If You Come To See The Moon (Spencer/Natasha)

Natasha picked her way gently through the foliage with her slippers. A long white trench coat was belted at her waist.

"Ouch!" she said as a branch whipped her in the face. She took out her wand. "Lumos!"

The pale light emanating from her wand was brilliant.

Spencer was sitting there at the base of a tree, looking out at the clearing before him. He always came here when he needed to think.

He heard a branch snap back and someone yelp. He quickly stood, withdrawing his wand and pointing it at the person whom had just lit their wand tip.

"Who's there? Who are you?" he asked, wand still pointing at the person.

"That's polite," Natasha remarked, slightly shocked by the male voice. She lit her wand brighter and pointed it at him. "Yet, I'm wondering who YOU are. My mother always told me not to talk to stranger." She gave a grin.

The wand tip showed a handsome man with a suspicious look on his face. "Well, you're obviously male," she said to him.

Spencer just stood there, looking at the stranger. He ignored her remark.

"I'm Spencer, Spencer Mellark," he said, still not dropping his wand. "And you are?"

"Yeah, and you're obviously female," he responded, rolling his eyes.

"Rolling your eyes," Natasha commented. "Polite." She grinned again. "Call me.....Tasha. And don't worry, I'm not here to kill or murder anyone. I'm simply here to see the moon." She flicked her wand and orbs of light flew out of her wand, softly illuminating the sparse landscape. She patted down her skirts and picked her way through a thicket of thorns.

"I'm not a very polite person, now am I?" he asked, reluctantly lowering his wand. "Nice to meet you, Tasha."

He sat back down against the tree, looking back out at the clearing. He patted the ground next to him, an invitation for her to join him.

Natasha, seeing Spencer's invitation, sat down. "So," she said. "Where do you work?"

"Ministry of Magic," Spencer replied. "In the Department of Magical Law Enforcement with my half-sister, Alekza."

He picked up a leaf and absent-mindedly tore it into pieces.

"What about you?" he asked distractedly.

"Oh," Natasha said, and blushed, pushing a strand of hair away from her face. "I, uh, don't really work yet. I'm living off an inheritance while I apply for a job at Hogwarts. Groundskeeper, actually." The name Alekza poked at her mind, and she said, "Alekza? Isn't that the name of my niece's friend's aunt?"

"Really? I think it'd be fun to work at Hogwarts," Spencer replied. "Groundskeeper seems like a fun job."

He continued tearing up the leaves.

"Probably. We have a niece that's a second year," he said. "Her name is Aurelie. Who's your niece?"

"Melanie McKinnon," Natasha said with a small grin. "You know, you, Aurelie, Mel and me should all get together sometimes."

"Melanie? I've heard of her, Aurie is good friends with her," Spencer replied with a smile. "That sounds good to me."

He looked up at the sky. It was a nice, clear night.

"It's so beautiful out here, isn't it?" he asked mesmerized.

"Yeah.." Natasha gave a deep sigh. "It's so peaceful...so quiet. So lovely. Its like a dreamland where anything can happen, if you just try."

"I always come here when I need to think," Spencer said. "The quietness helps me calm down after a long day at work."

He looked over at Tasha. She seemed like a pretty nice person, hopefully they would become good friends.

"That bad?" Natasha asked, grinning. She reached into her satchel and pulled out a bottle of butterbeer and two glasses. "Butterbeer?"

"Sometimes it can be pretty bad," Spencer replied, nodding sadly. He grinned at her. "Yes, please."

Natasha poured out two glasses and handed one to Spencer. "It's not poisoned," she said, rolling her eyes, and then took a sip of butterbeer herself. It was warm and yummy and cascaded down her throat like molten butter. "Yum."

"For some reason, I trust you," Spencer said, taking a drink of the butterbeer. He hadn't had any butterbeer in so long, it felt good to be drinking some again. "Mmm.."

"I feel flattered! You trust me!" Natasha said, laughing as she drank the butterbeer. That laugh turned into a cough as she choked on her butterbeer.

So. Not. Suave.

Spencer laughed when she started choking. He shook his head at her.

"You know, you really shouldn't laugh when drinking," he said with a smirk.

Natasha mock glared at Spencer. "Don't I know..." she grumbled. "I'd like to see you hear something funny without choking on something."

Spencer just laughed even more when she glared at him.

"Oh, is that a bet? I bet I can hear the funniest joke in the world while drinking butterbeer and not choke," he said, taking another drink of his butterbeer.

Natasha scowled. "Too bad I don't know the funniest joke in the world," she grumbled. "More like i know the unfunniest jokes in the world." She rested her head the back of the tree. "Why, oh, WHY am I so HOPELESS!"

"Hmm... I wonder what the funniest joke in the world is," Spencer mused, deep in thought. He chuckled at her little outburst. "You're not that hopeless," he teased.

"Yes, I am," Natasha said. "I was born not funny. At all. No wonder I'm not married." She grinned.