Elijah and Selene's Date

Selene shook her mane of golden hair and sighed. She was nearly late for this stupid... blind date thing, and she wasn't quite sure what she should expect from it. She had given someone a description, and that description had gone to the person she was having a blind date with, and she had been told to get there early so that they could find her. She had worn a bright red scarf today, and a flower tucked behind her ear so that they could easily tell that she had been set up for a blind date. Selene hurried down the road, her jacket pulled tight around herself, her eyes directed straight forward, and pinned on the shop she was planning on going into. It was called Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. She wasn't quite sure what to make of that, but by the looks of the place... it looked like somewhere she would gladly avoid.

As Selene got nearer, she peeked into the window and nearly gagged. Fake cupids threw confetti over the tables, people sat across from each other, kissing, holding hands, staring into each others eyes. It was sickening. Selene stood outside, and very seriously contemplated NOT going in, stating that she had forgotten about it. But somehow Selene knew she couldn't do that. So she gathered up her courage, and stepped into the shop, a small bell twinkled above her, and Selene made a beeline for a table in the very corner, away from all of the snogging people.

Selene put her purse on the table, and grabbed out a small mirror. She fixed her long blonde hair, and then looked over her outfit, a simple light sweater with a rather low cut, and a pleated skirt made up her ensemble. Sure it was probably a bad outfit for such a cold day, but she didn't really care, she was used to wearing light things in the chilly air, of course this was a bit more then chilly, but still, she didn't mind. Selene fixed the flower in her hair, and then rearranged her scarf and put the mirror back into her bag, before crossing her legs, and sitting back in her chair, placing the bag on the floor, it was now time to wait for her 'blind date' to get there.

For many, Valentine’s Day was the bane of their single existence. For Elijah, it was just another day – the difference being that there was a lot more pink and red and people were trying to sell him poorly tasting sweets. This year though, he had a scheduled date. He was planning on doing something for Chase later on but, to amuse himself, Elijah had signed up for the blind date fiasco that was taking place in that gaudy teashop that only the brave, stupid or incredibly camp entered. He’d lingered in the village for most of the morning, picking out gifts for an array of women. Most were jokes or beneficial for their other halves. He even got a ‘Valentines’ present for Finn and Euan – fireworks. Those he sent to the boys from the post office and he hoped to not to have them sent back active. Elijah had a feeling they would be, though.

So, after purchasing enough to keep everyone amused for at least a week, Elijah began to make his way down towards Madam Puddifoot’s. Elijah jumped up onto the porch and pushed the door open with his foot. As soon as he entered, the cupids flying about the shop began to shower him with paper hearts. Elijah coughed and spat out some of the hearts that had somehow made it into his mouth. He glared up at cupids and they squeaked before flying away as fast as their wings could move their fat little bodies. A waiter scuttled over and smiled brightly at Elijah before looking at, what Elijah could only assume as the, couple’s sheet. The waiter gestured for Elijah to follow him and the Slytherin did so. He yawned and shadowed the man as he weaved around the tables filled with couples on single and double dates.

The waiter abandoned Elijah rather abruptly and he watched the man go before looking down at the person who was to be his date. A grin spread over Eli’s face when he saw who it was. “Missed me love?” He asked Selene, taking his bag off of his shoulder. He leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek before dropping his bag on the floor and sitting down opposite her. He kicked his shoes off and plucked the menu off of the table. “How’ve you been, beautiful?”

The last thing Selene was expecting was Elijah Krum to come and give her a kiss on the cheek, before sitting down opposite her. "Errm... Elijah, I'm sorry but zat seat ezz taken for my blind date." She said softly, her eyes downcast. She had decided that the feelings she had felt that time in the empty classroom were completely spur of the moment, the effect of exhaustion, and totally wrong in every sense of the word, and she would never look at Elijah the same way again after that. She had actually AVOIDED him sometimes in the hallways, sometimes to the extent of being late to class because she had avoided him so thoroughly. And now here he was.. sitting opposite her, looking completely at home, acting as though he DIDN'T have a pregnant girlfriend who was due soon.

"I deed not miss you, because I know eet waz wrong vat we did... and I do not like to dwell on eet..." She said simply, picking up the menu to hide her burning face. "I do not get pulled in by beautiful men like ze other people in zis school.. people who just.. surrender over themselves because someone eez good looking." She said with a huff, pulling down her skirt a bit so as to try and hide her legs just a bit more. She had been doing some SERIOUS thinking about what had happened, and had a whole speech planned out for the next time they met, and now she had the chance to tell him it. "I do not believe zat what you did was good at all... do you forget about your girlfriend? She eez expecting soon eez she not? And yet you come to a random girl in a classroom, and make out with her? I do not appreciate being led on Krum... and I theenk you well know eet." She said lightly, her face still hidden by the menu so that she didn't have to look him in the face.

The ice cream thing they had on offer looked good. Elijah was a bit perturbed though. They only did milk or dark chocolate dressing; there was no white chocolate involved. Elijah pouted a little and licked his index finger. He turned to the next page and looked up when Selene spoke. He leaned forward and plucked the reserve sign off of the table. He placed it down in front of her and sat back again. He returned his eyes to the page and hummed in thought. “The chocolate gateau looks good,” he commented airily. “But you can choose,” Elijah closed the menu and held it out for Selene to take, “I’ll pay.” He looked down at the reserve sign and appreciated the calligraphy they’d written his name in for a few seconds. Elijah averted his eyes and brought them back to Selene as a half-smirk settled on his lips. But then of course, she began to scold him.

Elijah sighed and sat back in his chair. Her words weren’t particularly harsh but they were frank and to the point. “Chase is expecting, yes.” Elijah managed once she’d finished. “And I am very, very much in love with her. I would adore to give her the big white wedding she deserves. To see the white against the flame of her hair would be truly spectacular and incredibly humbling – it would probably make me fall in love with her all over again, as if being pregnant with my child isn’t awe-inspiring enough. But, she knows how much of a little slut I am. She knows what I’m like. I divert my attentions, yes, but that does not make me a bad person for she knows I will always go back to her. I’m a jealous man but I do know not to deny her the same...even if it is done begrudgingly on my part. I never forget Chase because it is she whom I love. That does not make me a bad person. Alright, perhaps it does to remain constantly unfaithful but my heart belongs to her, as does my soul. So, any questions or shall I order that gateau?”

Lifting his arm, Elijah gestured for the waiter to come over. The waiter held his fingers up, parting the index and third one. Two minutes. Elijah dropped his arm and looked at Selene. “I’ve thought of you. You are intriguing and I have no intention of leading you on. My intentions are strictly honourable. Nothing we did in that classroom was wrong, Selene. You acted on desire and on instinct – as did I – are we bad people for that?” Elijah lifted the jug of cold water on the table and poured some into the glass in front of Selene before pouring some into his own. He placed the jug down and picked his glass up. “Cheers,” he murmured with a smirk.

Selene stared with wide eyes as he spoke about Chastity and she wasn't quite sure what to do. He spoke so fondly of her, but he acted like it was just a fact of life that he couldn't stay faithful to her. "Zat eez.... " Selene said hesitantly her eyes locked on the man in front of her. "You theenk zat you can just do what you please?! You theenk zat eet eez..... right to just do and do whatever your heart wants, deed you never stop to think zat maybe.. just maybe she may say she eez okay with eet, because she has no other choice? You know nothing of women eef you believe zat a woman could be OKAY with knowing zat ze person zey are with.. eez doing eet with other people!" She said her eyes wide. "You are a bad person! You just tell yourself you are no so zat you do not need to feel as zough you have done something wrong! You make excuses to yourself to make up for your own cruel ways!" She exclaimed, her eyes hard, as she stared at him, the menu long forgotten.

"And zen you just tell me you 'ave been thinking of me? Nothing we did in zat classroom was right.. or honorable, you 'ave no idea what eet means to be honorable at all! Instinct.. desire? Eet eez ze one thing in my life, zat I have striven to GET RID OF." She said, hitting the table with her open palm and getting a few curious looks from surrounding tables. "You are a 'orrible man Krum! And I do not see why you lead on the poor Moor girl, as you obviously don't know how to respect yourself, let alone a female who loves you! Do you even look at her without a feeling of lust in your heart? Do you ever actually SEE her the way she sees you? 'ave you not ever looked at her, straight in the eyes, and seen what she eez trying to tell you with her 'eart? Obviously you know nothing of the world Elijah Krum... and I have a feeling zat everything I said will go to waste on unwanting ears, because you can not admit to yourself, let alone to the world, zat you have done wrong!"

As unconcerned as he was mere moments ago, that was not a facade Elijah could easily pull on. Selene’s words struck a cord within him that he’d never thought anyone would be as brave as to torment. He bit his tongue so as not to say anything to defend his self and he remained silent, dropping his eyes to the table and receiving the verbal onslaught in silence. He knew the words very well for they were the same that he repeated to himself time and time again. He knew he was wrong in so many ways. He knew he was a bad person but that was the least of his offences. Chase’s feelings weren’t spared by this but he spared her so much more pain, pain that he could barely deal with himself. The Krum men could do whatever they wanted as long as they weren’t caught. That was his uncle’s words, not his. Elijah had believed them for so long but what he had failed to realise was that they were said in scorn, not in jest or playful seriousness. The Krum men could do whatever they wanted as long as they weren’t caught – that was Elijah’s mistake over and over and over again.

“I know it’s wrong!” he snapped at her. “I know I have done wrong! I know I do wrong. I know I am doing wrong. Even as I sit here now I know I am sending myself into the deeper and darker pits of hell. I am a horrible person, well spotted. I am the biggest black hole to ever grace this earthly realm. I suck people in and they don’t come back the same way. I said this to you. I told you this and yet you were too awe-stricken to see that I am right. I know myself better than I know Chase, better than I know my own children and yet I can’t stop myself from doing whatever the bloody hell I want because you know what? No one was there to stop me when personal restraint was supposed to be learned. I was given free reign of my mind, my body and of everyone else. I wasn’t taught anything like that and I liked it that way. Upon finally being given the chance to flourish I was spoilt – I still am. I take what I want and I do whatever I have to, to ensure I get it. So thank you very much for stating the obvious Selene. I am a bad person, well spotted. And that, right there, was an excuse too although probably a fairly accurate one.”

Elijah sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He brought it down over his face and rubbed the beard that he’d let grow across the lower half of his face again. He wriggled his nose slightly and picked up the glass of water he’d slammed down unknowingly. “I look at her and know that she shouldn’t have to put up with me. I look at her and wonder what would have happened if I’d not appeared in her life surrounded by some kid’s guts. I look at her and see the creature I want to spend the rest of my life with. But she deserves better than that doesn’t she? Of course she does. How can I even think of disputing that? I’m too selfish to let her go, though. Every time I look at her I fall that little bit more in love with her. There is so much she deserves to know, deserves to see. I shut her out so I can protect her, so I can keep her safe. She doesn’t need to get sucked in. It’d ruin her. So,” Elijah blinked away the moisture that had gathered and slipped his feet back into his shoes. “I should be leaving should I?”

Selene listened to him speak, and then sighed, running a hand through her blonde hair. He spoke of knowing what he did was wrong, finding an excuse in the way his past was, how he was raised, why he did it, it was all an excuse, another reason to help explain to himself that he could not change, that there was no way to change. His past had messed him up, and there was no help, he spoke of Chase, knowing he loved her, to selfish to let her go, to aware of his own misdeeds to let her know them all, in order to protect her. It all washed over Selene, and she felt sorry for him, she felt sorrow, and heartache, an odd empty feeling in her chest as she watched him nearly start crying, then act as though he was going to stand up. "Now you wait a moment. "She said and stared at him for a long moment. "You are not leaving... not yet... our date eez not over, and you may not leave until I 'ave had my say." She said with a quick jerk of her chin to motion that he wasn't getting up yet.

"You speak.. as though.. you 'ave no choice... to be like zis... and not able to change. But you said yourself... zat you have realized what kind of person you are... you said yourself... zat you had free reign, you were taught zat eet was... okay..." She said softly, her tone much lighter now, a bit more comforting. "And zat.. eez right where you stopped isn't eet? You realized zat you were taught a certain way, and now you are stuck? Well I do not believe so... You 'ave admitted, over and over, zat you do wrong.. you are wrong.. and yet... you do nothing to change eet? Why do you live with the fact zat you are wrong? No one eez stuck a certain way Elijah... not even you... everybody changes over time, no one eez stuck in a constant state of self loathing... because no matter how hard eet may seem now... eet won't always be like zat.." She said softly, her eyes pointed at the table.

"Elijah Krum... you have admitted zat you were taught.. and yet you admit now zat you wish you weren't... then Change Elijah... do what eez right for once, instead of just admitting zat you are stuck doing wrong... Tell Chase... talk to her.. speak to her.. explain to her! She loves you... eff she did not.. she would have left you long ago.. I know I would 'ave... Eet eez why I say she has no choice but to accept what you do.. because she loves to much to let you go because of how you act.. Elijah, you may not realize eet yourself.. but you are changing every time you open your mouth.. you are realizing.. eef you want to show Chase how much you love her... zen don't leave her in the dark, and most certainly do not go after someone else.. self restraint isn't just a one time learned thing, eef you didn't learn eet you never will... we are always teaching ourselves self restraint.. and you just have yet to realize zat you are an extremely capable person.. and zat ze only one who can change your life.. eez you.." She said and then stood up, grabbing her bag and looking at him. "I will see you around Elijah Krum.. think about what I 'ave said... talk to Chase... Ze last time I saw her.. she was crying.. maybe ask her why?" She asked softly and then waved to the bartender that she was leaving, and then left the shop without another word to Elijah.

Women. As much as Elijah loved them, he hated them too. Their intuitive was insufferable and Elijah despised them for it. Selene wasn’t exempt from this loathing. Her words had hit Elijah in the face with a Bludger attached and even after her tone changed, he couldn’t bring himself to forgive her. No one had ever spoken to him that way. There were certain things that needed to be left alone – Elijah’s character was one of them. He knew that what Selene had said was what everyone else was thinking and he couldn’t bear it. It had been scraped under the rug for so long and someone had pulled the rug away. Everything was laid bare before Elijah’s eyes, he was laid bare before his own eyes, and he hated what he saw. He hated the child that was still mourning the loss of Alice. He hated his parents for neglecting him so. He hated the Muggles that took the only light in his life away from him. He hated the bastards that bullied him to no end at Durmstrang. He hated how weak he’d been before. He hated the red wine. He hated the art. He hated the prostitutes. He hated Camille, Cassidy, Cherie, Claire, Ann-Marie and Arnold. He hated Fauve’s mother. He hated the bastard that had turned Thierry into his own personal slave and expected Elijah to treat him the same way the models wanted him to treat Fauve. He hated everyone. His parents, his sister, his cousins, his uncle. The Angelova bastards. But the one he hated the most was his self.

They all had a hand in what made him, him; but he could control the influences. He didn’t though. He just took it all in. The sex, the alcohol, the beautiful women and the family he hated. He couldn’t get away from it. He didn’t let himself. Elijah felt sick. He dropped his head into his hands and shook it, whispering “No, no, no, no, no, no...” over and over.

Elijah didn’t want to own up to anything. He liked getting off scot free. He liked brushing everything under the carpet or bottling it up and sticking it on the wine rack. But the rug had been burned and the bottles had been smashed. Everything he hid from himself was now at the forefront of his mind. He couldn’t escape it this time and as his chest heaved, Elijah realised that it was karma. Someone somewhere had flipped him the ‘v’ and laughed manically. He was feeling his own destruction and he loathed it.

“I can’t, I can’t, I can’t...” He spoke louder this time, his fingers threading into his hair as his shoulders shook. He shivered despite the beads of sweat that ran down his back and he had no choice but to listen as familiar voices drifted in and out of his mind.

“Lee-Lee look! It’s a butterfly! Let’s chase it! Come on slow coach!”

“You want your girl back don’t you, boy? Well that’s just too bad. She’s never going to see your pretty little face again.”

“Doe eyes...look at me...”

“GET OUT OF MY SIGHT YOU PIECE OF FILTH! YOU WILL NEVER, EVER BE MY SON!”

“Oh Christ! Again, again, again! ELIJAH!”

“Haha. Some Krum you are. You’re a disappointment! I’d be a better heir than you’d ever be!”

“He’s not eating, Micah...what are we going to do?”

“Hey Elijah? How do you like Bludgers?”

“He’s a pretty lad isn’t it?”

“My mamma left me.”

“Go on Eli! You know you want her!”

“I swear to Merlin I won’t hesitate to kill you!”

“I love you Elijah Krum.”

"That Chase girl.. she's as good as dead, because the second I'm done here, I'm going to go get her, and Naomi will help me, we'll kill her, in front of you. She. Will. Die. CRUCIO!”

Elijah gave a shout and shot out of his seat. The teashop fell silent and hundreds of eyes turned on him. Elijah’s cheeks were coated with tears. His hair was dishevelled and his chest, despite him being completely aware of where he was, was moving faster by the second. He snatched his bag up off of the floor. Threw some money down and stormed out of the teashop. He threw himself out into the street and lost grip of his bag. It skidded across the ground and fell open, spilling his life out onto the street. Elijah fell to his knees and collapsed onto the ground. He reached out for his legs and curled in on himself. He rested his forehead on his knees and shook. His body was slick with sweat and his chest still heaved and yet he shivered still. Elijah gasped and more moisture fell from his eyes. He slammed them shut and whimpered as passersby began to stare.

What caught their attention more than anything though was the drawing in the sketchbook that had fallen open. It was a little girl. She couldn’t have been anymore than nine and below the drawing there was a caption that read.