a tulip in a field of daisies

Hands jammed into his pockets, Julian hummed softly to himself as he strolled along the streets. He wasn't even sure why he was here. But the magical city was one place - one thing - that'd always separate him from the rest of his family. Tilting his head slightly, he shrugged that thought off. There were moments when that was a good thing, but there were times, quite like this, in which he felt so out of place at home.

Ok, so maybe he knew why he was here, but that still didn't make him feel any better. Sighing softly, he continued on his way, not looking where he was going until he crashed into someone. "I think," Julian muttered softly, raising an eyebrow, "that it would help a lot of you watches where you went."

Iris walked down the streets, gazing at the various shops as though she was seeing them for the first time. Considering she was kidnapped and put in a cell for six months, everything did seem new. She winced when she felt sudden pain on her wrist and lifted the sleeve of her shirt. There a scar, one of many, but this was due to the practice she had been doing recently with more curse spells.

Still looking at the mark, she felt someone bump into her and quickly put her sleeve back. Before she could say anything, the guy spoke. "Oh really? And I think I can say the same about you." She replied with a raise of her eyebrow.

Watching the girl for a moment, he tilted his head slightly. She was pretty enough, he supposed. Humming softly to himself, Julian shrugged. "There are a lot of things you can say, but that doesn't necessarily make it true."

Shifting on his feet, he glanced down for a moment, coming up with a plan of just how this was going to work. Flicking his gaze back up to her, he asked, "Enjoying the city?"

Iris noticed the boy checking her out and she shook her head amusedly. She thought he was quite hot as well, but definitely wasn't interested. "So it doesn't make it true that it would help you if you watched where you were going?" She asked.

She decided that he was acting sort off odd, but chose to ignore it. "Yeah I am, actually. It's been a while since I've been here and I was beginning to miss it," she replied and smiled lightly.

"Maybe it does." Julian raised an eyebrow before shrugging, "And maybe it doesn't." Shaking his head, he laughed softly, "Yeah, I probably should've just looked where I was going." Rubbing his forehead, he laughed again, "You probably think I'm an idiot." And that, that would be good. Being all endearing and sweet and cute? It'd work.

"Yeah," he sighed softly, glancing around them, smiling slightly, "It's a beautiful city. I love it here." Catching her eye, he grinned shyly, "It'd be fun to explore the city with someone else though."

"Yeah, that answer wasn't vague at all," Iris replied sarcastically. "I should have looked as well, but you know how annoying distractions can be," she smirked. Especially ones that bleed and cause pain, she thought. She smirked at the boy's next comment and said, "I find it hard to believe that someone as good looking as you can be a idiot. I'm Iris, by the way. But you can call me Grayson, Gray or just Iris." She shrugged.

She nodded her head in agreement. "It is pretty amazing. I used to come here at least once in a week and just loiter around," she admitted with a laugh. "Well, I'm always up for exploring with friends," she grinned back at him.

"I guess I have a thing for really vague answers," Julian laughed, shaking his head. Glancing around them again, he nodded, sighing softly, "I totally understand how this can be distracting. It's so different from - Britain?" he tilted his head at her, nodding, "Well, you sound British at least."

Grinning at her comment, he glanced down at the ground, shaking his head. It was moments like this where his inability to blush drove him insane. "Thank you." he smiled up at her, "You're beautiful. It's nice to meet you Iris. I'm Julian, just Julian, 'cause I'm boring like that."

Looking at her curiously, he asked, "Why'd you stop? I wouldn't give up Azorat for the world." he breathed softly, smiling at her, "So, Iris, where'd you wanna explore first?"

"Thing for vague answers, eh? Those who call me weird clearly haven't met you," Iris remarked with a laugh. "Well, I'm actually from Greece, but yeah, I go to Hogwarts. And I live with my foster parents in the States," she replied and tugged on her sleeve, resisting the urge to touch her scar.

She couldn't help be surprised at his comment and raised an eyebrow. "Beautiful? Um, okay. Thanks for the compliment, I guess. And nice to meet you too," she said. Her eyes widened slightly at his name and she couldn't help but smirk. "Are you by any chance, Julian Rousseau?"

"Due to some problems I was having, I couldn't come," she told casually and shrugged. "You can pick cause I think I may have forgotten some of the places," she admitted.

"And yet somehow I'm popular." Shrugging, Julian grinned slightly, "I guess Beauxbatons' just weird that way." Whistling softly, he widened his eyes, "You've been everywhere, haven't you? Must be fun."

Raising an eyebrow, he tilted his head, "What? You don't believe me?" Pausing, he shook his head as she got his last name, "Am I famous at Hogwarts? But yes," he bowed, "that would me."

"Well, it's good that you could come now." Nodding, he glanced around before pointing behind her, "What about that way?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. From what I hear, all posh French schools are weird," Iris commented with a smirk. She chuckled humourlessly and shook her head. "Nah, it's not that fun. Especially when you don't get the attention you need as a kid, it can be a bad idea to go everywhere."

"I know I'm pretty, but I don't think you actually meant it," she shrugged. "No, you're not famous at Hogwarts. But I have managed to hear some...interesting things about you," she told and smiled slyly.

"Sure," she replied and began walking with him. "So, what's your favourite about Azorat?"

"Hey," Julian frowned, his eyes dancing good-naturedly, "that's my posh French school you're calling weird." Shrugging, and feeling suddenly uncomfortable at the topic change, Julian said, "It's better than being stuck in one place forever."

Raising an eyebrow, he shrugged at her, "I can't make your opinion change." Tilting his head, Julian watched her curiously, "What exactly have you heard?"

Humming as they walked, he glanced sideways at her, "My favourite thing about Azorat? Probably the food," he said with a laugh."What about you?"

"Ah, school loyalty and all, eh? That's good, but just know that almost every school is weird, crazy or abnormal," Iris stated and grinned slyly. "Something tells me the most sane one is weird." She smiled slightly. "Being stuck in one home has never worked well for me."

"Something about you at a party, love potion...." she trailed off, her eyes holding a mischievous glint. "You know how fast these things spread. But I don't think anyone else in my school knows," she shrugged.

"Just the whole atmosphere. The music, the people, things like that," she replied with a rarely used genuine smile. "Kinda like an escape really. And for sneaking away as well," she told and winked.

"Oh, I've noticed." Julian said, shaking his head as he thought back to the many crazy things he'd witnessed over his four and a half years of magical education, "But I can honestly say that there's no way you can call us sane." he laughed.

Freezing up at the mention of Nine's Christmas party, he cursed under his breath. Now random people he was meeting on the street knew. He'd never be able to forget this. "I guess our parties just get a little insane at times." he finally choked out.

"Sneaking away from school here's the best part." he grinned back, "It in itself is an adventure."

"If the students aren't sane, you can hardly expect the school to be," Iris commented knowingly. "Especially when we bring in magic to the picture, it automatically has a way of of getting messed up," she shrugged. "Hm, if not sane, then what? Mental, abnormal, reckless?" She asked.

She couldn't help but laugh at Julian's reaction and secretly thanked Alec for telling her about it, this was fun. Finally having calmed down, she smirked, "Little insane indeed. So it's true then. Don't worry dear old Juli, your secret's safe. Does this mean you're gay or was it really only the love potion?" She asked bluntly, trying not to grin.

"It's a definite thrill," she agreed but wished for moment she hadn't sneaked off to Greece. "So where are you actually from?"

Nodding, Julian commented, "Magic makes us all a little insane. We have that power, and we sort of - well, use it. And sometimes," he winced slightly, remembering what he'd done to Ninette, "it's not always for the best reasons." Laughing softly, he said, "All three."

Glowering at Iris as she burst out laughing, he sighed. It wasn't funny. Not to him. His reputation had been practically destroyed because of it. And she was laughing. "I'm not gay," he explained with a roll of his eyes for what felt like the millionth time, "It was all the love potion. Trust me."

Pointing to himself, he grinned, "From the beautiful city of Paris. Where is it that you call home?"

"Sometimes? Try most of the times," Iris muttered. "But then again, we can't deny that it's incredibly handy," she grinned. "By the way, we all do things we regret once in a while, no use of feeling sorry," she remarked. "All three? Wow, must be some school." She shook her head. "Durmstrang's like that, though."

She stifled her laughter as she saw the boy glare at her. "If you really see, you'll notice the humourous side to this whole thing," she said and nudged his shoulder. "Well, a part of me says that you are gay, but since I don't know you, I'll let it go. How'd you end up drinking the love potion?"

Mimicking his action, she smirked, "My home is the exotic city of Greece. You should come visit, it's pretty cool."

"Oh, it is," Julian nodded, humming softly. Even if magic had practically alienated him from the rest of his family, it was still rather amazing, and he couldn't deny that. "Feeling sorry for something you did years later is just sad." He sneered, shaking his head in disgust. Brightening up, he smiled, "It's a great school. Absolutely amazing." Shivering at the mention of Durmstrang, he laughed, "I'd freeze if I went there."

Scowling, he shook his head, "There is no humorous side. None at all." Rolling his shoulders back, he said, "A friend of mine spiked my punch."

Raising an eyebrow, he laughed, bumping his shoulder against hers, "Greece is a city now? But sure," he shrugged, "I'd love to visit Greece one day."

"Regretting something you did is better than having not done it at all. Otherwise you'd just spend time wondering what would have happened," Iris commented casually. "I'm sure we all have some things which we wish we hadn't seen or done," she mumbled. Eyeing Julian with amusement, she asked, "What's with the shiver? Scared of Durmstrang?"

"Oh come on, don't be like that. I'm sure your friend didn't mean to cause too much of harm," she grinned. "And you know what? If people have been giving you a hard time about it, it's because they are just lunatics who can't take a joke." She stated.

Just shrugging at her slip up, Iris smiled lazily. "City, country, it's still exotic." She smiled as he said he'd like to visit. "Awesome! Owl me when you get there, I'll try to show you around without getting lost," she told teasingly.

"I guess so." Julian shrugged, "But the way people obsess over the things they've done is just annoying. Suck it up and deal. Your whining won't change what you did." Raising an eyebrow, he shook his head slightly, "Scared of the cold." he corrected. "Terrible season, winter is."

Snorting, he rolled his eyes, "You don't know her the way I do. She can be a little," shrugging, he tried to come up with the right words to describe Ninette, "As great as she can be, you don't want to get her angry." Which I do all the time, he thought with a laugh. "The people who insist on spreading rumours everywhere are the ones who think I'm in love." he said with a roll of his eyes.

Tilting his head, he smiled at her, despite not having the intention to ever visit Greece, "Oh, I will. And sometimes getting lost is the best part."

"Oh, the whining is probably just for the sake of dramatics," Iris smirked and shook her head, as though feeling offended by that fact. "Winter's not that bad, especially the snow. But I do have to admit that it looks like a prison sometimes to an outsider," she told with a laugh.

"Knowing that and you still pissed off her, eh? In that case, I don't feel bad for you at all anymore," she remarked. "Well, good new topic for gossip never fails to distract people. And if you react to it, all the more fun for them," she grinned knowingly.

Sensing a pain on the scar on her hand, she felt herself go weak slightly and held on to the nearest wall for support. She was suddenly struck by the memory of a scene and closed her eyes.

There were hexes and curses flying everywhere. He was so much more powerful than them, knew many more jinxes. She and Kait were hurt, but that didn't stop them. "Kaitlen, get away from there!" She shouted to her sister. The man sneered, "Say goodbye to your sister, Iris." There was a flash of red light and she felt herself go off into blackness.

Eyes still closed, she fell to the ground. Her breathing was heavy and she wrapped the jacket tighter around herself. Realizing that she probably looked like a weakling, she looked up at Julian and muttered, "A sudden headache."

Shaking his head, he said, "It's the people who are sincere about their whole 'woe is me, something bad happened to me, the world should stop spinning,' that annoy the hell out of me. Dramatic people I can deal with." Imagining Durmstrang for a moment, he frowned slightly, "No thanks. I'll stick with my palace and French winters."

Shrugging, he smiled angelically, "That's how we are. We can go from enemies to best friends and five minutes flat. It'd be boring if we didn't." grinning knowingly, he nodded, "I have a friend who's helping me out with that."

Momentarily distracted by a resteraunt, he peered at all the people inside, watching them for a moment before glancing back to Iris. Starting, he glanced down at her. "That must be one bad headache." Julian said, reaching out a hand towards her. "I know the feeling. Can't stand them." He knew she was lying to him. But, without an idea as to what she was covering up and why, he played along.

"Oh yeah, some people have a higher level of dramatics rather than showing some common sense," Iris told and rolled her eyes. She shrugged. "Everyone needs to realize that they're not the only ones who have to deal with shit," she muttered.

Ignoring Julian's offered hand, she got up and made sure she couldn't stand by herself. "I'm fine, thanks," she said, trying not to show her anger at being able to breakdown so easily. Not to mention she was beginning to get sick of the boy's almost too polite mannerisms and knew that no one could ever be this nice.

"Why are you pretending to be nice?" She asked him bluntly with a raise of her eyebrow.

"People are idiots," Julian shrugged matter-of-factly, as if this was the most simplest thing in th world, "they'll believe anything. For better or for worse." Scrunching up his nose at the idea of rumours, he shook his head. "The people who don't complain are the ones worse off."

Raising an eyebrow as she rejected his hand, he shook his head momentarily before sticking his hand back into his jacket pocket, jangling the keys in there. Humming softly to himself, he glanced around, before whipping his gaze back to Iris at her question.

Shrugging, he stifled a yawn, "I'm bored. And besides, pretending to be nice is better then pretending to be mean."

"People's lack of brains do make things harder for me," Iris commented, thinking of her father and her kidnapper. "They believe in such shit because they are unable to think for themselves and come to a decision," she said and glanced at Julian.

She sighed as she kicked one of the stones on the pavement. Why is that I always end up fighting with people I've just met? She thought, feeling amused and annoyed at the same time. Making friends was never an option for her either way and so decided to keep her distance.

"Pretending to be mean? You can't pretend something which you already are," she commented casually, leaning against the wall. "And yeah, it sure must be a bore to pretend to be nice to random people on street," she remarked.

"And sadly, that is the world we live in. Get used to it," Julian advised bluntly, "you'll be here a while, so might as well enjoy it while you can. You never know what could happen." Shrugging, he swept his gaze around them for a moment restlessly.

Raising an eyebrow, he looked at her coolly, "Tell me, what mean things have I done recently, Iris?" If she was getting information about what was going on from someone inside, what she said know would help the Prideux find out who she knew. "It can be," Julian said with a shrug, but didn't elaborate further.