[paris] moonlit & devious | gia

june 2004

"Keep your eyes closed," Reed whispered into Giovanna's ear as he wrapped his tattooed hand around her torso. Reed pressed his body against her back as he stood behind her. And then, the wizard apparated them out of the states and to France. The world ripped apart and stitched itself back together around them like torn pages sewn back into a book. When they reached Paris, Reed's hand moved but only enough to rest on her hip. "It's just a little further," he reassured her and checked that her dark eyes were still closed. The ministry man had more than enough sickles to bring her to a lavish hotel, the sort that had gold fixtures, crystal chandeliers, and staff that could keep a secret, but instead, he'd transported them somewhere else entirely. Rather than polished marble tiles, they walked on hard-packed dirt. Torches magically came to life as they passed, traveling further into the dimly lit catacombs that were off-limits to muggles and most of wizardkind. But Reed wasn't "most wizards," and with enough sickles and connections, he'd never found a door he couldn't open.

While he'd surely bring her to that luxurious suite later, Reed was excited to show her something else first. Something darker, more sinister, and full of death. He had the feeling she'd love it, and he wanted Giovanna to have everything. Giovanna was not unlike other young witches he had known. She seemed inclined to take his expensive gifts, and he always noticed how she watched his enchanted tattoos, but she was deeper than that, more interesting. He knew she had a penchant for the macabre, and that resonated with him. As they reached the part of the catacombs that very few had ever been granted access to, Reed squeezed her hip and beckoned her to open her eyes with another whisper.

Skulls and bones lined the walls of the catacomb and flickers from torches cast eerie shadows across the room. Many of the bones had etchings on them, runes and glyphs engraved by past witches and wizards. In the center of the crypt was there was a copper bowl with glowing liquid inside. The green patina of the bowl showed off its age, and the dewy glow inside gave away what it was. The sepulcher was the resting place of an ancient Pensieve, and Reed knew it contained the dying memories of the bones that fortified its walls. The wizard brushed a spiderweb from the arm of his jet-black suit and waited for Giovanna to say something.

@Giovanna Coppola

Keep your eyes closed. Giovanna’s red-stained lips pulled into a wide smile and she leant back into Reed’s solid form, enjoying the feeling of his strong arm around her; she brought her hand up and placed it over his, clasping softly at his wrist and letting the tips of her long nails just dig into his flesh. In the next moment the familiar sensation of side-along apparition took over, squeezing them together through time and space to land somewhere that—even with her eyes closed—felt distinctly different.

The temperature had dropped, and it felt close — the air around them was stiller, somehow, than what they had left behind. It was almost automatic to want to open her eyes once she felt the ground become solid again underfoot, but Reed hadn’t told her she could yet so she kept them closed, blindly moving her hand up his arm behind her for stability as she walked forwards at his encouragement. The floor was uneven and their footfalls echoed quietly off the walls around them. There was no sound of anyone else, no murmur of a crowd.

Gia’s hand wrapped tighter around Reed’s forearm, lightly creasing the sleeve of his expensive suit as they came to a stop. Her false lashes fluttered open at his command and her eyes adjusted to the gloomy torchlight. It took her a moment. “You’re kidding,” she said first, just above a whisper. Then “Shut up,” louder, a girlish grin on her lips as she took in the skills and bones lining the walls. They were in a crypt.

She turned to face Reed and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning up on her tip-toes to kiss him on the lips quickly, then again, a little slower (still grinning). “This is amazing,” she told him, bringing one hand around to caress his jaw adoringly before stepping away from him to begin circling the room. “Where are we?”

A surge of pride for being right mixed with Reed’s amusement at Giovanna’s reaction as he watched her eyes dance across the room. He laughed softly when she told him to shut up and met her smile with one of his own as she kissed him. A genuine smile, too, because nothing pleased him more than knowing he’d done an excellent job. “The catacombs underneath Paris,” he gave her the quick answer first, following her as she moved around the room. When the quarry was first tunneled, this area was outside the city, but Paris and its need for burial grounds had grown exponentially. Reed’s eyes flickered back and forth between Giovanna’s delight and the walls made of perfectly arranged skulls and long bones.

He’d done a little research before bringing her here, but the reports had not done the site justice. Reed was quiet as he noticed planned designs in the walls, patterns made from bones laid to rest. The tomb wasn’t just a mass cemetery thrown together in the wake of a flood; it was respectful and was artistic. And even now, centuries after the last body had been placed so delicately, Reed could still feel the thrum of magic in the air.

“More specifically, we are in a restricted part of the Tombe-Issoire quarry, which Parisian authorities transformed into an underground cemetery in the late eighteenth century. This tomb is reserved specifically for magical remains.” Reed wanted to let the tomb speak for itself because it was impressive even without his commentary, but the wizard couldn’t help but mention that it was off-limits to most of the magical community. And to remind Giovanna of his reach.

“Very few living witches or wizards have been this far into the labyrinth.”

Giovanna looked back at Reed over her shoulder when he revealed their location and felt a rush of attraction towards him — she really had never met anyone quite like the English wizard. She’d met wealthy men, men of experience, men who liked to spoil, but never a man who was all of those things and took her on a date to the Parisian catacombs. Gio held her hand back out for him to take, her fingers entwining with his when he did so.

She tugged Reed along with her as they delved deeper into the tomb. He went on, and Giovanna slowed to fall beside him, curling into his side. She smirked softly as he bragged about the exclusivity of the locale. “It’s amazing,” she whispered, respectfully, before lifting her chin to gaze up at him adoringly. “You’re amazing,” she told him seriously, her free hand coming up to cup his jaw; her thumb traced across his bottom lip slowly.

As much as she wanted to show Reed just how much she appreciated him, she wanted to explore more first. Her fingers trailed down his tattooed neck, over the veins and muscles, before dropping to her side. “Tell me more,” she coaxed him, curious as to just how much effort he’d put into his research. They moved further into the crypt, slowing again as they came before a large copper pensieve. She squeezed his hand in excitement.

Giovanna offered him her hand, and Reed smiled at her, following as she explored. Reed loved it when a proper plan came together, and he couldn’t help but watch Giovanna as she moved through the catacombs. He had never been here before, but even among the power and magic in this room, Giovanna was still the most appealing to Reed. He watched as her eyes slid over the bones, admiring them as if she saw each one in their own time. It was the same look he’d sign on her face once when he’d arrived early to collect her from the ministry. Reed had watched from the hallway as she stared intently at her work; she had a creative focus he appreciated.

And from the look he saw in her eyes now, Reed could tell she had pleasant thoughts about him too. A smirk tugged at his lips as she ran her fingers down his neck. When she said he was amazing, Reed didn’t parrot her words back to her. Giovanna knew she was exceptional, and he’d instead his actions speak for him. Even though he knew it would get him in trouble eventually, there was very little he wasn’t willing to do for her. He hoped she understood that by now.

Knowing she wouldn’t be turned off by the dark details (and that it’d likely have the opposite effect), Reed began telling her the story of the crypts. “After ten centuries of use, the Saints-Innocents cemetery was well overcapacity. And when Paris began to flood, the water unearthed the bodies until the street was flowing with them.” It sounded like something out of a horror novel, and Reed imagined she’d delight in the details. “They had built a retaining wall, but the bodies burst through it.” Reed moved closer to her, his chest against her back and pressing their bodies together.

They paused near the sepulcher in the center of the room, and Reed continued. “Under the cover of darkness, the city began evacuating the cemeteries in 1785. They tossed them down two shafts, and the bodies were distributed from there.” With the cemeteries used for so long, most bodies were long past decomposed, and Reed imagined the sound the carts full of bones made as workers poured into the shoots. “The wizarding community was careful to collect any vials buried alongside the magical residents of Saints-Innocent’s cemetery, and they were placed here.”