#6 As time goes by [OPEN]

'Yes,' Lucas muttered bitterly, having only just set aside his notebook. It was quiet though, so she may not have understood him.

His tone kind of gave it away, but he didn't care. Today was not a day he wanted to waste effort on being charming and patient, even if the mask still slipped into place as soon as she'd spoken to him.

Sighing, he looked up to see who had ruined his peace not even a decent amount of time since he'd secured it. Ah, this one. He made a go on gesture, allowing her to speak -- as no doubt MJ was there to request something from him, as everyone did. Well, that and she was a little kid so why the heck else would she dare intruding on his moment?

Lucas' frustration was momentarily disarmed by MJ asking if he was okay. She was probably just being polite; as if anyone actually cared how he was doing. It was such a foreign question... or it used to be, until he started dating Amara and she actually meant it when she asked. It was nice, but he knew not to believe anyone else if they made small talk.

He decided to pretend he hadn't heard her.

'Weird? Slugs?' Lucas scoffed, shaking his head in amusement. 'Oh, if only you knew the things people asked. Slugs are far from weird. And of course I can -- there's nothing I can't get.'

Having made this deal with a fellow Slytherin recently, Lucas had little trouble tracking down his notes for this kind of deal. They were a nasty thing to restock, but he still had some leftover. There was a reason he always got more than he needed per collection; to avoid having to do it again for a long time.

'How many did you have in mind?' he asked, giving MJ a curious glance. 'I can do three for 3 Galleons, or five for 7 Galleons. Is that enough?'

If they went any higher than that, Lucas had a few ideas. But even for use in Potions, he couldn't imagine someone needing that many. He'd see what the brat had to say, before making any further comment. And he was open to negotiation, though rarely budged on them.

And to his credit, he didn't even blink at this twelve year old asking him if he could also sell her a knife.

'Ah, that one is too far above your pay grade, I'm afraid.' Lucas shook his head. 'A lot of people think any old knife will do, but no. There are special knives that are best suited for ingredient collecting and... well, other things... but they are very hard to come by. I don't think I should sell it to you. I would definitely not use spells though.'

He shuddered in memory of Amara's rants about fools who forgot that magic and ingredients do not mix. MJ seemed reasonable enough, so he didn't doubt her intentions were genuine, but still... those knives were special and it felt wrong to just hand it off to a kid. There were probably other ways for her to get it, but that wasn't his interest.

Lucas nodded at her agreement to the slug trade, but froze when she asked for Krutquid Tentacles. And not one, but four? Luckily, his attention was on his inventory book so he had some semblance of being able to hide his nervous reaction.

He'd just said he could get anything. For whatever reason, she'd decided to immediately challenge that... by asking one of the hardest ingredients to get, and not at all something Lucas ever dared fetch himself. What should do he? He needed to play it off somehow, and get out of this before his reputation took a massive hit.

He could get it -- that wasn't the issue. Four, however? And what about... no, he needed to dig himself out of this as soon as possible.

'You know, on second thought, a knife would be more efficient,' Lucas said, his voice a little high. He shook his head, gaze remaining fixed on his book as if his inventory needed that level of scrutiny. 'I have heard of people getting them from a Professor, and uh...'

Think. Think. How else did people get those without him or being wealthy / have prestige contacts? Thiiink!

'It sounds like you're on quite the mission,' Lucas said, composing himself enough to offer one of his charming smiles again. 'I'd say the best method here would be to ask an expert, and who probably knows more than anyone how to achieve what you're trying to do: Amara Seabrook. Not an easy person to approach, as I'm sure you know.'

He left it at that. If it was that important to MJ, he assumed she'd decide to take that risk and find a way to make it happen. Was he sending this child into harm's way? Probably. Did he care? Not in the slightest; it got him out of a tricky situation, as Amara would know exactly how to handle this.

'7 Galleons for the slugs?' He held out his hand.

Lucas smirked at the way MJ summarised the situation, as it indeed sounded like a fool's errand to say the least. Yet he nodded; yes indeed, that's exactly what he wanted. Either Amara would help MJ, so she didn't need Lucas to get his hands dirty... or Amara got rid of her. Either way, he was off the hook.

'I would definitely mention why you want the knife,' he added, hoping Amara would hear the brat out long enough to realise it was related to Potion-Making interests.

And, with any luck, MJ didn't mention he was the one who sent her.

Lucas accepted the Galleons, counting them as always to be certain. He then located the Slugs in a special pocket of his bag, which of course was very firmly secured. Once that trade was done, his energy and interest rapidly began to drop.

He scoffed at her words. 'Of course. As if I would ever forget who owes me a favor.'

Boyfriend or not, Lucas had no clue where Amara was right now. But luckily, there was an easy fix to that -- and he knew it would work, because of how close they were. Hey, it worked for Reena Ashworth so of course Amara was going to be easy.

Lucas got out a map of the school, and aimed his wand at it. 'Pointus Amara Seabrook,' he said, watching the spell work its magic. 'She's in the Private Courtyard. Good luck.'


[OOC: Amara mentioned with permission.]

Lucas had been minding his own business, trying to read a book. No really, he was actually minding his own business for once and just chilling out in the courtyard like any other student. No one else had bothered him since MJ ran off to find Amara, and hopefully wouldn't be back.

His concentration broken by a roar, Lucas acted purely out of instinct -- diving to the ground, with his hands over his head to protect his head. Oh, and his skull. Confused, he glanced up just in time to witness the nightmare of a dragon flying overhead. By the time its shadow swept over him, Lucas had turned paler than the stonework around him.

Crawling back onto the bench, Lucas could only stare for a moment in horror. When it flew enough away that he wasn't in immediate danger, the shock of it wore off a bit. He stood, pulling his bag back onto his shoulder, and tried to work out what just happened.

'Oh, sweet Merlin.' Lucas clutched his chest, eyes closed for a moment to process. 'That really scared me. What in the bloody--? Oof.'

Some kid crashed into him, knocking Lucas (who yelped as if someone had tried to hit him) back onto the bench. He caught the kid mainly as something to hold onto, as if that would stop him toppling off the bench from the surprise impact -- thankfully, he remained seated on his now-sore butt. Spotting Gryffindor colours, Lucas roughly shoved the kid onto the ground.

'Watch it,' he snapped, standing tall over him. 'Yeah, of course I saw it.  It's a bloody dragon, mate. The whole school probably saw it. Did you see me?'

Checking his hair, Lucas eyed the Gryffindor a moment longer. Kody Ashwoeth. Oh great, Reena's younger brother. Well, tough. He ought to look where he was going. What if he'd been some other Slytherin, who was far less forgiving?

Well, that made Lucas somewhat forgiving. Fine. Kody was lucky Reena was his sister. But that didn't mean Lucas had to be polite about it or brush things off; the boy had crashed into him. What was he supposed to do? What if he'd damaged something in his bag after that? Concerned, Lucas quickly pulled it off and sorted through to check.

All while trying to ignore the dragon's roar again, but it was flying away from the school now. Small mercies.