(Untitled)

[ullrich_wm]

Week Name/Date/Time: 'Countdown to Darkness' / Friday, October 28th / 8 p.m.
Location: Corridors
Open To: Liesl
Currently Involving: Ullrich

Comments

[liesl_jacobs]

Anyone could have heard her coming from a mile away.

Every German curse word she could possibly think of spilled out of her mouth as she tramped down the corridor, having just got out of the worst detention in the history of detentions! First of all, it was with Jacqueline Zhang, that loud-mouthed, know-it-all Gryffindor. Second of all, they were forced to redecorate that lousy, smelly, dirty classroom WITHOUT magic and WITHOUT any protective covering -- so you can imagine how utterly filthy they got! Paint in the hair, on the clothes, all over the skin, under her nails. Dust and grime everywhere. Unacceptable! Even a thousand Scourgifies would never make her feel clean again! Liesl was positive she would have to burn her clothes, and she was on her way this very minute toward the dungeons to do just that -- and to take an hour-long bath. She didn't care how pruny her fingers got; she would soak until she felt human again.

"... Scheiße, das blödes arschloch Hornbeam, und auch McGonagall!!The cursing and the muttering was growing

[ullrich_wm]

Ullrich was quite sure that those not even within a mile from the strand of curse words would have still heard her. He smirked lightly, merely pausing in his walking as he heard the familiar language drawing closer. How utterly easy she was making this for him -- he dare not even move from this spot, but let his prey simply come to him

[liesl_jacobs]

She stared at him after his introduction for several moments, expressionless.

This ... this was not planned. Seidensticker did not send word of this. Dumbledore had said nothing. The German Ministry had not informed her. Shouldn't they have? She was a Ward of the State; if they were going to provide such protection, wouldn't they send correspondence to prepare her? Then again, they had done nothing this entire time to prepare her for anything of what she had faced. All her fears, all the events that unfolded in the newspaper of all places. She had been left to her own devices, left to her paranoia. Because Hogwarts was the safest place for her, wasn't it? Wasn't it

[ullrich_wm]

Ullrich waited, his outward appearance one of complete patience. Inside, he was growing quite antsy and anxious, eager to hear her response. He found that her own outward emotions were quite hard to read, much as his were. He saw initial surprise, of course -- but that was to be expected

[liesl_jacobs]

One might wonder why his employers gave Ullrich such liberties with time and manner of deployment. He was willing to dance around his prey as if he had an eternity to fulfill his duty, as if he had the luxury of taking pleasure in it. And Liesl was none the wiser. Given her temperament, she expected whomever would come after her to attack nearly on the outset; but she wasn't about to give this Auror the benefit of the doubt, either.

That is, until he presented the parcel. Her pristine brows arched in surprise, reaching bemusedly for it. She felt as if she ought not to touch it without dragon hide gloves, although she could not explain her misgivings. Liesl had steered clear of all the Aurors in the castle, not trusting a single one of them, even having attested to that fact in her irksome journal. All the coming in and coming out of the castle; who was to know who was whom amidst such chaos? Not even the professors seemed to remain for long around here anymore. Was Hogwarts really all that safe

[ullrich_wm]

Ullrich laughed. It was a rich, rolling sort of sound, hearty and amused by her words. "Goodness, no," he replied at last, the laughter fading and leaving the barest smile on his lips, that faded soon after the laugh. "I'm merely to keep my eye on you -- follow you, perhaps, at times. But as I'm sure you'd wish it, I'll be staying far behind and out of your way

[liesl_jacobs]

Liesl licked her lips, a habit of hers when she was either contemplative or bracing herself for something unpleasant. His laugh should have set her at ease; but the sweet quality of it almost seemed at odds with his character. Here he had just come straight out of the woodwork and was behaving as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Liesl felt completely out of her element here. She was looking desperately for a legend on the map but could find none. Wasn't her world already upside-down? Was there such a thing as being more topsy-turvy

[ullrich_wm]

Ullrich watched her, seeing a terrible unease settle around her. He waited, wondering just what was going through that so-obviously-untrusting mind of hers, when she moved so quickly that he had to blink and pull his mind from his thoughts and pay attention to her actions. Ahhh, she was reading his letter. He smirked lightly, just enough to satiate the desire to do so, and it was gone by the time she looked back up at him and spoke.

Ullrich looked, for a moment, surprised. Not exactly because he hadn't been prepared, but because she, for some reason, felt it was her right to see such documents.

His arms crossed loosely over his chest, and he shook his head slowly.

"You are a ward of the state," he reminded her, brows raised. "The only people that are required to see orders and cofirmations are your caretakers -- who are the ones who issued it -- and Dumbledore. I'm on my way to see him now." And, as he was prepared to meet the Headmaster, he pulled another folded letter from his pocket

[liesl_jacobs]

Ward of the State.

Liesl flinched visibly as those words were said aloud. She'd never actually mentioned that bit to anyone in this school, not even when she'd included the trouble she believed she was in to Preston or Wesley; her eyes darted from one side to the other as if she feared someone might overhear their conversation. The idea that she was an orphan, and not even one capable of minding her own legal affairs, was humiliating. And now he was talking down to her. This was just getting worse and worse.

He held out a letter and she snatched it gruffly from his hands; she supposed she ought to be a little more careful or gracious in his presence, if he was as powerful as he was supposed to be. A misstep could mean him giving her a nasty memento from the tip of his wand. But Liesl had never been gracious, and was only careful when she tapped into rare reserves of patience. She was certainly not patient at this moment. Her beady eyes scanned over the letter; it seemed alright, but she wasn't one for legal jargon. She supposed she

[ullrich_wm]

Ullrich watched as her eyes took in the forgery, inwardly smirking as she handed it back to him. He gingerly took it and folded it back in on itself before sliding it once more into his coat pocket

[liesl_jacobs]

Her lips twitched into a smirk then. Oh, he thought he was doing her a grand favour, didn't he? Thin arms folded squarely over her chest as she looked him over, a sly gleam now evident in those green eyes.

"Until the threat is gone," she echoed dutifully, one ankle crossing smoothly over the other. Liesl had all but forgotten her previously anxious state to have a bath and burn every stitch of clothing on her as soon as humanly possible; she was now quite bent on remaining here and questioning this man to find any fault with him, if she could. "Wouldn't that require, oh... actually hunting for such a threat, instead of simply following me around, waiting for something to happen?" Her head tilted slowly to one side. "We could be waiting forever, in that case. Are you proposing to grow old with me, Herr Morgenstern?"

And there she knew she'd got the better of him, or she liked to think she had. Liesl eagerly awaited what response he might have prepared for this. Really, she wanted to know just what he and his employers were doing, if

[ullrich_wm]

She was smirking at him. He wasn't sure if she was more annoyed, or relaxing just a bit. Either way, he kept his own guard up and listened as she repeated his phrase. It was a very good thing that he wasn't argumenative, or her little quip might have bothered him.

As it was, he merely returned her smirk with one of his own, but just a touch more gentle and less condescending.

"I am here to protect you," he reminded her, dark brow arching on his forehead. "I am not here to gallop through the dark forest, looking for the threat -- that is the perfect opportunity for them to move in and do their work. It would be ridiculous of me to take such risks."

He looked off, nodding toward the very forest he'd mentioned. "There are already those out there whose task it is to find the perpetrators."

He looked back to her, his gaze strong and dark. "I'll not leave your side to become a hero, Miss Jacobs."

[liesl_jacobs]

No, he looked anything but the vision of a hero. All shadows and billowing cloaks, shaggy hair before brooding eyes. Quite the anti-hero, in fact. One would think someone like him might be at home in the dark forest. But alas, he claimed he would be going nowhere near such a place. He would be glued to her hip, it appeared. And what was this about--

"--Already those out there? You mean there are more of you on this deployment?" Liesl was tempted to add 'All for little old me?' but fortunately held her tongue -- a rare triumph on her part. She frowned at him, feeling at a loss. It was all such a surprise, so unfounded, just when she had become accustomed to feeling lost and on her own in this. Now she had swarms of people helping her? People she didn't even know about? This didn't agree with her. She almost preferred getting what little help she could from Wes and leaving it at that

[ullrich_wm]

Already those out there?

He repeated her question in his mind, followed by a short, drawling 'Why not?' He offered her a somewhat weak smile -- but even that looked like a touch of brightness on his serious face. "Of course," he replied gently, turning from her and moving to the large stone windows. It was the first time he'd taken his eyes from her since she stumbled upon him.

"You must put more faith in those that wish to protect you," he lied, knowing that she shouldn't invest half-a-thought in 'those' people. No one had issued protection orders for her, despite the state knowing what sort of danger she could be in. Perhaps it was because of her location.

After all, not many would have expected someone to be able to infiltrate and carry out the job.

He paused, looking quite contemplative as he gazed out at the dark skies, before turning his eyes back to her once more. "Do you have any more questions of me, Miss Jacobs?" he asked politely, striking a languid pose against the wall as he crossed his arms over his chest.