A Warm August Day[Isperis]

[Ziggy Lupin]

London was one of her favorite places to be, after all, she had lived there her entire life. Due to that fact, she had long figured out where everything was. Where the best place to eat was, where to go when you needed peace, and where the best places for concerts or shows were. At the moment, she wanted a place quiet, with a nice view and some good food. She was avoiding being at home, and the place wasn’t ever quiet anyways. So, she decided to take trip out to one of her favorite places, the Tobacco Dock.

The place was long deserted, making it a great peaceful place. The only thing in business was the little sandwich shop close to it, and Ziggy had discovered it that they made some of the best sandwiches she had ever tasted. Today she decided to take a trip over there, even if it meant walking around in the muggle community. It wasn’t too dangerous to do so, she just had to make sure that she looked like a muggle, and that the talkative Jarvey she owned remained silent. Draco was smart though, not that it always showed, and he understood when he should and shouldn’t speak normally. There were the few slip ups though.

Dressed in a pair of tight skinny jeans, she wore a black band shirt, torn into a tanktop. Over it she slipped on a jean vest, customized with patches of zebra and leopard print and studded with tons of pyramid studs. There was also quite the collection of safety pins and band pins randomly placed around the little pockets in the front. As for her feet, she wore an old pair of black converse, torn and beaten up from years of being worn. All in all, she looked like a typical little punk rock muggle. Today, her Mohawk was two-toned in color, the usual pink, but today the tips of her hair were black.

Walking down the streets of London, Ziggy ignored the odd looks she received. It wasn’t because they knew she was a wizard, no, they didn’t know that. It was simply the way she had chosen to dress. Most muggles would deem her a trouble maker, and watched cautiously just for that reason. Though, she really couldn’t blame them because that’s exactly what she was. Hell, she was going to grab herself a sandwich and sneak into a closed dock. She’d watch herself too if she were those silly little muggles. Not to mention they were probably trying to figure out if the large creature on her shoulder was a fat ferret or a deformed cat.

It wasn’t long before she found herself standing in front of the old abandoned shopping centre. She knew the story behind the whole place. Once it had been used to store Tobacco and such, and then they tried making it into a shopping place. It failed though, and now it was completely abandoned, aside from the sandwich shop. Somehow it still managed to stay open, and Ziggy had become one of their usual customers. She tried to come at least once a week during the summers or holidays, whenever she was home and in London. The girl slowly made her way towards the store, gripping the door handle and pulling the door open.

The little bell at the top of the door made its jingling noise, announcing that there was a customer in the store. Ziggy glanced around the store, noticing there were a couple of other random people scattered in the place, enjoying lunch. Turning her attention back to the counter, she wandered over. Before she even arrived at the counter, the girl behind it greeted her cheerfully. ”Ziggy! Heey! The usual, I’m guessing?” She asked, smiling at Ziggy. ”Hey. Yeah, the usual.” Ziggy replied, with a small nod of her head. The girl continued to smile, before she turned and dug around behind the counter. ”And for the cutie pie, a snack!” Muggles, for some reason, thought that Draco liked crackers, like some ferret or giant rat. The muggle girl held out the cracker for Draco, who hesitated at taking it. Ziggy jerked her shoulder, silently indicating for the creature to take the gift, so he reached out and snatched the cracker and proceeded to nibble on it. As soon as they got out of the store, he’d ditch the cracker and gag.

As soon as she had paid for the food, Ziggy thanked the girl and proceeded out of the sandwich store. Now she made her way out towards the docks, watching as she walked to make sure nobody else was around. She had a favorite spot, a dock that was farther off from the rest. It was a good place because hardly anyone went there, and that meant that she could speak to Draco freely, and the talkative Jarvey could speak as he wished as well.

Walking down the dock, Ziggy continued to watch, being cautious as ever to make sure she was alone. She picked a spot at the edge of the dock, setting down her little bag with the sandwich in it along with her bottle of water. Then she sat down, taking off her shoes and socks and dumping them onto the dock beside her. Rolling up her pants up to the knees, she then slipped her feet into the cool water. A sigh of content left the girls lips, her blue eyes watching as Draco threw the cracker into the water before cursing.

”Fucking muggles, disgusting food! Nasty!” He complained, his foul mouth going off slightly louder than a whisper as he spoke into his owners ear. ”Oh shut up, before I throw you into the water you silly oversized rat.” Ziggy replied, smirking as the creature on her shoulder recoiled at the threat. ”Evil fucking freak.” He spat, insulting the girl, despite the fact that she had threatened him. The sixteen year old simply sighed, shaking her head as a response, letting her eyes wander off to the river and enjoying the silence that fell over the pair.

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[Isperis Varin]

It had been a long walk in London the summer breeze was refreshing when you could catch it, it was noticable choked to Isperis anyhow. The spirit of summer was not choked but its servants the west and east breezes had been leeshed by the city. Quite a few wizards don't understand the workings of the natural ways sure they have a few druids that may know some but they are so few in numbers on the european side that they might as well have none.

Isperis wore plain jeans and a brown hoody and some no name brand of sneakers that where seemingly brand new but they where enchanted with a renew spell. He had blended in well with the locals which was not hard as he was very used to the muggles ways. Having been brought up as a shaman had always made him have a distaste for the urban but that never meant he had to avoid it. Now that he was at hogwarts being a shaman was now out of the question he had been left with a different path altogether.

There wasn't much for him to do in london well anything that he wanted to do anyway. Isperis had decided to make the trip down here to find a very excluded area make a small forest/garden home then pay the gracious amount to get it warded by a private contracter. The trip had so far been mediocre having found a few spots but nothing he could quite do the deed. Starting to get hungry he had led himself to the placed advertised as the best sandwich place in london.

The place was pretty abandoned except for the sandwich shop and this gave him doubts on the shop. The docks had been a short detour from his path but it turned out to be quite worth it. After eating the sandwhich at a table nearby Isperis started to look around for a possible home and he noted four empty shops that could do the trick. Having finished his little journey he decided to go back as soon as he had seen the view that the girl at the sandwich shop said to take a look. The girl had automatically labeled him a foreigner dut to lack of accent. As he walked toward the harbor candor slithered from his hood and whispered in his ear "yellow polar bears." then with a quizzical look he replied "why don't you say anything that makes sense?" and with that he trudged on.

Isperis stood with his hands in his hoody pocket looking towards the view. It made him miss what he left behind not particularly his parents no that was something he was used to having taken week long sojourns into the "spirit world" as is the custom of shamans and shamans in training or gifted to those who need to make the journey of self discovery. He felt the pang of missing all that was familiar to him and being out of his own element was not helping at all.

The moment of thought was interruped by a yell closeby, he looked around the pillar he was standing beside to see a girl not too far off, her punk rock style made her a sore thumb in any crowd. Watching her for a bit out of curiosity made hium notice that she wasn't talking to anybody around except for the ferret, which would have seemed odd except for the fact he wasn't a muggle so he knew she was a magical sort. Isperis felt he should go and talk to her but decided against it more out of a self concious feeling than anything figuring she didn't need the company if she was gonna talk to the angry ferret. It all would've been fine except he knocked a soda can over as he was about to move back behind the pillar but as he hit it accidently he froze just staring down at it hoping he wouldn't be found out yet still visible to her if she decided to look his way.

[Ziggy Lupin]

Ziggy continued to enjoy the silence, watching as random boats passed by along the river. It was such a nice day that it really made her wonder why nobody else was out around the docks. Then again, the place was abandoned, and not many people bothered coming to it anymore. Her feet moved around as they dangled in the water, splashing the water onto her legs. Glancing over at Draco, she watched as the Jarvey wandered over to her water bottle.

Grabbing the water bottle, he pulled it down onto its side and proceeded to try and open the top of it. It proved to be too much for the guy, despite his size, and he then proceeded to have a fit over it. ”Stupid fucking piece of shit, plastic bitch!” He hissed, angered at the bottle. Ziggy sighed, reaching over and grabbing the bottle away from him. Grasping the top of the bottle, she opened it and handed it back to the oversized ferret. He quickly managed to dump half the of the bottle all over the dock as he tried to get a drink out of it, though.

”I swear to god, you are ridiculous.” Ziggy scolded him, taking away the bottle and scooting away from the puddle of water on the dock. Shaking her head at him, she put the top back on the bottle and set it back down. Opening her mouth, she went to say something when a noise caught her attention. Turning her head, the girl looked down the dock for where it came from. Then she finally spotted where it had came from, there was a boy standing by a pillar close by. Could he heard Draco talking from where he was? Shit. What if it was a muggle boy?

”Shut up, Draco.” The girl hissed, almost in a whisper. The magical creature automatically went silent, laying down beside Ziggy and her food. Ziggy continued to stare at the male, wondering exactly what to do. If he was a muggle and had heard Draco, then he probably would of ran by now. Unless he was curious about the whole thing. If he was a Neco, she was double screwed, but if he was a wizard then she needed to know before her nerves got the best of her.

”HEY. You can come closer, I swear I don’t bite.” She yelled at the boy, lifting an arm and waving towards him. It was merely an invitation, and if he denied it, she would know something was up and she would quickly leave. Ziggy was foolish at times, but she was also quite cautious.

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[Isperis Varin]

With a sigh Isperis straightened up "shit...not cool" he thought, he really didn't want to seem like a stalker or something and on top of that didn't particularly want to explain himself to anybody either. Well he could take solace in that his presence shutup the ferret, his attitude was very muggle like in fact if he wasn't an animal he would have made a very good muggle.

Again the gecko he had fondly named candor crawled back out of his hood barely noticable crawling quickly to his ear and ominously said "curious tints of fear or defiance." with that more insightful but still cryptic statement he went back into the hood probably to curl up and sleep. With another sigh he said under his breath "you can be less confusing if you want..." and he swore he heard faintly from his hood "No thanks."

Isperis started to walk toward the girl slowly his footsteps a bit cautious but looked casual. He realized he was more concerned about his own appearances that he forgot to be more curious about her business then again she was obviously a wizard of somesort maybe even a student of that so called hogwarts that he was soon to attend. Really there isn't too much he could fear if she was not a muggle, and in his book the only bad thing was muggles in general. Sure there were a few good ones out there but as a rule of thumb muggles are always out for themselves thats one thing you could always count on.

Having reached her Isperis stood at the edge of the water looking over at his own reflection. the reflection looked the same as it should except for the slight silhouette of a bear, this was a normal occurance for the shaman as in his native tribe he had been part of the bear clan amd with his pure blood and family legacy of serving in the rolew of shaman. Overall this amused him as he was the least looking native in his tribe especially with his paleskin he could always blend in the outside world. With that thought done he looked farther out and said softly "nice view...my names Isperis by the way."

[Ziggy Lupin]

Ziggy went silent, watching as the male chose to walk closer. As she waited, she reached over and grabbed her sandwich. After all, she was hungry and hadn’t eaten it yet. Taking a bite, she glanced back over at Draco, making sure that he was being silent and not acting odd. The last thing she needed was for Draco to do something stupid that would give what she was way to this random guy. Thankfully though, the overly energetic jarvey was still laying down by her side, watching the male as he approached in silence.

Taking another bite out of the delicious sandwich, Ziggy looked back up to see the male had finally reached them. Offering a smile, she listened as he greeted her, and introduced himself. “This is my favorite spot here, because of the view.” She answered him, pausing for a moment before introducing herself as well. ”My names Ziggy. Nice to meet you.” Reaching out with her free hand, she petted the fuzzball laying beside her. It was a silent praise for him being so good and quiet until she figured out who exactly this guy was.

”So, what brings you out here today?” Ziggy asked, looking back out towards the river. She continued to kick her legs around in the water slowly. It was such a nice day, it really was. Going swimming sounded quite tempting, but she didn’t have her swim suit on, so that was out of the question. It was days like that this that she cherished. The lazy days of summer in London were always nice and peaceful. Well, for now they were, Ziggy knew that in the near future things wouldn’t be.

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[Isperis Varin]

Looking out at the view he could see why a people would settle in this place and then again he could see it was not the best it could be. Its natural beauty was tarnished from the machinations of industry but that occured decades if not centuries ago. Yet still some places still managed to leak out beauty nonetheless and that was inspiration to Isperis that the hardships of the shamans and druids where never in vain.

Having left that life behind it was sort of sad to think about it again. Atleast no matter where he goes the shaman path is always open to him, that was one thing he could take solace in. Isperis watched the view a little longer just getting lost in his thoughts but there was no sense dwelling on the past when there wasn't anything to change it.

Looking down to the ground Isperis answered her query "I was just wandering..." anything more than that was just difficult to put into words as his shy nature started to kick in. After a few moments with a new person he got forgetful usually and it was a problem he had promised himself to get over but he just wasn't quite motivated to do so. After an awkward moment of fiddling in his front pocket he looked back up, quickly trying to get his bearings Isperis asked hastily "you?."

[Ziggy Lupin]

Ziggy tilted her head back, so she could peer up at the male. She fell silent as she listened to him answer her question. ”Just wandering, huh? Seems like a weird place to wander into..” She softly spoke, lifting a brow at him. Not everyone would wander out to some abandoned docks just for the fun of it. Then again, she had, hadn’t she? Most people would go to the park or somewhere more active though. Maybe that meant the two of them possibly had some things in common?

Then an awkward silence fell over them, usually filled by a person asking the question back to the other. Shrugging her shoulders, Ziggy took yet another bite out of her sandwich and chewed on it quietly. Draco stood up, wandering over to the male and sniffing him to cure his curiosity. After a few seconds of wandering around Isperis’s feet, Ziggy looked over and rolled her eyes at him. ”Draco, get over here. Sorry. He acts like a dog sometimes, I swear..” She apologized, sending the creature a glare as he made his way back over to her obediently, still remaining quiet as ever.

Blinking as Isperis spoke, she simply smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders again. ”I don’t have anything to do today. My friends are busy, and school hasn’t started. Plus I was hungry. This place has the best sandwiches ever.” She answered, though some of it wasn’t true. Her friends weren’t really busy, she just hated one of them, and the other she wasn’t sure what he was up to. Ah well..the rest of it was true.

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[Isperis Varin]

Finally pulling his hands away from each other out of his front hoody pocket to stop fidgeting, Isperis looked at the back of his right wrist. There was nothing there though there should've been a watch but he always forgot it somewhere. It was something he prefered to keep around just for its looks but it just seemed to always slip his mind. At this time it could have been a good excuse to leave if he had it, saying something about an appointment but now that was out of the question now that he had no clue about the time.

Well all that was useless she seemed to be an interesting sort so far. Having been through much at the hands of muggle influences he really didn't have too much business out here. What Isperis was planning was more like magical prospecting and then "stealing" a space. Isperis looked down at her and said "I was nearby and heard about the sandwiches then I was recommended to check out the view so here I'am." which was basically the whole truth.

Casual raising his right arm he rubbed the back of his own head, one of many his shy reactions or more like coping mechanisms, Isperis asked "what school are you going to? maybe we're in the same one? you see I just transfered here from the U.S." it wasn't much of a reach for him to guess the answer but nonetheless it was a start. With this he could start to get a feel for the people of Hogwarts and maybe he wouldn't be so lost.

[Ziggy Lupin]

Ziggy smiled, nodding her head as he replied to her question. “They have the best sandwiches here.” She said, reaching over and continuing to pet Draco. She’d really have to praise him and give him all sorts of treats later for being so good. He was probably going insane right now, wanting to burst out and start screaming and using bad language. Ziggy could only imagine what he would do as soon as this guy left, or revealed he was not a muggle.

Tilting her head, the pink haired girl blinked as he asked what school that she went to. Well shit, what was she supposed to say when she didn’t know if he was a muggle or not? Fuck fuck fuck. Finally it dawned on her, and she flashed Isperis a kind smile before spouting out her lie. “I’m homeschooled. I didn’t like normal school, so I learn at home.” It wasn’t entirely a lie, because you could learn magic at home, now couldn’t you? Ziggy felt Draco make a noise, which resembled a sort of laugh. Immediately she smacked him on the back, “Stop choking on your hair, stupid.” She hissed.

“I have a friend that lives in the states. What state did you move from?” She asked, looking back over at the male. Her head tilted, showing her curiosity. She had to figure out if this guy was a muggle or not, it was going to bug the shit out of her. “What school are you transferring to?”

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[Isperis Varin]

Looking back at the water he gave himself a moment to think. To tell the exact truth wasn't quite the smartest thing to do even if she was a wizard. A person as new as him to this area wasn't aware of every faction in the european community and dropping into one wasn't the smartest thing for him currently. Being in some place new wasn't as fun as he expected, trying not to seem so lost was harder acting like he knew about anything over here was even harder.

Looking back down at her he answered with a smile "I'm from Upstate New York, more of a rural area. Was never quite fond of the urban but I can handle it well enough." crossing his arms Isperis was getting a bit nervous again over whether to tell her of his new school choice. Telling her this was just an opening for her and whether that was good or bad was still to be seen.
Isperis looked back at her undecisively edged with shyness, it felt like meeting new people here was going to be such a pain.

Feeling that one should be constantly dancing around trivial facts was gonna be the name of the game when socializing for a while until he got the feel for the place. Being foreign in a new place was so much work but he hoped it was gonna be all woth it in the long run.With a sigh he answered her last question "oh I'm going to that Hog...Hog...Hog something school ya its a strange name I can't quite remember, its in a rural area which is good for me." A compromise in his mind to name the school partially and if she was of wizarding blood she'd be attending thus making all this social dancing and word games to be all and done with if she named the school.

[Ziggy Lupin]

Ziggy tilted her head, listening as he explained where he was from. New York. She had heard a lot of stories of that place. Apparently it was always busy, lots of cars, and very expensive. Though, he had just said he came from a rural area of it. She couldn’t help but grin, because she couldn’t really blame him. “Yeah. I’ve heard stories about it. It sounds like one crazy place to live.” She replied, nodding her head. “I like London though. It’s nice, and not too crowded and busy that you get overwhelmed.” She said.

Something about him seemed off, though. He still seemed on edge, nervous or something. Almost as if he was hiding something from her. Maybe he was a wizard after all? Besides, he had just come from the states, and he was probably overwhelmed with everything. Things in London were twice as bad in the states when it came to muggles and wizards and their conflict. More wizards were hanging around in London, after all. At least most of the pureblood families were, since they had always lived in the area.

Ziggy blinked, listening as he stuttered out some sort of answer to her question. Hog? Was he going to Hogwarts, perhaps? Her lips twitched into a sort of grin, as she listened to him. “Hogwarts?” She offered, lifting an eyebrow at the male. Ziggy already figured that it was the place he was talking about, after all. ”So you’re a transfer student, going there this coming year?” She asked, though he had already pretty much said that earlier. ”Im going into my sixth year this year.” She told him, completely dismissing her previous lie about being homeschooled.

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[Isperis Varin]

Finally with an inner sigh of relief Isperis was happy to finally meet another wizard albeit a strange one but what wizard wasn't strange in one way or another. With the first issue out of the way things had just become three times uncomplicated, she had been friendly enough and she was a student at his school so overall a very good thing. "yes hogwarts" he grinned with a little satisfaction over his previous clumsy iteration of the schools name. Looking down he remembered the ferret and now that he was aware Isperis cringed at the thought of opening his mouth with his constant Jabbering and swearing.

Isperis knew that most animals where foreign to the concept of normal swearing anyways, to learn it so fluently probably came from either tv or actually being around it all the time from the owner. He figured he might learn where it came from if he spent morre time with the duo anyway so he might as well put it out of his mind for now. Whatever else of reservations he might of had over them where erased by her getting the Hogwarts name correct so now might be a good time to learn more of his school and whatever else important information that he should know.

Looking back at her the grin finally fading since its moment was over "I'm a fifth year or so I'm told, my transfer was a bit late for a thorough examination, so if I do good they might just push me ahead." He wondered to himself over whether he even wanted to be put ahead since it would be ideal for him to spend as much time at the school as possible, for education purposes of course. Really though in the back of his mind hidden to Isperis he wanted to stare there as long as possible not cause of education but because he wanted to avoid walking his own path, especially a path he had to choose. Still a bit shy he fiddled in his pockets, quickly he asked "Is there anything I should know about this school that I might not have heard of yet?."