Calla
Hans came into work the very next day. I was slightly uncomfortable with him being there as I was used to being the only person who worked there but I soon quickly realized that there was a huge advantage to having Hans there. He was great with the customers. He was charming, nice and sincere and could deal with them, even the angry ones, without losing his cool. They loved him right off the bat. Myself, on the other hand, I had no people skills whatsoever. If I had an angry customer, nine times out of ten, instead of actually trying to find a solution to the problem, I told them to fuck off. Now, I could spend my time avoiding customers and not catch shit from Hum Tate over it.
The downside was that maybe Hans was too good. Hum Tate adored him and I worried for a bit that maybe I'd lose my job to Hans but Hum pointed out that I needed Hans to work the register and to help the customers while I did my manager duties, so I stayed in the back, did inventory and such. It wasn't as though I didn't help Hans out in front. On our busier days, I helped him work the register. On slow days, I kept him company. Mostly he talked about going off to University and since I didn't really know much about the Muggle world, I learned a lot from Hans about it all. I'll admit that I thought he was strange, wanting to well...be a Muggle. Hans had all the advantages of the magic world at his fingertips and yet he still chose to do things the hard way, mostly. I guess it was sort of like those people who have that disorder where they want nothing more than to have a limb amputated. Why was beyond me but I accepted it and asked no questions.
When Hans wasn't busy with customers or looking at University pamphlets (he was considering going to the U.S.), I told him about me. Specifically about Snape. He seemed to sympathize a great deal with the situation though he kept pretty quiet about his relationship with Pierre. I figured maybe Pierre didn't like Hans working so much and Hans had to keep pretty quiet about the job as Pierre was a Muggle.
"That man doesn't love you," Hans told me after I mentioned how miserable I was feeling. He didn't have to ask why. He knew. The man could read me like Pierre thought he could.
"I never asked him to," I snapped back, irritably. "It hasn't even been that long yet."
"No, what I'm trying to tell you is that no matter how much you love him, he will never reciprocate."
It stung when he said that and I tried to deny it in my mind. I wasn't going to risk anything by replying. I didn't want to defend Snape at all even if the urge was overwhelming. I didn't want to be that girl. You know the sort I'm talking about. The girl who has the boyfriend who is a complete prick from the planet Dickheadtoria in the Wankertonian universe and manages to defend his every wrongdoing, no matter how severe, because she's completely in love. There was no way I could do that, especially when Emmy Rose came into the shop one day.
"Hullo!" Emmy said brightly as she entered the store. I rolled my eyes because I was so not in the mood to be cheerful and the witch just seemed to shoot rainbows and sunshine out of her arse. "Just thought I'd stop in for a moment and let you know all of the merchants in town are getting together tonight at the Three Broomsticks to celebrate the new school year."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because most of them have children and are glad for them to be out of their hair," Emmy said with a warm smile that made me want to puke. "No, we do it every year to plan out sales and such so we can coincide with each other. Mostly we just sit around and get completely drunk."
"That's nice," I said, willing her to leave mentally. But she didn't. She just sort of shifted from one foot to another as she took a look around the place.
"This is actually quite a nice set up you've got going on," she said as though she were trying to make conversation. I took a look around myself; nothing about the way I had everything set up seemed to be exceptional and why she was commenting on it was beyond me. It was such an odd thing to say and something told me she was wanting to say something more but seemed either too embarrassed or too shy to say. I was not wrong. "I saw you with Severus the other day. How is he doing?"
"He's doing alright, I 'spose," I said, narrowing my eyes suspiciously. "Not that I could tell you much. I haven't heard from him since the day before yesterday."
"That's odd. He came into my shop yesterday." Emmy frowned and I felt as though I might vomit from pure anger. "Look, I know it's not really any of my business but are the two of you..."
"Are we what?" I asked quite rudely. I knew what she was asking but I wanted her to say it.
"Are the two of you an item? It sort of seemed that way the other day."
"If you must know, yeah, we kind of are." I could feel bile rising in my throat but not the sort of bile you'd think. I wanted to scream in Emmy's face. I wanted to say some very nasty things to her but I barely managed to suppress it.
"I was afraid of that," Emmy said with a pretty little sigh. "I don't want to cause any problems between the two of you but I was just concerned."
"Concerned?" It was all I could manage to say.
"Well, yes. Severus and I went to school together. We were in the same year except I was in Ravenclaw. We were paired up as partners in quite a few classes during our sixth and seventh years."
"I'm sorry but how is that relevant?"
"It's not I don't suppose," Emmy said. "It's just that when he came into the shop yesterday, he sort of asked me out on a date of sorts. I didn't quite know what to make of it."
I thought my teeth might break, I was grinding them so hard. I didn't utter another word and just waited for her to finish. Hans apparently could sense the tension because he stepped away from me. The both of us were behind the register as we'd just endured a particularly busy morning.
"He wanted me to go to this touring art exhibition in Diagon Alley next month," Emmy continued. "I could've completely misconstrued the meaning. Perhaps he was just asking as friends."
"Something tells me he wasn't," I finally managed to say. Oh, my, was Snape going to catch it the next time I saw him. I could picture the confrontation in my mind. I pictured it as me doing a lot of screaming and yelling while Snape just sat and sputtered, trying to apologize but not being able to get a word in edgewise.
"I turned him down," Emmy said. "I told him I'd be too busy but the truth is I don't think my husband would appreciate it very much."
"I'm sure he wouldn't." Two words were running through my mind: Kill Snape. Kill Snape.
Kalinda
I smiled to recall the insane summer I had as I got out of bed and showered. Today, on my first day back home, I was planning a trip to the Ministry of Magic to visit Henry Bishop. Oddly enough, throughout the summer, he kept his promise to write to me and tell me all about his exciting job at the Ministry working as a Court Scribe to the Wizengamot, which... uncomfortably enough for me, meant that he met my mother and actually knew her being as she was a Wizengamot.
True to his word, Henry had a lot to say and wrote to me at the very least two to three times a week. In response, I told him about my summer and often sent him postcards from wherever I was, and when I wrote him long letters, I drew small sketches on the envelopes of things I'd seen. As the weeks passed, the friendship we were steadily reconstructing actually became closer than the one we had previously and he told me that as soon as I returned home to England that I had to owl him so that we could get together and properly catch up and so that he could properly display the green monster of jealousy that I had caused to take possession of him.
The last thing I sent him was a postcard from New York, telling him that their accents vexed me more than the American accents I encountered in Chicago, LA or Hawaii. I wasn't sure why, but some New Yorkers had this accent that made English sound almost very cheap. However, I had made no mention of the fact that I would be home in few days, as I wanted to surprise him. Which I suppose was odd, because I was never much inclined to provide anyone with surprises, but perhaps because I'd never particularly had an inclination to.
After showering and quickly dressing in a white summer dress with this light pattern of daisies printed all on it and I tied my hair up in a slightly messy bun. The dress was off the shoulder and only reached down to about mid thigh with a bit of a swooping neckline that showed the top of my breast, but no cleavage. The dress itself wasn't very tight, not even the upper part, and the skirt seemed to start at the waist and fall delicately and like a very small bell. I mean it I spun around fast, it wouldn't flare out and show reveal much of what was underneath. Along with this, I also put on some white flats to go along with it.
When I headed down the stairs my mother, donning her plum-Wizengamot robes, looked up with a raised brow. "You're up early," she said in surprise, as most summers I would always sleep till noon at the very least. Then she seemed to suddenly look me over. "You look cute! What's the occasion?"
I furrowed my brow at this and grimaced. "No occasion, its summer and hot," I said with a shrug of my shoulders as I was really not the type to wear short. I hare more shirts, jeans and sweaters than anything else really. I had very few dresses, mostly for family gatherings. As for robes and skirts, the only ones I had were for school. Which reminded me, I hadn't gotten the chance to gather all my school things and donate them to the thrift shop in Diagon alley. However, I supposed I could get to that later.
"Are you going out?" My father asked, furrowing his brow lightly in puzzlement. See, being for the most part friendless while at Hogwarts, I tended to spend the holidays at home and rarely went out. If I did, it was to walk around, perhaps go to the park or on occasion to accompany my mother on errands or to go shopping. However, I furrowed my brow as I noted my dad hadn't gone to the shop yet. Being as it was eight, he was usually already there.
"What are you doing here? Why aren't you at the shop?" I asked a little sharply. He smiled sheepishly and merely shrugged. I rolled my eyes at this. "I was thinking about going out. Mom, mind if I tag along with you to the Ministry today?" I asked as I turned to look at her as she raised a mug of coffee to her painted red lips. She looked at me in surprise. I hadn't really gone to her work with her since I was a child, long before I started going to school.
The Ministry didn't really mind if you brought you children to work with you if you had a good position there, it wasn't done frequently and your children weren't a distraction to you or other personnel. And actually they had a bring your children to work day as the ministry was always in search for new minions. Although that was done every couple years and usually by department. Could you imagine what would happen if all the Ministry workers that had children took their kids to work at the same time? It would be chaos! Wizarding Britain would come to a standstill!
"Why do you want to go to the Ministry?" my mother asked as she gazed at me.
"To surprise my friend Henry," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. My mother smirked at me.
"Henry?" I rolled my eyes at this. I didn't like the tone of voice she used, just knowing that she was wondering if I was interested in this boy or dating him or some such nonsense as that. Lord knows how long she has wanted me to date someone. Sometimes I wanted to tell her that I had an affair with one of my Professors to get her off my back or simply to shock her into shutting up about my lack of love life. However, I was sure that would prob freak her out and land Snape in hot water... wait what am I talking about hot, no boiling, scalding, third-degree-burns hot.
"Henry Bishop. And don't look at me like that, he's just a friend," I said in annoyance. The fact that after a long summer of not thinking much of Snape, I was reminded of him I felt vaguely vexed me. Its not that I hated him or felt for him anymore, but really I rather wanted to forget that part of my life.
"Henry Bishop? Oh I've met him. He's really rather handsome and such a nice boy! He's your friend?" she asked as she looked at me with interest. I narrowed my gaze at my mother and glared at her. I knew why she was asking. Clearly, she thought this boy was ideal and what she wanted for me and as always when my mother tried to venture into my life, specifically my love life, I felt annoyed as hell.
"Yeah, I guess and no, I'm not interested in him," I said with a roll of my eyes, that last bit answering her unasked question. "When you're ready to go, call me," I said as I turned and quickly exited the kitchen to get back up to my room. I assumed that I should take a purse or some kind of bag with me. I was planning on taking Andaleeb with me, despite the fact that it was full, as I promised Henry that he could see some of the sketches from my travels.
I suppose this is really huge, considering the fact that I never allowed anyone, and I mean ANYONE, to look through it. I mean, I once caught my brother looking through one and I was so angry that I pulled out my wand and cast a spell directed right at his left eye and completely ignored the statute for under age wizardry. Able couldn't see out of his left eye for a week, and at that I had gone easy on him, 'cause if I well wanted to I could have rendered him blind for his life time... it's odd really that my magic seems to work better the angrier I am. Anyway as it was, I got in serious trouble with my mom. Not so much for breaking the law by using magic outside of school, but because I could have seriously caused harm to my brother.
The statute for under-age wizardry in many wizarding families is a rather trivial matter, rarely enforced at home. My mom, despite being a Wizengamot, really abides laws to her convenience... or rather, she does when concerning the ones she doesn't consider very serious. Honestly if you ask me, if my mother had gone to Hogwarts, she would have been in Slytherin... she's probably the reason why Able and I were Slytherins because my dad was in Hufflepuff and uncle Richard was in Gryffindor like his daughter.
But that's neither here nor there. Suffices to say, typically I would not allow anyone to look through any of my sketchbooks. However, the pages I was going to allow Henry to see weren't anything particularly personal, so I didn't consider it a big that in mind I grabbed Andaleeb and headed to the closet in search for a bag that I thought it would be more or less appropriate. I ended up with a yellow tote and placed a Andaleeb, a small amount of money and my wand and after moments thought, decided I should take a new sketchbook with me.
Heading over to one of my bookshelves, I pulled out the only new and unused sketchbook I had at the moment. I felt my heart ache as I stared down at the book I head in my hands, it was Pandora. Immediately, my mind raced through memories of Professor Bell which increased the ache. There was really no denying it anymore, I had fallen for Professor Bell, and the only remedy for it seemed to be to forget that she existed, but it seemed so impossible. Despite not having seen or even hearing of her in the last three months, thoughts of her, or at least the whisper of her name, still flashed through my mind with great frequency. I even woke from dreams of her, which made me lay with no desire of rising... how could it not, when there was no hope of your heart's greatest desire to ever be attained?
"Kali? Are you ready?" I shoved Pandora, with near violence, inside of my bag and hastily wiped away the single tear that had slid down my cheek. I cast a brief glance at my reflection, making sure my face was without proof of anguish and composing it into a mask of indifference, before turning and walking out of my room and down the stairs. My mother was in the living room before the fire place. Atop the fireplace, she was opening this Ebony box and motioning for me to walk over. I grabbed a pinch of floo, even though I loathed this form of traveling more than any other and followed swiftly behind her to the Ministry of Magic.
We were making our way across the atrium towards the lift, when we suddenly came across a very tall regal man with platinum blond hair who stopped my mother to make small talk with her. I was walking just behind my mother and stared blankly at the man with cold grey eyes. When I was a child, I saw the man often enough, whenever my mother brought me to the Ministry. However, she stopped bringing me once I started going to Hogwarts, not so much because she didn't want to bring me, but I just wasn't interested in coming anymore because I found it rather boring.
I felt my stomach churn as his eyes slowly wandered from looking at my mother and looked over her shoulder to where I stood. His smile suddenly went from pleasant and polite, to something a little larger and almost predatory. "And who is this lovely young lady?" he said as he looked at me with masked interest. My mother turned to me and smiled broadly as she grabbed my hand and pulled me to stand next to her.
"This is my daughter, Kalinda. Kali, you remember Lucius Malfoy?" my mother said by way of introducing us. I merely nodded and extended my hand to the man in expensive robes, how could I ever forget? Not because the man was bloody rich, sickeningly powerful and dreadfully handsome. Oh no, the reason I can't forget him is far too uncomfortable to wish to recall. I wish I could forget him.
"Kalinda? Little Miss Kali?" Lucius said in surprise as he looked towards my mother and turned it in his hand, to bend down and brush his lips lightly against the knuckles of my hand. His eyes gazed up at me from where he bent over my thin hand. I hate to admit this, but I felt a shiver run through me that wasn't wholly unpleasant. "The last time I saw you, I think you were about seven. My how you've grown," he said with a smile as he righted himself and let go of me. "You're just as beautiful as your mother," he said staring at me in a way that made me a bit uncomfortable. "So what brings you to the Ministry?" he asked congenially.
"Just visiting a friend," I replied politely.
"Ah, that's nice," he replied simply before turning his full attention to my mother. They started to speak about something, and I only listened as far as to ascertain that it had been a very long time since they had last seen each other. After that, I started looking around the atrium, trying not to appear too bored to have been detained momentarily. I kept wondering if it would be terribly rude to tell my mother that I would just move on ahead and see her later at home. However, I wasn't entirely sure about leaving her alone with Lucius Malfoy.
You see, when I was about six or seven and my mother brought me, I was playing hide and seek with some of the children at the Ministry that day. I chose to hide in one of the offices, in a cabinet and with my luck, someone walked into the office and not to do work. I heard vague sounds of moaning, from a female and male and though I could not see anything, and though they were containing much of the sounds of their lovemaking, I heard the voices often enough to be able to recognize them as the voice of Lucius Malfoy and... my mother.
At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what was going on, but knew enough to know that it was best I remain quiet and hidden and that what they were doing was not right. Over the years, when I realized what I'd, in a form, bore witness to, I tried not to think about it. I mean honestly, witnessing a parent commit adultery is surely traumatizing. It seemed like a one time thing and the older I grew, the better I assimilated it.
I don't hate or even judge my mother for it. I mean Lucius Malfoy is absurdly sexy and at the time, my mother and father were going through a rough patch. However, I was confident it was a one time thing and the truth is, despite all the years my mother and father have been married, they truly adore each other even if they don't show it openly... but really its impossible to miss if you pay attention to the small details.
She had a moment of weakness, humans are prone to it, but I'm fairly certain it was a one time thing. Believe me, I would've known if it happened more than once because I have a way of finding things out... I'm not sure how, but I always find out about something sooner or later, without even intending to. Honestly, I don't know how that happens to me, but it always does without fail.
However, despite knowing my mother would not cheat again on my father (the only reason she did that time was because she was a bit drunk), I didn't want to leave them alone. I know, inebriated at work with her daughter? But it wasn't her fault. My mother is a light weight, and had a couple drinks at a co-workers birthday, which really occurred after hours and well... there you have the results. But Lucius Malfoy... do you really need to ask why I don't trust him? He's as Slytherin as they come.
"Well, that's all then. Thank you, Amaia," Lucius said as he took my mothers hand in his as they finished and kissed her knuckle before turning to look at me. "And it was a pleasure to see you again, Kalinda," he said extending his hand to me. I put my hand in his, though in my head I was rather reluctant to do it, and watched as he ducked his head to place a kiss on my knuckles, his eyes looking up at me slyly so my mother could not see, as he winked at me and then swiftly righted himself and swiftly walking away.
"That man," my mother said as she looked over her shoulder and shook her head. "He's as venomous as he is charming," she said with a slight grimace as she turned around and started heading down the hall. I raised a brow at this, but didn't say anything. Silently, I agreed with her. I am rather suspicious with people who are as good-looking and charming as he is.
Together we made our way down to the left and down to the second level at which point my mother had business to attend to with Madam Bones who came up to her almost as soon as she got off the lift. My mother was about to walk away when she looked at me. "Will you be all right on your own?" she asked as she looked at me with some concern. I raised a brow at her. Could she be serious? I used to roam around alone as a child, I knew the Ministry better than the palm of my hand, it was ridiculous to think that at the age of eighteen I would not be all right on my own.
"I think I'll be okay, mother," I said with a smirk. At this, Madam Bones looked over at me, and adjusted her monocle.
"I don't believe it, is that my little Kali?" she asked with a smile. Amelia Bones was considered a very serious woman who never smiled, but was fair and very honest. However, as a child, to me she always smiled and winked, and often gave me chocolate frogs. To me, she was very kind, and as a child I called her Auntie Susie. I smiled at her softly and nodded in response. "Well come here then!" she said as she outstretched her arms.
I smiled fondly at her and gave her a hug. Madam Bones is the only person I could show affection to, especially for someone not part of my family. My mother once told me that she never got married or had children, though she did always want children but for certain reasons never had them, which I suspect now that I know better it's because she lost almost all her family rather gruesomely and can't get over it. So as a child I was especially affectionate with her. I suppose that as a child, I was a lot more sensitive... well truth be told I've always been sensitive. I've simply always tried to hide it, now I suppose I'm especially adept at it.
"Amaia, but she's grown so much! And so beautifully," Madam Bones said when she pulled away and looked over at my mother with a look of pleasant surprise before looking at me. I smiled a little nervously feeling my cheeks flush. I wasn't used to being complimented so much, or even really looked at. Snape never really was one to give compliments, and the boy before that, rarely said anything to me, other than saying things like I was right fit. However, I didn't take Madam Bones to be anything but exaggerating, just as my parents did, because she had affection for me as one has for a child. I know I'm not beautiful, I'd aware that at most I can be said to be pretty. "And how are you dear? What brings you here?"
"I'm fine, thank you. And I'm just here to see a friend," I said with a smile. Madam Bones nodded at this and sighed.
"The years do not pass in vain," she said as she shook her head with a nostalgic smile, before looking up at me. "Well dear as nice as it is to see you, I really must speak to your mother. It was so nice to see you again and I hope to see you soon," she said as she gave me another hug.
"It was nice to see you too Auntie Susie, bye," I said as we pulled apart. Madam Bones smiled at me and motioned for my mother to follow her. I turned around then and made my way through the halls where I imagined Henry to be. He said for the most part he was in the same courtroom during usual hours, so I Imagined today would be no different. And just as luck would have it, as I neared the courtroom it was just letting out. As they poured out I stood on tiptoes to see if Henry was in there. I smirked slightly as I saw him bent over, looking through some papers.
I slid into the room and swiftly walked over to where he stood, still bent over but now straightening out the papers. I crossed my arms as I stopped a foot or two away from him. "You're really working hard, aren't you?"
Henry's head snapped up and when he saw me his eyes widened almost comically. "Kali! What are you doing here? I just got your postcard from New York yesterday," he said in astonishment as a few papers slipped from his hands. I snickered a bit at this as I bent down and helped him pick up the papers he dropped.
"Well I just got back yesterday actually. I assume traveling by portkey is faster than sending an owl," I replied with a tinge of irony in my tone while I shrugged as I stood up at the same time as he did, and handed him the papers I gathered. Henry momentarily sighed as he took the papers and looked down at them, probably because he had to reorganize them.
"You should have said you were back, I would have asked for the day off," he said as he looked up at me, before suddenly smiling. "Well I suppose that doesn't much matter. Do you think you can wait for me until my lunch break and then we can head out to get a bite to eat, my treat," he said with a smile. I nodded, and didn't bother to object at him paying for me. In that sense, Henry is old fashioned, he'd never allow a girl to pay if he invited her out even if said girl was just a friend or acquaintance. "Great! So meet me in the atrium later, I guess?"
"All right," I said as I turned and walked out and headed back to the lifts. When I was back in the atrium, I sat near the fountain and took out Pandora and started sketching, ignoring the pain I felt to see the fancy cover and be once more reminded of Professor Bell. I couldn't afford to think of her at the moment, not in public; the thought of betraying my emotions by displaying them in public, made my stomach tighten.
I spent long hours sketching, the fountain, some of the fireplaces and people that passed by. I'm not sure how long I was at this when I took a break and just watching them. My heart seemed to leap into my throat as I caught sight of a woman of the stature of Professor Bell with the same shade of brown hair. However, when the woman turned around, she was a bit thinner and younger. Her semblance though, was enough to make my heart pang. I suppose that's what happens when you love someone, everyone looks like them... or you think you see them everywhere, and all it really is is your heart and mind combining their forces and conspiring against you.
For a moment, I sat and watched the woman as she spoke and laughed to someone while my mind drifted to memories of Professor Bell. I started to sketch the girl, using her merely as reference before changing her features so I could draw Professor Bell as I recalled her. I had just finished the sketch, and was studying it. The likeness seemed pretty good, considering I had merely drawn her from memory.
When I was finished studying it with the eyes of an artist, I merely started seeing it for the person I had depicted sighing as I started to under the portrait, one of my favorite verses from Shakespeare, of whom I was a big fan, despite being a witch and not muggle; not something out of the norm to do. I often wrote quotations, many from Shakespear, in my sketchbook.
Make me a willow cabin at your gate
And call upon my soul within the house,
Write loyal cantons of contemned love
And sing them loud even in the dead of night,
Hallow your name to the reverberate hills
And make the babbling gossip of the air
Cry out...
"I thought you were here to see a friend, Kalinda.," I heard a voice say, interrupting me and causing me to snap my book shut. I looked up and tried to smile politely at the grey eyes that looked down upon me while the man's lips were turned into a charming smile. That smile did not reach his eyes, which seemed unable to hide his predatory gaze. "Don't tell me your friend stood you up," he said, though he didn't seem at all concerned about that.
"No, actually I'm just waiting for his lunch break," I replied politely, though with no smile. I felt that for one day, I had done it more than enough.
"I see," he said as he sat next to me. I turned my head slightly and raised a brow at the action. It is rather odd to see THE Lucius Malfoy, sit at a fountain. "I suppose you wouldn't mind if I kept you company for a few minutes, would you?" he asked. I wanted to tell him, well what choice do I have, you've already gotten yourself all settled. However, I didn't think it was wise to aggravate a man with the power of Lucius Malfoy.
"Of course not," I said coolly. He smiled at me, and Merlin, did that man have a smile. I turned away to be able to avoid getting its giddying effects.
"I haven't seen you in a very long time Kalinda, are you still going to Hogwarts?" he asked.
"No, I finished my last year back in June," I replied as I put away my sketchbook to have something to do.
"Really? So you're seventeen?" he asked congenially with a smile.
"Eighteen," I replied a little stiffly, wondering at his sudden interest. When I was child, it's not necessarily that Lucius acted like I was invisible or like a pest. However, he gave me the barest of glances and stiffest of smiles. But I suppose that might've just been because back then he was rather young himself. Actually, now that I thought about it, he was still rather young. He couldn't be more than ten to fifteen years older than me. However, I was fairly certain that he was married and had a child already.
When my mother and he had got together that one time he was not yet even engaged and he was hardly much older than I am now. However, his bearing seemed so mature that it was easy to forget his age. Looking at him, I studied his features. Salazar, he was young. Despite his broad shoulders, tall frame, elegant robes and high position in society, he seemed hardly much older than Severus. In fact, Lucius Malfoy looked to be about the age of my cousin Darius, who was twenty-eight.
"Well now that you've finished school, what are you doing?" he asked with another of his charming smiles, which the more I saw, looked more and more like arrogant smirks.
"As of yet, undecided," I replied monotonously, not really wanting to share with someone I barely even knew, as I looked straight forward at the people passing by. I felt my stomach tightening. Now I was back home and summer on the brink of ending, I was starting to get a little anxiety about what my next step should be. I knew I could work at my dad's shop if I really wanted something to do, but I wasn't actually sure about that being as it meant spending large period of time with him. I love my dad, but I would feel a bit awkward around him. We hardly have much to talk about, other than our muggle tendencies, and I've only nurtured those over the years so I could have a bit more to relate to with my dad about.
"Well, you're young, you have time to decide," he said, to which I merely nodded. "Although, you don't have to. If you so wanted, I'm sure you'd have no trouble marrying a rich man to give you a life of comfort and luxury."
I turned and looked at him and narrowed my gaze. "I don't want to depend on a man," I said icily. I thought this might have vexed him, but his smile only widened.
"I thought so. You're wildly independent, like your mother. It is a rather very attractive quality in a woman," he said as he gazed at me. This comment made me uncomfortable, being as I was aware that in a way, he knew my mother intimately. I'm sure there was a double meaning in the comment, or a meaning that was deeper than he expected me to know. "But you're more serious than her, aren't you? Not as open, or social?"
"I suppose."
"You know, even as a child, you were rather quiet. However, still waters run deep, don't they? I bet underneath your cool, calm and collected exterior lies a deep passion. I think it would be a rather amazing sight to see you unraveled," he said, his tone steadily becoming huskier. I bit my lip and without drawing attention, crossed my legs, feeling heat uncoil from my center. Damn, I haven't had sex in three months, and since losing my virginity, this was officially the longest I've gone without sex, if only by a couple weeks. However, the draught was going to be longer considering I wasn't looking for a boyfriend or even a sexual partner... but Lucius Malfoy was sex incarnate.
I felt my cheeks heat up, and at his light chuckle, I felt my irritation finally snap my resolve to be polite. "Mr. Malfoy, I'm not a child, I understand your meaning and your words are now trespassing into sleeziness. Though your attentions are flattering, I'm not interested in being anyone's girlfriend, lover, or anything else at the moment," I said steely as I turned and gave him a hard look. His eyes lidded with lust as he gave me another smirk.
"Very well," he said as he stood, turned and bent before gently taking my hand in his and placing a light kiss on the knuckles before quickly letting go. "But, should you ever change your mind, I'd be delighted to be of service to you," he said before turning and walking swiftly away with a last smile. Despite his previous words, it seemed Lucius still had scraps of a gentlemen in him.
I exhaled in relief, only realizing that my heart was beating hard and not from pleasant excitement. Lucius Malfoy, with all his good looks, class and social standing, could be a rather frightening person, even when he was younger. Honestly, I thought he would threaten me. That had gone better than I thought it would.
Just what in the hell was going on? In the seven years at school, no one had ever showed any interest in me, aside from Snape and that interest came only after I had sex with him the first time. Now, within one summer, I was sexually harassed by two people? What is that about? Or is this to make up for the lack of events in the past several years of my life. Snape didn't count, being he was a lonely, horny, young guy who happened to be a virgin. As for my first, he was like most guys and only wanted sex. And Professor Bell, being as it was entirely one-sided, it didn't even stand to contest. So what was with the sudden interest in me?
Perhaps it was just because it was summer, and I was showing more skin than I could when I was in school. I couldn't possibly believe it was because people really thought I was that attractive. I mean yeah, I have a cute face and nice hair, but my body is really rather slim. I hardly have boobs!
"Hey Kali, are you okay?" I very nearly jumped at the sound of the voice before me. Looking up, I noted the slightly concerned look on Henry's face as he stood before me. Was I really that weirded out that I hadn't noticed his approach and that it apparently showed enough for him to be concerned about me?
"What? Yes, of course, I'm fine," I said as I stood up and hoisted my bag on my left shoulder.
"Kali, we may have only recently started talking once more this summer, but I've watched you enough over the past several years to know when something's up with you," he said with a knowing and teasing smile. I raised a brow at him.
"Oh please," I said skeptically. He raised a brow as though I had challenged him.
"I know your favorite color has never ceased to be purple; that your guilty pleasure is Divination; your best subject being Transfiguration; that you never take off those black cords around your wrists because they make your wrist feel naked," he said, pointing to the cords around my wrist which were like bracelets. "I know that you've become more closed and guarded over the years and that you've never ceased to try and curb your habits. Like you bite your lips considerably less than you used to. And from what I've seen, rarely do that odd thing where you run your fingers over protruding bones."
I was about to bite my lip and inwardly cursed as he chuckled lightly, obviously seeing that I stopped myself just before my teeth sunk into my bottom lip. And that thing, where I touch my accented bones, sometimes I still do it in the night when I'm thinking... it's something that can only happen absentmindedly.
For a moment, I wondered if it was sad that my estranged friend probably noted these things more than Snape ever had. However, I shoved this thought aside. I felt that in the past two days, my thoughts kept wandering to him without meaning to. What was it about being in England that made me think of him, when he wasn't even a blip on my radar all summer?
Internally I merely shrugged at this and turned my attention to Henry. "We should get going, your lunch break is only about forty minutes, we're wasting time," I said as I turned and started walking away. Henry smiled as he skipped to catch up with me.
"See, you're still as bossy as ever," he chuckled. I merely rolled my eyes at this.
TBC...