you don't get to tell me about sad

Where: starts magical area apartment and goes wherever

Fenrir paced the tiny apartment, a splurge of luxury in his otherwise usually frugal life, staring at the offensively expensive stock paper responsible for his current spiral. If his name wasn't printed fully on the invitation, he would have assumed someone had somehow Confunded a mail owl. His thoughts whirled in his head.

Why do I care what they think of me? My dress robes from school aren't that out of date and should take an expansion charm.

Do I even need to go? What would be the point?

A werewolf socializing with the high pure blood society and officials, fuck off.

No,

fuck it,

I'm going and I dare them to have a problem with me.

Scowling he snatched up a quill and parchment piece, hyper aware of the cost difference between the two, and wrote out his desperate plea polite request for a social outing. He watched as his owl soared off to the one person he thought of.

She could set it on fire, she doubted Amycus would care that much anyways. Her hand gripping her wand was itching, begging to do something. Anything.

Fuck this, she thought and was ready to blast it with a reducto spell when her favorite house elf, Poppy, appeared by her side. Her attention snapped towards her, her green eyes welled up with raging tears.

"You got a letter, Missus" the elf said softly and handed her the envelope. The witch opened it and raised her brows at Fenrir's handwritting and request. She glanced from the letter to the door and brushed her angry tears away with the back of her hand. "Fine" she then said. "Reply to him, tell him that I'll find him at Madame Malkin's shop in half an hour" she instructed the elf before storming away and straight to her room. Alecto got dressed quickly, fixed her hair and made sure there were no traces of her tears left before grabbing her purse and apparating away. She landed at the meeting place at the exact hour.

"Now, this was a nice surprise" she smiled brightly, moving to give Fenrir a brief hug.

A hand reached towards his face and he tensed before leaning towards it. Fenrir hoped she hadn't noticed that particular weakness. She tucked stray strands of hair behind his ear before disappearing. He opened his eyes, unsure when had he closed them, and watched Alecto pull out yet another meal container.

He steps closer, the faint scent of old paper and expensive cologne following him. "Picking up anything of... interest?" he questions, his dark green eyes dropping to linger on the piece of parchment she just set down on the counter.

"Some manuscripts" she responded. "That require my translation" she then added, not sure if he was aware that she was a translator. It had been a special request from the Dark Lord himself, and Rodolphus would confirm that by recognizing their Master's handwriting on the parchment. "What about you?" She asked curiously.

He hummed in agreement. A flicker of excitement to hang out with his friend was igniting in his heart. Genuinely relaxing with friends wasn't something he'd done since Hogwarts, just before his world had crumbled the first time he woke up after a full moon with his own blood under his claws.

Alecto mirrored his grin. She could see herself on him, at least some part of hers. A deeply hurt and misunderstood creature who struggled to make meaningful connections ith others. She was glad to be his friend.

She listened and almost made a joke about her feeling that way whenever she was on her period, but she didn't now if he would appreciate that. Hesitantly, she pushed two strings of his hair away from his face, her touch was gentle and tender. "That sounds like a nightmare" she said sympathetically before grabbing her purse and looked inside.

His dark gaze on hers, Ludo took a sip of his drink before replying to her question with one of his own. "Why don't you tell me that yourself? Both things," he instructed, "what good can come out of you being here?" The first question posed, the boy paused, running his tongue through his lips. "And what is it, you think, has me chasing after you?"

Alecto looked at him with an amused expression. "You want me to do the job here?" She asked, raising a brow. "I couldn't even begin to guess what happens in that brain of yours, darling" she hummed softly. "I stopped trying to understand men a long time ago" she smiked, waving her hand slowly. "So you tell me" she said instead.

Alecto took her wand and gave the tea pot nearby the window a gentle tap. She summoned two cups and the tea herbs. "Help yourself" she said, referring the tea, as she took some chamomille for herself. "So... two months is a long time, what have you been up to?"

The air inside Borgin and Burkes tasted faintly of dirt and copper, an entirely unsurprising combination in his eyes.

Rodolphus stood near the back of the shop, his eyes roaming over the curated selection of dark artifacts on display. He was not exactly looking for something specific today. Instead, he had decided it might be interesting to simply browse the darker shops that Knockturn Alley had to offer. Who knew, maybe he would come back with an interesting artifact for Lestrange Manor.

A floorboard creaked near the entrance.

There weren't too many people inside. She walked straight to the empty counter and placed a piece of parchment on the table. "There's an order for Carrow" she said softly and the man disappeared back into the storage to pick it up. Alecto sighed and looked around until she recognized a familiar face.

"Hello, Rod" she said with a soft smile.

They rounded the last small cutback to the river and entered into a cozy little clearing. His breath came easier to him, turning his face up to the sun. "Alps? Very nice. I'll have to owl you. How much of a heads up do ya need?" Transfiguring a blanket, Fenrir carefully sat himself down and patted the space next to him.

"It's been a very long time though" she hadn't gone to the mountains in a while. Her father was still alive and she wasn't as broken as she was now. They finally reached to the clearing and she inhaled slowly as she took it in. "Please do, I'd love some company" she said and she meant it. Her family home was too big, too many ghosts playing mind tricks on her. "Not much, really, maybe the day before?" She wondered.

Ludo did hear her but decided not to give into such a simple taunt, not yet at least. He chose to focus on her latest question, a brow raising as his dark eyes levelled with hers. "Your hair's got nothing to do with me chasing after you."

Alecto smiled slightly at his response. "It's a shame, I do have a wonderful hair" she teased playfully. There was so much more hidden beneath his words. She knew him well enough to know what he was after. What everyone was after when it came to her. "But if it's not my hair, then what is it?" She asked oh, so innocently. It was easy to fall into the flirtatious game, and he was a great player, as much as it pained her to admit it.

Beck stared at the brass letters on the door. He was definitely in the right place, but seeing Alecto in her actual workspace felt entirely different than meeting up after hours when their real lives couldn't touch them. He knocked once, pushing the door open, the tension leaving his shoulders the second he saw them.

"I would've sent an owl," Beck said, a slow grin taking over as he stepped inside and shut the heavy door behind him. "But I’d rather see the look on your face."

He pulled the papers from his jacket, holding them up like a peace offering. "I have some medical records that need to be transcribed. And, well, you happen to be the best translator I know." He caught Alecto's eye, his smile softening. "Plus, it's been way too long."

Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Beck walking in. Alecto blinked slowly, looking at the medical records he needed to be translated. She extended her perfectly manicured hand and took the parchment. "Ah, italian... è passato un po' di tempo" it's been a while, she hummed softly, her eyes moving back to her friend.

"So let me get this straight, you don't see me in months and then want to see the look on my face when you come to me with work?" She rose a brow. "Why is it that I never expect anything from men and yet, they still manage to disappoint?" She wondered. However, a hint of a smile did cross her lips.

"Sit" she instructed. "Tea?"

"Yeah, he's a great brother", Alecto knew Amycus would never force her to do anything she didn't want to, and she loved him for that. She knew she got lucky with him. Her brother might look physically just like their father, which could be terrifying, but that was just it, he couldn't be any more different than the old man. He was kind, and sweet, and patient (at least with her). He worried, and he has never hurt her in any way, quite the opposite, actually.

"Languages and a green thumb. A many skilled witch," Fenrir paused, "I'd like to see that, if you'll have me."

He was trying to feign indifference if she was making a "polite invite" that wasn't really an invitation. He hadn't had a true friend that wasn't pack in years and, of course, that didn't bother him at all. Now how to actually feel that way without whiskey and blood burying his heart.

The red head smiled at him. "I would love that" she said and she genuinely meant it. Alecto liked Fenrir, he was good company and she liked being around him, he brought her a sense of ease that not many people did. "Just let me know when you are available" she then added with a smile.