[9:44 PM]

The front right wheel of the wooden book cart wobbled slightly, making the task of restocking the bookshelves more dificult than it had to be.  Zavier kept having to pull it to the right to prevent pushing it into the shelf on his left, a mistake that he'd made several times in the past, which normally resulted in one hell of a mess afterwards.  He was a mere clerk, not a member of the Obscurus's matinence.  Nonetheless, those times he'd caused an entire rack of books to fall to the floor, he'd been the one in charge of putting them all back where they belonged.

So, he remained extra cautious as he squeezed past the cart to place two of the books in the basket back in their designated places on the shelf.  He had only one book to put back now.  Leatherbound and quite thick, he pulled it out of the basket and read the front cover.

The Dark Arts, A History by Roland Buckshire.  He knew for a fact that Buckshire was another wizard who too was intrigued by anything and everything relating to Dark magic.  Instead of putting it back on the shelf, he tucked it under his arm and made his way back to the front of the store with the cart.  Putting it behind counter, he set the book down onto the surface of the counter and opened it up to the first couple of pages. 

After a few minutes, he became so engrossed in what he was reading that he didn't even hear the bell above the front entrance jingle as the door was pushed open and a customer walked in...

((Outfit to come once polyvore decides to work))

Obscurus Books was nearly empty, and Claudia wasn’t surprised as it was nearly ten o’clock at night.  Normally she would have gone to Flourish and Blotts, put they had closed an hour earlier and she had found herself unwilling to wait until morning.  She noticed a clerk behind the counter, completely unaware of her presence.  A little smirk crossed her face as she found herself suddenly in the mood to have a bit of fun with the unsuspecting man.

Sauntering over to the counter, she noted the title printed on the top of the pages of the book, The Dark Arts, A History.  Her smirk only grew as she leaned on the counter directly across from him.  This could be more fun then she had originally indented and she looked ahead where his eyes would be if he raised his head as he spoke.

“You shouldn’t believe everything you read,” she said.  “I have it on good authority Buckshire drinks heavily while doing his research.  Not that I don’t admire a man who can hold his liquor.”

She could barely make out his features that were hidden a bit by his dark hair.  She could tell he was tall though, and in relatively good shape.  She guessed him to be older then her, but she wouldn’t be able to tell for sure until he looked up and met her eyes.

The woman's footsteps was what alerted him to her presence, so when approached the counter and spoke for the first time, he wasn't caught completely off guard by the sudden intrusion.  He picked his head up and met her eyes, which were obviously younger than his own.  She had to be in her mid- to late-twenties, he imagined.  He wondered what her business was in a bookstore this late at night.  Only time would tell, he supposed.  He stood up straight and closed his book, stashing it underneath the counter for later use.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear, miss," Zavier retorted softly, his eyes narrowing.  "What is your business here?  Book?  Give me the title and the author's name, and I may be able to find it for you."

He gazed at her, waiting for a response.  He'd only just met her and it was too soon to tell if she was here to do business or simply cause trouble, so he kept the iciness out of not only his voice, but his eyes as well.
 

Outfit


“Touché,” she replied, straightening her stance as well.

 

She could see his features more clearly now, and she’d guess him to be in his late thirties or early forties.  It had been her experience that men of the slightly older variety were either putty in her hands from the instant she met them, or incredibly tough to crack.  It seemed this man would be the latter of the two.

 

"Well, perhaps you can help me with the title and author.  I read a review recently of a new book that was published on Romani magic.  It was by a researcher who claims to have had an inside source...I don't remember her name though or the name of the book."

Exploring the history of her ancestors was a pet project of hers and had been since graduation.  Few knew that and she tended to like to keep it that way.  Her ancestors had not always been treated kindly, and she was sure there were many still who carried their prejudices and grudges against the group.

Zavier's Apparel

"Meredith Luglas's Romanian Magicka, A History?" he queried in a nonchalant tone, stepping out from behind the counter.  "We should have it in stock."

The book, unbeknownst to those who'd never read it contained several chapters that were based around Romanic Dark magic.  Not only was he interested with core Dark Arts, but recently, he'd taken up a liking to other cultural views and practices on the subject.  It made for an interesting read, that was for certain.

He stepped past the woman, catching whiff of the flowery perfume she was wearing.  She was wearing just enough of the stuff to make it noticabe to any passerbyer, but at the same time, it wasn't overwhelming.  A grin flickered across his face that lasted only a second, and was gone as quickly as it had come.  He walked towards the shelves and began to trail his fingers along the spines, reading each title he skimmed over in a hushed tone.

 “I believe that was it,” Claudia said, turning slightly as he stepped passed her.

She caught a hint of a grin as he stepped by, and a smirk played at the corner of her lips.  She took the opportunity as he moved away from her towards the shelves to take in more of his appearance.  He was dressed in dark clothes and they seemed to suite his personality.  He wasn’t exactly an easy man to read, and she was intrigued.

“Have you read it?” she asked causally, leaning against the end of the shelf nearest him slightly.  The action caused the natural curve of her hip to be more pronounced, and she crossed her arms over her chest allowing him a better view despite the already revealing corset.  He might be tough to read by he was a man none the less.

“I’ve found certain authors can be quite biased in their writing on the subject,” she continued.  “My hope is Ms. Luglas might not fall into that category.”

“I have, as a matter of fact,” he replied.  “Interesting read, to say the least.  Luglas’s views may be a bit eccentric at times, though she’s an interesting character nonetheless.”

He glanced towards her as he spoke.  Her actions may have been innocent enough, though that didn’t stop his wandering eyes from... well, wandering.  He held her gaze for a brief moment as his finger rested on the spine of one of the books on the shelf, but he averted his eyes and went on to search for the title she was after. 

“Ah, here it is,” he spoke shortly after turning back to the shelf.  He crouched to get to the lowest one and pulled out a thick, hardcover book.  It had clearly been written many years before; some of the pages were yellowed, but all in all, it was still in good shape.  Not yet moving from where he was crouched, he opened it up and fanned through a couple of the pages.

“Her views on Dark Magic are quite interesting,” he said, looking from the book and back up at the woman.  “She claims that there are not only three, but several ‘Unforgivable Curses’ that exist in our world, but have never been used.”

He shrugged.  He wasn’t sure if that was true or not, but some of the preaching that she provided the reader with through her writing was an interesting read by itself.

She felt his eyes wander over her more then she saw it and the smirk grew slightly as he turned his attention back to the shelves.  Perhaps he wasn't as hard to read as she initially thought.  She hadn't cracked him completely though, and she was pretty sure he would still be a bit of a challenge.

He was crouching before one of the book shelves as he spoke and pulled out a book.  He looked back over at her as he mentioned the author's views on dark magic and noticed that he had opened the book.  Slowly she made her way towards him, crouching next to him to take a look at the page.  Her movements were deliberate, meant to hold his attention.  She was level with his eyes again close enough that he would certainly be able to smell the perfume again that lingered on her skin.

"Fascinating," she said, tucking her long hair behind her ear as she pretended to study the page.  "You seem to be quite familiar with the topic, Mr....."  She trailed off waiting to see if he would provide her with a name.

“It is,” he said, watching her as she walked up to him and crouched down as well.  “It’s quite interesting.

“You’re welcome to use my first name,” he said.  “Zavier.  And might I ask you the same question, Miss...”

He too waited to see if she’d give him her name.  It was clear from the moment she crouched next to him that she was indeed interested in more than Meredith Luglas’s book.  He matched her gaze with his own, which was as unwavering, set and confident as hers.

He wondered now just how many men she'd attempted to seduce like this.  He was fairly sure that he wasn't the only one.  The art of seduction, or what he'd learned about it in a work of fiction that he'd read in the past, wasn't as easily learnt as it was carried out.  This woman had probably been with more men than she could - or cared to - remember.

Some people would find that odd or even repulsive.  She would soon find out, though, that he wasn't just 'some people'.  When their eyes met for what seemed like the twentieth time that evening, he did something that he had for so long put off on doing.

He smiled.  It was faint, but coming from Zavier Blackstone, a smile or a half-grin was quite difficult to obtain.

When Zavier smiled Claudia found herself caught a bit off guard.  The smirk she had been wearing became a slight smile of her own and for the briefest moment Claudia Vespucciano, perhaps the biggest tease in all of London lost her nerve.  It was strange, it had been years since she had felt that way.

However, it was only a moment, and it wasn't long before she was back on the hunt again.  She wasn't sure where this was going, but she was enjoying the game.  After all, that was the part she enjoyed, not what might or might not happen because of it.  It was the art of the tease that compelled her to act the way she did.

"Claudia," she said.  If he wasn't going to be forthcoming with more then a first name neither would she.  She allowed herself to wobble slightly, knowing it would be believable in her high heels and precarious position.  Reaching out she touched his arm, steadying herself again as she tested his reaction.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Claudia," he said, seemingly oblivious to how awkward it was for him to say something like that.  But there was something about her... something that he couldn't place his finger on that made him feel more at ease.  He was sure that his day had something to do with it - it was one of the best he'd had in a while; not only had Obscurus received more customers and sales than usual, but he'd been given the entire following week off.

When she reached forward and touched his arm, he looked down at her hand then back up at her, meeting her gaze.  She was wobbling a bit, though from what he'd seen and witnessed of her so far, he doubted that her actions were non-deliberate.  She was clearly making a series of seductive approaches on him, all of which he'd been aware of up to this point.  He wasn't clueless, but at the same time, he wasn't some sort of perverse animal.  She was enjoying teasing him like this, he could tell.  He resisted the urge to chortle, and instead, allowed another flitter of a smile to cross his face.

"A bit difficult to be crouching like this in heels, is it?" he asked her, placing his hand over her own as it rested on his arm.  Climbing to his feet, he helped her to her own as well.

"Usually my balance is a bit better then that," she replied, allowing him to guide her back into a standing position.  His hand was on hers as they stood and she looked at it a moment, smiling slightly at him.  It wasn't a shy smile that a woman with less experience might give a man, it was confident and a bit sly as if darling him to not pull his hand away from hers.

"It's getting late," she continued after a moment, "I should probably pay for the book so you can close up for the night."

She didn't mention leaving just yet, simply that she intended to purchase the book.  After all, she was hoping to prolong this just a bit as she seemed to have finally truly captured his attention.  Claudia, however was never one to really make the first move as having the man do so was the ultimate sign that her little games worked.  She was sure it was only a matter of time with Zavier.

"It is, actually," he said, raising his opposite wrist under his nose to check his timepiece.  It was a little after ten o'clock, well past closing time for Obscurus.  Instead of simply walking over to the door to lock it, he unholstered his wand, aimed it at the lock, and cast a non-verbal spell towards it that caused both the deadbolt and knob lock to move into place.

"Before you leave, miss Claudia, would you care for a drink?" he asked as he lead her towards the counter to collect the money for her book.  Once it had been paid for, he set the money in the till and shut it closed once more. 

"The drink, of course, is on the house," he added, giving her a teasing half-grin. 

Minutes later, the two of them were in Obscurus's backroom, sitting down to a bottle of fire whiskey...

((OOC Note: Tracey gave me the O.K. to god mod her a bit. ))

She smirked again when he cast the spell to lock the deadbolt of the door behind her.  Clearly he had no intention of allowing her to leave, and to Claudia this seemed the beginning of him making the first move.  She followed him back to the counter, handing over the money for the book as he asked if she would stay for a drink.

"Please, just Claudia is fine," she said smoothly.  "And I would love a drink."

He led her to the back room, and she settled herself no a small sofa that was back there as he went about fetching the fire whiskey.  She watched him as he moved, her eyes traveling over his body again.  She was suddenly curious about him...now that they seemed to be heading down the path she wished to travel for the evening part of her wanted to know more.

"I worked in a place like this one summer in Italy," she told him, taking in the stacks of books being stored there.  "I think that when someone opens a bookstore they must have a standard rule they follow for setting up the back room."

Popping open a bottle of fire whiskey, another flick of his wand brought two wine glasses down from one of the cupboards.  They hovered in mid-air, allowing him to pour some of the clear-colored liquid into each one.  Replacing the cork, he carried both glasses over to the sofa, handing one of the glasses to her while keeping the other for himself.

“I wouldn’t know,” he admitted slowly.  “Obscurus is run by one of my mates.  I’m the ‘co-owner’, I guess you could say.  But, I did help organize this room.  It wasn’t all too difficult; my wand did most of the work.”

A faint half-smile crossed his lips as he took a small sip of the fire whiskey, and almost immediately, he could feel its quite literal ‘after-effects’.  Unlike any other drink in the Wizarding world, it possessed a certain type of tasteful sensation that burned both the tongue and throat when drank.  Despite the slightly unpleasant intake, though, it was his preferred alcoholic beverage of choice.