Restless

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella was running out of things to do on the nights she didn't sleep, which were almost every night now. Of course homework or make up work was always an option but the Slytherin had stopped attending all classes but Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures to further emphasize her rebellion now. She got up out of her bed, still wearing her day clothes of a white tank and black leather skirt, as well as Isaac's sneakers. Before her change in attitude, Isabella wouldn't never been caught dead in this type of casual clothing, let alone sneakers of all things.

Isabella had snuck all the way up to Gryffindor tower hoping that she and Mike would be on the same wave length and he'd suddenly emerge, it used to happen with her and Aiden all the time, but after waiting for a long while and still no Mike, Isabella decided to give up and continued on until she was in the North tower. Once she was out in the open, she inhaled some nighttime air and sighed quietly. She was in a state of confusion, unsure of what she was doing or what she should do next. Part of her even thought it was too late to go back.

 

[Tichondrius Illitharis]

Tichondrius was quietly pacing the corridors, moving soundlessly yet quickly through the dark hallways. His form flickered in and out of view, blending seamlessly with the shadows cast by the torchlight. He was bored easily these days, and tonight was another one of those days. Stalking the hallways with nothing but himself did little to abate the boredom, but at least he wasn't stuck in the common room.

Turning the corner, he realised he was in the North Tower. He turned to go down, when the corner of his eye noticed movement. Turning round he saw a girl in the distance, not one he recognized ... Or so he thought, realising belatedly it was Isabella. Smiling, he strode over to her, no long slinking around in the shadows. "Hey," he said as he drew close. "Love what you've been doing these days," he added, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella was fiddling with her owl necklace that Alyssa had gotten her at the beginning of the year. It was in her hands and she was stringing the owl along its chain. Part of her was tempted to chuck the small owl down from the tower because the owls had been haunting her dreams and her cousin had told her that it was a death omen. Just as Isabella was about to throw it, she heard someone behind her so she immediately turned around and gasped lightly.

Instantly she smiled in relief and held the owl tightly in her enclosed palm. "Hey," she returned the greeting softly as she smiled up at him. She remembered when the two had their talk down by the lake in which Isabella decided not to follow the rules anymore. Isabella raised her eyebrows at his next statement and replied, "And just what exactly are you talking about?" A smirk was played carefully across her lips as a hint that she knew exactly what he was talking about and for some reason, she didn't mind it. After all, he was the one to encourage her right? Well perhaps not exactly for the magazine, but to be a little more like her surname suggested, and she had been doing that, causing Chaos around the school with her rumors. Before he could respond however, she pulled out her wand and muttered, "Muffliato," at the entrance to the North Tower. She could not risk anyone overhearing their conversation.

 

[Tichondrius Illitharis]

Tichondrius mirrored her smirk. "I've been looking to congratulate you, really. I didn't expect you to embrace your name with such ... vigor. You should have seen and heard some of the Hufflepuffs over at the table when they read your handiwork." He bowed slightly to her. "I'd take my hat off to you, if I had one. Impressive. Simply impressive." Tichondrius straightened up, then leaned against the wall. "What gave you the idea?"

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella raised her eyebrows in surprise when Tichondrius said he wanted to congratulate her, though really she shouldn't have been surprised, it was Tichondrius after all. She chuckled when he mentioned the reaction of some of the Hufflepuffs and shrugged her shoulders smugly. "Well thanks," she replied with a smirk on her face. When he asked what gave her the idea she pondered her answer for a while. Well she always wanted to start a magazine, that was her life goal - but not a gossip magazine, a worthy magazine of reading - but that was in the future. Then there was her impromptu trip to Greece in which she and her best friend Nia had posed for the photographers, knowing the photos would come out in a magazine. Isabella was smart enough to know that the story wouldn't be innocent, what with Nia being the Mayor's daughter, so that might've actually sparked her idea.

However her response was, "I wanted to get dirty without getting in trouble, and better yet, without getting caught." This was proof that she didn't even have to lay a finger on someone and she was still making them cry and get away with it. Isabella had learned that words sometimes cut deeper than physical violence, and had grown up letting snide remarks and rumors just roll off her so it didn't affect her. It wasn't her fault if they couldn't handle it.

 

[Tichondrius Illitharis]

"Hnnnh. A wise choice. If you're hands are clean no one can really trace the magazine back to you." Tichondrius tilted his head as he mentally relayed the process of getting a magazine printed, then picking out a few weak links, frowned and asked, "What about the publisher? Did the two of you meet face to face? If you used a middleman, does that middleman know you?"

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella shook her head no in response to Tichondrius' questions. "We do our business through owl. Risky I know, but I burn the mail afterward. It's a good thing my parents write to me so much this year otherwise my constant visits to the Owlery or mail during breakfast would be something to be suspicious of," she said in relief. Her parents' constant worrying letters were actually saving her butt right now. "What exactly do you mean by middleman?" she asked, just for clarification before she answered.

 

[Tichondrius Illitharis]

"Middleman, as in a go between for you and the publisher. Think of him as an agent, who does business on your behalf, so that you don't have to go down personally, or meet the publisher in person," Tichondrius explained. "My father sometimes uses a middleman when he can't do it himself, and sometimes he uses me. But since you use your owl, I suppose it's better, in a way."

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella listened to Tichondrius explain what a middleman was and nodded her head in understanding. "Nope, no middleman. I got in touch with the publishing company through an older family friend who's worked with them before," she explained. She had preferred not to meet the publishers because she doubted they would want to do business with a thirteen year old. It was best this way.

Not wanting to talk about 'business' the entire time, Isabella leaned against the tower wall and crossed her hands over her chest. "By the way, I saw that kiss between you and Arisa, might put it in the next issue just for fun," she said jokingly.

 

[Tichondrius Illitharis]

Tichondrius laughed when Isabella mentioned the kiss. "Saw that, did you?" he said. He licked his lips, recollection speeding lightly across his face. "Why not. Go ahead. Spice it up while you're at it. It would definitely be worth a topic."

 

[Isabella Chaos]

A mischievous gleam sparkled in Isabella's brown eyes as she said, "Spicing it up is my specialty," with a smirk placed perfectly on her face. She definitely didn't like that Arisa girl since she was friends with that girl Vivienne but of course Isabella was only pretending to be nice to them to get information out of them. Hufflepuffs were so stupid and naive. Well not all, she reminded herself as she was looking at Tichondrius at the moment. It still amazed her how he was in Hufflepuff and not her house, where she thought he belonged. "I trust you'll keep this a secret right?" she brought up her concern that kept nagging her in the back of her mind. She and Tichondrius were acquaintances at best, but she felt oddly safe with him, well at least her secret felt safe with him, so somehow she felt she could trust him.

 

[Tichondrius Illitharis]

"Of course. Hufflepuff I might be, but I see no reason in disclosing your secret. I won't sell you out for anything. Don't worry 'bout it," he said, smiling a genuine smile. "I do have a request though; when your spicing up me having ... relations," he waggled his eyebrows conspiritally, "Do come up with several, and let me be the one to pick the one you use. Okay?"

 

[Isabella Chaos]

"Good," Isabella replied with a nonchalant, affirmative nod, though inside she was sighing with relief. "I forgot, Hufflepuffs are the 'loyal' ones," she added with a smirk. She found it funny how Tichondrius had chosen to be loyal to a sneaky, manipulative Slytherin - though she didn't question it, she was completely grateful for his loyalty. When he said he had a request for her, Isabella arched her eyebrows in interest, silently telling him to go on. She chuckled and repeated, "You want to pick who I say you have relations to?" She shook her head as she laughed.

 

[Tichondrius Illitharis]

"Well, not who I have relations with. How I have relations with them," Tichondrius corrected. He continued, "I'm just mildly curious to see just how interesting you can put a ... well, spin ... on things like that." He opened his mouth to continue, but paused, tilting his head. Hearing nothing, he shrugged and continued. "Well, you can pick if you want. I just wanna see how many different types did you come up with. That's all."

 

[Isabella Chaos]

[Sorry, been busy!]

Isabella chuckled when Tichondrius explained what he meant and nodded her head. "Alright then," she began, slightly off topic though Tichondrius' suggestion had caused her to think of this. "I'll give you a chance to create your own mischief. Who do you want to see in the magazine? Anyone you hate?" she asked jokingly. Surprisingly he seemed like the type that didn't have enemies so she doubted he had enemies. Still, if he did she would trash them in her magazine for the two of them to get a laugh out of it. "But back to your suggestion, any ideas on how you want me to portray your relationship with someone?" she asked with a smirk.