Back in Business [Tag: Timothy]

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

All of the stairways seemed to twist and move in a thick silence compared to the continuous noise of the clock in the towers above. It was a constant in Brianna's life - she could always expect to hear it even if everything else changed.
And things did change - a lot. Brianna wasn't one to get swept up in the social currents of school life, but she never seemed to stay in any particular 'group' for more than a couple of weeks. It probably had to do with the her... well, screwing around, to put it frankly. She liked to call it her 'hobby'.

If anyone would have bothered to pay any attention, they would realize that she had been in the same spot for the past quarter of an hour or so - people were apparently prone to her oddities, as they said nothing to acknowledge her save the occasional nod in greeting. The segment she stood on continued to sway back and forth from the sixth and seventh floor, yet she never got off, leaning against the railing nonchalantly. She refused to ask anyone for help, but seriouslythetrickstepwasreallyhardtogetoutof,goddamnit. She yanked up foot up experimentally - no go. It remained stubbornly inside of the step with who-knew-what force.

Timothy was slowly wandering the halls, just observing other students' body language. He had his hands tucked in his pockets, posture slightly slouched. He noticed a girl simply standing on the stairs, a Slytherin, about his age. Arms crossed, not inviting conversation, but he was bored.
"Hello." He smiled a little as he climbed up to her. "Taking a ride on the stairs?" He was tempted to brush his bangs out of his eyes and give her a charming smile, but he'd be better off if he went slowly. If he acted too hastily, came on too strong, he might make her uncomfortable.

Brianna had almost given into the fact that she would be staying there for quite a while, seeing as classes were starting soon and not everyone had a total disregard for schedule like her. The girl sat down with a huff - honestly, she was surprised that she had not yet been suspended for a lack of appearance in any of her classes.

At that time, someone chose to stop before her, casting a shadow over the light overhead. She peeked up from under her curtain of hair - a boy gazed at her, someone she didn't know (which was surprising, in retrospect. There weren't very many people she didn't know). Great. She... did not need this right now.

Or maybe she did. She took in the way he held himself, the robes he wore... Slytherin. The lot of them, including herself, had prides usually far bigger than reasonable - they would not admit to something that degraded their name. That made it all the more perfect for her to use him.

"Why, hello there." She rose, her lips curving into a natural, knowing smiling. "Not many people take the time to stand upon a stairwell that moves. It's... interesting." She kept her eyes wide, portraying innocence as well as a five year old girl. It would do no good to scare him off before he helped her. "That was my intention five minutes ago, anyhow." She let out a sheepish laugh. "Then I remembered about the trick step a little too late." A nod at her feet pointed out her ankle rooted firmly into the 'stone' step.

She looked up at him, eyes wide. No way a Slytherin his age still used that expression naturally. Another manipulator, like him? This should be interesting.
She got her foot stuck in the trick step. Usually only first and second years did that. Was she trying to fool him, or honestly accidentally stuck? Well, either way...
"I know how that is." He smiled. "Mind on other things, and all of a sudden..." He nodded at her foot. "Let me help, us Slytherins have to watch out for each other." He held a hand out, smiling. Not his charming smile, but a kind smile.

"I'm glad there's another intelligent soul in these parts, then." She reached to him with well-manicured fingers, grasping his hand lightly with a grateful smile. "There are numerous things to dwell about in life, one should not always have their common sense about them when pondering these subjects." She spoke eloquently, a slight lilt in her voice that gave an unrecognizable accent to her words.

"The damsel in distress you've saved today is Brianna Kyler." She resisted the urge to laugh at her self-name calling. "What is the name of my knight in shining armor?" Fantasies had always been a wonder to Brianna since childhood - yes, she lived in an in-ordinary world, but there were still phenomenons in the world that could not be covered with the blanket excuse of 'magic'.

He helped pull her out of the trick step, she talking some nonsense about not keeping her wits about her on purpose. A very slight accent, he couldn't place it.
Her fingernails were manicured, did she do that herself, or get another girl to do it for her? Either way, very meticulous to keep her nails in good condition, and concerned about looking good.
She announced herself as a damsel in distress, Brianna Kyler, and asked for his name, referring to him as a knight in shining armor. She clearly did not have her wits about her at this time, but he played along. He didn't want to make her upset, especially after he'd done her a favor.
"My name is Timothy Carpenter." He swept a low bow, brushing his bangs out of his eyes with a charming smile as he stood. "Glad to be of service, Miss Brianna Kyler."

Timothy Carpenter. The name hadn't registered at first, but it soon clicked in the back of her mind along with a torrent of just recently suppressed memories. Her grin stayed friendly, relaxed despite the fact that her mind raced through the information she had only just remembered.

The note. A blood red rose. Fire. Dark, taunting eyes. Lestrange.
It had been all his fault.

Fury welled up inside her like a dragon rearing its ugly head — with it came the usual characteristics that usually slept, dormant deep inside of her. Her senses heightened, catching even the smallest specks of dust that speckled the boy's clothes. Another feeling rose, something all too familiar — Ah. Perfect. Her smile widened, teeth glinting in the daylight.

A good analogy as to how veela charm works is a flame — it has a presence, an aura that is only perceptible to those who know how to look for it. If fed, it will rage on until the victim feels overwhelming desire for the veela, an obsession to the point where he no longer knows of anything other than her. It flickers and sings, enticing others into a exhilarating dance that leads only to their doom.

Like a fire, however, it is wild. One has to learn the art and tame it to their will in order to use it. Brianna had had the fortune of meeting a travelling sisterhood during her brief stay in Macedonia — this was where she had discovered the truth behind what she really was. Three of the group in particular had taken a liking to Brianna, who had only been a young teenager at the time. They'd taught her the secrets and inner workings of how to use the charm in the few short weeks that they'd had, leaving her to experiment and explore her skill through experience and time.

Now, the girl had a firm grasp of her talents. It obeyed her calling for the most part, but there were times when she could not pull it up around her and others when it overtook her if she lost her temper. She had not used it for a while (the Durmstrang incident had caused her to keep away), but the aura now smoldered, unbidden as it wrapped around her in a welcoming embrace.

Brianna took a slow step towards Timothy. Her fingers trailed over his wrist, and she grasped his forearm lightly. "Thanks are in order, are they not?" Pale, grey-blue eyes peered up at him from lowered lids. "What is a smart boy doing not heading towards class, anyway?"

Timothy allowed Brianna to step deliberately towards him, taking his arm lightly. She looked up at him through her lashes. Was that a body language signal? It must be, but he couldn't remember it. Deception? Humbleness? Well, she seemed to be trying to engage a conversation, possibly a private one, and he had nothing better to do. Besides, she might be good ally to have later...
"I could ask you the same question." He smiled, teasing. "No, I just don't feel like going. I doubt I'll miss much. What about you?" His lack of reasoning for wandering the school wasn't very interesting.

The smolder was steadily trickling its way into a full out blaze, now, as Brianna embraced her power and let it flow out of her body rather than restraining it.

"Smart man," she spoke softly, yet her voice seemed to resonate with a soothing hum. "I've always like the smart ones." The teachers at Hogwarts were idiots, for the most part. They all taught about the most mundane of subjects, even with danger rampaging through most of the world.

"I find it easier to learn on my own." She shrugged, sweeping her hair back to rest on one shoulder. "My pace is faster, anyway, and classes are usually boring... you're much more fun." Her smile, once innocent, slowly curved into a sly sort of grin.

Timothy felt the need to impress her, the need for her to like him. She could be a very good ally. "Well, if you can learn faster than the professors, I daresay you're quite smart yourself." He smiled his charming smile some more. She swept her hair over her shoulder, exposing her neck. That was a confidence display, wasn't it?

Her smile had changed, though he supposed it was still a pretty smile. It had narrowed a bit, as had her eyes. It had the marks of a natural smile, he thought, though he didn't have much chance to study the difference between natural and faked smiles.

"You look like you're in the mood for mischief." He teased. "Shall we go have fun?"