(no subject)

[pansy_parkinson]

Who: Pansy Parkinson and open
What: Same Slytherin, different day
Where: Diagon Alley
When: Late afternoon
Rating: PG?
Status: Incomplete

Something was stirring, and it was not just the cool autumn wind. Miss Parkinson hardly minded the wind, and had firmly put other matters out of her mind, as dangerous as dangerous as she knew the "ignorance is bliss" mentality was. The day was overcast, and it had been raining, if the darkened cobblestones of Diagon Alley were any indication. She curled further inside her cloak as she meandered along the sidewalk, perversely enjoying the stark, cold air, glad to let it do its best to energize her. She had a few spare coins, and was due to receive her pay, soon: perhaps she'd have a cup of coffee, or even a pastry, before returning to Malfoy Manor. Perhaps she'd merely wander the streets, wraithlike, happy to be lost in limbo. She had the vaguest suspicion that they'd all have to choose sides, soon enough.

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[theo_nott]

Theo loved the cool air outside. Heat did nothing for him, but cold was his element, in more ways than one. He had heard of the girl who was poisoned and his mind had immediately turned to Graham, and he was thrilled that he was a part of that. A small part, of course, but a part none the less. They were making a difference, and they were so close... soon it would be theirs. He had patience, and in his eyes, at this point, it was all he would need.

He was leaning in the window, staring out into the cold streets as huddled masses rushed their ways into inns and restaurants. People weren't buying wands on days like these, and it was rare that he got a customer, but he didn't mind keeping the place open. For some reason, the concept of a warm, empty shop seemed peaceful to him... romantically peaceful, really, only him and the comforting embrace of his own, uninterrupted thoughts.

He took another sip of the hot chocolate in his dark mug, and his eyes fell on a hooded figure heading down the alley. He looked closely, long strands of raven hair falling from the confines of the secure hood and he caught a glance at her face... and he smiled. Miss Pansy Parkinson.

He waited for her to get closer before he opened the door to his shop and he said, loud enough for her to hear,

"Someone looks cold. You should be inside with someone taking care of you, not outside freezing your backside off."

[pansy_parkinson]

Her head lifted, at the sound of the voice, and Theo received a smile in response. She looked better than the last time they had spoken, certainly; perhaps a better night's sleep, and a determination to put aside concerns about loyalty and caste, had done the trick. Perhaps, on such a gray day, she had determined to greet the rain with a smile.

She had wanted to talk to him anyway, and if the fates decreed that the time was now, then so be it. Pansy paused, as he beckoned her inside, long enough to murmur, "Well, since you are volunteering." With a humored smile, she slipped past him.

And was glad that she did so, of course. Pushing the hood of her cloak back, she had her first good look at the interior of Theo's shop. After a moment in which she simply took it all in, Pansy turned to him, still amused, perhaps at her own silly attempt at humor. "So. This is where the magic happens."

[theo_nott]

Theo smiled when she walked in and he quickly closed the door to avoid letting the cold air swirl in. Warmth surrounded them again and the shop had a surprisingly cozy feel to it, the aged wood of the walls a nice deep contrast against the gray glow of outside.

He turned to look at her when she spoke and he smiled, making a bit of a grand gesture to the small but roomy shop before he took her cloak, walking over to the doorway and hanging up for her on the rack.

"I haven't seen you around lately, Pansy, how have you been? How is work?"

[pansy_parkinson]

In her boots, her toes curled happily, as she soaked in the cozy ambience. She allowed him to take the cloak, hands fluttering to straighten the folds of her silken Twilfit robes.

"It's work," she responded easily, taking in the shop. She certainly had been remiss in keeping up with her old housemates; to think, Theo had been here all this time, a short distance down Diagon Alley. To think, she could've been enjoying pleasant conversation for a while, now. "It does what it's supposed to, which is to say, line my pockets with galleons." Her lips curled in a satisfied smile, as she thought back to the commissions she'd made, earlier today.

"And what of you, Theo?" she asked, finally, turning to him. Now that she thought about it, surely he was busier than this quaint little shop first indicated. She thought back to the news, about the poisoning, and watched him from across the small distance, and wondered.

[theo_nott]

"What of me? I've been doing wonderful." He smiled before he folded his arms, obviously in a good mood at the mention of work. Business was doing fabulously, especially with that potion doing so well. It was a shame that tell with how women were going to interperatthe girl actually survived, but they all had to start somewhere.

He wasn't going to directly SAY that he was involved, however. Theo was never one to brag, but the glint in his eye made it obvious that he was happy about something and THAT he wasn't going to bother to hide.

"Would you like tea? Coffee, hot chocolate, anything? It looks frigid out there." He turned to lead her to the back of the shop, past the flight of steps that led up to his loft. He would have invited her up there for a drink, but he didn't want to seem too suggestive. His intentions were platonic, but he could never tell how women were going to interpret something.

"I've been looking forward to seeing you again."

[pansy_parkinson]

It would not have come as a shock to her, that he was involved in That Incident. She wasn't quite able to put two and two together, but his buoyant spirits, interesting though they were, were nevertheless infectious. She returned his smile, at full wattage. "Hot chocolate sounds wonderful." Pansy was a tea drinker, no question about it, but he'd been drinking hot chocolate, and now she had a desire for the same.

She followed him readily, taking in the rest of the shop, as it was revealed to her. "Thank you, Theo," she murmured along the way. She wondered if he was planning to show her the illicit goods he had mentioned, when they had happened upon one another, a while back; nevertheless, she refrained from mentioning it. Manners were important, after all. (Not to mention, she still had Lucius Malfoy's dire warnings reverberating through her head.)

[theo_nott]

Theo smiled when she thanked him and he waved it off. "A lady shouldn't have to confront the cold wind outside without a nice warm drink in her hand, don't you agree?" He flashed a charming and playful smile, leading her to a small area with a sink and a kettle. He filled it and flicked to heat it up, a small flame sparking under where it sat on the miniature stove.

His eyes roamed the wall and he glanced around at the front of the shop, flicking his wand a second time to make sure the door was locked before he glanced over his shoulder at her with another smile... it was a bit more mischievous than the first, and he glanced at the bookcase that hid the passage to his back room behind it.

"I can show you what we were... speaking of earlier while we wait for the kettle if you like." He shrugged, walking over and leaning against the bookcase. "If not that's alright, I wouldn't want to bore you..."

[pansy_parkinson]

When his eyes turned to the bookcase, so did hers. His smile said it all, of course.

"I daresay it wouldn't be boring," she replied with an easy smile. It wasn't difficult to forget about what they'd been speaking of earlier, here in this warm room, beyond the reach of the cold autumn air, without Lucius Malfoy looming over her or Draco's dreadfully prideful rants and half-baked plots. However, she knew well that respites were fleeting things, at best.

But Theo wasn't Draco, was he? He wasn't in the beginning stages of a misguided, fanatical frenzy, to save a tarnished surname -- was he? Theo had always been a bit more level-headed than the younger Malfoy, in Pansy's admittedly subjective opinion.

And, well, it would take the kettle a bit to heat up. "Lead the way," she proclaimed grandly.

[theo_nott]

"Gladly." He smiled softly when she agreed and he turned his head to the bookcase, pushing smoothly with his shoulder to let it slide aside. He usually used wandwork for this but he WAS right there... it smoothly shifted until there was a gap large enough for both of them to slip into, and he flicked his wand to illuminate the surprisingly spacious space hidden in the back of his shop.

He walked in and he moved aside, offering her his hand through the space. "Watch your step, it's a little dark."

The walls were lined with jars, bags, boxes, containers, everything imaginable, and filled with things that even the imagination couldn't comprehend. Some of the items were very illegal, and some of them weren't even supposed to exist according to some, but Theo had used his family connections to his advantage. When he said that he wanted to eradicate the world of all filth, he meant it... and he knew what it would take to do so.

"Now I'm sure you're a woman who knows her dark objects, so I don't have to tell you to watch your hands and not to touch the more... suspicious looking objects."

[pansy_parkinson]

Oddly gratified by his confidence in her, Pansy carefully picked her way through the gloom, one hand fluttering like nervous dragonflies somewhere around her waist. The other took his, and even though her grasp was confident, she might've felt a little strange; having touched only Draco Malfoy for so long, she wasn't unaffected by the physical proximity of someone else. Regardless.

As his wandlight fell upon each object, in turn, she examined it carefully. Some things she knew; some she'd heard of; most, well, she wasn't about to reveal her ignorance to such a connoisseur. After all, daughter of a pureblood family though she was, she had little real experience; Draco had been her source of information for all things Dark, for so very many years. She was oddly fascinated, and rather alarmed by her fascination, and she struggled to keep her expression placid.

"This is remarkable," she murmured quietly, a little overwhelmed.

[theo_nott]

Theo was surprised to feel her delicate fingers wrap around his hand... her touch was soft, the hands of a pureblood woman who hadn't worked a day of heavy labor in her life, and that's how he liked it. Women, to Theo, should have a soft touch... he held her grasp delicately but meaningfully in his own and he smiled as he watched her looking around.

It was odd, really, having Pansy Parkinson in the back of his shop. She was always decently polite in school, but ever since he could remember she 'belonged' to Draco Malfoy, and it was something that no one questioned. At her comment of interest he grinned, and he muttered softly, his voice smooth yet still surprisingly intrusive in the silence,

"Thats nothing. Look at this..." He smiled, and he was obviously excited... This was his passion after all. He reached above her head and glanced down to smile at her, before he pulled a large jar down to eye level.

"Now, it looks a little... unappealing, but you cant help but tell how INTERESTING it all is..." He placed the jar on a lower shelf and took his wand again, bringing it to shine past the glass... and the small body of what looked like some sort of mummified fairy rested on the bottom. The wings were in perfect state, and he grinned as he stared at it.

"It's a Transylvania wood sprite, one of the rarest creatures in the world, each wing could be used in the darkest of potions, they're so potent that just a fragment could be used to make the cruelest of potions, practically untraceable, completely tasteless and scentless.. it's literally the perfect weapon."

[pansy_parkinson]

At the sound of his voice, she jumped a little, and then grinned in spite of herself. She shifted, the better to accomodate his reaching, and then leaned forward, peering at the jar.

On the contrary, given the look of fascination, she certainly didn't find it appealing, per se; interesting, though, absolutely. "A Transylvania wood sprite," she repeated softly, mindlessly, as she listened to his recitation of the facts. The little thing did look disgusting, but she wasn't concerned with the aesthetics of its appearance.

"And what do you use it for, Theo?" she asked, straightening, in a tone that was half singsong teasing, half burningly morbid curiosity. It might have been obvious that she didn't really expect a truthful, or even serious, response.

[theo_nott]

Theo grinned at her question and he gave her a playful little smile. "Me? I sell it. For about a hundred thousand galleons a wing. What the BUYER uses it for... well. That's none of my business." He flashes her a teasing wink before he slipped the jar back and he smoothly pressed it to the back of the shelf... the room was HEAVILY guarded with curses and spells, so he wasn't too concerned...

"So if you need anything you know where to come. Here, you might like this." He smiled a bit and he softly squeezed her hand, tugging her over to the other side. He took a small, clear box, and he pulled it down before he showed her its contents. A small, purple flower... its petals were thin, and frayed at the edges, but it was pretty, nonetheless.

"I can't really pronounce this one... it's russian, and it's supposedly very strong when it comes to mind control potions.. it sells well. Intunca... Intru.. eh, whatever its called." He blushed a bit and laughed a little, but he placed it back on his shelf and started to tug her back to the bookcase. "Come on, the kettle is probably ready and your hands are still cold..."

[pansy_parkinson]

What she would've done for a hundred thousand galleons didn't even bear thinking about. Pansy goggled at the creature for another moment, and then looked transferred her attention to the flower he produced.

"It's beautiful. I'm a bit sad that I can only love flowers from a distance. Allergies, you know. Otherwise, I might've had an easier time in Herbology."

"I'd nearly forgotten about the hot chocolate, how terrible of me," she tittered, tugged along in his wake. "You've been a wonderful host, Theo. I can't thank you enough."