Eight PM

The reason why the stories were best told by the person himself was the picture that he painted. Like mentioned before, Avis did not care much about the gossips and rumors. She knew well enough how they spread and she knew that only 25% of them proved to be true. As for Andrei, she did not see him as a potentional candidate for the position of Minister magic, but she wanted to believe that he was much more nicer than the stories said he was.

His confusion made her smile. So he was not used to such questions? What did people talk with him then? "Oh," that was it. He was the first person who she met who did not have a favorite color. Odd. Or maybe not. Perhaps he did not waste his time to decide which color was the prettiest amongst the others.
She smiled again and looked down. She's been late to the lessons as well lately. Mostly for the same reason. Avis loved to sleep, but not only because she did not want to go and study, but because of the things she did up till midnight. It was tiring, and yet so enjoyable. She should build a lab somewhere in the dungeons or something.

"But what about pets? Do you have any?" It was usual for a student to own an own, a cat, a toad or a rat, but sinse Andrei proved to be quite a unique figure, she wanted to know.

"To be honest, I hate violence. And... That was for self defence. And no, you're not the first one who's been in such an argument with me, though this is really the first time someone, after a fight, would want to go on a date with me." Talk about strange, huh. "You could say that," said Avis shrugging her shoulders. What, was this a bad thing?

"I have an owl named Spencer. But the poor old thing looks like a scuffled up pigeon now more than anything. My sister hates it, since Spencer ate her pet rat when she was little. That was back when I didn't really train him that well to be honest. But now he's a lot better. I've had it since I was little and I brought it to Hogwarts with me to my first year. And ever year since then as well. I think that's the only reason I refuse to get a new one. I can't just get rid of him because he's old. Besides, ye ol' Spenc has a few more years ahead of him I'm sure". Andrei might have been a stranger to many common human feelings and emotions, but animal love wasn't one of them. It was his pets' loyalty and kindness that has made him so attached to him over the years. There was times when Spencer was the only one he could really count on. So Andrei was determined not to give up on him just because he's a bit old and rusty.

He couldn't hide his chuckle at her comment even if he tried. So she didn't like violence? What a treat. "What a pair we make then", he said out loud with an ironic smile. Almost all of Andrei's life and personal history had strong components of violence in it. It was just something that was involved in the way he was brought up and lived. He was use to it by now, and couldn't really imagine a completely dull life. A small farm cottage near the sea with all of the peace in the world at your fingertips, that was definitely not him. But he was against some kind of violence that didn't really fit his priority list well. "If it's called for then it has sense to me. But if not, then it's just a waste of energy. The way ignorant people handle their frustrations since they don't know any other way out. It should never be pointless and badly oriented. That defeats the whole purpose of it then, doesn't it?"

"So - now that I've done my share you must do the same. At least there are rumors about me at Hogwarts you can learn about. No such public information about you however. Which means that I know less about you than you do about me. That doesn't make sense at all. So now it's your turn to start", he said with a smile, rather curious about what she had to say. To him, Avis was still a the mystery girl who got lost with him in a very long tunnel. But he was hoping that would change after today.

An animal lover? Well, there it comes! Something that no one would expect from him and Avis listened to every single word that he had to say, absorbing the energy like a hungry child. There was a saying that you can judge a person by how he treats those who are weaker than him. Andrei said he loved his owl, though Hitler likes his dog, too. To be honest she could not imagine Andrei with an owl who was almost as old as he himself. The bird was old, and yet he refused to buy a new one.

She hummed quietly and took another sip of the beer. Her eyes traveled around the Three Broomsticks after she placed the cup on the table, surveying the visitors. No one from their school, though. Some locals, and even they did not notice two students. She liked it that way. The less attention they got the better it was.
Avis laughed quietly. An ugly way out, indeed, but wasn't he the first one who invited her to a duel after all? She decided not to mention it, instead she looked down, thinking about his words.

Avis Summers smiled. Being an Incognito has its perks. Her brown eyes lifted and she examined his features. He looked paler in the dim light, and his eyes reflected the orange hue, reminding her the color of caramel. "My turn, hmm?" she forced herself to look away.
"Well, there aren't many things to talk about, that I can say. You didn't miss anything with the missing rumors..." she started, narrowing her eyes in a thoughtful way. "But if you insist and deal is a deal, that is only fair."

She drew a deep breath:"Lets start with the fact that I'm a Half blood. I have a cat named Apollo... Hm... I had a twin sister. She died many years ago due to a desease. I tried to connect myself with her in the most sinful way. After that I dedicated myself to boiling potions and simply studying. I want to become a healer and move to Africa one day so that there would be some use of me. And that's it... Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

Taking a sip of his butterbeer, he leaned back into his chair and glanced at her plate. Her plate was still untouched, while on the other hand his was already half empty. He had managed to sneak in bites between pauses of the conversation since to him it was ridiculous to just leave the food so it can get cold. "You haven't touched your plate", he reminded her with a slight smile and he could almost sense her answer in advance. If she indeed refused to eat, then he had to shove it down her throat. Yes that was the only option lest for him in that case. Perhaps Andrei could skill over most of the rules of dating, but two essential ones he couldn't. One, they both have to eat a nice meal and two at the end he pays. It was as simple as that.

He listened to her words attentively as she started talking a bit about herself. It was all things he knew and expected, until she mentioned her twin. Biting his lip, he started feeling a bit uncomfortable. He felt sad for losing a sibling that way and he wanted to express it, but he just didn't know how. Emotions weren't Andrei's forte and he was rarely tactful, even if he tried. "I'm sorry", he said simply truly meaning it, not knowing what else was there to say. But her next words caught his attention. "What do you mean - in a sinful way? I don't mean to pride of course...", he asked her rather intrigued by her words. Did he understand it right? Was there some darkness in Avis after all, that was deeply hidden from the rest of the world?

He chuckled when she mentioned Africa. He didn't mean to make fun of her ambitions of course. They were quite lovely, but oh so typical for a girl like her. But then again most of them get rid of their save the planet plans by the time their leave school and get a real job. He wasn't really sure if that would happen with Avis though. "So you have no more siblings correct? There isn't any older brother or cousin I should be looking out for. You know, just to give me a heads up whether I should sleep with my wand under my pillow or not", he said smirking.

"Why did you say yes to this? When I asked you out, why did you say yes? How come you didn't just make up an excuse that you're busy or something", Andrei said rather suddenly, his curiosity getting the best of him. He enjoyed her company and that was obvious, but he wasn't really sure what he reason for coming here was. Is it just boredom, curiosity or something else?

Avis looked down at the plate that was right infront of her nose. She was too used to dieting that she did not even notice the smell of food. she did not know what to say, all in all she wanted to refuse the offer. Eating after six was forbidden after all and she had to take care of her figure, though the latter was simply inherited. Even though her grandmother had many children, she remained skinny and youthful even though she was really old now.

She examined his face once again. When she replied, she sometimes enjoyed watching their reactions. To be honest, Andrei was the first one who knew about her sister. Not many wanted to listen to her or were interested in her personal life. She nodded and looked down. She still missed Mina. Even mentioning her brought up the pain that she thought was long ago suffocated. Memories would never fade, huh? She clenched her fingers into a fist. Why she told this all to Dolohov, she did not know.

"See by yourself," she said calmly and pulled her sleeves up, revealing scars from the cuts and burns. "I tried to poison myself. After this didn't work I used the usual methods. I used to cut myself or do other silly stuff to end my life as fast as possible. But as you can see Death did not favor me as much as it did my sister."

"No, no other siblings." Sometimes she wondered why her parents refused to make more children. Were their hopes that high on Avis? She shivered, hopefully not. "I don't know... I guess I was curious and I wanted a new experience in this sort of area." She shrugged. Simple.

"Why did you invite me here? Was it really because you don't know anything of me and you decided to learn those things by yourself?" Avis laughed.

Shocked by what he just discovered about the Gryffindor in front of him, he stared at the wounds on her arm. For more reasons than one, they seemed all so familiar. He leaned closer to the table so he could examine her arm better. He took it gently with his hands and felt every single cut, bruise and mark gently and delicately with his fingers. Oh the shame of such spotless skin being destroyed in a destructive manner. It seems that there was more dark in her than he even realized. Perhaps that's what attracted him to her deep down. Just maybe, in the end it will turn out that they weren't all that different after all. The gryffindor saint and the slytherin sinner didn't seem such an odd pairing anymore.

He placed his left hand on the table next to hers and pulled up his sleeve, revealing similar patterns on his arm. His cuts weren't that deep, except a single one that went deep down the center from his palm and up. But those days were behind him. Andrei always had some kind of overwhelming energy that suffocated him at times. Sometimes it go so bad that the only way he could find relief was to cut himself. He was young back then and very foolish. Afterwards, he realized that reverting that energy into something useful was much more appropriate. There was no denying the destructive nature he was born with, the only question was towards whom or what would it be pointed. "But that was a long time ago. You stop when you realize how foolish it really is", he said rolling back up his sleeve and putting his hand back under the table.

He nodded at her response as it seemed as a simple and quite logical one. He laughed at her next comment and raised his eyebrows at her. It was these sort of moments when Avis' inexperience in dating came to show. "In some part I guess yes. But I thought I was clear, wasn't I? I enjoyed your company, thought you were obviously attractive and I wanted to see you again. Aren't those the usual reasons a guy asks out a girl?", he said with a mischievous grin. "But - if you're worried about me playing games on you and all that, don't. If I wanted that, I would pick someone much easier to manipulate than you. And trust me, those girls are a dime a dozen in this place"

Avis' eyes were glued on his face. His expression changed suddenly and she realized that not everyone expected such things from her. Why? She had seen many people like herself. They were basically crying for help yet something in them did not allow to do such a thing. Why, again? Even Avis did not know, all she knew was that there was a block in her mind that did not allow her to call for someone or get professional help. Muggles had psychologists and their school had a nurse who should also be capable of helping students in need.

"You seem surprised," she commented when he examined her palms and wrists. Then he revealed a small secret about himself, too. Avis never thought that he was one of self harmers. Or, to fix the small error, she had never heard of that small fact. Perhaps there still were some things that the gossipers missed? Oh, if only she were one of those loud mouths... She leaned closer like he did and looked at his scars. His and her hands were quite similiar at this point. This was also one of those moments when she did not know what to say. Should she pat his hand and assure him that everything would be fine, that he could get help any time now?

Her thoughts were cut when he spoke to her and covered his scars with the sleeves. Avis did the same and hid her hands under the table. She felt naked and pointless after this burst of secrets, though they were equal now. Both had shared their dark secrets.

The change of topic was a great way to avoid uncomfortable silence. She smiled at him thankfully, glad that they had returned to their previous topic. "I don't know. Are they?" Like she has been on dates! This was the first one.
"You think its hard to manipulate with me?" Oh come on, her mind was so easily distracted! Everyone could do that!

"I am surprised", Andrei said honestly nodding his head. "It's not such a thing you expect from a picture perfect Gryffindor. Although I know you don't fit into that category, I still wasn't expecting - well that". Cutting was a common thing found within the younger members of pureblood families. Not that people would know that since it's a well hidden secret. But if it wasn't cutting, then it would be drinking. If not drinking then some kind of drugs. All were ways of handling the oh so restless and unsatisfied teenage whims of the day. Getting it wasn't a problem either, since neither money nor connections were a problem.

"I believe so yes", he said with a chuckle rolling of his lips. Andrei raised his eyebrow at her and smirked. The expression on her face told her that she didn't think so. Perhaps he was wrong about her. "Are you telling me you're more naive than I give you credit for? Perhaps I have overestimated you.", he told her with a teasing smile. "But it's more likely it's that you have underestimated yourself"

"There's a party this weekend it seems. At the room of requirement. Masses of people are going so I've heard. Should be rather wild. I'll be there and you should stop by as well, if you wish", he suggested. Although Andrei knew that Hogwarts parties can end terribly bad, he had high hopes for this one. Even though a lot of people were attending, it had managed to keep a low key profile for now. And besides a chance of getting busted and landing themselves in a life time of detention, the event promised to be a lot of fun. If anything, it was definitely a change from the normal, boring day at Hogwarts. And that to him was worth the risk. "Not that I'm asking you out on another date. Just saying", he added with a laugh.

"Do you always eat next to nothing or did I order the wrong thing?", he asked with a grin as he glanced at her untouched plate of food, while his plate was now almost empty.

"Picture perfect Gryffindor?" Avis snorted. She was not a picture perfect Gryffindor. Harry Potter, Hermione Weasley, Ronald Weasley, Neville Longbottom, former Prf. McGonagall was. She lacked the bravery that was common in their house. Perhaps the sorting hat did something wrong and just made a huge joke by sending her to that lion house?
When he explained further, Avis laughed quietly. She did not belong anywhere.

"I am naive, blind, deaf and at times mute. But I trust that I'm not the only one who's like this..." she shrugged. Seeing the

Ah, the party. of course she heard about it. the invitations were all over the place and she even had what... two or three of them. She didn't know why someone would spare a paper for her, but she kept those... In case someone forgot about where and what time this thing would be going on. As for herself, she was not so sure. Avis was not a party animal. As a matter of fact, she usually kept herself away from such things. Like she didn't have anything "interesting" to do. She had to admit, though, that partying would certainly make her feel better. Reveal the stress, you know.

"Not this time, huh?" she smiled gently and looked at her food when he mentioned it again. She really wasn't hungry. "No, no, not wrong food," she shook her head and poked her food with the spoon. Then, finally, she tasted it. It really tasted good, he was right about it, but there was no way she'd eat it all alone. "Want to have half of it?"

Andrei laughed at her words. It seemed that Avis wasn't all that picture perfect or put together as he might have thought. Which was a relief to be honest. He never really clicked well with the Princess types, no matter the house, as he found them simply too shallow and self-centered. And who would want to spend time with someone like that? "If it makes you feel any better, I have selective hearing syndrome. It makes me deaf to things I don't want to hear. Quite useful in fact and I think it's genetic. So there, you're not the only one who's not quite perfect", he said with a smirk and a chuckle.

At her offer, he grabbed a small piece of her food with his fork, as he could never say no to food. "No tell me that doesn't taste good!", he said with a grin as he took another bite. At least she was eating now, which was a good thing. Even though it was only half a meal instead of the whole thing. But as the plate became near empty, he realized that he had enough of this place. Sure the Three Broomsticks had it's charms, but he could only be so much in a place like this. Taking one final sip of his buterbeer, he raised his hand to call the waiter. After slipping the waiter some money in his hands leaving him with a generous tip, his eyes turned to Avis once more. "Come on, let's get out of here" he said with a grin.

Standing up, he put on his coat and twisted the grey scarf around his neck. Still seeing Avis confused, he motioned for her to join him with his hand. "Shall we? I don't bite, I promise", he said with a playful smile and he offered her his hand to get up. After putting their clothes on, without any warning his hand wrapped around Avis' and he gently pulled her through the door to the outside.

It was bloody cold outside but thankfully the place he had in mind was close by. He led her away from the village and down a small and curvy path rarely taken by students. "Are you cold?", he asked glancing at her lips to see if they are pale and shivering. "It's close by now", he added. The end of the road took then to an old brick house, hidden from view by trees and bushes. He knocked on the door and a large, grungy old footman answered it. "Dolohov, Andrei", he spoke to the man. As the footman still stood there in his black suit as if he was waiting for something Andrei rolled his eyes. "Toujours pur, jamais sale", he finally said. He hated saying those words but it seemed he had to this time to get in.

Finally they were let in and led to a large room that preceded to be some kind of sitting area. There were dark brown leather couches scattered around a large fireplace and a few in the corners. The walls were decorates with tall shelves of antique books that were most clearly expensive and prominent. Next to them were pictures of family crests that filled most of the empty spaces. Brown, gold and red colors filled the room as expected. Instead of lights, candles were lit everywhere including on the high chandlers that was places in the center of the room. Yes this place was the same as Andrei had remembered it. After all, it had strict rules and traditions about decorations and furniture that people didn't dare break. Ridiculous if you ask him, but so were many things in his life.

He led Avis to a couch at the corner of the room, which was fitting since it as more private. A few people were sitting around and chattering about, but not enough to make the place crowded. "What do you think?", he asked as he took his seat next to her.