Through the eyes of a cat...(Open to any)

[Lucio Marcus Valtori]

The Leaky Cauldron... A small, noisy, over packed bar that was never short of clients and seemed to have a never-ending supply of food and drink. All manner of creatures gathered here now, where as before you wouldn’t catch a Goblin or a Vampire dead in this place..Well maybe a Vampire you would, but that’s beside the point. Before the end of the war this place had families staying here while they shopped for school supplies. The young and the old would be grouped together, chatting away about some new bit of gossip they heard, or perhaps an Auror or two would have a few drinks to clear their heads before or after work. Now this place reeked of dark magic and filthy blood, lost souls who had come to redeem themselves at the bottom of a glass and tired warriors who had given up on fighting the long lost war.

Or at least that is how it looked through the eyes of a certain cat....

Lucio Valtori had come here not to drown away his problems, but to make some money while enjoying the suffering of others from afar. Here is where people looking for a solution to their problems would come to buy the services of shady individuals for a hefty price. Lucio was one of those shady individuals and his price was very high, but if you wanted it done right, quick and without any questions asked as to why it must be so, then his price seemed fair enough. Normally Lucio would sit in the back of the pub, near the entrance to Knockturn Alley because most of the people who wanted to hire him didn’t want anyone to overhear the deal being made. But today was different. Today Lucio wanted to catch one of the bigger fish, the ones who were not afraid of making a deal with an assassin in public and didn’t care who heard them do it. Those people always paid well, and he needed the money at the moment.

The ancient oak tree Lucio had been living in for the past three years, was starting to become an eyesore in the minds of the witches and wizards who resided in Godric’s Hollow. That could mean only one thing; the tree was coming down and he would need to find a new place to live. Tired of living out in the wild like some dirty animal, Lucio wanted a bed he could call his own, even if that bed was inside a one room shack, at least it was his shack and no one could oust him from it like they could if he was camping on public land. Ah the life of a cursed creature of darkness, one can never really be accepted by any, not even those who share a similar fate.

Lucio stood silently near the edge of the bar counter, just a few feet away from the main door of the pub. His bright blue eyes scanned the room for someone who looked like they needed a job done that required his skills. But no luck so far in his slow search for some gold to pocket. He was dressed in his usual black, shin length leather coat and dragon hide boots and pants. It gave him the look of a very distinguished wizard who was ear deep in the wrong arts; a rather intimidating figure to look upon to say the least.

“Nice lot in here today eh Tom? Not as rough as the last group....Had to break a few heads open just to get a drink..” Lucio said casually to the bartender, who in turn just nodded a little in reply. This action made the pale Feles Diabolus smile, showing off the pearly white fangs that had always attracted the attention of those around him. Many had mistaken him for a vampire, but never a werewolf, for he lacked the fur that seemed to gather on the face of said being even when the moon was not full.

Never had Lucio, in all his years of coming here, spotted another of his kind in this pub, nor any others in the area. As a matter of fact, aside from seeing his brother and mother occasionally, Lucio hadn’t seen another Feles Diabolus in his travels for quite some time. This bothered him greatly, because it could mean one of only a few things; either his people were getting smarter and were hiding better, or they were so small in numbers that they could very nearly be extinct so a chance of crossing paths was remote. Again he ran his eyes over the ever changing crowd, spotting quite a few Death Eaters and even a Vampire, but no one appeared to have their money in hand for anything more than a drink. At this point in his career, Lucio would accept a contract from anybody, on either side. Just last week he had killed a barkeep that was working for the Order of The Phoenix. He had been the eyes and ears of said order for many a year. Now he was dead and of course having been in that side of town where this kind of thing is not very common, had made the front page of the Daily Prophet.

Lucio smirked when he remembered the looks on the faces of the ambient people in the picture; each one worried sick about the case for their own, unknown reasons. Tom the barkeeper noticed the evil smirk that had suddenly graced the once plain features of his least favorite client and waved him off before he could cause any problems that would require the assistance of barkeep’s wand. Lucio held up the glass of Firewhiskey in a small toast to the man’s health, before downing it in one take and placing the glass down on the counter with a loud clank. Next challenge was to find a seat. There appeared to be an entire table free, complete with six chairs, sitting near the staircase to the Inn’s rooms. With a soft grunt of approval, Lucio left the bar counter to Tom and made his way over to one of the rickety chairs that surrounded the battered table.

He took a seat and leaned the chair back so that it was balanced on the two back legs. He then crossed one leg over the other and steepled his fingers in front of him to hide the lower half of his face, which now had a very menacing smile plastered on it. Now he would wait....

[aimstar01]

She could hear the hustle and bustle of the Leaky Cauldron a mile off, she just hoped she couldn't smell it as soon. These days the Leaky Cauldron was the local hangout for anything or anyone with any relation to dark magic. Sage remembered a time when it had teeming with excited students admiring their purchases over a spot of lunch, those days were long gone. Now many would probably be wondering why an Auror would be going to the Leaky Cauldron. Sage was also asking herself this question. But the Order needed information, thus she had to get it for them. Sage loved her job, but having to go to the likes of places like the Leaky Cauldron were the down side to it. But everyone knew she could handle herself.

She pulled the hood of her cloak firmly over her head as she entered the disgusting pub. No-one would recognise her, she was sure of that. But still, she didn't want anyone staring at her for long periods of time. It was better to go unnoticed in her opinion. She stalked through the bar, garbed in a black cloak the shielded her face from prying eyes and dragon hide boots. She pushed her way through the crowd, not making eye contact with anybody. If anyone or anything found out an Order Member, let alone an Auror, was in the Leaky Cauldron, she would be duelling twenty people before you could say Harry Potter.

She spotted Tom the barkeeper and smirked at a familiar face. He had owned the Leaky Cauldron for as long as she could remember. But he also had never been on a side, thus she had never quite been sure of where his allegiances lied. She took a seat on one of the flithy bar stools and clicked her fingers to be served. When Tom spotted her he grinned. She nodded back, she knew he would get her what she always ordered. A Firewhisky. With a drink in hand, she turned her attention on the pub's many questionable patrons. There was one in particular she wanted.

Only a few days ago, another murder had been reported and splashed all over the front pages of the Daily Prophet. Murder was common these days, almost everyday numerous people were either reported dead or missing. The Auror's were overloaded with unsolved cases and they never seemed to stop coming. She longed for the old days where a murder was rare, now it was a daily commodity. But this murder had been rather personal. One of the Orders prime informants had been killed. Sage had always dealt with him in person, thus the loss had hit her hard. She swore she would avenge his death. She had spent days without sleeping trying to decifer who could've been linked to his death. She hadn't gotten very far, thus she had resorted to the likes of the Leaky Cauldron. In other words she was desperate.

She scanned the crowds, looking for the familiar face of her contact. She couldn't see him. "Dammit!" she muttured to herself. The bastard had stood her up, or he was dead. She hoped for the first, as the information he gave her was generally quite reliable and useful. She focused her gaze on a man sitting by the staircase by himself. He seemed the most approachable at the present moment as a brawl had just started on the other side of the bar. She had to ask someone if they knew where her contact was, she doubted this man knew but it was worth a try. She stalked towards him, her movements controlled and lithe. She stood at the end of his table and appraised him, she had seen worse.

Without uttering a word she went a sat down on the seat opposite his. She man sure her cloak shielded her face as much as possible, she didn't want this man to even get a glimpse of her face, but that was unavoidable. She took a swig of Firewhisky before asking her question. "Do you know Phineus Gutterborg," she stated simply and cooly, her eyes boring into that of the strange man before her.

[Lucio Marcus Valtori]

As the woman, who Lucio had been watching since she came in, took a seat opposite him, the Werecat thought quietly of what she could possibly want. He raised his eye brows and lowered his hands from his mouth in response to the young woman’s question; amusement was now quite evident on his face. “No, I’m afraid I’ve not heard of anyone by that name...Why do you ask?” Lucio was secretly hoping that she was trying to hire him, that the person she was inquiring about was the mark and she merely wanted to know if he had heard of him or not. His posture remained the same as it had before she arrived, minus the hands near his face, which were now picking imaginary fuzz and dust from his sleeves. His cold blue eyes trained themselves to the witch before him. Although her face was hidden, he could smell that she was young and feel that she was fairly powerful. The thing he could not pick up from her was who she worked for, which of course would have to be learned the hard way. Lucio smiled gently, showing his slightly pointed teeth. Night was fast approaching with only five hours till dark, by which time Lucio hoped to be far away from people. “You have a contract for me? Or just come here to make conversation?” he asked, his voice soft and smooth. It conveyed that he was at complete ease with his surroundings and had no fear of those within. His attitude would suggest that he knew he was currently the meanest and most dangerous thing there, with the exception of the two Vampires in the far right hand corner near the entrance to Knockturn alley.


The soft ticking from Lucio’s left pocket brought his attention to the fact that he had been there for quite some time, meaning that if this woman was not going to give him a contract, he had two other places he needed to stop by before night fall. Slowly, so that the woman across from him wouldn’t get the wrong impression, he pulled out his wand and toyed with it for a moment, before getting brave. “I have much to do young lady and so little time to do it with night approaching.”he grinned now, so that his teeth were the center of attention as he spoke. The one thing Lucio really loved about his species were their abilities, should he ever get in any trouble, it was always easy to shred your enemy into bite sized pieces for dinner. Unlike the Werewolf, Lucio’s kind could deal more damage and infect others through their bite even if nightfall was hours away. Though Lucio had never turned anyone before, he was still quite certain that he could pull it off without killing the person who he was intending to change. Lucio held his wand up to his face for a second to enjoy the colors that the dark wood reflected back at him as he turned it; such beauty these tools possessed, yet it was but only a mask for the evil that could be created with them.

His eyes darted up to the woman and her drink, which was starting to make him want to buy another. He bit his lower lip in frustration, hoping that he could hold back the urge to snatch the drink from her hands; he had been here too long, he was starting to lose control over his desires, which at the moment, was a Firewhiskey.


“You know, my services are worth a lot, and can be paid for in many ways. Money being the preferred way of course. But food, shelter and...” he looked back at her Firewhiskey again. “Drink, are also accepted types of currency”.

[aimstar01]

The man before her had obviously never heard of Phineaus Gutterborg, which made her feel like punching something. To prevent herself from doing anything rash, and possibly making the man sitting across from her think she was any more of a loon, Sage crossed her hands securely in her lap. She bit her lip in frustration, how the hell was she going to get any information now? It had taken her years to build Phineaus’ trust so that he would get and give her information. She didn’t have the patience, nor the time, to do it all over again. ”Just pretend I never asked,” she said through clenched teeth. She had basically come to the Leaky Cauldron for nothing. She was going to kill Phineaus if he was in fact alive. Her gaze flitted back to the man before her, he didn’t reek like some of the scum that came in here, but for some reason she knew he shouldn’t be underestimated. She hoped he didn’t underestimate her either. Although she was young, she had been through hell. She had had to gain skills many didn’t perfect for years. Though she would rather not relive the experiences through which she had gained them, she was glad she possessed them.

He smiled at her, revealing slightly pointed teeth. That was when she realized all was not as it seemed. She re-appraised the man before her, she only now began too notice that he obviously wasn’t all human. He wasn’t a werewolf, as it was a full moon tonight and he hadn’t transformed. It made her question who and what he was. When he mentioned a contract, her ears perked up. She finally understood what he was. He had misinterpreted her entirely, she didn’t want Phineaus killed, she wanted him found. At that thought she swore loudly. ”I’m afraid you’ve misinterpreted me,” she began, wondering how the hell she was going to get out of this mess. ”I don’t want Phineaus ‘dealt with’, that I can do myself. I want him found,” she said quietly. She glanced around behind her, hoping no-one could hear them. She finally decided to take off her hood, it would probably work to her advantage. She pulled it off slowly, revealing her long tressles of blonde hair, distinct features and stormy grey eyes.

Sage knew she was attractive, but only used it to her advantage when needed to. In truth, she didn’t like the attention she received and liked to stay as inconspicuous as possible. This proved rather difficult because of the line of work she was in. She was constantly hit on when she was ‘on the job’ which had caused many unnecessary problems. Thus she had resorted to wearing a hood. People generally underestimated her because of her appearance as well, most assuming she was some poor damsel in distress. How wrong they were! Sage was far from any sort of damsel, therefore she liked to play this card once in a while. It was far easier to win a duel if your opponent underestimated you to begin with. The joys of toying with a man’s mind! But in truth, she hated men. She knew most of them wanted one thing, which she wasn't about to give them. She didn't trust any man, except for her twin brother. This was her greatest weakness, though she would never admit it.

He began toying with his wand, at this movement she narrowed her eyebrows dangerously. If he hadn’t met to threaten or mock her, he was doing a darn good job of it. At the mention of her being a ‘young lady, her temper flared. Her eyes trailed to his teeth as he grinned at her. She knew it would do no use to start an argument, it would only end with a duel and lots of pain. She seriously needed to get a handle on her temper. One of her greater flaws was that her temper was very easily ignited, which she hated. She had learned to control it better over the years, but sometimes it still got the better of her.

She noticed his gaze flicker to the glass in her hand. She smirked and took a long draught, hoping to piss him off just a tad. Sage knew the man before her was powerful, he wouldn’t be in the line of work he was in if he wasn’t. Thus she figured he may prove useful, if he would adhere to her conditions. At his pause when stating how his services could be paid for, her gaze grew heated. She didn’t know what he was implying but she hoped he didn’t say anything else on the issue. ”I understand the cost of your services,” she growled. ”But its not those particular services I want,” she started. She placed her hands on the table and crossed her legs. ”Let me be frank with you. I do not want anyone killed or ‘dealt with’ yet. But I need the whereabouts of two individuals to become known to me. Do you think you can handle that? I will pay you what you ask,” she said, raising her eyebrows as if challenging him. She hoped he accepted. Then she would know the whereabouts of Phineaus Gutterborg........and her father.