Alone at Heart

Whight reluctantly woke that morning. He rolled over, grabbed for his glasses that lay on top of a finished book and then began to rub the sleep from his eyes. He stared at his double inside the mirror while propping most of his upper weight onto the sink with his left arm. He wanted to be who he was today but decided he could change when he arrived to his destination. With a quick hand through his hair and a simultaneous change of his features, he started for the closet.

He picked through his normal attire but felt today was a bit more special. Instead of wearing his everyday casual suit he chose to wear his best suit; and did he feel good in it, but this wasn't about him. He grabbed his journal, pocketed his wallet and wand and vanished from the room.

The streets were crowded with people. This made him slightly uncomfortable but he made no show of it what so ever. He soon found his first destination, and at the sound of the bell above the door he entered the flower shop. "A dozen roses please," he requested to the small woman behind the counter. "Gladly," she said with a warm smile. Whight paid the woman a set off for his final destination.

He reentered the streets of people holding the roses in his right hand across his left arm; journal pressed against the side of the bundle. As he walked, head held high, he began to observe his surroundings. Upon his distractions he did not notice the rise in the sidewalk's edge. His step was not quite high enough and the toe of his shoe caught the lip in his path; he stumbled, caught his flowers but dropped his journal. More aggravated at himself than embarrassed he quickly searched for the small book. He spotted it and noticed it had slipped to the feet of a young girl to his left. He hoped that she hadn't notice, but he hoped even more that she wouldn't pick it up. He tried to make his way to the book before she had the chance.

Jack was running, which was unfortunate, because most people were walking the opposite way. Except, however, the man she was chasing down. She had been assigned to informing this man that he had a court date and to collect the cockatrices he had been illegally fighting and letting people bet on. She hadn’t counted on him running. She told her interns to get into his house and apparate the critters out of there and that she would cover him.

He was close enough that if he tried to apparate that she would manage to grab onto him and then he would still be screwed. So he kept running. She chased after and remembered a spell one of the Aurors had taught her for when they were dealing with a scumbag who was more than likely going to escape- yes, Jack was quick, but this was a fully grown man. And she had rather short legs. So she needed an alternative.

She pulled out a galleon and cast a quick charm on it, before using her wand to navigate the coin, through the air, into the man’s pocket. She cast a quick sticking charm and grinned, slowing down. It would be stuck in his pocket, and it would track him as soon as she cast the companion charm onto another coin. She slowed and heard a floppin noise as she stopped. She glanced down to see a book. She reached down and picked it up, glancing over it before turning to hand it to the man who had dropped it.

“Here,” she said, still a little breathless. She narrowed her eyes. “You look familiar.” She heard a loud pop and glanced after her prey, seeing he had disapparated. Ah well, he should probably enjoy his freedom.

Whight could vividly remember the last time anyone had laid hands on his journal. Many eyed and questioned the leather book and they wondered what may be scribbled within it's sheets. He dismissed their inquisition almost as if they hadn't asked. Yes, it was rude at times but to him it was a personal matter that he simply did not discuss. Only once had anyone flipped through it's pages. A Durmstrang bully had push Whight to the ground in his first year of school. He ripped the journal from Whight's hands in attempt to further embarrass the new student. The boy was confused when he opened the book only to find scrambled letters and words inked on it's pages. The upperclassmen laughed and made more jokes thinking Whight only wrote nonsense and gibberish. He threw the book hard at Whight and left him lying on the floor. He sat up, readjusted he glasses and made his way to the library to plot his revenge.

The boy never bullied Whight again, as a matter of fact he never looked Whight in the eyes or bullied any other underclassmen whatsoever. Whight taught him his place and gave him a lesson that said no person was any greater than those around him and not to underestimate what may be perceived as weak.

Whight's stomach twisted as the girl reached for the book. She looked nice enough and he knew it was likely she meant him no harm. Still, he went toward her, roses in hand and haste in his feet. He knew she couldn't possibly read it's words but just the fact the he knew she was holding volumes of books, spells, notes, and his own life story worried him. He finally reached the girl.

His eyes first went to the book and then to her face. She was looking at it's cover momentarily before she looked at him. She shifted the book his way. While grabbing for his journal he almost froze. "Thank you very much," he said with a smile. He had met the girl before but knew she would probably never piece that together. "I get that a lot. I must just have one of those faces." It was almost a game for him now. He had encountered her before with another face and had no desire to ever meet her again; just knowing this was his own way of payback. He knew what to expect from her this time and instead handing her a flower in gratitude he briefly studied her scars once more.

"Sorry to have discontinued your chase. Is there anyway I could make it up to you since it was kind of my fault you didn't catch the man?" He was going to be as nice as he could this time. The fire Whight had seen in her before now had new meaning; potential. He felt that there was a reason that he had ran into her again. Meeting people for a second time rarely happened, especially if your intent was to never get near them again.

He placed his journal inside his coat pocket and eyed her for a response.

Jack glanced back at this man she had almost nearly run into. There was something familiar about him, but at the same time, she was sure she had not seen his face before either. It was strange, but she wrote it off. She might have briefly passed him somewhere or maybe had run into someone to which he bore some resemblance. It was only one of the many coincidence’s life presented.

He thanked her and she shrugged, never one for manners or etiquette or anything of that nature. She wouldn’t have cared if he snatched it and walked off, it was all the same to her. Besides, that sort of thing was expected in these parts- people were busy to get get get somewhere, and if anyone tried to slow down that process, you lost time and had to make up for it. Manners were uncommon.

She nodded at his words, responding with a “Probably.” She would not put much thought into his familiar countenance. She had a million other things on her mind. The only reason she had really bothered to pause and have this sort of discussion with him was because she was no longer worried about the man she would get the Aurors to bring in, and she still needed to catch her breath. She had run a good dozen or so blocks. Or so it had seemed.

She reached up and pushed a hand through her hair, briefly raising her mane of red from her scalp to give herself some air. At his words, she dropped her hand and grinned, glancing in the direction the man had disappeared. “Oh, no. It’s fine. I have a few tricks up my sleeve and he already fell for one. The chase will continue when he least expects it.” She sighed before reaching out a hand. She had spoken to him long enough to figure an introduction would make sense. “Jack Dyllan.”

Whight was already liking how things were going. He remained calm and let her catch her breath. When she spoke he heard the same power in her voice as he had heard once before. He knew she was fearless which usually proved to be life threatening to others and themselves.

She was being polite this time which took Whight almost by as much surprise as it had when she yelled at him from across the ice rink. He repressed the memory so he did not act out of the character he was starting to play. When she gave a name he replied with his. "Whight," he said giving her a firm hand shake. She seemed like a girl that would respect and solid handshake rather than a pathetic clasp of hands that more had come accustom to.

Whight's mind began to analyze her body language, gestures, scars, and speech very quickly. He was told a lot by just those few things. He could tell fear and backing down were not options for her; her scars and their previous encounter only reenforced that thought. She fact that she had survived whatever she was in the middle of that gave her the scars told him that he was strong, maybe even powerful. She was also quick with words which could always prove to be useful in many situations. Whight wondered what she was capable of and from then on he made it his mission to find out. Numbers were good and if she pasted her tests, Whight would send her on to the next stage.

He thought quickly to keep her around, she seemed like one that didn't stick around for anything uninteresting. When nothing came to mind he jumped to the roses and what they were for. "Would you like to know a secret?" he said with a smile. "I realize you probably have better things to attend to, but if you could take a moment out of your day, well I feel you may find it worth while." His words were smooth and flawless. He worked to makes things sound as intriguing as possible to hopefully gain her interest. His mind was already getting set for another speech. One that he had rehearsed, studied, and executed many times.

The man’s handshake was firm and Jack responded with matched firmness- her handshake was one of the things she prided herself on. No one thought less of her when they shook her hand. She presented herself like a worthy competitor, someone that would not easily be counted out. She was strong and she conveyed it well.

He introduced himself and Jack nodded her head. Whight. Weird name. However, he had not made a face like most did when she said her own name, so she gave him that same grace. She dropped her hand and found there really was nothing more to talk about and, well, she was not one to try and force a conversation. She did not like people as it was. Perhaps it was time she got going.

Before she could begin to do so, he asked her a question. She paused and for the first time, her eyes traveled to the roses. Flowers did not mean much to Jack- they seemed pretty damn useless to her, really. She glanced back up at him, raising an eyebrow and her eyes narrowing shrewdly. Was this a trick? What was he up to?

However, Jack did like a good trick. She liked a mystery too. She wanted to know what it was now that he had brought it up. She shifted her weight to her other foot and placed her hands on her hips. “Alright then,” she said, blowing her bangs out of her face. “Let’s hear it.”

A bright smile grew across his face as he knew he now had her interest. Now he needed to get her even more interested so he would not give her what she wanted right away. "This is not a place where secrets are told," he said as he looked around at the crowded street surrounding them. "Here, take my hand. These flowers do have a destination." He held out an open hand. This was a trust exercise that many failed, he could already sense her discomfort after his request. "I give you my word that you can trust me, I mean you know harm." He knew little of who she was but that didn't bother him. He was out to recruit anyone how looked like they could hold their own. He knew what they needed for their cause and this girl looked the part.

Whight didn't voice it but he hoped she realized he was giving her the upper hand to where ever they were going. His wand was deep within his pocket, his left arm held flowers and she would have control over his right hand should she take it. He would even understand if she pulled out her wand in fearful preparation for what might come. He was asking for a leap of faith and he knew anyone rarely took such jumps nowadays. This was a little give and take situation.

He gave her a look that displayed no deception. He honestly meant her no harm and if she was willing to do things most thought were crazy, well her worth would be half proven.

Jack stared at him, narrowing her eyes even more, glancing at his outstretched hand. What was going to happen? As part of the Order, Jack had to be careful not to compromise herself- she would rather be dead than held and used against the Order. She would rather them leave her for dead than to try to save her and screw up everything they had worked for.

But she also knew she could watch out for herself, enough to ensure no Order intervention would be absolutely necessary. And, by now, she was curious as hell. If she were from Ravenclaw, sure, she would have declined and walked away. But she was a Gryffindor. Impulsive, reckless courage was what she had to live her life by.

And she liked a spontaneous adventure.

She slipped her hand into her pocket- the man she had been chasing was long forgotten. Her hand rested on her wand in a relaxed fashion. She nodded to him. "Okay, bud. It had better be worth it though." She gave him a challenging look to tell him that she meant it, and that she was not one to be trifled with. And with that, she took his hand.

He noticed that she pocketed her hand. Whight knew what she was doing and she was smart for doing so. He was trying his hardest to find something to actually like in the girl so he hoped a show of his past would open her up. He wanted to know the story of her scars, so he figured he could share a story about one of his scars. He remembered how she reacted when he made a mocking reference to them, so he knew they held good story.

Whight did not care whether or not she wanted to join him. He rarely took anyone to where he was about to gp. He knew, based off previous interactions, that to get into this girl he was going to have to take some large steps first; build a little trust. It was almost as if a game a trickery had to be played to get her to cooperate, but the hard part was that things couldn't be seen as the game by the girl.

He knew it was unlikely for two strangers to take part in what they were about to do, but she was taking the leap of faith and Whight was acting out of desperation to keep her around. He knew what their cause needed and he knew when he saw it. Whight worked fast on his feet so he knew that he would make this work somehow; he didn't know how just yet but things just had a way of turning out for the best.

The moment her hand touch his was the moment they vanished from the crowded streets and arrived next to a tree over looking a beautiful landscape. The view was almost breath taking and Whight immediately felt more relaxed when the wind crushed against him. He let go of her hand and said, "Welcome to my retreat. That large island there is our final destination," he said point deep into the valley. "I'll meet you there if you are still curious enough to learn my secret," and he was gone not giving her a chance to respond.

Whight stood still staring at a two massive trees in the distance. Upon further inspection one would notice two tombstones at the bottoms of each. Great reverence came over Whight as he stood motionless. The wind whipped around him and the sun's heat pressed from high within the sky, but he paid no attention. He neatly rearranged the flowers in his arm killing a moments time to see if Jack had decided to follow along.

Jack felt the usual feeling of being forced through a small tube, onward to a destination she was not currently aware of. She so preferred riding a broom or driving her car, but she also liked the convenience of apparating. It was a catch 22. They crashed to the ground and Jack blinked, letting herself gather her bearings as she turned her head left and right.

The view was spectacular. As one who spent a lot of time in nature, travelling and camping out on her own, she knew when she was in front of a view that was not common, that was not something you would just stumble upon everyday. Her mouth tipped open a bit and then she firmly closed it. "Wow," she managed to say, nodding slightly in appreciation.

He released her hand and she took a step forward, drinking in the view. She heard him speak and half registered it, before turning to see him taking off into the forest. She blinked, ticking her mouth and clicking her tongue in disbelief. She dropped her right hand to her hip and looked back out, squinting her eyes to indentify the island he had spoken of.

With a sigh, she took off. She hoisted her knapsack that she had ben carrying when she ran into Whight and carefully made her way after him. She was good with rough terrain, and she found that eventually she could see Whight's figure in front of her. She smirked and relaxed, following at a careful pace behind him.

She found herself in another secret, beautiful location. She glanced around and found her eyes drawn to the image of two strong trees standing side by side. She felt her eyes float downwards and she saw tombstones sitting within the shade of the trees. She stood next to Whight and jerked her chin towards the tombstones. "Whose are those?"