That One Time (John)

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Isis was just doing her normal rounds at the apothecary. She was running out of ingredients for her homemade shampoos for her animals. She made it a little differently for each one to suit their needs according to the species and the personality of her furry/scaly/feathery friends. She perused the shelves for the specific things she wanted. Pixie Dust, Unicorn Hairs, Phoenix ashes and more. As she delved deeper into the store she found herself in the Greenhouse Section. It was hard for her to come in here and not spend every single gold, silver and bronze coin she had down to the very last knut. So many things in here could be used for great things. Remedies, soaps, potions-the options were endless.

Once she had everything she needed she paid at the counter, "Thanks again, you are a life-saver as usual!" She stepped out the door and unhooked a leash that had been attached to a pole outside. She usually didn't put Nephri on a leash, but most wizards didn't appreciate a giant great Dane running around Diagon Alley while they where trying to shop. As she unhooked the leash she finally looked up to see that somebody was glancing at her and the dog. She was used to this, most people though Nephri was beautiful considering she was so majestic and well-behaved. At least in public, Isis thought.

Isis made eye contact with the person who was looking at them. He looked familiar, but she couldn't quite pinpoint why. The tousled hair, the piercing eyes, the confident chin. Yup, she had definitely seen this laddy before.

@cain

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John was spending the last day before heading off to be stationed at Hogwarts in Diagon Alley, gathering anything he might need for his trip. He would more than likely be staying at The Three Broomsticks while there, as Hogsmeade was not far off from the school. He would also probably have a weird sleeping schedule, for he and the other Aurors would probably be working shifts when scouting the castle and grounds. John did not yet know what shift he would be on, but just thinking about working a night shift was already making him yawn.

Upon getting to Diagon Alley, John could not think of a single thing that he actually needed for his stay. Nothing that wouldn't be supplied, at least. John stopped outside of a random shop, thinking for a moment what he could actually get that would not be given to him at the Inn. Booze was a given, of course. Soaps, towels, the necessary hygeinic stuff was also given. Snacks? It was a pub, so that was also going to be there. John leaned up against the outside wall of the shop, his arms folded across his chest as he began to ponder more deeply. It was then that his eyes wandered to a dog tied up to a pole.

John let his head tilt to the side as he stared at the dog a moment. What was a dog like that doing in Diagon Alley? John shook his head, looking away then. It wasn't his business. He continued to watch other witches and wizards walk the street as they shopped, hoping he would get an idea for some supplies by seeing some of theirs. It was then that John heard a ding from beside him, a shop door's bell, no doubt. Automatically, John turned to look. The person who had exited the shop had gone over to the dog.

Curiosity was getting the best of John now. He was not normally a person to stare or make a scene, but for some reason the woman with the dog looked incredibly familiar. Her short, red hair... he could see it in his mind, thought it was foggy. Then they made eye contact. He looked at her for a moment, as her face was indeed familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it. Normally John would let such a thing pass, but there was something telling him that he needed to verify his suspicions. So, the man took a short two steps up to the woman. "Excuse me," he began, raising an eyebrow. "But... do I know you?"

@isisoconner

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As he took two short steps toward her, she started to catch on. The way he walked, the way he held his shoulders, his arms and his head. She could see him unbuttoning one of those fancy shirts. She blinked, almost embarrassed by the thought. She nodded slowly and stood up straight, holding Nephris leash loosely. ”I think you do...” a vivid image of him entering the Leaky Cauldron, stumbling a little but making his way to the bar anyway. She laughed out loud at the memory.

”Let me guess,” she smirked, ”You’re a weekend warrior?” she let out another laugh and rolled her shoulders back, folding her arms. She took the opportunity to look him up and down. The images where becoming clearer now and they made her cheeks feel hot, she was sure they would redden. She took a few moments to let the memories sink in, even though they weren’t nearly as clear as would be helpful. But the idea was all the same.

Isis had done her classic move of drinking two straight bottles of her favorite wine before even entering the pub. She always did a little pre-drinking before she went out. She was planning to meet a few friends at the Cauldron before she found someone to go home with, but she didn’t last long. Once he came in, Isis was sold.

She was snapped back to reality by getting a whiff of his smell, she had almost forgotten that he was standing right next to her in the present. ”Isis. In case you forgot,” she held a hand out to him offering for a shake.

@cain

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"I think you do..." Her voice was the selling point. John's mind flashed back to one night at the Cauldron, when he had noticed the fiery red head and in his cloudy state of mind, had bought her a few drinks. One thing had led to another and he had found himself taking her home with him that night, stumbling into his apartment with her in tow. John had never really approached his one night stands outside of their first meeting. In fact, he often tried to avoid them. But perhaps he had been so inebriated that night that he couldn't remember if this was that same girl or not... so he had been intrigued enough to inquire.

The laugh was definitely familiar, as well, as the two had laughed quite a bit over a few drinks before going home that night. John chuckled, putting his hands into his jean pockets. "I wouldn't say strictly weekends," he said, looking at her with a smirk. John drank whenever he had time. The bloke was on the cusp of perhaps being considered an alcoholic, but he handled his booze so well that he laughed in the face of those who dared to brand him as one.

The red head, named Isis, held out her hand for John to shake. He actually had forgotten her name, but that could be blamed on the alcohol. He accepted the shake with his own hand. "John Cain, because I know you forgot," he winked at her.

@isisoconner

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Isis smiled wider at his comment about not being a strictly weekends kinda guy. With his hands in his pocket and that smirk on his face, he looked like he had eased up a little and it made him even more attractive. She had to help this guy loosen up. No one deserved to live that uptight. The more he spoke the more memories started to be a little clearer, and least sound wise. She could remember little things he said, which included an absurd amount of compliments on her red hair. Which was fine for her. She was a sucker for guys with scruff, so she probably complimented him on that about a hundred times as well. Isis cocked an eyebrow at him, "well, I'd hate to catch you the night before a big meeting," she joked.

She laughed again as he winked at her, taking her hand. They were warm, familiar, and slightly calloused. "You're right, I did. But that's kind of you to respect that fact." She gave him two shakes before slipping her hand away and crossed her arms over her chest. "So, do you do this often? Approach your one night stands out in the open?" She smirked as she made fun of him. It was a lot more fun than making this situation as awkward as it could be. Plus, he was the one doing the winking. She made a mental note, he was even more charming sober.

@cain

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John had never had a "type," necessarily. He just went out to bars, drank, got incredibly inhebriated, and got to talking to a girl. Whichever girl did not shoot down his initial advances was the girl he would be taking home that night. This one, however... there was something about her... and John was certain it was the hair. But then again, there was something about her grin, too. John was no stranger to studying girls when he had the chance, and as he stood, studying this one... he found himself enticed. There was something about her that drew him in. "Well, I'd hate to catch you the night before a big meeting," the red head joked, and John raised a playful eyebrow at her. "I can hold my booze pretty well," he said with another wink.

The former Gryffindor wasn't expecting the red head to admit to forgetting his name, but it oddly intrigued him even more. As the woman let go of his hand, he placed it back into his pockets, taking a natural deep breath. John let out a chuckle at her statement. "Actually, no," he admitted, casually. "To be honest, I make a scene of actively avoiding my past lovers," he grinned sort of cheekily. John had a hunch that told him it was best not to lie to this woman.

@isisoconner

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A raised eyebrow, a wink, Isis could definitely see why she had been interested in this guy that night. Her cheeks finally started to redden as the thought of that night came back to her. She really had enjoyed it, as far as she could remember. He was handsome, playful, charming..."I can tell. You're just as charming, if not more, than you were the night we meant. You must have been holding it pretty well if you could still keep your personality in tact," she complimented.

Isis nodded her head as he mentioned how dramatic he could be. She smirked a bit as he said so, "I can understand that," his cheeky smile made her want to laugh even more. Not only was he charming, but he could admit truths about himself. That was impressive. Where Isis came from, most men just ran around in the open daring people to challenge their flaws. It was nice to meet someone who admitted things more casually. It was a breath of fresh air for this Irish girl.

She felt a tug on her wrist, Nephri was tugging on the leash. Isis sighed and lowered her arms away from her chest, "do you mind if we walk? She's getting restless." She spoke with a slight apologetic tone to her voice as Nephri started to walk away.

@cain

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John didn't want to say anything, but for a split second he thought he had noticed the red head's cheeks turn a light shade of pink. He had always known red heads to be more fair skinned but the way her cheeks lit up made the corner of John's mouth curl up in a little bit of a smile. The smile widened into a smirk when Isis complimented him. "Why, thank you, m'lady," he waved his arm in front of him, in a bowing motion.

John looked quickly from the red head to the large dog as it began to walk away from her. His eyesbrows raised and his eyes widened slightly. He then looked back at Isis, giving her a sarcastically skeptic look. But then he chuckled. "It's no problem at all," he simply nodded at her, then gestured in the direction of the canine. "After you?" He stated with a small smile.

@isisoconner

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Isis let out a laugh as he bowed. She expected something like that, of course, because it suited what she knew about his personality. She knew very little, of course, but he was fairly easy to read. At least his outward appearance, she was intrigued at what might be hiding underneath that confident and outgoing persona. She highly doubted that all he was was just a flirt and a one-night-stand expert. What was he hiding? What was the purpose of his life? She was starting to think to deeply and snapped out of it as the dog tugged her leash again.

"Thank you," Isis said with another apologetic smile as the three of them made their way down the alley. "I hope we're not disturbing your afternoon at all, but it's nice to catch up... isn't it? Sort of?" She laughed as she spoke. There was nothing normal about catching up with someone in this situation, John even said himself that he made it a point not to re-involve himself with someone he had... well, someone like Isis in his life.



@cain

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John Cain had never been one to open up about his emotions or personal life with people, let alone strangers. While Isis wasn't technically a stranger, John still had no intention of letting her in. At best, he would get lucky again tonight with her. But... that was odd. John never thought about having relations with the same woman twice. Why was this woman any different? As they began to walk down the alley, John furrowed his brow as he thought about it for a moment. What made Isis different, other than her captivating red hair?

Snapped out of his thoughts by her voice, John looked at Isis when she thanked him, a small smirk playing at the corner of his mouth as he looked down at her. He stood just perhaps an inch or two taller than her, but still enough that he had to look down to look her in the eyes. He looked ahead of them, around the alley, as he spoke now. "It's no problem at all, I've got no plans," he said, stuffing his hands back into his pockets as he walked along with Isis and her dog. John chuckled as Isis laughed. The fact that Isis was able to laugh with and at herself made John actually laugh a bit as well, which once again, was odd for the Auror.

John looked down at the dog that was walking in front of him. "So," he said, wanting to make actual, sober converation with the red head. "What type of dog is... Nephri, was it?" He asked, then looking back at Isis as they continued down the alley.

@isisoconner

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He had no plans? Isis contemplated that for a moment. What would a man be doing in a shopping district with no plans? Come to think of it, she didn't even knew what he did with his life. She was sure he had mentioned something the night that they met, but her brain was still a little fuzzy as to what. "So, do you just wonder around the Alley for fun then?" she chuckled, her Irish accent dripping into every word she said. It tended to come out thicker when she was amusing herself. Probably because amusement was one of the Irish top two most important emotions. The other was a full stomach.

Isis smiled, "Yes, Nephri. She's named after the Egyptian Quenn Nefertiti. I spell it a little differently though. More like Nephi." She gave him so much detail because he was obviously ready to start a casual conversation. "She is a Great Dane, very popular in muggle culture, but they do get ill very easily," she frowned, but it was better to live a short, free and happy life than it would be to live forever in some kind of captivity. Muggle dogs didn't often have that problem, but a lot of magical creatures did. The thought made Isis frown even more.

"Awe, sorry about the sad topic. Sometimes my mind gets a little carried away when I start to think of the misfortune of animals," she shrugged it off and replaced the smile on her face, "I have plenty of them at home that live happy, long lives! It is really quite a zoo over there." She chuckled, imagining all her friends running wild and licking her face when she got home. Luckily her poisonness friends knew to stay away, they just waved or waddled or slithered happily from a distance.

@cain

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To be honest, John had been in Diagon Alley in hopes to get word in passing of something that would even hint to what was going on currently in the wizarding world. The deaths of the Minister and his fellow aurors had upset him deeply, and since the new Minister had not been allowing he and the others to really do any real work, John had taken it upon himself to go out into the world on "errands" to see if he could hear about anything. However, this wasn't the type of thing he felt like mentioning to Isis, as it wasn't all that interesting and it was... well, he didn't want to worry her. Or any civilian for that matter. At least, not worry them more than they probably were worrying already. So John just chuckled in response. "Oh, I actually was just running some errands here and there," he gestured senselessly. It was a little bit of a lie, but Isis didn't need to know.

The red head's accent coupled with her smile was getting to be far too much for John Cain. He had never found a woman to be so captivating and... mysterious. She wasn't even acting at all mysterious, and yet John found himself wanting to know more about her.

As Isis spoke of her dog, John looked down at the large creature. He had never owned a dog before. He had grown up in a pureblood family and so John knew hardly anything about dogs. The only creatures he really knew anything about were owls. They were easy to take care of and that was enough for John Cain. "Well, that's a fitting name for someone of that size," he said with a shrug. The dog was very large, and while John had seen many dogs before (for his best friend could turn into a husky, actually,) he had never seen one this big. It was alarming.

John looked back at the red head when she apologized, an eyebrow raising at her. "So you're an animal lover?" He asked, a small smile making it's way onto his face. "That suits you," he nodded at her, looking her up and down. For some reason, her saying that she had a "zoo" at home really didn't surprise John. Isis seemed like the type to really love animals. "What is it you do, then? Your career?" He asked, genuinely curious. Such an interest and curiosity in women like this was so new to John. He just had many questions floating around in his mind for the red head, and he intended to find out the answers to them all.

@isisoconner

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Isis nodded, "All right, I can accept that seeing as I too am running errands today." She noticed he didn't have any bags in his hands, but perhaps his errands were simply verbal. Sometimes Isis has errands where she just wanted to around and help her friends with their pets. She never had anything to show for it, but it was an errand nonetheless. Isis wasn't planning on inquiring further, though she was curious what Johns story was. As she searched her memory for small glimpses of something, anything that would remind her what his occupation was, she found herself drawing a blank. Eventually she knew the memory would come back to her and she would bring it up if she felt so inclined. However, she didn't want to press upon his personal life.

She found her smile becoming more and more connected with her emotions as they walked. She was indeed happy t be talking with such a man, and even more happy that Nephri could join them. She loved walks almost as much as Isis did, which was saying a lot because Isis walked everywhere she went. She wasn't much for cars, brooms or trains. If it was a long distance, sure, she'd get a ride somehow. Perhaps on the back of a hippogriff, but walking just seemed far more sensible and healthy. Not too mention, people couldn't tell you that your animal friend wasn't allowed while walking, but they could in vehicles.

"I agree, it mostly suits her because of her Goddess like size, as you say," he didn't say those exact words, but she assumed that's what he meant. A big creature deserved a big name. Someone of importance, someone of stature. Isis usually didn't give names to her creatures until she got to know their personality, and she would wait until they showed a distinct liking to the name. She was sure they had another name somewhere in their own culture, but she had to call them something. "Do you have any dogs, John?" she asked. She almost called him Mr. Cain but her flashbacks reminded her that they were way past formalities.

"Well, thank you! I think it suits me as well," she smirked as he sized her up, possibly wondering if she could even lift enough to bring all the animals food. She chuckled, the animals were very good at fending for themselves and her small farm had no gate to hold them in. She did help wherever she could, though. She was quite strong for someone who looked so small. "You're going to laugh at me," she started "but my animal love goes far beyond home. I work for the Department For The Regulation And Control Of Magical Creatures, in the BEAST DIVISION. She smiled as she said the absurdly long name, it always made her laugh how formal everything had to be. "So, I guess you could say I'm a ministry worker. Though, it was a little difficult getting involved being from a different country and all, but once all of that citizenship nonsense was sorted out I was welcomed in with open arms."


@cain

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John let a small smile show at Isis' acceptance of his errand excuse. It wasn't often that women just left men's excuses just like that, and the fact that Isis had left John feeling grateful. It felt good to be walking with the red head, however. John was finding her to be more and more enjoyable to be around the longer he was spending with her.

Nephri's name did suit her. That much John could agree with. But owning a dog that size? Not much agreeing there. John liked animals as long as the big ones and more difficult ones were not his. "Do you have any dogs, John?" At this, John let a chuckle escape his lips. "Oh, no," he shook his head. "I've got one owl and that's enough for me," he smiled sheepishly at Isis.

John nearly stopped walking when the red head mentioned she was employeed at the Ministry. "Really?" He asked, looking at her a little incredulously. "I am as well," he said, gesturing to himself.

@isisoconner

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Isis understood. Many people didn't like having multiple pets around because it meant multiple messes, lots of work and lots of love. Not that Isis thought she had a higher capacity to love then others, but she had enough to love all her animal friends. Even creatures she hadn't met yet. "What kind of owl is it? She or he?" she asked, sincerely interested. Often people resembled their owls, as far as she thought, "Let me guess.." she tapped her temple with an index finger and studied him for a few moments. Mysterious, tall, dark hair, handsome, casual and he had the stance of a predator. Not in a bad way, he just seemed aware of all things around him. She cocked her head to the side before deciding, "A Grey Hawk Owl of some kind... possibly Northern?"

Isis slowed down as well, nearly stopping, when he gestured to himself. She assumed he meant that he was a ministry worker of some kind as well, because she would have seen him in the Beast Office if he was one of them. She raised an eyebrow, "Really? What division?" She racked her brain, trying to decide if she had seen him around the ministry before. His face was only striking her memory of that night they shared, but not of anything else. She was puzzled by that. Though, the ministry was very large and had many divisions. They could easily miss each other.


@cain