Blowing O U T Candles [ALARICA <3333]

[BLAKE KENNETH AVERY]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y353/shockwavesyndrome/thisiswar.png);background-repeat:repeat-y;width: 450px;height:600px;] november 5th, 2004 was a great day, in blake’s humble opinion. no, an amazing team did not win an amazing quidditch game that day. there was no victory against a supposed dark lord, or victory of that dark lord. no monarchy rose or fell, and there was no major overhaul of the ministry officials. not even a damned potter or weasley relation died. to most of the world it would have been a pretty damn average day, people died, people lived, and oh yeah, blake had been born. the theatrics of a birthday had never really been his thing. well, okay, it felt great to get attention on the anniversary of the day of your birth, but his little kid happy birthday parties with fireworks and all that jazz had been ended by the time he was six years old. in the last few years it had been a pretty down low thing. a letter from his parents, maybe hanging out with his sisters a bit, and spending the rest of the day with friends. overall there was usually minimal mention of what the day actually was. that suited blake just perfectly. birthdays became more special the older you became, in his opinion, basically because you didn’t have many left. he was just sevente- no, eighteen, for pete’s sake! why should he be celebrating something he had sixty or seventy more of to enjoy? he was confident in the fact that he didn’t need to worry about running out of things or days to celebrate any time soon. this birthday definitely had a different ring to it than even his quiet one last year, simply because of the most obvious change in the morning. his parent’s snowy owl hadn’t appeared at the slytherin table. no, blake was not a pouting little toddler who’d whine just because his mommy didn’t send him a happy birthday; it had unsettled him for a much different fact. his mother hadn’t sent him a letter probably because she had other things on her mind, like her absent husband. this day was just going to turn into another damned reminder of the stupidity of wizards and the ministry, wasn’t it? blake gritted his teeth together as he set off through the hallways, his hand tensing and relaxing in and out of a fist at his side as he went. his damned eighteenth birthday, and his father was rotting in a cell in azkaban thanks to the fools at the ministry who’d decided he’d committed a terrible time. if blake ever got his hands on any of the idiots who had sent his dad to azkaban, he was pretty sure he’d join his father, but god would it ever be worth it… no, he didn’t technically have permission to head off to hogsmeade, but there was little else to do today. it was a saturday, so there were no classes, and he wasn’t on the quidditch team or any of the silly clubs set up at the school so he had no meetings to attend. that meant he was free to go where he chose and do whatever he wanted without a teacher’s ‘permission’. the path down to hogsmeade was fairly quiet for the day. a student here or there, probably ones who had actually bothered to get their head’s permission before setting off, but no one really paid attention to the slytherin student. either they just weren’t interested, or they knew him well enough to stay away. he took a sharp left on the path before he actually hit the village towards one of the only worthwhile places to visit there, in his opinion, the shrieking shack. there was no one else around, which was good considering his iffy mood at the moment. forging his own path in the few inches of snow on the ground blake reached the fence that was supposed to block students off from the shack and leaned forward on it, staring at the 'eerie' building without really looking at it. "happy bloody birthday to me." 907| Alarica | N/a this template was made by ZOE of caution 2.0 !

[ALARICA ISOBEL AMETHYST]

allie hummed quietly to herself as she headed down the path and out of the castle, her hazel brown gaze caught on the magnificent hogwarts entrance, a quick flash back to the thestral-drawn carriages that had brought her into hogwarts for the past several years as always when she approached the great wrought iron gates. she could be a bit of a daydreamer, you see...caught in her own little fantasies and senario's playing in her mind, but that all came from being an optimist like she was.

you might wonder why she was heading out to the picturesque hogsmeade village by her lonesome on this rather dreary saturday. as a hufflepuff generally not known for doing too great with her work, she'd decided upon putting back a silly potions assignement due for next week to doing it tomorrow, and instead, assigned herself the task of going to hogsmeade...to relax. her friend's had planned on staying behind, all of them wishing to get this potions work completed, and whilst alarica didn't blame them, she felt a little dissapointmented that none of them wished to join her.

still...little alarica amethyst was never down for long, and as her favourite song continued in a loop in her head she couldn't help but hum quietly along as she walked - rather skillully in tune as well. she didn't know what she intended to do in the village, but there was always something interesting to occupy her, whether it be a drink at the three broomsticks, or grabbing some bertie bots every flavour beans from honeydukes as a treat for herself. she could usually whittle away hours pretty well, and considering she'd gained permission to be here from her head of house, there was no harm in wasting away as much time as she wished.

strangely enough, alarica hadn't noticed where her feet would be taking her until she head the mutter of someone close-by; male from the tone of the voice. she glanced up and halted her steps, eyes blinking as she caught sight of a fellow hogwarts student...slytherin from the glance of his robes she took and noticed the snake emblem, though somebody she'd never seen before -most likely a year or so above her. alarica couldn't help but notice almost immediately, that the boy was rather attractive, and that thought caused her to blush faintly. "happy bloody birthday to me."

his birthday...that news surprised alarica. she noted that they were both standing a little way from the shrieking shack - and what a place to come to for your birthday?! shouldn't there be surrounding friends...cards, presents, cakes, well wishing...she saw none of that, and the sight of this lonely boy having to wish himself happy birthday made her naive heart pang. she took a step closer to him, gaze warm and friendly as ever as she gave a small smile. "hey there..sorry i couldn't help overhearing...happy birthday!" she said, fumbling the words slightly. normally she was pretty good at talking to people she didn't know...branching out and making new friends but ...she found herself in very new territory right now. still, she gave him a cheerful well wish and her smile became a light grin. "i'm alarica by the way...alarica amethyst...but please, call me allie." she stuck her right hand out rather confidently toward him, having no notion that he might bite..might not be 'mr friendly slytherin', but she didn't care. she just wanted to be nice.

[BLAKE KENNETH AVERY]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y353/shockwavesyndrome/thisiswar.png);background-repeat:repeat-y;width: 450px;height:600px;] if blake had wanted company, he would have grabbed one of his pals from the slytherin commons room or any various place throughout the castle where he knew they hung out, and told them to come along with him on this little trek. if he had wanted company he could have easily seeked out blythe or blair, since he hadn't seen either yet today. if he'd wanted company, he would have some right now instead of lurking around the shrieking shack alone. ergo, since he was along, it should be obvious that he was not in the mood for distractions or conversaton from any sorry fool that wandered by. correct? apparently not. "hey there..sorry i couldn't help overhearing...happy birthday!" blake turned hearing the small, light voice call out to him to see a girl a good few years younger than himself approaching him with a trusting smile and warm eyes. ...he wanted to laugh. out here, all alone, frail and about a foot smaller than he was... to blake it was like a little comedy, all for him. what the hell did she think she was doing, coming out here to talk to him all alone? he didn't recognize the girl at all, which meant she couldn't be a slytherin, which basically meant she wasn't worth his precious time. he was about to walk away without another glance at the red-head, however pretty she might be, when she spoke again: "i'm alarica by the way...alarica amethyst...but please, call me allie." the last name caught his attention. he knew of two other amethysts... chasity, who was a good friend of his however bitchy she was sometimes (he'd be a hypocrite to call her out on it), and steve, a no-name kid a year younger than he in his own house. alarica, or ally as she seemed to want him to call her, must be a relation of theirs... he knew chasity was pureblood as well as steve, so it wouldn't be a huge jump to make the same assumption about the little girl here, which encouraged him to stick around for a few extra seconds. he was prepared for a boring birthday. honestly, he was. a well wisher here or there, hanging out with his pals... other than the mentions of 'happy birthday', it would be pretty much an average saturday for him, he'd assumed. but what if it didn't have to be? his mind was already working as he looked at the girl with her hair such a vibrant, unnatural shade of red. there was no doubt that she was a pretty little thing. something in her face seemed to hold a certain amount of fragility to him, like a pixie or something of the sort. she was certainly more than just a year younger than he, the assumption based off of her appearance and the fact that he didn't remember seeing her in any of his classes (and the more he thought about it, the more he was certain that a girl like this would have stuck out to him) which gave her even more vulnerability... he could have fun with her. blake let a grin spread across his lips, holding out his hand like a perfect gentleman for her to shake if she so wished. it was like a switch had turned on in his brain to make his personality turn around and make him do things he wouldn't normally do without a certain goal in mind... he was a good actor, or at least he liked to think he was. "heh... thanks. i'm sure it will be, with a pretty girl like you around now." shameless flirting... he wasn't certain how she'd react, but he hoped it would be how he wanted her to react. c'mon, it wasn't like a girl like her could never have been flirted with before so she'd be scared away by his words, right? "it's very nice to meet you, allie. i'm blake..." there was a fraction of a second of hesitation. he didn't think she'd recognized him as who he was, but his family's name had been splashed all over the prophet over the summer and if she paid any attention to the news at all he was sure she'd recognize his name and what his father had done... ah, well. "blake avery." if this game he had planned was going to go anywhere, it might be best to be 'honest' with her to give himself some credibility. 907| Alarica | N/a this template was made by ZOE of caution 2.0 !

[ALARICA ISOBEL AMETHYST]

for a moment, alarica didn't think he was going to answer her. there was a second at which point she wondered if she'd made a bad decision. there had to be a reason he was all by himself right now, in such a gloomy place for his birthday as well, and that look on his face hardly had 'your welcome to talk to me' written all over it. but then he grinned, and she let out a breathe she hadn't known she was holding. she wasn't very good at defending herself.. sure she could bite back, but if he went for her she probably wouldn't be able to do anything but realise she'd made a mistake."heh... thanks. i'm sure it will be, with a pretty girl like you around now."

she blushed at that, a rose tinge filling her cheeks. oh sure, she'd had her fair share of flirtings with guys, she knew how to flirt and she knew when someone was flirting with her. she'd only had a couple of boyfriends in the past though, and neither of them had been very serious.. but she wasn't exactly the flings kind of girl. still, compliments made her blush, and she knew the blush would be clashing hoplessly with her hair. she couldn't see through the words, the grin...all she could see was this handsome, older boy and he was talking to her, flirting with her when there were plenty of prettier girls around .. or he could have just walked away completely.

"it's very nice to meet you, allie. i'm blake..."she noticed the hesitation but the only thing she had in her mind was the added very. he wasn't just saying it was nice to meet her...but very nice. she almost blushed again, but she remembered herself and calmed. he was probably only being like this because he was bored and nobody else was around. allie was used to getting little respect from people for being a hufflepuff...but she always wore her robes with her head high - a proud 'puff! "blake avery."

she felt a small flash of surprise as she recongised the surname. avery...avery..where had she heard..that...bef- oh ... the newspaper. though alarica didn't often concern herself with reading the prophet, the other day in the common room a seventh year had left it lying about, and she'd been born and so picked it up. she'd read something about a man with avery as a surname... and she knew he'd done something bad. but the thing was with alarica..she didn't judge people. she always saw the best in people and unless they personally attacked her or someone she loved then she'd give them a second chance...or a third or a fourth...maybe it was a bad move, but she couldn't help but be forgiving.

so that was why rather be like some people would and make a stupid rude comment, she simply gave him a small smile and took his offered hand, "nice too meet you too, blake." she said gently. she chewed her lip thoughtfully and looked at him. "hey you know... it's your birthday so.." she paused and took out her wand, she murmered and 'accio', having just remembered something that she could summon and turning just as it flew through the air toward her. she caught it; a small box of bertie bots every flavour beans which she was yet to open. she loved them, but .. well she was a generous, naive little 'puff but damn she was going to embrace her generous side. "here..." she said, going to offer him the box with a small grin. there was nothing wrong with them, and he could be suspicious all he wanted but she was just trying to be nice; slytherin or not she could offer him a present if she wanted. it was up to him if he'd take it or not.

[BLAKE KENNETH AVERY]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y353/shockwavesyndrome/thisiswar.png);background-repeat:repeat-y;width: 450px;height:600px;] blake prided himself on being able to read other people. it probably came with his family, with his father's raising and his family's history. since he was young his father had been telling him that knowing how other people thought was just as important as hiding how you thought. blood purism wasn't exactly a common, or outspoken, idea since harry potter's 'victory' and voldemort's downfall. speaking about purebloods as being higher than others, though they were, or mudbloods being scum, though they were as well, could get you shot glares or, if you were older, arrested. teenagers were given more lenience... give a mudblood a dirty stare in front of a teacher and you'd be scolded, but overall given lenience because you were young and 'your mind and opinions were developing'. basically teachers thought that teenagers had time to 'smarten up'. still blake had learned to be careful of showing what he thought, although until the 'switch' turned on his brain to hide his thoughts he could be a bit obvious, but he hoped his acting 'skills' always made up for any slip up on his part when he wanted to convince someone he was a good person, as he was now. being able to hide his thoughts walked hand in hand with being able to read others, because he needed to be able to see what type of acting would convince that other person he wasn't a bad guy. anything and everything could be information about them... the way their eyes move, twitches of their eyes or mouths at different times... yeah, he'd liked to say he was pretty great at reading everyone else. still, he was on edge when he saw the recognition of his last name flash in her eyes... he'd hate for her to just turn and leave, abandoning him to a very boring birthday. "nice too meet you too, blake." he grinned, relaxing again as she accepted his last name with barely a bat of an eye, apparently either unbothered or not completely knowing of the atrocities his father had committed five months earlier. "hey you know... it's your birthday so.." he watched as she waved her wand and waited with a slight smile before he heard the small whiz as the item rushed through the air to her. "here." oh god, this was just too damned perfect... blake smiled, not yet taking the box. "my mother raised me to know not to take candy from strangers..." he mused with a small grin. "so i can only accept these if you promise to stick around and share 'em with me so that you're not a stranger anymore. deal?" 907| Alarica | N/a this template was made by ZOE of caution 2.0 !

[ALARICA ISOBEL AMETHYST]

she smiled when he did, glad that so far he hadn't suddenly turned on her and told her to back off..that he didn't want some silly fifth year hufflepuff hanging around him ... not now not ever. she wouldn't take it personally, she kneew people - particulary slytherins - were like that. though luckily for her being a pureblood, she seemed to get more respect whether she asked for it or not. alarica was never bothered about respect; people could hate her or whatever all they liked, she wasn't going to give them the time of day if they wanted to be pigs.

"my mother raised me to know not to take candy from strangers..." she couldn't help but respond to his grin again...it seemed she always kept just responding to him..as though she wanted to please him, and so she waited for him first in order to gauze his reaction to whatever, and then respond in the appropriate manner that would allow her to stay."well then your mother raised you well." she said with a grin, allowing some of her cheekier nature to come through. not many people saw it; that jokingness, the quick wit..because they always just saw the naive, sweet little puff and thought 'n'awe'..then moved along and ignored her, or picked on her. but she had some fiest..she could joke as well as the next guy.

"so i can only accept these if you promise to stick around and share 'em with me so that you're not a stranger anymore. deal?" she raised her eyebrows in surprise. he wanted her to stay..in fact, he wanted her to not be a stranger anymore?. her heart skipped a small beat and she blushed faintly but made no comment on it,.. she merely smiled and nodded, her bright auburn hair tumbling forward over her shoulders at the movment. "okay deal.." she said with a soft grin, going to hand over his present, glance at him and then move a few steps toward the shack before going to sit down on the ground. never mind it being cold and a little damp, she crossed her long slender legs over and lent back on her hands for the moment, figuring that the slytherin would sit beside her.

well she didn't want to stand and get leg cramp..and she doubted he did too. she could be quite forward sometimes..hence why she'd just sat down without saying anything, expecting him to sit beside her. her gaze was caught by the shrieking shack, and she wondered again why black had chosen such a dismall setting to celebrate his birthday..alone as well. sure it was serene, and the shack was interesting but...it was dull, the colours shades of grey and the silence pressed painfully upon one's ears. she figured it best not to ask, something teling her that maybe that wasn't the right question. instead, she turned her head to look at him, having to push her long curls aside as they got in the way. "so..how old are you today then?" she asked, not sure what year he was and only able to take a stab at perhaps him being a sixth year..or a seventh year more likely.

[BLAKE KENNETH AVERY]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y353/shockwavesyndrome/thisiswar.png);background-repeat:repeat-y;width: 450px;height:600px;] "well then your mother raised you well." blake just smiled. yes, she certainly had. she and his father both. they'd raised him to know his place in the world, and to be aware of everyone else's. they'd raised him to be strong and calculative, to always think things through and prioritize things well. without their guidance blake shuddered to think of what he might be like today... some happy-go-lucky blood traitor fool singing peace for all and the rest of that crap... he'd be just another idiot among a world of them. he owed his parents a hell of a lot, because without them he wouldn't be himself. so adora and apollo certainly had raised him well, just not perhaps in what was society's current views on the world. that suited him just fine. he'd rather be a strong confident smart guy than just another follower of the world's idiotic views. "okay deal.." blake let a small smirk quickly pass his lips as she turned away, back to him for a few seconds as the girl went to sit down on her ground. he rolled the package of sweets over in his hands, watching her, letting his eyes scan up and down her body. this was too easy, but no less satisfying because of its ease. even after knowing his name the girl was all trusting, all gullible... his mind was already running to future opportunities. how far would he be able to push this little game? how long could he keep it going? usually blake would tire of a girl after a few days... maybe a half hour spent along in 'peace' with her, but not long enough to do anything really fun, if you got his drift, before the girl chickened out, thinking that things were going too fast... the 'sweet' girls were always the most fun, but once they chickened out he lost all enjoyment of his games with them. maybe he could go down a different route with this one... take things a bit slower for maximum enjoyment. all the more satisfying in the end, right? but he was getting ahead of himself. right now all he had to focus on was laying the foundation... he made his way over to where she'd relaxed and sat down a few feet away from her, the leg closer to her lying flat on the ground, the other bent at the knee with his arm resting on the knee as he turned his attention back to her. "so..how old are you today then?" "eighteen," he responded almost immediately with a slight shrug. "gotta hate missed-the-mark birthdays, hey? if i'd been born two months five days earlier, i would have graduated last year." but no, he'd been born late, and had to put up with the mudbloods and basic scum that filled this school for a whole another year... oh well. at least once this one was done with he could escape this blasted school and associate with who he wanted to associate. still, sometimes he really wished that his parents had had the sense to send him to durmstrang. it was such a better school... too late to mope about it now, though. he carefully undid the packaging on the beans, shaking one out into his palm and popping it into his mouth. the sweet taste of raspberry filled his mouth, definitely one of the less 'puke-your-guts-out' flavors in the mix. blake held the box out to his 'friend' with another smile, offering for her to take one without actually saying so. "what about your age? i don't think i've seen you in any of my classes." based on that alone he was pretty sure that she wasn't a sixth or seventh year, certainly not a seventh, but it was nice to put up the charade of interest and let her tell him about herself, right? 907| Alarica | N/a this template was made by ZOE of caution 2.0 !

[ALARICA ISOBEL AMETHYST]

as he sat down beside her she felt her heart flutter, unale to help being that typical girl who swooned over the gorgeous older guy who came to talk to her..her, when there were prettier, smarter, older girls around. she would never say she was the sharpest tool in the box, she struggled with much of her word; aside from charms which was the one subject she excelled in probably mostly due to her love of it. she wouldn't call herself the most beautiful girl in the school either, there were so many girls to 'compete' with in that respect and she was far too plain, even with her bright auburn hair (which she wished was her natural colour).

still she wasn't going to complain about him being there, or ask him why. she qas quite a 'live in the moment' kind of girl, happy-go-lucky and if some hot guy wanted to talk to her then hey, she wasn't going to question. she glanced at him when she thought he wasn't looking, unable to help herself and feeling a warm blush tinge her cheeks. she ducked her head slightly to hide it for a moment until the blush had calm, looking back at him when she heard him answer her question with, "eighteen," oh...so he was three years older. she smiled lightly; it had to be quite cool being older than the others. "gotta hate missed-the-mark birthdays, hey? if i'd been born two months five days earlier, i would have graduated last year."

she smiled lightly and made to take one of the beans when he offered her the box and she took a moment to chew it, tasting the burst of watermelon and glad it wasn't one of the gross flavours. "well...then we wouldn't have met." she managaed to say, half teasing, surprising herself with the guts of saying that. she wasn't always that bold with strangersl maybe it wasn't gutsy in other peoples minds but to her well..she could flirt but she wasn't always that good at the flirting.

"what about your age? i don't think i've seen you in any of my classes." she shook her head, hair tumbling over her shoulders. "i'm fifteen, in my fifth year so that's why." she said quietly, glancing down at the ground and tracing a pattern into the ground with the tip of her finger lightly. she was sure that once he'd heard that he'd just get up and walk off - what eighteen year old would stick around to talk to a fifteen year old? especially when he looked like that and he was so nice..and she was just...how she was. she glancing at him again with warm honey brown eyes, figuring she may as well attempt to continue conversation in case he decided to stick around. "so uhm.. how come you were out here for your birthday? ...did you get anything nice? from your friends or girlfriend or something?" she asked, slipping in that trying to be subtle question to find out what his status was. she knew she didn't have a chance in heck but she couldn't help finding out... he really was nice for a slytherin, and well who knew ..maybe she'd be lucky this time...

[BLAKE KENNETH AVERY]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y353/shockwavesyndrome/thisiswar.png);background-repeat:repeat-y;width: 450px;height:600px;] "well...then we wouldn't have met." blake was rather delightfully surprised with her teasing… it was a bit of a bold thing to say, in some girl’s opinions, but he wasn’t complaining. it just made alarica all the more interesting. true, he could find enjoyment out of messing around with any girl, but if they had a bit of wit to them he could enjoy himself all the more. ”and wouldn’t that be a shame…” he mused, his expression thoughtful as he kept his eyes focused on hers for a long minute, trying to catch her gaze with his. he wondered what chasity would think… she’d complained often enough about the other side of her family, a whole big issue between her parents. according to chasity the ‘other amethysts’, aka alarica and her brother steve, were about as blood traitor as they came. whether that was entirely true or not, blake wasn’t sure. he knew chasity well… very well if you caught his drift, and her family was much like his. blood purist to the end. to that extreme, many people could be considered blood traitors… if she were a mudblood, blake would be hexing her at the moment. but the amethysts were a pureblood family, and she was such a delicate little toy that blake could look past any blood traitor leanings her immediate family had. besides… she was young and had plenty of time to mature and get her thinking straight. not that he really expected he would help her lean towards ‘his’ side in the end, but his number one goal was certainly not to convert her to a more proper way of thinking. "i'm fifteen, in my fifth year so that's why." it was too easy, too simple to get any desired reaction out of a girl… seeing the apparent nervousness as she told him her age and directed her gaze away from him was all too enjoyable. almost cute, though he laughed at the possibility of thinking such a thing seriously. she seemed like the type of girl pitiful ‘sweet’ guys would swarm towards, to protect and ‘cherish’. too bad blake was hell bent on getting his hands on her first. ”the owls year, huh? fifth year’s a tough year… if you need any help with some spells or research or something, you should send me an owl. after all, i’ve covered all of the stuff you’ll be learning before.” her age didn’t push him away at all. he wasn’t some creepy pervert preying on young girls, but in his opinion if you were old enough to take your owls in your current school year you were fair game. besides, when it came to his games blake never went for girls his own age. they all knew him. he wasn’t a new mysterious face to them, and half the fun of the challenge was eliminated right then and there. the younger students may have seen him in the halls once or twice, but that was generally where their knowledge of him and his personality ended. it was easier to manipulate them. even the sixth years had only had a few months of classes with him… as long as he generally behaved himself in the said classes, he was good as far as potential challenges with them went. "so uhm.. how come you were out here for your birthday? ...did you get anything nice? from your friends or girlfriend or something?” blake chuckled, running his hand through his hair. the sound came out much warmer and friendlier than it normally would if he weren’t intent on seeming as easy going, relaxed, and charming as possible. there wasn’t a hint of malice in it, though blake was rather amazed and amused (darkly so) that this was going so easily. he’d played this game often enough to notice the signs, such as the subtle mentioning’s of a girlfriend, fishing for information. ”i just wanted to get out of the castle for a bit, and this turned out to be where my feet led me,” he shrugged. another common destination of his was the forbidden forest, generally much more secluded, but he had no grievances about this location. after all, this conversation wouldn’t be happening if he hadn’t come here. “nah, i don’t have a girlfriend, and i haven’t seen my sisters yet… my friends aren’t the type to give presents either. the first gift i got all day came from a cute little redhead a few minutes ago.” he couldn’t resist that comment, though rushing through this game too quickly may not be wise, there was no harm in flirting, was there? it wasn’t like he was making a move after only knowing her for a few minutes, because in his experience that was a quick thing to scare a girl off, but people flirted all the time. still, he didn't want to seem too aggressive, so acting like an embarrassed guy who'd only just realized what he'd said, he stumbled on to a returning question. "er... what about you? your regular saturday routine just happens to bring you to a haunted shack?" rather brilliant acting, if he said so himself. 1117| Alarica | N/a this template was made by ZOE of caution 2.0 !

[ALARICA ISOBEL AMETHYST]

”and wouldn’t that be a shame…” she was glad he hadn't dismissed her for saying that, laughed at her or thrown her a weird look and got up and walked off. for someone so bubbly and friendly and annoyingly innocent looking, most people thought that she didn't have any wit; that if they picked on her verbally she'd just stand there and cry or something. but she did have some fiestiness at times, a little part of her brain that could somehow work out a witty retort if someone started something... she just wasn't very confrontational, or very good dueling, and so quite a few people often threw something her way.

as he caught her gaze she couldn't help blushing, her cheeks tinging pink as she looked at him, catching his eyes. she had to look away, and she cursed in her head. she was so inexperienced and uncertain when it came to flirting...she was never sure when a guy was flirting and when he was playing her, she never knew how to respond properly. she'd seen how other girls did it - flicks of their hair and batting their long eyelashes and touching the guys arm. she'd never tried doing anything like that, she knew she'd make a fool of herself - and as for that whole sultry walk those girls did...she applauded them for not having put a hip out already!

"the owls year, huh? fifth year’s a tough year… if you need any help with some spells or research or something, you should send me an owl. after all, i’ve covered all of the stuff you’ll be learning before.” there he went again - surprising her. she really had expected him to walk off or at least pull back or cringe of something for her being fifteen whilst he was three years older (well technically more like 2 and a half seeing as he'd only just turned eighteen...but that hardly counted). but he hadn't, he didn't even seem to bat an eyelid...and her heart fluttered slightly. not only was he sticking around...but he was offering to help her? tutor her? she shot him a smile, lips turning up at the corners. "thank you...i'll keep that in mind." she said gently, knowing that if it came down to it she probably would - it would be a great excuse to get to see him again ... asking him to help her with some work...(though she'd probably definetly be in need of the help but still).

when he chuckled she grinned, catching the light sound of it and only wishing to make him laugh again so she could get to hear it a second time. though sadly she had to admit she never thought she was all that funny; not unless she was tripping over something like she tended to do. ”i just wanted to get out of the castle for a bit, and this turned out to be where my feet led me,” she nodded slightly, understanding what he meant. she was often one to be seen wandering about the castle or grounds on little walks just for the sake of the peace or the scenery, usually resulting in her ending up somewhere completely random - or more often than not, getting herself into trouble because of it.

“nah, i don’t have a girlfriend, and i haven’t seen my sisters yet… my friends aren’t the type to give presents either. the first gift i got all day came from a cute little redhead a few minutes ago.” she couldn't help but glance at him in surprise and well ... a little bit of relief - and maybe a tiny tiny spark of hope that she desperately hoped he hadn't seen in her gaze - when he spoke about not having a girlfriend. at the very least it meant that if somehow by luck she got to hang out with him, she wouldn't have to worry about some super-model looking girlfriend coming up and being all over him...or worse, warning alarica not to try anything. not that alarica would be any competition to a girl blake would undoubtably get but still... now she could allow that tiny lickle ounce of hope to live on...

in fact it was only now she realised what he'd just said, having been a little wrapped up in the whole 'no girlfriend' thing and she glanced at him in surprise, an annoyingly fierce blush licked her cheeks bright red. oh because that wasn't a complete clash with her red at all was it? she bit back a sigh, disliking how easily he could make her blush, and how unattractive it made her look. she glanced at him with a small smile, her cheeks cooling as she tried to avoiding thinking about how he'd just called her a 'cute little redhead'. he thought she was cute?! but no...if she thought too much about it the damned blush would return with vengence.

speaking of cute....as he appeared suddenly to realise what he'd said, she could see the embarrasement on his face and she grinned gently. now that was cute. some people, if they'd ever caught a glimpse inside her mind at that moment would have been screaming her 'what the hell are you thinking? a slytherin..cute? cute as a shark!' but alarica didn't care what house he was from...he seemed genuine enough, and he was being really nice...so she would think him cute if she wanted - slytherin or not! "er... what about you? your regular saturday routine just happens to bring you to a haunted shack?" she shook her head, the red curls tumbling over each other at the movement before settling back into place and she glanced at the shrieking shack for a moment before back to him. "actually...it was kinda like you - i was walking and i just wound up here." she shrugged and gave a small smile as she spoke about being like him...hoping he wouldn't mind her saying that seeing they maybe weren't anythign alike at all...

[BLAKE KENNETH AVERY]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y353/shockwavesyndrome/thisiswar.png);background-repeat:repeat-y;width: 450px;height:600px;] blake didn’t like to think of himself as a dark sort of person… he could really be a great guy, if you deserved it. so few people actually deserved his respect, though, that that often seemed hardly worth mentioning. when the world was always stocked full of fools and naïve little girls like this one, it would practically be an insult to whatever higher deity might have put life on the earth if blake did not take advantage of the goods offered to him, right? he could always consider this encounter to be some sort of birthday present from whoever watched over the world… a bit of amusement on an otherwise rather drab day. if he was stuck at this school for an ‘extra’ year he might was well enjoy his birthday. "thank you...i'll keep that in mind." seeing as it was blake’s seventh and final year at hogwarts, the one when all marks counted and professors hounded after you every day about career choices and the ‘real world’, blake should probably be focusing more on his own work than volunteering himself to tutor a little fifth year for lessons he’d probably forgotten two years earlier, the day after he’d learned them, but it wasn’t as though his offer was a big commitment. if he got his way and played his cards right, there wouldn’t be a hell of a lot of tutoring going on anyway. besides, despite what some people thought blake liked to think he was rather bright. he didn’t have much trouble catching up on work, and even with his family’s disgrace the past summer his fathe- er, or rather mother, had friends in high places who could help him secure a job wherever he wanted as long as his grades were adequate. he probably should have been deciding on a career at least six months ago… after all, you were supposed to narrow down your choices around OWLs, right? but he’d left all of his options open with no real aim in where he would go… nothing really appealed to him. odds were that he would end up somewhere in the ministry, slowly working his way up the ladder, there. he could never be an auror or hit wizard for what he felt were obvious reasons, and healing was completely out of the question as he viewed it to be a sort of wuss’ profession. his mother was a reporter, which needed too much interaction with idiots for interviews for blake’s taste, but his father had worked in the ministry… it seemed the safest profession, in the slytherin’s opinion. of course, he had months left for his life and ideas to change, so he wasn’t committing to any career path yet, but t never hurt to let your mind speculate. he was watching her carefully for her reaction, of course, and it seemed he was not to be disappointed. she really was perfect for the mood he happened to be in today. easy. he couldn’t see much of a challenge with her, in his opinion (though that, of course, wasn’t the opinion of the world) she was practically already putty in his hands waiting to be molded into whatever he wanted her to be or whatever he wanted her to do. she was subtle- a slightly widened eye as she glanced at him when he revealed he was unattached, but the movement had definitely happened and had betrayed her thoughts to let him better figure out what was going on in that likely-nearly-empty hufflepuff ‘brain’ of hers. the naïve girls always blushed. the shy ones. the timid ‘omigod he’s talking to me!’ ones. ally, so far, seemed to fit in that category perfectly so blake was kind of expecting the whole blushing reaction, and put a small, slightly sheepish grin on his face in response. the kind of grin that he hoped gave off a ‘i can’t believe i just said that, even if it’s true’ vibe. the girls he generally more seriously associated with, even just for a bit of mutual fun now and then, never blushed. they were too controlled, too confident in themselves to let their reactions show like that… so he had to admit he liked the blushing. it was fresh and just showed off innocence all the more. "actually...it was kinda like you - i was walking and i just wound up here." “you don’t seem like the type of girl to normally feel at home around a haunted house…” blake observed, his tone light. “want to go somewhere you might be a bit more comfortable? like, say… the three broomsticks? my treat.” 1019| Alarica | N/a this template was made by ZOE of caution 2.0 !

[ALARICA ISOBEL AMETHYST]

she was surprised the guy had offered to help her at all - she was two years younger than him, most of the older kids tended to just swagger around school like they owned the place and ignored everyone else in the younger years unless they got in the way. she'd seen seventh years bully younger years to the extent of making them bawl their eyes out. or older students using the younger students to their advantage - like the guys using the girls because they were naive and fell to easily for the cute, older guys. she knew she could be naive at times, but she didn't think blake was playing with her. he didn't seem like those other guys at all, he seemed so genuine.

but still, she was sure she'd take up his offer - she could always use the help, and he'd already have been through all the stuff she was going through and all. she, herself, hadn't even thought of a career yet, and she didn't know if she would within the next few years or not - but she was going to take a good look about before she decided. she was sure she'd figure things out eventually. she rather liked people, and so perhaps something that involved working with people; though that would probably result in having to argue with people on occasion and she wasn't so good at that. she could be fiesty if she wanted to be, but most of the time she was pretty open with people - quite confident and nice and all. she had plenty of time to think of a career for herself though, she didn't need to worry about it just yet.

she felt like he was watching her and she bit her lip and looked out across the shack, wondering if it was indeed haunted. she'd never been inside it, so she couldn't tell from experience - and she'd yet to ever hear some wailings from the place or anything like that. maybe there was something inside it and people had created the rumour to keep people out. hmm but protect what? though the thought that it might indeed be haunted frightened her, she was still rather intrieged. perhaps she could investigate...or would that be too much effort inbetween school work and everything. then again she might have more time if blake was going to be helping her with her work. oh she could only hope, and she was sure he caught that blush darkening her pale cheeks. she made to duck her head slightly so her auburn hair could fall forwards to hide her face for a moment, until her cheeks cooled down.

she glanced back toward blake as he gave her a sheepish grin and she grinned lightly in return, a little shy but not exactly so much now that he didn't seem put off by her easy ability to blush at compliments. she certainly found it annoying, she was glad he didn't seem to find it so, and she thought he looked totally cute with that grin of his. “you don’t seem like the type of girl to normally feel at home around a haunted house…” alarica smiled slightly, the corners of her lips turning up at the movement and she looked at him, finding a bit of sudden flaring confidence as she said, "there's a lot of things you don't know about me... who's to say what kind of girl i am..." she said, the smile flashing as a grin for a moment as she added some cheek to it before looking at him with a slight raise to her eyebrows when he asked, “want to go somewhere you might be a bit more comfortable? like, say… the three broomsticks? my treat.” she shrugged lightly and smiled, going to stand and brushing herself off lightly. "sure, sounds good."

ooc,eh sorry its kinda meh and rambly :/

[BLAKE KENNETH AVERY]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y353/shockwavesyndrome/thisiswar.png);background-repeat:repeat-y;width: 450px;height:600px;] looking off into the distance for a moment, blake let himself go out of focus of their current conversation and think back to those at the castle. he wondered if anyone was looking for him. if, perhaps, one of his sisters had decided that yes, an eighteenth birthday was a big enough event to warrant a visit to their big brother. if, perhaps, his friends were planning some prank or general amusing activity for him to take part in for the rest of the day. as long as such things weren’t confirmed, though, there was nothing better to do than continue his game with this girl. it was certainly the highlight of his day so far, and it’d be a shame to cut it short just because he might truly prefer the company of some non-blood traitor soul today. he did hope she’s take up his tutoring offer, honestly, though through no noble means. the study sessions he had in mind really didn’t require a hell of a lot of studying, well, not once he was sure she’d be up for it. he did enjoy the naivety and innocence in the hufflepuff’s eyes, but had no qualms about crushing it however he’d like to. and, as noted before, when he was done with her he could just walk away and leave her to clean up the mess he would, hopefully, create in her fragile little mind. show her brother and his blood traitor family that yes, being blood traitors did have its consequences. Being used should be the least of their worries. Were students at Hogwarts not, generally, so closely guarded there were other things that Blake could aim to break than just a teenage girl’s fragile heart. the shrieking shack was pretty much his favorite place in hogsmeade, and essentially the only worthwhile location to visit. perhaps it was dark humor but, though he knew it was false, the idea of tortured souls being trapped inside the little building was strangely intriguing to him. there was a secret passageway into the shack through the whomping willow, though he’d never tried the rumored path himself he’d heard of it, and he couldn’t help but wonder if anyone had ever taken advantage of the horror stories about the shack to lurk inside and terrify some others? maybe he could put that on his ‘to do’ list of things to be completed before he graduated and said goodbye to the good-for-nothing halls of hogwarts forever. "there's a lot of things you don't know about me... who's to say what kind of girl i am..." blake grinned, as though he found her little comment amusing and endearing in some way rather than just a child’s ‘smart’ response. “true… i guess i’ll have to just take the time to find out so that i don’t assume things.” oh, if his sisters could hear him now… they’d likely hex him to his senses before realizing what was actually going on. "sure, sounds good."he followed her to his feet, brushing off his knees as he stood and pushing snow off of them, and immediately set off towards the more populated part of hogsmeade, making sure his stride was slow enough for the hufflepuff to follow without being left in the dust. 1019| Alarica | N/a this template was made by ZOE of caution 2.0 !

[ALARICA ISOBEL AMETHYST]

alarica had to admit to herself that it seemed a little odd that blake was out here by himself on his birthday. sure she didn't exactly have a lot of friends, not like some huge group of 'followers' who would make a huge fuss over it. she had a couple of friends who were going to made a deal over it, who would hug her and wish her happy birthday and give her a card or a present and such. she was pretty sure at least one person would wish her a happy birthday, and she'd get at least one card. but blake didn't appear to have any of that - sure maybe someone had said a happy birthday to him at some point but the fact that he was out here by himself.

well not really by himself of course, she was here. she couldn't help but think that it had been a really good coincidence. good because he'd offered to tutor her but also because she thought maybe she'd made a new friend... maybe, well, dare she even think maybe there was a little more than friendship possibly on their minds? he really was cute, and he hadn't exactly told her to leave him alone or anything - actually he'd brought up the whole tutoring subject which meant they'd end up spending more time together someday. oh yes, she was naive to think that he meant to study. she was fifteen and all, but she was a little on the innocent side, she didn't really understand, didn't ponder what might be on the slytherin male's mind. if she knew maybe she wouldn't be so comfortable with him, or perhaps maybe she'd get accustomed to it? who knew.

when he grinned at her remark she smiled slightly, glad that she seemed to have amused him. she wasn't usually one to make remarks like that unless she was very comfortable with people. she had a little fire but she was often too nice, too gentle, for it to show. “true… i guess i’ll have to just take the time to find out so that i don’t assume things.” she glanced at him with a small grin and a slight raise of an eyebrow, her long auburn locks half hiding her face for a moment out of a bout of shyness. he wanted to take the time to get to know her more? that was quite big in her experience and she was secretly delighted. "sure, sounds good." she smiled again and stood, watching as he stood too and she brushed off a few specks of dust and dirt that had attached to her clothes. she pushed her hair out of her eyesight and made to follow him as he walked off, having reasonably long legs herself she didn't have too much trouble keeping up.

ooc, soooo sorry for the wait!!