Shooting in the dark [Samuel]

[Deleted]

@maria
<3

Samuel rolled his eyes. Her immaturity was showing, and it was much worse than it had been at their last meeting. "If you say so, Maria." Yes his was currently non-existent, though it hadn't been previously. But what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. How he felt about such an act wouldn't change, and maybe neither would hers.

"Professional shopper? No, I've just got a lot of different people in my life with different interests. Keeps the gift buying process interesting." Apparently Maria agreed that the gift of a journal would be good enough for Elias, and Samuel was glad he could help. "Well don't be too curious." His tone was gentle but serious. Samuel was glad that she took a turn to ask other questions, though. "Yes, I did go to Hogwarts, haven't been there since I graduated. And yes, Scottish as well. You though... You've got quite the mix of accents."

[Deleted]

@jill7

Maria's eyes narrowed just a little at that eye roll and almost sarcastic comment. She chose not to comment though, because she really didn't want to discuss it further. Especially not with a stranger who knew nothing about her, and never would know anything. Focusing on what else he said she shrugged. "Well, at least they give you plenty of ideas. That must be nice-" Maria shut up immediately. She hadn't meant to say that. She hadn't actually said it, but her comment made it pretty clear that unlike him she had very few people in her life important enough to shop for. Why had that slipped out? Usually she was pretty good about keeping her mouth shut about anything she didn't want people to know. The rest of the conversation was a welcome distraction.

"Oh, I know you can't say much." She answered as he urged her not to be too curious. "But see, I'm insatiably curious. There's no stopping it." She admitted, sounding almost proud. Obviously she hadn't taken him warning to heart. "What house were you in?" Well, she had said she was curious... Maria raised an eyebrow as he mentioned her own accent. "Yes, yes I do." It'd probably be difficult to place her accents, since they'd blended, but this young man just might surprise her. "Do you want to take a guess at it, or should I just tell you?" She added with a grin, teasing a little. Where she was from and lived wasn't a secret she ever felt like keeping to herself, so she'd be more than happy to share the information if he asked for it. He had to ask though, she didn't do hand outs without a request.

@jill7

[Deleted]

@maria
<3

Samuel lowered his eyes at her as she cut herself off. He wondered what she meant by that. Did no one in her family tell her what they wanted? Or did she not have many people to tell her what they wanted? It could go either way, but the slight shock on her face sort of told him it might be the latter. And as much as Maria was currently delving into his personal life, he didn't feel as comfortable doing that to a child. Samuel decided not to comment any further. It didn't look like she wanted to talk much more about family anyways. "He will love the gift."

"Well you might want to keep your curiosity in check, Maria. It could get you into trouble." He rose an eyebrow, leaning up against the building with a small smile. "Gryffindor. Quite liked it if I do say so myself." Much better than his father's house. Samuel would've been heartbroken had he been sorted into Slytherin House. Gryffindor had always been his first choice. "And I can only assume you go to Durmstrang...so my guess would be Bulgarian of some sort. Anything else, I'm not sure."

[Deleted]

@jill7

Her curiosity get her into trouble? Maria smirked wickedly. "It usually does." She answered, sounding both serious and teasing. "But that's what makes life so much fun." She happened to like getting into trouble... at least the right kind.

Gryffindor... It took her a minute to place the house to the name. The red one. With the lion. "When did you graduate?" she continued to question without any hesitation. She'd already asked the question, in a sense, before when she asked how long he'd worked at the Ministry. He hadn't been particularly clear with the answer, but he's narrowed down the time frame. Now to see if he'd give her a straight answer, refuse to answer at all, or narrow down the time frame even more.

She grinned as he correctly assumed she went to Durmstrang "I do." She answered, confirming that suspicion. But as he went on to guess she was Bulgarian she giggled just a little and shook her head. "Guess again." Everyone always guessed Bulgaria. Why? Viktor Krum probably. Durmstrang catered to all of Eastern and Northern Europe though, a fact many overlooked. But she did have a similar complexion to the Bulgarians, so it technically wasn't the worst guess.

[Deleted]

@maria
<3

"Trouble isn't fun, Maria. Especially bad trouble, not that there's any good." He shook his head at her. Samuel was a rule follower. And from what he had gotten from Maria in the total of their two meetings together, she didn't care about rules or any of the like. A bad girl, you could say. "Life is fun when you aren't worrying about walking around and getting stopped."

Laughter left his lips as he pulled the coffee mug from his lips. She questioned when he graduated, obviously wanting to know how old he was. But what he wondered was why she didn't just blatantly ask him. He'd answer, even though he was keeping his name from her. "A few years ago." Samuel couldn't help but laugh more, and stopped when she responded that she did go to Durmstrang. Meaning she was a 7th year, meaning she was 17. "I'm just kidding, I graduated eight years ago." Making him 25. A whole eight years older than she. He listened to her giggle and rose an eyebrow, finishing off his coffee. "Hm...not Bulgarian....Swedish? German? Russian?"

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@jill7

Maria raised an eyebrow at his proclamation. "Obviously you need to get out more." She answered teasingly. Trouble was practically her life. Maria didn't know anything else. She'd rather live in chaos, because that was normal. That was where she was comfortable. Anything else... felt wrong. "I didn't say anything about getting stopped. You just have to be smart enough not to get caught." A skill Maria had thoroughly mastered.

The girl let out a huff when he answered. A few years ago. That didn't help whatsoever. He had to know she was pressing for more specific information and was messing with her. And then he had to laugh, making it even more obvious that he was doing it! Before she answered though, he'd continued to speak, and finally answered the question. Eight years ago. Eight years older than her. Not bad. "Exciting." She finally answered with a grin that had appeared after her momentary frustration.

Without hesitating, Maria took the spot of wall next to him, leaning against it and letting her gaze wander through the crowd on the streets. Still grinning widely. "A touch of Swedish." She answered, since he'd managed to guess that part. She wasn't born in the country, just lived there. "Mixed with Brazilian." She explained, tilting her head to look at him again. Brazil, or South America in general, might have been easier for him to guess if he'd known her surname.

[Deleted]

@maria
<3

"I get out plenty, Maria. Stop telling me what I need to do." He scrunched up his face. She was one of the people he tried to avoid at all costs while he had been at Hogwarts. Those who loved trouble and getting a rush of excitement. "Or...you could be even smarter and just follow the laws and rules of the world." Samuel shook his head. He wondered what her cousin was like, if he was as crazy as she.

Her anger at his answer made him laugh even more. Who knew he could get her so angry? She was so intrigued in his life, that he was curious about hers. "So...Durmstrang, mixed ethnicity, bilingual, champion is your cousin, you've got to be either seventeen or eighteen, what else should I know about you, Maria? Since you're so curious about me?" Maria's smile worried him a bit after he told her his age. "Very exciting." His tone was monotone and dripped with sarcasm.

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@jill7

Maria shrugged. Where was the fun in following the rules? It sounded dreadfully boring, "I'll stop telling you what to do when you stop being such a stick in the mud." She answered, completely serious.

Maria's grin widened as he listed off everything he'd figured out about her. Or so he thought. He was right about the mixed ethnicity. She wasn't Swedish by ethnicity, but she wasn't solely Romani either. Her mother had been a beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed Veela from western Europe, a stark contrast to her father's darker complexion, hair and eyes. While Maria took after her father in that regard, she'd inherited her mother's Veela beauty. "Well, first off. I'm more than bilingual." Maria spoke several languages well enough to communicate, and understood even more. "Second, almost eighteen." In a month. As for what else he should know... Well... Maria just shrugged. "Depends on what you think you should know." She 'not really' answered. No, she wouldn't give anything up without a direct question. And even then she might not answer the way he wanted. The right questions though... Well, she might be willing to give up a bit more information. "What's wrong with being curious about you?"

[Deleted]

@maria
<3

Anger flashed through his eyes and he sighed dramatically. "I am not a stick in the mud. I am an adult. A mature adult, with a real serious job, and a life that I don't want to risk losing just because some child doesn't agree with how I live my life." Samuel looked pointedly at Maria, sipping his coffee slowly.

Maria looked very amused with herself, and Samuel rose his eyebrow. What in the world could she be so happy about? All he was doing was listing off what he knew, whether that amused her or not was a bit confusing. So, she was more than bilingual. Samuel himself was bilingual. His mother was part Hispanic and grew up speaking it fluently, which is how he also knew Spanish. And then she said she was almost eighteen. Samuel's eyes widened. This girl was almost ten years younger than him, he groaned inwardly, realizing how old he actually was. "I don't really want to know anything. Just curious, as are you." He chuckled. "Not that there's anything wrong with it, just weird that you want to know so much about me."

[Deleted]

@jill7

Maria's eyes narrowed just a touch at that word. Child. "I am not a child." She snapped, obviously he'd struck a nerve. A least now it made sense why he seemed almost immune to her Veela charm. He didn't see her as someone he could actually be attracted to. That or he was gay. Gay men never fell for it either. That was the thing about Veela charm. The Veela, or part veela, had to be someone you'd be attracted to. So, a man that was only attracted to men couldn't be charmed by a female Veela. Likewise, if you didn't see them as sexually mature (aka an adult), it didn't really work either.

Oh, so he didn't want to know anything. The curious remark after almost seemed to contradict it though. Either way, Maria stuck out her bottom lip in a cute pout. "Aw, you don't?" She teased, feigning hurt feelings, though not really that well. Though after a moment she shrugged. "Why wouldn't I want to know more about you? You're interesting, and I'm bored." It was a bit of a backhanded comment, both a compliment and an insult in the same breath.

[Deleted]

@maria
<3

Samuel couldn't help but let the amusement show on his face. Maria was angry. And Samuel was not. What a nice switch in feelings. She deserved it, at least every once in awhile. She couldn't be the one going around angering other people all the time. That wasn't a good life. A little anger here and there is good for the soul. "But you are. You're seventeen. You're in school...you're a child." Samuel would admit that Maria was gorgeous, and very well blessed with her appearance. But he couldn't feel comfortable being attracted to her; she was too young.

His eyebrow rose. "No, I don't. But if you're willing to tell me anything, go right ahead. I'm listening." He knew she was faking, Samuel wasn't one to usually believe something so obviously fake, especially with her lip pouting. "Well thank you, I guess I am pretty interesting. What else would you like to know, Miss Maria?"

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@jill7

The narrowed eyes soon turned to a scowl. Maria was not please about being called a child. Not just because it meant her charm didn't work on him, but simply because she didn't like being treated like a child. "Stop calling me that." She snapped, this time that flash of anger sneaking into her voice and not just expression.

Willing to tell him anything? Hardly. she didn't give away random information. "I need a more specific answer than that." was her retort. No, if he wanted to know it, he had to ask it. No more, no less. As for what she might want to know about him... The pout disappeared, and she tapped her chin, thoughtfully pondering what she might want to know. "There's only one thing I still want to know, and that's your name." She couldn't call him Santo forever, after all.

[Deleted]

@maria
<3

She snapped at him, and he chuckled quietly. Maybe he had gone too far, but now he knew what pushed her buttons and made her angry. "I'll stop calling you a child if you stop telling me how to live my life." Samuel smirked at Maria, knowing this might work. Unless she was okay with being called the one thing she hated, Samuel wouldn't let this go.

"Specific? Ah...alright." He sighed, throwing the empty coffee cup into the nearby trash can. Samuel took a deep breath and tilted his head towards Maria, smiling. "Do you have any siblings? Where do you live? What's your favorite color? Favorite food? Coffee or tea?" He was just spitting out random questions, not anything he really had the preference of knowing. Her next question surprised him, and he remembered he really hadn't told her his name yet. "Well I suppose if you really want to know...Samuel."

[Deleted]

@jill7

Maria rolled her eyes. She could still feel her anger, simmering under the surface like a rabid beast waiting for the perfect moment to last out. She didn't like being told what to do, it made her feel like someone was bossing her around. he only person allowed to do that was Viola, and even then Maria didn't always take kindly to it if she wasn't in the right mood. Even in this situation, where it was more like an agreement, she didn't like it. And she really didn't like being called child. She didn't even bother with a retort, just fixed him with a harsh look after the eye roll.

Okay, she'd been expecting one question. Not a million. Both Maria's eyebrows raised in stunned silence as the plethora of questions came out. "No siblings. In Sweden. Red. Anything spicy. Coffee." She smiled, answering each question in the same tone as he'd thrown them out, not even missing a beat once she'd started answering them. Nothing to personal in there, so she didn't care if he knew any of that. That smile grew to a grin when he finally offered up his name. "It's nice to finally meet you, Samuel."

[Deleted]

@maria
<3

Samuel watched the people walking by as Maria answered each question just as quickly as he had asked them. He wasn't surprised that she was an only child, she definitely gave off an attitude like it. His coffee was gone, as was his food, and he looked up at the tall clock in the center of Hogsmeade and realized he had a few errands to run and that time had gone by quickly. "I'll keep note of all that." He grinned, and stood up off the wall, bowing to Maria. "As it is you. I've got to go now, Maria. Maybe I will see you again next Hogsmeade meeting. Annoying you seems to have become a specialty of mine."

---SAMUEL OUT---