English Ice-Cream for English Weather

[Padril Crennent]

It was a unusually hot, grey London afternoon. The patrons of Diagon Alley, usually covered in colourful robes, were now sweltering. Many had either thrown their cloaks back, or done away with the traditional garments all together.

Florean Fortescue's Ice-cream Parlour (for some reason, it's name remained unchanged since Florean's disappearance) was particularly popular today for obvious reasons. Bustling and sweating customers made a long line leading all the way out of the shop, pushing and shoving one another in frustration. Through the crowd pushed Padril Crennent, carrying a chocolate ice cream in a cone above his head triumphantly has he escaped the crowded store.

He was dressing a little out of style for his usual fashion of a cloak and long pants, instead wearing a tee-shirt, shorts and sneakers, but always, always, carrying with him his leather satchel. Adjusting it with his free-hand, Padril began to stride down the street confidently.

He licked at the ice-cream quickly and for a while thought about English weather. He supposed he was glad of the recent heat, but would of preferred it if it was bright as well. London remained as dark as ever and the heat reminded him uncomfortably of a oven instead of a summer day.

The Australian was after a quiet place to sit down and read, almost impossible in the Alley at the moment. He noticed he had instinctively began to walk towards Flourish and Blotts and, after a moments hesitation, decided it was a good a place as any to read. He followed his feet for a time, his mind drifting and he became unfocused. The wizard stumbled as he tripped over a raised piece of gravel, his ice cream flying through the air. Padril watched it fall with gloomy horror.

[satin]

Satin still found having to go out during the daylight as a necessary task that was a pain in the neck. It was the great mortal enemy she faced anytime she had to go to a shop as a leather gloved small hand held the list of things she needed. She was also wearing her tailored black day cloak which made her look a bit more like a woman than the old one did but the oversized hood and its full length were still part of this design. She also wore a dagger holster by her left boot as these chunky heeled tall boots silently moved over the cobbles. She also had a large shoulder bag that was nearly the size of a small rucksack which held her essentials and her shopping.

Parchment, ink, a new quill tip, the Daily Prophet and other odds and ends. The normal things she needed as part of her official job since she'd suddenly become unemployed when the Hog's Head burned down two years previously. That still irked her after all even after all this time since she'd really enjoyed working there but the sweetest memories was the times she'd spent there with Belle.

Then this flying ice cream landed on her polished right black boot and two blue eyes could be seen as she looked at Padril. There was an unspoken question and it looked like she was looking for an answer as she gave him a questioning look.

[Padril Crennent]

Padril landed on the ground with a heavy thud. He raised his eyes and winced when he saw the ice-cream covering a polished, black boot. Padril followed the leg up to the torso, then head of the victim. He felt unnerved by the two clear, blue eyes staring at him through the mess of robes and darkness.

Padril muttered an apology, with words like accident and bloody Newton barely audible. He took out his wand and flourished it, cleaning the ice-cream off the person's boot. He briefly wondered if he could stick the ice-cream back in his cone, reluctant to line up again at Florean's. He dismissed the idea then gave a quick smile to Satin, intending to leave.

Then he added two and two together.

"You're a vampire," he said simply. He had read about them, discussed them and defended them in debates, but he had never met one. They were extremely reclusive and didn't seem to frequent his hang-outs.

Padril looked at the sky suspiciously, "Couldn't you die out here?"

[satin]

Being a vampire she could pick out the barely audible worlds with ease. She had taken science when she was still a muggle so knew what he was famous for. "You're excused" she replied in her very English accent that had never lost its 'London girl' sound.

"You're a vampire?"

A slight nod of her head and a little fanged smile followed. He might be able to spot the sparkling white fangs in the darkness of the hood if he looked carefully. "I certainly am but you have to face your mortality to shop. I also heard you mention sir Isaac Newton" she gently replied as she wasn't bothered about the little accident. She'd mellowed a lot over the past few years and this was as good as she'd ever get with other mortals. A vast improvement on the broken, messed up girl she had been as a mortal.

[Padril Crennent]

"Oh!" he seemed surprised by her knowledge of the muggle scientist, as well as her hearing his seemingly incoherent mumbles. Most, if not all, the people he had met didn't know about these brilliant minds, as non-magical as they might be. Padril, however, appreciated brilliance in all it's forms.

"I was just complaining about his..Second Law, I think it was? It concerned gravity, which made me fall down. I just blamed him for gravity, which is unjust, since he didn't invent it but still..." He smiled, in the unemotional way that he did.

"I'm sorry, I'm rambling. I'm just really excited to meet someone who knows who Newton is. Can we talk somewhere out of the sun?" He wanted to see what this person looked like and he was terribly curious about vampires.

[satin]

Another little fanged smile followed as being out of the sun was a luxury she found difficult to find during the daylight hours. Even with the dark gloomy sky above her. Mortal's would be really feeling the heat but she didn't need to worry about it that much. She was dressed for it under her cloak.

"Off course good sir and who would you be?" she asked. She'd give her single name when she knew whom she was dealing with.

[Padril Crennent]

"Me? Well," Padril paused, as if considering the philosophical meanings of names, then the scientific explanation of names. "Well, I guess I'm a nobody. We all are. But if you want to call me anything, call me Padril. Padril Crennent." He held out his hand politely for a shake.

He really hoped there'd be recognition of the name. Hey, aren't you that author? But his book was on the bookshelves of nameless bookstores, Flourish and Blotts itself only had one spare copy. It wasn't because it had sold out, quite the opposite. The market wasn't interested.

He didn't really advertise, but still, it hurt that his first book had failed.

[satin]

Satin might also have known the name from her time living in Hogsmeade but she did know about the family shop. It was as well known as the Hogs Head had been.

"I'm Satin. There's no great mystery behind the name" she chuckled out after she shook Padril's hand with her own leather gloved one. She'd gotten that name mainly because she was so cold but beautiful to look at. The secondary reason being there was already a Silk and a Lace in the coven and it had been a kind of trend at the time.

"Are you anything to the Crennent's that runs the quidditch shop in Hogsmeade?" she curiously added. She hadn't read the book because she didn't know it about even with being a regular patron of Flourish and Blott's.

Although she had a WWN radio set in her flat she mainly entertained herself with books obtained from various sources but mainly 2nd hand shops.

[Padril Crennent]

The ex-Ravenclaw felt a bit suspicious that Satin wouldn't tell him her real name, as the name 'Satin' was clearly not biological and likely a fake.

Padril shrugged, "Used to own half the store with my brother, but then I sold him my half when I left the business. Been using the money to drift for a while, living life." He gestured to the Leaky Cauldron. "I really can't think of anyplace darker to talk. I don't think daylight would even recognize the place." He waited for the vampiress to lead the way, still uncertain about this complete stranger.

[satin]

Satin knew she could easily deal with a normal wizard if he did prove to be hostile. Thats why she carried a long dagger for self defence in the same way wizards and witches carried a wand.

"That's how I recognise the name. I used to work in Hogsmeade two years ago. The Cauldron always has been a dark place. I used to rent a room there on occasions for when I went night clubbing in muggle London. You needed it to to get ready in and to return to after the club closed" Satin replied as she led the way. A dark enough corner or booth would allow her to remove her day cloak and then he could really see what she was like under all that black.

[Padril Crennent]

"Shame about the attack," he said glumly as he followed Satin inside the Cauldron before he could rethink his words. Shame didn't nearly encompass the horror of the worst attack since Voldemort's death.

A bit embarrassed about his insensitive folly, Padril remained quiet until they entered the darkness of the pub.

Continues on here