The Passenger {Konrad}

This was probably one of the worst ideas she had ever had, and Harlow knew it. But even as she reminded herself of that fact for the umpteenth time that day the witch still found herself knocking on the side door of a bar somewhere in Sweden in a town with a name even she wasn’t brave enough to pronounce. She was there because she’d accidentally found out about an underground betting ring on the professional Quidditch circuit, and she’d been bored with her usual articles and it had seemed like a big story waiting to break at the time, and so she’d thrown caution to the wind.

Now though, that caution seemed like an extraordinarily good idea. But it was too late, by the time Harlow was thinking that turning around and forgetting that she’d ever known anything about the ring, this bar, or Swedish mobs in general, the door was opening and a single eyeball was peering out at her with a baleful stare that clearly was demanding a password. She quickly wiped (or hoped she had) wiped the surprise off of her face and tried her best to play it cool as she offered the password she knew “Redwings” she told the eyeball and was glad to see the door open an offer her entry.

The ex-Slytherin wasted no time scooting through the door, lest it close before she could make up her mind. She quickly descended the stairs, gladly shoving her hands into the pockets of her leather motorcycle jacket to hide her nerves. She chosen a simple outfit, or something that would at least earmark her as forgettable, never mind that she had no real idea what she was doing. She’d paired her jacket with faded blue jeans and tall boots for warmth, skipping a hat and opting to put her hair up in a ponytail. Her makeup was minimal, but she hoped enough.

She’d managed to find an in with one of the Swedish mobsters, Viggo, by agreeing to be his date, though she was fairly sure that neither of them were interested in the other. Whatever his reasons were, Harlow wasn’t going to complain, it had gotten her in.

The room was brighter than she’d expected for a room where illicit activity was taking place, but it was still somewhat smokey, and the stuff hung in the air. Her heart leap with joy as she noticed they had a bar set up, and she quickly sidled up to it, ordering herself a beer, not caring what kind it actually was. As she waited, she did her best to lean non-chalantly against the bar but also observe what was going on. She was hopeful that she could dodge Viggo for as long as possible, but wasn’t sure how fortunate she would be in that endeavor. She shifted, a movement catching her attention in her periphery, and as she moved, her elbow bumped someone, and she thought she heard their drink hit the floor.

Great she thought as she cringed outwardly and turned to apologize So much for not drawing attention to yourself, Oliver. Some spy. she chastised herself internally while offering the tall blonde in front of her what she hoped was a sheepish smile as she looked up at him “Sorry” she told him lamely as she went to pull her wand to clean up the mess, forgetting she’d forfeited it at the door “I can buy you another?” She waited with baited breath, not daring to see how many eyes were currently fixed on her back even though it felt like the whole room. 

@Konrad Lidström

In this situation, Konrad shouldn't have been here in this life, but here he was. It was so out of character for someone as pure and good as him to be mixed up in these sorts of things, but he hadn't had a choice. It was either he went, or they went after Anders instead, and there was not a chance in hell he'd allow that. Konrad swore to keep his brother out of all of this, it was his burden to bear, and he was good at keeping his word. He expected it was something that Viggo would use against him again and again. One job was never going to be enough; Konrad felt himself slipping deeper into their claws, but what could he do? He couldn't fight them, couldn't betray them, or go to the ministry; all he could do was play along and hope for an out one day. And hope there was still enough left of him to get out.

Nursing the second whiskey sour of the night, Konrad awaited his orders. This was how every other night seemed to go lately. He'd sit at the bar, waiting for Viggo to beckon him, and find out what awful job he had in mind for him now. Konrad had already smuggled things out of the country and back, not that he knew what they were. He had just returned from Canada, and he knew that whatever came next would probably be worse. At least with the Canada job, he could pretend he was just on holiday, bringing a package for a friend, and let himself be blissfully unaware of what was inside. The wizard was scared of how he would handle another job, especially one he couldn't pretend to know wasn't wrong.

Crash, He felt his glass slip from his hand and smash against the dark floor, the remnants of his drink splashing across his thick boots, and Konrad sighed. He wasn't angry, apathetic maybe, but he just shrugged his shoulders as he turned to look at the witch responsible. As the lights from the dance floor flickered across her face, he was shocked. She must have been the most beautiful witch he had ever seen in his life. He blinked a few times, uncharacteristically at a lost for words, and then forced a big dimpled smile her way. "That's okay, I was done with that one anyway," He joked, and then she offered to buy him another, and he smiled again. "But I wouldn't say no to another."

Konrad grinned at her, somehow feeling less stressed at this moment than he had all evening. Maybe it was just the distraction, but there was something about her that makes him nervous and put him at ease all at once. He couldn't turn away. "Konrad," he told her easily and sat back down in his seat at the bar, hoping she'd sit with him and stay awhile.

She’d been prepared to go on the defensive, her shoulders tensing in anticipation but she found her thoughts quickly turned from her anxiety and to his smile. She wasn’t the type to swoon over boys or men, but his was contagious. She felt herself return the smile easily “Glad I could take that one off of your hands” she told him jokingly. Still embarrassed she followed him back to the bar, grateful for his forgiveness.

As they neared the bar Harlow signaled to get him another whiskey sour, fishing a few coins out of her pocket and sliding them across the bar. As she waited, the brunette leaned up against the bar grateful for the distraction. She nodded as he introduced himself, taking the moment to look at him properly. He was tall, and very blonde, and she was still thinking about his smile. She knew she shouldn’t be as distracted by him as she was, but she also couldn’t find it in herself to move on, not just yet. She flashed him a rare smile as she spoke, leaning in a little to be heard over the sound of the music “I’m Harlow” she told him before she settled back against the bar, sipping her own drink.

Harlow swore she could feel the awkwardness in the air but shrugged it up and chalked it up to nerves around the whole thing. Not wanting to lose her chance to find any information, let alone talk to a cute boy all at the same time, Harlow found herself looking up at him, genuinely curious “So, what brings you here?” She asked, hoping her discomfort wasn’t too obvious, but finding it hard to keep herself from fidgeting.

"Oh, you know, work and stuff," Konrad said softly, not really wanting to tell her why he was here but unable to lie to her either. The honest wizard was not cut out for this world, and he knew it, but what choice did he have? When Viggo beckoned, he would have to answer, and if they were still sitting together, she would see it, so what was the point in making something up? Not that Konrad could ever lie to those eyes, even if he wanted to. As they ordered more drinks and arrived, Konrad sipped on his; he didn't want to get too drunk before meeting with the boss or in front of her.

"How about you?" Icy blue eyes looked at her outfit quickly, respectfully, and he realized she didn't quite look like the witches that typically hung around the club. She didn't have a short glittery dress on, so there was that, but at the same time, she did fit in with that leather jacket on, and it was interesting to him. Harlow looked about the same age as him, but certainly not from Sweden, and Konrad wondered if her accent was English. They spoke for a while, getting to know one another as much as two souls in a place like this could, and after about twenty minutes of chatting, Konrad had worked up the nerve to ask for more.

"Would you like to get dinner sometime this week?" He asked, giving her a world-ending charming smile, dimples and all, and finishing his drink. Harlow agreed just in time for the two of them to exchange addresses and for Viggo to once again ruin his night. "Lidström, he's ready for you," The witch behind the bar said softly as she cleaned out glasses with a towel. And that was his cue, "Excuse me," Konrad said apologetically, the faintest hint of the fear building in his eyes, as he stood from the stool. "I will owl you this week?" He asked but couldn't wait very long for the answer; the boss wasn't one to be kept waiting. Konrad excused himself and headed into the VIP room after a pair of large wizards patted him down, took his wand, and ushered him in.

[/end]

He was at a club for work? interesting Harlow thought, but nodded in understanding “Me too” She told him, stopping herself before she gave herself away on accident. He didn’t need to know exactly why she was there, and she hoped like hell he wouldn’t ask. But then, as an after thought she added “I’m writing an article for a newspaper.” She didn’t want to give herself away, but she hoped that by getting out ahead of the ‘what kind of work’ question she might be able to stop herself from getting in her own way.

Thankfully, as they chatted, he didn’t ask any more questions about what kind of work she was doing there, and she was able to relax enough that for a moment it felt like a normal night out a bar, and not some sleuth-y mission to get the inside scoop on a betting ring. Which, she had to remind herself more than once that that was what she was there to do, and the attractive Swede was not in fact her entire focus. Just about the time she’d gotten herself back on track, he was asking her to dinner and flashing that smile her way again.

Harlow found herself returning his smile easily as she accepted the invitation, sad to see him leaving. But the witch nodded “Please do” she told him brightly as she watched him watch away. The Slytherin was sad to see him go, but with the promise of a meeting later in the week, she found it slightly easier to turn her attention back to the task at hand, although she knew she wasn’t as focused as she would have been had she not met Konrad, but she wasn’t going to say that meeting him had been a bad thing, either, just unexpected.

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