and we're burning one hell of a something [ivan]

It was a rare occasion that Elaine left Great Britain without her rainbow-haired best friend but this time she'd just known that Eva wouldn't want to accompany her. The former Ravenclaw knew only a bit about Eva's past - probably still more than anyone else, though - but it was enough to know that the girl wouldn't feel comfortable in Russia. It was way too close to her home, or at least to the place where she had grown up. If she knew one thing it was that Eva didn't call that place home anymore. Sometimes the brunette wished she knew everything but she never asked Eva about her past. Maybe there would come a time when Eva would tell her everything that had happened but until then she'd just wait. All that mattered was the here and now anyway.

Speaking of the here and now… Where was that guy? A few days ago she had gotten a note, telling her to come to Russia to meet one of her activist friends, he had a little job for her. Intrigued, Elaine had packed a small bag, apparently the trip wouldn't take longer than a few days, and then she'd apparated to a small backstreet in London where a portkey was waiting for her. Once there, Sergey had told her what to do and she'd been positively sure that it would be a child's play to get the job done.

What her group wanted was quite easy to explain; they wanted information. And she was the one who should get them. Her target was an intern at the Russian Ministry of Magic and she should find out what exactly he was doing, if he knew anything useful and how strong his allegiance to the Ministry was. Elaine didn't know much about the guy, only his name and that he belonged to an influential Russian pureblood family. Sergey was counting on her foreign charm and she'd use it as best as possible. After all, it wasn't the first time that she wanted to get information out of a ministry official. The last time she'd had help but the young witch was sure she could achieve the same without her best friend.

Right now she was standing in front of a café near the Ministry entrance, waiting for the man to come out. They had shown her a photo so that she'd recognise him and she'd noticed with delight that Ivan Ilyin was quite the handsome young man. So she wouldn't even have to fake her interest in him. Perfect. And there he was… Just on time. With her coffee in one hand, Elaine walked out on the street, pretending to search for something in her bag. She moved in her target's reaction without looking up and a few moments later the inevitable happened; she bumped into him, spilling hot coffee all over his robes and her white cloak. "Shit," she exclaimed, examining the damage for a second before she looked up at the man, a small apologetic smile on her face. "I'm so sorry. Please, let me…" Since she didn't knew if any muggles were close, Elaine pulled one of her handkerchiefs out of her bag, ready to dab the brown liquid off his robes.

Blaz Krause.  Ivan had just learned that this fellow was the top candidate for Ira’s future husband.  Interesting.  He didn’t know much about him, other than at school, Ivan had dubbed him ‘That-Krov-boy-that-rides-dragons-all-the-time’.  He was a Pureblood German, which were both good things, and the family owned a rather successful brewery.  All in all, the match seemed fairly solid.  He should meet the man officially, one on one.  He had spoken to him briefly at parties before, or was sure he had, anyway.  Everyone’s pretty face started to blur together after a while.  Especially at parties, where Ivan preferred a bit more alcohol to help himself bear the evening. 

Before he could seriously contemplate whether he remembered the gentleman, however, he suddenly felt searing hot pain across his chest.  “Dragon’s shit!” he exclaimed, clenching his jaw.  He was more surprised than anything, and as the smell of coffee filled the air, Ivan took in his assailant.  Suddenly he was less mad.  She was… well, she was pretty damn good looking.  She pulled a handkerchief out, probably with intent to clean his suit.  Muggle, then?  That was unfortunate.  But he made no move to stop her, anyway.  He’d gladly endure a bit of discomfort if it meant this attractive female was going to touch his chest.

“It’s quite alright,” he said afterwards, his voice considerably calmer.  He even added a nervous laugh on the end, hoping to add some calm to the situation.  He instantly planned his next pick-up line. 

Got you! Elaine was pleased with herself when she saw his expression change from anger to something else… Approval, maybe. She quickly tried to get most of the coffee out of his robes and while she was that close to him, the brunette made sure that he wouldn't mistake her for a muggle. "I just didn't want to get my wand out in case muggles were nearby," she said casually, her voice so quiet that only he'd be able to hear her. It didn't take her long to remove most of the coffee, he could be glad that his robes were dark, and when she was done, she took a step backwards, smiling sheepishly.

Her white cloak looked much worse but it was nothing she wouldn't be able to remove later with a quick cleaning spell. At the moment the brown spots didn't matter anyway. He laughed and Elaine had to admit that it was quite a nice laugh. "I'm glad it is. I really need to pay more attention to where I'm going." She laughed softly and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. His English was rather good, especially compared to the fact that she only knew a handful words in Russian and most of them were rather inappropriate. Knowing the English language seemed to be something that was important to the Ilyin family.

Elaine played a little with the handkerchief, pretending to still be a bit embarrassed. She had to do something, though. She couldn't just let him go now. Offering him another smile, the former Ravenclaw pointed at the café that was just behind her. "Can I make it up to you by getting you a coffee or something? I definitely need a new one since I spilled most of it over you." She shook the paper cup slightly and it sounded indeed quite empty. The muggleborn looked at Ivan again, her eyebrows raised slightly. Come on. Say yes.

She mentioned wand, so there was some luck in the world!  A random encounter with a beautiful witch!  He sensed some power in the universe was rewarding him for the difficult week he’d been having, and honestly, he welcomed a distraction from his thoughts.  He was about to respond to her claim that she needed to be more careful when she continued. 

Hm… well, she was forward, he had to give her that.  Abandoning his next pick-up line, as it surely wasn’t going to be needed at this point, Ivan smiled.  “That…” he checked his timepiece for effect.  He had time, but he wanted to make her think he didn’t, but was going to make time for her anyway.  “..would be nice, actually.”

He turned toward the coffee shop that was just behind him and offered an elbow to her.  “I’m Ivan.” 

This had been way too easy. Ivan Ilyin was checking his watch but she could see that she had already won. The brunette waited patiently for him to respond, a smile still on her pretty face. Most men were just so easy to manipulate and Mr Ilyin didn't seem to be an exception. It was a little disappointing, the small witch loved a challenge, but at the same time she was pleased that she'd gotten what she wanted. Well, not exactly everything she'd come here for but getting him to spend time with her was definitely a step in the right direction.

"Wonderful," her smile widened at his reply. "I'm glad you'll let me make it up to you. Usually I'm not that clumsy, seriously. Chances that I'll spill my next coffee over you as well are very slim." Elaine's big brown eyes widened in surprise when he offered her his elbow but she quickly composed herself again and hooked her hand through it. Ivan Ilyin was a gentleman, indeed. She shouldn't have expected anything less if what Sergey had told her about his family was true.

The petite witch bit back an I know. and replied with the first name that came into her mind. "I'm Charlotte. It's a pleasure to meet you, even though I would have preferred meeting you under different circumstances." Elaine winked at the man and together they walked to the coffee shop she had left only a moment ago. The pair sat down at a small table near the huge window. The waitress seemed to be a little busy at the moment which meant that it was time for small talk first.

"So, Ivan... What do you do besides getting attacked by small foreigners. Sorry again." The woman smiled sheepishly, her brown eyes fixed on his hazel ones. What a handsome face. It was too bad that he would never talk to her again should he find out who she was. And even if he didn't, she'd disappear soon anyway.