The Artist

The click-clack and scuffle-shift noise pollution of the formal shoes of the Ministry men and women had arrived promptly, flowing steadily throughout the halls of the humming building. While proper employees barreled towards the large double doors, which glimmered with the promise of escape from the endless drag of the work week, he leaned heavily upon his forearms against the steel rail before him, remaining in place.

From where he stood casually, with one hand ruffling through the hair upon his head, and the other drumming a voiceless beat against the air before him with the tip of his wand, the only obstacle that remained between him and the atrium that stretched outward like the country plains beneath him, was a windowpane. A thin sheet of glass which Nemo hadn’t paid much mind to as he’d burned through it a hole that was five inches in diameter, so to clear a path before himself.

It acted quite like a sighting rest, while his eager-to-rest coworkers danced about the atrium like frantic insects, providing him with an endless number of unsuspecting, choice preys.

A joyous smile fluttered across the full lips of the deviant, who now held firmly in his crumpled fist the very wand that would decide the fates of the men and women whom he served with every day. As Nemo relished in his contented amusement, he snapped his wrist in a downward motion with expertise, and released from the tip of his weapon the Color-Change Charm.

The charm crackled throughout the air like a building bolt of lightning, and dug its unseen point into the scalp of she whom Nemo had aimed for. There was a moment of silent bliss, during which Nemo spied down upon the mucus-green tainted strands of hair that had sprouted from the skull of the ever-solemn woman. A brief minute which Nemo used to duck swiftly beneath the windowsill. He curled inward, folding in on himself; bending and contorting in the manner of origami paper, until his backside was sat firmly on the unforgiving, polished floor. Hidden from view.

A tormented scream shortly followed, and the buzz of the worker bees rapidly became the hiss of snakes as the evildoer was sought out. But their attempts were to no avail, for Nemo had already moved on to his next target.

Another howl. That of a man - a man with flesh made blue.

What a day. What perfection.

Seemed everyone was eager to go home. The streets were filling fast after a long day at work, especially with those who worked at the Ministry. Having worked there before, he knew how much effort went into everything that went on in there. Everyone had something to do, and there was rarely a moment to rest while they did what they were supposed to do. Everyone's time was valuable in there, no matter what type of job it was that you did, be it that you are the head if a department or an assistant somewhere in the Ministry. Or from a specialist to those who cleaned up at the end of the day. Everyone and everything was important.

There was a bit of commotion coming from the entrance of the Ministry that caused him to stop dead in his tracks. First it was a shriek that came from a woman who's hair had turned a different color. Then a scream from a man who's skin had turned blue. He stared at them for a moment, struggling to stiffle a laugh as he did find it entertaining to see their reactions to what had happened to them, before he became more serious.

Jake looked around with the others who were now looking for whoever it was that caused what had happened to the two. The person seemed to be well hidden since no one could find them. A shame really. Jake wasn't interested in scolding the person or whatever it was that the other people wanted to do to that person. To him it wasn't anything that bad, it was more like a brilliant thing. Jake isn't the serious type, like these people, which would explain why his students actually liked him more than most if the other Professors. Nah, he actually liked to have fun.

Which is why he wanted to congratulate this person more than anything else for what he'd just done. It was a great way to lighten the mood, so to speak, for some. Still he knew some, including the victims, didn't think it funny and he had keep a straight face, so not to burst out laughing at them anyways. Well, he could manage that, like he used to when he was still a student at Hogwarts after he pulled something similar to this.

It had been as his lively blues had scampered about the masses below in search of another unfortunate soul, when they had landed inadvertently upon a familiar face. A face which did not belong to the blurred, multicolored weave of vague reorganization that was the population of the Ministry of Magic. He was an acquaintance; one which would surely appreciate Nemo’s antics. The coincidental timing of the man’s arrival could not have been any more like clockwork, for Nemo’s fickle interest in his extra-curricular activity had begun to diminish. And there was nothing like the addition of another player to recreate the excitement of a game.

With a foolhardy grin, Nemo positioned his wand no further than an inch from his jugular, and he set his newfound plan in motion. With utmost confidence, Nemo spoke aloud the incantation which would allow him to call attention to himself – though the act was rather unnecessary at that point in time, after the uproar that he had caused within the atrium.“Sonorus,” he stated clearly, while simultaneously turning his back on the window through which he’d previously fired, so to rest his back nonchalantly against the panel beneath it.

“Surrender yourself to me, Aladdin, or I shall proceed to fire,” Nemo ordered in a stolen voice; one which was far lower than his own. There was no purpose in reveling himself in such an untimely fashion to the aurors who intended to ruthlessly tear him apart. When he chose to step forth, no dramatics would be spared. Collins would surely recognize the nickname which Nemo frequently put to use when referring to the lad, for he never turned down an opportunity to point out the blatant similarities in appearance that Collins shared with the fictional cartoon character. He would recognize the intimation for what it was.

“And I mean that in the most sexual way possible,” he added sarcastically, and forfeited once more to the grin that his lips were so eager to form. He removed his wand from his throat, and held it above his head, aligning it once more with the hole that he’d made in the windowpane. He rested the tip along its rim, and recalled the Collins' location with clarity, despite his position opposite the glass. “Diffindo,” he said with a backwards roll of his wrist, and he slashed from Collins’ shirt the sleeves that had once hidden his shoulders from view. “The resemblance is undeniable,” he admitted humorously.

A loud clear voice began to speak, and he turned around to try and find its source. His eyes darted around looking for something to show where the person was. He froze when he heard the name that way used in the sentence that had just been said. Jake smirked as he realized who it was that had heen behind those tricks, Nemo. Jake tilted his head upward. "Never! I shall never surrender myself to you!" he shouted clearly at the ceiling, or so it seemed.

It seemed like no one even noticed the words that were just said. They were all still scurrying around, wanting to leave the place as soon as possible. There were a few though, that stopped for a few seconds and stared puzzled as to what was going on. Jake paid no attention to them and he looked around again to see If he could spot Nemo anywhere. He was surprisingly difficult to spot and that only made Jake smile. He only saw this as a challenge, almost like a game of hide and seek.

Just as he was about to turn around, he heard a sound of ripping fabric and he felt a pull at his sleeves. When he looked down he closed his eyes and let out a small chuckle. "Funny. Very funny." he stated in a clear voice, one that Nemo would probably be able to hear. Still unable to see where the man was, Jake pulled put his wand and continued his blind search for him, doubting that he would find him anytime soon.

The glee that Nemo experienced as a result of Collins’ humorous response was precisely the reaction that he had intended to coach from himself. With Collins shouting back with playful reluctance, Nemo immediately began to feel quite like a child who had suddenly found himself in the midst of a park. It was an invitation. An advertisement of Collins’ willingness to participate in Nemo’s insanity. And Nemo could not have been more pleased with himself for having initiated his participation.

With the voice amplification charm still in effect, Nemo replied, once more speaking several octaves below his usual tone, “Have you no compassion for these people?” he inquired. And with another incantation spoken aloud, a group of four previously blissful men were colored purple. With an added flourish of his fingertips, another passerby was targeted, Orange being Nemo’s color of choice. It was only then that Nemo paused to address Collins another time, “I am disappointed in you, Aladdin. I expected more of your abilities. Haven’t you found me yet?” This was not a lie. Nemo had believed that Collins would have found him with ease, having dueled with the man on many occasions.

Nemo rested his head once more upon the windowsill, unaware of the unkempt tuffs of his brown hair that had climbed above the cover of his hiding place.

A group of four men were suddenly turned purple and he pursed his lips. He fought back the urge to laugh at their new skin color. "No matter what you do, I will not surrender!" he shouted among the screaming of others. He felt bad about those people having to suffer those kinds of ... Changes because of their game, but he would not surrender himself easily. As yet another person was changed in color, orange this time, Jake finally broke and he couldn't help but laugh.

His laughter stopped suddenly when Nemo spoke again. He smirked a bit at his words and looked down, focusing on his voice. He most likely didn't know that Jake was using his magnified voice to pin point his location in the building. He looked in the direction where the voice seemed to be loudest and he pointed his wand in that direction. His smirk grew into a playful grin and with an expert whip of his wrist he said, "Incarcerous."

"How do my skills seem to you now?" he grinned. It had taken him a while, longer than he would have liked, to find the man, but he'd done it and that was what mattered to him. Now maybe the real fun could begin.

Though he had suppressed for several minutes his desire to set free his heartiest laughter and have himself a proper fit, it had become a longing which he could no longer deny when Collins' contagious chuckling had risen above the shrieks of Nemo's victims. Much in the way that a yawn overtakes those who witness another being succumbing to their exhaustion, Nemo could no longer resist as he doubled over, hands planted firmly on his knees, and pulled from his very core that expression of amusement. He leaned further forward until he'd slapped his forehead against his forearm to support his dangling head.

With the charm that he had cast on his vocal cords still hard at work, his laughter was infinite. It was an endless sound as it danced upon the building's otherwise still air, clattering against walls and windowpanes - precisely what Nemo had attempted to avoid. If his earlier statements hadn't yet relieved his location, his laughter was sure to do the trick.

Surely enough, as Nemo continued to grin into the flesh of his arm, several thick strands of enchanted rope crashed against the window through which he had previously fired. Shards of glass exploded into a hazardous cloud and rained down upon Nemo, who remained in the position that had essentially, though by coincidence, shielded him from both the ropes that had been cast in his direction and the shattered glass. As the storm settled, Nemo uncurled his spine, and sprung with ease from his shins to stand before the gaping hole that Collins' attempt to capture him had resulted in. Momentarily, Nemo's face was entirely unreadable, an expression which his facial features very rarely formed. His eyes drifted downward to meet with those of his acquaintance.

Until alas, he spoke, "Oh-ho," he cackled, doubling over for the second time that afternoon as he stood in the frame of the window which now crumbled beneath the undersides of his boots. "I underestimated you Aladdin!" he called, almost teasingly.

This just made things easier for him. Nemo's laughter had given away his whereabouts so he didn't need to worry about having to look for him anymore. Jake found the screams of the men who had had their skin color changed amusing, and he almost burst into a laughing fit again. Their panicked reactions were just so amusing. Having orange skin wasn't so bad, if you knew how to get your soon back to normal. If they were so freaked out about it, it meant that they must not know how to change their skins back to normal, which only served to make Jake smile.

The nineteen year old heard his spell make contact with the window where Nemo had fired from. There wasn't any struggling coming from the man, so he assumed that the spell had not gotten to him. He stared up at the hole his spell had made and he smirked. Well he at least he had succeeded in something, even if he hadn't meant to do that. His thoughts made him chuckle softly. His eyes moved toward the figure above him who he was Nemo and his eyes met the man's.

The man's words made Jake grin and he lifted his wand slightly. He had a devious and playful shine in his eyes. "Tarantallegra." he said with a flick of his wand. He laughed after the spell was sent. He wanted to make this a bit more interesting and fun.

It was a wonder that the Minister himself had not yet been alerted of the chaotic storm that Nemo and Jack proceeded to kick up. Was the Ministry of Magic not as well secured as the public had been ensured? Or had such members of the higher authority grown far too accustomed to Nemo's ways to treat every broken sheet of glass with the sensitivity of a hostage situation? The latter was the most probable of the two possibilities. And it was, perhaps, for the better that no one beside Nemo and his opponent had begun calling out incantations - though Nemo would have appreciated the opportunity to paint the Minister's hair polka dot, all in the name of a stomach-bursting case of the giggles.

"Wait -" Nemo began with his bargain as he watched Collins prepare himself for the firing of another hex, but his words were paid no mind at all. Rather, Nemo found himself choking on his next statement when a bolt of magic collided forcefully with one of his hips. "What part of me were you aiming for?!" Nemo called in an unintentionally exaggerated tone of relief.

A sense of relief which lasted little longer than a shallow breath, for the effect of the spell with which he'd been hit began to take effect. Upon the crumbling glass, Nemo's heels began to fidget; shortly followed by the toes of his boots, which seemed to have taken on several minds of their own. The dancing hex. The boogie fever on-switch. He'd been infected. "Well, no point in resisting," Nemo noted with a simple shrug of his shoulders; perhaps the only movement of his appendages which remained his own. Abruptly, he spun on the spot. His feet swiveled in rotations along the glass-scattered floors, moving even more fluently with the shards sliding along the bottoms of his boots. His hips began to rock in the manner that they often did when Nemo danced upon tables in the local pubs after one too many drinks. His arms crawled upward, extending above his head as he swayed. "Is that what this is about? You wanted to watch me dirty dance? You know, all you had to do was ask," he mocked, despite his compromised position.

With the last ounce of self control that he possessed, Nemo gave his wand a quick flick before it clattered to the floor. "Acio, stereo." Shortly after, a small boom box burst through the double doors through which the employee traffic continued to poor, and from it a beat began to thud so loudly as to cause the glass upon which Nemo danced to rise and fall from the floor. "If you are going to make me dance, we're doing it my way!" He informed Collins with a panted chuckle.

It seemed no one cared about what was going on there. No one had come to stop all the commotion that he and Nemo had caused. It was funny really, it seemed that everyone was used to this sort of thing. They knew that it was Nemo behind this, with the help of Jake, and he couldn't help but chuckle softly. Oh Well, it way better that no one interrupted them because this was getting fun.

He watched as his spell flew toward Nemo and made contact with him. Jake merely smirked at his question and stifled a laugh. He covered his mouth with his hands as he tried hard to hold back his laughter at the man's dancing. Soon he couldn't hold back his laughter and he straight out laughed. The nineteen year old nearly doubled over as he laughed and he wiped his eye of a tear formed by his laughter.

"No, this isn't for me." he laughed. "I wanted to put on a show for them." he continued to laugh as he gestured at the others that were still in there. He really just wanted to see their reactions to seeing someone dance there like that. Some would probably find it disturbing and he wanted to find out who, because their reactions were always the most hilarious out of all the others.