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Post by Headmistress Hells on Aug 6, 2008 18:55:40 GMT -5
As Hells entered, the tinkle of the door's bell gave away her arrival. The shop floor appeared to be empty and Grey didn't seem to be around. In fact all she could hear was the sound of her own breathing. Letting the door close behind her, she walked around the shop gazing into cabinets at vials and tubes of potions unfamiliar to her. She herself had come for a potion, one which she could have made herself or had sent an owl for, but she needed to come here. For several weeks, she had been having trouble sleeping. Normally, she slept soundly, but recently she had been having a recurring dream, one that didn't even belong to her. She knew whose it was of course, that part was clear, but she didn't know what to do about them. She hoped a Sleeping draught would be the answer to her prayers. Something that would send her deep enough to be undisturbed by her troublesome thoughts. And then of course there were those other thoughts. Not so disturbing but frustrating all the same. She knew how to resolve those ones but it was completely out of the question. She leant back on the counter, her eyes fixed firmly on a purple potion yet her mind wandered. Her hair had come lose from it's chignon and fell across her cheek, the redness of her hair striking against the paleness of her skin. She chewed her lip as she drifted off into her own world, forgetting where she was or why she was there, her thoughts on what would never be.
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Post by Greyson "Grey" Sebastien on Aug 6, 2008 23:02:44 GMT -5
Grey had heard the door chime, and wrapped up what he'd been doing as quickly as possible. He didn't have nearly enough customers to be inattentive, even if he didn't technically need the money, with his pay from the school. Still, the shop was a hobby, one of many, and he enjoyed it enough to care for it properly. Grey headed into the shop ready to greet whoever might be there.
It was Hells; he recognized her immediately, though everything about her seemed somehow different from the last time she'd been in, her mind entirely on business. It was a strange thought. Why else would she be here? Still, he could not help a reflexive motion of his gaze over the line of her body while her gaze was fixed elsewhere, nor could he control the unexpected physical awareness as he approached.
It reminded him of the first time he'd seen her, years ago in the club in Hogsmeade. He'd been drawn to her then, as well, though not so powerfully as he was now. What had changed? Why was his gaze drawn to the motion of pearl-white teeth against her lip, the way her hair fell and begged to be touched?
Grey shook off his thoughts as a flight of fancy. She was the Headmistress of the school, a woman who had paid him no mind beyond the day-to-day business which needed done. He willfully ignored what he felt and set himself toward that business. "Headmistress, how may I help you?" he asked, sure to keep any trace of his sudden unexplainable awareness out of his eyes.
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Post by Headmistress Hells on Aug 7, 2008 5:06:19 GMT -5
She had heard him coming. The soft tread of his shoes had stirred her out of her daydream, the sound of his voice bring her fully to the surface. Hells turned as he addressed her, a small playful smile upon her lips. "You know, you can call me Hells." she said smiling. "Half the students call me Hells as it is, I don't expect my professors to address me more formally than them." Her eyes lit up with laughter as she spoke, glistening as she looked directly at Grey. More hair was beginning to work itself lose from it's style, falling softly down to frame her face. She was surprised at the ease she felt as she stood in his shop. She felt no discomfort or embarressment. But then why should she?
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Post by Greyson "Grey" Sebastien on Aug 7, 2008 8:53:36 GMT -5
Grey inclined his head in acknowledgment of her words. "My apologies, Hells," he said, his lips curving lightly into just a hint of a self-deprecating smile. It was difficult to keep his gaze from wandering; the slight motion of her hair continuously drew his attention, but, with only two exceptions, he had not strayed from his path in the long, lonely years past. And so he did not stare, did not allow his train of thought to be derailed, but pushed his mind again to business. "I fear some habits are hard to break," he said, adding to his words, and feeling how they applied to more than her name.
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Post by Headmistress Hells on Aug 7, 2008 9:18:04 GMT -5
"That is true." Began Hells, sweeping her hair away from her face. "And sometimes we live in fear of breaking those habits." She glanced away from Grey, picking up a vial that was sat on top of the counter. "I need a potion if you have it." She continued, changing the subject to something safer. "A sleeping draught." She placed the vial back down and looked back at Grey. "At least a couple of days worth if possible." She had ummed and ahhed previously about getting a Memory potion but there were some memories that Hells wanted to keep. Yes the dreams were disturbing and upsetting, but it gave her an insight to something she never knew. She just had to work out the solution.
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Post by Greyson "Grey" Sebastien on Aug 7, 2008 9:41:00 GMT -5
Grey nodded, his gaze slipping to watch the motions of her hands, whether he had approved his actions of not. "It is something which I always keep in stock," he assured her, pulling his gaze back up to her eyes. There was no reason to tell her that he kept it in stock for personal reasons, that he had only just brewed a fresh batch. He only ever allowed himself to use it when the nightmares became too numerous, too disturbing, but since the night of the masquerade, they had been, and so his wine, and his firewhiskey, had not been enough.
Grey pulled out his wand, turned slightly, and with a swish and flick, three small vials floated from the back room where he had been working, each filled with the mellow blue liquid. The vials settled on the counter, but Grey made no move to ring Hells up just yet. "One vial in the evening will assure a deep, dreamless sleep," he assured her. "Be certain you have an entire night to devote to sleep. Many seem to think that an alarm will wake them after some few hours, but no. You will wake after no less than eight."
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Post by Headmistress Hells on Aug 7, 2008 9:55:11 GMT -5
"That is what I am hoping for. It has been several weeks since I have been fortunate enough to get a full night sleep." Hells stopped abuptly, not wishing to give the real reasons as to why she was unable to sleep. That would lead to questions that Hells could not answer. "There is always something happening at the school to lose sleep over, and no matter how quiet you think you have kept it, the Daily Prophet always manages to find out." She recalled the article she read that morning of the school's gossip. Some of it was of course old news, some of it recent. How Gaby found out half the stuff she wasn't sure, but she was glad that some things remained a mystery. Nevertheless, if Grey was to read the Daily Prophet, he could assume she was losing sleep over Herr Snow rather then anything else that had gone on.
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Post by Greyson "Grey" Sebastien on Aug 7, 2008 10:01:27 GMT -5
"I have not read the Daily Prophet yet today," Grey said, gesturing to the paper lying folded to one side of the counter. "Has Gaby finally returned then? I'll admit I didn't believe the rumors, but they were entertaining, to say the least. I'm sure the Quibbler regretted not having printed them first." Grey latched onto the conversation, something prodding him to keep Hells with him, if only for whatever short time he might manage. He did not understand why, but neither did he doubt his hunches, however odd they might seem.
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Post by Headmistress Hells on Aug 7, 2008 10:35:29 GMT -5
"Yes, she's returned." Hells stated, eyeing the newspaper. "I feel that more often then not Gaby may exaggerate on rumours, but I have to give it to her, she's usually not that far from the truth." It was the first time Hells had ever commented on the truth of Gaby's articles. She usually kept quiet about the stories written, knowing that arguing or denying would add more fuel to the fire. Her relationship with Gaby was strained to say the least, not helped by Gaby's constant criticisms of how she ran the school. Yet it was all water on a duck's back to Hells. "When Gaby was a student at the school, she always had a nose for gossip and a passion for stirring up trouble. It came as no surprise that she would take up that position." Even if she did get it by force. Hells thought to herself. "Anyway, she mainly goes on about the Masquerade this week. I think it annoyed her that she couldn't identify everyone that attended, so those she could got more then they bargained for." She watched Grey as she spoke, waiting for any reaction he may unwillingly give.
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Post by Greyson "Grey" Sebastien on Aug 7, 2008 11:36:00 GMT -5
Grey blinked, and his eyes shifted back to the newspaper for just one moment before his gaze shuttered, and any reaction he felt was locked behind it. "It's been some time; I'll admit I thought she'd skip over that for more recent events," Grey said, bringing his dark eyes back to Hells. Not that he was at all worried. He had taken great pains with his costume, transfiguring his eyes, his hair and hand, hiding his scars. He was curious, however. Unlike most of Gaby's gossip, which revolved around the students' love lives, which, of course, he tended to skip over, he had actually been involved in the masquerade. It was the inspiration for his current dreams, the trigger for his nightmares.
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Post by Headmistress Hells on Aug 7, 2008 12:04:37 GMT -5
"Gaby isn't one to skip over something as big as that!" Laughed Hells, returning his gaze. "I am surprised she didn't go into more length about the debauchery that went on. I can imagine there are some students and professors that will read the article in fear of being unmasked." She continued, unabated. She herself could empathise, having often been subject of ridicule. "But knowing Gaby, she won't give up. She'd be sniffing around the dorms if she had access, or paying someone else too. Let's hope everyone hid their costumes well enough not to be discovered. I wouldn't be surprised to find the fires in each common room roaring away nicely tonight!" Her own included, she thought briefly to herself as she grinned.
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Post by Greyson "Grey" Sebastien on Aug 7, 2008 12:17:50 GMT -5
Grey returned her smile at that. Any hidden concerns he might have harbored were wiped away with her words. Hells had obviously read the article and gave no sign that she had found anything in it to point to him, and so he must be one of those whose identities had remained secret. If Gaby had taken any interest in him, that was. "Do you think that she'll coninue searching?" he wondered. "You know her habits better than I; would she write an update, or move on?" It was pure idle curiosity that prompted him to ask. Grey didn't normally read her column due to the usual nature of it, but he would be interested in whatever she might come up with in regards to the masquerade.
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Post by Headmistress Hells on Aug 7, 2008 12:37:34 GMT -5
"Depends if Gaby has an inkling or not I suppose." Hells answered thoughtfully, her brow creasing slightly. "If I read correctly, she made a passing comment about one not being hard to figure out, so I can only presume she has someone in mind and is biding her time." She shrugged nonchalantly, her finger tracing a small crack in the wood of the counter. "I'm sure whoever it is has covered their tracks. They obviously didn't wish to be uncovered at the ball, so I doubt Gaby will be able to find someone who can identify them. I think they can sleep soundly at night." She glanced at the vials of potion Grey had bought out to her. "If not, I'm sure they'll be lining up outside to get some of that!" Laughing, she glanced back at Grey, her eyes searching his face. "I think she'd be more concerned finding out the other identity rather then his mind you." She said as an afterthought.
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Post by Greyson "Grey" Sebastien on Aug 7, 2008 12:46:35 GMT -5
Grey nodded, seeing nothing strange, nothing concerning in her words, assuming that, as usual, Gaby had written about the students. "I will be sure to keep extra sleeping draught on hand, just in case," he said with a lightly teasing smile. "And I will do Gaby the rare honor of reading her article. I didn't spend the evening trying to identify the faces behind the costumes, but I will admit to being interested." Grey said no more on that line, but, having just admitted that he had attended, turned the question to Hells. "Did you go to the masquerade?" he asked. "Or were you hiding from the debauchery, as you called it?"
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Post by Headmistress Hells on Aug 7, 2008 13:02:51 GMT -5
Hells couldn't help but laugh at his question. "I did attend the Masquerade." She said, her cheeks beginning to ache slightly as she smiled. "Being Headmistress, it is out of the question not to attend. Everytime Hogwarts has something spectacular, I am there. One never knows what may or may not occur at these events. Thankfully this year we had no trouble, so all in all, I thoroughly enjoyed myself." She lowered her head to hide her grin as something flickered in her mind, her hair falling to cover her face. Sweeping it back, she looked back at Grey, her grey eyes sparkling mischieviously. "What about you? Did you have a good time?"
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