On the Prowl. (Open)

[henrycozart]

It was already late in the evening, but the sounds of metal clanging and fire burning could still be heard. Henry Cozart was busy beating down a sheet of metal to form another one of his weapons, a small Persian dagger. He managed to make an improvised smithy out of large rocks and some fire he made manually. As he brought down the hammer on the metal, he was glad that it was not full moon. He always gets sick right before a full moon, thanks to that rare disease that only afflicts werewolves like himself. He just did not like the fact that he was rendered dysfunctional when it strikes.

Deep inside, he was still thinking of his father and the curse he brought onto him. He could still remember his words the day he bit him and woke up his dormant wolf blood. The blood of our ancestors run abundantly on you. I will make sure that you will become one of the most powerful werewolves history has ever known. These were his father's words and it makes him seethe in anger whenever he remembers them. Added to the fact that his mother and older brother went missing after he killed his father. He shook his head sadly. Maybe they did not want anything to do with him ever since. However, he did not stopped his search for them.

Suddenly, his keen sense of hearing picked up a sound. The sound of footsteps of someone approaching his position was indeed very familiar to him. He sighed and immediately put out the fire non-verbally using his wand. He then jumped high into a tree branch and looked down. He knew that in a matter of five minutes, someone would be standing at the same position he was assuming moments before. As for the unfinished dagger, he paid no mind since it would still be deathly hot if ever the person touched it, they would badly get burned. He growled softly, baring his teeth as he waited for whoever it was.

[Anne Braden]

Anne held her wand in her hand as she travelled through the forest. A myriad of creatures were not fond of Anne. From eggs to venom, Anne had already taken alot from them. Anne had a certain disdain for beasts. She alone was probably responsible for absence of spider webs in the dark corners of the castle. Though she was still unwilling to tackle the dungeons. The Muggleborn was quite popular for using a broom, not for flying, but cleaning rather than a wand. So her treatment of the spider's homes must have been seen as something especially vicious though that was merely her own speculation.

She heard the Henry working, being quite keen at observation. Though she was obviously not so keen at approaching him stealthily. Anne could not see anyone when she came upon Henry's work. She walked up to the makeshift smithy and looked upon it with a mix of curiousity and amusement. She spotted the product of his labour, the unfinished dagger. A desire to take it came to her swiftly. Without hesitation, Anne quickly scanned the area around her though she did not think to look up at Henry. Finding no one, Anne reached down and grasped the dagger tightly. She lifted it and it took a moment before her brain registered the searing heat. Anne released the dagger, dropping it to the floor and backed away from the workbench couple of paces. She looked at her hand, the skin was burned badly. She had never seen skin so red before. She wondered if that was blood? Anne knew very little about burns.

Annie decided she would ignore the pain and head to the nurse immediately. She grinned, pleased that she hadn't screamed in pain. Though she actually still wanted to. She wondered where the worker had gone. Anne suddenly became interested in scanning the area again. She followed the same procedure as her first search, she looked around her position. She turned slowly. It was not until she was finished revolving on the spot that she thought to take notice of the nearby trees and the possibility of someone climbing them. Anne looked up with her mouth open and noticed Henry's barred teeth first. The rest of his features, although handsome were corrupted by the possibility that his teeth threatened. She did not know that he was a werewolf, but she did not expect him to be very pleasant.

[henrycozart]

Henry merely sat on the tree branch, waiting. He knew that the person had already known that he was still in the area. Although he wondered what could be in her mind at that exact moment. He squinted slightly to identify who it was and saw that it was Anne Braden, a Ravenclaw the same year as his. From what he could deduce from her, she was definitely stealthy and one wrong move would actually make him vulnerable to her. His eyes then wandered from her to the makeshift smithy and finally to where the unfinished dagger lay. He then looked right at her warily as she approached the place.

His eyes then widened with amusement as she reached out her hand to touch and possibly steal the dagger. Apparently, she would realize in a few seconds that since it was still unfinished, it would still be glowing hot from being formed. Sure enough, he saw her drop the dagger on the floor and her face registering a look of pain on being burned. He was then impressed on the way she managed to stay calm despite being burned badly, figuring out that she may have suffered some minor second-degree burns on her hand. It was then that he noticed that she was keen on finding him and sure enough, as she turned around and looked up, she managed to finally find him. Henry smiled right at her and jumped nimbly off the tree. He just looked at her face to her badly burned hand. “You should have waited for me to finish it, and then you might not have been burned badly,” he then said in a matter-of-fact tone. He then reached for the dagger and placed it back on the table. “You’re Anne Braden right? What are you doing here at this time of night?” he asked, still in that same tone of his.

[Anne Braden]

Anne was surprised to see the Seventh year Gryffindor leap out of the tree and land safely. She would have never been able to stand if she fell from a tree. She furrowed her brow. A bit embarassed at perceiving him as a threat and mad that he did not stop her from touching the hot metal. Anne lifted her hand and looked down at her hand. "Nevermind that, are you able to heal this?" She did not hope he was capable, though she thought it should be his duty to be able to since he was playing with such dangerous elements as heat. Anne shook her hand as the wind excited the burn. "I am she." Anne decided to admit that that was her name. She had no clue who he was herself. And she was not about to tell him that she was after Phoenix eggs.

Anne gazed at Henry, with a hint of jealousy. She took a step toward him warily. She stopped though to close her eyes tightly. She hated burns. Especially since she should have been smarter than to have put herself in that situation. "What are you doing here? What is this?" Anne asked in pure curiousity. She was looking at the tools Henry had. She was aware how counter-productive she could be to herself and others and actually had a slight interest in changing that.

[henrycozart]

Henry merely looked at her face and he could sense a plethora of emotions and thoughts coursing through her. Honestly, he did not know what could she be thinking at that very moment but he knew that she was primarily concerned on her burned hand. He then looked at her hand curiously when she suddenly asked him whether he could be able to heal her. “Yes,” he merely said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of burn ointment and some white cloth cut in strips. He then got himself busy by putting some of the ointment on her skin and massaging it slightly, and then he bandaged her hand using the strips of white cloth. “You will feel a slightly stinging sensation, but don’t worry. It would be healed in the next six hours,” he then said to her. He could see warily that she seemed to think it was a given fact that he should know what to do just in case he gets burned while manipulating elements such as fire. “Well, I rarely heal myself anymore. My skin is already used to the heat,” he said, as he showed her his hands which were already scarred by burns.

“Oh since I already know who you are, it would be rude not to introduce myself,” he then said as he took a step near her although he managed to keep a respectable distance from her. “My name is Henry Cozart, and I’m from Gryffindor,” he introduced himself. He then laughed as she asked him what he was doing at the forest and she seemed to be curious of his tools. “Well, I am a blacksmith by profession. And it seems to me that you wanted to steal my latest work out of impulse. I was trying to see if you would come and try stealing it. Too bad I wasn’t finished yet,” he then explained to her, amusement evident on his face.

[Anne Braden]

Anne held her hand still for him. She hoped he was skilled at treating burns. Though she would have found it out of place if he was not, Anne knew of all sorts of contradicting possibilities. The world was not as simple as other people pretended it was. She had learned this at an early age, probably too early. She did not flinch at his treatment though she wanted to for more than the pain. Anne was comforted by his easy-going personality. His actions told her that he was not like her at all, but that thought was more comforting to her than the alternative. She watched his hands work. Knowing he would not hurt her without purpose, Anne stared at his face. "Thank you."

Annie listened as Henry introduced himself. She was not very interested in his name. Though his house confirmed her perception of his behaviour. She would have sorted him to Gryffindor as well. It suited him. Anne did not feel as though she belonged in Ravenclaw though. She almost caved into the pure blood prejudice that stated that she did not belong in Hogwarts or the magical world at all. "I am a Ravenclaw." Anne then grinned at Henry deceptively. She did not like when people accused her of stealing or even having the intention to steal. "I only wanted to look at it." She said simply and backed away from him.

[henrycozart]

Henry just smiled at her as she thanked him for treating her burned hand and then suddenly, she seemed to back away from him. He could tell that she was trying to gauge his personality, thus giving him the impression that she was indeed someone who was calculating and suspicious. He just placed his hands on the back of his head and sighed. "Well, I guess you indeed have a reason to be afraid of me, but don't worry, I don't bite," he then said. He then fixed his gaze at the unfinished dagger and smiled once again. "I know, I know. I'm sorry for even accusing you," he then said.

He then strode over to his tools and picked up his hammer. However, he then laughed to himself as he realized that he hasn't even started a fire yet. He dropped the hammer then picked up a flint and a rock and started rubbing them together. The friction produced a flickering fire in a matter of seconds. He then caught the fire using a thick piece of firewood and lit the smithy up. When he was sure that the fire was hot enough, he picked up his hammer and started beating on the metal. "You can have a look if you want. Don't worry, it won't burn you. See?" he then scooped up a piece of the fire and held it at the palm of his hand. "This is a secret fire magic passed on from our clan. I was just started to learn it recently. The fire that burned you was ordinary fire I produced from my wand. Sorry about that," he then explained to her.

[Anne Braden]

Anne nodded to Henry. She did not know what he meant exactly by his wording, but she knew she generally liked what he said. There was something about people agreeing with her, especially men, that made Anne feel elated. Anne no longer had any fear of Henry. In her experience, Godric's students were never mean spirited anyway. She blinked several times and spoke softly, "I like that." She laughed at his joke about biting, thinking it was just talk. Anne looked around the area a third time, to be sure that no one was watching. She looked back at Henry. "I am glad to meet you, Henry Cozart. I need to get away from the castle sometimes, Salazar and his students are a real joy."

Annie followed Henry to his workplace after a moment. She watched from over his shoulder, since she did not desire to get into his way. He had just started working on making a new fire. She almost cringed, her burn flared up with pain when he started the fire anew. Anne backed away from Henry and the fire. But heard his explanation that it was safe. She reached out and put her unburnt hand near the fire he held in his palm. She moved her hand to the fire slowly, still recalling the pain of her first burn. Anne grinned and almost laughed when she found that it was indeed safe though. "My dad spoke of a spell that makes fire useless on the body. I'm afraid I didn't bother to ask it. Is that similar?" Anne looked up at Henry, raising her eyebrows after the question.

[henrycozart]

Henry just flashed her a brilliant smile, quite fascinated by the way she reacted to what he said. "You know Anne, it's refreshing to meet someone in the woods every once in a while when I work here," he said, as he raked his hands through his hair to make it more messy. He was fascinated by her aggressiveness and he was quite interested in her personality in a friendly way. However, he frowned when she mentioned how Salazar and his students were a real joy for her. He knew that she meant it in a sarcastic way and he could not help but feel sorry for her. "Well, they are certainly a pain if you ask me. I'm half-blood and sometimes, I become a target to them. I guess I dealt with them long enough for them to know I'm not an easy target to pick," he then said in a deathly serious tone. "How did they get to your nerves then?" he then asked, curious to know if she was a half-blood or even a muggleborn.

He just smiled as Anne took hold of his special fire. He was amused by her fascination to it; however, his technique was far from perfect. He just listened as she asked him if the spell he performed was similar to a certain spell that renders fire useless. "Well, if you are talking about flame freezing, I guess the concept is quite similar. This fire is not really meant for offensive purposes, so it can't burn anyone. Although it is quite useful for me in my line of work. Why did you ask?" he then said, his curiosity piqued once again.

[Anne Braden]

Anne returned his smile though she felt quite silly. It was like her to be able to act nice despite feeling foolish about it. She was not merely acting now, though she was not entirely positive about being around Henry. She would probably never feel comfortable around anyone. Anne took a slow breath. "Refreshing? But I wonder who you're hiding from back here. Or aren't you?" She laughed as though it were a joke. She paused though and thought over his question. "I suppose the first time he bugged me was when he almost choose me for his house but decided against it because of my parentage. The students are annoying, but nothing seriously endagering. Even though they say they want to kill mudbloods like myself."

Annie pulled her hand away from Henry's fire and passed it back to his hand. She could tell that he was quite pleased with himself by his facial features. Although she was not aware if he had heard of her favourite hobby, Anne did not think it would take much longer to pull a trick on him if she wanted to. "I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm just curious to be honest. Hehe!" Her giggle was high and deceptively cute, though the desires that crossed her mind would be considered anything but cute to Henry if he were to find out about them. "Have you ever been seriously injured?"

[henrycozart]

Henry scooped up the fire from Anne’s hand and placed it back on the smithy. He continued to beat the metal, shaping the dagger, and he was certainly doing a good job on it. He was merely listening to Anne talk and he turned around slightly when she asked him a question. “Hiding? Not really, it’s just that there’s absolutely no place in the castle where I can work on this. The forest has plenty of space and materials for work,” he then replied to her question. He merely nodded as he listened when she related on how she was first bugged by the people from Slytherin house. “Ah, well believing in blood purity is certainly something endearing to them. Slytherin would never choose me to be in his House, I have too many things that he does not like,” he then said, looking pensive.

He then looked at her and studying her face, she seemed to have something in mind, although he could not tell what it was. He then realized that she was plotting something and he had to stay alert at all times. He just smiled when he heard what she had to say and when she asked him whether he was seriously injured, he winced slightly, as if he could feel the pain on him. “Seriously injured? Now that’s a good question,” he said as he put his hammer down and removed the jacket covering him, revealing large scars on his trunk area. He then put back his jacket and raised the sleeves so that several other scars of uneven sizes could be seen. Only the red bandanna covering his right shoulder was still intact. “I always have tussles with wild animals and creatures, and these scars are proof. Did that answer your question?” he asked, with a manical glint on his eyes.

[Anne Braden]

Anne's grin twitched as the fire left her hand. She was glad that it was gone even though it was proven harmless. Anne watched Henry work for a moment. She was surprised that he answered her. "Sorry. I can see the sense in that." Anne remembered that Slytherin had considered her for awhile. She wondered how Henry would react if she let him know that the more exclusive house was actually more appealing to her than the others. "I see. I do not think they can help themselves. I would probably be the same way." Anne shrugged her shoulders and turned away from Henry.

Anne put her hands behind her back. She turned back toward Henry and laughed. She gazed at his scars, transfixed for a moment. She roused suddenly though and turned away from him again. She laughed again but remarked sternly, "That was not necessary." Anne grinned and turned her head to gaze at Henry again. "Why wild animals? Are you an apprentice for the gamekeeper?"