Here Too Often

God, what was Danny doing there.

He was sitting at the bar area again, a normal drinking glass in his right hand as he starred down onto the bar countertop. Yet something was different this time compared to the other times Danny had drowned his frustrations down with a drink. He was reading a map that was before him, red Xs formed on individual places around England. He mostly used this map for his work in the Order, yet it served another crucial purpose. He was using it to find his brother, seeing as how Ne'Os and him had failed to find any significant traces of his estranged sibling. He had to give Andrew credit, he was a good hider, he definitely covered his tracks to make sure no one found out where he was or even who he had been. All records of identification in his apartment had been destroyed, the apartment itself? Torched. Seemed to be a little extreme for what Danny believed to be his little brother, and yet at the same time, Danny couldn't be prouder of the little rouge. He obviously picked up a skill or two that he learned from his bro.

But for now, it was a major annoyance. He had a red marker in his free hand and he began to write small, almost archaic looking notes on the typical road map. He had searched every corner, every nook and crany of England, and yet he was nowhere to be found. He must've fled the country and moved else, America being the more realistic choice for Andrew. He loved it there, and he was always devastated at the fact that Hogwarts couldn't be in America. Perhaps he went there to just find some haven or something, but for now, he wasn't too sure. In fact, no one was sure, that was the most frustrating part about this investigation. It was leading nowhere and it would continue to lead nowhere unless he found some sort of break. Knowing how efficient his brother was though, it would be a difficult process. Yet he continued to try though.

Finally irritated with the idea process, he slammed the marker onto the bar and let out an exasperating groan and took a swig from his glass. This time, there was no burning at the throat, or rather any taste of alcohol flowing down his gullet. It was just a butterbeer, Danny having the need to restrain from drinking too much again. Tom, the bartender, walked back and noticed how irritated Danny had looked. "Hey Danny," he said in a friendly tone, his hands wiping off another mug "you alright kid?" Danny pushed himself up back to an upright sitting position and said "Yeah Tom, I'm just really irritated is all..." "Is it about Andrew?" "...yeah. It's going nowhere my friend, it's just dead end after dead end." "Well, I'm glad you're cutting back on the whiskey...that stuff didn't exactly give you a clear mind." "I know Tom, and you're right, I gotta keep my mind focused on this." "If you need anything kid, just let me know." "Will do man, will do." With that, Tom walked casually back to another customer down at the other end of the bar. Man, how Danny craved another firewhiskey right now to calm his thought.

Once again Whight found himself in the very place he worked hard to avoid; the bar. This was only a slight inconvenience when compared to the money he was earning and the power he was gaining. Whight knew there would be times he was put to the test but he would rather not be reminded of his past with the presents of alcohol; he washed the memories out of his mind. It was time to work and a painful past would be too distracting.

It was Whight's job to meet with an informant who had background information on a potential target. Judging from the letters between him and the informant, Whight was doubtful that the man, or woman, would even make an appearance. Regardless, Whight had to show no matter what. If Aaron had learned that Whight had not done everything in his power to gather the needed information, he would soon become disposable.

Recently Whight chose a new look for himself. A look that he began to wear more often than not. He was working to create a new persona and he knew he had to establish a single face and identity if he wanted to be trusted. So far it had gained him favor in the eyes of those he felt were crucial in his endeavor. If things ever fell through he would just start again with a new face.

Whight made his way toward the bar avoiding the gaze of the hooded man sitting at a table in the corner. He sat a distance away from the man who looked to be staring at a bit of parchment. Whight paid little attention to the man who seemed to be consumed in his own thoughts and pulled his journal from his pocket while he waited for his informant to arrive.

Moments later the other man at the bar made noises of frustration causing Whight to look up out of reflex. The man slammed whatever was in he hand to the counter and drank. Whight reverted his eyes to his journal but continued to listen as the man and bartender spoke. He learned the the man was an obvious regular and Whight figured he was probably a bit too regular for his own good. There was also talk about a man named Andrew. The man seemed to be in the worst of states by the sound of his voice.

After a moment Whight felt he could easy the man's day by buying him another drink. The bartender approached. "Evening," he said. "What can I get you today."

"Water will be fine," said Whight. "But that man at the other end of the bar, seems like life isn't being too easy on him. Here, " he said dropping a few silver pieces on the counter, "Give him a glass of whatever he wishes to have. That should cover it."

The bartender walked away and soon returned with the ordered glass of water then made his way back to the aggravated man. Whight looked toward the man to gauge his reaction to the free drink in hopes that the gesture would not be considered rude.

Perhaps he was hiding out in Wyoming? Danny had no reason to even assume he would travel to that state, yet he was almost desperate to have some sort of hint. He had been very good at tracking people, Christ, he had tracked the horcruxes of Voldemort to their locations when he was younger. But now? Now he was just missing an important detail, something he had missed in the past. Something that obviously held the aggravated man in a bind.

Before Danny had the chance to continue with his thought, Tom had walked back up to him and gestured for Danny to look up. Raising his head to the middle aged barkeep, Danny said "You needed something, Tom?"

Tom nudged his head to the other side of the bar and said in a casual tone "The man down there offered you a free drink." Tom grabbed the pitcher that contained the butterbeer brew and carefully poured the glass back up to the brim. With a nod, he set the pitcher back down where it had originally been placed and walked back to the next customer.

Danny sat there looking at the glass for a moment before turning his head to the man at the end of the bar. Seemed like an alright fellow, he must've overheard the conversation he had with Tom. He sighed out of embarrassment, knowing he was way too public about his search. He needed to keep things under the table in order to avoid any wandering ears and eyes. Then again, who would really care? All he was trying to do was look for his brother, he assumed no one would give two looks.

Knowing he would at least have to go thank the man, he downed most of the drink, feeling a little more relaxed as the tension just seemed to melt away, and pushed himself up from the bar, walking over towards the strange man. The thing about Danny was, he always had a good feeling about things. Whenever his gut told him 'don't do it' it usually proved to ring true. This time was no different, his gut told him to just walk away and never talk to that man, yet he ignored this this time.

Hopefully he would be wrong about his feeling.

Stepping near the man, Danny extended his right hand and put on a friendly smile. "Hello," he said "name's Danny. Thank you for the drink, I'm just having kind of a hard time right now. It helps to just drown myself in butterbeer sometimes."

Whight watched as the man made his way to his end of the bar. Unsure of what was about to take place next, he slipped his journal back within his coat and grabbed his glass. He was glad the man seemed to enjoy the drink and he guessed the man was coming his way to thank Whight out of obligated feelings.

Whight assumed the man had little self control. Anyone who felt poisoning themselves was a sort of solution to their problems was going no where. Than the man spoke. The name 'Danny' triggered no memory in Whight's mind and neither did the name 'Andrew.' Seeings how the informant had yet to show, Whight saw no harm in some light conversation while he waited.

"The name's Whight," he said. "And you're most welcome. Those who haven't had the brightest of days are fairly easy to spot, and i mean no offense," he finished with a smile. "But tell me. How does a man like yourself end up spending what looks like prolonged hours in a bar drinking his time away. Seems to me like you have some problems that need correcting or your best friend is the barkeeper."

By this time Whight figured the amount of alcohol consumed by the man would allow him to speak more freely than he normally would have. Whight knew that he would have to be blatantly rude to a drunk for them to become offended. At this point Whight had nothing better to do with his time and he was by no means about to start drinking.

Danny placed his right arm back towards his side, a little wary that the man had not shaken his hand. It wasn't a huge thing in his eyes, but it often did reveal a bit about the person he was talking to. He hoped once again his gut would be wrong, he did just have someone try to take his life here several days again. He didn't need another attempt to add to that long list. He took a seat next to the strange man and faced the bar, turning his head so he could listen to the other gentleman as he talked.

Wright, huh? Didn't ring a bell, but he would definitely keep that name stored in his head. Didn't seem to be the sort to be hanging around these types of places, he sounded too eloquent to spend most of his time here. He must've had another purpose to wander into a place like this. He chuckled lightly at the man's question, Danny starting to feel embarrassed once again. "It's...complicated," he said casually "I've just got a lot on my plate right now that I need to deal with, but trying to deal with it all at once is never a good thing." He then leaned his chin onto his hand to use as a support and continued "it's really just a personal matter, something I shouldn't bother you or anyone else with."

He was almost right though about Tom. He always had his back whenever he was down. He had known him for almost five years now, even giving Danny a job as a guitarist back in his sixth year. Fine fellow, even though the establishment itself was a little below par. But hey, everyone needed to make a living somehow, and Danny often didn't care that much about the details. "So Wright," Danny asked "what brings a fellow like you to a place like that? I'd imagine you'd be somewhere else than..." He heard a sharp yell come from behind him, followed by the sound of a table being broken "...this."

((OOC: Writer's error on the hand shake. Whight would have shook his hand. Got caught up with the dialogue I wanted to write. My bad.))

It was obvious that Danny was telling the truth. He certainly looked like a man with more than enough on his plate, but it could have just been the effects of the booze he was drinking. Whight didn't expect the man to tell him his life's story so quickly, but he hoped to get some of it out of him. Whight knew that it was always beneficial to gain a friend no matter the surrounding circumstances. For all he knew Danny could be the most influential ally he may ever meet.

Whight looked about while Danny spoke. The barkeeper was attending a new couple who had arrived to the bar and there were raised voices playing as background noise behind him. Whight let Danny finish uninterrupted. He thought for a slight moment about his next words. Something told him that in one way or another they may be able to help each other. It was worth a shot. Being his typical quiet self would not get Whight in the position Aaron expected him to be in anytime soon.

Whight looked to Danny and said, "Things are always a touch more complicated than we would prefer them. Its clear that you're no fool and obvious that a man in a suit normally doesn't spend his days in a bar." Whight paused for a moment to allowed the breaking of furniture and yelling to settle. "I'll make a deal with you. You tell me why your here and a little bit about what is on this plate of yours and I'll tell you why I'm here. But to be fair i must warn you that the reason I may be here may be for less invasive to my life than why you may be here. But I may be able to help you. I'm a man of many things and by the sound of it you could use a leg up right about now."

Whight looked down to his glass of water waiting for a response from Danny.

(Oh, no worries, you can disregard that part about the handshake then.)

Danny let out an audible sigh, one of consideration. Wright made a tempting deal, Danny was too curious about the strange man in a suit, yet he wasn't sure if the information he would tell him would be beneficial to him or not. It was worth taking chances though, and right now, he had no lead and was caught in an alleyway with his pants down. He felt embarrassed by the situation, thwarted by his little brother. "Alright, I'll tell you," he said calmly, his hand reaching down into his jacket pocket.

He pulled out the folded up map he had been looking at no less than five minutes ago and set it onto the counter, sliding it over to Wright's view. Inside the folded up map were several sticky notes with possible ideas listed on them via bullet point, and a picture of his brother from a surveillance camera in Hereford. Andrew had a striking resemblance to his brother, the only differences being the tone of their hair, more lighter facial features, and Andrew being of a shorter stature than Danny. The date listed at the bottom was February 8th, 2024. "My brother," he said, not looking towards the sight of the map or Wright, only keeping his eyes concentrated on the counter "his name's Andrew.

He's my little brother. He left England a while ago, some time after he graduated in early '23 or '24. He had a small apartment up near London, but for some reason, he disappeared right off the face of the Earth. I had gone there with an old friend to look for clues, but all I found on the interior was just smoldering ash. He had done a good job at covering his tracks, the little bastard. I don't know why he left, but I think he cracked from the pressure...I had been listed dead for over two years and he must've snapped after he left Hogwarts. Couldn't take the mental stress I suppose. Anyway, I did a lot of research, my entire investigation in the notes that you hold in your hands, I've spent about two or three weeks trying to track him down. I lost my trail though after I learned he had fled to America...our homeland. Now, I'm stuck with nothing to go on, the mere precision of his methods extremely impressive to me. He learned a thing or two from me, that was for sure."

After his little story, he sat upright again. He didn't like to think that his brother might've possibly been killed somewhere, the killers stashing his body in a secure place. It brought chills to his spine, and he didn't like to think that way. Not now at least. "So that's mainly the reason why I'm spending most of my time drinking butterbeer. I gotta say, it's a good substitute for alcohol." He turned his head towards Wright and said "Well what's your story then friend? I take it you know your way around a dark alleyway."

Whight listened to Danny speak about his brother. It was evident that the man wanted more than anything to find his kin. Whight had to admit though he could not relate to the situation. He had no other siblings and never would considering his parents were dead. He always made it a point never to become to attached to anyone anyway. In this world you never knew when someone you loved would turn up dead. The only person he could even consider to love would be the professor. If it had not been for the professor's care Whight would have simply been lost in the system of parent-less children.

Whight listened intently to what Danny was telling him. He saw the irony in the situation after Danny finished. He stared the map and notes. They were not pieced together by Whight's standards, but everything seemed to be there. He waited for a extended period as to make it seem as if he were possessing everything Danny had told him, but he wasn't. He knew exactly what he was going to say be for Danny stopped speaking.

Whight finally laughed to himself softly as he thought back to Danny's final question. Wight turned to Danny and said with a smile, "It seems that fate has brought us together, if you believe in such a thing. As to why I'm in a bar is simple, public places make business more comfortable. It is my job to gather information, amongst other things. Today I was suppose to meet with an informant for background information. What am I gathering the information for or why is it important you may wonder, but i do not have that answer because it is not my job to ask questions."

Whight waved off the bartender as he passed Whight an assisting look; his glass was still full, not a drop gone. He continued, "Considering my informant is more than late and his assistance was more than likely only going to confirm my prior assumptions, I would like to offer you my services. But I'll need to know more of the story. In particular I'm interested as to why you were listed as dead for two years and why it is your brother would destroy any chance of anyone finding him. I have learned over the years that when someone does not wish to be found it can be done. You may know something about that having been 'dead' for two years. But on the contrary if you're on a dedicated search your target will slip up and leave a trace eventually."

Whight did not expect than man to except the help of a stranger but he was true to his word nonetheless. He would help the man the best he could. The work he was doing for Aaron was a slow process anyway. Whight knew that rushing his work would only slow him further in this situation.

So it seemed the man in the suit was strange indeed. From the way he described himself, he sounded as if he were from some secret spy operation...except with wizards and wands. He wouldn't be surprised if Wright had pulled out an I.D. card from MI6 and it said 'James Bond - 007' or something like that. Although, Danny had to admit, he did seem to be one of the people you could trust for a while before moving along. Maybe he would be a useful ally and resource for this search of his. He nodded his head again, something he usually did out of habit, and said "I guess I won't ask as to who your superior is. I figure that would be bad for business if you told everybody. Yet I have to ask, are you sure you're not some kind of spy or something? I think you'd fit that part well."

He sighed quietly, the tinge of regret panning along it's surface. "I was dead for two years because some Aurors had tried killing me while I was living in America. They went rouge, a squad of them wanting me dead since I had killed a few of theirs in a prison break in Azkaban. I evidently freed the Hogwarts Headmaster and another dangerous criminal, who just happened to be my friend. When the Aurors had come to kill me, I hadn't been prepared, so in a last ditch effort, I drank a potion I had learned about in my traveling days that would render me in a death like slumber. I woke up 72 hours later and my house had been destroyed." He positioned himself in a slouching position again "from there, I went by my life under a new name and a new location. Came back a couple weeks ago and the rest is what you know."

He wasn't ashamed of his life by any means, but it didn't make it easier to reveal something like that to a complete stranger. Yet Wright seemed trustworthy enough, possibly given his mysterious background, so Danny knew he could trust him for a little while. That was the thing about hired help though, they usually turned on you if they got a better offer. "I was hoping he'd slip up soon," he said calmly "but from what I've learned, his head might not be in all the right places. His friend told me he had suffered from a couple of injuries and many other frightening sights, such as his friend dying. He might just be paranoid enough to keep his guard up by any means necessary.

But seeing as how you are helping me out with this, I guess I'll owe you one. A Thompson always repays the favor." Perhaps him and Wright would end up being good friends and become partners in crime. Definitely was an interesting thought, and it seemed to be a more livid job than his ironic position as an Auror. Although, he'd probably have to sleep with a gun under his pillow again...oh wait. That was kinda fun too. He wondered if there was an application process.

Whight smiled with a slight laugh at Danny's question. Something he had to admit no one had asked him before, but then again he rarely spoke of his work and a spy definitely would have been a much cleaner job if it were his actual profession.

"No, I'm not a spy," he said. "Living under false names and a life of constantly looking over my shoulder is not what I wish for myself," he lied. He actually loved those things, it was what Whight thrived on and prided himself at being best at; but there were only three people who knew about that and as far as Whight was concerned that was already too many. "I can't say that I know whether or not i fit the part," he laughed again. "How many spied have you seen?"

Whight listened then to Danny tell more about his story. He had to hand it to the man, breaking out of Azkaban, freeing others, and escaping Aurors were no easy tasks. Whight wondered what else he was capable of. "Now that you're 'back' so to speak, how is it you have avoided being arrested again? I imagine you're staying very low key, but word about a dead man living spreads pretty quickly I would guess."

Whight thought about the man's offer to 'owe him one' and decided he could possibly use that later if Danny proved to be worth anything. It took a great deal to impress Whight and Danny was already on the right track. "I'll accept you favor as payment for my help. Often times favors are worth more in the end anyway. Tell me what you need next and consider it done," Whight said putting out a hand to confirm their agreement.