1 April, 1892 — London

"If one more person tries to do my bloody hair, I'll eat them," Alfred said venomously to the latest servant to arrive with wand in hand. He had pieced together by now that this was the sort of threat others might be inclined to take seriously.

The clock in the room read one in the afternoon, and he was becoming increasingly agitated about Zelda. The fact that she was not in the bed with him that morning was the second thing he'd realized. The first: that he must have woken up in the middle of the night, because there was no sun coming through the windows (he had discovered later that he'd actually slept quite late, because the windows were shuttered tight against any light). The second: that the person lying next to him in bed was not his wife. The third: that he wasn't himself. He was, at least for the moment, more concerned about the second, because if he had woken up here surrounded by people who recognized him and called him by a name he'd never heard before, then it seemed likely the same had happened to someone else. The idea of a stranger waking up next to his wife, wearing his face, was alarming — especially if the fangs Alfred kept accidentally biting his own tongue with usually belonged to that particular stranger.

He had no idea what had happened, or what the extent of this sudden transformation was. He had not been offered any food, and there were no mirrors in the house he could use to check his reflection. He didn't know if he could withstand sunlight or not, but he didn't intend to hang around this massive house with these pesky servants out of an abundance of caution. He was going to find Zelda, who could hopefully start to fix things — or, if not that, who would at least know not to let anyone who looked like him back into the house.

He raided the wardrobe to find a suit and picked up a wide brimmed tophat, which in combination with an upturned collar on his jacket might hide his face from the sun (and it was London; with any luck it would be a cloudy day, anyway). Luckily he knew London well enough to get his bearings quickly once he headed out, and started towards the nearest magical neighborhood he knew of where he might be able to use a floo — only to realize as he walked that he didn't have a wand on him, which would make it impossible to get into any of the magical neighborhoods in London. Bloody hell — he ought to have ordered one of those servants with the hair spells to accompany him and pave the way, but in the moment he'd been too frustrated by their insistence on following their usual routine to see their utility. Now he was out in Muggle London without a wand, and while he could possibly manage if he went back to the house, he wasn't sure he'd remember which of the grand houses it had been — the wealthier parts of London were very far from his comfort zone.

Alfred kept up towards the entrance to the neighborhood, hoping he could figure it out as he went along. He spotted something — a tell-tale sign of a witch or wizard, though a Muggle wouldn't know what to look for — and seized upon it. "Oi," he called as he hurried over towards them and fell into step with their walk. He lowered his voice, in part to avoid being overheard by Muggles and in part to make full use of his newly threatening persona. "I need your wand for five minutes."

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

[Post]Visiting London had been near the bottom of her list since returning home. It was easier to operate under complete anonymity in her muggle Scottish town, for there would be no rumors or comments made about Ilona. There was also no chance of running into any of her family outside of London or Hogsmeade, and that was paramount considering how they'd left things. However, circumstances with her research had made such a visit impossible to avoid. She had to visit a fellow researcher's office, there was no way around it.

Jo had left Ilona in Zach's care with the promise to return in no more than two hours before flooing to Diagon Alley. From there, she'd quickly made her way into muggle London where her colleagues office resided. That she was walking with two other wizards was pure coincidence and one that was quickly changed as they turned separate ways at the corner.

It was then that she heard someone requesting her wand. "I beg your pardon?" She asked, her eyebrows raised sky high as she took in the stranger's threatening appearance. "I shall give you no such thing."

  

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Recognition hit him all at once as she turned to look at him, and Alfred didn't know how he hadn't spotted her sooner. He took half a step back, startled. It had been nearly a year since Jo Smith had disappeared from his life, but didn't he know the way she carried herself, the pattern of her steps, the exact tint of her hair? He should have spotted her from half a block away.

"Jo," he said before he could help himself — before he remembered that there was absolutely no chance she would recognize him. Maybe that was for the best. They hadn't exactly left things on a good note. She'd decided a blizzard was warmer than his company, and he'd been left having to explain himself to Zelda while poor Miss Urquart did her best to pretend the tension in the room wasn't so palpable one could cut it with a knife. If he was able to explain his current situation, would she help him? He thought she probably still would, if she believed him — but given that he didn't even know what the current situation was, that wasn't guaranteed. And flashing fangs at her and demanding her wand probably hadn't been the best way to start the conversation, if he was hoping for assistance.

You're supposed to be in America, he thought, but that was hardly the point at the moment, was it? More pressing issues at hand.

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Despite knowing its unreliability and lackluster performance, Jo subtly gripped the wand stashed in her pocket as she further examined the man who'd demanded her wand. The teeth were that of a vampire's, were they not? But then how could he be out in the sun? Some half vampires had fangs, she believed, but she'd never heard of theirs being as obvious as the stranger's. She took a half step away from him, her thoughts already racing with ideas as to how she might escape him.

Only, he said her name with such recognition, almost as though they were intimately acquainted. He couldn't have been a former lover, as her standards hadn't fallen that far ever. Not even throughout her drunken haze last spring. Who then? She had never been acquainted with a vampire. "Sir, I think it would be for the best for us to part ways." She informed him firmly. Whatever her curiosities about how he knew her, Jo had to remain alive to return home to her daughter.

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beautiful set by mj

She looked confused. Alfred bit the inside of his lip out of habit, then gasped as he drew blood. Fucking hell.

Jo didn't know who he was, and it was probably better to keep things that way, at least until he'd gotten to the bottom of what was actually happening to him. If he tried to tell her he was Alfred, she would likely think he was insane. At the same time, he couldn't afford to run her off. At best that would put him back at square one, helpless and wandless in Muggle London. At worst, she might report him to some authorities and get the Ministry to hunt him down as a liability. Which, his general feelings about Ministerial incompetence aside, might not actually be the worst place to end up — someone at the Ministry might be able to get to the bottom of this, or might at least get him into the same room with Zelda. If he was going to the Ministry, though, he'd much rather do it through his own free will and not as an arrest, though.

"Wait. I just need a fireplace. I can't get to one without a wand," he explained with a note of desperation. "If you could just get me beyond one of the barriers..."

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Bloody hell.

Jo was actually considering helping him. Somehow, she genuinely believed that allowing a vampire into Diagon Alley (where she'd just all but raced out of) was something she should do. At least there the wizards would know to be suspicious of him and, possibly, escort him to the ministry where he rightfully belonged. To leave him here with the muggles was akin to leaving a litter of puppies in a cage with a growling jaguar. It would be a slaughter.

"Fine." She agreed warily. The limited self defense she knew would be useless against a vampire. Merlin, she prayed to be allowed home to Ilona. Turning on her heel, Jo gestured in the direction she'd just come whilst ensuring at least a foot remained between them. Once they were moving she asked, "how did you know my name?"

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beautiful set by mj

She clearly didn't trust him, but at the moment Alfred didn't really need her to; he only needed to get to a floo without incident. The chances of that occurring without incident decreased with her next question. Alfred ran his tongue across the back of his teeth, stumbling again on the unfamiliar fangs.

"I didn't," he lied. "Vampire trick." This, of course, sounded absolutely ridiculous, but he thought it was marginally more believable than the truth. It certainly took less time to explain. Hopefully Jo didn't have any first-hand experience with vampires to prove him a liar.

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Perhaps if he had called her Jupiter Jo would've believed the excuse. There was no legality to the use of her nickname as her primary one, no sense in why a vampire might know it before she had even introduced herself. Jo looked at him skeptically. The man looked like none she had met before and yet he somehow knew her. But how?

"That man there, what's his name then?" She quickly gestured to the man a few feet ahead of them. Pushing a vampire for more details would likely see her death, but she was too curious now to be able to let it go.

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The following 1 user Likes Jupiter Smith's post:1 user Likes Jupiter Smith's post
   J. Alfred Darrow

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Jo was right to be suspicious, of course, but Alfred found himself exasperated by her tenacity all the same. What was she going to do, run down some random Muggle in London just to call his bluff?

No, he realized — she probably wouldn't risk it, at least not while she was walking around town with a vampire. It was risky enough that he was out here at all, even with his collar pulled up high and his hat pulled down low. Calling attention to them would be as good as a breach of the Statute of Secrecy. Jo might not have had much respect for society's rules, but she probably wouldn't flout them quite so egregiously as that.

Which meant with the right degree of confidence, maybe he could sell this — or at least delay her line of inquiry until they reached Diagon Alley, where he could safely abandon her.

"Walter," he declared, digging his hands deeper into his pockets.

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Her plan when asking had been to approach the man walking and act as if he'd dropped something of value (likely one of the few coins she had on her person) in hopes that he would introduce himself and disprove the vampire. However, it took only another second or two of thought to realize the inherent risk in her impulsive decision. There was no way to tell if the man was a muggle or wizard, and should he decide to look behind him and see the vampire ... well, Jo certainly wasn't looking to be brought before the ministry today. That was for certain.

"I don't believe you." She huffed. "You looked surprised to see me, as if we were familiar." They were nearing one of the final turns to the Diagon Alley entrance already. It was quite possible she would either die or never know her answers.

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beautiful set by mj

Alfred frowned. He didn't know what to say in response to that. He could spin up some story about having seen her somewhere before, but she wouldn't believe that any more than she'd believed his lie about how he'd known her name. The only other thing that occurred to him was to try and deflect by saying something like just surprised to see a pretty face. That would probably surprise her enough to be speechless for the rest of the short distance to Diagon, but it also made him feel vaguely queasy. Regardless of the circumstances, he could not flirt with Jo while Zelda was at home with a strange man.

He bit his lower lip (this time just the center, avoiding tearing his lip against the fangs again) and said nothing.

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

His silence was telling. He did know her then, of that she was certain. Jo stopped in her tracks (nearly colliding with the person following behind them) and eyed him once more. The man was most certainly unfamiliar, that he knew her was unsettling.

"How did you know my name?" She demanded of him again. "I'll not help you and would sooner snap my wand than hand it over willingly." Hers was a nuisance anyway. Perhaps a new wand would be a better fit.

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beautiful set by mj

Damn it, Jo. Alfred still hadn't really worked out how he felt about seeing her in London, but he wasn't going to stop and untangle it all now. He had more important problems to deal with, and right now she was an obstacle to his making any progress towards finding Zelda, figuring out what had happened that morning, or fixing it.

Maybe it would be better to just let her refuse to help him and leave, and find someone else with a wand he could bully into letting him into Diagon Alley. If he hung around the door long enough, someone was bound to come by eventually. Maybe that would be easier than trying to come up with some explanation for why he'd recognized her. He was starting to think there was nothing she'd believe — and with good reason, probably. Interactions with vampires would be memorable enough for her to have remembered.

(He'd had the words we shared a few drinks together once on the tip of his tongue before remembering that vampires, at least to his knowledge, didn't drink pints of beer).

"A snapped wand would still open the brick wall," he said (he did not actually know if this was true, but bravado seemed to be the only possible route through this conversation). "So be my guest."

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Frowning, Jo narrowed her eyes further at him. They were close enough now to Diagon Alley that another wizard would be around to stop him should he decide to go on a murdering rampage, which meant she could wipe her hands of him. She wouldn't help someone who couldn't at the very least tell her how they knew something as basic as her name.

"Have it your way." She scowled before moving to walk away from him.

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beautiful set by mj

Even though he'd literally just been thinking he might be better off letting her leave and seeking out assistance elsewhere, he still felt a sharp pang of regret when she actually turned to go. It was illogical, because there was no way he could explain anything to her when he still didn't know what was going on himself. No way that she would believe him even if he did find words to explain. No way he ought to be talking to her about it anyway, given their history and how they'd left things. Even if he did explain and she did believe him, she probably wouldn't want to talk to him. He hadn't even known that she was back in the country. She'd come back to the country and not even told him, through owl or anything. She didn't want to patch things up and pick up where they'd left off. He didn't want that, either — he'd told Zelda things were over, during the blizzard, and he'd meant that. Still: the pang of regret when she turned to go.

"Wait," he said, already cursing himself for the word before it had even fully left his mouth. He hesitated, but there was no way to take the word back now that it had hit the air. "Hell," he muttered under his breath, shifting his weight. These clothes were all nicer than what he typically wore, and uncomfortable, and all buttoned straight up to try and keep out as much sun as possible, and suddenly they felt stifling and oppressively stiff. He let out a huff of breath. "I knew your name because I know you," he admitted. "But I — this is a whole situation and I can't really explain."

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The following 1 user Likes J. Alfred Darrow's post:1 user Likes J. Alfred Darrow's post
   Jupiter Smith

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Jo ought to have kept walking. It was foolish of her to get involved in whatever ridiculousness the strange had concocted, especially considering she had been hoping to get in and out of London without being recognized. Aside from Zach and Zelda, few people knew she had returned to England — none in fact. Not her friends, not her father, and most definitely not her siblings. So for this man to know her then ran the risk of her secret being revealed, and with it Ilona's existence.

Merlin, she was grateful she didn't have Ilona with her that day.

The curiosity to know more obscured everything else though. He was a complete stranger to her and yet knew her name and who she was apparently. "Explain how we're acquainted." Jo instructed as she turned back to him once more, although she made no effort to close the space created.

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beautiful set by mj