It was the end of another quiet day for Donovan but he knew that in a couple of weeks when summer rolled around he would be flat chat. Because he was so quiet today he needed something to entertain himself with, so after closing up shop for the day he decided to go on a walk. This walk of his landed him in front of the sweet shop. He wasn’t a big lover of sweets but he had always enjoyed seeing what Sugarplums had to offer. When he used to visit during his summer breaks from Hogwarts he would take things like pumpkin pasties and liquorice wands for his parents to try.

The wizard entered the little shop and let the sweet scents fill his nose. He made a beeline for the liquorice wands since he knew where there were stacked he picked up a couple for his own personal enjoyment on this occasion. He then turned on his heel and made his way down the next aisle. As he moved along scanning each of the shelves he bumped into someone, nearly causing him to drop the candy wands he was holding. “Oh I  am sorry about that" he said apologetically to the other person with a kind smile gracing his features.

Amaris was stalling going to work, though she wouldn’t risk being late, of course. She simply enjoyed cutting it rather close, not wanting to be there more than necessary. Today, that had her randomly wandering around the sweets shop in Diagon Alley, as she knew it would only take her a few minutes to get from the White Wyvern from there. Unfortunately, she would have to say that walking around Diagon Alley in the type of outfits she wore to work was never exactly a fun experience. She certainly got a hell of a lot of strange looks, though they were pretty easy to ignore at this point. After all, the owner of the establishment had made her uniform quite clear, and she would rather work there than anywhere else in Knockturn Alley. So, if that meant she had to dress up every once and a while, then she would, and if that made the people of Diagon Alley think she was some kind of streetwalker, then that was their decision. She had been called worse. It was easier in the winter months, when it was normally already getting dark this time of day, but it was still pretty damn bright out for her to be dressed like she was going out.

She had just been contemplating if she wanted to buy herself something if only for a bit of a sugar rush that might help her stay awake at work, though she had realized that firewhiskey would be a hell of a lot more useful for that, when she found herself unintentionally bumping into—or being bumped into, she couldn’t really tell. “No, it was my fault, blocking the aisle and all that,” she stated, offhandedly, before glancing at the bloke she’d run into. He vaguely looked familiar, she noted, and as always the obvious answer to that was having seen him before at Hogwarts. But she saw a hell of a lot of people there, had been friends with quite a bit and shagged a hell of a lot of blokes, so really, he could be anyone. Perhaps he had just been on a house Quidditch team and that was why he looked familiar, but it needed to make no difference to her. It was far easier that way.

Outfit

It was even his plan to come to sugarplums today but he was one of those moods where he allowed his feet to take him wherever they ventured. As the wizard looked at who he had bumped into, he noticed that she did indeed look familiar but he couldn’t place her, but only conclusion was that she was from Hogwarts. However, he couldn’t place her in his year maybe she was in one of the lower years. But he didn’t know why he was able to remember her, no doubt she was good looking. Any bloke had to be blind to miss that. Maybe it was the outfit she was wearing, why was she even wearing that he wondered. Obviously her purpose this evening wasn’t to come out shopping in that outfit. “Not at all Miss” he smiled at her, speaking in a smooth tone. “Going out or just heading back home?” he asked jokingly in reference to her outfit. Sure it was the evening but Donovan figured that she could be heading home still. He knew that some witches did like to party a fair bit. His often feared his sister would turn into a big party animal, thankfully she hadn't.


He was uncertain what he should do next, should he introduce himself or just excuse himself from her presence and let her get on with her evening and then he could go home and chill out and enjoy his liquorice wands. “I’m Donovan by the way, but call me DK” he held out his hand, deciding to go with option one. Now that he thought about it, he could have also seen her at a bar somewhere but he couldn’t think which one. He smiled at her, if anything the wizard was very friendly and this case apologetic too. "Sorry but you do look familiar..." he trailed off, thinking where he could have seen her.

Normally, it was people and conversation that she avoided like the plague. It really was better that way for everyone, and it had become something she’d gotten quite good at over the years. But in this situation, Amaris might actually want to avoid work more than she wanted to avoid talking to anyone, which meant any conversation was a decent distraction from that. As always, it was a bit risky that he looked so familiar, as running into people who knew her from school was never good—but she really was unsure if she’d ever spoken to him or if he’d just been someone she’d seen on occasion in passing, and that it was enough to make his face stick out as familiar. Laughing lightly, she glanced down at her outfit before looking back up at him. Apparently he wasn’t judging it too harshly, which was sometimes a common response from blokes, though he wasn’t ogling her either, which made it far less normal, “Heading to work, actually,” she said, shrugging, pausing for only a moment before deciding she needed to clarify that. Dressed like a scarlet women, saying she was going to work—that was an occasion where someone could get the wrong idea, ridiculously, “I work at the White Wyvern—server, bartender, jack of all trades,” Amaris added. She did hope the bartender decided to come back from whatever mysterious reason had kept him from work, because she really didn't bloody like doing it all. Amaris knew that there was a possibility that this bloke didn’t know just where that bar was, luckily. He’d have to have been in Knockturn Alley, really, and normal people didn’t find themselves down there too often.

Amaris narrowed her eyes in contemplation for a split second as he introduced himself, though she accepted his offered hand as she tried to determine if she’d heard that name before, “Amaris Grant,” she replied, wondering if he was in the same year as Dorian or something. Or perhaps it had been Quidditch, as she’d been to enough games and shagged enough of the house teams to recognize some faces. It was odd that she couldn’t place him in the slightest, however. She smiled in amusement when apparently he was thinking the same, “You look familiar too,” she agreed, nodding, “From Hogwarts, I’m assuming but Merlin knows I can’t narrow it down more than that.”

Donovan looked at the witch before him and paid closer attention to her outfit than he had when he first bumped into her. It wasn’t something he normally saw witches wearing in Sugarplums, not that he would hold it against her. He knew it was important for one to be themselves, it was something he lived by. Actually he could have had some idea of what she was getting up to tonight but that still didn’t fit in with her presence here now. The wizard looked at the wands he was holding, Donovan had completely forgotten about them , he was too focused on the witch before him. Any other wizard would probably make up some blasé excuse for holding them but not Donovan, he really needed sugar. When she explained she was on her way to work, he arched his brow and his jaw dropped slightly. He was about the question what she did for work when she added she worked at the White Wyvern. “Don’t you mean Jill of all trades?” he smirked, after all her looks had caught his eye. “I’ve been there over a year ago now” he said as he smirk disappeared. Donovan did prefer muggle places, purely because they had better atmosphere. Also he did have more Muggle friends than magical folk and he wasn’t about to bring them into Diagon or Knockturn Alleys for a drink.

When she responded with her name, it set his mind racing, he had heard that surname before. Grant….Grant……it sounded or so familiar. “You’re Dorian’s sister?” he questioned, he didn’t mean to label her as that but it was all he came up with at that moment. Of course he could have said her name was pretty but when she confirmed the he looked familiar to her, he tried to place her. When she spoke of Hogwarts, something struck, he looked at her face, then he remembered those lips and that party and consuming way more alcohol than should ever be allowed. “I think I recall where I know you from now, when I graduated I think it was Gryffindor that threw a party, I think you and I left the party together with a bottle of firewhiskey….” he trailed off as more memories came back to him. Though it had been many years since said party, he was surprised that he could even remember it. If he recalled correctly they somehow ended up in his dorm room, on his bed or a bed……

It wasn’t as if Amaris didn’t realize that she looked bloody ridiculous. First of all, what she wore to work was a far cry from her normal more lazy way of dress, so she certainly didn’t look the part. Granted, this had been more of her style back pre-incident, but now it just made her feel absolutely absurd. There was also, of course, the fact that she was in a candy shop dressed like she was about to go to some Muggle club. Alas, that sounded a hell of a lot better than going to the White Wyvern to serve people food and drinks for eight hours. That was particularly hard to do in heels, even if she did put a charm on them to make them a bit more comfortable. Amaris could tell that the bloke was slightly thrown off by her statement about heading to work, which she supposed made sense. Dressing like this and going to work didn’t leave too many options on the table for what exactly she did. “Jack of all trades just has more of a ring to it,”she replied, jokingly, shrugging. She really did seem to do everything in that place, and she was starting to think that the bartender had taken a more permanent vacation if his continued absence was any indication. “Oh, you’ve been there? Most people are content with pretending Knockturn doesn’t exist,” Amaris stated, offhandedly. That worked for her, for the most part, as she normally didn’t like seeing people she knew at work. When most normal wizards and witches avoided Knockturn Alley like the plague, she found herself almost never seeing someone she recognized at the bar.

She couldn’t help but laugh at his statement, something that she had heard many times in the past. Being a few years behind her popular Gryffindor brother had been amusing to say the least, as it seemed bloody everyone knew him. At the time, for her, that was just a challenge to end up more memorable than he had. As far as Hogwarts was concerned, Amaris knew she’d definitely given it a hell of a go—now, however, she was extremely content being under the radar. “That’s me,” she replied, still smiling. Suddenly, as he began to speak, the encounter in question came back to her as well. Gryffindors always had thrown some absolutely wild parties, and she never found herself missing them for anything. Amaris wasn’t going to act as though most parties didn’t end the same way he was stating with any bloke, as that had just been the type of person she was back then. But she did remember that party in particular and this bloke as well, now that she was thinking about it. “Guess I just don’t recognize you with your clothes on,” Amaris said, dryly, laughing under her breath even as she immediately was cursing the fact that apparently in the span of five minutes she’d lost her damn filter, “Sorry,” she backtracked, shaking her head, “It’s definitely coming back to me, though,” she said, which could be a bit awkward, she supposed, but she’d rather him have been a random shag than anyone who’d actually known her and her personality back at Hogwarts enough to tell the difference—and in that respect she was certainly safe.

If he had to guess where she was heading tonight, he would have guessed some muggle club on Oxford Street or somewhere in SoHo and no where in the magical world at all. Donovan was used to seeing such outfits in the muggle clubs he frequented but then again he knew that wizards and witches were influenced by muggles more and more. She did of course look stunning in what she was wearing. The wizard managed to peel his eyes away long enough to set down the candy he was holding on a nearby shelf, even if it wasn’t the correct one. He saw some lemon drops and smiled to himself before looking back at her. “Have it your way….Jack it is” he smirked, his eyes shining with a slight glint in them. He supposed that Jack did work too, since it could be considered a unisex name. Donovan remembered his last trip into Diagon Alley, it wasn’t his choice but some of his mates had decided to go down there. And somehow he had ended up as the most sober one that night. Not that his days of drinking excessive amounts of liquor were over, far from it. He had matured into a drinker who took his time with alcohol. “Yes I’ve been there” he supposed to most magical folk it would sound weird that as a muggleborn he would head into Knockturn Alley. “Not my choice however” he shrugged. And also he knew that people looking for a cheap broom went in there to check out what Splinter and Kreek’s had available.

Her laugh was wonderful to hear, the shop manager couldn’t deny that. He honestly wouldn’t mind hearing it again. But he couldn’t pinpoint why. He had known Dorian a little during his years at Hogwarts even if the bloke was in the year above him. “Sorry, I guess you must hate being known as his little sister, I know Elisa pretends she’s not related to me” he said with smile, speaking of his younger sister. As she went on to speak about not recognising him sans clothes, he chuckled under his breath before he composed himself and leant in to speak quietly to her in a husky tone. “Well if you ever need a reminder… just let me know” he drew back and winked at her. Of course he wasn’t going to shag her again…..unless she wanted to. The wizard looked around making sure no kids had heard them since they were in a sweet shop after all and looked back at her. Why she was apologising, he had no idea, it didn’t bother him at all and so he paid no attention to it. “Is it? Well I hope the memories are all good ones and I left a favourable impression” he smirked. Though being just 18 at the time who knows what shagging skills were like back then, but he certainly had never received any complaints.

After coming back to London when she had been gone for so long, the first thing she had realized was how bloody difficult it was going to be for her to find a job. It wasn’t until the moment that she began to search that she really realized that, though obviously it was something she should have known. Even traveling, when she didn’t need steady work, Amaris had a hard time finding temporary work. Trying to find work in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade hadn’t lasted long, as she had given up quickly once she had determined that it was simply not going to happen. Another alternative could have been getting a job in the Muggle world, but if she was going to go that route, she might as well just live in Muggle London as well. She had tried to convince herself that she belonged in the magical world and had to stay there, even if some people—most people, really, treated her like the dirt underneath their shoes. Amaris supposed it could be worse; it wasn’t as if the Minister had required all werewolves to wear something to tell everyone they passed what they were—like a badge, or something ridiculous. However, that did seem like something he could come up with. Knockturn Alley had just been the clear choice for her, though she understood why not many people would choose to go there. “I don’t blame you—I wouldn’t choose to go there either, really,” she replied, good-naturedly. Amaris didn’t want to act like she disliked her job, or the man would probably ask why she worked there. She was a good liar, she had to be, obviously, but she did like to avoid outright deceiving someone if she could avoid the topic altogether.

“Oh, I don’t mind,” Amaris answered, shaking her head. Back at Hogwarts, she actually had taken every occasion of being called Dorian’s sister as a challenge, but that was far in the past. Now, it really didn’t faze her in the slightest, though that was because she actually got along with Dorian now. That was putting it mildly, she realized, as she cared about him more than anyone in the world, including herself. If her lycanthropy had one benefit, it would be that, even though them being close now really just meant her being a burden to him whether he admitted it or not. Amaris raised an eyebrow at him at his comment, a smile forming on her lips. She was smiling a hell of a lot more than normal in this conversation, which was a bit odd for her; but she’d blame that on the fact that this was distracting her from having to go to work, “I’ll make sure to keep that in mind,” she replied, teasingly, as she was sure that he had been joking in any case. From how different she had been at Hogwarts, Amaris would find it hard to believe that anyone she’d shagged back then would even be interested in her now, which was fine, really. A lot safer for them, at least, and it was very important to her that she kept other people out of the downward slope that was her life. She pushed the thoughts from her mind, as they had an annoying habit of surfacing at the exact wrong times. “Quite the favourable impression,” Amaris confirmed, though she was finding it better to not linger on the returning memories as it really wasn’t the bloody time for her to be reminded of something like that from her old life.

Her answer of where she worked left Donovan wondering why anyone would willing choose to work in Diagon Alley. From the little he knew of her back when he was at Hogwarts he wouldn’t have thought she would end up employed in that place. The wizard just didn’t feel someone so lovely as the witch before him should be working there. But each to their own he supposed. He definitely wasn’t going to judge her for it. That was where the Hufflepuff side of him shone through. Donovan wasn’t though to question why she worked at the bar in Knockturn alley, even if he had an overwhelming urge to do so. He recalled his last visit to the alley in general, he didn’t want to go purely because of his blood status. The man hoped that if the witch in front of him found out he was a muggleborn, she didn’t ask what he was doing at the White Wyvern. Donovan nodded when she mentioned she herself didn’t venture there willingly. “You must have started working there after my visit” he concluded. “ Do you enjoy it?” he assumed she didn’t enjoy it much, how could anyone actually like working in such a place. How would anyone actually like working anywhere in Knockturn Alley, it certainly wasn’t welcoming or chaotic like Diagon Alley was at times. “Well I don’t work too faraway, if you ever feel like visiting you can find me at Quality Quidditch” he informed her with a small smile. Though he knew it was unlikely she would ever stop by.

“ How is Dorian anyway?” he wondered. It was unlikely the bloke would even know who he was let alone remember him. But from working at the ministry many years ago know he did know that the former Gryffindor wizard worked there too, though he couldn’t recall what department. Donovan like most people in his year knew of her brother if not person but some mutual acquaintance. A smirk appeared on his face at her answer. He of course teasing in his offer, that was perhaps as much as he was going to show off in Amaris’s presence anyway. “Well I’ve told you where to find me if ever choose to take up the offer” he winked. “ So any sweets in here take your fancy?” he asked the witch curiously. Since he was getting something for himself he might as well get something for her as well. “Good, good” he nodded as the smirk reappeared on his lips. “You look great by the way” he complimented her. Finally getting out what he had wanted to say for the past five minutes.

When she had been in school, she had always wanted to venture into Knockturn Alley just out of pure curiosity. She’d had the typical Gryffindor pride where she’d thought that it was just reckless enough to be incredibly interesting. It had never been easy to do when around her parents or Dorian, but she had finally managed to sneak in there the summer before her seventh year at Hogwarts. Amaris had no idea what she’d been expecting from the alley back then, but she had wandered around for maybe a few minutes before someone had caught on that she was out of her element. The type of people that hung about Knockturn Alley always got enjoyment out of the ones that shouldn’t be there, and that situation hadn’t been an exception. She’d left pretty quickly after that, and didn’t think she’d ever find herself back there. Now, she was just as much of a regular as anyone else who walked down the questionable alley, and no one even looked twice at her. Time’s changed, after all, and now it was second nature for her to be down there… sometimes far more comfortable than being in Diagon Alley. “I started maybe in… August or September, so probably,” she agreed, finding that she was glad she’d missed him on his visit. Seeing people she knew at work was one of her least favorite encounters. It was simply immeasurably awkward each time. “I don’t hate it. Pays the bills, I guess,” Amaris told him, shrugging. Really, she didn’t like it at all, but that was hardly an answer she could give to the bloke; that would only result in him asking why the hell she worked there if she hated it, and how was one to explain that she could only get work in Knockturn Alley? “Practically neighbors,” she replied, grinning. The joke was rather amusing in a darkly ironic kind of way… the shops may be near each other, but they were in entirely different worlds, really.

“Oh, Dorian’s fine,” she replied, finding this topic to be a far easier one to speak about. Better than tip-toeing around anything having to do with her job, after all. “He’s back together with Gemma, working at the Ministry—hit-wizard, beast division, all-around multitasker,” Amaris told him, knowing that he, like most people at Hogwarts that had known Dorian, would certainly know Gemma as well. Talking about their past shag was a bit of a touchy subject as well, even if it was years back. She didn’t need to remind herself how easy things had been back then, as dwelling on the past really didn’t do her a lick of good. “I’ve make a mental note,” she joked, as he mentioned her now knowing where to find him. It was a good thing she didn’t find herself needing to go into the Quidditch shop, as risking coming across him again probably wouldn’t be a good thing. “I’m not huge on sweets,” Amaris told him, shrugging, “Just came in here to waste time, really.” Though if she had known that she’d chance running into someone she’d known from school, Amaris probably would have stayed in her apartment a bit longer. She really hated risking conversations like this one, not matter how attractive the bloke or tempting the memories were. “Thanks,” she said, smiling slightly. “I’m not normally dressed like this, I promise,” she added, shaking her head.