Monday morning had come early. It was drizzling and raining and the sky fit his mood perfectly. Geoff had been home since Friday and he didn't really recognize a lot of his own things. His Healer was convinced that the trauma to his head wasn't the cause of his amnesia. Psychologicaly, Geoff had blotted out the terrible things that had happened the last year and his memory would only pull on things he could control. His Auror training was ingrained in him but the emotional ties he'd found with people? They'd burned out quickly. He had a hard time recognizing feelings. Alicia... she'd been here for him through it all and the only thing he could say about it was that he felt a fondness for her that didn't have too many emotional feelings attached to it. He hadn't owled her since he'd been home and he felt guilty for it but he was really trying to adjust to being out of St. Mungo's. He'd been in there two months and while he remembered his friends, or the people who had been his friends, he wasn't ready to come out of the protective shroud of anonymity. Sighing, he read over a couple of owls before picking up the Prophet. Eyes widening, he read the headlines, feeling something tug at him.
He was friends with Katie. Had been friends with her. He had memories of her, Ali and Ange annoying the shite out of him in school. Down by the lake... snow balls being thrown. Shrugging off the memories, Geoff glanced in the mirror. The pictures of him, Ali and Drew... that bloke wouldn't recognize this new one and he was okay with that. Heading to his room, Geoff shed his regular attire and pulled on a pair of grungy, ripped jeans and a purposely stained and dirty shirt. It was lucky his facial hair was growing out and his normally long hair was cropped short. Throwing on an old, tattered robe, he pocketed his wand and headed out. He'd gone through every single sheet of parchment that the Ministry had on W.A.P. and it had been less extensive then he'd like. He paused for a moment, using magic to change his eye color and to give him a crooked nose.
It had been nearly forty-eight hours since they'd gone missing and he had to get in fast. Heading into the bowels of Knockturn Alley, Geoff headed to his favorite haunt, or, Daniel Fairbanks' favorite haunt. He'd established his underground name years ago and would go missing every now and then but the world expected him to turn up. Heading downstairs of a rather ratty and disgusting pub, Geoff found exactly the man he was looking for.
Grinning, he sat down in front of Channing Suffolk and waved the bartender over for an ale. "Long time, Suffolk," Geoff said, leaning back in his chair.
Suffolk looked up and gave his old friend a smile. "Fairbanks," he said, grinning. "Welcome back. Heard you'd gone off to the continent for a couple months after that potion shit."
Geoff nodded and took his ale from the barmaid. "That's right. Ministry was looking for me but it looks like they have their hands full with this new group." Glancing at his friend Geoff raised a brow. "Heard anything? I kind of like the idea of purebloods being put out like the fucking dogs they are." Geoff's alter-ego had been established as a half-blood with a few prejudices early on. He could move easier between groups that way and still maintain the identity. "Bout time someone took out another Weasley. Fucking sanctimonious bastards, the lot of them."
Suffolk grinned and nodded. "Yeah. Isn't that the fucking truth." Looking around, he leaned forward, voice lowering, handing him the name of someone he could contact. "This bloke will get you in. They're actively looking for people but their methods are attracting too much attention and scaring off those who would actually help but if you're interested... this is the man to talk to."
"Thanks," Geoff said, taking a long drink of ale, toying with the parchment between his fingers. Amortensius Waterstone. "Fucking sounds like a pureblood name, yeah?" he said, rolling his eyes at some of the names people came up with. Geoff chugged the rest of his ale before tossing down a sickle. "Thanks mate," Geoff said, standing up, stretching his legs and scratching his chest. "I'll look him up." He waved the bartender over. "Another round for my mate, here."
Heading back out into the night, Geoff took a deep breath, reading the name. The location was a little fuzzy and he had to squint to come up with it but he was pretty sure he could work with it. It wasn't necessarily where Bell, Weasley and Wood were being held but he had a feeling it'd lead him there. Sticking his hands in his robe, Geoff shoved the parchment in and headed down, deeper into Knockturn, whistling a morbid tune. It looked like it might be a rather rewarding day. Heading down a tiny alley, Geoff stopped in front of number four. Knocking twice, he leaned against the wall, waiting. The little window slid open and he looked up. "I want to talk to Waterstone," he said, voice low, looking up and down the street. "I hear this is the way to get in."
The door opened and Geoff couldn't help the grin. It felt good to be back out and undercover. His face was a stoic mask when the door opened. Stepping inside, Geoff began his case. He had a way of weaseling into an inner circle. Geoff raised his arms, letting them inspect before tossing the parchment to the door guy. The bloke nodded towards the back of the room and Geoff headed back. Heading towards Waterstone, Geoff knew that the lives of three people were dependent on his performance and for the next few days, he'd have to give as good as he could.