[Mal's Loft] Fear is what it really was. [Julian]

Today was going be a night to play on her nerves. Mallory Harrison was going to do something exciting and adventurous, well her in opinion. This woman was going to get a tattoo done. This was a first for her. She could change her body at will but never had something forever placed upon her body. This small thing was going to be there for the rest of her life and until her body decomposes when she dies. The idea was very weird to her but it was going to be fun... Mallie could not pass that up. Mallory met her tattoo artist actually modeling for him. He randomly asked her to be a model for her and she couldn't turn that down. She'll help anybody that she possible could and standing there looking pretty was an easy way to do it. He spoke about tattoos and how to do them and Mallory decided to get one done. After the shoot she gave him her address and let him know when she wasn't working. After a couple owls back and forth they set a date and now she was going to be expecting him any minute.

Moving many of her painting materials aside so her loft wouldn't look super crowded she organized the area a little more and folded some blankets that were on the couch from the night before. Mallory was just trying to keep herself busy so that her hair wouldn't turn bright orange or something weird. Sighing gently she looked at her clock and just then heard a knock. He must be here.

Smoothing her blue shirt down she then proceeded to open the door seeing the tattooed man right in front of her. "'Ello Julian" She smiled gently and moved aside so he could come in. The apartment was nicer at night. It was not so bright like the day but it was calm and clean. She had a few trinkets around on her bookshelves and a few pictures of when Chael and her were together. One of her in a Hufflepuff uniform and Slytherin uniform placed on his body. There was pictures with her niece and her brother. There were many waving photos of her family on the entertainment center. Mallory had her artwork on the wall also. Just a few of night skies and sunsets. It was a very artsy looking loft. It fit her. Turning to Julian she smiled, "So what first?"

[This is her living room and her bedroom for her loft.]

The last time Julian was with Mallory, she had allowed him to take pictures of her for his portfolio. Something he would be forever grateful for since he got a lot of amazing shots of her. She was naturally beautiful, obviously beautiful, and it came easy for her to be in front of a camera. It wasn’t till recently he received her owl for her tattoo request and of course he respectfully obliged. Once he came upon her door, he knocked and waited a breath. She opened the door, greeting him with a gentle welcome. “What’s up, love? Good to see you.” He smiled hugely taking in her appearance. She was so obviously lovely in her blue blouse but she could probably wear throw up brown or mud and make it look equally just as good.

When she moved aside he took a couple of steps in and looked around her loft. It was really quite nice; he enjoyed overall welcoming feeling between her and the atmosphere she created. His eyes lingered for just a second, on her pictures covering the walls, between family photos, he assumed, and paintings of the sky. He made a mental note to ask her who had painted the pictures. “Um…” He turned to look at her, “How about we talk about what you would like for starters.” He furrowed his eyebrows remembering that he had no idea what she wanted, “I can make a sketch for whatever you’re looking for or-,” He crossed the room and sat down on her couch and started to dig out the contents of his backpack. A silver briefcase looking box with his tattoo supplies which he sat aside on the floor. He padded the seat next to him on the couch, motioning her to come have a seat next to him. He dug out his supplies to draw something once she gave him a description and his portfolio of other tattoos and drawings he had done.

“You can take a look at these if it helps you with ideas.” He extended the album so she could take it whether she decided to use anything or not. There were loads of pictures of random tattoos ranging from symbols to animals to people and everything in between.  "But if you already know what you have in mind, describe it and tell me where you'd want it on your body." He smiled, reassuringly. "This is your first, correct?"

"Its wonderful to see you," Julian was not like the typical men that she hung around. Someone her parents would not approve of. He was sweet to her but he was covered in many tattoos. Mallory found them interesting and re-markingly beautiful and artistic. Unlike her parents Mallory was more taken to the beauty of everything. Her life revolved around making beautiful creations and art. Julian was one of those beautiful creations. As he sat down on her couch she followed and took a seat next to him after he patted. Grabbing the portfolio she studied all his artwork. "I think I have something in mind..."

She put her finger up to show one minute and quickly ran up her steep stairs that lead up to the loft bedroom. Mallory quickly conjured her drawing tablet and went back downstairs to Julian. "I drew this up the other night." She opened a page up to a star design with many swirls. "I wasn't sure if you could do it." She smiled handing over her tablet to the gentleman. Gently sitting next to him she look at the rest of his artwork to see if she could get any other ideas. That star one fit her so much though. Where was she going to put it? Everybody would kill her if she had a noticeable tattoo. Maybe it was time for some more fun. "Can you put it on my wrist?" She smiled at him gently.

First tattoo.. that was true. "Yeah, heard the pain can be intense... but I can handle it. I'm a tough little cookie." She giggled slightly. Mallory has been through a lot. After being hurt so bad at Hogwarts during the battle and all the emotional things it was very good that she was still standing. She was a hufflepuff though and they were hard workers and tough. Don't mess with the badger. They do bite back. She used this as a life lesson. Mallory still had no clue what was going on with Chael and her but before then she was planning to get married right out of school and be a stay at home mom. They were going to have little pureblooded babies and not care about anybody else. Now she was completely the opposite. She did not want to get married for a while and focused on what she wanted to do in life. Mallory did not want any many supporting her now. Children, she didn't care with who but not for a very long time. Her view on a lot of things changed for the better.

"Oh-- did you want anything to drink or eat? I have cookies and wine, butterbeer, and water. Anything else I can just conjure up." Mallory was going to have some wine herself.

Julian nodded in response to her request that he’d wait a second, “Carry on, my dear.” Once she came back down he listened to what she had to say and accepted the tablet from her and examined her drawing, “This is nice. I had no idea you were an artist.” He stole a glance at her, “But yes, I can do it. I’m thinking we’ll do the bigger stars first and then the lines and swirls. If you’re still up for it at that point, we’ll do the little stars and shading last.” Julian explained as he envisioned the process quickly in his mind, “Placement is important, though. I want you to be sure the wrist is where you want it since it will be visible most days. So, just make sure your job won’t be an issue.”

He couldn’t help but smile as she giggled, it was cute, “No, no, it won’t be as bad as you’re thinking, if you want to get it on your wrist, it will be more annoying than anything, like small pinches or scratches, nothing too bad…but it does vary depending on the person.” He didn’t want to lie to her, but he didn’t want to scare her out of the idea either, “If I’m completely honest, women can take the pain a great deal more than men can. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. We’re blubbering babies, the lot of us,” He paused, pointing to himself as the example of the male species, “whereas women are bred to give birth…so you girls are naturally more inclined to deal with pain.” He nodded his head seriously, with a smirk playing on his lips, “And fret not, I will help you through the entire process once we get down to business.”

He thought of her offer for a second, “Um…I’m going to pass on the wine, regrettably, but I wouldn’t mind some water, thank you.” Mallory wasn’t quite a stranger but he only knew her through a professional relationship, so he was trying to keep himself as professional as possible. Talking to her was easy though; he could definitely say he enjoyed her company, not to mention that she was easy on the eyes. Julian set his things up on the small table in front of him and began to transfer her drawing onto tracing paper. It would only take a few minutes since her design was simple but he would need some more space to work once he did start the actual tattoo, “Where would you like me to set up, then?” He called after her.

"I don't let many people know I am an artist. I am more of an fashion designer." She smiled at him. Mallie was very talented with many forms of art. She was a free spirit that loves the artistic view of everything, yet she was embarrassed people would not like her talent so she did not show it off very often. Listening to him, she added in about the job. "I really don't have much to worry about that. I have a very cool talent to hide things that most people don't have." Mallory focused on one emotion for a few seconds and then her hair turned to a bright magenta color and as soon as that happened her left arm formed many little stars, as if they were tattoos, that flowed right down the arm to her fingers. Mallory's hair then went to a short bob. Opening her eyes they turned to a bright, abnormal purple color. "I'm a metamorphmagus. I want a tattoo for something permanent. If I find a job that I can settle down with I can hide the tattoo if need so."

As soon as she finished her sentence she shook her hair and returned to her normal self. She shook her arm and the stars seemed to sink back into her skin. Whenever she did anything to her limbs they always had that tingly feeling like your limb fell asleep. It usually lasted about a minute or so depending on how long she changed her arm for.

"The wine will help me with the pain too,"  she giggled. Standing up  Mallory went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cupboard and poured some water into the glass with her wand. Thus after that she flicked the wand over her glass and it filled with red sweet wine. Hearing his voice Mallory spoke up, "Anywhere is fine, wherever you find comfortable for you." Grabbing the two glasses she went back to the living room second and set his glass onto the in table. Mallory grabbed her glass and took a sip of the wine and then sat back down next to Julian. She was little nervous but a little pain for beauty is perfectly fine. You cannot be beautiful without a little pain.

“But an artist, nonetheless.” He was smiling politely as he listened to her. His smiled turned to a curious raised eyebrow and just as he was about to ask what her talent was, her hair turned pink. Julian’s mouth fell open. He had only ever heard of a metamorphmagus and he never thought in his lifetime he would run into someone with this gift, but there she was, forming stars on her arms, changing her hair, and then her eye color. “Holy shit, that's amazing.”

He quickly regained his composure, and waved his hand as if it bat away what he'd said, “Sorry for the language, nasty habit.” He felt bad for cursing, some clients disapproved of this and he didn’t like to do it around first time clients. But Mallory seemed so easy going, and he'd been around her before, he really didn’t think she’d care but he had a knack for overthinking things more than other people. Julian thought about telling her that drinking and getting a tattoo wasn’t the best idea, but he thought against it. A glass of wine or two wouldn’t really hurt anyone. After he finished transferring her drawing he placed it to the side. Once she gave him permission to set up where he wanted, he immediately got to work and set up his kit and things at the kitchen counter so it was easier for him to move around while he worked if he needed too.

He took a seat back on the couch and grabbed his glass of water from the table and took a long drink. He was quite thirsty, “Thank you.” He placed his glass on the table and looked over at her, Merlin, she really was beautiful. The last time he had seen her, everything was business, he didn’t really look at her as an artist or individual, just a test subject and something pretty to add to his portfolio, if he was honest. Seeing her now, at her welcoming home and sweet demeanor, he couldn’t help but think there was more to her than what meets the eye.  But from his experience with women in general, he felt like they used their looks to get what or who they want. But thinking of Mallory like that seemed wrong and he was confused, hot and sweet wasn’t an everyday occurrence and if he was honest, it intrigued him.

He nodded at her glass of wine, remembering her comment, "Believe it or not, alcohol has the opposite effect. It can lead to more pain, loads more bleeding, and bad judgement." He smirked knowing that she would be nervous, he wished he could have some himself since he wasn’t usually too relaxed around a lot of people, but he was trying to be responsible, "But, you're glass of wine or two won't do any damage." He winked and smirked playfully to show he was just trying to scare her. Julian started to think about his first tattoo and how nervous he was. “I’m telling you, once you get this tattoo you’ll want more, it’s really addicting,” Julian pointed to himself, “I’m living proof.” He wanted her to feel comfortable enough to trust him, something that his clients never had a problem doing, he was sometimes a counselor in his line of profession. “So before we start this whole process or whenever you feel up to it,” He sat back on the couch and forced himself to relax, draping a long arm over the top of the cushion being cautious that he didn’t get too close so it would make her uncomfortable, “Hufflepuff, right?” He knew this from the pictures on the wall and gestured in that general direction, “Do tell me how I never noticed you in school? Where were you hiding?” He raised a curious eyebrow as he scanned her face, she looked his age he thought, not knowing, but if he would try to think of her during his time at Hogwarts her face never came to memory but how could he have missed her?

Mallory giggled really hard when the harsh language appeared out of his mouth. “Oh don’t worry, my mother says I am a sailor.”

Before she had a chance to put the wine up to her mouth she heard what he said. More pain? Oh-great, wine was not a good idea. Mallory was hoping that she wouldn’t freak out. Her eyes changed to a darker blue as she looked at the wine, but his second comment calmed her back down. “Bloody hell, boy… I was about to have a freak out.” She chuckled and took the wine up to her lips and drank some. It was very sweet. She loved the taste of this wine. It was a very girly wine, but at least it was something she could drink. Most of those types of the beverages gets her drunk off of two cups. Mallory’s small frame helped with that. Listening to his talk about being addicted afterward she shrugged. “Its ok to be addicted to something that is simply beautiful.”

His art on his body was magical. Not the wizard magical, but beautiful in a way only artists would understand. Chael would probably kill her if he ever seen her get a tattoo, but this was something that will be unique to Mallory. Something that would be there forever, rather than on her ever-changing body. Mallory wanted something that would stuck to her. As she watched him get comfortable, she pulled her legs up and sat Indian style next to him. “Yes- Hufflepuff.” Did everybody know she was a hufflepuff or something, glancing at the pictures she realized why… a giggle escaped her lips. “What house were you? I don’t think I remember you either.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I was supposed to graduate this year, that might be why you don’t know me… not sure. You might know my brother, David Harrison. He was a Ravenclaw, looks close to your age.” David was six years older than her. She loved having a protective big brother. He was the best thing in her life, other than what he created who Mallory always wanted to kidnap… her little niece, Sunny.

“I hide the beginning years, but around my fourth year when I discovered boys… I stopped hiding.” She chuckled reaching for the glass of wine and taking another drink. Mallory was always a flirt, but around that year is when she started dating. Mallory started to experiment with her ability around that time also. Many students knew her as the weird who could change her appearance or Mallory the fashion designer.

Julian snickered once she realized he was only trying to scare her and he thought about her comment for only a moment. The wizard wondered if her gift would be somehow connected to high levels of feeling such as feeling elated or completely terrified. Like a body’s natural reflex, instinct if you will. The same way people in general will instinctively try to catch or dodge something being thrown at them, perhaps Mallory’s talent worked the same way it was a reflex that she had control over at times. He could have sworn her eyes turned from pale to deep ocean blue and this confirmed what he thought. Julian comically envisioned Mallory turning blue or something of the sort if she freaked out, “I would love to see what that looks like.” He was being funny but it would be interesting to see what kind of affect her emotions had on her in a time of stress nonetheless. This was cruel to think but that was the starving artist in him talking.

She got comfortable next to him, he smiled gently as she giggled, his face fell slightly toward her question, “Slytherin.” He answered her question curtly, not towards her but his fellow housemates. There were only a few Slytherin’s during a last few years that he was close to but as he aged, he noticed how biased some of them really were so he wasn’t really proud of the house he was in during Hogwarts. Not mention his ex and that whole fiasco that more than anything, left him a bad taste in his mouth. Supposed to graduate this year…his eyes widened slightly at her statement. His eyes rolled over her frame swiftly, the witch he was looking at looked like a woman his age. She couldn’t have been any younger than 18 though, he shrugged it off. His mind wandered at the name of her brother as he tried to remember, “David Harrison…the name sounds familiar. He was an older bloke, yeah?” Julian didn’t know much about her brother, but he was almost positive he’d seen/heard about him before perhaps.

He laughed at her comment, “Ah, well that explains things, doesn’t it? Puberty has a funny way of bringing us out of our shells.” Julian understood this but at the same time he didn’t. The tattooed wizard didn’t start to break out of his skin until after school. Granted, there were a few people that he felt he could’ve been himself around at Hogwarts but for the most part he kept to himself and revolved his life around his ex, Amara, at the time. Something he still held onto and regretted when he thought too much about it. He reached for his water and took another drink from his glass mentally washing the thoughts of his past away and looked at Mallory at his side, “We should get a move on with all this before I cave and drink your alcohol. Then, this would be a totally different evening.” He smiled mischievously, knowing that under the influence he wouldn’t be as well behaved as he was being at the moment.

He placed his cup down, got up smoothly, and stretched his long arms above his head accidently hitting the light on the ceiling as he did so, “Woops, sorry love. That came out of nowhere.” He looked down at her with a sorry smile and moved his way over to his set up. He had arranged his things so that he would be sitting next to her as he worked. He took a moment to set up his machine, removing a fresh needle from it package, applying it, and then testing it to make sure it was working properly, he stepped on the foot pedal. The buzzing noise sounded for a couple of seconds and removed the pressure from his foot and did this until his machine was tuned. Julian looked over at Mallory, “It sounds worse than what it is, I assure you.” The humming noise normally made people more nervous but the whole objective was to stay calm. The more the nerves worked up the more likely someone was to pass out.

He looked back at what he was doing, setting up ink cups and his cleaning cup with green soap and other miscellaneous things. Once that was all done, he walked over to use the sink to clean his hands, dried them, and then proceeded to put his gloves on as he walked over to the general set up. “First things first, I’m going to transfer the drawing on your wrist- .” He smiled reassuringly as he held up the transfer paper for her to see. It looked exactly how she had it on regular paper; this was the easiest part of a whole tattoo. He sat it back down on the counter next to him. He just had to apply it with a deodorant like substance and the transfer would stick to her skin. He waited till she placed her arm down comfortably on the arm rest and he rested his own gloved hand on top on hers, looking into her eyes he explained, “I’m going to clean your skin then shave it,” He pointed the place on her wrist and then to a brand new razor still in its packaging, “apply this and then put down the transfer paper. No pain involved yet, I promise.” It was important for first time clients to know they can trust their artist, and to understand what would be happening step by step so they didn't feel too lost or anxious.

Once he got the okay from Mallory he began that first phase of her tattoo process, cleaning, shaving, applying the tattoo transfer. Once he peeled the paper off her skin, he looked into her eyes again, “How that looking? I would like you to check it out in a full length mirror so we can be sure. Strike a couple of poses, makes some hand gestures, see if it fits, yeah?” He grinned encouragingly, Julian didn’t really like bossing people around but he had a few clients in his beginning years tell him that the tattoo placement was fine, but then complain once everything was said and done. So now, he makes every single one of his clients check the mirror before moving on, no matter what.

[sorry it sucks :/]

A chuckle escaped her lips, “No you don’t, and usually my hair turns bright red or just grow a duck bill. It’s not fun to see at all.” Mallory really learned how to control her emotions very well. It was hard when David went missing and during school when she liked someone or there was a big test. Mallory’s emotions are usually very hard. She is usually very happy or very sad. A medium emotion was hard to produce. It was ok with her. It was easier for people to know how she was feeling. Content was not an emotion that she knew very well. Normally Mallory was extremely happy. She was a very cheerful person and loved to show that cheer to other people. Continuing on with their conversation he spoke about Slytherin a smile formed. “Most of my friends were Slytherin. She looked at the pictures of those Chael and her together and then frowned slightly and looked back at Julian. She missed talking to him as much as she did. When you get older though, you change. When he talked about her brother, she nodded. “Yeah, older brother. He graduated a couple years ago. He’s twenty-six right now.”

She couldn’t help to laugh about puberty bringing them out of their shell comment. It was true. Yet, Mallory had to deal with it differently than other kids. She had to deal with her body literally changing. She got teased and it was hard to herself then, but after that she learned to tease the person right back even if it was slightly mean and it toughened her up. She was known to be a little mean, but she learned after school that was a bad thing to do. Maybe that was why she got along with the Slytherin’s so much. Many people said it was because she was a pureblood, yet she would never use her blood to become friends with people. Nodding to his next comment about starting her nerves were beginning to settle in. She knew there was no backing out now. It was time to get that tattoo and she had to suck it up. “Probably a very fun evening,” Mallory joked out. “I am kidding.” She chuckled at him.

Watching as he stretched and hit her light she laughed at him, “It happens.” Mallory herself was tall. Not as tall as him but still taller than most girls her age. Watching him set up and turn the machine on, she stared at it. That humming sound would put her to sleep. She always loved that sound of oceans to make her sleep faster and this was closer to that sound. As he continued to listened to him and let him place the transfer onto her hand. Moving her hand around in the mirror and flexing to joke around, she looked back at Julian. “Looks perfect, I think I am ready… that machine is going to make me sleep.” She giggled and sat down putting her wrist back at him. This was exciting.

He chuckled a bit as he admired Mallory acting like a complete fool in the mirror. “Looks perfect,” He nodded agreeably but Julian wasn’t talking about the tattoo and a small smirk played on his lips. Once she took a seat he raised an eyebrow toward her comment, he was amused “…Make you sleep, really? I have to say…that is the first time anyone has ever said that.” He shook his head playfully. The wizard put his final touches on his set up. He then rubbed some ointment gently over the stenciled area and the back of his hand so he could get started. He looked at her seriously, “Just breathe, okay. In and out and stay calm. The first few minutes of adjusting are the worst and then it’s easy sailing. You might get a little irritated with me at some point, and trust me, it is completely normal.” Julian winked encouragingly at the last part.

He wasn’t a stranger to snarky comments or remarks on his behalf. People had different ways of tolerating pain so sometimes his job required him to be somewhat of a punching bag but Julian learned to deal with things as they came. The pain became a nuisance depending upon how long it was and his clients sometimes lashed out or cried. Of course his clients didn’t mean to be this way, it’s just what happens when one is the cause of one’s pain. He dipped his machine into the ink and the buzzing sounded as his foot pressed the petal, “Ready.” He waited for a confirmation and then started, pulling the skin as he went, “So…who’s the bloke in the pictures. The Slytherin.” Part of him was curious as to whether she was single or not and the other part was just trying to get her mind off of the pain. But Julian waited patiently for her to get her thoughts together. He wiped the excess ink off with his paper towel as he went, looking up at her face every few minutes to make sure she was alright. She seemed to be doing a pretty good job with taking the pain, he thought.

Nerves were now beginning to settle when he was beginning to start. She wasn't sure how it was going to feel. Mallory had her leg, arm, and ribs broken at the same time and that pain was horrible, but this was going to be different. The stories people told her was it was a constant cat scratch feeling. That is someone else's pain tolerance though. After that whole ordeal with the battle at Hogwarts her pain tolerance went up a lot more. Magical medicine helped a lot though. Taking a deep breath in and out she listened to him say ready and then start the procedure. She watched him as the needle touched her skin, she winced slightly but it wasn't as bad as thought. It was only the beginning though. She continued to take a deep breath, in and out. She focused on that. It seemed to make it worse, but he helped. He began to speak and that loose her focus on the breathing.

"Oh- Chael. He just graduated right now. My best friend, uh--- well, was my boyfriend since my fifth year but we haven't talked much recently." She frowned slightly. Her eyes changed colors once more, to a paler blue. "He stayed at Hogwarts, I didn't finish my final year." Chael was going to be in London soon though. She still didn't know what their relationship resided currently. She loved him, but it was confusing. She missed him a lot, but she missed just social interaction in general. Mallory was a social butterfly. That was her life. Friends, family, gossip... currently she was getting none of that and it was making her feel not like herself.

"Did you like being in the Slytherin house?" She always wondered. Most of her friend's were Slytherin. It was probably because they liked her pureblood status. Most of their house was purebloods. Mallory didn't care about that though. Chael was one of the only reasons why she hung around people in that house. He was there and she would have to deal with his friends to be around him. Most of them were snobs or rude, or just teased her behind her back. Mallory did not miss Hogwarts.

Julian had glanced up at her just in time to see her eye change slightly. His thought immediately wondered if it was the tattoo that caused this or the fact that she was mentioning someone from her past. But Julian wasn’t the prying type, especially regarding ex’s, so he kept this thought to himself. “Ah, I see. I didn’t finish the last two years myself.” He normally didn’t share this kind of information unless it was needed but he was offering Mallory understanding in case there was want for it.

Julian was nearly done with the outline; his moves were quick and efficient as he continued making small talk with Mallory. He stretched the area, letting the ink seep into the deeper layers of her skin as the needles pierced the surface in swift inconspicuous movements. The wizard was wiping off the excess blood and ink mixture when she asked, Did you like being in the Slytherin house…Julian paused and thought for a moment. His face etched with confusion as he tried to think of how to answer. Honesty was the best policy, right?  “…I did, yeah.” He didn’t take his eyes off of what he was doing, “But…that’s before I knew better…” He smirked while looking down and wiping the residue, feeling obligated to explain himself he started, “When I was in Hogwarts things were a little different…I eventually learned that blood and status meant a little too much to some for my liking…and…there was a girl too…”

He took a moment to concentrate on her wrist as he got close to her veins, “She was in Slytherin as well. One day it was bliss, the next day it was total chaos...like most young relationships,” He laughed softly as he wiped, “I did like being a Slytherin in the traditional sense...Being resourceful and ambitious are traits to be admired, no doubt, if used properly. But there is hesitation in my answer because of the types of people I had experienced in my house. They were…foul- deceiving and conniving little bastards." He let out a short laugh, to make light of his explaination, "Your best mates were the ones smiling in your face and doing dirty work with you girlfriend behind your back, no less. …Needless to say, I withdrew myself from my own house and I have still have mixed feelings when I think back on it.” He shrugged, it was an honest answer. Being as though Hogwarts was a thing of the past and he should've been over his ill feelings by now, Julian wasn't completely ready to let go. His psyche held onto to such things, feeling as though if he forgot he would make another mistake like he had before and in turn leave him unguarded and open to emotional anguish.

The ex Slytherin was a bit surprised at himself for talking about this kind of thing with Mallory. He normally wasn’t the type to share this kind of information with people on a whim. Perhaps it was because she was so easy to talk to or perhaps he wanted to share in hopes that she would. Julian was done with her outline in no time since her piece was so small. Once he wiped off the excess ink he stretched his back a bit along with his neck, he started again on the smaller stars now. It was weird for Julian to think back to a time when he revolved his life around a girl. Hogwarts was a bittersweet place for him, he had loved quidditch and he had some good memories with people, but the things that stood out most involved Amara and they weren’t always so pleasant. “I’m not really your so called ‘typical' Slytherin, I didn't really fit in after a while so I was glad to be out of Hogwarts when I got out. But enough of that....Why'd you leave Hogwarts when you did?” The tattoo covered man raised an inquiring eyebrow and took a moment to lock his gaze with hers before he turning back to what he was doing.

She listened to him very intently. It helped with the pain from the tattoo. Mallory may be very good with pain but this tattoo was like a weird sensation. It felt like something just keeps digging in and in your skin and never stopped. She was beginning to get more adjusted to it which made her want to talk to Julian a little more. He was a decent guy. She actually felt a little sorry for him but most of her Hogwarts years were spent with boyfriends or love. She was young and did not understand most of the time it was not going to last. Mallory was still unsure of Chael currently. The man was the love of her life, but since she left school she had no clue if he felt the same way about her as she did about him. Mallory had a feeling he wanted his affections to go to someone else but she had no way of discussing it with the boy. How he described Slytherin was how she felt like it was. People acted one way around her but when she turned away would talk bad about her. Mallory was a Hufflepuff though. Most people just recognized that house as the house you get put into if you didn't fit in. Mallory felt they were the best house. They were helpful, honest, friendly, and respected every house no matter what the people may be in or blood status.

He asked why she left and a knot begun to reside in her throat. Maybe it was best to talk to someone about it. Not many people knew the anguish or pain that went through her emotions or body during the Battle. She feared for her life and the lives of her friends. "Battle of Hogwarts...." She took a deep breath and continued. Her hair changing colors to a blue tone. It was weird, but that his how her body handled her emotions. "... I was looking for Chael during the battle and was cornered in the hallways near Slytherin's house. I was attacked by two students. I injured one, but the other hurt me pretty badly. I was sent to Mungo's for about three months for emotional issues and my injuries. The student was sent to prison...." She bite her lip. "I actually got news the other day they set her free, so this is going to be interesting if I see her again."

Mallory hated Amaranth. She was evil in her opinion. She tortured Mallory only because she was looking for her boyfriend. It was hard to deal with the fact someone wanted to hurt you because you wanted to protect the one you loved. Mallory removed the thought from her head and looked back at the tattoo. It was coming along very well. Her hair went back to the blonde color. "How much longer we got?"

The battle of Hogwarts, Julian stopped his machine for a split second before regaining himself just a fast. He felt like a complete idiot for going on about his shitty house and some girl who broke his heart long ago. He felt horrible for even bringing it up. Julian never had to experience going through such strife at school the way she did. If anything, Hogwarts was his home away from home, where he went to get away from his ‘bigger’ issues. He listened before he opened his mouth.

He shook his head apologetically, “I am...soo sorry. I feel like a dick for bringing that up.” He looked at her wondering if he should continue and decided to stop tattooing for a moment, registering her hair being blue was an perhaps an indicator of some kind of sadness. “Shit…I’ve heard stories through other people...but an actual student doing that seems…bizarre and just...wrong. She’s out? Brilliant.” His tone was sarcastic as he continued, “Did she get some type of fucking mental checkup if she going to be out and about?” He had a million questions going through his mind and it wasn’t even his problem. It was unfathomable for him. “That’s just seems so..wrong...” His thoughts drifted.

He wondered how another human being could harm someone else to the point of three month injuries. Sure, Julian had joined in on a fight just purely to fight but it was easily mendable things. Scars, a couple of broken bones, bruises, nothing major, but nothing like what Mallory must have went though. No wonder she had mentioned having a high tolerance for pain…How much longer we got? Julian snapped back into reality noticing her natural hair color. Oh, “Shit...I’m sorry...all this must be upsetting for you...” He cleared his throat, “We’re almost done here.” Maybe it was best for him to let the subject go; perhaps she wanted to get him out now that he had opened something obviously crushing.

Julian started with shading quickly, hurrying along her small sized tattoo. After a few minutes went by, he looked at the tattoo, then back at her, “You’ve got an artist eye…why don’t you tell me what you think.” He was fairly sure he was done but his eyes needed refreshing from looking at the same spot for so long and maybe she could spot something he missed or needed to fix. “Let’s have a look in the mirror once more…” He gestured his head over to the mirror again, awaiting her response.

"You are not even close to being a dick. Trust me, I have many jerks in my life and you are not even close to one." It made her realize that Chael did not visit her much in the hospital. It must of been really hard for him but she was not even completely sure why he didn't visit. His viewpoints were very different than hers. He was some sort of a pureblood lover. Mallory was the complete different than him. She was a pureblood but she did not care about purebloods or any sort of people. She thought people should marry for love, not their blood status. Chael and Mallory were actually complete opposites. She was friendly, open, loud, and tries to look at everything as optimistic as possible. He was quite, reserved, cunning, and pretty pessimistic. As he spoke about mental checkup, she chuckled slightly. "I doubt they gave her a bloody checkup. I did not ask much about it, seen it in the Daily Prophet actually."

Biting her lip as he said he must be upsetting she continued with him, "I worked through it. It made me learn to control my ability a lot more. I've had a few things that went bad in my life. At times I think that its probably just my luck, but then I just push it aside and learn from it. Best way to deal with it. If I did not leave school I would not have met all the people that I met... and trust me.... they are amazing." She winked slightly at him and chuckled once more. Hopefully that made him not think he was a jerk. He was a very good guy. Cute and sweet. Most people were not sweet from the house he was in. Most of them jerks. Maybe she should stop judging people by their houses. They are so many different people so a nice person could come from Slytherin depending on how they were raised.

The shading was uncomfortable. Mallory just held her breath for a few seconds and let it go. That helped with the pain a little more. When he said he wanted her to tell him what she thought she smiled. As she stood she went over to the mirror and checked out her hand. It looked amazing. It was perfectly done and the lines were clear. She loved it. "It looks amazing." Mallory went back over to him and attempted to give him a hug with her other free hand. Hopefully he did not mind hugs. "Thank you!" She pulled back, "uh- Sorry... I like hugs." She smiled brightly at him and went back to her seat. Mallory took a sip of her wine... looking back at the tattoo. "So- um-- How do I take care of this unless your not completely finished and then I will just shut my trap."