Chapter 39

There were still the last rays of the sun on the horizon, bathing the not-so-distant Hogwarts castle in an orange glow, but the hill already lay in shadows.

It was a nice evening.

The picturesque Hogsmeade village at the foot of the hill wasn't bustling-bright but shone comfortably.

It didn't even take five minutes, even with their relaxed tempo, until they reached a wooden hut.

The wooden hut was still on the hill, they hadn't reached Hogsmeade proper quite yet.

The wooden hut was very dilapidated, and it looked more like a shack from up close.

Definitely pretty small for a werewolf retreat during full moon.

It was barricaded, and it didn't look like anyone had gone in in quite some time.

Draco sighed.

It seemed Paul and his brother weren't there like Draco had requested.

That meant Draco would have to see if he could cultivate some of the future security personnel further, since Paul wasn't an option.

Oh, and he would have to hunt down those two brothers...

Draco wasn't the type to forgive slights easily.

Now that they were at the Shrieking Shack, Draco wanted to go in too.

He had actually never seen it from the inside.

He had been a little too cowardly in his past youth and had never challenged himself or been challenged to go inside, so he never had a reason.

Much later, when he had finally learned to appreciate places like this instead of dreading them, the Shrieking Shack had already been blasted to bits.

Now he could finally satisfy his curiosity and take a good look...

And this was as good a place as any to finish his second sandwich and prepare for his upcoming part of the security personnel test.

Draco effortlessly gained access to the Shrieking Shack. (#magicrulez, like one would have said in the future; and maybe still will... or maybe not... Draco would have to find out for himself...)

In the end, it was just a magicly reinforced wooden shack with werewolf scratch and bite marks all over inside and a secret tunnel in the floor/basement.

These famous or even legendary places were never as spectacular as in one's fantasy.

But Draco still appreciated the nostalgia.

The dust everywhere in the shack was quickly taken care of.

Draco didn't even say anything, Kreacher just reflexively cleaned his lord's way.

Draco used some broken wooden furniture and transformed it into a small bench that he positioned close to the door so one would be able to look outside into the sky.

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Then he invited Kreacher to sit down with him and watch the sunset.

It had been a really long time since one of the two of them had actually enjoyed a sunset.

Kreacher had been cooped up in the Black Town House all the time.

And Draco hadn't been able to enjoy the sunset in the apocalypse either.

In the apocalypse, most survivors dreaded the sunset.

And since he was back in time, Draco had always kept busy and not taken the time.

But he had already worked a lot today, and he still had the security personnel test running, for which he would still be doing some work this evening, so he could afford to spare a moment to just watch the sunset and do nothing.

Sometimes it was good not to be productive all the time and take a moment for himself, it was definitely relaxing.

Not seven minutes into Draco's leisure time, his relaxation was already disturbed.

Because the wizard and the house elf were looking out the front door, their view was limited, and they couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but they heard someone approaching.

Draco was conditioned to always listen for danger (doubters would call it 'paranoia', Draco called it 'survival'), and Kreacher's big, flappy ears weren't just decoration; they were there so house elves could hear even the softest sighs of their masters.

The sound of footsteps turned into the sound of stumbling.

Then there was a thud of someone falling down.

Then someone giggled stupidly.

It was the voice of a man, even if he giggled like a bunch of Hufflepuff third-years who learned about the wands and the silken holsters for the first time...

The dopey giggling was cut short by another voice's curse.

"Shut up! And get the fuck up! Can't you pull yourself together a little?! Please?! You're destroying the only chance we have to get out of this bear trap you got us caught in! I hope it's not too late already."

Paul's rough voice was immediately recognized by Draco.

So, they came after all...

A weight fell off Paul's shoulder when he found that Draco hadn't left already.

But the Lord's greeting immediately put the weight back on.

"You are late."

Draco didn't rise from his little wooden bench as the two werewolves came in.

Paul looked the same as hours ago, only more haggard and with fresh stain on his worn robe.

His brother Frank, on the other hand, was almost not recognizable as the surly werewolf with the panda eyes and the cheap wizard robe Draco had met in the day.

Now Frank was styled, clad in relatively new-looking muggle clothes, and wore the widest, happiest, dopiest smile imaginable.

Like the smile of a sex-starved guy caught in a smokin' veela's allure, only with less drool and more cheer.

The only thing that didn't change about Frank was that his new outfit was also stained by now.

Frank started giggling again when he spotted Draco, "Oh, brother, look, there is the fresh little lord. Isn't he a handsome and posh little chap? Tehe... Don't tell me we are here to meet him, I thought you wanted to take me to dinner... I never would've thought you would give me up to save your own hairy ass one day, Paul. First, you lead me into the forest, and now you lead me into the arms of a vengeful, entitled young noble. Just because of a fucking magic mirror...?! Tehehehe..."

Whatever brew of the Cheering Potion Frank had managed to get his paws on, it had definitely been a strong one.

"By Lycaon, shut up!" Paul hissed. "I'm doing this to help us both!"

In response, Frank just giggled in disbelief.

"I'm here with my brother now, Lord. I apologize for my tardiness. It's my fault I didn't manage to come sooner. I'm really sorry. I should've done better... I'm really thankful that you are still here... And I hope you can still show my brother leniency. I will be eternally grateful." Paul said to Draco submissively.

"Alright. I'm a sensible gentlewizard. I will be lenient, and I won't kill your brother. But he still needs to be punished for what he did." Draco declared.

Frank giggled.

Paul gulped, "Please, Lord. It was my mistake. I didn't educate my brother well. It was also me you handed the magic mirror to, so it's my responsibility. If someone needs to be punished, it should be me."

"Yeah... He should be punished. Tehe. Not me. Leave me alone, okay? You will, won't you? Since I'm the more handsome brother, it would be the right thing to do. Tehehe." Frank giggled.

"Mmh... Maybe you are right, and I should punish you both." Draco acknowledged Paul's words and completely ignored Frank's.

"I think I know what would be appropriate. Frank's punishment for stealing from me should be losing his hand. But since I promised leniency, let's reduce it to a finger. And, Paul, since you so aptly put it that everything was your responsibility, your punishment is that you are also responsible for carrying out your brother's punishment."

With a silent wave of his wand, Draco conjured a handy axe.