1994-07-11: Explosive Entrances

Participants:

Alistaire_icon.gif Siobhan_icon.gif Padfoot_icon.gif

Scene Title Explosive Entrances
Synopsis A dog, a girl and a sandwich, interrupted.
Date July 11, 1994
Watch For Heart attacks waiting to happen, bungling fancies
Chronology N/A
Logger The Lovable Stray

Hogsmeade - High Street

This is High Street, the main thoroughfare of Hogsmeade, lined to either side with interesting shops. The post office is to one side, near Gladrags Wizardwear, with all manner of owls waiting patiently on their perches outside and hundreds more within. A few storefronts down from the post office is Zonko's Joke Shop. Clouds of colored smoke billow forth from its doors with regularity, occasionally accompanied by loud explosions, and loads of laughter. On the other side of the road is a tiny inn with a wooden sign hung over its entry that reads "Three Broomsticks". A windows in the inn's front show's a crowded room with lots of tables. In addition to all the stores, several roads converge here. Two of them look well-traveled, signs proclaiming them to lead to Hogsmeade Station or towards the wrought iron gates of Hogwarts. Up ahead, however, one narrow lane doesn't seem to get much use, grass sprouting in the middle of its path. Farther still, down past Dervish and Banges, another winding track leads off into the wild countryside surrounding the village, towards the rocky foothills of the mountain in whose shadow Hogsmeade lies.


Late mornings always seem lovely in theory. In actuality, however, they can be quite a nuisance. For example, see that pretty little blonde over there? She just apparated in. Poor thing looks like she's pointless, wandering about like that. Her hair is plaited neatly down the sides of her head, trailing to two braids that lay over her shoulders. That, added to her painstaking efforts to appear casual, speak clearly of someone with Nothing To Do today. Odd, though, that she chooses to wander Hogsmeade, rather than her usual haunt of Diagon.

Odd indeed, to see student aged witches and wizards in Hogsmeade during the summer holiday. Not that the large black dog can comment on the oddity, or possibly recognize that it's a bit out of season, right? Having swiped a discarded paper, the dog is trotting along High Street with it in his mouth, easy as you please.

Now, even in the magical world, there are certain sights one just never expects to see. One of those - at least for Siobhan - is bouncing towards her, easy as he pleases. Brown eyes pass over the dog once before jerking back over him for a second look. How odd… Still, he is rather cute for a stray. As she sits along the waist-line wall surrounding the courtyard of one of the shops, she pulls a sandwich from her pocket and unwraps it from its foil. "Hey, dog," she calls softly as he draws near. "You gonna read that?"

As a matter of fact, the dog does plan on reading that paper later! Ears perking up at the sound of the voice, the dog glances in Siobhan's direction as she speaks up. Huh. Oh well! Best be playing the part he's made for himself. Still carrying the paper, it's a toy, no really, he pads cautiously in the young woman's direction.

Noting the caution, Siobhan smiles at the black mutt and tears off a corner of her sandwich. "I suppose you must, then. It can't taste very good." Extending the hand that holds the sundered piece of her sandwich, she offers it thus. "Hungry?"

Ears still perked, the dog's pale eyes seem interested in the sandwich as they follow the hand holding it. The paper is spat out, looking worse for wear, maybe he was playing with it. Who knows. The hand and the sandwich offering are sniffed at, before snarfing up the morsel. Dogs eat anything, right?

"Don't worry, it's chicken." A bit late to be reassuring a dog about something he's already eating, but then again, the words are said with the inflection of someone talking more to themselves than anything. With a simple motion of her wrist, Siobhan takes a bite from the other end of the sandwich and then tears off another piece. That piece is then offered to the dog, who she continues to look at thoughtfully. "You can't live around here, now can you?" With slow motions - so as not to startle the dog - she reaches out the hand that's fed him to rub just behind his ears, surreptitiously checking for a collar.

Chicken, beef, whatever. It doesn't matter to someone who's been eating pretty much whatever he can scrounge. Having this form helps immensely of course. The second offering of sandwich is not turned down. If it's not meant for eating, why is it held out? The dog tolerates the ear rubbing, and is in fact not wearing a collar.

The sound of feet pelting down the street can be heard in the distance, and the clatter of something being knocked over. The clanging of what must be large milk cans can then be heard next and the startled cackle of a couple of chickens. Behind Honeydukes, a few feathers spritz out into the street as there is a rather large crash and a puff of dust billowing out of whatever, and then a tall man in a long coat can be seen running toward the Three Broomsticks, hard on the heels of a rather short wizard who's cackling up a storm and waving his wand, randomly hexing things into the path behind him to trip up the Auror giving chase. Alistaire leaps over the barrels flung in his path without missing a beat and shouts, "Get down!" to a familiar student feeding a black dog before aiming his wand at the cackling wizard and crying, "Stupefy!" The jet of red light leaps from the sapphire wandtip and arcs across the open space between and himself and his quarry. The short wizard gets it right in the face as he turns toward the Auror chasing him and goes down in a spectacular heap of limbs and straggly hair. Alistaire skids to a halt abruptly and grins for a moment, before going to collect his latest capture.

The noises - both the screeches of her sandwich ingrediant pre-mortem and the sounds of things bowled over and spells cast willy-nilly - alert Siobhan to several possibilities. Before she has time to run a list of what would be /likely/ to so thoroughly destroy Hogsmeade's main street, the man himself appears, shouting for her to duck. Expecting an explosion of his more usual magnitude, Siobhan instantly obeys, throwing herself down over the mutt as best she can and praying he doesn't struggle too much. When no loud sound or rush of heated wind signifies the explosion has been effected, the young Slytherin lifts her head only to see Alistaire grinning goofily. She pushes to her feet and brushes herself off, frowning at the sandwich now inedible as it lies in the dirt. "Well /that/ was unexpected."

How do you give a person (or dog) a heart attack? This is how. The commotion stirring behind Honeydukes has the dog on full alert, even his fur standing on end. Oh bugger all, how in the world.. who told.. Tonks better not have spilled his secret! Growling menacingly, teeth bared, the dog takes off, ducking for cover from flying spells, at first glance, thought for himself. Safely ducked behind some dustbins, the dog watches the scene, taking a few moments to calm down and realize that the Alistaire was not after him, but someone else.

Alistaire incarcerates his quarry with the usual Auror charm for such things, confiscating the wizard's wand and efficiently bundling him up before relaxing and looking around, as if noting for the first time exactly where he is and who's around and such. "Oh, hello there!" he calls to Siobhan as he levitates the stunned wizard along the street, glancing briefly toward the dustbins that Sirius bolted for, but not giving the dog all that much mind. "Sorry about all of this," he adds almost gaily, still exhilerated from the run and the adrenaline and his successful capture, as if Siobhan is the only person who was put out by the end of the chase. "Luckily, this one never passed his Apparation test, else I'd've had a harder time of it. How're you?" Babbling cheerfully as a couple of other lesser members of the department show up to take the limp wizard off his hands.

As the other members of Alistaire's department show up to collect the pesky old wizard, Siobhan makes a point of looking around them for something. "Where's the Brigadier? I bet she'll want your arse for this one." But she can't repress that cheeky grin. One look at her skinned palms, however, has it gone in an instant. "The dog!" and with that realization, she's darting away, sweeping that sandwich from the ground and holding it out as she moves quickly through the Alistaire-created obstacle course High Street has become. Sio's nose wrinkles in worry and concern. "Come on, dog. He's done, I promise. Please don't be dead… I've the rest of the sandwich for you…"

Teeth still bared, fur on end, Padfoot stays crouched behind the dustbins. Looking for all the world like a spooked animal. It's hard for him to hide properly behind the dustbins due to his size, but he's not coming out, and definitely not in the mood to play the hungry stray any longer.

"I'm sure she'll send me yet another Howler," Alistaire replies laconically as he glances at Sio's skinned palms for just a second, his attempt to grab them and give them a proper examination and treatment thwarted by her concern for the black dog he ran past earlier. "But I didn't even blow up a shop or really damage anything," he adds, flicking his gaze to the debris-strewn path and the scowling shopkeepers muttering about the Ministry and its buffoonish employees. Then, he realizes Siobhan is paying particular attention to this dog and he peers curiously toward the dustbins once more, his brow furrowing. "I won't hurt you," he says quite seriously, his whole mood shifting, wand back in his coat pocket, his voice modulated for soothing a savage beast.

Peering around the dustbins, Siobhan quickly drops to her knees, having found her stray. "He won't, really," she seconds Alistaire's statement, seeming to expect that he'll be right there with her without even looking. She wobbles a little and catches herself on her palms, only to hiss in pain as the sensitive skin makes contact with the rough ground. Those stares and mutterings go right over her head. People will be people and gossip will never be stopped, so what's the point in paying heed? "I have something for you, by the way," she offers up to her friend, glancing up at him before returning her attention to the dog crouched and angry behind the bins.

Padfoot remains unamused by all of this. Yet, he's forcing himself to calm down. Somewhat. Act more like a dog, and not a freaked out fugitive, ready to give himself away by doing something stupid and reckless. Hackles still raised, he's at least no longer growling or baring teeth. Alistaire, having been identified as a Ministry operative, is snubbed. Thoroughly. The dog sort of scoots himself towards Siobhan.

Alistaire is used to getting snubbed by people and critters all day long. No respect for someone trying to do their job and save the world. "That can wait," he says to his friend, not doing anything to prove his goodness to Sirius. The dog can either find out later or never forgive him, and it doesn't seem to bother him. He's used to it. "You've gotten hurt. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." And he seems quite genuine to a stranger for that, and he pulls out his wand, this time much more slowly… even while he doesn't /appear/ to be showing any consideration for the dog, he's still acting as if he's aware the other would freak at the sudden whipping out of a wand, and murmurs a first-aid spell to help Siobhan's injury. It's not as good as a medi-wizard, but it's suitable enough for the situation. Then, the first aid complete, he puts the wand away, again with the don't spook the critter slowness of motion.

"What? Oh, my hands? It's nothin', Ali. Really." Still, she swivels her weight so she sits cross-legged instead of on her knees and offers him her hands. "Thanks," she murmurs quietly, looking up so that brown eyes meet brown. "But it wasn't your fault." This seems to be a common theme with them. As the dog scoots closer, she reaches out slowly to lay her hand on his withers, scritching absently in the manner of someone familiar with dogs and their 'happy spots'. She doesn't look away from Alistaire, but her entire face softens and brightens as a teasing smile spreads across it. "We really need to stop meetin' like this, yeah?"

Padfoot's pale eyes follow Alistaire's motions, and while he's still on edge, he's calming down further. He lets Siobhan get away with the petting. Just acting like the dog he's playing as.

Alistaire takes Siobhan's hands and examines them critically, palm up, just making sure that the healing spell is doing its thing, you see, crouching easily in front of her. "I wouldn't say /need to/," he replies equally absently as her scritches of the dog. "But with you going back to Hogwarts, they'll have to simply because I have no business there unless it's attacked, and no one's stupid enough to attack Hogwarts now, not with Dumbledore still in power there." And then, he holds a hand out to Sirius slowly, letting him sniff, but making no attempt to scritch. "I mean you no harm," he says directly to the dog. It's impossible to tell if he /knows/ or if he's simply showing surprising courtesy to a mere dog.

Siobhan's smile softens as Alistaire does his thorough examination, and when he's finished, she leaves one hand in his - almost without even thinking about it. It just seems to fit; at least to her. "I only have one more year there," she reminds him softly. Her face turns stern then, though her eyes still smile. "And you'd better not get yourself killed before I get out. Who would I drag under tables then?" The dog gets a few more pets, but then her hand just rests along his back. "Life would be dreadfully lacking in excitement, that's for sure." These words are light, but there's a weight to them that seems to drag them down.

Padfoot's ears perk as he tries to not look /too/ interested in the adult and student conversation. He continues to let Siobhan give scritchies as he listens, and finally gives the obligatory sniff to Alistaire's hand. Huh. Well. The things you hear as an animal. Alistaire, you devil, you.

There are times to be cheerfully oblivious to someone's behavior, and there are times when oblivion would be desired more desperately than anything… and right now, Alistaire's suddenly become aware of Siobhan's tone of voice and the suggestion of words. She wants… more than he can give her, and abruptly, he rises to his feet, looking around and almost casually restoring some of the mess his capture of the now-removed short wizard with a few practiced flicks of his wand. Troubled, he doesn't look down at Siobhan. "Death doesn't frighten me," he says in a voice deep with mystery and remembered sorrow. "And excitement can be found no matter what, if you know where to look."

Something she's said or done has done it now… Watching him with an expression close to abject horror, Siobhan has no words. And with him in full retreat, she hasn't even a touch to offer. "I…" He won't even look at her and Sio realizes that neither her words nor her touch can help at this point, being that it's her own fault he's retreating. That knowledge seems to make her very small, and so it is in silence that she stands and turns and leaves, feeling somehow as if she's just made a terrible mistake, but without the faintest idea of just /what/ she did. She, unlike Alistair, does look back. Once. Then, she's gone, apparated somewhere Not Here.

Uhhuh Alistaire.. and Sirius isn't scared witless of Dementors. Not frightened of death, his big paw. The look he gives to Alistaire seems to say, 'You moron,' as Siobhan gets up. Padfoot scratches his ear with a hind paw before getting up and trotting off.'

It's not until both girl and dog have made their way away from him that Alistaire turns around and regards the places they'd last held in his line of sight. His face is a mask of loneliness as he completes the chase-scene cleanup and he finally sighs softly and Apparates somewhere else, anywhere else.


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