First of the Meetings

Marcus was in a pretty good mood. Not that he wasn't always but just better than usual. Maybe it was the high Arctic winds or the bitter coldness or maybe even the deep accumulations of snow and ice. It was extremely cold and the grounds were filled with snow. Winter. Marcus's favorite season. Not because of the coldness and frostbite. It was the act of being snowed in and having a nice cup of butterbeer and snuggled up on an armchair by the fire. But at this moment, that wan't the case. He was touring Magical London and just watching the blizzard go past his shoulders and the snow land on the roofs of various buildings.

Marcus was getting snow into his boots and it was quite cold. He stepped onto a concrete platform under a shed and removed his boots. Shook empty of snow and having removed his socks, Marcus put his boots back on and continued down the path. There were a few people out, probably doing what he was doing. There was nothing else to do out here in this intense weather. Marcus's shoe lace came untied and he tried to walk without tripping over it.

He quickly tied it and stood back up. He took a step and collided with another person. "Ouch! I'm sorry," Marcus apologized.

"Damn, it's freezing," Julia said to herself as she stepped out of her London home to go to a local grocery shop. She was planning on making a family dinner the next night by herself for the first time ever. A homemade spaghetti and meatball plate sounded nice. Julia looked at her shopping list: meat, tomatoes, pasta, fresh herbs, and bread; it was sure to be a great meal. Julia's teeth chattered as her bare face was touched by the bitter wind. She pulled her hood closer to her ears and began walking in the direction of the food store. She wished that she could have taken her car, but the roads were all snowed out, but also, Julia wanted a nice walk to think and some fresh, but bitterly cold, air.

Julia counted four separate times that she had slipped on patches of ice, but managed to catch herself. She counted that as luck, considering if she had fallen anywhere, she would have landed in a good four feet of snow and got her jeans utterly soaked. And, since she was already halfway to the store, she would have to continue walking to her destination in freezing pants. Julia hated the winter with all of her heart and soul. She was uncoordinated enough to trip over a dry flat surface, but when you add ice and cold mush into the mix, it only made her clumsiness even worse. Plus, she loved the heat. Ninety degree weather would be a perfect day for Julia, unlike many people. She could sit on a nice patch of grass in the beating sun with no wind or breeze and be perfectly fine. And everything was better when it was humid. That is her utopia: Complete mugginess.

Julia brought herself back into reality when a huge chunk of snow from the sky got into her eye. Rubbing it out, she continued on, seeing the store only a few yards away. Hurriedly, she trotted onward, not realizing that there was a person in her way. Right ten and there, she stepped into the large figure and fell flat on the wet ground. "Ow," She groaned. She had almost managed to make it to the store without an accident.

Julia heard someone apologize, it sounded very deep and masculine. She looked up and saw a man standing above her. "Oh, it's fine. I could have managed that one without your help anyways." She chuckled and successfully got herself back up to her feet.

Damon went out in the cold like any other day, but today he was walking Tank his rottweiler. He was wearing a long black cloak and the inside was purple. He was used to worse weather than this, he after all went to Durmstrang and the weather there was horrid and a lot more worse than London weather. He could walk around London now in nothing more than a t-shirt and jeans. He loved London's weather more than he like any other country he's been to weather. Just then Tank barked up to him and he laughed knowing that he was not giving his dog enough of his attention. He bent down next to the dog and rubbed his big head, "What is it boy? Am i not giving you enough of my attention?" He said to tank. Just then the dog barked and took off running snapping the leash in half. "TANK!" Damon yelled as he took off after his dog trying to wonder what Tank had thought he was doing. He rounded a corner and saw Tank sitting down near two people wagging his tail looking like a goofball licking the man's hand and then licking the woman on the grounds fast.

Marcus chuckled at the woman's remark and helped her up. "I'm Marcus, by the way. Marcus Dakota. Some people call me 'Mad' because of my initials," he said introducing himself to the woman. "What're you do--" Marcus was cut off by a rottweiler running over to him and licking his hand intensely. Marcus laughed lightly and shook his dog-slob hand and the drops of saliva went splattering around onto the snow. The dog had also licked the woman. All of a sudden, a man came chasing the dog.

"Is this your dog?" Marcus asked him. "He's friendly for a rottweiler." And Marcus handed the dog over to his owner.

"Seems a lot of things happen when it's there's a blizzard."

"Hello, Marcus. I'm Julia Traverse. Nice to meet you" Julia smiled and extended her hand to the man. Now that she had gotten the chance to look at Marcus, she realized that he was incredibly handsome. Boys that looked like him usually made her blush insanely and ramble like an idiot. But, since the first time she spoke to him she was still getting over a slight whiplash from the fall, she hadn't been able to give him a good look. Julia felt her face flush redder than the cold air could cause. The man spoke, but stopped suddenly for some reason.

Confused, Julia looked in the direction his eyes were, and saw a huge dog running toward them. Julia's eyes widened and, instinctively, she hid behind Marcus. When she realized it was a friendly dog, she giggled and walked out from behind Marcus. As soon as she did, the dog began to lick her hand. Wrinkling her face, Julia shook her hand and dipped them in the snow to moisten them.

"Hey, boy" Julia smiled and patted the dog's head and scratched it's ears. "I don't think I've ever seen even a remotely friendly rottweiler before." She laughed and looked at the other man that approached them. He, too, was handsome, though he seemed to be the exact opposite of Marcus. "I know, right? Things seem to get just as crazy as the weather." She smirked. "What's it's name?" Julia asked the apparent owner of the dog.

Damon approached them, taking the dog from the man tying his leash together. "His name's Tank. He's a very friendly dog but not once has he ever took off before. Sorry if he frightened you, he loves to be the center of attention." He straightened up so that he could be face to face with them, well sort of, he stood at an average of 6'5. "Oh my name is Damon by the way." He said smiling softly as he looked at them both. The woman he thought looked beautiful, with her black wavy hair catching specks of snowflakes in it. "The weather's wonderful is it not?" He said trying to lighten some of the conversation and keep his mind off many things it was thinking of.

Julia looked up at the other man, who made a better skyscraper than he did a person. Julia stood at an 'astonishing' 5"1' and nearly everyone she knew towered over her. She felt like a starfish in a world of whales. "Oh, it's fine, I'm just a baby" She laughed and looked up at the man, flipping her long brunette hair as chunks of snow fell out. "Hi, Damon, I'm Julia Traverse. Pleasure to meet you" She held out her hand to Damon as well. Julia couldn't help but laugh at Damon's remark about the weather. "Oh, yes, simply marvelous I absolutely love it." She said with heavy sarcasm, looking up at the white sky in distaste.

"I hate the winter," Julia went on, "it's so... depressing. Everything's white. Or grey. I'd much rather summer or spring, where there are colors everywhere. It's like you're living inside of a kaleidoscope in the warmer seasons, which I love." Julia could feel her babbling coming on, a habit she picks up when she's nervous or uncomfortable.

"Erm... so what brings you two out here in such weather?" Julia asked the men.

Damon smiled at her sarcasm about the weather, "Tank needed a walk and i'm used to worse weather than this where i used to live." he replied truthfully. He took her hand and bowed over it as he was taught by his family and by his school. Always respect a lady and treat her as one, the one thing that he couldn't put down though was the feeling he had seen this girl before. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well Julia." He said politely letting go of her hand. Damon was taught that no matter what was done in life to always a woman like she was a queen, unless she was the one who was trying to kill you. He smiled crookedly as he always did and looked at the other man wondering why he would be in such weather. Tank stood up after sitting down for a while, he licked Damon's hand as if demanding for attention. He looked down at the dog and petted him softly then looked back at the others.

Marcus smiled. "Nice to meet you, Julia," he said, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you too, Damon. I'm Marcus." Marcus extended his hand out to Damon. Marcus chuckled at Julia's sarcasm. "Hmmm. Most people say that. I like winter. Mostly just the briskness of it," Marcus said to Julia. Marcus shifted in his wet boots. "Well. I just love seeing the emptiness of London when people think it's too cold out. I've been to the Arctic so I've been in colder conditions than this." It felt quite warm to Marcus. He loved the cold. It was peaceful.

"What brings you out here, Julia?" he asked her since she hated the winter so much. Seems a person like her would be inside all days of the winter, as if under hibernation. "A person who loves warm weather might not be out at this time of the year," Marcus said. "I like rottweilers," he added to Damon.

"It's nice to meet you as well Marcus. He's a good boy most people are scared of him but he's a teddy bear." Damon smiled taking his hand shaking it. Damon shifted slightly as Tank then shook himself to free his fur of the wet snow clinging to it. The wetness was sent all over Damon as he laughed and said, "Why don't we get out of the cold and snow. I think the leaky cauldron is open if you both would like to come." He wondered if his buddy bartender was working today so he could take Tank inside and not have to put him in the back where the entrance to Diagon Alley was. Damon loved the weather just as much as Marcus seemed to, he attention was on Julia and Marcus to see their answers.