1995-03-11: How To Win Friends

Participants:

Jilly_icon.gif Sirius_icon.gif

Scene Title How To Win Friends
Synopsis How to win friends, only not so much.
Location Hogsmeade - Post Office
Date Mar 11, 1995
Watch For Oppugno and Aguamenti
Logger Very Bad Dog

Back in the post office, Jilly is sitting down behind the counter. It's a rather slow day for her, so mostly she's just sketching on scrap pieces of parchment and idly petting one of the owls that has hopped off it's perch and cuddled up close to her on the counter. When there's a slow time, she's quite lax about keeping the owls in their cages.

Never one to let well enough alone, particularly when bored, Black is back again in Hogsmeade. Seemingly, he's back again, doing nothing, but that's part of the plan, right? No? Okay, so maybe there is no plan, he could just be loafing rather than sniffing out clues. As well as being annoying. He has no reason to be in the post office, nothing to send, no post to receive. He doesn't linger in the doorway when he walks in, but heads straight up to the counter.

Whatever the clues, whenever Sirius Black walks in it would be hard to mistake the one she's giving him. As in: get out. When the door jingles to let in a new customer, Jilly's face lights up with a smile that quickly ices out to a cold stare when she sees who it is. This is the post and a government post, so she's not allowed to toss him out on his ear simply by being there, but it's easy to tell that she'd like to. The owl next to her even puffs up his feathers, sensing the post mistress' tension. "May I help you?" Her tone is deadpanned, and not at all welcoming.

Sirius chuckles at the owl puffing up in equal annoyance to Jilly's. He casually leans up against the counter, "That depends Miss Gale." Some of the casual air he came in with disappears as he takes on a more serious expression and tone, "Is your leg still bothering you?" Don't ask why, but he's taken a bit of a soft spot to this woman hell bent on disliking him. He's not even able to rationalize it himself, other than it's fun to irritate her.

While some may enjoy Sirius' devil-may-care attitude, Jilly finds it annoying at the moment. Especially when she's unable to do much but stare at him and glare. "That is none of your concern. And nothing that I could help you with at the post office. Now, if you have business with the post then I suggest you make it. Otherwise, good day to you."

"So I take it yes, it is bothering you and no you have not had it seen to." Sirius scowls at the stubborn postmistress and pushes himself to standing fully upright. "I've seen curses that fester, worsen and spread over time. Do you want to have to have the healers at St. Mungo's take it? Do you want to slowly die from some dark curse you were too proud to have looked at? Those Death Eaters who were here, they don't play about and cast childish curses."

"No, you may take it as it's 'none of your business'." Jilly glares back at Sirius. He was cleared of murder charges, right? So, then there's no chance he would risk trying to harm an innocent post office worker for arguing with him. "I wasn't on High Street when the attacks happened. If it was serious, I'd be dead by now. It's a minor scrap and I've been tending to it." Which, unluckily, gave away the fact that it's still there. Not flinching at that minor setback, she simply forged ahead to keep it on a more business-like manner. "Is there something you'd like to post?"

Sirius gives Jilly a resolute expression.. just moments before he leaps bodily over the counter so that he can better advance on the witch. "And what if it's a curse that kills slowly? Spreading through the body a little bit at a time? It's idiotic to not have it properly seen to. I bet you've never been in so much as a proper duel before."

From outside the doorway, a screech may be heard on High Street coming from the direction of the Post Office. Not the quickest on the draw, Jilly, however, pulls out her wand and points it menacingly at Sirius when he makes his leap over the counter. The owls flutter and twitter, causing a ruckus in their cages. The small owl on the counter lifts into the air to roost in the rafters, hooting anxiously. Eyes wide with a sort of fear, she just stares at Sirius and keeps her wand aimed in Sirius' direction. "That. Is quite enough of your theatrics. What does it matter to you? It'd be just as easy for me to have a heart attack and die from your actions." As for the proper duel, she doesn't even answer that. Of course she hasn't.

Sirius merely looks at the wand aimed his way. He's betting half his Gringotts Vault that he could disarm her and he hasn't even drawn his own wand yet! "Maybe I shouldn't care, Merlin knows I've got enough going on right now. But I'll be damned if I can figure out why you're too proud to just /see/ a healer. I think it's quite stupid to just let it worsen. You've probably never tended to a serious curse before. Probably only minor school aged jinxes and hexes." He doesn't invade personal space yet, but the way he's looking at Jilly? He's possibly pondering the quickest way to subdue her so that he can get a look himself. Only that's highly improper behavior. (As was hopping the counter.)

As far as Jilly's concerned, they've already passed the point of improper behavior. "Then why do you?" Her voice is accusatory. "It's /nothing/." It just hurts when she walks sometimes. Same things happen with bruises and scraps. It hurts, it heals, life goes on. She refuses to think that this could be something serious. Possibly because that would make the whole Death Eater problem real. "And how would you know? Just because you followed me around as a dog and let me feed you doesn't mean you know me, Mr. Black." It's true, he'd could easily disarm her, she's not wired for true fighting or survival techniques as he is. But, she certainly would put up a fight.

"Perhaps that's part of it, but mostly, you did stand up at my trial. There could have been a way for you not to testify." Jilly's testimony was just a small sliver of the puzzle. Sirius just doesn't see it that way. "I don't pretend to know you." Ha. Bumps and bruises and scrapes. Those would have gotten better by now. His voice then lowers and becomes incredibly polite. "Please. Won't you have a seat and we'll get this tended to? There's no need for you to continue about in discomfort. Hold onto your wand if you like." In a way this is a bit of a fun game, her vehement and immediate dislike. The challenge of it all.

It may be a game to Sirius, but it's not to Jilly. "So you say, but you think you know what I've done in the past. What I can and can't do. There wasn't a way to get out of it; I was summoned and I had to be there. So don't think you have to try and fix my leg to pay me back." As far as she's concerned nothing is owed, unless she thought he'd leave her alone as repayment. The last thing she believes, however, is his politeness. "Don't think you can fool me with your 'I can sit and stay' attitude. Whatever there's a need for or not is my concern, not yours." Glaring at him, she casts, "Aguamenti!" in an attempt to dissuade him from coming any further. It's like spraying a dog with water when he's been bad.

Sirius is… thusly… soaked..

Instead of getting angry, whipping out his wand and getting even, Black just laughs. A roaring sort of laugh from deep within. When he does pull out his wand, it's to dry himself off and he's /still/ laughing. The nerve! "Miss Gale, you are something else," he says, chuckling and shaking his head. "You would think that I had just asked after you for a cuppa, and after that? I've half a mind to ask after you." He just might dare. The lady doth protest too much. "Come now, let's get this taken care of and the sooner I'll leave you be. If you like, I could call in an Auror. I'm sure Tonks would be quite happy to assist. I think the two of you are in similar age groups, you can't have missed her at school. Or about the village. Usually has pink hair."

Jilly's not even sure what it was that made her use the water charm on Sirius. It just seemed to make sense. And hopefully dissuade him from coming any closer to her. When he pulls out his own wand, she tenses, but he does nothing but dry himself off. "My response to you asking me for a cuppa would not be limited to dousing you with water." And she would certainly not take kindly to being asked after. "I'll take care of it myself, thank you. I need no help about it and I can call an Auror myself. In fact, I've got an entire post office at my disposal to do just that."

"So you're fine with letting this get worse rather than injuring your pride? Fine. Have it your way then." Sirius still seems amused, but the annoyance is coming back. "I've never been one to be forceful with the ladies." On the contrary, way back when, well, that's like a lifetime ago. He looks at Jilly, contemplating a few pros and cons. There's nothing really to lose, and nothing to gain, other than making sure this silly witch isn't slowly killing herself. Wand still out, it's given a whip, "Petrificus totalus!" Then in a rueful tone, "Yet there's a first time for everything."

Much like Sirius gathered, Jilly has never been in a proper dueling match and has never really dealt with the speed and accuracy that desperation has afforded Sirius. Before she can counter, the postal witch is frozen in her sitting pose, having been in motion in a failed attempt to counteract the spell, her forward momentum causes her to fall forwards off her chair. It's a strange position to be stuck in. And if it's possible, she is staring daggers at Sirius. One thing is for certain, she is certainly not happy with these events.

"I didn't want it to go this way, but as you can tell.. I'm determined to not see you in unnecessary pain. It's rather silly of you and idiotic to refuse treatment." Sirius should have just stomped off and let her be, but there's something just annoying about the way Jilly is blase towards the injury. "Sorry you crashed to the floor, but you could have been a bit more cooperative." All the same, he doesn't lay a hand on her at all, instead, uses his wand to try and detect what sort of jinx or curse she was hit with. That would be nice to determine without actually /looking/. "Dislike me all you wish, I won't even expect a thank you.. and yes, this is a slow acting one it seems.. unless I were inclined towards getting a more hands on look at this. You would like that even less, and I'm certain you're coming up with all sorts of creative things to call me." Dammit, the man is /smiling/. Mad this one is, clearly. There's a wave of the wand, a bit of muttering, and, "Ah, I think I got it. You should have some marked improvement." If not, he's sending Andromeda after Jilly. He then stands up, then exits from behind the counter in a proper manner.. and just /leaves/ her on the floor. "Good afternoon to you." About to walk out the door, he aims his wand and, "Finite." Smart move, not letting her up until he's able to flee. And flee he does. In a strategic retreat.

There is not much that Jilly can retort to Sirius. She's paralyzed completely and totally. Stupid magic. As he talks to her and smiles at her with that smug grin, she plots her revenge and the retribution that she dish out. It will be sweet and merciless. Jilly has made it well beyond disliking now. She's reached loathing. It won't be creative bad names she'll be calling him, but curses. Being left there, she fumes and rages silently without anything else to do. The moment the spell is lifted a weak reply is heard from the floor. "Oppugno!" And all the owls of the post office squawk and fly after Sirius, sharp beaks attempting to peck and bite.


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