stop and stare

He really had no reason for being here.

Well, being the Minister's apprentice, he'd probably always have a good reason to find himself standing in front of her house. But at this very moment, he wasn't even sure she was home. Fiddling with his watch, he glanced back up at the cottage, resuming leaning against the fence.

He was always welcome, wasn't he? Even if Kallie wasn't home, he was sure Eli wouldn't mind seeing him. Letting out a little snort as he remembered the last time he'd spoken to him, a tiny smile pulling his lips upwards.

Easily manoeuvring his way past the wards, the Prideux made his way up towards the door. Humming a song he'd picked up somewhere, he knocked against the door before taking a step back, taking a moment to simply admire the large cottage.

Ev paused, head tilting inquisitively as there was a knock at the door. She had half a mind to ignore it, but her curiosity got the better of her. Moving over to the door, the twelve-year-old peeked through the blinds in the door-side window, frowning at the boy she found there.

She opened the door, chain still latched, this time and peer up at him suspiciously. (After all, the last person she saw outside the door turned out to be a rotten no-good.)

"Who are ye?" she demanded succinctly. "'ow'd ye get through the wards at th' end of th' property?"

Julian fiddled with his necklace, hardly noticing that his hands had raised up to his throat. When he did, he glanced down at them for little more than a moment, allowing them to drop to his sides before he shoved them into his pockets.

He glanced back up at the house, a flicker of movement catching his eye in the window, but it was only there for a moment before it was gone. Glancing expectantly at the door, his forehead creased at the unfamiliar voice. Blinking down at the little girl, he took a step back before returning his gaze back to her. Yes, this was the right house. He wasn't mistaken. So who was she?

"Julian Rousseau," he said, picking up the Familiar as his feet and offering a small smile. "The Minister's apprentice." Nightmare meowed a greeting, her amber eyes bright as she observed the werewolf. Glancing over his shoulder at the wards, the boy could only shrug in response. "I guess the ward's just let me through. Kallie, Eli, they know who I am. It probably helps." Shrugging again, he tilted his head at the blonde. "And who are you?"

"They aren't 'ome," the girl pointed out rather bluntly. She imparted the boy with another long and deeply suspicious look before abruptly shutting the door. There was the sound of the chain being unfastened, then the door jerked open again.

Ev held the door open for him, but didn't verbally invite him to enter. After all, if he was lying, he shouldn't be able to cross the threshold without her invite at least, right?

"No one," Ev answered.

"Well, when are they usually home?" he asked, tilting his head at the girl, wondering just why the girl was there. He hadn't somehow found himself twelve years in the future, had he? No, that wasn't possible. There'd be signs of such a thing.

Blinking at the shut door, he glanced down at Nightmare, exchanging a glance. Were children getting ruder? Merlin, were his siblings going to be like that one day?

Glancing up at the sound of an opening door, Julian offered an awkward little wave, shifting Nightmare to one arm. His forehead creasing, he stepped towards her, sliding effortlessly past. "You have to be someone," he reasoned, letting go of Nightmare, who moved towards the Durmstrang student, wreathing through her legs with a soft purr. "You're a human being, and just that makes you important."

Ev frowned, glancing back over her shoulder at the wall clock. "Later," she answered when she turned back. Anywhere between half an hour to an hour, usually, although she did not say so aloud.

Suspicious golden brown eyes continued to watch the older boy, widening minutely in surprise when he did, in fact, cross the threshold without her invitation. Her response was delayed as the kitten wound between her legs. Her face lit up with a bright smile. (Cats were not usually all that fond of her, for obvious reasons.)

"'ello there!" the girl cooed as she knelt to pet the creature. "Aren' you lovely? You're so cute!" And with that, she scooped the kitten into her arms and stood again, giving the boy a half-sheepish, half-defiant look when she belatedly remembered he was there to see her behavior.

"I didn' say I was not important. Doesn' mean I'm anyone you would know, does it?" Ev reasoned. A bit reluctantly, she finally added, "I'm Evelina Moffett. I live 'ere b'cause me parents are dead." She turned and moved off, carrying the black kitten with her. "Would you like some tea an' biscuits?"

She paused to turn back and frown reprovingly up at him. "An' if you're a rotten, no-good, I'll figure it out and call for 'elp. I've done it before - I'm very smart." Whirling about, she continued to the kitchen where she put Nightmare on the counter while she pulled out the things needed for tea.

"You don't mind me staying?" he asked, tilting his head down at her. He didn't want to intrude. Besides,he was sure he'd be able to find something to pass the time if she kicked him out. Getting kicked out by a twelve year old. A little amused smile wormed its way onto his face.

And it only widened at her reaction to Nightmare. The kitten sized familiar nuzzled into her arms, continuing to purr. "She is pretty adorable, isn't she?" He grinned at both of them, his blue eyes sparkling.

"I could get to know you, couldn't I?" After all, if she was living with his mentor, he expected to be seeing a lot more of her. He blinked at her, watching her walk away for a few moments before he forced his feet to move after her. "It - It's nice to meet you, Evelina. And - I'm sorry about your parents," he said sincerly, twiddling his thumbs. He couldn't say he'd ever felt the loss of his parents. Physically, they'd been there - he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Oh yes, they'd been there physically - but they'd never been real parents. "Yeah," he nodded, his thoughts far away. "Tea, biscuits, that'd be nice."

Nodding down at her, his expression softened. "I don't doubt that you will. You seem smart, smarter then I was at your age." Letting out a small laugh, he sat down at the table, watching her absentmindedly.

"You wouldn't be able to cross the wards if you were lying," Ev pointed out a bit sulkily.

"She is so adorable!" the girl chirped enthusiastically. "Cats don' usually like me, so she's a bit odd, but I don' mind. I like animals."

His query earned him a long speculative look, before giving a shrug. Remembering her manners, Ev primly replied in a tone of grand acquiescence, "I suppose you could." She pressed her lips into a thin line. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet and melancholy. "It's okay. They wouldn' want me to stay sad about it. Th' Minister an' Mr. Eli an' Mr. Brock are all really nice, so that makes it easier not to be so sad."

After putting together a simple tea on a tray, she carried it to the table. She poured him a cup and scooted it in front of him before returning to the counter to collect Nightmare. Settling in the chair across from him with her own cup, the tin of biscuits between them, she eyed him thoughtfully.

"You've got a different accent," the girl noted off-handedly. "You sound like th' man who tricked me t' let 'im in, before. Are you French?" She chewed on a biscuit, gazing at him expectantly.

"Still, if you don't want me here, I'll leave and come back." Julian shrugged. "It's your house, after all." He grinned down at her. "You get to boss me around. It's been a while since I've let someone boss me around," he mused thoughtfully. Bowing slightly, his grin widened. "So enjoy this chance."

He grinned at Nightmare. "That's Nightmare for you, odd, but pretty awesome." Glancing back at the girl, he tilted his head. "Why don't animals like you? You seem nice." She reminded him of Dilly, in a way. They were both so upbeat and happy. A tiny smile flitted across his face at the thought of his little sister. He really needed to see her more.

Julian nodded in response, offering a small smile. "Yeah, great people help make anything better," he said softly, his expression softening as his thoughts turned to his friends. Without them...He gave his head a small shake.

Thanking her for the tea, he cupped his hands around the mug, blinking down at his reflection in the liquid. His blue eyes blinked back, betraying the slightest hint of tiredness.

He looked back up at Evelina, a frown of concern darkening his face. "Someone tricked - are you alright?" Taking a biscuit, he broke it apart in his fingers before popping the smaller pieces into his mouth. "Yeah, from Paris. Sixth year Prideux prefect at Beauxbatons." He winked at her. "And if you ask me, I'm a shoe-in for Head Boy."

The girl gave him a speculative look, frowning thoughtfully. "They just don't," she finally responded. No way was she telling some stranger she had been born a werewolf. She had no idea how he would respond!

"It was a while ago," Ev declared with an indifferent wave of her hand. "I sounded th' alarm, and me par... Th-that is, th' Minister an' th' head auror came t' chase 'im away. He didn't 'urt me. He was jus' a rotten, no-good thief.

"Head Boy? Oh. You must be old, then, if you're old enough t' be 'ead Boy."

He simply nodded in response, leaning back in his chair. He couldn't make her talk, now could he? If she didn't want to say something, it was her choice. Besides, it wasn't as if they really knew each other.

"Still," he frowned slightly though a flicker of envy shone in his eyes. It had to be traumatic. And here she was completely over it, while he still couldn't get over events that had happened years ago. "It must have been terrifying, even if he didn't hurt you."

For a moment, Julian's heart stopped, his brain grinding to a stop. She - her parents were dead. She'd just said that, and - and -

Brock and Kallie weren't dead. He mentally slapped himself for thinking that. Wouldn't he know that? He was her apprentice. If anyone would know, wouldn't it be him? Letting out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, the prefect shook his head. He was overthinking things.

Huffing softly, though his eyes glittered, he stuck out his tongue at her, crossing his arms. "I am not old, thank you very much. I'm wise and experienced. But most certainly not old."

"Oh, it was," Ev agreed seriously. "'e was jus' eatin' a biscuit, actin' like 'e wasn' up to somethin' an' I thought me 'eart would jump right out of me chest! 'e was big an' tall an' looked real suspicious. I wouldn't 've let 'im in at all, but I thought 'e was an auror with Mr. Eli." The girl spoke animatedly about the encounter, exaggerating a bit, perhaps - as children were often wont to do. She liked having an audience, though, and if making the situation sound a bit more dire than it probably was garnered a response, there was no real harm in it.

Ev's head tilted to one side, her eyebrows pulling together in a small frown. His heart had just stuttered in his chest, she had heard it, and he had stopped breathing - that was even more noticeable. Her expression instantly smoothed out as both recommenced and his own features looked less on the verge of horror or shock. What had that been about, then?

She grinned mischievously back at him, a burst of laughter escaping before she could stop it. "Sure, you're wise an' experienced," she responded. "I reckon you can't be totally daft if you're th' Minister's apprentice."

He gave his head a little shake, amused at how energetic she was. She really was rather adorable. "You were pretty brave though, being able to fool him for a while." Julian swung his feet, grinning at her. "What tipped you off that he wasn't as nice as he seemed?"

The boy brushed strands of hair out of his eyes, humming softly. Sometimes he didn't think that he was capable of judging characters well enough. Though he'd spent years living with terrible people, he'd never seemed to be able to stop finding himself around sub-par people.

Ignoring thoughts of a certain redhead, he simply focused again on the girl across from him.

Pulling a face at her laughter, he huffed dramatically, crossing his arms. "Thank you," he said, the very beginnings of a grin lighting up his face, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "I'm very far from daft, for your information."

"Evalina?"

Kallie's voice rung out through the house as she slipped into the door, setting the folder that was in her hand on the small table that was in the corner. Hanging her cloak onto the hook that was on the wall, before stooping over to fix the few shoes that were not straight on the rack. There was a space from where shoes had been taken away, and they pattern was no longer balanced. Finishing with that the woman straightened, pausing at the hallway mirror to fiddle with her appearance, her cloak always wrinkled her blouse in a way that was simply unbearable.

Once she was done with that, she finally turned to move towards the sounds of the voices, suddenly stopping to think at the strangeness that there was someone responding to her daughter. Panic mingled with concern before she turned the corner and realized that she recognized both voices.

"Of course he is not completely daft," she answered glancing between the two children, her face and voice as serious as she'd ever been, "He is only half." Standing like that for another moment, her face still serious, she looked between the two before giving a little grin, and walking to the cupboard instead.

"Am I interrupting?"

The girl's attention turned towards the entryway a few seconds before the door opened, her posture straightening expectantly as a small smile played at her lips. Blinking, she looked back at the boy across from her, one ear listening to the woman moving about in the hall.

"He didn't tell the truth," Ev responded simply, which was the utter truth of the matter. There had been nothing about the man which indicated he was anything but what he seemed - except that his words had failed to add up.

The twelve-year-old laughed at the woman's assertion, smiling up at her. She shook her head. "No," she answered. She nodded her head towards the boy. "I let 'im in 'cos 'e could come in without me invitin' 'im."

Blinking up at the familiar voice, a little grin began to spread across his face. Sometimes, he couldn't help but wonder where he'd be without Kallie. Probably in a hell of a lot more trouble. Shaking his head slightly, an amused grin pulled at his lips.

Waving at her as she entered the kitchen, he nodded at her words, pointedly raising an eyebrow at Evelina, still grinning. At least someone understood that - "Hey," he pulled a face, trying not to laugh. "I'm not half daft. I don't know where you're getting this from."

Shaking his head, he grabbed another biscuit from his plate. Glancing back at Evelina, he simply nodded in reply. That was a good enough reason for him.

"I'm special," he added along to the younger girl's reply, grinning brightly as he leaned back in his chair. "It's good when a house gets it." He glanced around fondly, his lips twitching further upwards. "Because sadly, some people don't appreciate it."

Humming to herself, she ran her hand along the shelf that she was looking at, pushing a cup or two that were not sitting in the order that she liked them in. Her eyes narrowed as she pulled a class off the shelf, holding it up the light for a moment before wiping off a smudge, setting it on the counter and turning to face the children at her table.

"Modesty, is also a value that most people appreciate Julian," Kallie reminded with a slight grin. The boy's personality though she often wondered if it would get him in trouble in certain walks of life, was some how still endearing to her.

She just couldn't help but want to curve it some what. It was her job as mentor anyway, right?

Moving across the room, she pulled a carton of juice out of the fridge, pouring it just up to the first ridge of the glass before she slid it back into the fridge, exactly where it had been before.

"Actually, the house allowed him in because I have made the most likely misguided mistake to trust him," her tone was light, as close to not serious as it was possibly ever going to get, "Especially if its going to go to that big blonde head of his."