LYTHIA: Lythia stumbled slightly as she apparated into the empty alleyway, frowning as she pulled the white slip of paper from her coat pocket. She always hated apparating such long distances, and this was -by far- the farthest she'd ever had to go. Gathering herself, she exited the alleyway and followed the directions the artist had scribbled down for her.

ADRIAN: As Adrian glided about his gallery, he noticed that there seemed to be a common theme. Though he didn't intend for it, nearly every single woman in his paintings (the ones he had no models for) seemed to look like the same blonde, slender girl that he had always admired. He folded his arms and stared at one in particular, studying the woman's features.

LYTHIA: The house was amazing. It was the perfect example of Finnish architecture, which was something her ancestors had always ranted on about during holiday dinners. Lythia took this last chance as she walked up to the door to make sure her hair was in place; tied back into a loose bun with stray strands of blonde locks hanging delicately around her face and neck. Perfect. Then, all she had to do was lift the door knocker up, hold for a second, and let it drop.

ADRIAN: A cringe went through Adrian's body as he heard the loud thud, and turned to make his way towards the door. He was just shutting the door to the gallery and locking it when the house elf opened the front door. "Oh! Good afternoon Miss Harrison! Please come in!" the little one said, and moved aside to allow Lythia to enter. Adrian stood in front of the door with his arms crossed, a small smile on his face. "Welcome," he said in a dark, sultry tone.

LYTHIA: "Why thank you, Adrian." Lythia said in her classic, low, satiny voice after she thanked the house elf that opened the door for her. "Lovely place you have. Well done." She said with a smile.

ADRIAN: He nodded his head slightly and stepped forward to take her hand and just barely bring it to his lips to imitate kissing it. "Surely my guests are the ones who bring the true beauty," he complimented, and gestured towards the sitting room that lay next to his gallery. "I've had Wilma prepare tea for us."

LYTHIA: Lythia snickered at his words and followed him into the sitting room. Once inside, she gracefully rolled her shoulders back, pushing the long black coat backwards and slowly down her arms until it rested in her hands. "Riley would have loved to see this place," she said as she rested her coat over the back of a chair and turned to face him. She wore a tight scarlet blouse with the top few buttons undone, black leather slacks, and a pair of stiletto heels. "We never got to visit Finland much."

ADRIAN: He couldn't help but to look her figure over for a moment. Then he took her coat and hung it up on a deep red wooden coat hanger in the corner. After motioning to one of the backless sofas for her to sit on, he sat on the opposite one. "You really should, it's such a beautiful country...even off of my lands," he said, and laughed lightly.

LYTHIA: "It's a wonder we haven't. Finnish is in our blood, as are several other things. But there is still plenty of time." She admitted, seating herself comfortably and lounging an arm against the side of the chaise. "How long have you lived here?"

ADRIAN: "Well, I was born and raised in Helsinki, then after Hogwarts I decided to try Prague out for a little while. When that didn't work out I knew it was time to think about moving back home," he paused to serve their tea, "and once I found this place I knew I had come home to stay," he finished, putting in her usual bits of milk and sugar.

LYTHIA: Lythia watching him serve the tea, crossing her left leg over the right. "Must be nice. Whenever I visit the place where our family originated, all I get is lectures and boring old family history lessons."

ADRIAN: A short laugh left his mouth in between sips of his tea. "I can fully understand that. My own parents...well...let's just say they never leave anything out," he finished with a grin.

LYTHIA: "Mmm." She sounded in agreement before taking a sip of her tea and leaning her weight on her propped-up arm. "I reckon that's rather common among upper-class families. So proud of their heritage..."

ADRIAN: "Oh yes of course," he said, then sat up and pretended to be one of his great relatives, "You know...your great great great aunt Merideth Mary Lauren Bridget Pucey was a fantastic horse woman. There wasn't a single hurdle she couldn't jump."

LYTHIA: Lythia cleared her throat, imitating a nearly perfect Russian accent as she said "You should be proud to be of our blood. Your great great grandfather Mikko was once a Lord..."

ADRIAN: He allowed himself an amused laugh, and smiled brightly at her. "Yes, that sounds about right on both sides," he agreed, taking a bite of his crumpet.

LYTHIA: She smiled just as brightly back before sipping some more of her tea. "It's good to know that you haven't completely lost yourself to art. You should come visit England more often." Lythia said, sipping again after adding: "Apparently I'm a riot when I'm drunk."

ADRIAN: "Well, perhaps now that I've a reason to...I will," he said in a rather serious tone before giving her a light smile and sipping his tea again. He had wondered why he'd kept himself locked away from his friends for so long.

LYTHIA: "Good to know." She said lightly,plucking a crumpet of the serving plate and taking another good look around the room. Her home was so much different, especially after her redecorating spree.

ADRIAN: "What are you keeping yourself busy with these days, Lythia? Still playing Quidditch?" he asked, trying to make pleasant talk and trying not to stare at her.

LYTHIA: She blinked, bringing her attention back to Adrian. Grimly, she shook her head. "On the side, not professionally. Rhiannon still drags me into games here and there. But... I make my living as an Auror."

ADRIAN: He gave a short chortle and smiled. "It seems that that girl loves Quidditch more than her own boyfriend...although...he always seemed to enjoy nothing else but Quidditch anyway," he commented, and thought for a moment. "I never truly thought much of the game. It's fantastic to sketch or paint...but playing it on the other hand. Well, I'll leave that to the more talented."

LYTHIA: "Oh, come now. I know for a fact you used to play Quidditch. Not just in school either." Lythia sipped her tea, looking him dead in the eye with a small smirk. "You and Riley used to try to bury each other."

ADRIAN: He nodded, "Yes...we did for quite some time. But even though I was a fair match for him, I...well...I found my true talent lied elsewhere," he said with a smile, unwilling to tell her the real reason for his leaving Riley's friendship behind him.

LYTHIA: Lythia shook her head. "You were always an artist, everyone knew that. It wasn't some surprising discovery. You drew all over everything!" She said with a laugh, not mentioning she usually saw them over notes he and Riley left around.

ADRIAN: He smirked, having the same memory. "I used to draw other students as cartoons...exsentuating their biggest deformity...and...in our younger years...acting like complete idiots," he replied, remeniscing happily.

LYTHIA: Lythia couldn't fight it. One eyebrow rose and she looked at him with another smirk tugging at the corner of her lips: a glimpse of the good old Li. "Acting like complete idiots, you say? Just in your younger years?"

ADRIAN: He smiled and laughed lightly, "You do have a point...up until I moved away we were still acting like complete idiots. Then...once the war came..." he trailed off, finding it hard to carry on.

LYTHIA: Lythia's smug expression faded at the mention of the war. Her light eyes grew slightly wider before shifting down to stare at the toe of her shoe. She couldn't help but remember all the fighting, the family that she lost, and the three months that had been taken away from her.

ADRIAN: He noticed her reaction and set down his tea cup. "I see I've opened up a poor subject. Bad form on my part..." he said honestly, a disappointed look on his face.

LYTHIA: "No, it's alright." She replied, her voice back to the smooth, dark tone and her eyes remaining on her foot. "It was tough, you know. Everyone lost so much, even us Purebloods. I guess I'm still coming to terms with that."

ADRIAN: "As I'm sure many others are. I never took a side in the war, but always felt that I have no purpose in fighting anyway. Unless of course I could have killed people with my paintings..." he commented, trying to lighten the mood a little.

LYTHIA: "Is that why you moved here after graduation?" Lythia asked rather bluntly, her gaze returning to his face. "To escape fighting in the war?"

ADRIAN: He nodded sheepishly, knowing full well that she had fought very bravely. "That, and to escape some of the people that I would have hated to lose," he frowned, "I guess in a way I did lose them."

LYTHIA: "Funny, that. My siblings survived, but I still lost them. I can understand what you mean." She said with a small shrug, finishing off her tea.

ADRIAN: He too set his cup down and lit a cigarette. "If it's not too bold of me to say, the war has done absolutely nothing to comprimise your beauty," he said honestly, taking a drag off of the cigarette.

LYTHIA: "Which is surprising since I must have looked bloody awful from the time I was carried from the battlefield to the time I got out of the hospital three months later." She said honestly, standing and walking to her coat. Lythia pulled out a pack of what looked like expensive French cigarettes and moved around the room to the couch where Adrian sat. "But thank you, just the same." She said with a smile as she sat beside him so that she could reach an ashtray.

ADRIAN: He moved the tray so that they could both access it. "Well...personally I've never thought of you that way. From what I've seen, I'd actually like to paint a woman fresh from the battlefield. I honestly can't think of anything sexier," he said in an uncommonly calm tone.

LYTHIA: "Well perhaps sometime you should come along with me during a job. You can watch me get beat up and beat up people while my partner watches and cleans up the mess." Lythia laughed lightly.

ADRIAN: He returned the laugh and ashed before taking another drag from his cigarette. "I highly doubt that you get beat up as much as you say you do," he said honestly, and gave her a warm smile.