Love bites, but so do I [Chael]

Ah, England. Truthfully, the Welsh girl had missed the United Kingdom a little, if only because it was something familiar. Italy had a charm all it's own, however. It was beautiful country, and she quite liked life in Neroli. Still, most of the people, of course, spoke Italian... Being able to speak in her native tongue was nice, every once in a while. So, here she was. She needed some more potions supplies; supplies which she couldn't exactly obtain legally. And, when she hadn't been able to locate the particular ingredients that she needed in Neroli, she had decided to venture to Knockturn Alley. Good ol', reliable Knockturn Alley. Thankfully, there, she had been able to locate the items in question. After paying and carefully tucking them into her bag, she had decided to browse.

Though it was summer, there had been a bit of a chill in the air and she was thankful that she had decided to bring along her cloak. As she strolled along, she was thankful that at least she had no chance of running into Vance McLaren. She had been devastated, and more than a little humiliated, when she had discovered that he was interested in some halfblood. Honestly, Charlotte wasn't even attractive! At least, that is, she wasn't even half as attractive as Rosaline, herself. So, she had been avoiding him. Sort of. Really, she had just been making up excuses that she was busy and this and that. Of course, she couldn't keep it up forever. Even with as annoyed with him as she was, it wasn't his fault. He didn't know that she had feelings for him. Besides, she didn't want to hurt his feelings even if he did know. For whatever reason, she had found that she actually, really cared about him... She didn't like the feeling.

Stopping to look in the window of Borgin & Burkes, Rosaline contemplated only briefly on whether she should venture inside or not. A familiar face caused her to make her decision more quickly, and the former Slytherin strolled inside with a bit of a wicked smile on her face.

"Hello, Michael. What brings you here?"

Honestly, could this shop be any smaller and could the owner smell any worse? Chael was tempted to plug his nose but then the owner might hike the price up on the item he was there to purchase. He wasn't exactly purchasing something physical, but rather an incantation for a hex. Apparently the old man here had quite the variety of hexes which were super powerful and extremely malicious to whoever they were shot at and after signing up for the fight club; well he needed the absolute best spells.

After having a small conversation with the owner, he retrieved the spell and shoved the incantation in his pocket. Okay, that was far too easy. What a waste of an afternoon to come all the way down here -- he could be working on work. Alas, he would just have to pick up lunch or something. If he even trusted the food at Diagon Alley. Pub food, so full of grease and lard; kind of like the people who walked around Knockturn Alley. Was it like a requirement for these people to be so ugly if they traveled down this street? At least he was here, a shining emerald of beauty to show them what it looked like because he was quite sure none of them had ever experienced that before.

Turning to head out the door, he was stopped by someone. At first he was going to snap at whoever it was for getting in his way until he realized it was his friend, Rosaline Bane. Rosaline Bane was the kind of girl he probably would die being friends with. They were equally matched in most things, and that was rare. "Oh hello, Rosaline." he said casually. "What are you doing in here? Stalking me, I can only presume?"

Rosaline smirked. Michael Bade was one her favorite people. They had a lot in common, after all. He hated all of the things that she hated, and she liked that. In fact, one of the only things that they didn't agree on was his relationship with that ex-Hufflepuff half-wit. Of course, she didn't comment on it, as that would be rude. He seemed to fancy himself in love with the girl or something. Ugh. Love. What was it good for? Absolutely nothing. In fact, after the whole ordeal with Vance, she had promised herself never to care about another human being in that sort of a fashion ever, ever again.

Not everyone was as logical as she was, however, unfortunately.

Rosaline grinned at his little comment about stalking. "Oh, my, yes. You've caught me." Putting her hands up as if in surrender, the former Slytherin couldn't help but quietly laugh at her former classmate. That was another thing about Michael: He could make her laugh. Not many people could pull that off. It was... nice, really. She didn't usually value her fellow human beings, but she liked this one.

Resting one hand back at her side, the other tucked a stray piece of hair back behind her ear. "And how have you been?"

With that, a little trinket caught her eye. Of course, she knew much better than to actually touch a lot of the things in this particular shop. Plenty of the items for sale were cursed or had some other nasty little secret. Still, she would have to make her way around to see if there was anything that she absolutely could not live without.

Chael stared as Rosaline grinned. It was slightly fascinating to him to see her smile. She had an odd beauty about her. It was as if she had been hurt her entire lifetime by people but somehow had managed to come out the victor. He appreciated people like that, people like him. Not many people knew much about him -- he didn't have many close friends so they people who were in his life were extremely precious. He had been through a lot of pain and false judgment in the past that he didn't have a heart or he was a monster. Perhaps that was true to some extent but he wasn't always cold or aloof. Either way, he was glad to call Rosaline a friend.

He too showed a smile which showed just how happy he was to see her. It had been a few months since school had let out but it seemed even longer. "Of course, of course - and why shouldn't you stalk me? I am so completely fascinating and am sharing breathing room with a man who smells like a rodent feces." he whispered. Chael smirked and moved a little closer to Rosaline. They probably shouldn't have been having a conversation in here, the owner would probably throw them out if they got too loud but what the hell? Chael could always curse him.

"I've been well, working at the Ministry of Magic. A lot of petty work but I suppose they have to start you somewhere. I plan on revitalizing the entire Ministry eventually. I just need to get more connections..learn people's fears, their weaknesses..you know." he could have went on and on about his planning but he didn't want her to know too much and also it wasn't a completely thought out plan. "What about you? How's the potion brewing?" he said, with a smirk.

"Something catch your eye, Rose? You could get one of your many admirers to purchase it for you..." he went on.

Rosaline was used to men staring at her, but somehow it felt a little strange when it was Michael. She had only shown her teeth a little? She was observant enough to notice the behavior, but she didn't comment on it. She liked him. Of course, she also liked to tease him at times but.. well, she would let this one opportunity simply slide on by. Perhaps this was because she had found that she enjoyed it when he looked at her, and particularly when he responded with a smile of his own. They were a lot alike, the two of them. She had more in common with him than she really felt that she had in common with the vast majority of her family members, or anyone else that she knew for that matter. It was a relief, to have met someone like him. He... understood her. Got her, if you will.

"Yes. Likely the most fascinating person that I know." Michael was also very attractive. She particularly enjoyed it when he smirked. When he did that, he had a sort of devil-may-care look about him that was rather enticing. Of course, she was unfortunately well aware that he was already involved with someone. Someone who, in her most humble opinion, absolutely did not deserve him. Mallory simply wasn't up to what his standards should have been. But, well, you win some, you lose some.

The Ministry? So, he had gone along with his plans. Rosaline was happy for him. "Oh, do you?" Her mother, and other family members, had... "friends" who worked with the ministry. Perhaps she could use her family's influence to help him along? Hm. Perhaps. It was an entertaining thought, anyway. She and Michael shared a lot of the same ideas, politically, and she would love nothing more than to have their will forced upon others.

"I have been doing very well, thank you. My boss isn't exactly ideal, but... I enjoy other aspects of my position." And her side-job wasn't bad, either, so far. Of course, she wouldn't mention that detail to him. He might not approve, and even if that wasn't an issue, it wasn't really any of his business anyway.

Rosaline smirked at his next comment about her "admirers." She had had plenty at Hogwarts, but lately she was finding herself very much alone. I mean, it wasn't as if she really minded, but sometimes it was nice to have someone to do things for her...

"It's not really something I'm particularly interested in. In fact, I think I'm going to go on to someplace else. Would you care to join me? We could get something to eat somewhere, perhaps? Do some more catching up?"

He smirked his naturally devious smirk when she said he was most likely the fascinating person she knew, it was obviously true. Even though he didn't have many friends throughout his Hogwarts career, that didn't stop people from doting on him or being completely terrified of him; which he thought was the most sincere form of flattery. Being skilled with a wand had its' perks and being clever enough to know how to use it rather than his tongue was an even greater skill.

"Well, if I need to go in for the kill - do send me an owl." he said in a rather matter of fact tone. When she said she wanted to get out of here, he could tell she was probably screaming inside "getmethehelloutofhere" because he was also feeling quite unpleasant in this shop.

"Of course, where would you like to go?" he asked, as he lead them out of the door and back to the dark alley which was Knockturn Alley. "What about the Bloody Muggle? I hear their booze is quite exquisite, er - nothing against your family of course." he said quickly. The Banes and the Bade's were connected by business as well as friendship even if Chael Bade himself was lower class and her family held a high position of wealth in the wizarding world.

Fortunately, Michael did not appear to notice her slight sarcasm. Not that he did not have his moments when he was, indeed, fascinating. For example, Rosaline simply did not understand how his mind worked when it came to women. What was it that he saw in Harrison? Perhaps it was her ability to change her looks? That seemed a plausible reason, she supposed. She simply could not imagine that the other woman's personality was anything spectacular. Still, she knew better than most that men would do nearly anything for a pretty face.

"I will do that, certainly." Offering a small smile, she was pleased when Michael appeared to want to leave as well. But, where to go? The Bloody Muggle? Surely, it was not as desirable an establishment as one owned by her family, but... it was nearby. "Of course. The Bloody Muggle it is, then." Now back on Knockturn Alley, Rosaline gently took Michael's arm before they continued their walk down the street; her heels making clicking sounds against the stone.

It was only a short walk, thankfully. While her footwear was excellent for aesthetics, the design was certainly not one for comfort. She began to speak once more in order to keep her mind off of it. "And how are your mother and father?" Pausing for a moment, she did remember that he had a sibling. "And your sister? I do hope that they are all doing well."

The Bloody Muggle better have as exquisite alcohol as they claim or she might gnaw head off. He didn't think Rosaline was a big drinker if he could recall, but he didn't know. Chael really didn't even drink that much, but he did like a good cherry vodka. There was something about the burning of the back of his throat that was ever so pleasant in an odd sort of way. Just as his thoughts began to trail, he felt Rose grab his arm and practically carry him down the street to the pub. Gosh, how did she manage in those shoes?

Feeling her against him felt natural to be honest. If Chael wasn't seeing Mallory he probably would have courted Rose a long time ago. However, he was sure the world would not want the two to be together because they were so alike, and he knew how much people were afraid of them individually. However, Chael would never try to do anything to hurt Rosaline and that was one of the major reasons he never pursued anything further than friendship - she didn't need to be hurt. Even if he treated her like gold, there was a chance something could go wrong. Even with Mallory he felt that way. Grinding his jaw a bit out of nervousness, he was happy when they found there way to the Muggle and went inside.

Chael had not answered her questions yet since he had been deep in thought. "Oh, father and mother are okay -- " he started, as he lead himself to a booth and sat down, hoping Rose would follow suit. "Ambrose, well, she's..I worry about her. I hope she is okay, I hear she is being bullied at school from her owls." he shrugged. "It's probably that Hadditch brat."

Rosaline was not what one would classify as an alcoholic [though many of her family members, including her Uncle Dimitri were], but she did enjoy a stiff drink or potion at the end of a particularly hard day. In her family, after all, alcohol was quite easy to come by. However, variety was the spice of life, she supposed... The Bloody Muggle was likely not as good as her family’s pubs, but she would give it a try for Michael’s sake.

It was a decent looking establishment, at any rate. The sign was a little... graphic, but the only thing that she was really concerned about was the cleanliness of the establishment. The windows were grimy, and she couldn't help but wrinkle her nose slightly at the sight of it. Still, she couldn't very well demand that they go somewhere else, now, could she? She would simply grin and bear it.

Walking into the pub just ahead of Michael, she stood off to the side to allow him to walk in just after her and choose a booth for them to sit at. Once he had done that, Rosaline took the seat directly across from him; smoothing her dress out underneath her. The decor left something to be desired, in her opinion, but then again some of them weren't so bad. The paintings were awful, true, but the chandeliers were a nice touch.

Thankfully, however, she did not have to pay much mind to their surroundings as Michael had begun to speak once more. His parents were doing well, which shwas glad for. She looked concerned when he spoke of his younger sister, Ambrose, however. Bullied? Well, she would have to see what she could do about that.

"Well, my mother has taken the Potions position at Hogwarts. I am sure that she would be happy to look after Ambrose for you?"