Emmeline's eyes narrowed at him again and she forced a fake sort of laugh at his remark of her biting him. If she had enough courage, she'd hit him. But she didn't. She was weak in that sense. Not that it mattered. She'd turned to leave again but stopped in her tracks at his question.

"I hadn't planned on it," she said as she looked back at him over her shoulder. Had he?

---

  

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#LovelyLadySet

"Alright, Miss Woodcroft," Charles nodded at her words. It was slightly disappointing, really. He'd kind of hoped she'd had said she was in a strange way though he knew she wouldn't have - even if she wanted to.

He had the distinct impression that she was not the kind to make the first move and with how this little meet up had gone, Charles highly doubted seeing him again was on her agenda.

That didn't mean he wasn't going to try. It wasn't often he got to tease and converse with someone like this, "That's a shame," He said simply and turned to walk away, though he paused for a moment, turning to look over his shoulder and he spoke, "Because I'd have quite liked to see you again."

---

  

Emmeline should have just left. She had wanted to leave. But she'd stopped when she'd said something to him. And then he was saying something that piqued her curiosity.

She watched as he looked over his own shoulder back to her. Brow furrowed with obvious confusion. She turned back to face him but didn't actually move toward him. "Why?" she asked. A simple and easy question but one she was truly curious to hear the answer to.

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#LovelyLadySet

Smirking a little, Charles turned back around. He didn't move and instead elected to keep their distance at a few feet from one another.

Why. It was a good question. A question, Charles thought, that he couldn't really answer. There wasn't a particular reason why he'd wanted to see her again and he wasn't even sure if he did or if he just wanted to tease her some more so he found himself shrugging and  taking one step forward, "Because I think you're interesting."

And he wasn't lying; he did find her interesting. He just wasn't sure as to whether that was a good enough reason.

---

  

Emmeline's brow furrowed more. He didn't make any sense and it was evident she was confused. She was a smart girl but. it just didn't make sense. He didn't know her other than from a night of her being drunk and saying stupid things. How did that make her even remotely interesting.

"How?" she asked, clearly on trend for one word questions as she folded her arms across her chest to look at him with a now raised brow.

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#LovelyLadySet

Suddenly, it appeared, Miss Woodcroft - the girl who had said her best friend liked easy skirt, who had no issues cursing in front of him - had trouble speaking.

"Because you're the only woman I've met, Miss Woodcroft, who has no issues calling us out on our issues. The only woman who I've seen that is happy to bark - and bite - when they need to. You've got ideas for your future and you know who you are," He said, hoping his use of the collective and emphasis on woman wasn't lost on her, "and I find that to be extremely interesting."

---

  

Emmeline really didn't know what to think or say. Her brow furrowed more and she simply stared at him for a few long moments.

"I never used to be that way," she said softly, thinking about it. She had always been meek and sweet. The one no one ever expected to get into trouble. And then firewhiskey had clearly changed her life. "Plans and dreams, yes," she said with a nod, "But I was the quiet one. I'm sure if you told any of my classmates about any of this, they'd call you a liar." And that, would definitely be the truth. But one night had apparently changed everything.

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#LovelyLadySet

"I have no intention of gossiping to your classmates, Miss Woodcroft, Charles said sincerely, "Though I've yet to see this quiet attitude of yours and that's not - that isn't - a bad thing. I would much rather be able to talk to someone who will converse with me properly than someone who would nod in agreement for fear there might be conflict."

After a brief pause, Charles let out a sigh and took another step forward, "And I'd hate to think you a timid one. It would be very opposite - er, contradicting - to what I have seen of you."

---

  

Emmeline stayed where she was, watching him intently as he spoke and as he took a step in her direction. It was strange really. She was normally a blushing fool around men. But then again, as he'd pointed out before, she had been around boys. This was different. Something was different with him but she wasn't ready to admit it.

"You're wrong," she started to say, "You aren't like most men even if you think you are." And he wasn't. Most men wanted that meek and timid thing. The type that would bow to their every whim without thought. Brainless and spineless. She'd been that girl though but she quite liked where she was going and what she was becoming.

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#LovelyLadySet

Charles shook his head. See, that's where she was wrong, "You're right. Most men aren't like me, Miss Woodcroft." He said, taking another step forward.

"Most men would have left you or done much worse. Most men would have simply mailed your wand back. But the question, Miss Woodcroft, is," He took one more step toward her - and then moved behind her, almost whispering in her ear this time, though his tone was playful once again, "Why do you think I'm different to most men?"

---

  

Emmeline continued to watch him, eyes remaining on his face as he came closer to her. She hadn't expected any of this to happen. She hadn't expected the past two days of her life to ever happen even remotely close the way they had. But there she was, with a gentleman taunting her in a way that she found confusing but alluring. Nothing made sense anymore.

And then he was behind her and all but whispered to her. It send the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end and for a chill to run down her spine. She even shuddered at the feel but she didn't turn her head to look at him.

"Because most men would do exactly what you just said, exactly the opposite of what you're doing," she answered, trying to keep her confidence up, "Most men would not what you just described of me to be interesting. Most men would want the exact opposite of that."

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#LovelyLadySet

Charles could see her body tense a little. He moved back a little, taking a brief hold of her hand and turning her to face him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the bench she was sitting on when he arrived. As it turned out, they hadn't really moved that far at all. It had been a back and forth; a game of cat and mouse. Though Charles still had yet to ascertain which was which.

"And what kind of man, then, would you prefer me to be?" He asked, letting go of her arm. He wasn't sure why he was acting this way and being flirtatious. He wasn't sure what he was doing. She was young - soon to be debuted within a year - and he was a Ministry employee hoping for a promotion. And yet, he found himself enjoying this little game.

---

  

Emmeline normally would have pulled her hand away the instant she felt a man touch it all while blushing furiously. But, as it was, she was just about frozen in place. She was at a loss with this man, having never experienced anything like what was going on in that moment. She turned easily enough as he moved her to face him again but the moment he let go of her, she felt a sudden burst of coldness where his hand had been. She didn't like it and frowned slightly as a result. But she also didn't have a clue as to how to respond to his question.

"I.. I don't know," she found herself saying, as honest as she could possibly be, "I'd rather someone not be something that they truly aren't. Honesty is my preference but..why would you even care what I wanted. I'm just a student after all." Which meant she was far from a debutante of any sort. And the only Coming Out she'd have would be the formal one held by the school. After that, it would be straight into starting a career. There'd be no fancy events or parties for her.

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#LovelyLadySet

Her slight frown wasn't lost on the Ministry employee which was somewhat of a nice feeling for Charles. It meant someone - she - liked his touch and it gave him a sense of companionship he'd yet to fully experience. It wasn't that he hadn't had his flings before; he had; but they didn't last and didn't feel real. Whatever this was, it seemed real.

Her comment about being a student also wasn't lost on him and he frowned a little, "A student who is more grown up than most adults I've had the displeasure of meeting, Miss Woodcroft. You keep putting yourself down. Stop that," He said almost sternly, "And I'm glad. I'm as honest as I can be where possible."

Which roughly translated to: I lie when I need to.

After a brief pause, Charles felt the need to shift the topic slightly and instead of simply allowing her to direct the conversation, Charles spoke up and moved to sit on the bench, gesturing for her to sit next to him once again by patting the seat, "Tell me a little more about yourself. I'm keen to know."

---

  

Emmeline's frown turned into a slight glare when he told her to stop putting herself down. She hadn't. Or, at least, she didn't think she had. There was plenty about her that was wrong but she hadn't been airing that out there for him to hear. She could though, if she really wanted to. But she didn't think that would go over well, not with the way he was looking at her in that moment.

She hesitated as he sat down and motioned for her to join him though. She really had to deliver her mother's things. She only had one delivery though so she might have the time to do so even if she did sit down for a little longer.

"What do you want to know? Other than I'm a student who can't hold her firewhiskey," she asked, her tone slightly playful as she brought up the night before just a bit, "I've always had a fascination with animals. Maybe that's why your owl didn't bite." He had been a rather sweet old thing no matter what Charlie had said about him.

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#LovelyLadySet

Charles nodded, "Firewhiskey isn't for everyone. I hate the stuff. But animals?" He turned to her, "What about them do you like?"

In truth, Charles was the opposite. He was not an animal person in the slightest. He connected more with alcohol and criminals than he did owls and frogs. Perhaps that was why his owl had a strong disdain for him. The feeling was mutual though, "And you must be special if he didn't bite you. He bites everyone. One look and he'll have your finger. Or perhaps not. You're some sort of owl magician."

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