returned from tipping the busker, his question caused Teddy to raise an eyebrow. How did that man know that? That one question alone was enough to raise a response from the Auror in Training, but when the man added a second obtrusive question, then Teddy did well and truly feel creeped out.

Was this man stalking him?

There was no true reason for someone to be following him. He wasn’t a legitimate son of a celebrity. Nor was he famous or infamous himself, so he just couldn’t quite fathom why in the name of Dumbledore he would be followed in the way that he was.

“Who are you and why are you stalking me?”

There was an angry fire that hadn’t been burning in his eyes just moments before as he locked eyes with the Slytherin Alumnus. A look that swore to harm the man if he well and truly had intended to start a fight between the two of them. He could tolerate a lot of things, but when his anger got the better of him then the foundations of the building he happened to be in tended to shake.

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TAGGED: @dulf

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[Deleted]

Dulf laughed softly, there was an edge of menace to it even when he didn't intend violence, just by virtue of his callous, gruff nature. "Why?" He grinned, it was actually funny to him. "Have you ever hear the one about the scorpion and the frog?" he asked in reference to an old muggle tale he'd rather come to like for these situations. "It's just in my nature." he kept that unfaltering grin on his face dripping with predatory confidence. "For what it's worth, I've got no plans to hurt you." He was almost casual about it. That in itself would maintain the tension. If he was so forward about his lack of desire to do any harm, what was he here for?

"I think you're over-reacting, honestly." He said, not honestly at all. "Where else would you be staying that you'd be wandering through Diagon Alley this time of night? It's a simple question." He could smell the other's fear, almost literally, the wolf inside him  was pleased at the reaction he had bought out of the younger male. "And as for what has you feeling so alert... Was that on me, or are you just jumpy?" He asked, his tone  growing gentle, almost friendly. "Honestly, man. Is there a reason I wouldn't ask?"

Dulf moved a step back and leaned against a wall, relaxing slightly as he studied Theodore. "As for a name. I'll let you work that one out for yourself, if you're still interested when you get the chance." He winked to the other. It was meant to seem playful but he was quite aware it would be downright menacing. 

[theodore lupin]

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This man was confusing. One moment he was declaring his acusation to be true... the next he was declaring the next he was denying his actions like a slippery snake. He stood there unmoving... unreacting to the bait that was being laid. He was already angry. Already ready to start an all out duel right here in the street right then and there if he had to.

"That's bullshit and you know it. Why are you stalking me?!"

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TAGGED: @dulf

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[Deleted]

"I didn't say I wasn't stalking you... I said you were overreacting." He clarified. "I said it only made sense for you to be staying in the Leaky Cauldron... I've been following for a few minutes now, but does that mean that I have some grand design?" Dulf was having fun with this. Messing with him, playing with the man that would have been his food if this had been another night of the month. He grinned, playfully at the other, almost as though this had literally been a game. "I'm stalking you because I'm bored, and because it helps me keep my skills sharp." He admitted to the other male, savouring the fact that he seemed to unsettle him so. "No need for such anger. It's not personal."

Bardulf Barrows was seldom so chatty but there was something about these sorts of nights that brought out his talkative side. "So. Can't sleep?" He asked conversationally, it was all true that right now he had no higher purpose than simply following and keeping his senses sharp. The Legilimens had already decided not to invade the other's mind, and there was little point to attacking him now.

[theodore lupin]

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There was something suspicious about this man. He couldn't put a finger on it, but his mind was traveling a mile a minute. He would trust the man for now, but it would take much more convincing for him to let his guard down around the man again.

As the subject was changed though he looked at the blond, the weariness that he felt starting to show a little. His body and mind wanted sleep but his genes wouldn't let him... it had been that way since about his third year at Hogwarts. 

"The moon... one of the joys of my Dad having been a werewolf I guess... you?"

It was getting late so of course the boy would be curious as to why the other man also hadn't found a spot to lay his head upon a bed.

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TAGGED: @dulf

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[Deleted]

Dulf gave a particularly wolfish grin at that comment. He'd met the children of Werewolves before. He knew the sensation too. "Trust me, I can relate." He said, not wanting to explain the why of it exactly. He wondered if the other's wariness and his own experience with werewolves might have given him insight into exactly what Bardulf was. Dulf genuinely did feel for Theodore for just a moment though. The moon, as it grew closer to being full, would stir their blood up in just the same way. It made sleep difficult for Dulf sometimes as well.

"You must have some very unpleasant thoughts about Umbridge?" He asked steering the topic of conversation toward politics. He'd probe the young man's views this way, rather than by reading his mind. It was no fun to rely on legilimency all the time, particularly when the wolf within him wasn't quite so capable of mind reading. It lacked the focus, even when he took Wolfsbane. It was important for him to learn to rely on his own intuition to understand others, as much as anything else. Of course, Dulf had no idea the young man he was speaking to was training as an Auror.