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Of course he was simply wandering about, Alexei did seem to have an annoying habit of always showing up when Amelie was around. Persistent, he was. No matter how could or rude or even pleasant she was, he still kept coming around at sometimes even inconvenient times. Like now, as she dealt with being the eldest Lowell child.  Watch your sisters, they had said. Like she didn't do that as best she could, like she didn't care more for them than any other people on the planet, let alone in these chilled stone halls. 

Amelie sighed, and tapped her wand to the letter. "Incendio," she muttered, as she allowed the flames to engulf her mother's handwriting, and she dropped it to the floor as the parchment slowly turned into ash and smoke. At the moment, protecting her sisters meant keeping them happy and safe, and worrying them with such news would only cause pain.

Alexei was near her now, so she turned towards him and leant her shoulder up against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest. "Aren't we meant to be afraid to walk the halls at night? Afraid we'll be the next on a list of attacks and killings? Things have been quiet lately, so I thought I'd go and test the curfew."

  An easy smirk appeared upon his lips at the sight of her. She was one of only two people, he supposed, that could make him smile upon his gaze meeting their face. The only other being his brother, and he’d been distant recently. Perhaps cuttingly so. And his liking for the half-veela certainly never went unnoticed, even if it were some rather challenging plan for eventually breaking her. Because he would, if he planned to.

But at the moment, his current agenda involved charm, manipulation. Alexei didn’t know what to do with her liking once he had it, though. Merely obtaining it was his current goal, as that had so far been difficult. She was… stubborn. Not a trait he hated, though. It merely made things more fun. And so he considered his answer for a moment, slowly making his way down the corridor.  Almost silent, soundless. The only muttering that could be heard was a breathy rendition of his usual wheezing, barking laugh. Significantly muted, but still there.  "Oh, merely wandering. I didn’t expect any one else to be out at this hour. Yourself?" Alex asked, a questioning eyebrow there as he neared her, unblinking in the bright wand-light. He didn’t make an effort to read her letter, that would be a mistake on his part. He was supposed to be forging something like the skeleton of a friendship here, that certainly wouldn’t help.

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Amelie hovered in the dark, the dimly lit corridor, in which she'd taken refuge. Students were whispering in their beds about the Avdeev brother coming unhinged. Every meeting she'd had with him, the boy had seemed quite together, perhaps cold and calculating, but he still spread about his charming grin and endearing quips easily. Though she didn't know what happened when he wasn't so public.

She'd come to read a letter from her mother in peace and privacy, since she didn't care for the students of Ulv to know anything about her. Amelie needed her sisters, but Athena was probably asleep, Annette along with her, enjoying the quiet peacefulness of slumber while Amelie herself endured long restless nights. Her family was afraid. The Dark Lord's followers had been seen near their town, and as members of the bourgeoisie they'd felt threatened for home and security. But what could she do from here?

She heard faint whistling, though it had remained in the background, until it abruptly stopped. Amelie turned, and the light from her wand which had been illuminating her letter now scattered down the hall towards the boy whom had found her.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked hotly.

As Alexei strolled down the corridor, he whistled. Not some bright tune that every one knew, no. It was low, eerie, something that would likely chill if heard echoing around the old stone. He did so like upsetting the younger students. He’d not quite bargained for any one wandering this late in the evening, and so stopped at the end of the corridor, the dark figure at the other end. A student. Their stance was much too uncomfortable for a member of staff. And so Alex stopped whistling, falling silent and waiting for them to spot him in the half-light.

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lostinthelionsden:

Imogen Poots is perfect.

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Amelie huffed, quite put out that she wasn't as self-sufficient as she so loved to be. Certainly she wouldn't fall over, would she? Well, it was still a possibility, and one of greater embarrassment than being seen with a boy. Though the thought made her groan internally. Walking through the hall with someone other than her sisters. Surely the Beauxbatons students would notice.  But what did it matter what they thought, anyway? They thought of her as nothing more than cold, heartless, a pute in French. Being seen with anyone but them could only be good, truly. Until of course someone decided it was their duty to tell Alexei her almost merciless past with males. And that would only be embarrassing because they would assume romance. 

But finally it seemed she'd convinced herself to concede. "I'd not thought that simply walking was considered reckless. My apologies," she quipped, though the sarcasm wasn't as biting as she'd intended.  She lazily flicked her wand at her bag on the floor, and sent it back to her dormitory. She certainly wasn't going to carry it.  ANd perhaps she felt the slight need to prove she was still capable, not a toddler that needed hovering and coddling. Either way, she tucked her wand away and continued on, concentrating on keeping her balance as she slowly walked.

  He could tell almost instantly that she wasn’t herself. She was usually so much more composed, together, running like clockwork in order to make it look like she was hollow inside. A feeling he knew well, and so exhaustion was merely something that came and went easily for some one like them. Her recent lack of sleep and heightened levels of stress over the matters of that night had likely helped her along, too. And so, of course, he took this as an instantaneous opportunity to be the good guy. Ever more evidence that he certainly wasn’t one, of course. But she wouldn’t know that. She didn’t even have any idea that he’d just read her thoughts with out permission, and that had been when she was even half-present within her own little mind. She stumbled, she needed help. Alex really did look upon it as nothing more than an opportunity to gain more of her valuable, so sought after trust. He wanted it, that was his goal. If only to cling to her for shallow emotional comfort, he wanted that. "You’re going to fall over, I’ll walk you back." he replied, a statement rather than a question or request. He would walk her back, she had no choice in the matter. She would hurt herself otherwise, or pass out in a corridor trying. He let the matter of her denying she’d help him rest in favour of this, and so sought to guide her out of the library instead, a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Amelie, be careful."

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Imogen Poots - Flare Magazine - March 2014

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thatawkwardmomentmovie:

That awkward moment when you realize you’re falling for each other.

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Amelie leaned forward, taking a moment to listen. So far it was still rambling about the things she'd already read in books. Not very interesting in the least. She turned to look at Nicolai, and spotted his wand in hand.

"You okay?" she asked hollowly.

Boat 5 || Amelie and Nic

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"I don't know what you're talking about," she murmured, leaning her head back against the bookcase. She felt a bit more at ease, that was true, but it seemed to open a floodgate of exhaustion now that she wasn't so frenzied about finding answers. Her limbs felt as heavy as stone. She almost thought she would fall asleep right there in the library, which was completely unacceptable.  So she tried to stand up, her inherent grace slipping for a moment as she staggered slightly, resting an arm against a shelf to take a moment to brush her hair back over her shoulder. 

"You have absolutely nothing to thank me for," she insisted, leaning forward to rest her forehead against the wood. "I'm sorry, I'm just-" she yawned quietly, bringing up a hand to cover her mouth, "I  didn't realize how tired I was, I suppose." 

Now she dreaded the long walk back to the Ulv dormitory. She was decidedly not the kind of person to curl up in a corner and sleep, though. She refused on principle. She simply needed to collect herself long enough to get back to her bed without stumbling.

  He watched her, waited for her to decide. This was a carefully executed operation, or at least for him it was. He didn’t want to intrude, or at least, intrude and have her know that he had. Him being able to access her thoughts was something he highly doubted the distrusting half-veela would approve of. But his curiosity just wouldn’t leave him, he knew it would frustrate and annoy until he knew what it was that worried her so, purely for the sake of knowing.

Closing her eyes merely made it harder for him to read her thoughts, and so concentrating was a must. He’d likely have one hell of a headache later, but still, it was worth it to rid himself of his biting curiosity. And so he stared, rather intently at her, brow furrowed in further attempts to concentrate, get in, tune in to what ever it was she was thinking. She was much harder to crack than others he’d succeeded in doing so to, he supposed that natural defences may have built up due to her distrusting nature. Yet he quickly tuned in, picking up her little voice, talking to herself. It wasn’t as if he could hear it, it wasn’t on the plane of sound. It was as if she were inside his head, or perhaps calling over into his mind. He most certainly wouldn’t make his presence known in hers. 

"I.. I had to get her out of there, because Alexei looked like he would actually kill her. I remember that. And I don’t help people, Why did I even do that?”

He picked up on his own name among the babbled words rather quickly, wondering why it was there. Oh, what had… happened. He remembered her being there, of course, even bordering on stopping him. Perhaps she would have had the poltergeist not stepped in. How very brave. Also, how very foolish. 

"Someone else could’ve taken her. But I figured they would run straight to the Headmaster, and I didn’t think Alexei needed that, considering what the girl had said…"

The fact that she’d sought to protect him from being punished for this in the first place struck him as odd. Even if it were little effort in doing so. True, he hadn’t been punished. But that didn’t matter to him, he hardly ever was unless he’d done something severe. Though, he supposed, this had been quite severe.

He’d cut up a student in a blind rage in public. Even Alexei classed that as on the higher end of the spectrum. Considering what the girl had said… Oh, she’d heard. She knew now. He instantly became a little more guarded. Perhaps the moment they’d shared that had been even mildly genuine had drawn some sympathy from her. It may be useful… The boy had to stifle a laugh as she swore. 

“And then I was on the floor, being shaken awake by Athena. I couldn’t remember anything in between, but I was cold…  I went to the Headmaster… Why didn’t he care?”

That, the boy really couldn’t explain. The Headmaster not caring. He may have been indifferent, of course, but… Not caring, outright not caring. Perhaps he’d been in shock himself. The storm had unsettled a lot of the staff and students alike. It was only now that Alexei wished he’d cast the spell with his wand, gaining access to her memories.But still, it was more information than he’d anticipated getting. That, and the mystery of the identity of her attacker was another thing he could wonder of until he got bored and started hexing people in order to find out.

This had been a rather enlightening little trip into her thoughts, and so he repaid her in some small way, concentrating further despite the thudding headache that had crept up on him. Quietening her thoughts, if only slightly, it was at least something. There would be a noticeable difference, how ever mild it was.

"There, you should be able to sleep soundly for a little while at least." he nodded, eyes closing for a moment as he broke the connection. He would pretend that word had reached him through the Headmaster of what she’d done, of course. And so he did the decent thing, if only to seem like a decent person for a fleeting moment. "Thank you, by the way. For… what happened when the storm hit. I’m sorry you had to see that." he muttered, still looking mildly dazed.

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"She's nothing like me. That should answer everything."

"No, I haven’t."

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She gave the idea a long thought. On one hand, if it stopped taking such a precedence in her head, she wouldn't be as inclined to figure out what exactly had happened, and then she likely never would. On the other, she wasn't entirely sure what good it would do to know. The headmaster had so quickly dismissed it that she assumed she wouldn't find real answers. And considering she hadn't even considered doing her course work or normal things, like sleeping, since the incident, it would probably be the best plan of action, to stop caring about it for a little while. Maybe have a nice, long nap as well.

"One chance," Amelie agreed, finally conceding. She looked around at the ground, before deciding this was as good a place as any, and settling gracefully against the wooden bookcase. She didn't want the memories to keep flashing through her head. And if he couldn't read the memories, then perhaps she should just read them aloud in her head, like a book. After all, it wasn't as though he could hear. 

She closed her eyes and began reading the story to herself. Even if this didn't work, perhaps a moment of clarity and stepping back would help her sort it out herself.

I stepped in front of the girl, who was bleeding against the table. Church was talking to Alexei, though I didn't really care what he was saying. The Poltergeist is an arse. I.. I had to get her out of there, because Alexei looked like he would actually kill her. I remember that. And I don't help people, Why did I even do that? She was chastising herself in her head, as she had so many times. It wasn't like there was anything beneficial to me. Someone else could've taken her. But I figured they would run straight to the Headmaster, and I didn't think Alexei needed that, considering what the girl had said...

Her mind went quiet for a moment. She didn't want to think about that.

I remember passing shocked faces, people staring at the blood. It was just blood, after all, not exactly shocking. Walking to the door, the girl was heavy against my shoulder...

And then nothing. Complete nothingness.

She sighed loudly in her head at herself, taking a moment to swear in French. 

And then I was on the floor, being shaken awake by Athena. I couldn't remember anything in between, but I was cold. There was blood all over me, but it wasn't mine. I went to the Headmaster, who said the girl had been found wandering around with amnesia. He thought I was delusional, but I obviously wasn't covered in my own blood. Why didn't he care?

And that was the nagging thought, really. Why had the Headmaster so readily dismissed her? What was he hiding? She went quiet in her head, and looked up at Alexei curiously. If nothing else, she figured out what bugged her the most about the situation.

  He knew she’d be skeptical. It seemed a trait common in her. Perhaps due to distrust, either a natural state or a learned one. But she had little to no knowledge on the subject, she wouldn’t know whether he told the truth or not. And so he mirrored her, crossing his arms and leaning against the shelf of books thoughtfully.

"Not anxiety, no. Emotional manipulation is something I can’t do, I don’t think any one can. But, imagine, if you will, a sort of volume switch on all your thoughts. Now, obviously, the ones surrounding this… event, this happening that you’re concerned about. They’re very loud. I can’t read them but I can make them a little quieter. Because I can’t read them I can’t differentiate between thoughts, and that can be a little detrimental to you remembering things that are, in comparison, unimportant, should I catch them accidentally. What day it is, what you had for breakfast, things like that. While they’re hardly important… You didn’t want me messing with anything I shouldn’t. So you’re going to have to think about it, and nothing else, just for a few moments. Hopefully I should be able to make them quieter."

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Amelie crossed her arms, truly uncertain about this ability he claimed to have. She knew next to nothing about Legilimency, other than the fact she had absolutely no inkling towards the craft. 

"So you're saying you can take away anxiety?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at the thought. "How." The question was pointed, phrased as a statement. After all, hearing that someone can manipulate emotions was a bit of a shock to her.

  "Oh, if you say so." he replied, eyebrows raised for a moment. But then curiosity soon gave in, a plan forming already as he considered her answer to his questioning of her own self perceived sanity. "I’m rather sure that you aren’t. But you do look worried, and I wouldn’t be worrying about something if you can’t remember what it is. Pointless." Alexei reasoned, shrugging once more.

"I can use legilimency to calm thought, if you’d like to give it a try." he suggested lightly, bearing hardly any weight on the statement, making it throwaway. "Oh, I can’t get to anything, if you’re worried about that. To read anything I need my wand, so…" Which was, ultimately, a lie. He could read passing thought, he’d be able to know what she was worried about, what she’d lost, or at least what it concerned. That way his curiosity would end and she’d think he’d helped her. Which he would. But he conveniently skipped over that part as he thought his little plan through. "I’m not that good at it.”

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"No, I'm not. It's perfectly believable," she huffed. The memory floated around her mind like a cloud, shrouding everything else. Waking up on the floor in a hallway, not remembering how she'd gotten there or how long she'd been unconscious. "And I know I'm not crazy," she added.

The Headmaster had simply suggested she go to the infirmary. The way he had dismissed her so swiftly- it was disconcerting. Who wouldn't be concerned if a student waltzed in, covered in blood, claiming to have been cursed into unconsciousness? She decided she needed to find out more about this Poliakoff. Perhaps there was something he was hiding.

  "You’re worried I won’t believe you." he guessed, though it was likely true, or so he thought. Alexei actually found most things concerning complicated or dark magic quite believable in the circumstances of this school, especially if they seemed suspicious. It was interesting, what people believed and what they didn’t. He could so easily step into her mind and see whatever he wanted, command it so. But it was more entertaining to see if he could draw the information from her in other ways, more difficult ones. He did like a challenge. "What happened? This has to be recent, or you wouldn’t still be worried about it. I won’t call you crazy. Promise. I get enough of that myself."

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"If the Headmaster dismissed it, then so would you, so I think it's rather inconsequential to even mention it," she murmured, feeling herself prickle a bit in defensiveness. Because the Headmaster obviously knew something he wasn't telling. "I should probably just forget about it, honestly, seeing as I've already done exactly that." There was a small sting of annoyance in her voice. Being taken advantage of really made her uncomfortable. Not in the physical sense, of course. She knew nothing like that happened. But someone had exploited her rare attempt to help someone without there being any advantage to herself. In a way, she'd been helping the girl, and in a way she felt she was almost protecting Alexei, getting the student out before he could do worse. And she didn't like the situation at all. It made her stomach turn uncomfortably.

  "So they are yours…" Alexei muttered, but turned his attention to looking through another book, though hardly with much effort. "You don’t have to be all hypothetical, by the way. I can keep a secret. Unless it endangers your life, I can keep it. If you want." He added the last statement as an afterthought, knowing her likely unwillingness to share things with him. "What did you lose? Obviously, only tell me if you want to, I’m not prying unless it’s welcome." he shrugged, leaning against the book case and watching her, eyes looking tired yet genuinely interested.

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"It's probably for the best. I don't know about here at Durmstrang, but transfiguring a student usually got me detention at Beauxbatons," she added, watching his face for his reaction. She didn't know why she kept egging on this almost fear of her for him. It was entertaining.

fire and rain (Tiernan and Amelie)

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"Have you met Athena Lowell yet? she asked, her eyes half laughing. 

"Why wouldn’t you be surprised?"

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