Chapter 2
Croisé, passé, pirouette and a bow. A loud roar filled the Royal Albert Hall as waves of applause thundered in approval. Farrah stood alone on the stage, fixed in position, breathing heavily.
She stood up and faced the booming crowd. The rest of the dancers walked out on stage as planned and hooked their arms in hers, taking one final bow.
The lights shone brightly in her eyes and blinded her from viewing the audience, but she didn't need to see them. Her face crinkled in a tiny smile as wine red roses were thrown randomly at her feet. Whistles rose from the crowd and the applause ceased to settle down.
Picking up a rose each, the dancers bowed one more time and then made their way off stage.
"You were gorgeous love." "Absolutely Brilliant!" "I can't wait to see you perform again!"
The lights, the sounds, the people. The life. She thought it was wonderful.
Farrah let herself be consumed in the crowd as she made her way back to her dressing room where she would quickly get dressed and then go home hopefully in one piece. Judging by the crowd outside her door, that might be a hard task.
She opened her door and saw camera flashes go off at her back. Shutting the door, she carefully began to undress.
Her jet black ballet dress slid smoothly off her pale pink skin. She tugged on an old pair of jeans and a spaghetti strap black shirt. She'd left her tennis shoes at home, so she figured she'd wear her ballet shoes instead. It wasn't that far to walk home after all.
She wrapped a woolen purple scarf around her neck and looked in the mirror.
Her long, strawberry blonde hair was falling from her bun, but it looked casual. Very unlike her image. Her gray eyes shone brightly against her flushed cheeks. Perfect.
Walking out of the room quickly, she evaded reporters and went down a long flight of stairs and out into the London streets.
The crisp, chilly night air felt soothing against her skin. Traffic jams blockaded the road and car horns could be heard miles away. Everyone in London appreciated the ballet. Even the ones too stubborn to admit it.
Street lamps lit up the tiny puddles as she walked swiftly down a rain washed road. People of all sizes and races walked around her, all of them busy chatting and laughing.
Farrah closed her eyes for a moment and let the crowd lead her away. A half moon stood with millions of stars against a black blanket of sky.
The next thing she knew, Farrah was on the ground, along with another person. The man stood up and reached for her hand.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to knock ya down."
Farrah looked up at the man and felt her heart skip a beat. He was tall, with reasonably long light brown hair and warm, hazel green eyes.
"Oh hah...it's quite alright...Mr...?"
"Lupin, Remus Lupin." the man said, grinning at her.
"Farrah Devlin, nice to meet you." she said, stretching out her hand for him to shake.
"Nice to meet you." he said, now holding her hand tightly in his. "Your hands are freezing! Why aren't you wearing a jacket?"
She hadn't thought about that, she realized, but it WAS really cold. "I...well, I just got finished performing, so I was kind of hot anyways..."
Remus' eyes lit up. "Really? What do you perform?"
"Ballet and Jazz dance." she said, her mouth curving up into a smile. "I'm a professional dancer...what do you do?"
"Well my dad used to own Lupin Banking and Loans, but I decided to become a teacher instead of a businessman," he said. Remus' father used to own a large company, before he died anyway, but Remus had refused away all of his fathers fortune and went off to live his own life; even if it wasn't in luxury. He liked it better that way.
"Ah..thats interesting..." Farrah said softly, looking down and noticing that both her hands were now tightly clenched in his. "I should probably get going now...I'll see you later I guess?"
Remus smiled and squeezed her hands. "How about tomorrow night?"
Farrah looked into his eyes. He seemed nice, and worth getting to know...and she hadn't been with a man in over 5 months since she was preparing for her performance, but since it was done...
"Sure, okay...where at?"
"Dinner at 8 at the Ivy" Remus replied.
"I'll be there."
~*~
Sunlight poured in through the see-through curtains that adorned large windows. A traveling scent of jasmine filled the air as a light breeze blew in from the open french doors.
Farrah opened her gray eyes slowly, letting the sunlight warm her face. She sat up, stretching her arms to the ceiling.
She lifted up the white linen sheets and lacy white comforter that covered her bed and set her feet down on the wooden floor. Farrah stood up and opened the doors further to the balcony. She stepped out, taking in the beautiful gardens that made up her backyard.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes once more and ran her fingers through her hair. The sky was crystal clear and the sunlight warm and hazy against her smooth skin.
She could hear sprinklers spraying the lawns and gardens in the distance and could hear the maid arguing about something to the gardener.
Birds chirped happily in a nearby tree and flew down to enjoy the birdbath that stood on the edge of the balcony. Farrah walked over and scooped up one of the birds, stroking its feathers softly. The bird closed its eyes and rested happily in her palm.
Farrah set the bird down on the bird bath and walked back into her room. Her muscles ached from her performance the night before.
Her room was large and the theme was jasmine. Everything in her room had to do with her favorite flower. Her bed sat in the center of the right wall, right by the balcony doors. An armchair sat adjacent to a large wooden armoir in one corner, and a vanity table was seated in the other corner by the bed. White curtains covered the windows and paintings of flowers and landscapes covered the walls.
Farrah walked out into the hallway and into the large bathroom. She tugged off her white nightgown and turned on the water to the shower. She stepped over to the mirror and looked at her reflection, poking and prodding at the tiny imperfections of her face. She looked worn and tired, yet glowed from the thrill of the night before's performance.
Stepping away from the mirror, she removed the rest of her clothing.
Wet hot steam clouded the room as she stepped gingerly into the shower. The intense heat of the water made her flinch, and then retreat for more. She breathed the steam in deeply and enjoyed every second of hot sensation of massaging water against her body.
When she had finished her shower, Farrah stepped out into her cool bedroom with a fluffy white towel wrapped solely around her torso. Digging through her closet for clothes, Farrah heard a loud knock at her door.
"Yes?"
A tiny maid walked in, carrying a tiny silver tray with a small white envelope on it. "For you, Farrah."
"Thank you, Marie." Farrah said as she scooped up the tiny envelope and started to tear it open. The cover of the envelope held a crest that Farrah was not familiar with. There was nothing else on the outside of the envelope.
Farrah pulled out the letter and opened it up. Again, the unfamiliar seal was at the top. The letter read:
Farrah Devlin,
My name is Cornelius Fudge, and I am head of the Ministry of Magic.
We would like to meet with you this evening at The Ivy restruant at 7:30.
Please accompany us, we have many things we need to discuss.
Sincerely, Cornelius Fudge
Minister of Magic
Farrah looked at the letter strangely, read it again, and threw it in the trash. Stupid fanmail, she thought. Always some crazy git out there trying to get a piece of what she refused to give outside of dancing.
Oh well, she thought, she wouldn't have gone anyways, she had a date at that exact time. Wait. Farrah bent over and picked the letter out of the trash. The Ivy, it read. She was meeting Remus at the Ivy.
Well then, she thought, I'll just have to meet him there, and then tell him I would like to go somewhere else. Just tell him fan problems.
Farrah quickly picked out an outfit in her closet and tugged it on. It was white capris and a blue and white striped haulter top that accentuated her chest while still looking casual.
She picked out matching blue and white sandals and walked back into the bathroom to style up her hair.
~*~