Illicit Affair

In a shady part of Diagon Alley, a short wizard with bandy legs, and long scraggly ginger hair pats his dirty robes. Mundungus Fletcher's bloodshot baggy brown eyes peer around his clothing reeking of tobacco and alcohol. A look of relief flashed across his scruffy face finding a lone cigar in a corner. He eagerly takes the cigar out and lights it.

Mundungus blows out a cloud of smoke that quickly disperses in the chilly air. Sticking one of his hands in his poke to keep warm, he keeps puffing at his cigar despite the chill. His hand begins to stiffen from the cold which caused him to curse. "I should've bloody waited at the pub."

Time passes by and Mundungus's cigar is nearly at the tip of his fingers. His fingers sting uncomfortably at the heat of the cigar, but he refuses to release the cigar. He puffs desperately at it until he is finally forced to release the cigar and crush the ash tip under his grimy boot.

About to burst into a slew of curses at his companion's tardiness, Mundungus's head goes up at hearing approaching footsteps. A short, pudgy wizard wearing a fur coat and a bowler to cover his balding head rapidly approaches. "You're late!" Mundungus snapped. "What bloody took you so long, Gittins!"

"I had a bit of a run-in with a nosy fellow. I had to double track to lose 'em," grumbled, the chubby wizard with a bushy beard and a velvet bowler hat to hide his bald head.

"Fine," Mundungus impatiently said. "Do you have what I need?"

"Yes, and you?" Gittins snapped.

The two wizards eye each other with shady eyes. "On three then," they finally concluded.

The two of them take out their respective parcels and hold them out to each other. They eagerly snatch the parcel from the other pulling it carefully to their chest. Without turning their backs to each other, they check the contents of the package.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Gittins," Mundungus said stowing his package on his person.

"Same," Gittins tipped his hat at Mundungus before they each briskly separated in different directions.

Gittins scurries nimbly through the dark streets before arriving at a dark street before him. The muggle street lanterns had all been snuffed out. There were plenty of muggle hooligans and vagrants about these parts. They had put out the lights before.

Cautious, Gittins strains his ears unable to hear anything further down the street. With a hesitant step, he intentionally takes a step forward craning his ears for an echoing footstep. His heart almost sighs in relief until he hears an echoing crisp footstep.

Years of law-breaking experience kick in and Gittins hightails back the way he came. Alas, the other end of the street is blocked by two hooded figures with wands. Before Gittins can negotiate and inquire about their demands, he is stuck from behind. The last he sees is the dark hooded figures approaching him.

With a groan, Gittins dizzily opens his eyes to find he is hanging upside. He opens and closes his eyes trying to recover his bearings. It takes him a moment, but soon he realizes there are four dark hooded figures standing before him.

"If it's about that one time I stole from you, I vowed to pay off my debt. I swore never to do it again and I've kept my promise!" Gittins holds up his left hand in emphasis to reveal a pinky finger shaved off at mid-joint with the upper half clearly missing.

The four hooded figures seem to be confused by the statement until a tall hooded figure in the middle of the group removes the cowl of their hood. Gittins openly gawks at the dark-haired beauty in an appreciative fashion. "Why, hello beautiful. Have we met before, because I would never forget a beauty like you!"

Bellatrix Lestrange arrogantly stares down her nose at the pudgy, bald, bearded wizard. "Tell me, who is behind the attack on our men?"

"Lady, I have no idea, what the hell you're talking about. All I know is that Sanderson doesn't get up into those kinds of things and neither do I. Ya would have to be scatterbrained to break the rules!" Gittins grunted.

"I said, tell me the truth!" Bellatrix roared in fury with nostrils flaring.

"Look, lady, I can't tell ya, what I don't know about," Gittens grumbled. "Really, if you wanted to find something like that out, ya're barking up the wrong tree. I'm just a measly smuggler, I wouldn't know anything more than the next-door neighbor. If you want to find something like that, you have to pay a broker or go much higher up. And either way, I can't help ya, 'ere because I don't have the money for a broker nor 'em connected to higher-ups that would. So, your rightly out of the job so to speak."

Bellatrix and the other three Death Eaters gaze at each other with a healthy sense of skepticism.

"Now can ya let me down now? It's obvious ya got the wrong fellow. And don't worry, I won't say a word of this to anyone. I can see that the four of ya mean serious business and I aim to keep my neck. I've learned a thing or two about how to keep my mouth shut," Gittins bluntly pleaded attempting to gain more time to loosen the bondage around his wrists.

Bellatrix dangerously narrows her eyes, but a Death Eater at her side stills her murderous instincts. "The Smuggler may be right. Perhaps, we need to check other possible avenues."

"What he said!" Gittins vehemently agreed unable to loosen the bonds on his wrist.

"That's what they say, every time and we still have no results to show the Dark Lord!" Bellatrix snapped as she raised her wand to end the miserable lowlife.

"Wait! Wait! WAIT!" Gittins shrieked seeing the situation go out of control. "I might just know someone who would know!"

Bellatrix and the three Death Eaters eye each other for a moment before Bellatrix reluctantly lowers her wand. "Who?!" Bellatrix barked.

"I don't know his real name, but they call him, the Rain Man," Gittins said in a rush. "I can take you 'ere if ya like?"

Bellatrix and the three other Death Eaters nod as Bellatrix says, "Livicorpus." Gittins is immediately released and falls onto the dusty cold floor with a painful groan.

"No tricks," Bellatrix hissed with a cruel gleam in her eyes.

"No tricks," Gittins replied as he held his hands up in emphasis. Gittins hastily pats himself to find his wand gone, but even worse the package is also gone. He gulps and says, "You wouldn't have taken my package would ya?"

"You'll get it back once you take us to that Rain Man of yours," Bellatrix arrogantly lied. She would kill the miserable wretch as soon as she had the chance.

"Of course," Gittins said. "But firstly, does anyone have a smoke?"

"Of course not," Bellatrix sneered in disdain.

"Because I do," Gittins shouted pulling a dung bomb and throwing it at them.

A cloud of stinky dark smoke causes Bellatrix and the other three Death Eaters to wheeze and choke at the stench. Their eyes burn at the overpowering stink, while Gittins holds his breath and scrambles past them. Bursting out of a hidden doorway, Gittins keeps running for his life.

A burst of shouts and footsteps can be heard behind him, but Gittins nimbly keeps ahead knowing these streets like the back of his hand. With ease, he carefully gives them the slip. However, he doesn't stop to check certain he would be killed if caught.

Panting and enraged Bellatrix lets out a stream of curses. She blasts a metal lamp post or two, before returning to the warehouse to meet with the others. "Idiots!" Bellatrix raged destroying anything she sees including the treacherous wizard's wand.

None of the other Death Eaters dare to stop Bellatrix Lesgrange's rampage. Having sufficiently vented, she turns around and snaps, "All of you shall explain to the Dark Lord the reason for our failure tonight!"

"A moment, Bellatrix," a long-nosed Death Eater interjected.

"What?" Bellatrix snapped with a dangerous glint at being openly disobeyed.

"Although contemptible, the lowlife did not lie in its entirety," the long-nosed Death Eater argued. "I have heard in passing rumors that this Rain Man exists. Perchance tonight is not a lost cause."

Bellatrix's eyes flicker with a new light imagining the Dark Lord doting on her for fulfilling his request. Unable to fully hide her greed, Bellatrix agrees to seek out the Rain Man. The Death Eaters vanish with a faint pop leaving nothing but broken pieces of Gittins wand behind.