Falling in the Snow (Alleyne/Mulciber)

[Alleyne Sinclair]

like an echo pedal, you're repeating yourself
WHY ARE YOU STANDING IN ONE PLACE?

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Holiday break. Arguably one of Alleyne's favorite times of year. As much as she loved Hogwarts, she loved being able to go home and see her family, and have more time than just a few hours a night, and the weekends, to herself. Today it was beautiful out, yes it was cold, but in mid-winter what could one expect, but otherwise it was wonderful. The sky was clear and bright, and a couple of inches of snow covered the ground. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't glad the weather was so favorable, as she'd made plans days ago to meet up with 2 friends, Albus and Seth, at the Three Broomsticks.

She wasn't supposed to meet them til later that afternoon, but Alley was itching for some alone time, so she'd gone to Hogsmeade early. She liked to walk around the village looking at the snow covered shops and roads, it was incredibly peaceful. After wandering through the center of the village, she ended up drifting towards the edge of the village, towards the Shrieking Shack. She would never go inside the shack, but she loved to get close and just look at it. As she made her way closer, she accidentally slipped in the snow and fell on her back, her long curly cinnamon colored hair sprawled out around her head, getting soaked in the snow. "Bloody hell..." she said in a slightly annoyed tone, before she couldn't fight it and started giggling. Instead of jumping up, she just layed there, moving her hand around in the snow, staring up at the clear grey sky. It was cold but she barely noticed, in honesty she was too content to move.



BORN TO BLOSSOM, FROM BLOOM TO PERISH[/size]
life is short, your moment will run out[/size]

Wearing: Purple tie-dyed tee shirt, black fur lined winter coat, black skinny jeans, black ugg boots. Tagged: Mulciber Lyrics: What You Waiting For- Gwen Stefani
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[Adrastus Mulciber]

Mulciber moved through Hogsmeade village like a shadow, a cloak over his head and determination in his step. It was amusing to him that even after the near-fall of the Ministry and the take over of the Death Eaters people were so free to wander through the streets of this village. That courtesy that some extended to others not to judge them for how they looked worked in the favor of the ill-doers time and again, and as long as he kept his easily recognizable face downturned he wasn’t worried in the least.

Time in Azkaban changed a man. Three times or more in Azkaban adapted a man. He wanted revenge more than anything else, but he would take his time in going about it. He would savor it… Because he knew that in the end, Azkaban was the only place that he 'belonged', and he would always have residency there in his mind. In the mean time he would roam his old haunts and have a little fun with the life that he had left.

The Shrieking Shack had been around since Adrastus was a student at Hogwarts, and he knew from experience that it wasn’t to be entered from Hogsmeade. Still he found himself wandering that way to get a feel for how things might have changed. If all else failed he would use one of the secret ways inside, and from there perhaps he could move from Hogwarts to the world outside. He didn’t know what secret passageways existed anymore. They might have been blocked or removed in during his latest stint in Azkaban. There was plenty of time for that action to be taken. But somehow he didn’t think that it would have happened.

He would have stepped on the girl in the snow if he hadn’t looked about himself to make sure there were no authorities. But finding someone like this… He looked at her from a short distance to tell whether she was even conscious or not. When he saw movement, he stepped forward and stopped at her feet. Looking down at her, he saw that she must have been a Hogwarts student, no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.

It may have been because she was exceedingly attractive, and it may have been because he hadn’t seen many women since his escape from Azkaban. But seeing her from this angle brought thoughts to his mind that even he wouldn’t say aloud first thing. He smirked, his light blue eyes narrowing with amusement rather than malice. “Do you need some help?” He crouched down a little bit and extended his hand, letting his eyes search hers for fear, or warning, or anything that might cause her to alert an authority figure.

[Alleyne Sinclair]

like an echo pedal, you're repeating yourself
WHY ARE YOU STANDING IN ONE PLACE?

[/size]



Alley had been so content and lost in her own little world that she hadn't even heard or noticed anyone approaching. She didn't notice the man until he was standing just at her feet, staring down at her. "Do you need some help?" He crouched down, holding his hand out for her. Looking up at him, she was in awe of what she saw. He was definitely much older than her, but he was still more handsome than most she'd seen. He was smirking, and his eyes... his eyes were sparking with what looked like amusement. Alley knew she was just staring, and that she should say something, but for a moment, she was at a loss for words, just speechless.

Finally she made herself speak. "Um... sure... some help would be nice, thank you..." she said softly. Reaching out her hand, she grabbed his, and pulled herself into a sitting position. "I've been laying there for a while... I slipped... and then I just didn't feel like trying to get back up at first," she said, laughing softly, "I guess it was too peaceful..." Her hair was hanging in her face a bit, and she suddenly realized how wet from the snow it was and pushed it out of her face. Looking at him again, she smiled. "I'm Alleyne by the way... or well, I prefer being called Alley..." She had no idea what else to say, not that she really needed to say anything. He was just a random stranger, she didn't really need to stick around and have a conversation with him, she could just get up and walk away. But for some reason, she didn't want to, it was like for some reason she was drawn to him, like there was a sort of unknown attraction. Biting her lip, she tried to think of something to say instead of just staring like she was.



BORN TO BLOSSOM, FROM BLOOM TO PERISH[/size]
life is short, your moment will run out[/size]

Wearing: Purple tie-dyed tee shirt, black fur lined winter coat, black skinny jeans, black ugg boots. Tagged: Mulciber Lyrics: What You Waiting For- Gwen Stefani
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[Adrastus Mulciber]

There was a silence which Mulciber didn’t mind for a moment before she took his hand (which unfortunately wasn’t direct skin-on-skin contact), and then an explanation of why she was there followed. He was mildly surprised that she would admit so freely that she had fallen down, but then any other explanation would have seemed a bit forced.

He didn’t stand up immediately. He was rather comfortable crouching here, and he felt that he was in more danger of being identified if he was standing again. And maybe a little bit of it was the fact that he had injured his knee back in the second wizarding war and he didn’t particularly want to stand and let her see the slightest twinge of pain on his face. If that wasn’t a sign of his age, the cold making his old hurts more tender, then what was?

“My name is Adrastus.” He didn’t think that she would realize who he was just by his first name, so he gave it freely. He took her hand in his once again to plant a kiss on it, though she was wearing winter gloves and the action seemed somewhat unusual because of it. He smirked and tilted his head back a little bit. “I’m glad that you waited for me. Are you here on a school trip? Or… No, it would be holiday break now, wouldn’t it? Why are you here all alone?” Not that he could say he minded that…. But it did seem strange. Maybe the world really was that much safer. That much easier to take hold of when the time was right.

[Alleyne Sinclair]

like an echo pedal, you're repeating yourself
WHY ARE YOU STANDING IN ONE PLACE?

[/size]



Alley wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but when he kissed her hand after telling her his name, she definitely hadn't been expecting that, at all. "My name is Adrastus" he said, before he took her hand once again and placed his lips on it in a kiss. Alley almost died of shock, but not the bad kind. She was surprised, but in a good way, it was like in one of the books she sat in the library getting lost in, the handsome stranger greets the young maiden with a kiss on the hand, it didn't happen much nowadays she didn't think, it was rare, and it left her once again, at a loss for words.

As she struggled to find the words, still biting her lip slightly, he spoke again, smirking a bit. He said he was glad she'd waited for him, in response to her comment that she hadn't felt like trying to get back up at first, and she laughed softly. He then asked if she was there on a school trip. She opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, he stated that no, it would be holiday break now, and she simply nodded her head in response. It had been Holiday Break for a few days now, and she had been making sure to enjoy it. She was both looking forward to and dreading the end, and heading back to Hogwarts.

He then asked what she was doing out here alone, and blinking, she shrugged. Thankfully, this was a question that wasn't at all hard to find words for, she was glad to finally have an end to her speechlessness."Well I came to Hogsmeade because I'm supposed to meet a couple of friends later tonight... but I came early cause honestly, I like to wander the village, especially this time of year, when the snow's covering the ground," she said, "as for why I'm at the Shrieking shack? I just like it here I guess... a lot of people don't see it, but its beautiful... in a way, both the shack itself and the general area, especially with the snow. And its quiet and peaceful, sort of away from the rest of the village. If I hadn't ended up lying on the ground, I just would have found a rock or log to sit on." It was the truth, she was being totally and completely honest. The shrieking shack had always been one of her favorite places in or near the village, ever since the first time she'd ever visited Hogsmeade. Every time she came to the village, even the times she wasn't planning on it ahead of time, she always subconsciously ended up there, at some point.



BORN TO BLOSSOM, FROM BLOOM TO PERISH[/size]
life is short, your moment will run out[/size]

Wearing: Purple tie-dyed tee shirt, black fur lined winter coat, black skinny jeans, black ugg boots. Tagged: Mulciber Lyrics: What You Waiting For- Gwen Stefani
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[Adrastus Mulciber]

Mulciber wondered about that. There weren’t many people that would see the Shrieking shack as beautiful, and maybe that explained why she was still near him, a man that almost anyone would have seen as dangerous once they looked into his eyes. Maybe people weren’t quite so good at reading him when they didn’t know who he was. His face wasn’t plastered on the walls of Hogsmeade this time… Maybe they thought that a few stragglers of Death Eaters didn’t have anything to do without their dark lord. How wrong they were…

He considered what to say, looking toward the shrieking shack with a thoughtful expression. “Well, it seems comfortable enough. But aren’t you cold? Maybe we should find you somewhere else to sit, at least.” He stood up and held his hand out to her again. There was already more contact between them than he had allowed with anyone else, because he would never trust his fellow Death Eaters as much as he should. And there hadn’t been occasion for him to be close to anyone else. “I haven’t been to Hogsmeade in a long time. The last time that I was here a lot of the shops were closed. But same as you, I’ve always found the shrieking shack to be entertaining. What time are you friends going to be here?”

Maybe if there was time he would get to know her a little better. Whatever intentions he’d had in wandering Hogsmeade had been abandoned in favor of a much more promising scenario; a young girl alone in Hogsmeade, who was not expected to be seen until later in the night. His thoughts were not about dominating the girl and hurting her or anything like that. He simply didn’t want to be seen by anyone else, as speaking with her was a risk on its own. Normally he wouldn’t put himself to risk by staying any longer (even with his thoughts of Azkaban looming near) but she was charming somehow, and it was an interest that went beyond the physical. That had been reason enough…

He tensed slightly when he heard a voice, but it was still far from them, and there was no sign that anyone was going to come this way for a while. He turned his gaze back to Alley and smiled at her. He didn’t want her to notice his reluctance to be around others, because she might think something was wrong with him… Or worse, she might guess at the truth.

[Alleyne Sinclair]

like an echo pedal, you're repeating yourself
WHY ARE YOU STANDING IN ONE PLACE?

[/size]



He said that it seemed comfortable enough, but wasn't she cold? And said maybe they should find somewhere else for her to sit at least, as he stood up, and held his hand out for her again. Taking it, and being more careful now not to slip, she stood up herself. Once she was standing, she gently pulled her hand away. "Thank you again, if I'd tried to stand up myself I probably would have slipped a few more times in the process," she said, laughing slightly, "as for being cold, yes a little bit." She then proceeded to dust the snow off of herself, one con of laying on the ground when it was covered with snow, it got all over you.

He continued speaking, saying he hadn't been in Hogsmeade in a long time, and that the last time he had been there, a lot of the shops had been closed, but that same as her, he'd always found the Shack entertaining. He then asked what time her friends were coming. "Not for a couple more hours," she said, "and even then, knowing Seth and Al, they'll be late...Seth will have to stop and talk to every pretty girl on the street along the way." She rolled her eyes, chuckling slightly. She loved Seth but he was an unashamed flirt, she was pretty sure he'd hit on anything with legs, but then, at least he had the good sense to not sleep with every girl he flirted with. She still wished he would just find the right girl, and stick with her, she knew once the right one came along, he wouldn't flirt like he does. But what could one expect when all her closest friends were teenage boys? She should really be used to it by now.



BORN TO BLOSSOM, FROM BLOOM TO PERISH[/size]
life is short, your moment will run out[/size]

Wearing: Purple tie-dyed tee shirt, black fur lined winter coat, black skinny jeans, black ugg boots. Tagged: Mulciber Lyrics: What You Waiting For- Gwen Stefani
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[Adrastus Mulciber]

He nodded when she thanked him again though he was at a loss for words. The first thought that came to his mind was holding her close to him until she warmed back up, but once again he knew not to say it. That was something that women would find excusable, even romantic, if they knew a man well enough. But he could not predict the reactions of a girl that he just met, and he wasn’t going to give her a reason to report him. He would have to hold back from expressing his thoughts. It wasn’t that easy for him, since he had always been a little forward even when he was as young as she seemed.

“Why would he do that, when his destination is with you? You were the only one to catch my eye.”

[/b] said with a smirk on his face. He was flirting in a rather shameless way himself, a fact amplified by the fact that she was probably young enough to be his granddaughter. He didn’t let that thought spin in his mind for long. Not that guilt played any part in it. He did pretend that no sweet words had passed his lips and instead changed the subject. “I know that you have better things that you could be doing, but if you’d like I will buy you a drink to warm you up again. I feel like I should, since I’m the one that found you that way. Whatever you’d like.” [/b]

Was she more child-like, and would choose cocoa? Or was she sophisticated and would choose tea? Maybe instead of either of them she would be daring and go for a more adult beverage. Drinks was one of the secret tools for getting to know someone without their realizing it. Mulciber had used it before to gain insight into a woman’s personality, and use it to make a move from there. This seemed infinitely more important than any of the tasks to do with his identity suddenly.[/blockquote]

[Alleyne Sinclair]

like an echo pedal, you're repeating yourself
WHY ARE YOU STANDING IN ONE PLACE?

[/size]



As Alleyne finished getting all the snow off of her, she felt herself smile, blushing just slightly at Adrastus's response to her statement about Seth and Al. "Why would he do that, when his destination is with you? You were the only one to catch my eye." For a minute it felt as if he was flirting with her, and she could feel her stomach flutter, but she pushed that thought out of her mind. He was obviously older, much older and she doubted he'd want her of all people, just a silly girl he'd found laying in the snow, not someone as handsome as he was, who could probably have anyone he chose. She laughed a little before answering him. "No, Seth and I are just friends. His parents and mine are close, we grew up together, he's just... family. I'm like an extra sister to him, not another flirting prospect," she said, "besides, he's got a thing for blondes, and blonde I am not." It was true, she and Seth had never been anything more than close friends, almost family, and that wasn't something Alley ever saw changing. They enjoyed spending time with one another and hanging out, often with Albus tagging along, but it was always just friends hanging out and joking, nothing more. Flirting with Seth would be like flirting with Jasper, just oh so very icky and wrong.

He spoke again, saying he knew that she had better things that she could be doing, but if she'd like, he'd buy her a drink to warm her up again. Saying he felt like he should since he'd been the one to find her like that on the ground. She smiled, and nodded. "I don't have anything else to do, besides wandering more, and somehow that doesn't sound better than having a drink with you," she replied, her voice holding an unintentionally flirtatious tone, "and right now a steaming hot cup of tea sounds absolutely perfect, so I think I'll take you up on that. Thank you for offering, its sweet of you." Tea was probably one of her favorite drinks, that and coffee. And she liked all different kinds and flavors. And after falling in the damn snow like a clumsy fool, a warm drink really did sound very good.

Looking at him as she spoke, she realized just how good looking he actually was, and for a split second almost found herself staring again, but blinking, stopped herself, she didn't want him to think she was some weirdo with a staring problem or something.Standing there, she suddenly realized that after lying in the snow, and then wiping all the snow off of her with her hands, her gloves were soaked through, which would explain why her hands were suddenly colder. Pulling them off, and shoving them in her coat pocket, she began rubbing her hands together. "Merlin... I love snow... its beautiful, but I really really hate how cold it is, well cold in general really..." She was more muttering this last statement to herself than to him, but she said it all the same.



BORN TO BLOSSOM, FROM BLOOM TO PERISH[/size]
life is short, your moment will run out[/size]

Wearing: Purple tie-dyed tee shirt, black fur lined winter coat, black skinny jeans, black ugg boots. Tagged: Mulciber Lyrics: What You Waiting For- Gwen Stefani
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[Adrastus Mulciber]

Mulciber had always thought it was strange when people said that others were 'like family'. As though that were a good thing. Most families were dysfunctional, and got into fights more regularly with each other than they did their worst enemies. It was all for the best, really, since Mulciber doubted that a boy around Alleyne's age could compete with him when it came to wand work. It was safer for the boy not to try. “I wouldn't think that hair color would matter to a boy his age,” Mulciber said mostly to himself. When he was in school, he remembered at once thinking that all girls were worth turning his head for and none worth sparing much of his heart for. He kind of had a thing for blondes himself... And redheads, and brunettes. Variety was what made life interesting. One of the most memorable nights of his life was with a metamorphmagus who changed her appearance for him whenever he made a request... He wasn't sure if it was psychological, but that was one of the most physically demanding nights of his life, too.

“One cup of tea, then,” Adrastus said with a small smile, holding his arm out to her. He could be a gentleman in the smallest of ways, though one could argue that a gentleman wouldn't be asking such a young girl to tea in the first place. He started to walk, wiping his mind of any paranoia that someone might recognize him on the street. He hadn't changed much despite his age, but most of the people that could identify him were dead. That was part of the beauty of the wizarding war. “I might have some tea myself. Usually I go for something a little stronger, but in weather like this I think that it is appropriate. What flavor do you like the most?” If he was going to forgo the alcohol he thought that he might get a tea with some kind of bite to it, even if it was only peppermint or something like that. Hmm, now that he thought about it... Wasn't the tea place a dating ground? Hopefully none of Alley's classmates would be in there. Since it was summer it was doubtful.

When Alley started rubbing her hands together, Mulciber stopped and turned to her. “Here, let me see them,” he said in a soft voice. They would be where it was warm again soon, but for now, he had the oldest quick-fix in the book. His own hands. He removed his gloves and took one of her hands in both of his for a few seconds, then did the same with the other. He was genuinely trying to warm her up, but he also couldn't deny that he liked the skin on skin contact. “Winter will be gone before long... Then the heat of summer will make you wish that it had never left. I would rather be in Hogsmeade during winter than summer. Not so many crowds...” A crowd was more worrisome for Adrastus anyway, and he was drawing more attention to himself here. “Am I making you uncomfortable?” he asked belatedly, about taking her hands into his. The tension was only increased by the fact that he was gazing directly into her eyes.