Into the maze

[Veronica White]

The only thing Veronica liked about coming to NewZealand was getting an instant change in the season. It was a bright sunny day here in NewZealand, the sun shining down on everything and Veronica enjoying it to her fullest after having applied some sunscreen. It was Sunday and her weekend in NewZealand would be over tonight at eleven when Dympna would send her back to Durmstrang. She did miss her friends and her boyfriend for the past day and half while she had been here but this time she had decided to utilize her time and opportunity well. She had not been asked to keep a budget like how she had done for fourteen years and since her father's death she was at liberty to spend all the cash she could and being allowed to wander in NewZealand without a stop only added to her good opportunity and luck that was going to lead to the success of her plan.

Veronica was wearing black despite the sun because she liked the color and it suited her fair skin tone. She walked through the familiar Obsidian Harbor and cut the corner that would lead her into the Bleak Street. Veronica was going to buy a few ingredients for one of the potions that she had come across while reading and wanted to try and brew.

As she completed getting the potions after a lot of suspicious looks from the owner of the store she breathed with relief. The dry summer air was making her throat dry and she wished for a chilled butterbeer. Which way did I come through? Veronica wondered as she ran a hand through her blonde hair and looked both ways of the narrow street. Both, to her seemed similar and identically opposite of each other and with a random guess she started to walk towards her left.Little did she know that it was the wrong way and would lead her into an inescapable maze.

 

[Selwin Snape]

Walking slowly along the lines of the bleak street, Selwin was looking out for trouble. Last time he was here, two guys had surrounded a helpless girl and were torturing her. Remembering the fun, he was on the hunt to see if he will find anyone else doing any torturing and be a life saver for the girl, or rather be a hero. Usually, he would join the fun, but for the past few days, he's been feeling a little merciful towards others. Scratching in the back of his head and looking towards the ground, he was feeling a little ashamed for his recent change, but he knew that he would go back to normal.

While walking, he looked up to see a girl, who seemed to be looking for a way out. He gazed upon the girl to see if she was someone he had met before only to find that she looked like a school student. This was a chance for Selwin to have some fun, but in a good way. He walked towards the girl slowly and said, "Lost now are we?" With a smirk on his face, he looked at the girl to see that she was carrying something. Maybe she was smuggling something? Or maybe she had just bought something? "What have you got there?" said Selwin.

 

[Veronica White]

Veronica walked down the silent, deserted and dark street hoping it would come to an end soon and she would be able to get a chilled butterbeer. However as she went a little further she could see cross streets and this was very much unlike anything she had seen before in NewZealand. On all three streets ahead her most of the shops were closed or so they appeared to be and very few living things seemed to dwell in these areas. She took a right turn hoping it would be the right path and would lead her to one of the streets joining Brightstone but after five minutes of nervousness, quick walking and feeling that she was being followed she came to an abrupt stop when she saw a man who looked like in his late teens walked towards her. She swallowed hard as her eyes looked up to see his face.

He was easily towering her because he seemed like a good six foot while Veronica was just four foot seven inches.His face was strong, hard cheek bones under his skin, black pair of eyes and she wondered if he had just come up to her to make conversation. She returned what seemed to be a smile but not one of her best ones, not the dazzling one and nor it was the innocent one. "Yes,I appear to have lost my way" she said in her musical voice as she met his gaze. She was surprised to see how fast he noticed her parcel and asked what it was. "School supplies" she told him having her face masked very well that no one except herself would fully know how much truth her statements held. When Veronica had started dating Zac she had lost her touch on her facial masks but after the break up she had become the hard-to-read girl once again. Only a few knew what and how she really was.

 

[Selwin Snape]

Seeing another girl being lost in the maze was pretty sad to see. It was getting a little frustrating to see people getting lost for their carelessness and they didn't realize what can happen to them if they were not careful. Standing in front of the girl, he saw her gazing at him, up and down seeing how tall her was, and him looking down at her, she was pretty short compared to him. 'What a midget. Though she is cute. thought Selwin to himself. Selwin gazed at the girl himself, eyeing her upon and down. As he listened to the girl say she was lost, she didn't know how much danger she was in. "If you lost your way, why weren't you careful? You have any idea what can happen to you if you run into the wrong person?" said Selwin trying to give a warning to the girl. As soon as the girl said school supplies, Selwin felt negative and positive energy around her, mostly negative energy, which told him that she was lying to him. "You don't need to hide anything from me. If I were dangerous, I would have already done something to you." said Selwin trying to comfort the girl. Selwin wasn't in the mood to do anything harmful right now, so he could help the girl get out.

 

[Veronica White]

Veronica blinked as she realized that the boy was scanning her head to toe, the colour in her cheeks rose. He was good looking in a way, the muscular good looking way. He was too tall and standing by her she was buried in his shadow. She raised an eyebrow as he asked said that she was careless. "You're saying that you are Mr.Right for me to run into?"she asked with a smirk, scanning his eyes wondering whether the stranger was trust-able or not.

As she shifted her position slightly she found the sun shining straight into her eyes. She moved back to her prior position of standing in the shadow of the stranger and upon hearing his next words her eyes shot up back to gaze into his. "I'm not hiding anything. These are ingredients for a potion" she told him hoping he wouldn't interrogate her further about her parcel. "Thanks for not being dangerous" she said with a smile because from his words he seemed trust able, especially because she would never meet him again after today.He could be dangerous but something told her that his words were true and she wasn't in danger with him."What would you have done to me?" she asked wondering what the stranger did normally to people and what he was capable of.

 

[Rais Hussain]

Wrong topic.

 

[Selwin Snape]

Selwin listened as the girl talked about how if he was Mr. Right to run into. Selwin was liking the humor this girl was showing, perhaps he could probably take pity on her and just help her find her way back to the streets of the harbour. "I suppose if you want to think of it that way." Selwin looked left and right, then continued, "If you want my help, I sure hope you could be a little nicer than you are right now." Selwin wasn't hesitant to help people, but when it came to a point where they would either take advantage of him or start to annoy him, that's where he drew the line. Remembering his time back at the Makutu mall, where a girl dropped coffee on him on purpose, he grabbed the girl by the throat and threatened to kill her, but ended up taking pity on her and then they became friend's, as odd as it sounds.

It was a little funny to Selwin that the girl could fully fit into the shadow of his. Noticing how she moved out of the shadow, then moved back it, it was really entertaining for him. "May you should just stick to one place." said Selwin. As he listened to the girl say that she wasn't hiding anything and that she had potion ingredients, Selwin felt positive and negative energy around her. She was half telling the truth and was also telling a lie, which told him that she was defiantly hiding something. It wasn't in the business of Selwin to inspect for whatever she had, that's her business. So he just let the topic slide by and said, "Just don't get me mad." If he were to get mad, there were many horrible things he could do, including kill someone, but to this day, there hasn't been a person that would bring him up to his boiling point. "I wouldn't have done anything to you. It would have been a pity if you were to get into the wrong hands." said Selwin. "I'm only looking out for you." explained Selwin.

 

[Veronica White]

Veronica smiled on hearing the boy's reply. He wanted her to be nicer, she could be nicer if she found him trustable and friendly, and that to find in first few minutes of a first meeting didn't seem likely to happen. However, she was in a maze and the stranger seemed to know his way about the Bleak Street that left her with no option but to behave. "Of course I'll be nicer now that my MR.Right has decided to help me out" she said with one of dazzling smiles. From the little conversation they had the stranger looked like he worked for some shop in this area but she couldn't be sure. She was curious to find out what he was doing in the Bleak Street, a straight question would be rude and would get him mad therefore she started by introducing herself. "I'm Veronica White, fifth year in Durmstrang Institute" she told him as she stretched out her hand for a shake.

Veronica had learned to maintain her position instead of moving around, even though if it meant standing close to him. When he said that he wouldn't do anything to her and was just looking out for her, she was a little touched. She wouldn't have cared for a random stranger especially if they were to be a little annoying as she had been for the past couple of minutes. "Thankyou" she said with a smile as she waited for him to lead the way. "Do you normally help people who get lost around here, or is it just because you come here so often?"she asked him.

 

[Selwin Snape]

Having heard that she would be nicer from now on, a semi-smile grew on Selwin's face. With the help that Selwin would give to other people, occasionally that is, he would require nothing but respect in return. Respect was one of the fewer things that Selwin really asked for. He had plenty of money, so he didn't need that, but he would need respect. Taking the time out of his own schedule to help someone else, Selwin thought respect wasn't too much to ask for. "Thank you." said Selwin in reply to her saying that she would be more nicer. Moving to his left, he heard the girl introducing herself as Veronica. 'Pretty nice name, Selwin thinking to himself. Selwin was still debating if he should introduce himself or not. It wasn't often that Selwin would tell his name to strangers, but since they were gonna spend some time getting out of here, it would be ok for him to do it. "The name is Snape. I'm the Owner of the Apothcary." said Selwin. Selwin would usually tell people his last name instead of his first, unless he knew the person pretty well.

Having standing there, trying to decide which route would be the quickest to get out, he saw the girl standing more closer to him for some reason. Selwin didn't mind it, he thought that it was probably because she was lost and was a little scared that someone else might come and hurt her. As Selwin decided on which direction to go to, he started to walk slowly when he heard a question from Veronica. "I come here on business matters. I happen to be passing by when I saw you. I don't normally help people because that would mean I would have to protect another person's life with mine, which is twice the work." Selwin paused, looked both ways at the intersection and continued talking, then continued talking, "I help people once in a while." It wasn't that Selwin didn't really like people, it was just that he was a busy person.

 

[Veronica White]

Veronica smiled when she finally got to know his name. Snape..seems like from one of the old wizarding familiesshe thought trying to make a connection but as expected her History was poor and she couldn't recall exactly where she had come across the name. When he said that he owned the Apothecary she was amazed. "Wow!..are you into Potions then?"she asked him curiously because Potions was Veronica's favorite subject and anything related to that took no time in taking her attention.

As they walked on, Veronica tried to stay close to Snape because the few people on the street seemed like they could eat her alive if she was roaming here alone. She was really glad that she was one of the few people he had decided to take time to help because otherwise she would have been dead meat, especially if Dympna came to know that she was roaming in Bleak street. "Where did you graduate? You don't seem like a NewZealander" she asked him wondering which country was Snape's hometown. "I've like been in Bulgaria for fourteen years, just this year I shifted here with my mother after my dad passed away" she told him as she walked along. She played with a strand of her hair wondering when she would be out of these dark streets. Then it occurred to her that it would mean saying goodbye to Snape and she could use some good looking company for this afternoon rather than spending it alone.

 

[Selwin Snape]

Surprisingly seeing a positive response from Veronica about how Selwin owned the Apothecary, Selwin was glad to hear someone who liked Potions as much as he did. He would always be in the back of his store, getting some ingredients out and doing experimentation with everything. He loved finding out new things because there were lots of possibilities with how many potions a person can create. "I suppose you can say that." said Selwin while walking. He seemed to be enjoying his time taking her out of Bleak street because he had someone to talk to. Usually, he would be all alone, it was good to have someone along to talk to once in a while. "I suppose you love potions huh?" said Selwin showing a smile to Veronica. Anyone who showed interest similar to Selwin's interest would get the nicer side of Selwin.

Walking through what seemed like an endless maze to Veronica, it was pretty easy for Selwin to navigate his way through because he was familiar with the place. As they were walking, he sensed a disturbance in the energy around Veronica, as if she was scared. Looking ahead, Selwin saw a few people who were looking directly at Veronica, as if they were going to do something, but Selwin, he looked dead into the eye's of those individual, transforming his normal eye color to blood shot red eyes to scare the people, and it would seem it worked because they started to walk away. "Don't worry, as long as you're with me, you're safe." said Selwin comforting Veronica. Now it was Selwin's responsibility to get Veronica out safely, and he felt good doing it too, now that he knew him and Veronica shared some similar interests. "I graduated from Hogwarts Scotland. I recently moved here due to personal reasons." answered Selwin to Veronica's question in a satisfying tone. As he listened to where Veronica lived, it reminded him of the time he went to Bulgaria, because he was to duel someone there, but the guy ended up not showing up. "I've been to Bulgaria, just once and it was due to a duel I was to attend, but the other participant never showed up." said Selwin. "I'm sorry to hear about your father. If you want to talk to me about something, you can if you wish. said Selwin trying to comfort Veronica. Selwin has lived his whole life without knowing who his real parent's were, so he was a strong man at heart.

 

[Veronica White]

Veronica smiled and nodded agreeing on her love for potion. It was good to know that she shared some common interest with Snape.She wondered if he like her, had invented or tried to invent potions and brew potions of advanced level. It would be quite a treat to learn few things from him on Potion making. Maybe she could write to him sometimes for new ideas and when she needed help, that was if he would allow it. He seemed to be nice with her and protective over her so she was hoping they could become friends.

"Thanks" she said with a grin as Snape assured her once again that she was safe with him. He seemed to have quite an aura around this place, a respectful something. "Hogwarts...let me guess...were you in Slytherin?"she asked him curiously waiting to know if she had guessed his house right. From the little cunning behavior she had seen of him, her guess was on that. She was impressed to hear that Snape had been to Bulgaria for a duel, she wondered who his opponent was supposed to have been. "I've only once been in a real duel..I was against two and then my second ended up arguing with me and stopped me from fighting because he thought I wasn't going to match my opponents" she told him with a slight chuckle remembering how her first meeting with Scipio had come about.

"Thanks" she said with another smile glad to know that Snape was being nice to her. It was weird to meet a good looking stranger who was helping her and being nice, he almost seemed like a friend to be. "I never knew my mother. She had left us when I was born but she found me after my father's death and claims that my father was the one who forbid her from seeing me, I don't know what to trust" she explained him a little about Dympna. "But it's okay...I've started living with that" she added as they walked on.The sun was overhead, it was noon. Maybe I can ask him to accompany me for lunchshe thought.

 

[Selwin Snape]

Selwin smiled as he heard Veronica thanking him. Truth be told, all Selwin would only require respect from those he had contact with of any sort. Selwin didn't care for money, bribes or whatever, he would deny all, but he would require respect to be given to him. "Don't worry about it." replied Selwin with a small smile. Though sometimes, it did annoy him when people overly showed him respect, as in they weren't really showing respect, but were pretending to show it, which ticked him off even more.

Listening to her asking him if he was in Slytherin, it was no surprise that she guessed right the first time. Because of how Selwin's attitude was, it was normal for people to think he was in Slytherin. Though he was proud to be a Slytherin and enjoyed his time well when he was in Hogwarts. "Yes, you are correct. I was in Slytherin." replied Selwin with a chuckle. It had been a while since Selwin last dueled a real opponent. His last 'real' duel went pretty well, for him that is. His opponent wasn't so lucky. His opponent had to stay in St. Mungo's for a few months because of how badly he was hurt. "I see. My last opponent wasn't so lucky. He was in St. Mungo's for a few months.. I believe he is still there." said Selwin. Selwin didn't know who his parent's were, and at times, it was good not to know them because he would have his freedom, he wouldn't be bound. "What does your heart say to you on who is right?" asked Selwin. Whenever Selwin was in between, he would listen to his heart.

 

[Veronica White]

Veronica knew of course that she was right on her guess. According to her Slytherins were one of the best house apart from Gryffindor, she didn't appreciate Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff too much because too much kindness or brains were not what topped in her category of favorite. She laughed when Snape spoke about his last opponent in a duel and how he is still in St.Mungos. "Must say, impressive" she said with a grin as she wondered if she would ever get to see him duel. It would be quite interesting to see some real dueling but she was sure she wouldn't be so lucky to be allowed to view that until she was of age.

She smiled on hearing his question. Her heart had always been with her father's side because deep down she knew, even though she didn't have evidence yet, that her mother was evil and her father was the one who had said the truth. "I believe my father because if my mother really wanted to see me she could have contacted me in some way...my father wasn't the best role model but I loved him and my mother...even now she is full of lies" she told Snape with a sigh. It was weird to see most people have such perfect parents and hers, were well all messed up. "Didn't expect someone like you to believe in heart and all that" she commented with a smirk. "Do you have a girlfriend?"she asked him curiously.