Unwelcome Visitor

Robert awoke shivering and naked laying in the dirt of the forbidden forest floor, well, he assumed he had remained in the forbidden forest but who knows where he had gone while in his other state. All he could hope for is that he was within walking distance back to his cabin, he was tired, his body sore and although he had slept a little he was sure he could sleep for another week. His little escapade sure had taken a toll on his mind and body, he needed rest.

Picking himself up off the forest floor, there was nothing he could do but walk and hope that there would be something that reminded him of where he was. He knew the forest fairly well and knew that if he kept walking he would see one of his own little markers that would point him in the right direction. That’s assuming he was still in the forbidden forest, if he had ended up racing across half the country and was now in the middle of Welsh forest.

Either way, the only thing he could do was walk, he obviously didn’t have his wand, or stolen wand at that, so transfiguring a stick into a pair of trousers was out of the question. So instead he could only walk as he was born, bare to the world.
He was unsurprisingly covered in dirt, his feet were sore and digging at the grime beneath his nails he was sure that it was not just mud, but blood that lay beneath. What had he done last night?

Using the sun he continued to limp east through the trees, his leg didn’t pain him as much as it had over the past week but it was sore and he was sure that the souls of his feet were shredded. But he grit his teeth and kept walking. He suddenly came to the realisation that he was unusual not hungry, Robert liked to start his morning with an early breakfast in the Great Hall, but his stomach was satisfied but he dread to think how he had been satisfied.

After an hour’s walk he soon spotted one of his markers, anyone else would have looked straight past it, but Robert knew what he was looking for they were like guiding candles in the dark. He was pleased to see that he hadn’t actually travelled that far in the night, he would be back at his hut soon enough. His duties for the day could be forgotten about, he would complain of a hangover, nothing new to the Headmaster, and spend the rest of the day in his cabin, sleeping.

It was still early and most of the students if not lazing still in bed would be in the Great Hall stuffing their faces with whatever the food the house elves had provided for them. So when Robert stepped out of the tree line he was not too pleased to see that there was someone stood at the door of his cabin, and as he drew closer his mood was not improved to see who it was that waited for him.

“Reeves,” he growled, “I’m rather surprised to see you showing your face around here. I thought you might have learnt, or do you need me to give you another lesson on how to keep your nose out of other peoples business.”

Jake had somehow ended up doing the grunt work, how it had happened he didn’t really know because as he was handed the report this morning as he stepped into the office he had not been awake at all and before he knew it he was in the atrium again on his way to Hogwarts.

It was still early when he had arrived and had yet to meet any of the Hogwarts staff, but there was only one member that he really needed to speak to, one member that would be any use to him and be able to give him any information.

He had knocked on the game keeper’s door, and it gave him memories of coming to visit Winston when he had been a student at Hogwarts. He was sad to have gone to the man’s funeral several years ago, not long after leaving Hogwarts himself. It was unfortunate that the man had to die doing something he loved, but he should have known as much as anyone that dragons were a dangerous creature.

Jake was curious to know who had replaced him and he was sure that no one would have done as good a job as Winston had done, he had knocked on the door to the games keeper’s hut and when there was no answer after several knocks he assumed that he had gone for breakfast in the great hall and so he would just have to sit and wait for his return.

What the Ministry worker did not want to see at such an early time of the morning, was the stark naked form of his enemy from school. Robert Campbell. Not that seeing him in his current state at any other time of the day would have made it any better.

“Campbell,” Jake rolled his eyes and averted his eyes, “I’m surprised you are still alive to be honest, I could ask you why on earth you are stumbling out of the forbidden forest? What are you even doing on the grounds of Hogwarts?”

Robert smirked and took several steps forward; he had fond memories or winding the man up that stood before when he was just a child. He had been the pain in the arse Gryffindor that needed kicking into shape and Robert had made it his personal vendetta to make sure he got what he deserved. Robert had purposefully made the kids life hell.

“Oh I’m doing a lot better than dead, thank you very much,” he laughed, “perfectly alive and kicking. Now if you wouldn’t mind moving out the way, I would rather not be caught out here by the headmaster or any other member of the staff. Don’t need them getting jealous now do we.”

He made his way over to his front door, but the bloody Gryffindor was as stubborn as he had always been and wouldn’t move.

“Don’t make me force you Reeves,” Robert growled, “Things haven’t changed, you are still the weed you used to be.”

“Move?” Jake was genuinely confused, there was no way this loser and drop out was the grounds keeper of Hogwarts, it just wasn’t possible, “Where do you think you are going? So arrogant now are we that we have resorted to day light robbery infront of a Ministry official nonetheless?”

Jake knew that there was no way that Campbell the school bully had managed to get any qualification to get a job at Hogwarts, he had no chance to get a job anywhere for that matter.

Jake had had to suffer through several years of constant ridicule and embarrassment from the former Slytherin and this was just a prize to behold. The man that stood before him looked broken and lost, although he still had the snarky arrogant attitude that had gotten him his bad reputation anyway. The tables had certainly been turned now and all for the better Jake believed.

Robert didn’t know whether to laugh or smash the stupid man’s head through a window. He recognised the dirty look that he flashed Robert, he had received it many times before and had come to ignore it. But to see it on the face that he had made a sport to torment, it just angered him more.

“Let me put this in simple terms for you dense mind to understand,” Robert pointed to his chest and then to the cabin. “Me Groundskeeper, my cabin.”

He then pushed the man out of the way picking up a key from the top ledge of the doorframe and let himself into his home, if that’s what you could call it. Glass still lay smashed all over the floor and table was rather wobbly from the numerous beatings it had entailed.

He glanced over his shoulder to see that the man still hadn’t left, what did he want and why had he been hanging around his cabin?

“What do you want Reeves?!” he yelled out to the man as he went about grabbing a pair of trousers and pulled them on and stood in the doorway.

Jake stood in a bit of shock as he was pushed out of the way, and the bare arsed man let himself into the cabin. It looked like there had been a brawl in there or something of the likes, he knew that Robert had a temper and had been on the end of it many times in his Hogwarts career, he thought there may have been a chance he grew up and out of it, but by that evidence of the glass strewn across the floor it seems that his hope was wasted on the pathetic man.

“Ministry business,” Jake waited for a jibe, it was as predictable as the sun rising on a morning, he had become used to it, especially from the man now stood at least only half naked before him, “I have some questions for the grounds keeper, and regrettably I see that is you.”

Jake felt slightly sorry for the students that had to deal with the poor excuse of a man; he had never been one to tolerate people, especially the younger years while he had been at Hogwarts. Merlin knew what he was like with the poor kids now.

Robert crossed his arms and leant against the door frame shooting the man a death glare. No wonder he had seemed so smug earlier, Ministry officials always thought that the sun shone out their own backsides and that every other person was beneath them.

“Fantastic,” sarcasm dripped from his lips, “and what department may I so humbly ask are you from? Stationery, have you lost your stapler?”

He rolled his eyes, he couldn’t care less what Reeves had to ask him, he answered to no one, even the Headmaster had a hard time getting Campbell to do what he wanted. He didn’t appreciate people butting their noses in where they weren’t wanted especially stuck up gits from the Ministry. That Oswald bloke drove him up the wall the most. He was always so pompous, looking down on everyone else as if he was a saint. He didn’t understand what was so great about him, he was a Mudblood, how did he deserve to run the country?

“I have things to be getting on with Reeves,” he growled, “Some of us actually have real jobs. Get on with whatever you have come to blabber to me about and then bugger off.”

Just as expected, the ever pleasant Campbell charm, Jake didn’t expect anything more if he was truly honest with himself, a leopard never changed his stripes, wait spots, oh he didn’t know the muggle saying, but he knew what he meant.

“Oh of course,” he smirked, “got some toilets to clean, or drains to unblock?”

Jake just gave the man a blank stare and looked down at his piece of paper, he knew exactly what he had come for but he felt the longer he could waste the arrogant gits time the better. He now wished that he had sent one of the pain in the arse interns to deal with this, why he had been sent he didn’t really know. He chuckled to himself as he thought about it, Robert would probably have eaten his interns if they had shown up.

“Ok,” Jake just had to suck it up and speak to the man, “Have you noticed anything strange about the forbidden forest? Any strange occurrences with the creatures that inhabit it?”

They had received reports from several members in Hogsmeade about something strange that occurred last night but Jake had a few questions of his own that he wanted to investigate too.

Robert did nothing to hide his frustration at being asked ridiculous questions by this stupid man. He rolled his eyes, yawned and scratched at his head. What business had the man coming in here on his territory and insisting on him answering questions? None, that’s what. Robert didn’t care what department of the ministry he was from he was getting little information out of the grounds keeper.

“Your family may not have the commodity,” he yawned, “but we at Hogwarts have House elves for that no need for us, that’s what the vermin are for.”

He thought the ugly foul creatures certainly deserved their place serving everyone else, he had found great amusement in torturing his family house elf when he was younger and had not seen the point in some peoples protests that they should be paid, or set free, they are born and bred for one reason and one reason only, to serve the wizarding world.

“Strange? How about a nosy stuck up prick is stood too close to it, and disrupting the natural balance?” Robert had no intention of telling him about any of the problems, he would sort them out himself, he didn’t need some dumb ministry official looking down his nose at him and telling him how he wasn’t doing his job properly, “Maybe the creatures are a bit hungry, how’s about we go visit the Acromantula, I’m sure they haven’t had a decent meal in a while. The menu. Gryffindor.”

Jake was started to get annoyed with the arrogant arse that stood before him, he had better things to do than waste time with him. He would get what information he could get now, and come back later with a team and run his own investigation of the forest himself.

“Campbell if you are not going to give me straight answers, then I will just have to come back with my own team and run a thorough investigation,” Jake knew that would hit a nerve, he knew Campbell liked to keep his business his own business and would hate to have other’s poking their noses in. “It’s your choice.”

Now onto the second, more interesting reason he had made this short visit. He knew that Hogwarts had already had problems with the thestrals disappearing, so he wouldn’t be surprised if other things in forest were quite right. But the reports from last night were more of a concern to him, especially with being so close to a school full of young witches and wizards.

“Just give me a straight answer ok? We had several reports last night from people saying they heard howling, like that of a wolf, and with it being a full moon...,” he trailed off not wanting to state the obvious but then remembering who he was dealing with thought that the obvious may have been necessary, “Basically, any signs of werewolves?”

Robert had got bored listening to whatever Reeves had to say and had grabbed an axe from his cabin and begun hacking away at the tree that insisted on tapping on his window all the time. He had been meaning to get rid of it for a while and now seemed a good a time as any. His wand had been in his pocket last night when he had...he shook his head, and took another whack at the tree, he didn’t need to think about that.

“What did you say?” Robert had not been paying attention but was brought out of it at the mention of wolves, werewolves to be exact, “Why would I have seen anything to do with werewolves?”

It was as if the man had been able to read his mind, it wasn’t impossible but he doubted the half wit Gryffindor had learned legilimency. He continued to chop at the base of the tree, he didn’t need anyone else knowing about his problem, he would have to figure a way to deal with it himself, but for now getting rid of Reeves was his main priority before he asked anymore questions.

Jake followed Reeves around the side of the house to where Campbell had began taking an axe to a tree. If he was honest he wouldn't have liked to be on the end of the swing of that weapon, because he was sure Campbell had more muscle than he did brains. Jake kept his distance, and repeated his question when Robert asked, how many times would he have to repeat himself, they had had reports of werewolves and seen as he was the groundskeeper and caretaker of the Forbidden Forest he was the most likely person of anyone to have seen anything.

"Yes, werewolves," he repeated condescendingly "you know, big hairy rather dangerous creatures, big teeth, only around at the full moon. I though if anyone was to know Campbell it would have been you."

Jake was starting to think he was a lost cause, the man obviously had no idea, either that or he was too stupid to notice anything that was going on beneath his nose. With the increase in sightings it was obvious that something or someone was causing this to happen, there must have been a rogue werewolf in the country that thought that it was a good idea to go biting people and not getting help for their condition.

Robert was so tempted to swing the axe and take the idiots head off, but he was sure that somehow he would be missed at the Ministry. Those kind of people were harder to get rid of without anyone noticing, it wasn’t impossible but just took work, work that Robert couldn’t be bothered to deal with right this minute. Instead he swung it hard at the tree, causing it to stick and he turned to face the arrogant official.

“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?” he strode forward and grabbed the man by the collar, he had had enough of the man digging his nose around where it didn’t belong and so Robert was going to have no more of it. He pushed him back against his hut and lifted him off the floor, ramming his forearm on the man’s throat and holding him dangling against the wall. “Are you telling me how to do my job? Are you implying that I have something to do with this?”

Robert was getting more and more wound up, he knew that the more that Reeves dug, the more he would find out. Robert barely knew what was going on with his body himself at the moment; he didn’t need anyone else in his business, now less than any other time.

“I suggest you go back to your office and not bother coming to harass me again,” he growled and threw the man to the floor before grabbing his axe menacingly, “I don’t want you or anyone else poking their nose around where it is not wanted. You got it?!”

Reeves struggled against Campbell’s grip as he was pinned against the cabin, it brought back unpleasant memories of his younger life at Hogwarts, something he did not wish to remember. The pressure on his throat made it difficult to breathe let alone speak so he could only glare and battle against the beast of a man.

Reeves knew then that the groundskeeper had gone mad, or was mad, probably had been born mad. He seemed so paranoid, and agitated, the latter most likely just due to Jake’s presence, but he never had Robert down for being the paranoid type.

He scrambled to his feet and brushed his robes down after Campbell had thrown him to the ground, although Jake had grown up a lot since his school days, he still was no match to Campbell physically. The man still stood taller and broader than him, but Reeves had learnt that it didn’t really matter, he had a greater brain power than Campbell ever would and that’s all he needed.

“Fine Campbell, have it your way, I will leave,” he rolled his eyes and tucked the notepad under his arm, “But I will warn you now, this will not be the last time I visit, and this is not over.”

He turned and left the caretaker without saying another word, he would be back for sure. It was his job to investigate this kind of thing and with the growing concern of the Minister, werewolf rumours had to be thoroughly investigated, especially in such close proximity to Hogwarts.