Stalkers (Victoria)

Anthony hated London. Like always. But he had to admit that after spending the past year after his graduation back in Brazil, it wasn't so bad to be back. If he knew that he had to stay there, it would be bad. But for a few weeks, on his own terms, he could definitely handle it. Not being stuck in that stupid castle was something at least. But, just because he was visiting his mother didn't mean that he was going to spend his entire time there with his mother. After all, what good would it be to visit London and not visit any of the bars in the area? So, grabbing his coat from the stair railing, Anthony called out to the house - consisting entirely of his mother and sister - that he was leaving, and took off down the street.

The Queen's Head was a muggle pub, but they had some pretty great beer. Some of which Anthony couldn't even get in Brazil. So, naturally, it was the first place that he went. It was only about a five minute walk from the house, and Anthony spent that short time mulling over his life. On a scale of terrible to fucking amazing, his life fell somewhere around the good area. Which meant, slightly better than average, but nothing special. Since graduating Hogwarts, Anthony had returned to Brazil, picking up a job as a curse breaker. Truthfully, Anthony had gotten mostly O's on his newts, and could probably have gotten a job doing whatever he wanted. But curse-breaking was at least relatively interesting. In addition to that, he'd been keeping in touch with the woman that he'd met at the pub - Khalidah. And the rest of her friends, who called themselves the Dark ones. At first, Anthony was skeptical of them. But the more he interacted with them, the more comfortable he became with their company. And apparently, it was useful for them to have a contact in a foreign country like Brazil, so it worked out.

Since he was in the area, he would be needing to meet with them before he left the country. To discuss safehouses and such, which were pretty boring topics. He didn't understand why he had to be there for the talk, but that Morgenstern guy meant business, and Anthony didn't want to be the one to piss him off. Anthony was skilled, and smart. But Morgenstern was different - sinister, with no limits. Crossing him was just unwise. But for now, Anthony didn't have to worry about any of that. He just pushed the doors of the Queen's Head open, found an empty stool at the bar, and ordered his drink. "Your house draft," he said, sliding a tip across the counter as his beer was passed to him. He didn't bother to say thanks. The tip was thanks enough.

It was strange being back home again. Victoria was getting too use to Hogwarts and it's comforts now that she was a sixth year. The library, the Ravenclaw common room, her strangely small bed, hell she even missed her not so cheerful roommate! But now that she was in London again all of her attention was directed towards her family, or what was left of it. But mainly her mother. Everything from family dinners to shopping trips and afternoon tea. She did it all. Sometimes rather unenthusiastically, but she she was always there which was the thing that counted the most. Victoria was always anxious leaving her mother behind when she had to go back to school. Her mom never complained about it of course, but the Ravenclaw knew she felt a bit lonely without her kids. Especially after their father left which meant that it was just her in this old and big house. She tried not to think about it too much, but every now and then she felt rather guilty because of it. Which is why she spent all of her holiday break making it up to her.

Her older brother on the other hand, clearly didn't share these concerns. In fact he did everything he could to get out of family events. Even though he was in London only for a short visit! Usually her only response would be to roll her eyes and scoff at her brother's selfishness. But today it frustrated her more than anything. And just before dinner was ready, Anthony slipped out of the house without a real explanation as to where he was going. That git. But Victoria knew her brother enough to guess that he was going to this or other bar nearby. Well she wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily. Victoria was almost seventeen now, but that still meant she was a years away from the legal drinking age in London. But this problem could easily be resolved with a little bit of makeup and tighter clothes. And with her crazy purple hair falling down her back, no one will even notice her age. After a few minutes at the mirror, poof she was suddenly over eighteen. At least she looked old enough for the bartender not to kick her out the moment she walks in.

Grabbing her coat, Victoria rushed out of the house and trailed Anthony's movements. She followed him down a few blocks until he entered a nearby bar called the Queen's Head. Walking inside, the Ravenclaw tried to pretend like she was much older than her age and not the awkward teenager that she was. She ignored the few stares she got from creepy men that were way too old for her and searched for her brother. Spotting Anthony at the bar, she took a seat next to him certain that he won't even notice her in this dark room until made herself obvious. "A double shot of crown", she ordered when the bartender approached her, because why not if she can get away with it. Turning her head towards Anthony, she started to stare at him intensely, before turning back to her drink. "You seem familiar. Like a certain git that I know who was way too cool to stay home for the evening. But no, actually, you look half-decent. In the right light", she said with a smirk before finishing her shot. "But you know, it's best that he's not here. I don't think you would like him. His presence usually needs to be accompanied by a gallon of booze, just to forget the fact that he's such an ass. Then, and only then, you might be able to have a decent conversation together", she finished her lovely store and ordered herself another drink. Her annoyance was evident, she wasn't even trying to hide it. "But again... I am just glad that you are not like that"

The beer in this place was good, at least. And Anthony was halfway through his when someone sat down beside him. Not bothering to turn and greet whoever it may be, and keeping himself rotated in the other direction, he raised his mug and swallowed another mouthful of his drink. But then, the person - the girl - ordered a double shot of Crown, and Anthony raised an eyebrow in surprise. Finally, he turned incredulously around to see his sister, clad in much too form-fitting clothing, staring at him. And before he could say anything, she was going on about how he looked familiar, but how he couldn't possibly be the same asshole that she was talking about. He just stared at her as she took her shot, stuck in some strange limbo between wanting to reach out and take it from her and not giving the slightest shit. In the end, he just kept his face impassive and responded in an even tone.

"Don't think I'm carrying you home if you have too much," he said, not playing along with her shit and taking another drink of his beer. But then she ordered another drink, and Anthony glared at the barkeep - who hadn't even bothered to check her age - as he passed it to her. "Seriously, don't drink too many of those," he added, almost sounding the slightest bit concerned for his sister's well being. Which he was, just not as openly as most older brothers. His sister was almost seventeen, she could take care of herself just fine. "And you don't look like you're planning on staying home for the evening either, so you're one to talk." Honestly, what did they want for him? Apparently, they were completely overlooking the fact that he'd even bothered - out of his own free will - to come home at all. Because Anthony didn't leave Brazil easily now that he'd moved back. The last time he'd come to London, he'd ended up stuck there for four years, and he'd be damned if that happened again. The only thing that sucked about living there was that he was back in the same country as his father, and it wasn't easy to not find him and punch him in the face repeatedly.

"Don't you have a curfew that you should be worried about or something?" he asked, remembering how his sister used to confine herself to their backyard once a certain hour had passed. "Did mom stop telling you when to be home, or did you finally decide to start having less regard for the rules?" Rules were stupid - and implemented for stupid people. A smart person, like his sister and himself, didn't need rules to help them live their lives. "And what's with the hair? Are you going through some punk rock phase?" he asked with disinterest, though in reality, he could hear a bit of the curiosity in his voice. Though he'd mostly ignored her at school, he'd still been around her in general for the past seventeen years of his life. So, maybe, some part of him actually did miss seeing her. And maybe he actually was ever so slightly curious about her life. And then, remembering his strange interaction with the puny kid last year at the castle, Anthony smirked. "Did that kid ever ask you out, anyway? The skinny one?"

Surprisingly, Anthony's first response wasn't to call her out on her bullshit or to make a snarky comment about her irritating ability to be ever-present in his life, whether she was welcomed or not. He only criticized her drinking and warned her of the possible consequences, which was not like him at all. Raising an eyebrow at this suspicious behavior, Victoria only chuckled and rolled her eyes as a response. "Relax, big brother. I never have too many. I've learned from the best after all", she assured him with a grin. Well that wasn't necessarily true as never seemed to be the wrong word to use here. Perhaps very rarely would fit a bit better. But he didn't need to know that. Besides, she wasn't here to discuss her drinking habits. "I was planning on staying home, until you just snuck out right before dinner. And they wouldn't exactly let me in this place if I was wearing a unicorn shirt and pigtails, now would they? So I adapted to the situation", she explained with a shrug. Her clothes really weren't a big deal to her as it was just a dress. Not her dress but something she had borrowed from Seren because let's face it, she would never have something like this in her closet.

"A curfew? Yeah I have a curfew", she confirmed with an irritated sigh. Although this year her mother had agreed to give her a little more freedom than last summer, which didn't really mean much. She was still expected to be home ridiculously early and explain in detail exactly where she was going. Without an official statement about her future whereabouts, she wasn't allowed to go anywhere. Victoria understood her mother's concern and while she didn't blatantly disregard  the rules, she didn't go out of her way to follow them either. "I don't think mom will ever stop telling me when to come home. And if you ask her, I'm respecting my curfew to the minute. What she doesn't notice won't hurt her. See, that's the difference between the two of us. I at least put some effort into faking it", she said remembering how Anthony would openly ignore all boundaries that were set by their parents. "What's wrong with my hair?", she asked, half insulted by his comment. Until she realized that, of course, he was talking about the change of color. How to admit the embarrassing truth that it was all an accident in the first place. "Eh... I just wanted a change I guess", she said settling for a version of the truth. "And I am definitely not in a punk rock phase"

"Did that kid ever ask you out, anyway? The skinny one?" Victoria's face clinched in confusion as she turned to face her brother. "What are you even talking ab...?", she asked until she quickly stopped herself. That skinny kid? Someone who wanted to ask her out? She was certain he was talking about Ollie, as there was no other explanation. Her muscles froze in shock and she could feel her cheeks burn red from embarrassment. But this didn't even make sense. How on earth would Anthony know about it? "First of all, Ollie...umm Oliver is not skinny", she said firmly, quickly realizing that her brother had enough ammunition against her without her mentioning cutsey nicknames such as Ollie. "And secondly, how do you even know that, you creep? Since when are you interested in my love life?", Victoria asked with a glare. The two of them never really talked about such things and even bringing this topic up was beyond disturbing. "The more important question is - how is your job? You know, that mind-blowingly awesome job that made you ditch us and move back to Brazil? I honestly didn't think you could stand living on the same continent with dad, let alone in the same country. But I guess I was wrong. So...how is it? The whole curse whatever thing. They better be paying you well", the Ravenclaw said, happy to change the topic of the conversation away from herself. After graduating, her brother could pretty much have any job he wanted and he had several lined up for him with more than a satisfactory salary. But Anthony wouldn't be Anthony if he didn't go rogue in his career as well.

Anthony raised an eyebrow at his sister, but didn't press her any further. If she wanted to drink every now and then, or every day, or not at all, it really wasn't his problem. It was just a bit uncomfortable, having her next to him at a bar. Because seeing her drink was strange. It was completely fine, as long as she didn't do it around him. "Yeah, well, I'm still not carrying you home," he repeated, shaking his head and looking away from her. But he turned his attention back to her when she continued talking. Resisting the urge to call her a hypocrite, because in no way did his leaving make it alright for her to, if she was so concerned about their mother, he rolled his eyes. "I shouted that I was leaving as I walked out of the door - I don't think that constitutes as sneaking out, really," Anthony pointed out, taking another swig of his draft. "And to be honest, this idiot still might not have carded you," he said, resolving to just ignore what his sister had on and hope that his presence was enough to keep some creepy forty year old git from further down the bar from hitting on her.

The corner of Anthony's mouth tilted up in an almost-sympathetic quarter of a smile at Victoria's tone concerning her curfew. "Well, I guess that's a bit more rebellious than you used to be at least," he commented, remembering how he would go out whenever he wanted and return to Victoria sitting in the yard wishing that she had the freedom that he did. And she always could have had the freedom he had, if she wanted to. But she was never the type to break their mother's rules. "And how does that make you any better than me?" Anthony asked in response to what Victoria had to say about having the decency to try to fake complying with what their mother wanted. "At least she knew where I was. It's really better that she thinks your out for an ice cream or something when you're really at the pub taking shots of crown?" Anthony took another swig of his beer, and then looked over at her again. "Not that I see anything wrong with either, but if you're going to accuse me, don't be a hypocrite."

"It's purple," he replied simply, but didn't comment any more on her hair than that. Because the topic turned to a much more interesting conversation concerning the skinny kid. "Oh yeah, Oliver, that was his name," Anthony remembered, smirking. "And he's very skinny." Unless he'd gained a significant amount of weight since last school term. "Believe me, I'm not interested in your love life," Anthony responded seriously. "However, when some puny child stops me in the hallway and asks my permission to ask out my sister, I think it gives me the right to ask you about it," he said with a shrug. "I don't see how that's a more important question," But Anthony's face hardened slightly at the mention of their father. "I don't see him," he responded bitterly, not going into any further detail. But he relaxed as the conversation moved on. "Curse-breaker," he corrected her. "And the job's actually pretty great. We spend most of our time clearing old temples in the Amazon - I live just outside the forest, so I'm not really anywhere near where we grew up. It's warm there," he added, glancing out the window at the snow-covered ground. "What about you? How's school?"