I'll make you scream

A small cottage in the middle of nowhere, the last place you'd expect to find a witch, going about her business, brewing potions, just like witches from legend were rumored to do. A large cauldron over a fire, a long stirring stick, hair pulled back into a ponytail, slightly frizzy from the fumes. She chopped up pieces of animals to throw into the concoction, things that muggles didn't know existed. Things like Unicorn Horns, Doxy Wings, Chinese Chomping Cabbage, and many other things. She was whistling softly to herself, like she had no other care in the world. It had taken a long time for her to build up a reputation in this place, so as not to have any visitors, but it was worth it, no one came ten miles of this home, for there were horrid rumors around her, spread by yours truly.

Zara lifted the spoon to her nose and inhaled, taking in the scent, and checking the color, according to a book she had sitting on the table next to her. After a few more stirs, she put out the fire, and waved her wand, the potion slowly started to fill up several potion bottles of different sizes and shapes. Her collection of potion bottles was dwindling.. she'd have to disguise herself soon and go buy some more. She had an assorted collection, and none of them matched, but she liked it like that.

Zara smiled at her potions, and then with another wave of her wand, the bottles lifted into the air, save one, and started to fill up a cabinet she had leaning against a wall. The house itself wasn't very large, one bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen with a large fireplace, and nothing else really. A cauldron sat empty by the fire now, after she made sure there was no potion left in it. Finally, after she was all cleaned up, she grabbed a single potion and, pulled her hair down, and put on a new outfit, she opened up a rather plain door, that led down to the cellar. A cellar that had a lot more in it then first appeared, because once in the cellar, Zara went to a dirty, hanging tapestry on the wall, and pulled it aside, revealing a small stone passageway that led deeper underground, stairs that looked worn from years of footsteps, even though Zara hadn't lived here that long. Obviously the people who had sold the place didn't know about this entrance, because it would have definitely jacked up the price of the lot, instead Zara had gotten it cheap.

Whistling lightly as she tucked her wand into a belt loop, she went down the stairs, letting the tapestry fall closed behind her. She had.. a guest staying down here, that she wanted to check up on. She had left him not that long ago to brew the potion she had in her hand, but she thought she'd pay him a visit. She had him chained to a wall right then, arms suspended above his head, in a completely pitch black room. There was a single gas lamp, that she kept turned off when she wasn't in there, and it wasn't a very big room at all. when she wasn't in there with him, she let him roam around it freely, mostly because there was nothing to do in it while she wasn't there, but when she wanted him.. she moved him to the wall, and chained him, now was a good time to talk to him again, so once at the bottom of the stairs, she took a sharp right, and turned into the second door down there. The door was kept locked most of the time, but she had kept it unlocked from the last time she went upstairs, it wasn't like he could move much, last she knew he had passed out.

Zara slid into the room, and saw the dusty light fall across the figure on the other side of the door, before the door closed behind them, plunging them both into pitch blackness. Carefully though, she turned on the single lamp in the room, and looked down at the boy she had kidnapped from Hogwarts during the large battle. He had been reported missing in action, according to the Daily Prophet, but she had yet to see if they had figured out Who had taken him.. right now though, she was content with keeping him here, and playing with him as she pleased. "wakey wakey.." she said softly, putting her wand to his chest and whispering the spell. "Rennervate."

Dexter had been accustomed to succumbing to the will of the various bullies who haunted his life simply because it was the quickest way to get them to leave him alone. Zara, however, presented a new, more trying challenge, because no matter what he did, she would not leave him be. It was as though her very life depended on completely destroying his emotional and psychological well being, both of which was already in unstable condition.

He had tried letting her do as she pleased without giving any reaction. He had tried fighting back. He had tried to escape. He had tried outwitting her with words- which he wanted the record to show he had been wittier and had more often than not won the battle of wit and the cleverer tongue, but it did not seem to matter to her. In short, he had tried everything. Now he did not try at all.

On the other hand, Zara tried everything, and each was even more successful than the first in the effectiveness at breaking down and chipping away at his sanity. She would torture him. she would invade his memories. She would point out his weaknesses. She would tempt him. She would neglect him. She would leave him without food or water. She would not allow him somewhere to relieve himself. Every tactic small but terrible, not throwing them all at once but cycling through them.

Worse was her boasts and taunts.

His hair had grown longer, his eyes were sunken in, he was skinny, he could not stop shaking from the freezing cold. She awoke him and he stirred, pushing himself away and turning his eha dupwards. The light hurt his poor eyes, which had been accostomed to the dark and were probably losing the abiltiy of sight. He blinked rapidly and croaked, "Wha.." He could not quite form the question, but it was enough.

Zara looked down at this poor pitiful creature before her. He was skinny, weak, and sore, he had probably lost a lot of blood, and she was here to deliver a new form of punishment. "Oh, you poor baby!" Zara hissed, stooping down and holding his chin in her hands. "Am I hurting you?" She asked softly, batting her eyelashes at him. For some reason, this creature would not break.. he did everything he could to get her to leave him alone, and though it was valiant.. it was useless. Zara was not about to let him win against her. SHE had the cards now.. SHE was in control.. she wasn't like the other Death Eaters, who let themselves be blinded by the head of the Death Eaters.. oh no! She was Zara Ellis, and she would show them.. she would get this boy to work for HER... and only her.. she would be irreplaceable! They could never let her go... she would be their supplier.. even if it meant hurting this innocent little boy.

Kneeling beside him, she could smell the fumes that came off of him. He didn't often get to wash, so he smelt horrible, like blood, and dirt, and sweat. It was an invigorating feeling though, knowing that SHE caused his pain.. and watched him suffer under HER spells! Zara let her eyes roll back, and she placed a gentle hand on his head, threading her fingers through the dirty locks. "Wouldn't it just be easier.. to give in?" She asked softly, tilting his head up with her other hand and looking him in the eyes. "Work for me.. submit to me.. do as I will, and you will be comfortable.. live your days in peace.. no more pain, no more blood.. you may be chained, but you will be free of this." She gestured around the room. "I've even already made up a room for you to work.. gone to the hard trouble of getting books for you... even got some of those books you had back in that room at Hogwarts, managed to salvage some of them after the wreck.." She said grinning at him.

"Turns out the fire spread to them.. burnt a lot, but I saved them.. for you." She said grinning down at him, and moving his head side to side. "you will be well cared for.. I may even let you outside every so often.." she said smiling at him. "But you just need to work for me..." She ran her hand down his side, to his hip and back up again. Her method of torture today was seduction. She hadn't tried it for a while, so she hoped that while he was as weak as he was today, it may be more effective then last time. He seemed immune to wanting her, and she was determined to break that part of him too.. she wanted to see the lust in his eyes. So she played with his mind, made HER look like the good person. "I only do this because I'm made to.. you know that right?" She whispered in his ear, lowering to her knees, and running her hand across his chest. "I do this against my will, I'm a prisoner as much as you are!" She said gently, her hand drifting lower then it should have, before roaming back up his chest again.

"I was just like you.. nerdy... geeky.. no one liked me.. and now look at me.." She said and moved away from him suddenly, standing before him so he could look nowhere else but her. She wore tight fitting black jeans, and a dark black skin tight shirt, a leather jacket over what she wore completed the apparel, along with her knee high boots, complete with silver buckles. "You told me, back at the castle, that you weren't interested, but I saw the way you looked at me.. you know you aren't above the most basic human need.. you aren't above me.. "She said, straddling him, and holding onto his chin with her hand, showing very sharp nails that dug into his cheeks uncomfortably. "Kiss me.." She whispered, eyes locked with his.

Dexter hated her, so much. She spoke down to him and there was no worse torture to Dexter than being talked down to like he was an unintellgent little child, rather than a brilliant young man, rapidly growing even more into his creativity and ingenious. She asked if she was hurting him, and he stated in a monotone voice, "Yes." He did not lie, he did not see the point in lying. She knew he was hurting him as did he, and by denying it he would only be goading her into hurting him even further, so he did not understand why he would say she was not. It was illogical.

She touched him and he flinched away, his head hitting the wall. He slowly pushed himself up, so that he was slumped against the wall. He felt her hand slip into his hair, and he would have pulled away, though he would let her endure the filth of his hair, which was grimy and oily from lack of bathing as well as had rocks in it from the stone ground. So, yes, her torture too.

At her question, he rolled his head upwards, pursing his lips before stating, "I was under the impression that was what I had done." She continued on and again he remembered the whole point of this little excursion- she wanted him to be, put lightly, her brain B****. She wanted all of his genius to be used for what she wanted and credited to her. No.


She continued to present her case, simply ending with the fact that he should work for her. How eloquently put. He blinked and said, "The products of my mind are not homework assignment material, I am not the kid you go to to get a D on your paper. I am the kid that you go to when you want me to perform a spell to change every single grade you have gotten thus far to an O and charm your work to naturally get a E at every assignment prior. Even that is elemetary for my taste. So excuse me for not wanting sell out my intellect so you can seem 'spooky.'"

She continued on though, caressing his body, not that there was ever much to caress. Even before his stint here, he was scrawny and had a rather unmasculine body type. She continued on and he blinked, saying, "We are not made to be anything. We have a genetic code, coming from our parents and we are born as a deafult. This is where the chaos theory kicks in, sending various random situations our way, and we revert to a fight or flight decision, creating those who are intelligent and know how to escape and survive, and those who choose to become bloodthirsty, thoughtless fools." He blinked.

This biology lesson brought to you in part by Dexter Carrigan.

She continued on, trying to seduce him, and while Dexter's body craved to be sensually satisfied, as he had been in the middle of a briek seventeen year long drought, it would take a lot to be convinced to give in to Zara. She already wanted to whore out his mind, he would not let her win either struggle, because it was a proven fact of the human mind that with sex usually came attachment on at least one side. He did not like that risk.

"I was just like you.. nerdy... geeky.. no one liked me.. and now look at me.." He cocked his head, having taken in her appearance and now posed a question. "Do you mean to say that I will transform like you? Because right now you are giving off the distinct appearance of a cheap prostitute, so does that mean I will go from a brilliant pupil to a gigalo?" His eyebrows met in confusion, patiently expecting an answer.

She sat a top him and he immeditately felt his body respond, chemicals stirring within him, wanting more, but his mind was the largest organ in his body, something he should not brag, yes, but.. And of course, he meant figuratively, because the largest organ was actually the skin, but the point was, while most males 'thought' with their precious members, Dexter's greatest tool was his mind.

She pained him by digging her nails into his skin, but he raised a finger, "You are actually quite correct. At the moment, you are above me, because you are atop me, something that while unpleasant I guess I could appreciate, but I tell you, when all of your other needs are depleted, sex is not as appealing. And sex is not the most basic need, otherwise all of the virgins would be dead or die young, but look at nuns for example. They are typically rather old, all virgins. You are confusing sex with shelter, food, and water, and you continually deny me all three of those, are at least adequate conditions of them, so I think you might understand when I have to decline your offer."

This kid had some balls, that was for sure. He didn't give into her single taunt, her single desire, and he spoke.. Merlin he spoke.. spoke words that had: For one, never made sense to her, and for Two: Never interested her in any way shape or form. And still he spoke! Spoke of meaningless stuff that she didn't care about, and after getting nothing from him for so long.. it was starting to piss her off. Was there no way for him to NEED to be with her? She would have to resort to torturing him again, and that had never really been Zara's fortay.. she would have to call in Felix Barker if it came to that. But no.. she wanted him to be willing.. not forced into this.. she had to MAKE him! And that meant she had to think...

Trying to seduce a smart person.. what was the best way to their heart? Being as smart as them? There was no way she could do THAT.. but she could be smarter... Or... she could make him dumber, which would totally get rid of the reason he was here.. so she would have to study... do some research on what he liked best... dig into his mind, and play around in there for a while.. of course she could do that easily with a few spells. She ignored him as he spoke however, not really taking in much of the insults thrown at her, but some of it did resonate in her.

"I'm not a whore.." She said, glaring at him, moving his face to look at her again, her dark eyes glaring into his, her fingers digging into his cheeks even harder, knowing it would bruise with the grip she had. "I'm saying.. you give in.. and you GET those things you so very well want.. and more.. I'd give you anything you'd want.. EVER, I'd feed you, give you clean clothes, as many books as you want... your own room, attention, you could be the boss, as long as you stay here." She said, moving her face so it was right up against his, cheek to cheek, whispering in his ear, her hair playing across his face.

"Dexter.. darling Dexter.." She knew his body was responding in ways he didn't want it to. He knew that overall, it was a different brain that controlled that little member downstairs, and there was nothing he could do about that. So her hand dipped lower across his abs, playing dangerously low to the hem of his pants, the fingers of her left hand slipping under the lining there, her right hand still holding his cheek so his head stayed still. "Why don't you just relax a bit... I can help you.. just close your eyes.. and let me do the work... Dexter.. dear Dexter.. with me, no one will treat you like a child again.. no one will bully you, or make fun of you.. they will respect you.. every Death Eater will.. you are so much smarter then us.. so much more then we could ever be... we need you Dexter.." She said, moving her head back, so that she could look him in the eyes.

"Dexter.. darling... look at me.. look at what you are turning down.. don't tell me I don't have some affect on you.. because obviously I do.." She said, her hand playing gently over the inside of his thighs. "it's a lot easier to tell that for a male then it is for a female.." She grinned at him, and moved a bit higher on his lap. "Dexter... Don't you want to be respected? Don't you want to help humanity out of the hole it's dug itself into.. no one would bully you.. or look down upon you.. no one would be able to! You could have a new world order! Just you! I'd be your willing servant.. if only you would trust me!" Zara, gripped his cheeks again, and smiled at him gently, her face showing a kindness her eyes did not reveal.

"Dexter.." She said and smiled slightly, leaning in, and capturing his lips with her own, her hand plunging into forbidden areas at the same time, and a soft moan escaping her lips. Trying to show him just how much of an affect on her he had.. even if that was a total lie on her part.. it was good to make him feel like there was an actual affection for him there. Make him feel wanted, and needed, by a sexy woman who only wanted to help.. kissing him, her hands busy, the grip on her cheeks loosened so it was only soft fingers cupping his cheek and jaw, holding onto his ear just a bit tighter then normal so that he couldn't pull away. Not that he would be able too.. his head was up against the wall, and there was nothing he could do to get her off of him, he was probably to weak for that anyway.

She continued on, making him hiss in pain as her nails dugs further in, feeling the prickling of blood on his cheek. Yes, the best means of seduction was causing bodily harm, this woman was a piece of work. He responded curtly, "I give in and I'm whoring out my intelligence for things far below my level of ingenious. The thoughts in my skull are far above all of your petty goals and whims. I would say I am not trying to be arrogant, but when you're as smart as I am, you are allowed to be."

He was begging for a buttkicking not that he understood that he should have not been saying such things, because he saw no wrong in it. Dexter's thoughts were his thoughts, and by nature, his version of truth and fact. She moved himself closer and he winced, his body not in the proper condition to have someone on top of him. he could barely drag himself about.

Her hand trailed down towards his pants and his eyes widened, tightening up while his hips involuntarily moved upwards. He forced himself so he was sitting down again, and he vaguely registered the fact that he would probably never hear those words again. Still, the thought of losing his brain was far too terrifying to make losing his virginity too appealing.

Her best tempation, however, came from saying he could respect, he could get power, he could prove a lot of people wrong. But still, he wanted to do so on his own terms. He recognized that he was beingused, when he should be the one doing the using if anything. He was brilliant, and she thought she could be dominant over him, that was the thing that bothered him most.

She continued to explore and he shivered at each touch, grimacing as she moved up higher, putting more pressure on his weak body and his weakening will. He quickly rebolstered it, closing his eyes and forcing himself to live through one of her more unpleasant torture sessions. She continued on, her words ever appealing, but all he could think of was the probability of this situation.

54% chance that she was using this as a torture form, to damage his already upset psyche.
82% chance that she was lying through her teeth about everything.
8%chance that at least some of her words were genuine.
0.06% chance that she actually wanted him.

"I'm sorry," he said in a plain tone, "but I find it hard to trust the words of a proven liar." And then, her lips were on his, violently attacking, her hands groping (making him gasp initially before he merely gaped) and sounding as though she were thorougly enjoying it. Well, that was all fine and dandy but only one phrase was going through his mind.

What a f*cked up first kiss.

It was this that upset him, and for some reaon, he thought sadly of Pippa, his only friendlike person at school, and turned red. He pulled his arms up to his chest, his mouth unresponding, and crossed his arms over his body to put some room between Zara and him. In a breathless voice, he said, "I find it difficult to be thoroughly aroused by someone who has spend most of their time putting my very existence at risk."

Zara couldn't help but laugh at his words, moving away from him, and grinning at him. "You have some guts kid.. you really do.. I've broken down stronger people then you before in one motion.. but really.. you are a piece of work.. I respect you for that.. and if you were to ask anyone that.. they would say that's a lot coming from my mouth.. I don't give out respect easily.. you usually have to work for it.. and Dexter.. you sure have earned my respect. Her hands slowly moved away from him, and she smiled, touching his face gently with her fingers, smiling at the blood on them. "Dexter... why won't you just give in? You could have everything.. and still you refuse me.. do you want me to use worth methods to get you to do my bidding? I could keep you under the imperius curse... I could torture you until you WERE on the brink of death.. because right now.. you are from from dying..." She ran her fingernails along his cheeks, and sighed, leaning her head back, and wiggling on his lap, hoping to dig into his tender bones.

"And lets be honest here... seeing as you have been nothing but honest with me.. I should be honest with you right? At this point... you are the closest I've been to anyone in a long time.. I'm not a whore like you seem to think I am... I don't invite different men over every other night.. I just learned a long time ago, that when people look at girls like me.. they see what they want to see, not what I actually am.." She looked at him, straight in the eyes as she said it, and Zara was even scaring herself at how truthful she was being with this kid.

"They take one look at me, and think whore, slut, I'd do her... things along that line of thought.. I get invites.. money offered.. and I refuse them.. sure I've let a few in here and there... but what woman wouldn't? When it's the man you've been eying all night.. does that make you a whore? When you both wanted it.. and it was only a one night stand.. not a first date, or marriage inducing? But since I've gotten you.. I've been without any at all! Nothing! I've been trying to make you see that you are more then a brain! Your body wants things too! And obviously it does.. I mean look at you!" She said and gestured towards his pant line, smiling slightly. "Dexter.. darling Dexter... I'm not the evil one here! I am not!" She said moving off of him, and pacing up and down in front of him.

"It's my way of life.. just as being smart is your way of life... would you rather I looked down upon you and laughed? Would you rather I make fun of you.. kick you.. chain you to a wall and beat you day in and day out until your body couldn't handle it anymore? Because that's the point I'm getting to Dexter! You make me want to pull my hair out! No matter how hard I hide it!" Zara was pacing, and she knew she was, but she couldn't help it.. she was desperate now.. she needed this more then even she could admit to herself. She needed his cooperation, if she were to be ANYTHING in the Death Eaters.. if she were to raise to any rank.. she had to prove herself.. and he wouldn't listen to her! Zara didn't know what to think, and it was torture for her as well.

Her eyes trained on Dexter, and she sighed, running a hand through her long dark hair, staring down at him. "Dexter... your face is red... Did I hurt you to badly?" She asked, stooping down to him. She had a new tactic in mind.. and she had a feeling that THIS one might work a bit better. Pulling out her wand, she carefully set to healing the small wounds her fingernails had caused, and checked him over for more wounds, her eyes hungrily looking at him, but not touching anywhere that was inappropriate anymore. Her head was bent as she summoned a wad of bandages, and started to gently put them over some of his worse wounds, and then she summoned some food, and gave it to him, along with some water. Her head bent, her eyes lowered, hoping this would do the trick.

She began to retract, but he knew she was far from done, because though she had begun to physically move away, she was trying even harder and harder to pull his mind or emotions in. What she did not realize was that he was robotic. Feelings did not register well for him, he was not sensitive. To put it crassly, Dexter was an asshole. He simply did not care. He knew she was trying to fluff his ego, therefore making it untrue, therefore unaffected.

She continued on, and though they were all fairly rhetorical questions, Dexter did not understand that particular manner of speaking. Fortunately, he had nothing to say to her, so he allowed his expression to fall back into its usual blank expression, though his eyes bulged slightly and beads of sweat rolled down his cheek, stinging his wounds.

She continued on, and Dexter vaguely registered that this seemed a lot different from her others words, less eye contact- which actually did implicate honesty- less measured words. He ran the probabilities through his mine. 26% chance that she was still lying to him, 74% chance that her words stemmed from actual truth. He stared at her, intrigued by her submission to weakness.

She finished her speech on what sort of person he was and she moved off of him. He blinked, his mind computing the honesty. He opened his mouth, before stating, point blank in a sarcastic tone, "That's touching and all, but we all have problems, lady." He typically hated common vernacular but he could not supress it. "The image you send is the world's perception, and what the world sees becomes the world's truth. If you don't want to be seen like a whore, don't make it seem like you are."

She continued on and he began to register she was still be honest, and that she was more desperate for his brainpower than he thought she had been. Suddenly, she began to patch up his wound and he eyed her, accepting the medical attention but refusing to break. She summoned food and while it was tempting, he had a proposition. "Cut the acting, I really prefer rudeness to lies."

He paused. "I help you. I can guarantee you research and one dark product. You realzie by doing so I am tainting my own mind, for ignorance is not bliss, nuetraility is. I have no allegiance to the Death Eaters, nor you. I am working on commission. I get three square meals a day, as well as free access to water. Your attempts at seduction and relating to me are done. We are not going to be involved, nor are we going to be friends. We are hardly acquaintances. I expect professionalism to work correctly. I hope you have also reached the conclusion my mind would work best while my body is healthy, so chains and unforgiveables would not be prudent either. These are my conditions."

Zara felt something in her, that was really weird, she was pissed off. Majorly so... this kid.. she was trying everything in the book, EVERYTHING... And he just.. brushed it off. Torture, seduction, starvation, honesty.. everything... and he just.. was a selfish little asshole, who if they let him out into the world, would be ruling it in three days.. and would probably personally go after Zara in revenge.. not that she felt he was capable of that, not that he couldn't, but she didn't believe he had the EMOTIONS to do it. Everyone had a weak spot.. and this kid.. his was being bullied, but even THAT didn't break him down... she had kicked him down, tortured him, listened to his pleas, watched his suffering, enjoyed it.. but he hadn't broken... and now.. now he was giving HER advice on how to change her world image?! It was.... evil.. And Zara had thought she knew something on evil...

When he told her to quit the acting, she looked up at him, and her lips curled into a smirk. "Acting? You think I'm acting? You want me to stop acting then fine! I find you a complete asshole, but for some reason that really gets me riled up, I want to see you writhing on the floor in pain.. but at the same time.. I see you hurt.. and just want to fix you up and mother you... nurse you back to health.. and tell all the bullies to go away.. in one way you turn me on.. in another you make my motherly instincts kick up! I want to both do you and kill you.. Mother you and seduce you.. it's all wrong! Is that what you want to hear? That you drive me INSANE with your.. stoic looks, and your jerk attitude.. it's no wonder people bullied you! You scared the shit out of them!" She growled, and sat down in the middle of the floor, glaring at him.

Then he did something that made Zara laugh out loud. He started to BARGAIN with her... there was no way in hell, no way at all. But still, apart of her wanted to.. to see him at his best.. and see him where he was meant to be... alive, and doing work.. not tied to a wall, and broken. Though in her mental image, seeing him writhe on the floor at the end of her wand WAS a pretty good idea... she may do that one more time before she let him into that room she had prepared for him. "Dexter.." She said staring hard at him, glaring more like it. "One dark object? Make it three... three and I'm good with the rest of it.. three small things... nothing large.. but something... if it's REALLY good, I may give it two.." She said staring at him. "But yes.. yes.. yes... three square meals.. water.. all that.. I'll stop seducing you.. even though it's in my nature.. and I can't guarantee the no chains thing, maybe I'll put something on the inside of an ankle cuff.. just so you can't decide to run when I open the door.." She said, glaring at him. "Whatever else you want.. is yours... two or three dark objects.. and an ankle cuff... three square meals, no me.. and food.. that's MY offer.." she said smiling at him. "It's either that.. or I start torturing you again.. and this time.. I will kill you.."

Zara seemed shocked and from what Dexter could deduce, she seemed angry or at the very least frustrated, which was nice to see a turn of the person showing too much weakness. Naturally, Dexter's emotional and intellectual fortitude had held strong, but had been brought to tears, screamed, called for his mother, all of that embarrassing stuff. He could feel a small seed of smug satisfaction in the pit of his stomach, knowing he had triumphed over her in a small sense.

She was being truly honest and he felt his mouth twitch when she called him an asshole- it was his most frequently used nicmane after all. She continued on with her little monologue about how he made her feel, and he silently applauded himself for looking into subjects regarding fact and numbers rather than something like psychology, because he did not want to be able to understand that train of thought. Once she was done, he blinked up at her, as there was an akward silence. He knew he was expected to clear it so he raised a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat, before dropping it.

"Ew."

She seemed amused by his proposition, though it was more than fair- his intellectual work was worth thousands in galleons, so he did not understand why she thought it funny that he had such demands- they were small demands, really. He blinked. "You claim intellgience and yet you think one is not enough- dark objects are not made every day. Three is more than some produce in a lifetime, I do not intend on devotiong my life to this work. I will compromise to two, but I also require a silent workspace. The chain I will accept. the two products will be more than enough. Every day I will give you a list of the things I need to produce them. You will supply them and I will create them at my pace. It is a fair trade."