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Post by Seth Lestrange on Jan 2, 2006 12:00:11 GMT -5
Seth had been in the lead the whole way down to Knockturn Alley and than the rest of the way to the corner pub. It hadn't been hard for him to find, because he was used to going there, usually when he got drunk this was where he could be found. He didn't get drunk as much as he used to anymore though. Drugs was more of his escape now, but Gemini was one of the only people that knew this. Everyone else just considered him strange, always off alone by himself. As they neared the pub it was clear that it had been snowing here too, and it still was. There was a fresh white blanket of snow covering the Alley walk way which became indented with grey footprints as they progressed to their premediated destination. Seth had barely noticed the snow now, it seemed like old news since it had been snowing for quite sometime since he had first come outside to the lawns. He rounded a corner and walked down to a small red brick pub with a faded sign that was barely visible in the dim light the grey sky cast. It was clear at one time that the sign might have had something on it to with a raven, because that was the only picture or clear symbol visible on it now. A faded black bird in the corner on the wet wooden sign, damp from the first snow of the morning. Seth slowed down as he got nearer, and than finally reached the door. He pulled it open, this time stopping and holding it open for Natalie. It was a white wood stained door, which had also faded with the countless days of harsh London weather it had endured. The brass handle of the door felt tarnished and dirty underneath Seth's hand, as he had turned it and pulled it open.
Seth had only one thing on his mind, getting smashed beyond recognition, he didn't even want to be able to think anymore today. He had thought enough for one day. The smell of the pub floated outside onto the street, where it was lival to catch the attention of any lazy person walking past. It was a distinct smell of musk, and people, as if to many had been stuck in the same room for to long. It wasn't sweat, it was something else, like the personalities of many had gone into making it what it was. It could possibly be descirbed as the smell of age, as if it lay truth to the fact that the pub had been around since the beginning of time. The looks of it seemed to prove enough, but the smell further verified the fact, as if to reassure the random visitor that it was all authentic, the looks, the smells, the sounds, and the drinks.
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Post by Natalie Smith on Jan 2, 2006 15:30:39 GMT -5
(lol, i won't invite anyone. BUT PEEPS IF YOU'RE READING THIS, DROP IN!!)
(omigod. for some reason i was looking at ur siggy more closley... I LOVE THAT SONG!!!!!!! Oasis rulez!)
Natalie followed him, having no idea where they were going. But for some reason, she didn't care. The snow was keeping her occupied anyway. She was opposite from Seth, he seemed to have forgotten about it but she was enjoying it like she had never laid eyes on it before. She was was dancing in it, and leaping around laughing silently about two feet behind Seth. She was getting some rather weird looks, but she didn't care less.
It appeared they were in Nockturn ally, figures she thought. She had been here a couple times, for pranks mostly. Actually... only for pranks. There was a shop a bit ahead that her and her friends trashed every Halloween. It was a great tradition of theirs, and so far they hadn't been caught.
She smiled at Seth when he opened the door, and was supprised by his expression. He didn't even look as if he was on the same planet as her, let alone right next to her. Well that figures why she wanted to come her you dork. She thought to herself. To drown his thoughts in alcohol. She had known that, but only now did she realize that he must do this alot. After all, only that could explain how he had led her here without even looking up from the ground.
Once inside her eyes took a minute to get used to the lighting. Dark, musty, a regular place to serve drinks. She had always hated places like this, filled with strange people and smells. But she shrugged that off. The second she had stepped outside today she had gotten ready for a weird day. And it was only getting weirder every second. It might as well have been the day to try new things.
Sit with a guy she didn't know and have well, somewhat of a conversation. And now this...
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Post by Seth Lestrange on Jan 2, 2006 16:56:47 GMT -5
[Yeah, lol I can't even remember making it .. XD]
Seth followed Natalie into the pub, walking slowly and letting the door swing shut quietly behind him. He seemed oblivious to everything going on around him, and walked forward in silence. The pub immediately grew darker when the door fell shut. There were thousands of photographs lining the walls, both muggle and wizard ones. All the photographs were in black and white, some moving and some were sleeping. All were of people or things, some dead, some alive, some old, and some brand new. It was a strange place, the photographs gave off an almost eerie feeling of being watched in the room, but they also gave off a homely effect. Seth usually just sat at the bar but since he had someone with him this time, he decided that he'd give her the choice. He came back to reality momentarily, and turned towards Natalie to ask her about it. "Bar or table, your choice." He said, it didn't seem as much of a question as it did a statement. His tone seemed flat and bland as if he didn't care where they sat, because he really didn't. He didn't care as long as he got so drunk that he wouldn't wake up until tomorrow.
He arched an eyebrow in her direction, looking at her curiously for a moment before losing all interest in her process of thought. He knew that she had to be a little crazy to come all the way out here with him. In the middle of nowhere to get smashed, and it only got worse because they were still strangers to each other. By the way she looked, Natalie appeared to be younger than Seth too. He still couldn't figure out why she had been willing to follow him this far.
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Post by Natalie Smith on Jan 2, 2006 18:34:31 GMT -5
(lol)
She looked around, seeing the pictures. She stared at them for a while trying to figure out if she liked them or hated them. It was sort of hard to tell. But she was having a hard time deciding what she felt about anything today. She turned to Seth when he asked her a question.. well it didn't sound like one but once she replayed his voice in her head she got the question.
"Um, I really don't care... table I guess"
She turned back to the pictures looking more closely at them this time. She saw elderly people fast asleep and teenagers running through picture to picture showing no signs of being tired. She closed her eyes and looked to some other pictures.
They were all rather dark looking, or maybe it was just the room, she couldn't tell. Ah! There she went again. She stopped herself and thought of some questions.
Okay, what am I doing here? You were bored. Ug, I really need to stop this bordum stuff, and find a real hobby. Reading got boring after a while, and drawing- well she had to be inspired.
She sighed and reached up to her neck to feel her necklace, just to make sure it was there. Good, she thought. As long as I have that everything would be cool.
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Post by Seth Lestrange on Jan 3, 2006 11:17:32 GMT -5
[Rpging and five hours of sleep a night don't mix XP ... very sucky post I know... next one maybe better no promises..]
"Table it is." Seth replied leading Natalie towards a table in the very back of the pub. He walked slowly, but his pace seemed very quick because he got over there in no time at all. Seth would have pulled out Natalie's chair, but he couldn't because their table was a small booth and both the chairs where technically cemented to the ground or bolted which was practically the same thing. He watched closely as she reached up to her neck to touch somethign for the second time that night. He wondered idlely in the bakc of his mind why she kept doing that.
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Post by Natalie Smith on Jan 3, 2006 19:29:26 GMT -5
(lol. the chairs where technically semented. still good if you ask me, 5 hours of sleep and ya still manage to get on the computer. man, i probably would have fallen asleep on the keyboard!)
Natalie smiled and sat down. She looked around here as well, still alot of pictures though not as many as in the front. She looked at them carefully, especially the ones right above her head. They still were all rather dark making the images hard to make out. But you could still see the shapes of the people and things in the picture.
For some reason her thoughts drifted to her childhood friend, Cody. She hadn't seen him since she started going to Hogwarts. She never did tell him she was a witch, she was afraid she would scare off her frist best friend. It was better for them to just grow apart rather then him be scared away. She tossed the thought of him out of her mind. Why was she even thinking about him? She hadn't even mentioned his name for three years... She tried to think of something else, and was soon lost in trying to come up with ideas for her extra credit Charms essay. The only good thing about Natalie's overworked brain was it could easily be distracted and start thinking about something so consentratedly that she would totally forget what she had been thinking about.
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Post by Seth Lestrange on Jan 4, 2006 12:15:12 GMT -5
Seth took a seat at the table after Natalie had taken hers, he looked over to see the bartender at the counter scrubbing it down. The counter had been highly polished at one time, it showed because of the faint gleam that still mirrored on it;'s surface. But now it had grown dim and dull with age. Seth signaled him when he looked up with a wave of his hand to come over and serve them. He wasn't sure what he was drinking yet, he felt like firewhiskey but than there was also a small craving for regular whiskey. He knew that he had all day to drink whatever he wanted so he gave up on the battle between the two and decided that firewhiskey would be better.
The waiter walked over to them, he was an older man of around 60 with thinning white hair and a bread to match it. He held between his knobby hands a single yellowing pad to take orders on which he had taken from a black apron tied loosely around his waist. He looked to Seth first, seeming to have a faint flicker of recognition in his eyes while he waited for the order.
Seth gazed at the waiter a moment before making up his mind one last time. "Firewhiskey, please." He said, he didn't know where the 'please' had come from usually he never bothered much with manners. After he had ordered his eyes drifted over towards Natalie. "What do you want?" He asked her, his voice was a calm neutral tone. He decided beforehand that he would pay for it, it wans't like he didn't have the money. Most pure blood families were rich, and his was no different. His mind drifted to thoughts about his mother, while his eyes remained on Natalie. She didn't know a thing about his addictions, she still seemed to be living in the past when he had a desire to please them both. That was before his father gone of course, after that everything had gone to Hell, so to speak. He was sure that his mother knew nothing about his bad habits, which possibly made them even worse, she still thought that he was the same person from years back. He ran a hand through his black hair, causing it gain a more tosseled and windswept look. The tuft of black hair resting over his left eye barely moved at all.
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Post by Natalie Smith on Jan 4, 2006 19:19:52 GMT -5
Natalie looked over to the bartender as well. For some strange reason she thought he looked farmiliar. Maybe she had been here before. But she probably would have remembered all the pictures. She shook it off, and started worring about what she was going to drink. She had never really thought about it before, whenever she had gotten drunk she just asked for anything and drank it down without a thought. But she didn't have that in mind, not at all. She still was having difficulties remembering why she had aggreed to come.
The man came over, and Seth told him what he wanted to drink. When she was asked she just nodded and said.
"Same as him."
She went back to thinking about how farmiliar the bartender looked, and thought of all kinds of sinarios why she could know him. She was good at that, and entertained herself with random thoughts like he was her old cat sitters grandpa who had stepped on her cat's tail. The entire time she subconciously fiddled with her necklace.
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Post by Seth Lestrange on Jan 6, 2006 22:27:40 GMT -5
Seth wans't surprised when Natalie ordered the same thing as he did, she didn't look like an avid drinker by than he could be wrong. She could just be getting what he was having becaiuse she felt like it. He seemed to stare past her a moment, lokking at something in the space beyodn her head as if observing some unseen quality about the room that he had never ntocied before. When Seth looked away he found that the waiter had already come by and given them their drinks. The drinks in two large glsses had been placed on the table in front of them, now starting to gather beads of sweat on their high glass cups. Seth immediately took hsi glass and took several long sips from it. The firewhiskey bruned intensly all the way down his throat. The burning sensation felt good against the numb feeling that had been growing in his chest all day. The numb feeling that had slwoly been moutning, and seemed present all day with or without the drugs.
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Post by Natalie Smith on Jan 9, 2006 6:45:57 GMT -5
Once the drinks arrived Natalie observed hers before taking a sip. At first the burning stinged, but after the fourth gulp or so it began to feel almost, good. She smiled and turned looking around the room, glass still in hand. She was thinking as much as she could, trying to stay sober long enough to totally understand her surroundings. She sighed slightly, turning back to her glass and taking another sip
(tis okay, and parden the small post, already late for class)
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Post by Seth Lestrange on Jan 9, 2006 22:45:22 GMT -5
[It's all right mine isn't any better xP]
"It's an old place." Seth explained to Natalie seeing that she was already investigating the pub with a through brush of her eyes against it's worn walls with the photographed frames. "It's been here since my first year at Hogwarts, and even before that." He observed as he took another large gulp of firewhiskey, the substance burning the back of his throat. Seth was used to the burning so his eyes didn't even begin to tear like it was with others. He placed the glass down on the table in front of him with a dull thud against the old wooden table. The polished wooden surface seemed dim with the years that it had passed. There were stray rings from coffee cups and unknown spills and stains scattered over it. Seth didn;t seem to notice them, he was caught in something esle.
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Post by Natalie Smith on Jan 10, 2006 6:33:00 GMT -5
Natalie nodded as he spoke, and started drinking some more. It wasn't long before her eyes started burning as well as her throat. She had gotten used to the throat, but her eyes were even worse. She placed her hands on her eyes for a while, and the pain subsided, but still remained. She looked around the pub again before taking another sip. She waited for a moment, but the strong pain didn't come back.
She pulled her hair back into a pony tail at the back of her head before continueing.
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Post by Seth Lestrange on Jan 10, 2006 23:02:34 GMT -5
Seth watched Natalie over the brim of his cup in mild amusement. He wasn't staring as much to look at her as he was to laugh, it was always funny to watch someone who never drank a drop to get drunk. It was entertaining, which was porribly why Seth had asked her in the first place, although he hadn't been entirely sure to start with. He smirked as he submerged his nose into his glass taking a few long sips on the firewhiskey. The familiar burning sensation that was causing his throat to sting now seemed to make him feel numb. Not that this was a different numb feeling than the one that he was already experiancing permanantly. This feeling was the same as always, so it made Seth feel like he was in his element more than ever. He wasn't a strong or a heavy drinker, so it usually didn't take much for him to get drunk. All he needed was another two glasses or two and half at times. His immunity was more for pot than anything. Drinking had never been his thing, which was why he was so shocked when he found the purposal flow so freely from his mouth. Taking another sip Seth let his eyes wander through the restraunt.
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Post by Natalie Smith on Jan 11, 2006 6:45:46 GMT -5
Natalie looked at Seth and gave him a look, that said, hey, give me a break. she had to admit it probably was funny. She took another sip or two, and the burning in her eyes came back but this time she was ready and it didn't bother her as much, but it still hurt. She closed her eyes and took another long sip, this time it calmed and stayed as if reminding her what would happen if she drank again. Her throat was still burning, but the back had become numb and it only hurt when she wasn't drinking. She sighed and looked around the room as well, examinig a few more pictures.
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Post by Seth Lestrange on Jan 11, 2006 12:51:59 GMT -5
Letting his eyes wander the room, Seth only half caught Natalie's theatening glance. He could tell from the look that she had given him that she wanted to be left in peace and not teased about her drinking habits. He smirked at her before returning his wandering gaze to their surroundings. Seth had been in this pub more than once, he had practically lived here one year during the summer and the school year, but it hadn't worked out too well when his mother nearly found out. Despite his frequency in the pub, it seemed to him to look completely different everytime he walked in. Today the mood of the place looked very somber, and peaceful. The lighting was dark and dim as always, but sometimes it could cast off pleasant shadows and happy gleams, but not today. Today it was deserted and seemed to reek of a certain vacancy which caused the shadows to give off an eerie feeling along with the watchful eyes of the bartender who seemed to be staring in their direction. Seth's brown eyes seemed to glaze over with the coming flow of memories that he had had in this small one room stuck at the back of one of Knockturn Alley's small narrow alleyways. It was odd to be in here again. Especially to come in here with a stranger.
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