It mattered little that Felix was sitting next to her, so tense, as if he was about to break in half at any given moment. Talia drove, ignoring his small gasps as she averted holes, window down on her side, the fresh air dancing through her hair. The earth was still rather damp as to avoid too much dust rising, however with how bad the road was, there was not a chance she could drive with a normal speed, despite how much she wanted to.

One of the men at the sanctuary had bought the car as a project to fix since he missed his Muggle parents and the mechanic shop his father owned. To his surprise, Talia, who did not utter a word in his directions, suddenly became very chatty when she found him working on the car. It came to him as a shock to learn she could actually drive it, eventually selling it to her for a small fee once it was repaired.

This was the first time she actually got to enjoy a long ride, get out of the sanctuary and just be free. Silently humming a tune only she knew, her entire body relaxed as the car shook from every nook and cranny, Felix being surprised they did not lose a tire in the last hole that could not be avoided.

"Tell me" he turned to look at her, while holding tight onto the handle, almost ready to break it off the door, his knuckles turning white. Sparring him a side glance was the only indication that Talia actually was paying attention "why did you insist on travelling by this foul contraption?"

Forcing herself to keep a straight face and not smile, Talia placed her left hand outside the window, letting the wind cool her fingers "Because it reminds me of simpler times." She did not glance at him again, something in the back of her head telling her, she perhaps told him too much with just a simple sentence.

"I see." He uttered under his breath at almost an inaudible level "Have you not had many simple times?"

Her brows twitched slightly as that question, gaze focusing on the mirror in fear of her eyes changing colors right there in front of him "Next question Rosier."

During her stay there, one thing was established from the very beginning and it was mainly due to Charlie. Whenever someone asked something a bit out of line or that might have actually resulted in getting a hint of who she was, he would always ask them to address the next question. Talia picked the habit up quickly, mainly using it as her way of saying "careful".

"I will take it as no then seeing how you are avoiding the question." That caused Talia to slow down a bit and actually glare at Felix.

"I am going to tell you this only once, don't ask questions if you can't handle the answer, because trust me, you can't." changing gears like a race car driver, Felix feared she might actually dislodge it.

Staring out his window, he let out a subtle sigh "I meant no harm." But Talia knew that, she even nodded acknowledging it, yet it was better to snap and bare her teeth, than have him trying to get closer than he already had. Being somewhat friends was alright, yet she wanted nothing more than that. She knew very well he needed to be kept at arm's length at least "Or disrespect. It's clear to me you are here because of reasons you don't care to share, which is fine, however I am not blind, you clearly aren't a Dragonologist."

Talia gripped the stearing wheel tighter, contemplating for a moment if she should mock him or not "I'm not. However it's curious how you chose to be one, instead of enjoying the posh life in one of your many villas." The jab was as intentional as it could be in order to redirect the conversation.

Felix turned to her so fast, she feared he would pull a muscle or twist a vein in his neck "Well aren't you just a delightful ray of sunshine?" He hissed through his teeth, muscles in his jaw tense.

"We are all running away from something Rosier, some of us just don't like talking about it." For a few minutes there was nothing but silence between the two, until Talia spoke once more "I'm sorry, it's not my place to judge your reasons for being here or choosing the career you did."

"Do you feel like I am pushing you Talia? You always appear ready to start a fight, even if it's one simple greeting directed towards you."

She almost winced at that, instead deciding to internally swear "That's because I am, I have always been ready to fight, no matter the situation, but no, you're not pushing me." Smirking, she glanced his way "As a matter of fact, you can't."

His brows lifted, mouth opening to speak, however he decided against it. Her tone was not menacing, she was playing with him "Is that a challenge?"

Chuckling, she redirected her attention back to the road "Next question." However she did see him shaking his head in the corner of her eye.

"You really are something" Felix stopped short, eyes widening since the car started making a sound it was not making before and as far as he could tell with the limited knowledge he possessed, it should have never. Hitting the breaks, Talia stepped out of the car, popping the hood to have a look, Felix following her as if he was suddenly a mechanic "I won't say I told you so, but I told you so about this abomination."

"Hush now and let me look." She quickly dismissed him with her hand before basically diving in to assess the damage "Damn it." Taking in a deep breath, she exhaled sharply, Felix coming back under the hood, given her a questionable look "The fan belt broke off."

"That settles it, we Apparate close to the village." However Talia just glared daggers his way "It's not like you can fix it."

"Watch me." Getting in the back seat, she started taking off her shoes, Felix looking at her in stupor when she started undoing her pants "Well turn around you pervert." As he turned his back to her, he could feel the heat travelling up his neck, instead choosing to tap his foot impatiently in order to focus on something else, anything else apart from the rustling of clothes in the car "Hold these please."

Looking over his shoulder he froze as Talia extended to her the pair of stockings she was wearing underneath her pants "What in Merlin's name do you want me to do with those?" Felix struggled to get out without stuttering.

There were a few ways Talia's brain worked in that very moment and how to play the situation presented to her. He was clearly flustered, no matter how he tried to hide it, that blush spreading across his cheeks was noticeable by a mile. She was not oblivious to someone liking her either, he gave himself away, granted because he wished for her to notice, yet she played the nonchalant card, faking seeing the small things.

She had the perfect opportunity to embarrass him even more, right there in front of her.

However, her brain quickly discarded the idea, instead opting to place the stockings on her lap as she put her shoes back on "Apparently hold these was too complicated." She did not allow him to counter, instead revealing the reason behind her stripping in the middle of nowhere in the back of her car "These Dacia cars are very old, anything than can act as a sort of a belt works, stockings even more so since they are elastic." Hopping out of her car, she tossed her hair over her shoulder, only to be annoyed for a second. She really missed how long it used to be "Believe me, this is a tried and tested method."

Naturally, he looked at her as if she had just grown horns out of nowhere, especially since he did not understand almost anything about Muggles or their technology, however it provided him the perfect opportunity to get over the fact that his cheeks still felt hot. She continued to tinker away at the car and true to her word, it actually worked.

And not only did it work, but it also got them to the village, where they left the car in the only so called auto shop available.

"I have to hand it to you, you truly are inventive."

Talia took a small bow, smirking his way "Why thank you sir Rosier, creative traits are part of the Ravenclaw house after all." As soon as that line left her mouth, they both froze. He did manage to guess her age in one of their discussion, Talia never correcting him on that piece of information, however they have never discussed schools, especially not Hogwarts as she always tried to evade the subject.

And from his look she knew she messed up "So is this also a next question type of thing? Let me know so at least I don't waste my breath."

She hesitated, blinking slowly as she noted every change happening on his face, how he moved on the spot, slowly swaying from one leg onto the other "Well I guess my academic adventures would be a nice discussion over a coffee?" she pointed towards the small bar at the end of the street "I moved a lot so it will be a long one sided conversation."

He softly clicked his tongue "So I don't get to ask questions?"

"Awww look at you, who said Slytherin's can't be smart?" she smiled wide causing him to roll his eyes.

"Next question Talia."

He was fascinated to hear how she studied at most of the well known wizarding schools, however a question still lingered on the top of his tongue. Why? Why had she been traveling so much and why has he not heard of her or was able to place her in time and space during her stay at Hogwarts? Staring at the content of his cup, he frowned slightly "That is indeed an academic adventure. I wanted to enter an exchange program however my family was strongly against it."

Of course she had heard of the Rosier family and their affiliations with the Dark Arts and Voldermort. She had to keep tabs on anyone and everyone that could potentially be an enemy. But when she looked at the youngest member of the family, something felt different, as if he was running away from history "Well unfortunately for us, we don't get to chose our families, only our friends."

Lifting his gaze to look at her, he simply nodded, brows slowly knitting together before he relaxed knowing very well that the way he was staring at her was too intense. However Talia appeared as unfazed as ever, instead lifting her coffee cup to toast to what she said.

"I can't drink this dirty water." He replied apologetically although he did lift his cup to encourage the toast, causing Talia to laugh, spilling some of her coffee on the table "I fail to see how this is funny."

Dabbing away with a napkin, she smirked "Apologies that the coffee here is not to your sophisticated liking." She mocked him slightly, Felix just shaking his head "In that case should we go and buy the things we need before heading back?"

Of course he accepted without missing a beat.

Generally the men would go on a supply hunt, especially since it involved carrying heavy bags, however having Talia there for the first time was a chance of pace. She was detail orientated and knew how to better pick fruits and vegetables. Felix could remember one time his colleagues brought three bags of potatoes, but did not bother to check if they were alright so they ended up with most of them being very small and you could barely save anything from it once you started peeling.

Acting as the gentleman he was raised to be, he barely let Talia carry anything, instead letting her pick out what she wanted while he did most of the grunt work.

Thinking back, having a woman among them actually made the men change how they acted. They were more careful around her, far gentler, drank less during the night, despite Talia not saying a thing about their behavior. She managed to change them without even trying, thing that Felix appreciated. Out of all of them, he was perhaps the only one more refined and he refused to let go of certain habits, despite being stuck in the middle of nowhere in the mountains.

Making their way back to the car, Felix commented "Well it appears you have successfully survived your first trip outside the sanctuary. If I tell the men you are really good at this, they might always send you on errands."

"I wouldn't mind it to be fair, it keeps my mind busy." Stopping in her tracks, he noticed her looking at the small postal office in the village, a look in her eyes making him curious "One second please." Placing the bags near the fence, she walked inside, returning back to Felix a few minutes later.

With his back against the fence, he smiled as he looked up at the clear skies, a cigarette loosely dangling from between his lips. She had never seen him smoke, however on occasion she did smell it on him. Once he noticed her sitting there, he removed the cigarette, apologizing for the bad habit as he went to throw it away.

"It's fine." She replied, taking it from between his fingers and taking a small drag before passing it back to him "I don't mind. Occasional smoker?"

Felix just nodded "It calms me, clears my head. You?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Talia picked up the bags she was carrying "No, I don't really smoke, I just…I don't know." Glancing back at the post office, she contemplated for a moment before deciding to walk away "Come on, we need to get the car before they close the shop."

Stomping the cigarette, Felix following closely, debating whether to ask his question or not, in the end deciding on twisting it "Would a proper coffee straight from France manage to turn that frown into a smile?"

She blinked slowly, teeth worrying her bottom lip "Not a chance, but I would love a proper coffee."

His gaze widened, before he shook his head, commenting "I will take that as a small win. My tent after we return?"

"Next question Rosier." she smirked his way seeing the puzzled look on his face "My terrace, my tent."