Harry Potter: The Invincible Stag
Chapter 139: The Hideout

Disclaimer:

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I make.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 139: The Hideout

Upper Appleby is an old, magical settlement with a small community near the west coast of Scotland. It is a tranquil place all year round, and people living here tend to keep to themselves.

At the end of a long street was a very old wooden cabin. The walls were filled with small holes, and the roof tiles were starting to fall due to the poor maintenance the house received after the previous owner died.

It was the middle of the night when two individuals appeared in the front garden of the house, carrying a third person who was unconscious.

"Hurry, let's bring it inside," the first one said. His name was Jim Becken, and this was his late grandmother's house.

No one had reclaimed it since she died, so he and his good friend Thomas had decided to use it as their hideout when they decided to get into the Hit Wizard business, not even a month ago.

After bringing the unconscious body of James inside the house, Jim hurried upstairs, where his owl was waiting, so he could send a message to the client.

Meanwhile, Thomas left James resting on the living room floor and went to one of the cabinets. He pulled out their last bottle of firewhiskey and poured himself a drink to calm his nerves.

"Shite…" His hands were trembling while he gave James a glance.

This was their first successful capture, and they were both extremely tense right now.

If everything went right, they wouldn't have to worry about money for a long time.

Ten thousand Galleons was an incredible fortune for them. Neither of them had ever seen so much money in the same place before.

Thomas grasped his glass and looked at the stairs from where his partner was coming down.

"What are you thinking? This is not the time to get drunk," Jim frowned when he saw what his friend was doing.

"You should be keeping an eye on our prisoner."

"I am doing that too!" Thomas exclaimed as he showed that his wand was still next to him. "And there is no way that boy will wake up anytime soon. That stunner is going to last for an hour at minimum, and he is also restrained."

"Haven't you heard the rumors about this boy? They say that he killed the three previous Hit Wizards who went for him… not to mention, he also beat up a gang of thieves in Knockturn Alley…"

"Pff… people like to exaggerate." Thomas rolled his eyes and took another sip of firewhiskey. He was already feeling his nerves go away as the sweet alcohol went down his throat. "More importantly, have you contacted the client?"

Jim nodded. "I just sent him an owl, telling him that we have the boy alive and where to find him. He should be here soon, with our money. We just need to keep this boy for a bit longer, and then…"

"We'll be rich!" Thomas chuckled.

Jim stared at James for a bit. "I really thought this was going to be much harder… I mean, they were offering such a high reward."

"Bah! You know how rich families are. Ten thousand Galleons is probably not a big deal for them."

"Maybe, but… don't you wonder what could a schoolboy have done to offend them so much?" Jim asked.

Thomas shrugged. "I honestly don't care. Besides…" He pointed at James. "This is also a rich boy. You know… the Potters may not be that high up in society, but they are still an ancient house. I bet they have a vault filled with gold in the bank."

"So it could be a dispute between ancient houses…" Jim concluded.

"I only care about my coins. Whatever these old wizard families do and their politics… it is not my business," Thomas responded.

The two friends continued to chat for thirty more minutes while taking the occasional sip of whiskey.

None of them noticed the robes of James moving slightly as Nyxaris made her way out and hovered above them, placing herself in a point of advantage.

"You know… lately I have been hearing some strange things…" Jim suddenly said. He felt much more relaxed now and was comfortably sitting on the couch.

"What things?" his friend asked.

"The other day I heard some guys in a bar mentioning something about a new Dark Lord making an appearance in Britain."

"Oh that… yeah, I heard that too. Some old blokes mentioned that a powerful dark wizard was recruiting and that he was giving a generous pay to those who joined. That sounded very iffy…" Thomas said.

"Aren't you curious? I mean, maybe… w—"

"Oh come on, Jim. You wanna give up being Hit Wizards already? Look how well we are doing."

"I think we just got lucky… next time it may not go so smooth," Jim said. "I'm just thinking about the future. What if this Dark Lord is as good as they say a—"

"Enough!" Thomas interrupted his friend. "I don't wanna hear that shite. I don't wanna work for some wannabe dark wizard who thinks himself a big shot."

"You don't even know this Dark Lord. They said that he goes by the name of Lord Voldemort. You think he's an actual Lord?" Jim asked.

Thomas made an expression of annoyance. "I don't give a sh—"

A sound came from outside. This made both of them jump in alarm. This part of the town was always quiet, so any sound would have them on full alert.

"Must be the client," Jim said.

"Better be," Thomas added. What they were doing wasn't exactly legal.

Proper Hit Wizards are only meant to take bounties from the Ministry of Magic, not from private clients like they did.

But as always, there is a black market for everything, and this is where they had decided to do business, so they had to be very careful.

Jim approached the window with caution. There was little light inside the house, so he could see very clearly outside.

A large man wearing a black cloak had come down on a flying broom.

"Is it the client?" Thomas asked, wand in hand.

"I think so… can't see the face. But it's definitely not an Auror," Jim responded.

The man turned towards the house, and Jim noted that he was hiding his face with a creepy white mask.

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