HUNTING FOR WITCHES., ( OPEN )

[ophelia]

[atrb=border,0,true] i can tell you how this ends, ophelia sparrow had a day off. now that was saying something, considering the fact that she worked full time at madame puddifoot's as the manager. if it hadn't been for the pressuring by the owner of the tearoom to take a temporary holiday, she probably wouldn't have even bothered. afterall, what was there to do? family visits had been exhausted for that month, archer was at work as per usual, and her friends were working as well as just about everyone with a full time job. so that left a rather bored woman sitting on her bed, legs crossed indian style as she attempted to become engrossed in what she was reading. the silence of the cottage rattled her, as did the lack of anything to occupy herself with. even cleaning would have been appreciated if it meant that she wasn't sitting still and trying to engage simply her mind. throwing the book down with an exasperated sigh, the female pushed her chin into the palm of her hand, giving the world outdoors a moody glare. if nothing was going to come to her aid and save her from a potential suicide from boredom, then she was just going to have to find something to do herself. sliding off the bed, ophelia decided on a shower to get out of her simple outfit of a tank top and tracksuit bottoms. besides, didn't that hack off at least half an hour out of her day? pulling some clothes out of her closet and heading to the bathroom, the woman attempted to ignore the bundle of archer's things that he had left on his way to work that morning - just little things, but artifacts that said that he still lived here. things that she needed to see to know that he still existed within her life at all. standing beneath the scalding spray of the shower, ophelia found her mind roaming. it had been a couple of days since he had found her asleep at the kitchen table after an attempt to stay awake in order to see him after work. it felt as if seeing him at really done nothing but drive the nail into the coffin - if anything, she missed him more terribly now than ever before. raking her fingers through her blonde hair and fumbling for a towel after an age spent under the water, she firmly shook herself. now, now. two words to interrupt the silence, but they were chiding enough to dissipate the thoughts running rampant in her head. their engagement would only last if they had faith in it - something that was double-sided, and she had to keep up her half of it. pulling her hair into a wet knot, the woman uttered some words to dry the locks as opposed to use the muggle invention of a hair dryer or simply wait, pulling on whatever it was that she had laid out for herself on her bed. and where would she go? had archer had any other job, the female probably would have gone to visit him, to bring him lunch, just to see his face. but no, he worked in the ministry, and was untouchable for that reason. grabbing her purse and shoving her wand into back pocket, ophelia left the house, locking up after herself and promptly apparating to diagon alley. shopping and lunch should solve everything, at least, for someone as materialistic as she was. besides, perhaps she would bump into someone she knew. god, how she ached for company at that moment, as she moved through the crowds of faces that didn't stir any sort of response from her. at least she had money to spend. muggles were right when it came to retail therapy. afterall, didn't she have shopping to do for christmas or something? absorbed in her thoughts, it wasn't surprising that she eventually bumped into something, dropping her purse as she did it. promptly ducking to collect what had fallen out, ophelia blinked up at the stranger, arching an eyebrow with a somewhat sheepish smile. sorry, wasn't watching where i was going. that and the person was unfortunately practically standing on an old moving picture of her and her fiancee which had fallen out of her wallet. looking at the image, the girl frowned. was it a sign, or was she just extremely paranoid? ah, sorry, i just... reaching over, she attempted to prise the picture back, nearly falling on her face as she was bumped into from behind. diagon alley really wasn't the place for accidents of that variety. TAG open , WORDS 773 , WEARING this , NOTES

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[kaitlyn]

caught up in circles , confusion is nothing new

CASSIUS JAMES ALPHARD SPENT THE MAJORITY OF HIS TIME DIVIDED BETWEEN THREE SEPARATE LOCATIONS: THE OFFICE OF MAGICAL ACCIDENTS AND CATASTROPHES, HIS SMALL LONDON FLAT, AND THE LEAKY CAULDRON. WITH THE INCREASED TENSION AT WORK AND HIS NEW RESPONSIBILITIES AS HEAD CRUOR SNATCHER, CASSIUS WAS NOW SPLITTING HIS TIME ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY BETWEEN WORK AND THE LEAKY CAULDRON. WHEN HE WASN’T ERASING MUGGLE MEMORIES OR ABDUCTING VAMPIRES, HE WAS DROWNING HIS SORROWS WITH SEVERAL PINTS OF FIREWHISKEY. CASSIUS LIVED A MONOTONOUS LIFE: EAT, SLEEP, WORK, AND DRINK. THIS LIFESTYLE, THOUGH AT TIMES UNEVENTFUL AND LONELY, GAVE CASSIUS GREAT SATISFACTION. HE FELT HE WAS WORKING FOR THE GREATER GOOD; HE WAS ERADICATING THE WIZARDING WORLD OF THESE WRETCHED SUPERNATURAL BEASTS. A DEDICATED WORKER, CASSIUS ALPHARD WAS REGULARLY THE FIRST ONE TO ENTER THE ATRIUM AND BEGIN THE WORK DAY AND THE LAST ONE TO LEAVE. THIS RELIABLE WORK ETHIC LEAD TO CERTAIN ADVANTAGES FOR CASSIUS. IF HE EVER FELT THE NEED TO END THE WORK DAY EARLY, AN OCCASION THAT CAME FAR AND FEW BETWEEN, NO ONE QUESTIONED HIM. ON THIS PARTICULAR DAY, AFTER SEVERAL HOURS IN HIS OFFICE AT THE DEPARTMENT, CASSIUS COULDN'T STAND IT ANYMORE. HE FOUND HIMSELF WATCHING THE CLOCK AND PRETENDING TO DO PAPERWORK. HE RATIONALIZED THAT IF HE WASN'T GOING TO ACTUALLY WORK, HE MIGHT AS WELL SPEND HIS TIME ELSEWHERE.

it took several minutes for cassius to tidy up his work space, leave a note regarding his early dismal, and slide his pea coat onto his broad shoulders. a sigh of relief escaped his lips as he looked over his work space. he was leaving and there was only one place in the world he desired to go: the leaky cauldron. a smile found it's way upon cassius' face as he stood and daydreamed of the warm, stinging sensation associated with firewhiskey. he needed a break. after a moment or so, cassius shook his head, walked out of his office space, entered onto the service lift, and pressed for level eight, the atrium. within moments, he was pushed out onto the busiest level of the ministry of magic. maneuvering through the vast crowd of witches and wizards could prove to be a difficult task. cassius alphard felt as if an hour had gone by before he was able to make his way to the row gilded fireplaces. the fireplaces were of great use to ministry officials. scanning over the row of fireplaces, cassius found an empty one. he stepped into the fireplace and reached inside his coat pocket for a large pouch of floo powder. cassius opened up the pouch, grabbed respectable amount of floo powder into his palm, and placed the pouch back in his pea coat. he took a deep breath before tossing the powder onto the fireplace, taking a step into the emerald flames, and clearly saying "diagon alley".

the noise of diagon alley filled cassius before he even opened his eyes. diagon alley: the busiest place in all of wizarding london, besides maybe the ministry. it was a melting pot of different cultures. traders and salesmen from all around the wizarding world came to make a profit in london. cassius felt at home in such chaos. he opened his eyes to see diagon alley busy with activity. cassius alphard took several steps out into the cobblestone walkway of diagon alley when he felt a distinct bump into him. someone or something had fell into him, catching him off-guard. cassius' natural reaction was to instinctively grab for the mahogany wand at his side. he looked around before noticing that the stranger who had ran into him was below him, scrambling to collect her items. the blonde looked up at him, sheepishly smiled and stammered out an apology. cassius sighed a great sigh of relief as he loosened the grasp on his wand. the young blonde began to speak once again, but cassius was unsure of what she was saying. he stared down at her confused before realizing what she wanted. his black leather boot had come down on top of her wallet. cassius quickly moved his foot and crouched down beside the girl. "excuse me, this is my fault, really, wasn't watching where i was going," cassius apologized, unsure whether or not he was actually at fault for the collision.

seven hundred and seventeen words. wearing this. sorry, not my best.

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[ophelia]

[atrb=border,0,true] i can tell you how this ends, it wasn't as if ophelia was clumsy or anything. far from it, really. she had been a proficient quidditch player back in the day, and knew how to walk in a straight line without causing some serious accident. bumping into something or someone wasn't really the norm - she usually had her eyes where they needed to be. but then, what was considered to be usual hadn't really been going down for her lately. blinking at the stranger as he looked at her in confusion, she sighed. her days, weeks and months had been anything but the usual as of late. the girl found herself craving the days in which she went to hogwarts, when everything was easier and her goals were clear in mind. now that she was getting older, ophelia found herself without much satisfaction with what she was doing - it was a monotony that wasn't comfortable in the slightest. as the guy moved his foot, she pulled her wallet back, feeling weary as she saw the crumpled quality of the picture that was within it. it was probably a sign from god - "ophelia sparrow, this was not meant to happen, and you are a fool for wishing that it would." as her reverie was broken by the man who was now crouching beside her, she offered him another smile, shaking her head slowly. it's alright, i'm sure it was b- before she could finish the question, another surge of witches and wizards pushed against her back, resulting in her stumbling onto one knee, finally giving up and standing, looking apologetic all over again. i was going to say, both of our faults, but i seem to just be extra clumsy today. offering him her hand, she ducked out of the crowd, dragging the poor fellow behind her. well, it was his fault for bumping into her - he'd have to deal with her innate urge to talk to him despite him being a stranger. ophelia was just incredibly lonely, enough to suck her usual sass out of the situation and have her laugh quietly. i figured i'd save you from being crushed by the crowd while you were down. you can thank me later. peering at his face, she attempted to place it, wondering if perhaps she knew him at all. it wasn't hard for her to assume such a thing, mostly due to the fact that working in the tearoom. traffic was dense at madame puddifoot's, so familiar faces weren't hard to come by. then again, diagon alley was different in that it was possibly the busiest place that she had ever been to. realizing that she was quietly looking over his shoulder, the girl fixed her eyes back on his face, offering her hand yet again - this time to shake. i'm ophelia, by the way. ophelia sparrow. like adding her last name would jolt both of their memories or something. shuffling slightly and checking that she had all of her belongings, she smiled a little wider, pushing her bangs from her face. have i seen you around before? not one to be shy, the woman kept her eyes on his face, a puzzled smile on her lips. the day was turning out better than expected already, seeing as she had found someone to talk to. what would make it better, however, would be food and something to drink. maybe she could con him into joining her. the thought made ophelia smile again, laughing this time around. it seemed that even the most trivial things were becoming amusing to her. TAG cassius/kaitlyn <3 , WORDS 707 , WEARING this , NOTES

[/b] she's a motormouth.[/div][/center][/td][/tr][/td][/tr][/table]
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[kaitlyn]

caught up in circles , confusion is nothing new

the aggressive crowd of diagon alley's holiday shoppers seemed to be increasing exponentially. the rush of activity in the street made the uncomfortable situation of bumping into a stranger even more uncomfortable. standing in the middle of the cobblestone street made the strangers vulnerable for another accidental collision. the young witch flashed a smile up at cassius and began to speak when a surge of foot traffic jostled the two around. when the crowds calmed down, she finished her statement, exclaiming that the accident was both of their faults, no single person was to blame. cassius alphard was grateful when the unnamed stranger grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him out of the line of fire. before cassius could even thank the young witch for relocating, she took it upon herself to talk about the innovative decision. "you can thank me later." the arrogant statement was clearly said in jest, a sense of humor that reminded cassius of mallory. as the holidays crept closer, he found his mind wandering back to mall, always mall. cassius kept himself busy with his responsibilities as a obliviator and snatcher, his affinity for drinking, but the spare moments far and few between, his mind returned to his hogwarts sweetheart.

cassius alphard was so entranced by his wandering thoughts that he almost missed the young woman's introduction. "ophelia sparrow," she stated, extending a hand for cassius to shake. taking her hand into his, a smirk breached the harsh exterior of cassius alphard. her hand was soft and warm against his calloused palm. her name said it all - ophelia sparrow. it was a name that cassius had heard numerous times in the past. close friend and coworker, archer wren, was constantly ranting and raving about a young witch by the name of ophelia sparrow. the two were engaged and from what cassius saw through archer, madly in love. with his increased responsibilities at work, cassius had less and less time to converse with coworkers, but he assumed that ophelia and archer were still holding strong, planning a magnificent wedding. cassius gazed down at the young woman with the puzzled smile. "ophelia, ophelia," crossing his arms over his chest, cassius shook his head playfully, "archer speaks highly of you; it's a pleasure to finally be meeting you. cassius alphard." soft laughter erupted from cassius as his introduction hung in the air. "i feel as if i already know you from the tall tales i hear about the infamous ophelia. i'm also fairly certain we're crossed paths at one ministry function or another."

a low, growling noise echoed out from the stomach of cassius alphard. he coughed nervously to mask the noise. it was not uncommon for cassius to get caught up in business and forget to eat. he would go ten-twelve hours without eating, simply getting caught up in work responsibilities. his refrigerator at his london flat was bare. the only food he ate was the food prepared by his mother during holidays or by the chefs at the leaky cauldron. cassius ignored his growling stomach, knowing that eventually, he was headed to satisfy his hunger. the thought passed through his mind that maybe ophelia would join him for lunch. would that be ethical? could cassius take his friend's fiance out for lunch?

five hundred and forty-eight words. wearing this. short and late, i'm sorry.

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[ophelia]

[atrb=border,0,true] i can tell you how this ends, as the male before her shook her hand, ophelia's smile expanded to something just short of a grin. she did enjoy meeting new people, or on this occasion, a suspected old acquaintance. the repetition of her name had her examining his features again, brow creasing at the mention of her fiancee. a familiar pain trilled through her chest as her thoughts moved the dark-haired male who she was desperately trying to make a life with. smoothing over any pained expression on her face, the girl smiled. cassius? oh yes, i remember now. one of archer's ministry buddies - it had been a while, but not long enough to not be able to recognize the man. tall tales? you'll have to tell me about them... she felt slightly reassured at that point. if archer was talking about her at work, surely that meant that their relationship hadn't become completely redundant. nodding at his continued speech, the girl smoothed the wrinkles of her shirt with her palm, most likely. i disgress, i'm not very good with faces, but i knew i must have met you before. at the cough, the woman arched an eyebrow. the sound of his hunger was evidently unmaskable, which resulted in a laugh from her. i don't suppose you're hungry enough to join me for lunch or something? ever the forward person, she offered him a reassuring smile. archer surely wouldn't mind. afterall, ophelia was now curious to see what exactly this man knew about her fiancee, and perhaps if the talk about her had petered out or not. following that awkward night in which she had stayed up to wait for archer to come home, the air in the cottage had not only been one of loneliness but also one of tension. what she was left with was a terrible choice - give their relationship a break or simply wait for something to happen. she was leaning towards the latter in an uncharacteristic spurt of cowardice. simply put, splitting from archer was one of her worst fears - nine years of her life, gone, should she do this. almost a decade. realizing that she was simply staring over cassius' shoulder absently, she smiled again, tugging on his sleeve. well? come on. i can't say the food at the leaky cauldron is as good as at madame puddifoot's, but then again, i'm biased. winking at the male, she turned away, ducking back into the crowd but looking at him from over her shoulder, she headed towards the only venue she knew which did food well to any extent - the leaky cauldron. as she slipped through the foot traffic, however, the girl continually lost sight of the man, but figured he could see the top of her blonde head, seeing as he was tall enough to do such a thing. as she came closer to the pub, however, the girl leaned against another wall, waiting for him to catch up. supposing that archer had still been talking about her at work? could she be lulled into reassurance and believe that there was nothign wrong? perhaps cassius could help her with the keening fear that she had tried to escape by leaving the house and coming to the alley. in a way, her trip was proving to be redundant, but it would be nice to have some company regardless. TAG cassius/kaitlyn <3 , WORDS 567 , WEARING this , NOTES

[/b] murrr short ;c.[/div][/center][/td][/tr][/td][/tr][/table]
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