Shadows in the Dark {Open}

Subject: Shadows in the Dark {Open} Thu Sep 14, 2017 4:20 am

July, Before Year 6

Alexa silently made her way from Diagon Alley and into Knockturn Alley, her steps silent as she waved her wand over herself, silently putting on a light glamour over herself to stop people from asking questions on what a sixteen-year-old was doing down in Knockturn.

Striding down the alley with purpose, Alexa made her way into one of the many dark alleyways before she slipped into the one shop she was here for; Cobb and Webb's. A Dark Arts shop that traded with anything and everything; from books to potion ingredients.
You name it and they probably have it and if not they would order it for a price.

She shouldn't be there, a light Gryffindor Witch had no business in a shop like Cobb and Webb's but Alexa was here for only one purpose. A book that she desperately needed; one that wasn't sold in any other shop purely for the fact that it could be classed as Dark Magic even though it was mainly filled with theory and hardly any spells.

Pursuing the countless bookcases, her eyes finally fell on the book that she wanted and just as she was pulling it off the shelf, a presence behind her made her stiffen, her fingers curling tightly around the spine of the book as she pulled it off, her eyes shutting for a scant few seconds before opening once again, her back automatically straightening and her lips pulled into a pleasant smile as she turned around, her eyes focused on the person just in front of her.

"May I help you?"

Her glamour had long fallen, having been dissipated when she passed through the wards on the shop, so the person in front of her clearly knew who she was though probably didn't know the reason why she was in this shop in particular.

Posts : 18 Join date : 2017-09-29

July, Before 5th Year

A light skip in her step, Hailey made her way down Knockturn Alley. She'd heard from some friends that this was the place to go to for the darker side of the Wizarding world, and her first trip had been a couple years ago; she'd managed to sneak away from the ministry appointed rep who was to help her gather school materials each year. That was the good thing about being free, about having no parents. She could pretty much do as she pleased, and then plead innocent later on. "I got lost, I'm so sorry," did more than anything else could've.

But now, at fifteen, she was allowed to go by herself -- she was supposedly acquainted with the streets and no longer needed anyone with her -- and so, book list forgotten, she stepped into the alley.

Already she'd bought a few things here and there, small tokens with which to experiment with. It wasn't that she didn't dare buy the more heavy items; it was simply that she never knew how to sneak it past the ministry guard. More than once she'd been tempted to stab whoever it was when they became overly patronising, but realised it was would've been hard to get rid of this body, and so resisted the urge.

Money wasn't difficult; she stole a little here and there during her outings to Hogsmeade. It was easy to climb through open windows or get into the back of restaurants or shops and into their safes. She never took more than a few galleons here and there, and never too much, so any discrepancies between count and stock could easily be explained away as human error.

And, of course, whenever she was back in the muggle world during holidays, she would put her talents to even better use and take more than she needed; Gringotts allowed muggleborns to change muggle money to wizarding money, and Hailey never found herself in want.

Stepping into Cobb and Webb's, a shop she'd already checked out numerous times and loved, Hailey dipped her head in greeting at the shopkeeper. He pointed towards a shelf; the last time she'd been here, she had inquired about a particular book that had been out of stock. Necromancy wasn't exactly particularly an area of study for her; she was just curious about what it would take to bring the dead back to life and their capacities. It would be useful; the dead couldn't feel pain, and would be the perfect throwaway distraction.

There was only one problem: someone was already in front of the shelf, blocking her from what she wanted. A Gryffindor witch she recognised from around Hogwarts. It never crossed her mind once that neither of them should have been near the shop, and Hailey moved to stand behind her. Patience had never been her strong suit; she got what she wanted when she wanted it or people would know her displeasure.

The girl turned, and Hailey crossed her arms at the question. "Yeah, move," she said. "You're in my way."

Subject: Re: Shadows in the Dark {Open} Mon Oct 02, 2017 7:16 am

Had Alexa been an actual Gryffindor, and not just in name, the blond-haired witch would've probably stepped away and ranted at the girl as it stands though, the sixteen-year-old was, by far, the most unconventional Gryffindor and Pureblood that had ever graced the walls of Hogwarts. She was by no means someone that would just step aside purely because someone told her to and because that person seemed annoyed with her.

"I'm in your way?" The witch drawled slowly as she eyed the shorter girl, clearly unimpressed by the way the other was trying to make her displeasure known. "I was here first if you hadn't noticed and I'm not finished yet," Alexa said coldly as she turned back to pursuing the bookshelves, her fingers dragging across the spines of the books as she pulled out more books to actually buy and read; she didn't really have a spending limit on books so she was going to try and get as much as could be possible in a shop like this.

Her fingers and eyes stopped cold on a book about necromancy but she went past it; she may enjoy reading about the Dark Arts but even Necromancy was going too far, even for her tastes. In her opinion, the dead should stay dead. No matter what anyone said, the dead have no future in being alive once more.

Posts : 18 Join date : 2017-09-29

Eyes narrowing, a dangerous sign for anyone who knew her, Hailey contemplated her options. If she were at school or was not under the trace, she would have hexed the witch without a second thought. But that wasn't an option right now, not in view of others and not when she was in school still. That was the fun option, and with a soft sigh to herself, Hailey settled for the safer, less painful way (for the other witch, of course).

Taking a few steps back, she eyed the top of the shelf, judging mentally the distance and the force she'd need to propel herself up. Then, nodding once, she arched her body and flipped herself over, placing more and more pressure with each flip. The last one, she pushed hard, sending her up and over the witch's head; Hailey grabbed the edge of the shelf and pulled herself up, landing upright.

She grinned, then let herself fall a little, crossing her legs as she did so she landed in a seated position, still on top of the shelf. Then, leaning over, she plucked the book she wanted from the shelf.

"I did notice," she said, carefree cheer in her voice as usual; she never really experienced fear. "But I didn't care." Her eyes darted to the pile of books the other witch held, taking in the titles, trying to judge her character. Nothing she saw really caught her interest, and she shrugged, moving her gaze back to the witch. "Do you have a problem?" she asked, genuinely curious. "With me, I mean."

Subject: Re: Shadows in the Dark {Open} Mon Oct 02, 2017 8:49 am

Alexa practically ignored the dangerous vibe that emitted from her fellow blond; it wasn't that she wasn't scared of the other witch, she looked like the type of person who could fuck with her without batting an eye, it was just the pure fact that she had gotten used to dangerous vibes from people. Not many students liked her after all, at least the pureblood ones that tended to get pissed off and indignant with her and tried to look the bigger guy in any confrontation she had with them.

The Gryffindor didn't even flinch or move away from her space as she watched the other girl, just curiously looking on as she flawlessly jumped over and landed on the top of the shelf. She applauded the girl in her mind, not everyone was that athletically fit to be able to do that, especially in a place like this.

"I see." She just grunted as she pulled out a book that looked awfully curious and she opened it to one of the pages, her brow shooting up high as she realized that this was a Family Grimoire like book. Clearly, the spells that were usually on books like these had been taken off if it was here or the shopkeeper had no idea what he was selling. Shrugging she placed it on top of the pile and pursued the lower shelves, picking up some more books. These ones on the darker of the Dark Arts that could end with her in Azkaban quicker than she could plead innocence.

"No." Alexa shook her head to the question. "I've got no problem with you. I just don't like people telling me what to do. Two years ago a guy that told me what to do ended up in the hospital, I'm not sure if you heard. I castrated the bastard... Or at least tried to..." She blinked her eyes up at the blond witch and smirked darkly. "I failed spectacularly."

Posts : 18 Join date : 2017-09-29

There was nothing really curious about the witch's reaction; while Hailey was used to unsettling people, like she did some younger years, there were also those unphased by her appearance or behaviour. None of those in the circus, for example, thought anything was off about her. And Jerome -- sweet, sweet Jerome -- never once seemed to have a problem with the way she talked or acted. They were a pair, the two of them -- if only he would realise she could be so much more than a friend and have sex with her.

Hailey watched, head tilted, as the witch added another book to the growing pile. Some of those books she'd already read, some were new to her and she added those to her mental list. She'd pick them up some other time; right now, she only wanted to focus on necromancy. It was the only thing interesting enough for her at the moment. Perhaps at a later date she'd be more inclined to try other things, but that time wasn't now.

The statement made her raise an eyebrow. "If you don't do something right, don't do it at all," Hailey said, her tone somewhat unamused. "If you planned on failing, it's not a fail, is it?" She shrugged. "You should've cut it off and made him eat it," she added, almost as an after thought, but didn't add on that -- ddn't say that she had done it, at the age of nine.

"Besides, I don't like asking people to do anything. That doesn't get results; orders do," she went on. "And no, I didn't hear. I don't care what you do to others, only what others do to me."

Subject: Re: Shadows in the Dark {Open} Mon Oct 02, 2017 9:44 am

Alexa flipped through the book she had just picked up and she couldn't help the amused snort that escaped her lips; oh how the mighty have fallen. If the family of this Grimoire knew where the book was they would probably be frothing at the mouth, especially since the book was now going to be sold to a sixteen-year-old witch that was going to literally use the book for her own profits.

Slamming the book shut, she eyed the pile of books she had before with a shrug she decided to grab some more; her Papa didn't tell her that she couldn't splurge a little on books as long as she still had enough for her school stuff.

"I was in a daze while I was doing," Alexa replied to that, pretty much absently as she grabbed more books for her collection and some to take to school; there was a Potion book that she had found which had a lot of amendments to the instructions which meant that whoever had owned the book clearly knew what he or she was doing when playing around with the potions. "But yes, it wasn't actually a fail. And considering I was at Hogwarts at the time I couldn't really fully castrate the bastard." Alexa snorted. "The fucker thought that just because I was only fourteen at the time and him seventeen that he had a right to do and say things that he shouldn't be. Had my Papa found out his family would be in shambles by now."

"..." Alexa eyed the girl from the corner of her eye, respect slowly forming for the girl that she had just met. "I'll make a mental note to not get on your bad side, I have a feeling that it would be bloody." Not that Alexa was a saint either, there was a reason why she was in a Dark shop after all and it wasn't for the eye candy at the counter, it was for the books in her hands and the other stuff that was around the shop.

Posts : 18 Join date : 2017-09-29

Hailey took in the information with a slight stab of disappointment. For a brief, glorious moment, she thought she'd met someone else like her, someone wonderfully and entirely insane, who didn't care about risks and did what was right, when it was right, without thought for anyone else. But the witch's statement had shattered the hope. In a daze, Hailey repeated mentally, her inner voice scoffing.

She talked of family, of 'right and wrong', of his age -- like any of that mattered. It didn't. Hailey knew this full well; she trusted nobody (except, of course, Jerome). She had nobody but herself to rely on (again, except Jerome; Jerome was probably the excception to everything), and she didn't give two hoots if she was at home or outside; if someone tried to harm her, she would fight back without a single hesitation and make them suffer for it. Pain was, after all, an area of study for her.

"Why not?" she asked, standing as she did. Book in hand, she flipped over, landing behind the witch. There was no need to be up there any longer, and she wanted to get going soon; there were tools she wanted to pick up from other shops regarding necromancy. "If you hadn't been at Hogwarts, would you have?" she went on, looking curiously at the witch. Why did it matter where? "Three years," she mused. "That's not a big gap. How'd you knock him out? I doubt he sat still and let you cut off his dick."

The statement made her laugh, her tone childlike and happy. How foolish of the witch to presume. Hailey didn't have a bad side; she did what she wanted to whomever she wanted, whether they tried to hurt her or not, 'friend' or not. She did, however, have a good side -- and, currently, only Jerome was on it. The rest of the world could burn for all she cared. But this wasn't the only thing wrong with the witch's statement.

All Hailey said, however, was "There are ways to hurt people without the mess of blood. There are even ways to make them die painfully and slowly without any traces. It wouldn't always be bloody."

Subject: Re: Shadows in the Dark {Open} Mon Oct 02, 2017 11:13 am

"I would've." Alexa replied to the question, not even bothering to keep her voice quiet as she placed the last of her books onto the pile that was steadily growing larger though it was next to her now and floating along leisurely. "I didn't want to get expelled for what I was doing to him. I would've gladly castrated the bastard."

At the question of how she knocked him out, Alexa looked at the other girl through her fringe, wondering how to answer that without actually giving too much away before deciding it wouldn't be worth the trouble in angering this girl.

"It wasn't really what I did but I was stressed, angry, pissed off and my magic just... knocked him out from me... Or well knocked him back from me. Not my fault that he hit his head afterwards and fell blissfully unconscious." Alexa shrugged her shoulders and hummed softly as she placed the last of her books on top of the pile that she was forming.

"I'm aware of that." Alexa casually replied to the other witch's words. "I may be a Gryffindor but I'm far from stupid. I've... done some research and experimentation on animals." At least dangerous rodents and animals that she wouldn't really miss like those Kneazles that she never liked; that cat-like animal made her skin crawl.

Posts : 18 Join date : 2017-09-29

Expelled. Hailey rolled her eyes once, when she was sure the witch wasn't looking. There was no point, now, wanting to be friends. Or at least, not a true one; there were many people she refered to as 'friend', many she called by that title, but only a very, very small handful she actually considered someone she could confide in -- a real friend. In fact, so small was this list that she only had one name on it -- Jerome. Well, he would be, if only he got on with maturing and got over the nicey-nice stuff she knew wasn't the real him.

Being expelled was such a... lame reason to not do something. Perhaps death was a decent reason, as was boredom, but simply because you'd get kicked out of school? No, that was pathetic and showed a lack of character in Hailey's mind. Jerome would have done it, she knew. Done it and not cared had he gotten expelled. She would, too, if he asked her. She'd do anything he asked her, really. But that wasn't the point, and she physically drew herself away from thinking about Jerome; there would be time for that later.

Instead, she shrugged. "Not gladly enough," she pointed out. For a moment, she was tempted to offer to finish the job -- purely for the amusement it would bring and nothing more -- but she stopped herself. There was only trouble to be brought by messing around with someone else's duty (and make no mistake, it was duty to look after oneself) and messing in someone else's business. Except for friends, Hailey cared only for herself. It would've been fun, sure, to have a second victim to play with -- this time, of course, she'd make him suffer for far longer before ending him -- but it just wasn't worth her time; he'd done nothing to her, and it wouldn't be as enjoyable to make him suffer.

Listening to the explanation, Hailey raised an eyebrow. Magic was cool, but not that fun. Willing someone to not do something or to stay still made it less fun; them stuggling to get away, the begging, the screaming, the false hope that they could escape... That made it even more fun to hurt others.

She said nothing; what was there to say? To each their own, even if 'their own' was boring as hell. Even thinking about a non-struggling victim made her want to yawn.

Raising an eyebrow, Hailey said, "Then why would you suggest it would get bloody?" She let out a giggle. "Blood is harder to clean up, unless you know how to get rid of it all." She stopped herself here; there was more to say, but nothing she wanted to discuss with the witch. And then there was the research. How ridiculous to do things on animals. They didn't react the way people did, couldn't scream or beg, or promise you the world... Hailey might have only had that one victim, but she fantasied about doing so much more. One day, when she was older, she would start her experiments. There were enough homeless people on the streets to provide her with endless fun.

"Animals are boring," she said, keeping her other thoughts hush. Too much. Besides, she was bored already.