Rhys swayed on his feet before he dropped to one knee on the floor of his Edinburgh house. Panting for breath, he blinked furiously, trying to blink away the sparks of light dancing in his eyes. The apparition had taken more out of him than he could imagine. Every muscle was on fire. The hangover of the transformation was never easy, but there was something even wilder about his appearance now. Hair standing on end, leaves and twigs still tangled in it, he reached out to the dresser, pulling himself to his feet. Dirt covered his hands, bedded under the nails, with streaks of it across his face.
Gingerly, he made his way to the kitchen. His hands shook clumsily as he reached for a bottle of vitamix potion, drinking it thirstily. Almost instantaneously some of the worst of the exhaustion lifted from his shoulders. Sighing gratefully, Rhys crossed to the sink, now desperate for water. Within a few minutes, the pain was manageable, but it was still with trepidation that he made his way into his study. Char scurried in his tank, greeting his owner and watching with curiosity as Rhys reclaimed his wand from behind some of the books on the shelf.
“Expecto Patronum,” he spoke, voice hoarse. A great silvery mass swirled in front of him, the exhilaration running through his bones making it easy. He spoke to it, telling the patronus the message it was to carry.
“Roxie. Need to talk, ASAP. I have information, it could be important.”
The silver beast disappeared. Swaying again as the bright light threatened to blond him again, Rhys collapsed into the armchair at his desk. In a second, yes, in a second he would take up parchment and quill, and record everything he had seen.