The Virtue of Decision

The meadow came alive under the watchful eye of the moon. Unkempt grass reaching with brittle fingers towards the sky, their sun-scorched backs reveling in the cool light; swaying gently in the lazy summer breeze. Crickets led a symphony of nighttime melodies, their sorrowful music floating across the air, mixing with the quiet rustling of the trees.

The great hulking form of a loan wolf padded nimbly through the tall grass, pausing every few feet to take in the night. He turned his amber eyes towards the glaring face of the moon, tilting his head back and howling deep in his throat. He straightened his head suddenly, tufted ears perking up, his black-tipped snout sniffing wildly at the scents carried on the slight breeze.

A small group of five men lurked surreptitiously amongst the dense trees that bordered the far edges of the meadow. Their robes were of the darkest black, fitted close to the body and fastened at the neck by glittering silver clasps. Seemingly out of place were the sleek black pistols they each carried, holstered snugly around their wastes.

They moved as one, darting from behind one tree to the next, never lingering out in the open for more than a few brief seconds; communicating silently through a series of sharp hand signals.

The wolf narrowed his eyes menacingly at the darting shapes with in the trees, baring his teeth and growling threateningly. Leaning back on his powerful haunches he pushed off into a run, straight towards the trees, his jaws snapping wildly at the thought of a kill.

"Now!" The shout burst from the trees as the wolf drew ever closer. A shot like thunder ripped through the nighttime air, followed by the pitiful whimper of the wolf; who staggered on his wounded leg.

"Net him!" The voice hollered, as the remaining four men dashed from the cover of the trees, tossing a net of silver chain mail over the aggravated wolf.

"Nice shot Higgs," the voice said approvingly, no longer yelling out instructions.

"Was almost too easy," he replied, smirking down at the struggling wolf. "Too bad this wasn't a kill mission," his beady little blank eyes glittered at the thought. "I would 'a had the perfect shot," he aimed his pistol at the place between the wolf's eyes. "Bang," he snickered quietly, slinging his pistol back into its holster.

"We were told to seek and capture, and that's what we did," the older man said calmly, squatting down beside the werewolf. "We follow orders here Higgs...even if we don't agree with them." He straightened up, surveying his small troop like a general; shoulders back, chest puffed out.

Benedict Bulstrode was an intimidating man. He shot up well past six feet tall; with broad shoulders and arms so thick with muscle they resembled small barrels. His legs were massive as well, looking like two sturdy tree trunks supporting an old oak. His hair was grayed by age, and worn in a crew cut. A neat gray beard covered his stern face, brushing the bottom of his squashed looking nose. His eyes were of a deep brown, and bulged slightly under his sloping forehead.

"Should have put the monster out of its misery, huh boss?" Higgs asked, unable to keep the smirk from his face.

"It's not our place to decide Higgs," he replied calmly, glaring down at the struggling wolf.

Higgs jutted his thin bottom lip out in an odd version of a pout, and folded his wiry arms across his chest. If Benedict Bulstrode was an oak tree, then Claudius Higgs was a sapling. He stood at about 5 feet 10 inches, with arms and legs that seemed too long for the rest of his body. He had a long thin face with a narrow nose to match and beady little black eyes, which sat under bushy brown eyebrows. He had started to lose his hair at the age of seventeen, and now at the age of 31 shaves what little remaining hair he has.

"Oh stop it Higgs, you look like a child," the man to his left muttered, casually putting his small silver glasses back onto his face.

"Why don't you make me old man," Higgs hissed in reply, crossing the small distance between them.

"Don't tempt me boy," he replied, raising his nose into the air. "And get away from me, you stink to high heaven," he stepped away amongst the quiet snickers from the other men, and under the heated glare of Higgs.

Oswald Gonzalo was the oldest of the small group of men, and was the indisputable "brains" of the operation. His hair was a short silvery gray, and neatly combed. His eyes were a piercing shade of blue, framing his nose, which lay evenly with the rest of his chiseled features. Always the gentleman, Oswald's good looks and demeanor made those of the opposite sex swoon in his presence, no matter their age.

"He seems to be settling sir," Toby Siward, pointed out to Benedict, ignoring the small tuft between the other men.

He squatted down beside the wolf, peering through the tight-knit silver of the net with intense gray eyes. He carefully rested a dragon hide covered hand on the wolf's shoulder, not even flinching at the growl it produced.

"I think it's safe to move him," he insisted, straightening back up to his full height. "What do you think sir?" Toby asked, turning his gaze towards Benedict, gray eyes never completely leaving the prone form of the wolf.

Smaller than the rest of the group, Toby made up for his lack of height with an unwavering sense of bravery and calm logic. His hair was the color of sunburnt wheat, and fell in lazy wisps across his eyes. His nose turned up ever so slightly at the tip, and accompanied by his small ears and pointed chin, he obtained a rather elfish look.

Benedict nodded curtly. "Seems as a good a time as any," he paused to look around at the group. "Higgs, Oswald, you'll help me carry the beast. Toby, keep your eyes on the monster at all times, don't even blink if you can help it. And Nym..." he turned to the remaining member of their small group. "I want you to go on ahead of us and make sure the path is clear. Don't want to run into some muggle taking a little night time stroll." They all nodded in response and set to their assigned tasks.

Curio Nym took off into the trees, the heavy boots that covered his feet surprisingly quiet on the padded forest floor. The added cover of the trees cloaked him in darkness, blocking nearly all the light shining down from the moon above. He kept to the trail, glancing all around him for signs of any other living soul. Spotting a break in the trees up ahead, he pushed through the dense foliage and stepped out onto a narrow country lane, once again basked in moonlight.

The long road was deserted save for himself and the hulking black van that sat idly a few feet from him. Patches of fog clung to the shallow dips in the blacktop, spreading paper-thin wisps across the damp air. He shivered involuntarily, rubbing the tops of his arms with chilled hands.

The youngest, and most inexperienced member of the group, Curio was not yet as at ease on their missions as the rest of the group. He did well to hide it though, coming off more as quietly confidant, instead of frightfully unsure of himself. He had only been assigned to the werewolf capture unit five months ago, following the death of the man who previously held the position. The hands on missions were quite the change from his desk job at the werewolf registry.

His family had been thrilled by his promotion, insisting he was doing the wizarding world a great deal of good by ridding it of such horrible creatures. The Nym's were an old wizarding family, tracing their lineage back hundreds of years. Alonzo Nym, Curio's father, was a highly respected, and feared, hit wizard; gaining most of his reputability during the years of Voldermort's rise to power.

Curio's mother, Helena, was a miserable wasp of a woman, moving from being 'daddy's little girl,' to the 'trophy wife,' of her husband. She was quite a few years younger than Alonzo, and had never truly wanted to have children; a fact which she never tried to hide from Curio and his younger sister Miranda. She was particularly thrilled when they each received their Hogwarts letters and were gone for most of the year at school.

Much to his dismay, Curio was obviously his mother's son, inheriting most of his physical attributes from her side of the family. His skin was a perpetually tan shade, which stood in sharp contrast to the near translucent white of his father complexion. His hair was the color of milk chocolate, and, much to the disapproval of his parents was worn in a short, messy style. His eyes were of a washed out hazel, large and almost always cloaked with suspicion. The one thing he seemed to have gained from his father was his build, but height it seemed, could have been gained from anywhere. Standing just shy of six feet Curio was athletically built, which came in handy in his chosen field.

It was the constant speculation of hushed late night arguments between his parents, and maliciously whispered rumors by those who knew, or knew of, the family; that Curio was in fact, not truly Alonzo's son. It was a horribly kept secret that Helena and Alonzo alike had their fair share of extramarital affairs; and that perhaps Curio was a result of one of his mother's flings. However, this never went past mere speculation, perhaps it was an attempt to keep the family name untarnished, but whatever the reason Alonzo never actively sought out an answer to the question that plagued him since the birth of the boy he called his son.

Glancing cautiously around him Curio quietly unlocked the back of the van, pulling the heavy metal doors open and then placing the key back into his cloak. A large glimmering cage sat on the floor of the van, with room around it for at least five people to sit comfortably. Pulling him self up into the back of the van Curio got behind the silver cage and pushed it towards the open doors until it reached the edge. With a small sigh he sat down on one of the benches that lined the sides of the interior of the van.

"You got that cage ready Nym?" Benedict's voice asked sternly as the men emerged from the trees lugging with them a rather disgruntled looking werewolf.

"Yes sir," he murmured in reply, quickly opening the cage door so that they could heave the wolf inside, locking it quickly behind him.

The wolf seemed to be regaining some of its strength and it growled menacingly at the gathered men.

"Yeah, that's right, growl all ya want ya ugly brute," Higgs cackled, tapping the barrel of his pistol on the bars tauntingly.

"For Christ sake Higgs don't tease him," Oswald muttered, sounding thoroughly annoyed he walked to the front of the van and climbed into the passenger seat.

"Don't tell me what to do," he hissed in reply, keeping his voice low enough so that Oswald couldn't hear him.

"Everybody in," Benedict ordered, making his way towards the drivers seat. "Have to beat the sun home." The engine started up with a loud bang, shaking the entire vehicle down to its wheels.

"We'll have to take that bullet out when we get back to the ministry," Toby explained to no one in particular as he took his seat next to Curio on the bench; his eyes locked on the wolf.

Toby was an expert of magical creatures, dark creatures especially, werewolves most of all. He knew them inside and out, medically speaking, and was almost always the final voice on their health and well being.

"Who cares when we take it out," Higgs muttered, pulling his gloves off with his teeth. "Let the thing suffer I say," he snickered, shaking the bars of the cage slightly; causing the wolf to snap its jaws in anger.

"What did I just tell you Higgs?" Oswald exclaimed, turning around in his seat to glare into the back of the van. "If you get him all worked up before we get to the ministry, you can take him out of that cage yourself!" He turned back around, muttering. "Honestly Benedict I don't know why you even put up with him."

Higgs upper lip curled back slightly, and he tapped the butt of his pistol none-too gently on the back of Oswald's head. "Cause I'm the only one that can hit a movin' target in the dark, old man..."

Before Higgs could continue his insults, Benedict reached around and grabbed the pistol from his hand. "Stop it! Both of you!" He growled angrily. "You're acting like children. I didn't take this job to baby-sit immature boys," he glared at the two of them before stepping angrily on the gas. "And if you two can't settle your differences I suggest you start looking for another line of work."

Silence settled uncomfortably on the air, pressing down on them. The van rocked slightly as Benedict pulled it off the ground and drove it steadily through the night air.

"It's too bad huh?" Toby said quietly too Curio, leaning in closer to the bars.

"What?" He asked, unhooking the top clasp of his robe.

"This guy has a wife, and a little baby," Toby frowned, resting his chin in his hands. "Supposedly he bit his kid...that's what he's accused of anyway," he pushed his hair out of his face. "I'd hate to be the one to tell him what he did, well, what the wolf did anyway."

"Don't pity him Siward," Oswald said calmly, not bothering to turn around. "If he infected a baby, his own son, he deserves what he gets," the bitterness in his voice was unmistakable, as his gaze hardened considerably.

"I'm sure it was an accident Oswald..." Toby began; put was quickly interrupted as Oswald whirled around in his seat fixing his heated stare on Toby.

"Werewolves can't afford to have accidents Siward, they have to be in control of themselves and the beast at all times. If they slip up, it's their own fault, they should know better," he turned back around, as if that was the end of the matter, and stared out at the passing clouds.

"Still..." Toby said cautiously. "It's too bad," he lowered his gaze back to the cage, frowning slightly at the beast; who growled in reply, attempting to lunge at him through the bars.

"About time for the sleeping draught Siward?" Benedict asked, keeping his gaze on the sky before him.

"I think it's all right to give it to him now," he scratched his head thoughtfully. "Of course I'd think you'd want to wait until we reached the ministry..."

"He's getting his strength back Siward, there's only one bullet in him. I don't want him biting any of you. Curio, you have the draught?"

He nodded, reaching into his robe pocket and pulled out a capped vial of the potion. "Enough to put him out for a couple hours at least."

Toby looked doubtful but nodded slowly. "All right...Higgs, a little help?"

"Oh now ya want my help," he muttered, but walked over to the cage anyway, putting his gloves back on as he went. "How we going to do this? Net?" He asked, picking the silver net off the floor of the van.

Toby nodded. "We'll have to hold him down. Higgs, can you pry his mouth open so Curio can give him the potion?"

"Course I can," he replied stiffly, sounding offended that Toby would ever doubt him. "Piece 'o cake."

Curio stood back, watching quietly as Toby slowly opened the cage door. Higgs pounced onto the wolf with out a second thought, covering him quickly with the net. Toby scurried in behind him, flattening himself on the wolf's powerful back legs.

"All right Nym! Now!" Higgs exclaimed, gritting his teeth as he attempted to keep the wolf's jaws pulled apart.

Curio stepped carefully around them, trying not to let the fear he felt show. With shaking hands he managed to pull the stopper out of the vile.

"Don't hurry or nothing' kid," Higgs spat. "It's not like this is hard or anything."

Eyes wide he leaned over the wolf, whose head hung out from under the silver net. Carefully he poured the potion, a little bit at a time, into the wolf's mouth.

"Is he swallowing it?" Toby asked; sounding slightly winded from the effort of holding the wolf down.

"Yeah...just a little bit more..." Curio replied quietly, pouring the last of the potion down the wolf's throat. "All right, I think that's..." his voice cut off suddenly as Higgs let go of the wolf's muzzle, sending the powerful jaws down on Curio's outstretched hand.

His screams quickly filled the closed quarters of the van, as the wolf tried to bite through the dragon hide of Curio's glove.

"Get him off him!" Toby cried, trying in vain to pull the wolf off of Curio. "Higgs, help me!"

"What the hell is going on?!" Benedict bellowed, motioning for Oswald to go back and help.

Curio pulled with all the strength he could muster, the wolf's teeth gnawing further through his gloves with each second. The crunching sound of bones breaking filtered in with his screams.

As quickly as it had happened, it stopped. The wolf let go of Curio's hand, its eyes rolling up into its head as it flopped to the ground, fast asleep. The silence that descended upon the van was quickly shattered by Toby.

"Get him out of there!" he ordered, pushing past Higgs and Oswald, dragging a badly shaken Curio behind him. "Sit down here Curio," he instructed quickly, taking off his own gloves as he knelt beside the bench.

"Did it get through the glove?" Benedict demanded impatiently, growing angry when no one answered him immediately he growled. "Siward! Did it break the skin?"

"I'm checking, hold on!" He yelled back, shocking everyone into silence, as Toby was never one to raise his voice, especially to Benedict.

He turned his attention back to Curio, carefully removing the mangled glove from his hand. "Did you feel it bite through Curio?" He asked calmly, frowning at the state of the hand.

"I...I don't think so," he replied, the color completely gone from his face, he was now shaking visibly.

Toby slowly turned the hand over, checking every inch. It was obviously broken, having been crushed beneath the wolf's jaws. It was starting to swell and was littered with red indentations of the wolf's teeth, which would soon turn into angry bruises.

"I don't see any cuts sir," Toby said finally, his voice now back to its normal calm level. "Just broken. They can fix that in the infirmary when we get to the ministry."

"Are you sure it didn't break the skin?" He grumbled, anger more than concern coating his words.

"Yes sir...it didn't get through the glove."

Oswald climbed back to his seat, throwing dirty looks at everyone as he passed. Higgs sat back down after closing up the cage, snickering slightly as he went.

"You're damn lucky kid," Benedict spat, glowering angrily out at the night sky, falling into an edgy silence; the wolf snoring softly on the cage floor, pieces of dragon hide scattered around him.

"Ignore them," Toby whispered under his breath, reaching under the bench for a blanket, and tossing it over Curio's still trembling shoulders. Casting a quick glance over at Higgs, who sat on the opposite bench, poking the sleeping wolf through the bars and then snickering quietly. "I know it wasn't your fault...he let go on purpose," Toby hissed, narrowing his eyes. "The bastard."

A tiny smile found it's way across Curio's pained face, if there was one thing Toby couldn't pull off it was insults. It was like hearing a Christmas elf trying to curse. The smile quickly faded as a new wave of pain shot up through his arm, causing him to whimper ever so slightly.

"Don't worry, the nurse in the infirmary is one of the best. She'll fix ya up, good as new," Toby reassured him quietly, seeing Curio's face flinch in pain.

They flew the rest of the way in silence. The occasional snicker from Higgs or pain induced noise from Curio the only sounds any of them dared to utter. By the time the van touched down at the ministry the tension with in the walls was so dense it was stifling.

"Lets get this thing in the kennel before it starts to change on us," Benedict muttered, kicking his door open forcefully.

Toby leaned over to open the back of the van and was met by Oswald. The two of them pulled the cage forward as Higgs pushed it from behind. "Got it?" He asked, peering outside.

"We can handle it," Oswald replied curtly, holding one end as Toby held the other.

Higgs started towards the back of the van, pausing as he passed Curio. An evil little smirk filtered across his face, his eyes dancing with merriment. "Too bad about your hand Nym...daddy won't be too pleased will he? Ya know, considering he got you this job and all..."

"I got this job on my own," Curio sneered, narrowing his eyes.

The smirk dripped from Higgs features like a drop of water down glass; he leaned forward, his foul breath blowing in Curio's face. "All I know kid is that there were plenty a guys with a hell of a lot more experience than you going after this job...'cept none of their fathers were old buddies of Benedict's." He hopped out of the van, glaring back at Nym, before swaggering off into the office.

Taking a deep breath Curio pushed himself to his feet, cradling his injured hand in the crook of his other arm. Higg's words rung in his ears, he had wanted him to get angry, maybe even lash out, but Curio wasn't about to give him the satisfaction. He knew for a fact that his father had nothing to do with his current position. Alonzo Nym took a very limited role in his son's life; he certainly wouldn't spend his time finding jobs for him.

Curio was the groups potions expert, he excelled in the area; and could make up a caldron full of wolfsbane with barely a second thought. Curio loved potions; it was an exact science, something that, if done precisely as the directions indicated, would always turn out as it was supposed to. He found it to be the most dependable kind of magic, and with very few things in his life that he would ever consider dependable, Curio clung to potions as something he could control; something that would never surprise him, or let him down.

He walked slowly towards the back of the van, leaving the blanket on the bench. Reaching the opening he hopped out, nearly crying out as he jarred his arm.

"You gonna cry?" Benedict stood leaning against the side of the van, a large cigar dangling from his lips.

Curio fought back the pain, straightening his shoulders and gritting his teeth. "No sir," he replied, aware of how pale he must have looked.

Benedict rolled the cigar between his fingers, looking thoughtful. "Can I ask you something kid?" The unwavering calmness in Benedict's voice only made Curio more nervous.

"Yes sir?" He said, trying to keep his voice from wavering.

"Do you know how many times Abraham was bitten on the job?" He asked, referring to the man who held Curio's position before him. Benedict studied the smoldering end of his cigar, not even bothering to look at Curio as he talked to him.

"I...well...no," Curio stuttered in reply, shifting slightly from one foot to the other.

"Not once," Benedict informed him, tossing his cigar down and snuffing it out angrily with his boot.

Curio swallowed, knowing full well that a werewolf had indeed killed Abraham. "But...sir, I thought he was killed by..."

Benedict crossed the distance between them in a flash, his eyes glowing with an almost manic light. "Abraham killed himself kid, because he was attacked by a werewolf, because he was infected. We all knew what would happen after that monster snuck up on him, sucker punched him in the dark," he shook his head roughly. "Abe wouldn't have that happen, wouldn't let himself become a monster...he knew what they're capable of, he didn't want that kid," anger flashed quickly over his features. "But not once did he get bitten while on a job, while the damn wolf was in a cage..."

"But, sir, you don't understand, Higgs he..."

"Are you blaming others for your own mistake?" Benedict hissed, his voice frightfully low.

"N-no sir," he stammered.

"Good," he backed up slightly, straightening his robes. "You're good with potions kid... but if ya can't handle the beasts stay away from them. Last thing I need to be responsible for is some kid of Alonzo's getting himself infected," he stalked off into the nearby building, leaving Curio alone with his thoughts.