Control (Claudia Morley)

[Vladislav Voronov]

He was alone, the man in the corner. His dark hair blending into his dusky surroundings, His face remained in the shadows and yet those cold blue eyes still stood out, piercing the darkness with frightening ferocity. His face was clam, hard and almost completely emotionless.

Mr.Voronov was both a man of substance and of power; his demeanour made that much obvious. His cold inference to the coming and goings around him and the way he set himself apart in the far corner of the pub made him seem somehow removed from the others in his presence. His dark high collared robes were clearly tailored and not cheap to buy while in his hand a single glass of fire whiskey was nursed.

The mans gaze was upon his wooden top of his table, there was nothing of any interest to behold upon its surface so one could only assume that he was lost somewhere deep within his own thoughts. No one could possibly tell if he was intoxicated, for the drink within his had was barely touched, but then who could know how many he had consumed before hand.

It was around 7.00pm, the Leaky Cauldron was filled mostly with wizards and witches that had come in for a drink after completing a day of work, and in this respect Vladislav was no different. After completing a days work at the ministry of magic he had come to this pub and sat down in this dark corner, he rarely did go home to his wife and children immediately after work but it was rare to find him in this particular establishment.

The din in the pub was steadily rising, men shouted boisterously and Wemen cackled and giggled all around. His nerves were waring thin and yet who could possibly tell? A couple of tables away an inebriated man stood and began to sing, waving his arms about as if to conduct his companions who where now laughing at him. His eyes remained locked upon the wooden top of his table, his head didn’t move, but the hand grasping his drink tightened slightly, the only hint of the irritation toward the others in the pub that he now felt.

[Claudia Morley]

It had been months since Claudia had even set foot in London. She could hardly say she'd missed the place. It was still dirty and crowded and the weather was as gray and putrid as ever. Scotland, at least, was quiet and peaceful, but still mind-numbingly dull. Why had the dark lord not called for her? The Hogsmeade attack had awakened her appetite for violence and destruction, and she was itching to see what her lord had in store for her next.

The only reason she had stayed away this long was because of Bellatrix. The dark lord's new little pet knew her secret, and Claudia thought it best that she lie low for a while, especially if she was not being summoned. The last thing she needed was another enounter with the little shrew.

As she entered the Leaky Cauldron, Claudia took a quick look around. The pub was a bit too crowded for Claudia's taste, and she almost turned around and left again. The off-key crooning of the drunken wizard was particularly offensive to her ears, and she pulled out her wand, aiming at him. "Silencio," she said.

The spell seemed to silence more than the intended target, as nearly everyone turned to stare at the woman who cast it. But she ignored the shocked expressions and strode into the bar, her high heels clicking loudly against the floorboards.

[Vladislav Voronov]

His icy blue eyes rose at the sound of a familiar voice. He had no problem in spotting her standing with her wand pointed at a now silenced drunk, every eye in the pub glued to her form, no doubt at least some of them recognized her as he did as Claudia Morley.

It had been some time since Vladislav or any other death eater for that matter had set eye upon her but apparently she had not changed. Claudia was beautiful in a brutal kind of way, her platinum blonde hair and defined features always allowed her to stand out in a crowd, but then that probably also had something to do with her personality and entrances such as these.

Vlad watched in silence as she strode across the room, as always she dressed with taste, the sound of her high heels now filling the hushed room with sound. It seemed apparent that Claudia had not seen Vladislav in the corner; not surprising considering the pub was so crowed. He leant forward watching her path through the sea of lookers. “You always did know how to make an entrance.” Came a deep and heavily accented voice from the corner. His words carried easily in the now much quieter room.

Vladislav stood with surprising poise, bending slightly at the wait he gestured toward the seat opposite himself “please, sit.” Having been born and raised in Russia it was hardly surprising Vlad had retained an accent. But He spoke fluent and easy to understand English having had worked and lived in England so long.

[Claudia Morley]

An argument could probably be made that she was doing a public service to the rest of the customers by silencing the man, but, quite frankly, she had not done it for them. In fact, she cared not a whit for anyone else in the place, even the man who called out to her. She recognized the voice instantly, with his thick accent, and didn't even need to look at him to know who he was. Instead, she continued her walk across the floor, allowing her figure to sway enticingly as she went.

She stopped at the bar, and only then did she turn to look at him, a look of amusement on her face. "Vlad," she replied. "It's been a while."

Not one to come immediately when summoned (unless of course, it was by the Dark Lord himself), Claudia ordered a glass of brandy and waited for it. Once the bartender placed the glass in front of her, she picked it up, took a sip, and walked over to Vlad's table.

"Well, well," she said at last, as she took her seat. "You're looking typically broody this evening. I trust you've been keeping yourself busy in our Lord's absence?"