Angelo was having quite the entertaining week when it came to work. His usual clientele were typical witches paranoid that their significant other was dipping his wand in some other lass’ cauldron. Most of the time that wasn’t the case, but there were times when there had been validity to his client’s suspicions. It was never easy to tell someone that their suspicions were fact and not just something their paranoid little brain came up with. Granted there were a few times that these upset women cried on his shoulder, and ended up in his bed shortly after. It wasn’t something he consciously did, it just always happened. For the longest time he had people tell him that it would fade with time, and here he was, thirty-seven years old and still stuck in his old ways.

He walked up and down the aisles of the shop just glancing around, for what he wasn’t sure. He just always liked looking at odd little gadgets that may be useful in the future with his business. Cases were starting to get a little more intense as now some were hiring him to spy on others they thought were radicals. It was bound to get dangerous and he knew it was probably time to up his game. He needed to start taking precautions when it came to his safety and how he ran his business. He was seriously considering hiring help to make things a bit less dangerous though wasn’t entirely sure he would go through with it. He hadn’t been paying attention as he turned around to go to a different area of the store and collided into someone else.

@calandra

For the most part, Callie was really enjoying her job at Hogwarts, though it was hardly where she had expected herself working. She’d gone from job to job after graduating for so long that she was convinced that nothing was ever going to fully suit her. That had been fine with her, she knew that sometimes work could be just work without loving being there every day. It was because of that that she’d known that each job she started was temporary, only lasting until she was bored with it before moving onto the next one. Until now—as she could actually see herself working at Hogwarts for a while. Callie was actually good at healing, and it was almost amusing sometimes seeing what ridiculous stunts students pulled to get them sent there. She was starting to believe some of the blokes in the older years were trying to get themselves hurt on purpose, though why she had no idea—but their injuries were occurring far too often and were far too ridiculous. So far nothing too serious had occurred, thank Merlin, though she knew she could handle it if it did; she just preferred for no student to actually find themselves too hurt.

Even though she was enjoying Hogwarts, she badly needed a break from the castle. That was the only reason that she’d been wandering about Diagon Alley as long as she had. She’d had a few errands, yes, but she’d completed most of them ages ago. Now she was just meandering through whatever shop she felt like—and she really was unsure that she’d ever been in this wizarding equipment shop. It was rather interesting, she supposed, housing objects that she doubted she’d ever find herself in need of. However, she figured she should actually finish off her errands at some point, and had been moving to head to the exit when she found herself running into… a person, but he was so much taller and apparently fit, she noted vaguely, that she might have well ran into a wall.

Callie stumbled back slightly, though she thankfully didn’t completely eat shit and fall down, “Sorry,” she stated, glancing up at the bloke that she’d ran into—or well, he might have ran into her, but the end result was clearly the same. Callie noted that she really wasn’t complaining about the collision, realizing that he was a bit older but ridiculously and almost unfairly attractive. She supposed her errands could wait a bit longer…

Outfit

Angelo was typically very aware of his surroundings. It wasn’t like him to be clumsy, but his thoughts and started going deeper as he thought about the situations he would most likely have to deal with in the near future. His cousin Gio, his wife, their sons—all of them gone. He still felt angry that the Ministry had no idea what was going on. He suspected that his family being purebloods was one of the reasons no one seemed to be doing anything about it. It would probably have to be something he took into his own hands. Being an animagus would help greatly, but it was trying to figure out where to start that would cause problems. It could be virtually anyone seeing as the family had no real enemies that he knew of. While there was an auror in the family she had been out of the country over half of the decade and anyone she had pissed off were more than likely not in England. His family had come out relatively unscathed during the first questioning of purebloods, but now he worried they would be one of the ‘random’ families called back in for it. Only merlin knew how well that would go for them.

He reached out instinctually to grab at whoever he had bumped into succeeding in catching the woman by the elbow before she fell over. ”I’m pretty sure I’m at fault for this.” He said with a large crooked grin before releasing her and looking her over. ”I don’t see any injuries.” He added. She was quite petite and he was just thankfully the poor girl didn’t go flying across the store with how quickly he had turned around. It was typical of Angelo to take advantage of situations such as these. The opportunity would be too perfect to find company in these kind of situations. She was definitely attractive. He had always had an attraction for petite, dark haired women, but she looked far too young for him. He wasn’t exactly a spring chicken seeing as he was rapidly approaching his forties. He wasn’t necessarily worried about how old he got. He had taken care of himself rather well throughout the years and knew he would most likely be around for quite some time. Granted one of the major reasons he stayed away from younger women was just how needy some were, as if they expected him to fall all over himself to do whatever they wanted. He had no intentions of being tied down, and he didn’t want to be bothered with the drama that came with it. Though he figured a bit of conversation wouldn’t hurt. ” I apologize again for running into you like an asshat. I’m typically far more observant than that.” He said running a hand through his hair with a soft chuckle.

There was certainly one problem with working at Hogwarts that Callie hadn’t really anticipated when taking the job. She was far too used to going out for a few drinks several nights a week, and that was a lot more difficult to pull off when in the castle. After all, she never knew when someone was going to come in with some kind of injury or illness in the night hours, which meant for the most part she did have to be there. That was the biggest learning curve she’d had with the job, as she did actually enjoy going out and drinking, and normally finding herself in decently interesting conversations. Callie never went out with the intention of shagging anyone, but she did find one-night stands a hell of a lot more convenient than actually dating someone. Apparently, according to her friend, she was getting too old for that behavior—but Callie was unsure that she would ever ‘settle down,’ finding that she was content with doing things her way.

But since she didn’t even go to the pub with the idea of a shag in mind, Callie hardly thought it was appropriate to even contemplate one in the middle of the day, in a random shop, with the bloke she’d just ran into. Not that they’d be shagging there, she corrected herself, unsure as to why she even made that correction in her mind, because now her thoughts were getting away from her, “No, I should have signaled or something,” she answered, smiling, glad that she had avoided actually falling over. Her grin widened as he briefly looked her over, commenting on injuries, “No injuries to report—actually, I had the hiccups,” she paused, shrugging, “they’re gone now,” she added, solemnly, her eyes sparkling in amusement. She could tell that he was a bit older than her, but by how much she couldn’t tell. In fact, she was oddly bad at even being able to tell how old someone was; it was as though everyone in their twenties and thirties just blurred together into one age group, but that was fine. ‘Age is just a number’ was a cliché for a reason, after all, and it wasn’t like there was any harm in a bit of conversation, or whatever it was capable of leading to. Not that it was going to lead to anything, she told herself again, though he was apparently too attractive for her mind to stay out of the gutter. “Really, no apology necessary. You probably are quite observant, though I’m not exactly in your eye line,” Callie stated, laughing under her breath. She was already rather short, but he was certainly over six feet tall; she supposed that she was lucky he caught her, because the impact of that fall probably would have been more than just embarrassing.

Angelo chuckled at the girl’s comment on signaling. Well at least she had a sense of humor. That was something he didn’t find in a good bit of ladies outside of his family, though they went a bit overboard at times. Any conversation starting off as joking eventually turned into nastier words normally spoken loudly in Italian. Of course it wouldn’t last as no one was ever able to hold much of a grudge, well except for his cousin Gino. But he was just an arrogant prick from the states. Angelo would never speak these thoughts out loud since he was always supposed to be the peacekeeper in the family. He was far more calm than most others, though if they could hear the commentary that often happened his head he was sure they would be shocked. ”Well I guess that is something you’ll have to work on.” He joked taking a step back to get out of her personal space. Some people were strange about that so he always did his best to keep that in mind.

He shook his head as she continued, his smile widening with every word. She was definitely amusing, ”Well I’m glad I was able to assist with that.” He folded his arms across his chest as he looked at her curiously. It seemed like his mind was trying to completely figure her out. It almost felt like she kept zoning out periodically, granted it wasn’t for very long. That was one of the down sides to his job, it made life boring when drawing conclusions on others was so easy. Well at least right now it wasn’t glaringly obvious exactly what she was thinking about, though he did have a few educated guesses. ”You should really walk around wearing safety orange so others can see you. It must be dangerous out in the big world when you’re vertically challenged.” He replied with a brief chuckle. He was sure she wasn’t ridiculously short, but he happened to be a bit taller than average that was more the problem. Some days he felt like a giant with his height and build, though he wasn’t going to complain as it often worked in his favor professionally and otherwise.

“There’s always room for improvement, after all,” she agreed, jokingly, nodding. Damn, looking at him, it really was actually lucky that she didn’t send herself shooting against the opposite wall by running into him. That would have been more than a bit painful, and even more embarrassing—if she was an easily embarrassed person, which she supposed she wasn’t. Callie found that it wasn’t easy to embarrass or offend her, which came in handy more often than not with the people she found herself around. “As am I; for a moment there I thought I’d be getting a hiccups world record,” Callie said, shaking her head. She had no idea where some of her comments even came from sometimes, unsure that anyone even found themselves in a position to talk about the hiccups, for Merlin’s sake. But she supposed she amused herself more often than not, which was something, at least.

Her smile widened at his comment, surprised to find that he was actually amusing. Usually blokes that were attractive didn’t have the personality to match, relying simply on the fact that they were nice to look at. Callie deemed it pretty damn rare to find someone who was this good-looking but also humorous, figuring his girlfriend must be a lucky bint—as it did just occur to her that there was simply no way that he was single. At least that meant she could get her mind out of the gutter and actually have a normal conversation, “Orange. I’m not sure it’s my color—or anyone’s, really,” she replied, grinning. Yes, he was far funnier than she had originally anticipated, “Oh, yes, it’s quite dangerous out here. Most days I don’t even leave my apartment,” Callie added, solemnly. It would actually be amusing if she was a healer that was clumsy, she mused, though she supposed it would be rather handy since she’d be able to heal her own injuries, “Wow, sorry—manners. I normally introduce myself to people after barreling into them. I’m Callie,” she stated, offering her hand to the bloke.

Always…” He agreed shifting slightly to lean against an empty wall. It was something he did quite often when talking to anyone, though some women took it as a pass or an invitation. He could see how it could be interpreted that way, and sometimes the woman in question was correct in her assessment. Though right at that moment he was fairly certain he was just doing it out of habit. She seemed like a sweet enough girl. He didn’t mind hanging out for a bit. ”Well now I feel terrible. You could have made it big with your never-ending hiccup marathon. He joked with a deep chuckle. When most people saw Angelo out with his family most didn’t figure him to be one of the bigger jokesters of the group. He may not have been the loudest, but he could certainly hold up well against the other loud mouths in his family, not that he meant it in a disrespectful way, it was just a fact the family knew and embraced.

He quirked an eyebrow at the girl as she mentioned the safety orange he had recommended. Angelo gave her a lazy look over before a crooked smile graced his face. ”I’m sure you would look just fine in any color. You’re a pretty girl. Pretty girls can pull off just about anything, at least in my humble opinion.” It was the truth. She was pretty though he was still on the fence about her age and whether or not he would see if it went anywhere. A louder laugh escaped him as she continued about never leaving her apartment. ”Well what has drawn you out of the safety of your hidey hole this afternoon—if you don’t mind me asking?” It was a little strange to find someone like her in a shop with just random gadgets. From what he could tell she didn’t seem the type to spend her spare time fiddling about with odd objects, like he did. Angelo ran a hand through his hair and pushed himself from the wall in one smooth fluid motion. ”Well I’m not much better seeing as I’m already being nosy and haven’t even had the decency to introduce myself.” He took her hand and gave it a gentle shake. ”Angelo. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He said with a soft bow of his head, always keeping in mind to be a gentleman.

Callie shrugged, though she was amused by the concept of making it big with never-ending hiccups. That sounded absolutely hellish, really, she mused, shaking her head slowly, “It’s all right—I’ll find some other way to make a name for myself, and if all else fails, the hiccups always come back,” she stated, though she really was questioning how they were still having a conversation about the damn hiccups of all things. Callie supposed she’d always been able to start discussions about the most random damn topics, even when she was younger—as she had always gotten in trouble for that. Girls being seen and not heard was a big thing in her Muggle household; being a witch certainly hadn’t helped with her parents’ attempts to keep her normal and under control, and her personality hadn’t done them any favors either. For half a moment, she wondered how they were doing, but the thought left as quickly as it had appeared. They had made the decision to disown her and she was more than happy to oblige. Well, not happy, she supposed, but accepting of it.

She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, irritated that they had chosen such an inconvenient time to show themselves. Luckily, Callie considered herself skilled at adapting, and wasn’t at all upset about being cut off from her family, as they had never gotten along to begin with. “Well I’ll remember that then in case I come across anything in safety orange,” she replied, smiling slightly. It was certainly easier to talk to him now that she’d figured he’d have to have a girlfriend, as it kept her mind from wandering. She wasn’t one for relationships and shagged casually, yes, but she wasn’t the type to go after anyone in a relationship—and he couldn’t be single, nothing in the damn world seemed more improbable that than. Her smile widened at his laugh, “Boredom, fresh air—take your pick. It gets exhausting hiding about in my apartment from all the giants in the world. Or, of course, I could always just be a daredevil. After all, I ran into you and survived,” she said, gravely. Callie shook his hand, “Nice to meet you, Angelo,” she stated, “but don’t worry, I don’t mind nosy. I’m an open book,” Callie continued, shrugging. Of course, she was quite secretive when she had to be, but that was a rare occasion.

Angelo enjoyed the girl’s company. The hiccup conversation was quite amusing. It wasn’t at all normal which was a nice change. He had really gotten sick of women throwing themselves at him. Acting mildly interested was fine; he could absolutely handle that and even preferred that so he didn’t have to do all the work. But a woman who acted like a slag, hanging all over him, making brash comments, and so on, that was just a huge turn off for him. It seemed like she really didn’t have an interest in him, which he didn’t really mind. There was nothing wrong with meeting an attractive young woman and having a friendly chat about absolutely nothing of importance. It was actually quite refreshing from normal chatter.

His thoughts had been mostly consumed about his family’s recent issues. Well not so much issues as it was heart ache. Losing his cousin and his cousin’s family had just about broken him. The family had quite a few connections and were pulling every single resource they could to figure out the people responsible for taking the lives of the people he loved so dearly. He wondered if he would still be able to get in contact with some of the more—unsavory contacts he had. ”You are quite funny. Has anyone ever told you that?” He asked with a chuckle thoroughly enjoying her little quips. ”My money is on daredevil.” He added with broad smile. He released her hand leaning up against the wall again, glancing at another item nearby wondering exactly how it would work before bringing his attention back to her. ”I’m fairly certain you don’t want to deal with my brand of nosy.” He said off-handedly with an amused shake of his head.

Callie was finding it hard not to be distracted by how good-looking this bloke was, even if she was still trying to focus on the fact that he more than likely had a girlfriend. If a man like this was single, then she was the Minister of Magic—and she bloody clearly wasn’t a middle-aged man with a hidden agenda. It had been a fair bit of time since she’d hooked up with anyone, finding it a bit more difficult to do since she started working at Hogwarts; so perhaps that was the real reason that her mind kept wandering. For a brief moment, he seemed distracted by his own thoughts, and she took the opportunity to briefly look him over—which didn’t help at all with her mind going to the gutter. It simply wasn’t every day that she ran into someone, literally, that was exactly her type for a bit of unattached fun. Because she didn’t do ‘attached’ anything, no matter what her friends’ opinions were about that. Settling down at 25 just seemed ridiculous to her—hell, settling down at 35 still seemed ridiculous. This way was far better, as far as she was concerned.

She smiled at his words as she lifted a shoulder in a shrug, “I may have been told that once or twice, but I try not to let it go to my head,” she replied, in a jokingly serious tone. If it was one thing she did know about herself, it was that she was relatively quick witted when it came to conversations like this. She always had been, much to the displeasure of her parents—perhaps that was why she always enjoyed it so much, but now it was just a part of who she was, really, “You might be right,” she stated, smiling mischievously. She supposed that much was the truth, even if they were talking jokingly about it. In her group of friends back at Hogwarts, she had always been the one coming up with ridiculous and dangerous stunts for them to pull. Even now, if she ever was around her friends, she was usually up to something—but that was beside the point. Callie raised an eyebrow at him, “And what’s so different about your brand of nosy?” She asked, intrigued by the comment.