all hail the outlaws [finn]

[Deleted]

Knockturn Alley was not generally the kind of locale that Albus decided to spend his time in, but a lot of things had changed since graduation. In addition to working for his mysterious employer, Albus was trying to find anything that would help him lead to discovering where his dad had gone. Knockturn Alley was always a good first place to check when it came to dubiously legal things and mysterious circumstances. Albus was wearing a dark cloak, a hood thrown over his head to shadow his face and hide his relative youth, but it hardly seemed necessary. The alley was almost empty, with only a few other people passing by Al as he walked its length, and they didn't so much as spare him a glance. The sun was setting, but Al had thought that was when the Alley came to life - not when it died. He wasn't expecting this eerie silence as he made his way down the street, and the fact that the setting sun painted everything a glossy red did nothing to help his fractured nerves. Albus's eyes continued to dart around as he walked, taking in as much of the alley as he could so that when he returned he would be less likely to be disoriented. Al shouldn't have been concerned with what was in front of him or around him, though, because there was an imposing figure behind him...

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

Albus Severus Potter

Just another stakeout. Finn was getting used to these now, almost half a year into her stay in London. Knockturn Alley had been the first place she had gone upon her arrival in January, aside from finding an apartment, and it had yet to disappoint her. There was a lot to be learned from the stores and dealings that happened inside its gloomy alleyways. The characters that littered it throughout the daylight hours were either watchful eyes like herself, or those with the lack of gusto required to walk the cobblestone pathway in the dark. She had seen worse in New York City, both magical and no-maj, so this was nothing but a stain on society. It could easily be cleaned and purged if the Ministry thought it was dangerous. Instead of actually taking care of it though, all they did was send auror after auror into the nest, poking and prodding the wary and criminals within. Her options were much more lax – she had no overhead, no boss, and no rules. As long as she didn’t step on the government’s toes too often, they would most likely overlook everything she did.

Like many other stakeouts though, Finn was starting to get restless. She had spent the last few days observing supposed targets throughout London and Diagon Alley, and they had yet to show in the spot she had overheard them talking about. This wasn’t anything new for magical criminals though. They knew they were being watched and probably changed their meeting place last minute. Unbeknownst to them, she would eventually find where they were. That was how it always worked. Letting them relax and think they’ve won always led to mistakes. And right now, it was starting to look like she was going to have to let them mess up, because they weren’t showing.

And then the hooded figure at the end of the alleyway caught her attention. That wasn’t anything unusual for around here. If anything, she was the odd one out, her newly dyed blonde hair screaming for attention amidst the standard dark and drab garb of Knockturn Alley. What did catch her attention though, was that she had never seen this particular hooded figure before. Some were obvious, and seeing as she had a pretty good idea of the local residents’ schedules, this person was an outlier. Pulling her body off of the wall, Finn slowly made her way down her street and turned to face the back of the hooded person. Following someone never hurt, and she didn’t look that imposing. Shoving her hands in her pockets, and making sure one was wrapped around her wand just in case, Finn started her stalk from a considerable distance back. She wanted to know what this figure was up to.

[Deleted]

For someone who was hoping to work in espionage, Albus took a disappointingly long time to realize that someone was following him. He attributed that to the fact that he had never been tailed before, and if he was honest, the Slytherin was rather flattered that someone thought him worth following. Unlike in the stories he had read, though, Albus didn’t know that he was being followed because he heard the echoes of footsteps or because he felt an odd prickle on the back of his neck. He realized that he was being followed because he sneezed. It wasn’t the sneeze itself that caused him to have an epiphany (that wasn’t how sneezes worked), but rather the fact that he twisted his body so he wasn’t sneezing in the face of the person approaching in the opposite direction, and caught just a flash of blonde hair. Blondes weren’t exactly common in Knockturn Alley, which favored dark and drab hues that wouldn’t be out of place in the shadows that were common in the alley. Once he was aware there was a blonde behind him, though, Albus couldn’t stop feeling those things that were typical of being followed – the tingling at the back of his neck and the sudden awareness that his footsteps were being followed almost exactly. Albus decided that if this was going to be a stereotypical film noir movie scenario, he was going to follow the script, and he stopped in his tracks. When he spoke, he lowered his voice, hoping to make it sound lower (and make him sound older) than it was. “Why are you following me?” Albus asked, not turning around to confirm if the blonde really was following him. It would be really lame if she wasn’t actually tailing him and just happened to be travelling in the same direction.

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

Albus Severus Potter

Finn almost thought she was done for before her tailing had even begun. The person had sneezed, of all things, and she almost froze on the spot when it happened. She was so used to doing this at night while in the cover of darkness, that bolting into the shadows of a doorway or other object was second nature. That couldn’t really be done at this time of day though. Shadows and light bounced off everything as if in a chiaroscuro. She was aware that she might stand out more during the day than at night, and that she wasn’t really in tune with her day-time stalking, so instead of stopping when the hooded figure sneezed, she slowed her pace considerably and made to look idly at the shop windows as she walked. If the person knew what they were doing, that would have been enough to set alarms off. But they continued walking, so Finn thought she was in the clear.

Apparently that was only for the time being though, because maintaining her distance didn’t seem to be working all that well. Her legs wanted to do more work than she needed them to, and they were quickly shortening the gap between herself and the hooded figure. That, she supposed, was enough to finally trigger the person to take action. They stopped moving, and asked why she was following them, Finn taking note that it sounded like a man’s voice. There were ways around that though, and if the hood didn’t mask enough, a voice changing charm or potion certainly would.

Despite the prickly feeling that her skin received upon hearing his question, Finn continued walking, going right past him, and acting like she had completely ignored him. As she did so, her hand tightened around her wand. Now that her back was to the accuser, she was going to be at a severe disadvantage if it came down to a duel. Stopping at another shop window a few yards away from where the hooded person had ceased their walking, Finn stared blankly into the window. If he let it go, she would as well. Making a big enough mistake to be caught like that was embarrassing. She didn’t need to get into a potentially deadly duel over a stupid error.

[Deleted]

Albus was beginning to think that maybe he was really mental, because even though he had stopped in his tracks, the footsteps kept going. Not only that, but a woman with blonde hair walked past him as if nothing was happening. Albus’s mind was running at a hundred miles a minute, as it had been from the moment he sneezed. It was entirely possible that he was just being paranoid, and the woman happened to be going in the same direction as he was, and she hadn’t been following them… but why, then, were their footsteps almost perfectly in sync, and why did she only manage to pass him when he stopped? There was so much about the situation that didn’t add up, but Albus also wasn’t all that good at math, and he was worried that this was all going to be one huge mistake. Al knew that he only had a limited window of opportunity – in a few seconds the woman was going to be out of earshot and then he would never know whether or not he was actually being followed. The Slytherin didn’t even take the time to take a deep breath before making his decision – his instincts hadn’t failed him yet, and he was going to have to let them lead him. “I said, why are you following me?” Albus said, repeating himself louder, his words clearly directed at the woman who had just walked past. His fingers were itching to draw his wand and have some sort of protection, but the woman hadn’t shown herself to be dangerous yet, and Albus didn’t want to jump the gun – especially if his instincts had failed him for the first time. Al still didn’t move, simply staring the woman down as best as he could, hoping that would somehow convince her he was serious.

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

Albus Severus Potter

This guy wouldn’t let up. Finn wasn’t exactly afraid from his words alone, but there had been plenty of times where the criminal was still an incredible duelist and force to reckon with. Judging someone by their appearance was the last mistake she would be making today. Enough people did that with her as it was. Being a hypocrite would have probably gotten her killed years ago. Regardless, it didn’t seem like her walking past him and stopping to look inside another window was enough. He was asking why she was following him again. Finn continued to ignore the comment, unsure of how to proceed. She could either continue on her path down the alleyway, pretending that she didn’t hear him both times he asked but also exposing her back to a potential attack if he was dangerous or she could address him and either fight or defuse the problem. It was Knockturn Alley though, and calming an issue was almost impossible most of the time. That was one of the reasons why she hated having to be here so often for her personal work.

“Sorry, following?” Finn asked as she turned to face the cloaked man. Option number two it was. Both of her hands were in her pockets, so there was no way he would know which one contained her wand if she needed to use it. She could also disapparate if absolutely necessary, but concentrating on a place to go to would be difficult in the opening act of a duel. “If you don’t want people walking behind you, this isn’t really the best place for that,” she said a little annoyed that he was questioning her own motives in all of this. It was obvious that he was the shady character here even if she was the one doing the stalking. Who the hell walked around with an entire cloak and hood on during this time of day?

[Deleted]

The blonde woman turned around to face him, still apparently playing dumb. Albus’s gut continued to insist – scream, really – that she had been tailing him, and now was really not a good time for him to be second-guessing his instincts. That was the sort of thing that got people killed. The blonde said something about not being around this place if he didn’t want people walking behind him, and the Slytherin rolled his eyes. “Do you think I was born yesterday?” Albus snapped. He was aware that he probably should have been keeping his cool, but it felt so good to lash out at someone, especially since he hadn’t allowed himself to snark at any of his family members for a long while. Albus was frustrated, and he wasn’t in the mood for games, at that was obvious in his tone of voice. Having an argument in the street wasn’t something that he was used to… but Albus would be lying if he said it wasn’t foreign either. “There’s a difference between walking behind someone and tailing them, wouldn’t you say? Normally when you walk behind someone you don’t sync your steps up with theirs, do you?” There was some kind of synchronization that was required for walking in the same space as someone else, but not when you were that far away from them, and it normally wasn’t that precise, either. “If you just told me what the hell you wanted then we could both be done with this.” Albus said. Sure, it wasn’t very spy-like to just come out and say what you wanted… but Al was still learning.

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

Albus Severus Potter

Great he was going to argue with her. It wasn’t all too often that she got annoyed with people, but this was definitely one of them. His whole demeanor and how he was approaching the situation was immature. Coupling that with his snarky comment about being born yesterday and Finn started to furrow her eyebrows at him. Nothing she had done so far had warranted this kind of behavior out of the guy. Sure, he was paranoid as hell for some reason and she had been trailing him (which was somewhat commendable on his part for picking up on it so fast), but usually encounters like this ended with someone stunned or blown backwards down the alleyway. In her few chance duels since coming to England, sparse words were said aside from incantations. New York was more yelling and blasting harmful curses back and forth until the other side was completely incapacitated. The finesse and tact that the British had with their dueling was astounding and equally scary. But in this instance, Finn felt like she had the upper hand. Controlling her emotions was the first step, in the off chance the man attacked her. He would be wild while she had a plan.

“Easy there,” she tried to reason, pulling her free hand from her pocket and lowering it down in the space in front of her. “No need to get upset because someone was walking behind you closely.” Finn tried to omit the whole ‘calm down’ speech because that always had the opposite effect from what was intended. Unfortunately she wasn’t always the best at defusing high-stress situations and she felt like it was going to eventually show in whatever this was becoming. Her rough and tumble nature was more suited to jumping straight into a hairy situation and getting out. Figuring out other ways wasn’t typically necessary for her. “I don’t want anything,” she said, narrowing her eyes and shaking her head to feign confusion. “But you should be more careful around here if you think someone like me is out to get you.”

[Deleted]

Albus hated this. He hated this whole damn situation and he hated even more that the woman in front of him was trying to paint him as the irrational one when he would bet his wand on the fact that she had been following him. He wasn’t going to waver on his convictions just because of a few pretty words. He was a Slytherin – he was the one who normally enchanted other people to see things his way, not the other way around. Albus didn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes when the woman said that there was no need to get upset because someone was walking closely behind him. “You know just as well as I do that you don’t walk closely behind people for no reason in this place.” Knockturn Alley was full of dangerous people, so of course they were going to give each other their own space – no one wanted to walk down the alley but never walk out again. And he didn’t appreciate the lecture. Albus knew more about the alleyways of London than anyone would ever give him credit for. What else would he do when he needed to get away from the annoyance of his family than slip down the nearest alleyway and hope that he could get out again.

The woman said that she didn’t want anything from him, which sounded just as much like a lie to Albus’s ears as everything else she had said about just happening to be following her. “What, because you’re a girl? Or because you’re blonde? Or because you’re a goddamn idiot?” Albus asked. Another thing that anyone who walked down Knockturn Alley needed to know: appearances could be deceiving. A blonde girl could be just as good of a fighter as a big burly man with tattoos. Despite how quick he had been to jump to conclusions in other aspects of this situation, Albus wasn’t going to assume that he could beat the woman in a fight, if it came, just because she happened to be female and blonde. And an idiot, but that was irrelevant.

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

Albus Severus Potter

Finn was at a loss for words. There was no way she was going to convince this guy of anything. Sometimes there was hope that she could, but that time had long since passed, and now they were in whatever this was. She hesitated to call it a standoff even though with every passing second it felt like it was getting closer to one. Following someone on a whim when it wasn’t pitch black out was going to have to stop for her. Clearly she was in over her head and out of practice, and having encounters like these on a daily basis was not a good thing at all. Finn ignored him as he said that she should know better than to follow someone so closely. She did. But he should also know better, as she had already kind of pointed out, than to accuse someone in Knockturn Alley the way he was with her. In a way, they were both at fault for their idiocy. Still, she didn’t like that all the blame for his problems were being placed on her. He could have very well ignored her as she walked by him. Simple as that.

He went on, criticizing her for being blonde, and a girl, and an idiot. Finn shook her head, unfortunately not stopping her eyes from rolling at him. This was so petty it was unbelievable. She expected this kind of bull to be pulled by a kid in school, not someone supposedly creeping around Knockturn Alley. “Why does it matter that I’m a girl or blonde?” she glared at him, still trying to figure out what his problem was besides being a total brat. Finn didn’t even give him the chance to bring up the thing that all blondes were dumb. She was too bust shaking her head and turning around to leave. Getting flack just because she died her hair certainly wasn’t going to be happening today. Should he instigate a duel at this point, then he was going to have something coming. “Word of advice: grow up a little before you come back here again. Not everyone wants to listen to you yap like a crazy person. Most won’t even let you get that far,” she warned as she completed her turn to head in the opposite direction. Her wand had been slipped out of her pocket in the process and was ready just in case he felt it was necessary to attack her. This was the last thing she wanted to do, but diffusing that nonsense was going to take forever, if it was even possible in the first place.

[Deleted]

Albus wasn’t sure whether the woman was thick or was just trying to rile him up. He was saying that it didn’t matter if she was a woman or that she was blonde – that she could be dangerous despite both of those things – but she just had to twist his words around to make it seem like he was insulting her when he was trying to do just the opposite. Albus didn’t care, though – he was absolutely, one hundred percent done with this woman and her infuriating habit of making him think he was an idiot for doing what just about anyone else would have done in his situation. She had the nerve to tell him to grow up, and it took all of Albus’s self-restraint not to inform her that growing older did not make a person any more or less mature. She was obviously older than him, but she was no more mature than your average sixth year, who enjoyed nothing more than ribbing someone just for the sake of ribbing them. Albus also had to hold back a sigh of relief when the woman turned to leave him. He wasn’t going to bother following her – all that would do was make them fight more, and Albus really didn’t care about her beyond the fact that she had definitely been following him. With her going in the opposite direction, he didn’t have to worry about her following him to his destination any longer, which meant that Albus could continue on his way with a clear conscience.

finn kylie nottingham
(le end)