Mark hurried down the creepy street of Knockturn Ally. He didn't like it here, but he saw great opportunity here, so, he had chosen this life path. He could have done so many other things with his life. He didn't need to go down this dark and winding road. There could have been so much good he could have done. But this was the decision that he made. He glanced around suspiciously, hoping no one had noticed him acting weird. Deep breaths buddy. No one's trying to hunt you down yet. You haven't done a single thing wrong. Yet.

Mark was always told he didn't need to take this road in life. That he could have been the doctor, or the surgeon that his parents always wanted him to be. Well, as much as they knew, he wasn't hurrying down Knockturn Ally, about to sell illegal potions. To them, he was living with his girlfriend, a normal potions maker. And half of that was right. He was living with his girlfriend. The legality of the potions, well. That was debatable.

He walked into the potion store where rumored illegal potions were sold. He clutched his satchel tightly, taking a deep breath, as he pushed in the door. "Hello?" He called out. "I'm looking for a Lexus?"

Lexus was perched on top a step stool replacing potion bottles on the top shelves of the right wall of her shop The extra height drew the attention of her long bare legs and the strong muscles along them. She barely flinched when the bell above the door signalled that someone had entered, she continued stocking the shelf until she heard him call out.

Lexus slowly stepped down from the wooden stool and faced the newcomer bringing her unique appearance into full  view. Her golden and silver streaked hair ran loosely down her shoulders in soft waves over a tight fitting low cut blouse that fit over the lacy skirt she had on over the sensible yet fashionable boots. She had given up wearing open toed affairs in the shop, you never knew when a potion would spray. She fixed the stranger with her glowing golden eyes and split her blood red lips into a genuine smile showing off her sharpened teeth.

The man in front of her was gorgeous, without a doubt. In fact he was too gorgeous, at least too gorgeous to be wandering down Knockturn. The instant she laid eyes on him she could tell he didn't belong here but then he didn't reek of Ministry either, neither Red Coat or Dog Catcher who could easily be found in Knocturn these days. If he hadn't asked for her by name she would have assumed he had gotten lost while shopping in Diagon.

She placed a hand on her hip and her lips curled into a playful smile, "That depends. Were you looking for a sexy shop owner or a sexy car?"

Mark was half confused with the question and the other half still confused on what he was doing. He was a good kid. A good kid! Not some criminal! Is this what he wanted to do with his life? But he had already made the decision. He had already created the illegal potions that sat in his satchel. It was just too late.

"I'm looking for the person Lexus, not the car. Though, now that I think about it, a car would be nice." He said, joking back. He then flashed a smile, mostly for being so nervous about being arrested. "Hi, I'm Mark. Mark Hunter." He said introducing himself. "How are you?" He asked figuring that he should probably figure out if she was in a good mood before attempting to sell bad people potions. If she was in a bad mood, which it did not seem, then he would probably leave. But, she seemed perfectly content, which would mean that she may buy something.

Lexus smirked once again allowing her pointed canines to peak over her lips. At least one thing was obvious from that comment, the boy wasn't a pureblood. If he had been he wouldn't have joked so casually about owning a car. She never understood the pureblood ideals, especially when he came to shunning things that were useful. True, brooms, floo and apparition were great ways to travel but sometimes you just couldn't beat taking a leisurely drive through the country - though she supposed traffic was still a downfall.

Secondly she could tell he was green. She had already gotten the feeling that he didn't belong here but the fact that he gave him name, his full name at that, so readily was a sure sign that he didn't. She couldn't help herself, she was intrigued. Why was a young halfblood/muggleborn in her shop asking for her by name?

Her smirk turned into a grin and she rested her hand on her hip, giving him a sideways glance, "I'm just fine, Mark, Mark Hunter. The question is, are you?" She looked him over again, her glowing golden eyes settling on his satchel, "Or should I be asking what it is I can help you with?"

I'm just fine, Mark, Mark Hunter. The question is, are you?...Or should I be asking what it is I can help you with?"

Mark watched as her eyes wandered settling on his satchel which he gripped tighter. "The real question is if I can help you." He shifted his weight to the other foot, before continuing. "The word on the street is that you sell potions. Different potions." He said, leaning in slightly. "I'm a brewer as well. And I was wondering if you'd be interested in some of my wares."

He then rustled through the satchel, before withdrawing a bottle with a blue liquid. He held it up to the light. "This, is a noxious potion. I believe you are familiar. You throw it, and when the glass breaks, a deathly gas is emitted. Almost like a grenade.

Mark dove back into his bag, before withdrawing another bottle. "This is the draught of the living death. Once dranken, the drinker is reduced into a comatose state." He looked at Lexus. "Hard to cure." He returned them to his bag, before saying, "I mean, I need to get these off my hands, and I don't have others to sell them to, so, if you don't take 'em, I'm kinda not in an awesome place." He smiled nervously.

Lexus' grin turned back into a smirk as she listened to him talk. She looked at the bottles with as much interest as was necessary. The potions looked right which meant the boy knew what he was doing at least to some extent. She'd have to take them under closer inspection to guarantee they were made properly though she doubted anyone, even as green as he was, would walk into her shop and try to sell her cheap ineffective wares.

"Alright." She said simply and held out her hand for the bottles. When he passed them over she brought them over to the counter carefully uncorked them and brought out her wand. With a swish a few colourful vapours lifted out of each of the bottles. She tilted her head as she watched the vapours and turned back to Mark with a toothy grin, "well they're actually rather well made." The slight surprise in her voice was rather evident.

She corked the bottles and left them on the counter turning fully to Mark, "Normally I don't take on other brewers, everything in here," She motioned to her shop, "Is made here, by me but I can tell you're in a bit of a spot so" She shrugged and went around the counter. She opened the old fashioned register and scooped out a handful of galleons proportionate to the street value of the bottles and handed them to him.

"So were you planning on getting into the business? I gotta say luv, you don't strike as the kind of guy that does this on a regular basis."

Mark accepted the money gratefully. He placed it into his bag, with a small, "Thank you."

Lexus asked him if he was new to this. "Well, actually yes. I'm very new at this. I've been brewing the potions in my apartment, which, as you can probably believe, is not the best place to brew. Not new to brewing in general, just selling. I used to make nicer potions, but I decided this was the life for me."

He lowered his voice. "I'm in a tight spot you see. I'm generally a good kid, but now, I've tried a different road. I have a bag full of potions, but can only sell them singularly, no shop or nothing. So, I was wondering if you knew of any places that may be looking for an apprentice or just another potion maker. I could really use the work. And somewhere to brew."

Lexus raised a skeptical brow at his words. He had decided this was the life for him? He was generally a good kid but was trying a different road? It almost reminded her of the runaways she'd catch at The Lunar back when she was bartender there. They were so convinced their lives were terrible that they thrust themselves into even worse situations to try and fix it. Normally she ignored their sob stories, in the beginning she had listened but none of them had ever compared to the horror she had actually lived through and more often than not they went running back to their mommy's and daddy's. She wondered what it would take for this one to go running back home.

She considered him for a long moment. She didn't actually need any help. She was more than capable of handling her supply on her own, especially considering she was just starting out herself, business wise but there was a certain allure to his query. If she took him on she could keep an eye on him. See if his story ran true (though he stank so badly of normal she doubted it was a ruse) and hopefully convince him that this wasn't the kind of life you just 'decided' to have.

"Well I don't really need help, at least not in regards to the shop but I've got an awesome brewery downstairs that you could use if you needed. Charmed and protected, keep you from blowing up your apartment at least and I'm sure you could learn a trick or two if you hang around long enough."

She sighed and looked him straight in the eye. It was shame he was so handsome, Knockturn was going to eat him alive, "You know there's always a better way right? This isn't exactly a life one chooses. I didn't anyway," She added the last bit under breath.

Mark's face lit up. "Really? You'd- You'd actually let me brew?" He smiled brightly. Finally! A kind person in Knockturn! "That'd- that'd be great! That'd be awesome!" Mark took a deep breath. "You're, you are really, really wonderful Lexus!" It was a relief to have somewhere to brew. It really was. It meant finally that he could stop brewing at the apartment!

Lexus was different. Mark realized this. Werewolf gone wrong, he suspected. Not that it mattered to him. His cousin was a werewolf, and she wasn't any different. Still the loud, a little annoying Lexi that he had grown to love. And, she living right down the road, didn't really make their relationship any better, come when she got bored and found toilet paper. She always cleaned everything up, however.

She brought up the point about roads, and the path he took. "Yeah, I guess there is probably a better way. I was a good kid for so long, Lexus. Really. But, I don't know. I just realized, one day, that I did everything I could, and got the minimum possible. But others, others just took what they wanted. And they were fine. They had no repercussions." He shoot his head. "I didn't want to live the nice way any more. Crime seemed right." He shrugged his shoulders. "What about you? What's your story?"

This time she couldn't help the soft chuckle that came out. At least he was enthusiastic about having a place to brew but his reasons for being where he was still seemed a little light. She didn't think he was hiding anything she just felt he was disillusioned about the world. The only time there weren't repercussions were in movies or on TV, real life always caught up with you sooner or later and the later it took the worst the consequences got. She figured he was just going to have to find out the hard way. Hopefully it happened sooner for him, before he did anything stupid enough to land him a life sentence in Azkaban.

She smirked and leaned against the counter looking him over. For a moment she contemplated sugar coating things, making it seem as if she wasn't as bad off as she actually was but she had a feeling a bitter taste of reality was better suited in this case. Which meant Mark Hunter was about to get Lexus Dale unplugged. It had been a rather long time since she had told anyone her story - her real story - and she wasn't even sure if there was anyone out there that knew all the details (likely Jonas but that was mostly due to his investigative instincts rather than her confidence)

"I used to be a good kid, well a normal kid. Grew up just outside Toronto, muggle born with an older brother and sister. I'm the only witch. My parents accepted it but my brother and sister couldn't be bothered, they didn't really care what I did or what I could do. I graduated from Pinebrook Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry with honours, specializing in potion making and when I left school I traveled and ended up living with a shamanic tribe of witches in the north. I learned potions and brewing techniques I could have never learned in school, all without ever touching my wand. It was a good home for a good few years till our tribe was attacked by a pack of beasts. That far north they were worried about yeti and Wendigo, werewolves were rare."

"Most of the tribe were slaughtered and I was ravaged. I was tested for Wendigo infection but came out clean so they sent me home without a second thought that the beasts may have been something else. If my parents hadn't been muggles they may have noticed the signs leading up to the next full moon. As it was they thought I was just depressed from my injuries and being forced to live back home with my parents. There was no warning when it happened and when I came back to my senses, my parents were dead and my house was swarming with Aurors. Where I'm from werewolves are rare because they're hunted by wizards, if a were is found they're publicly executed, often skinned alive during a full moon. Being a registered werewolf is to live a half life, you become a ward of the state, monitored and treated like a second class citizen. Most hide rather than be subjected to that, hoping to avoid the raids long enough to live a normal life."

She watched his reactions closely as she spoke, "Thankfully my mom's sister had married a wizard who happened to work for the Ministry. I was given a trial and was put on probation after it came to light that I had no idea what I was and had no intention of harming anyone but I was registered. I belonged to the Ministry, they dictated where I lived, where I worked and every month an Auror came by to personally give me my wolfsbane to make sure I didn't go rogue again. For a few years I made the best of it. Then the few friends that I had made invited me on a road trip to Montreal for the Festival of Fairies. It was reckless and irresponsible and I didn't tell my handler where I was going and hadn't brewed any wolfsbane for myself. Once again I woke up covered in blood with no idea who or what I had killed. There'd be no trial this time, I'd be terminated but I wanted to live so I ran, hopped on a boat and came to England. I spent a whole year in the countryside, living in forest feeding on rabbits mostly, sometimes a deer but always making sure I wasn't near enough to anyone to do harm."

"The isolation became too much. I figured if I could just find a good supplier I could live a normal life, adopt a false identity and avoid the Aurors long enough to make it and I came really close. Found a good potioneer, got myself a job and a flat and made a few friends. Unfortunately I trusted the wrong people and when the tainted ingredients hit the market last March I brewed some bad wolfsbane and went wild in the middle of muggle London. It took three WCU agents and a hitwizard to bring me in, I spent a month in the pens facing a life sentence in Azkaban or worse, being shipped back home to be executed. Turned out my old boss was now an Auror and I made a deal with the devil to get out. I'm no longer in fear of every Auror I pass but I'm trapped with no way out and no way to get back to normal."

"Wow." He said in amazement. She had had a tough life. And she opened right up to him. He felt privileged, like he had gained her respect, or trust. "That's truly, truly a story." He felt speechless. It was sad, but he didn't want to call it sad, in fear she'd take it the wrong way. It was a hard life, but he didn't want to call her life hard. "A good story." He said, then brought his face to his palm. "I don't mean it's good what happened. I mean it's interesting, I mean, your life isn't interesting, Gah!" he shouted.

"I just am trying to say, I feel bad about your life, but I'm happy you're where you are today, and I am very uh, pleased that you trusted me with that story." He smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I'm really at a loss of words." Mark moved his feet around the floor. "So." He said, trying to think of a way to change the topic.

"Uh." He said. Mark was flustered. He didn't have the slightest way to reply. "I uh, hm." He looked around the shop. "Nice shop you have here. It's quite impressive." He stated, with a nod of his head.

Lexus took one look at his shocked and confused look and burst out laughing. She had almost missed his stumbling mess of a reply. She had clearly taken him by surprise and she hoped in a way - even if it didn't sink in right away - she had taught him a lesson about having a hard life. She wasn't the kind of 'woe is me' person, at least she didn't like to think she was (she was sure Jonas would say differently) She liked to think she had toughened up and moved on, that she was doing what she could to make the best out of what she had. Life had been hard but she had a lot of lucky breaks and she needed to be thankful for that. She didn't want to see a good kid like him end up in a worse place with no luck to save his skin.

She stood up and patted him on his shoulder, "Don't worry kid, you don't have to say anything. I didn't tell you that story looking for sympathy or pity." She smirked and glanced out the large bay windows of the shop at a hag in tattered robes shuffling by, "There's a lot of sad and interesting tales here in Knockturn but you'll find a lot of those here want to be here and they've done a lot worse than me to get here."

She motioned to the single door at the back of the shop, "If you're still interested in a place to brew, wanna take a tour?"

"There's a lot of sad and interesting tales here in Knockturn but you'll find a lot of those here want to be here and they've done a lot worse than me to get here."

Mark nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I know it must be really strange for me just to take this road. I feel helpless, though. Like no one is going to hire me. Like I am just going to die on the streets hungry. And I've come to the conclusion that if I am about to die on the streets poor and hungry, I'd like to be doing something that I love, and something that makes me feel good. It feels good to be a bad kid. I feel like I bring just a little smile, or wave, or just a tad of positivity to a bleak and negative part of the world, then maybe, just maybe I can be happy when I die."

"If you're still interested in a place to brew, wanna take a tour?"

Mark nodded. "Still very interested, I can assure you! I'd love one, thanks."

Lexus gave a little appreciative growl when he mentioned he liked being bad, despite herself and led him to the back of the store to the only door. The kid was handsome but she didn't need to be giving him (or the wolf for that matter) any ideas. Especially if he was going to be working in her shop even on a temporary basis. She opened the door to reveal a torch lit corridor with a set of stairs going up and a set going down.

"Upstairs goes to my apartment. Don't go up there unless I say you can."

Instead she lead him down to the cellar. The cellar was large and expansive, well lit with several torches hanging on the wall. The stone walls themselves were covered in shelves that were filled with bottled potions that had longer shelve lives and various ingredients that could put an Apothecary to shame. In the middle were three large pots over a glowing fire with bubbling potions inside.

"This is where I brew. It's protected, charmed and well ventilated. The three pots there are the major cauldrons but I also have a few smaller ones ready for any special requests, you can use any of them that aren't being used." She turned to him, "What do you think?"

Mark stood there, speechless. It was wonderful. Beautiful even. An actual place to brew. It was like wonderland. He looked at her, with a loss of words. "It's uh, well, um, amazing, uh, wonderful, no, it's uh," His ears glowed red. "I'm fumbling over my words again. It's incredible. Like nothing I've ever seen."

He smiled meekly, as he looked at his feet. "It really is spectacular. I mean, I've never seen anything like it." A chuckle escaped his mouth. "I can tell you, I have no problem with boundaries. Trust me. I just, well, I'm so thankful that you are letting me brew here! It's extraordinary!"