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Leah Winters

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OOC First Name
Malynne
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13" Sequoia Dragon heartstring
It was the middle of the day, the sun shown down on everyone making them perspire. Obsidian Harbour was busy for a Monday, but the crowds were no bother for Leah. In fact, crowds were very good disguises. They could shield you from anything, and they were a lot better than a darkened alley way.
It was on this day that Leah decided to get out an about. She had sent her dear friend Ioan Finch an owl asking him to meet her here. She hadn't seen him in months, and missed his company.
He still hadn't made an appearance but it was no worry, for she was early anyhow.
Leah sat down on a bench where the harbour was and watched the calm waters.
 
There were very few people that Ioan actually considered to be friends. He just wasn't that type of guy and the number of people that he truly trusted could be counted on one hand. There was Adrianne, his wife, Millard, an old schoolmate and his best friend...and now, Leah. The fact that Ioan entrusted his secrets with people other than his so-called "family" was not lost on him either. His Finch cousins were just a bunch of muggle lovers and he had the feeling that his sister was going in that direction too, though she swore up and down that she wasn't so there was no reason to trust them.

When an owl had dropped in on him from Leah, a rare smile crossed Ioan's face and he had sent a return straightaway telling her that he would meet up with her. After delivering a package to another death eater, Ioan apparated to the harbor where they had decided to meet up. He hated the crowds that always gathered but he did like the view of the water, so he figured he'd be able to deal. He had performed the spell to hide his tattoo before he'd left his home, which was something he'd grown much more vigilant about doing since the start of the summer. Now that he and Adrianne were married, he was taking a lot more things seriously because there was a lot more than just his life at stake now.

Seeing Leah sitting on a bench, Ioan strolled slowly toward her, pulling on a pair of shades to shield his eyes from the sun. He was fully aware of the ladies that were checking him out as he walked. A smirk crossed his face as he saw them frown as he reached Leah and took a seat. As if they had a chance, he thought to himself. "Leah...how good to see you" he said smoothly as he placed his arm on the back of the bench and made himself comfortable,or as comfortable as he could be in the heat.
 
It was hard to believe Autumn was approaching with this wave of heat that had appeared out of nowhere. Perhaps it was summer's one last stand before the leaves turned brown and the temperature dropped. It certainly was a very hot day, but Leah knew that by next week, or even tomorrow morning summer would be gone for the year, and Autumn would be making it's first appearance.

The weather. I'm thinking about the weather. Winters thought to herself. She smiled a little, and decided to avoid the dull topic of the weather when Ioan eventually came around. Her thought was not seconds gone, when he did appear.

"Leah...how good to see you"

"And you as well, Ioan." She replied immediately. She had missed him dearly. He was one of the few people she could trust with anything, and the first person to find out that she had made one of the most important life decisions; to become a death eater. "I hear you got married. I'm sorry I couldn't make the wedding, was it beautiful?"
 
As Leah mentioned his recent marriage, Ioan smirked. 'Beautiful' was only a description used by women in his opinion, so it wasn't as if he was going to admit that his wedding had been anything like that. Glancing at his ring briefly, which he was still getting used to wearing even though he'd been doing so for three months, Ioan shrugged his shoulders. "It was nice" he said slowly, thinking of no other word that could possibly fit. "The honeymoon was better he added with a chuckle.

Watching the waves break against the harbor in silence of a few moments, Ioan glanced back at Leah through his shades. "Have you been having fun with the new job?" he asked curiously, wondering how her training was going. It was great to finally be able to discuss it with her. There had been a few months back when she'd be staying at his home that Ioan had feared that she would come across his secret accidently. He'd had a great time during his own training but becoming a full-fledged death eater was so much better and it was a pride he wanted to share with those he trusted who also happened to be death eaters like him. Being so young, he knew Leah had years to go before she could bear the mark of the tattoo that declared a binding commitment to the death eaters.
 
Leah smiled at his description of the wedding. She suddenly wished she would have gone, but her reasons were sound, at least to her they were. She hardly knew anyone else who had been invited, and Leah figured it would have just been awkward for her. It was awkward at Keira Potter and Jame's Potter's wedding, and she had actually went to school with most of the people who were invited to that one.

"Where did you go for the honeymoon?" She questioned curiously. A slight breeze wafted to them as soon as she spoke the words, making her a little bit cooler. "It's difficult. I never imagined learning such....things, but I love it. It feels like it's meant to be."
 
"We went to a wizarding hotel in Europe" he said easily. If he had known of the fun that would be had on a honeymoon, Ioan may have considered marrying much sooner. In truth, he didn't notice much of a difference between how he and Adrianne acted before they were married from now. To him, things were pretty much still the same except for the fact that he now had a ring on his index finger.

Listening to Leah describe her experiences so far, Ioan nodded knowingly. "If it wasn't difficult, then anyone could join" he said with disdain in his voice reserved for those other people who might think they had what it took to become a part of their 'family' when it was so obvious they could not. "I know you'll be fine though" he added, reaching over to ruffle her hair slightly before sitting back and enjoying the slight breeze that was coming in from the harbor.
 
As Leah listened to him, she felt a sudden pang of jealousy. I'm jealous. I can't believe I'm actually jealous of someone. She felt envious that someone else had found happiness with someone, and she had not. She had her chances with Link, many many chances, and could have had Justice En Kaos but spurned him after having her way with him. And now, she truly felt alone. "Well, I'm glad you had fun."

Leah nodded. She completely agreed with him. Not anyone should be able to join, it was for someone who could truly handle being involved in the dark arts. "Thanks." He suddenly ruffled her hair, and she frowned a little fixing it with a single swipe through her hair. She suddenly felt like a child compared to Ioan, and soon realized that that was most likely how he saw her. A child. "How is Lorin?"
 
Ioan smirked, glancing at her as she frowned and fixed her hair. It was the sort of thing that a big brother did to his little sister, and Ioan realized that that was pretty much exactly how he thought he should feel about her. He was married after all and although it was proving to be an interesting struggle to stay faithful to his wife, Ioan had been successful thus far. With three nearly three months of fidelity under his belt, Ioan was feeling rather proud of himself for his ability to actually not cheat.

When she asked about Lorin, Ioan was pulled out of his thoughts. "Raising hell like his dear ol' dad" Ioan said with a chuckle. Now that the boy was able to walk and was talking better each and every day, there seemed to be no stopping him. He appeared to have the gift of being able to be both everywhere and nowhere at once, and Ioan had no idea how Adrianne was able to keep up with him all day long.

Reaching into his pocket, Ioan pulled out the keys to his bachelor pad and slowly held them out to Leah. "Before I forget. I'm not going to be needing this anymore so I want you to have the apartment. It's been more yours than mine these past months anyway." The keys were more a formality than anything since he usually used a magical lock to keep the apartment safe when he was away. A muggle invention like a lock was not going to keep away the sort of enemies he had made. As he waited for Leah to grab them, Ioan was struck by the fact that this was going to be the end of his bachelorhood. Once she took them, he would be have no more ties to his old life. Ioan didn't know how he felt about this.
 
It was a little saddening to realize the brotherly affection he bestowed upon her. At one point in her life she thought perhaps something was there, but alas no more. Ioan was married now, and although seducing a married man was not particularly difficult, she respected Ioan to much to even attempt something so futile. "He was an angel when I last saw him. Very sweet, and quiet." She chuckled a little. The terrible two's couldn't be to far away, and Ioan and his beloved wife were probably experiencing the beginnings of them. "Goodluck. I remember my sisters terrible two's..."

"Before I forget. I'm not going to be needing this anymore so I want you to have the apartment. It's been more yours than mine these past months anyway."

"I can't." She shook her head fervently. "I can't. Let me buy it, or pay rent, but please don't just give it to me." Lately, Leah had been considering moving out and finding her own place so as not to make the Finch's think that she was a mooch. It was time to get on her own and fend for herself, even if it meant sleeping in a tavern every night. She was to proud to simply accept his apartment without paying for it.
 
Ioan's eyebrow raised as she described Lorin as being an angel. "You should see him now...quiet was a thing of the past" he drawled as he ran his hand across his forehead to wipe a bit of sweat that had gathered there. He absolutely hated the summer, and still wasn't used to dealing with it. It was during this time of year more than any other that he wished her were back in his native country.

After offering her the keys, Ioan's eyes widened behind his shades and he scowled as she shook her head. She had been living there all this time and now that he was making the place hers, he couldn't believe she wouldn't accept the gift she was offering. It was already a hard enough task for him and all Ioan wanted was for the keys to be in her possession and for this discussion to be over.

He continued to hold out the keys as he mulled over her words. "Fine...but I don't want your money vrãjitoare putin" he began, thinking that by bringing out the nickname he often used for her, he might be able to get her to take his offer. "I just want your word that if I ever need a favor, you will be there for me without question?" he asked. With the life that he and his wife led as death eaters, enemies were easy to come by but help was not usually as present. It was an important commodity in their world.
 
Leah smiled at his comment about Lorin. She felt the urge to see the child again, for it had been a while since she had ever been liked by a baby. Perhaps it was her female feelings on the matter, but it still slightly embarrassed her to even admit to herself that. Her cheeks flushed a little, but since it was hot she doubted Ioan would think anything was wrong with her.

She listened to his proposition and realized that his pride was also at stake. It was time to push past her own pride and do something for herself and someone else. "Very well. If you ever need me for anything tell me. I owe you greatly." And with those words, she took the keys from him and stuck them in her hand bag. She was very thankful that he was being so considerate and allowing her access to his apartment. "I mean anything, Ioan."
 
Ioan nodded as Leah finally grabbed the keys and made the deal. He knew that she would be true to her word and it was a good one to have. Searching for no hidden meaning in her words, it took a moment for Ioan to realize why Leah had emphasized that she meant 'anything.' Raising his shades slightly, Ioan raised his eyebrow as he glanced at Leah with his blue-green eyes. He knew of her feelings for him, and although Ioan always tried to keep things simply friendly between him and her, he would be a fool to deny his attraction to her. He was a man after all, married or not. He was a bit surprised though at her boldness.

Dropping his shades back down, Ioan sat back. "Don't tempt me" he murmured, grateful for the wind that was blowing as he thought it would cover up his words. Ioan had never been the most faithful of men, but he had been trying especially hard since his wedding. He quickly tried to cover up his words with his usual smirk. "I hope you have as much fun with the place as I did." Quieting as a old woman walked past them, Ioan waited until the woman was well past before speaking again. "Do you mind if I still visit?" he asked, thinking that from her previous comment that he knew the answer she was likely to give.
 
Leah gazed at Ioan's handsome features. She had never gotten over her attraction for him, and it burned between them strongly then ever before. She couldn't, just couldn't not like him. He was far to handsome, and now that they shared the bond of the death eater membership her feelings for him had grown considerably.

"Don't tempt me"

She couldn't. It was difficult not to make provocative comments, but those would have to end. He was a married man, and like it or not she would never have him. It was foolish to cling on to the hope that one day she would be in his arms. "I apologize." She said quietly. "You can visit anytime, I still feel like it is your place." It would probably always feel that way, and Ioan would forever be welcome into the place. "It's warm today." She commented after several seconds of silence. Damn. She inwardly cursed herself. Leah had promised herself that idle comments about the weather would not be made by her.
 
Ioan nodded and sat back, making himself comfortable or as comfortable as he could be in this heat. When Leah mentioned the weather, Ioan raised his eyebrows in agreement and then chuckled. "Is that what we've come to? Talking about the weather?" he teased, though it was good-natured.

Turning only his head because he didn't have the energy to do any more than that, Ioan asked, "Made any progress finding your father?" He knew that for some reason it was important for Leah to do so and he remembered going with her to visit her old home. He'd kept his ears open for mention of a Winters but hadn't heard anything so far though he wasn't giving up.
 
Leah smiled at his comment, and let out a laugh. "I swore that I wouldn't speak of the weather, but the silence..." She stuck out her tongue. She knew he only jested, and so did she. Leah always felt comfortable around Ioan, and perhaps that was why they made such great friends. Friends. Her mind kept saying over and over again.

"Er. I haven't found him. Although I think I'm close. I recently found out that I have a brother." She sighed. "He is staying with me, and I hope that William comes looking for him, or that the boy will cough out some information about him."
 
Ioan's face grew serious again as he listened to Leah describe the search for her father. The man was obviously gifted at being elusive and Ioan couldn't help but wonder where the man had learned the skill and what he was hiding from. Her news about a brother was quite surprising. "A brother? he repeated. "See...good thing the apartment is yours then. Now you've got all that extra room."

He nodded as she continued to speak. It sounded like a fairly good plan, one that could prove to be more successful at finding her father than anything else that had been done. "Yea, he might just end up being the thing you were looking for to help you find this man already. Otherwise, you would be back to square one" he said with a scowl, not particularly happy that he knew a common muggle saying.
 
She nodded, thinking about the boy. She wondered what he was doing, and if he was even in the apartment right now. It was probably unwise to let him come and go as he pleased with him only being twelve, but she was never cut out to be a guardian figure anyhow. "Yes. Turns out my wonderful father was married and had a family of three children. Isn't that wonderful?" She rolled her eyes and frowned. "So, last week Ashton Winters was dropped off at Leah Winter's daycare and left with the story that his house burned to the ground, killing his mother and two siblings."

She crossed her arms. "So, where is William now? I can answer that. Abandoning his child, as usual." She suddenly felt anger. The urge to strangle the man was strong. "I have mulled this over, and I truly believe the coward tried to kill his family."
 
Ioan listened to Leah speak. There was no mistaking the sarcasm and animosity that she held against her father and he knew that it was all with reason. When Leah suggested that the man had attempted to kill his own family, Ioan could feel his own anger grow. Now that he actually had a child of his own, Ioan couldn't imagine attempting to harm one of his own. His little boy had him wrapped around his finger and he was one of the few bright lights in Ioan's life which was so filled with fighting, dark alleyways and even death. "Son of a ---" he cursed.

Realizing that the man probably didn't have that kind of relationship with any of his children since he never remained in their lives did not ease Ioan's anger. "I hope that you give him a nice, warm welcome when you finally find him" he said coldly, not saying what he really meant because at that moment a group of ladies decided to stop at the railing in front of them, blocking their view and preventing them from being able to speak freely. "I'd be more than happy to help you to be sure he's welcomed" he murmured.
 
As the group of women walked by, rudely standing in front of them Leah bit back the spiteful remark she was about to throw at Ioan about her father. It would not be wise to draw attention to themselves, especially when anyone of these women could be involved with the Ministry. "Oh, I shall. He'll see exactly how I feel about him." She smiled. Leah imagined the smile would look strange on her, as it was not true to her eyes at all.

"It looks as if we have company." She nodded towards the women. "It was so nice of you to come out here on a hot day to talk to me."
 
Ioan scowled as the woman began to chatter loudly, their voices mixing together to sound thoroughly more annoying than the birds that flew overhead. Pulling out his wand, Ioan considered silencing them but didn't want to be bothered with all that trouble especially since he recognized one of them as being a ministry official.

Using his wand, Ioan cast the muffliato spell. With the sudden buzzing in their ears, he knew he would only have a few moments before the ladies realized what had been done to them. Pointing to the one wearing blue, he scowled again. "That one works for the ministry so be careful what you say." The ladies had figured out what he'd done quickly and undone the spell, though luckily they didn't know that he had been the one to do the spell.

Grimacing as their chatter rose once again, Ioan rolled his eyes. "It's always great to see you Leah. Too bad we have to deal with the rudeness of others" he added loudly not caring now if the women heard since he wouldn't be staying much longer.
 
Leah briefly wondered how Ioan knew that the woman worked for the ministry but she quickly remembered that he was not very known to be a death eater so it was obvious that he was probably sent to infiltrate the ministry numerous times. "Yes. They would be very suspicious of us..."
The women turned to glare at the two as Ioan spoke his mind about their blatant disregard for social conduct. They soon walked away, chattering about how the wizarding youth were beginning to act more and more like the muggle youth. "Good riddance." She said, smirking at their retreating backs.

"Ioan, I know we shouldn't speak about certain confidential information, but... if someone were to er...offend me, would I have the right to exact my revenge upon them?"
 
Ioan scowled as the ladies walked away comparing Leah and himself to muggle youth. When Leah began to ask him something though, he turned his blue-green eyes on her and listened. It was an interesting question that she posed to him. He considered his answer for a moment and then spoke, pausing to be sure that no one was around to hear.

"I think it would depend on the offense, Leah" he began with a smirk appearing on his face. "If the offender were to be your father" he drawled, "then I don't think there would be anyone except perhaps the aurors who would think it wrong of you to take your revenge." He nodded his head slowly. "If it were another circumstance...then I suppose it would depend on whether you think it is worth the risk."
 
She understood Ioan perfectly, but the doubts sunk into her mind. Was her bruised pride worth the risk of potentially killing a member of the elite Aurors? Perhaps, if she went about it wisely. "Well, he is second on the list." Leah pointed out, referring to her father. "But, the man I want to creatively harm happens to be an auror." Leah shrugged innocently. "That is why I was asking your opinion. It's risky, but I figured if I can go about it with wisdom and a clear head, then perhaps it will work."
 
Ioan turned to her intrigued to hear that her father was second on the list and not first. He wondered who could have offended Leah enough to become number one over the man who she seemingly hated. He didn't have to wait long for an answer. His eyebrow raised as she stated that it was an auror.

"Ah...you should have mentioned your target earlier. Then my answer would have been a quick one" he said with a chuckle. Turning serious again, he nodded slowly. "Yes, you will definitely have to think about how you will do it. You'll know all about the inquiries over the death of their head" he said in a hushed tone, not wanting to be overheard, "You certainly wouldn't want the whole department after you..."
 
Leah nodded with understanding. She figured that Ioan would say something similar to that. It was pushing her luck to get revenge on an Auror, and if she did something stupid then he would alert the department of their little meeting a week back. Yes, the entire Magical Law Enforcement department could be all over her if something went awry. "Thanks." She murmured, knowing that she had a lot to think about. "I need to wait, then, so no one will suspect it was me."

She had decided, then. The plan would commence, but it would be put on hold for a little while until it was absolutely flawless. "Your advice is always helpful, Ioan."
 
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