Under the lights of Paris

The entrance to Hogsmeade was empty and the whole village was dead. Madam Puddifoots and the Three Broomsticks were full of Hogwarts students who had decided to go on dates. Eli was leaning against the arch that led into the village. He had no intention of taking Lily to one of the haunts of the Hogwarts Students. He had much more money and class which meant he could afford to take her anywhere in the world unless it was somewhere insane like a private island. He splashed out but not that much. That was his father’s forte. He very much enjoyed gifting his mother with another piece of the world at any given opportunity. That was a bit ostentatious even for Eli’s tastes. He’d probably end up doing the same when he got married but not now, not yet. There was no point to it.

He had a cigarette between his lips and his sketch pad in front of him. He was lightly brushing his pencil across the page so he could finish the picture in time to give it to Lily. He had a few others that he could have given her but it seemed slightly stalkerish that he was drawing her but it was his profession – his money source. Elijah quickly finished the painting, adding some finishing touches with chalk to lighten the drawing up and he rested it on the stone wall that ran out either side of the arch, separating Hogsmeade from Hogwarts. He took a drag and tapped the end of his cigarette, getting rid of the ash.

Elijah checked his watch as he’d religiously been doing for the last half an hour. He had been early but he’d been bored down in the dudgeons and there were no first years around that he could take points from purely for them being short. There was no source of entertainment for him but he really wished he’d rethought standing out in the cold. Frowning at the watch, Eli dropped his arm back down beside him and took another drag. With a sigh he flicked the cigarette away and stepped on it, squashing any attempts of the embers lighting the grass the cigarette had landed in. Elijah took the drawing of Lily from the sketch book and quickly put his signature in the bottom right corner. He hoped she’d be there soon. He wanted to get out of Hogsmeade while he still could. He was freezing his arse off!

Lily was nervous now more than ever. She was going on an actual date with the guy she was madly crushing on. She knew that if her siblings knew, they'd tell her she was stupid for giving the guy a chance when he was a member of the club she was working against. But she knew that Elijah was good, she could tell, even if he acted a tad like a jerk sometimes. It was apart of his charm. Lily admired someone who knew who they were, unafraid to show it off as well. Confidence was a gift, one that Lily herself had to a certain extent. Even her brothers had their own levels of it at times.

Lily ran a hand subconciously down the material of her dress, smoothing out non-existant wrinkles in it's fabric as she pulled her handbag closer to her body feeling the butterflies in her stomach intensify. She had no idea what Elijah had planned so dressing herself had been a tad tricky because she wasn't one to usually fuss over clothing or fashion. It did feel nice though to put on some make-up and be girly. Usually she couldn't because living with her brothers meant she was playing Qudditch or they'd ask her what was on her face. Both didn't help the cause.

Lily took a deep sigh as she spotted Elijah a blush instantly appearing on her face like it did everytime she was in his presence. She made her way over to him, trying not to trip as she did so. She stopped short in front of him, her heart racing as she said, "Hello Elijah." In a soft but thankfully steady voice.

He didn’t know if Lily was the type to keep him waiting for excruciating amounts of time or not. He doubted it but you never really knew until you’d been waiting for five hours. That had happened quite a lot in Paris and he’d given most of them a piece of his mind – especially seeing as they lived with him. That had aggravated him for an extended amount of time but Camille had cleaned that up. She was always on time and often was ready before he was. He was intrigued by what time Lily would appear. He hadn’t expected her to be on time or to be late but he was pleasantly surprised to see her turn up early.

He smiled widely at her and forgot about the chill running up his spine. It was cold and she was wearing an...interesting ensemble to say the least. She looked beautiful though. “Good Evening Miss. Potter.” He said, turning on the Bulgarian charm. He smiled at her and dipped into a bow. Elijah took Lily’s hand and kissed the back of it, lingering slightly longer than was customary but pulling away all the same. “I trust you are well, love?”

He held out his arm to her and looked at her expectantly. He planned on taking her to the Hogs Head and then from there they’d floo. He wanted it to be a surprise...where he was taking her so he was quickly deciding it best to actually make a Portkey. It wouldn’t be registered but he didn’t care. They couldn’t prosecute him anyway seeing as he was Victor Krum’s son. It wouldn’t be right. “M’lady. Shall we?”

Lily flushed as Elijah took her hand and couldn't help but wonder if they had classes on being charming over in Bulgaria. Most guys she knew were so immature and acted like baboons at times, her brothers included. It felt nice to be treated differently for a change. "I'm am feeling spoilt for attention thank you." Lily said with a blush. There was no point lying, Elijah Krum had sweeped her off of her feet without her even having a chance in hell of fighting it.

"So where are we going?" Lily couldn't help but ask, curiousity getting the better of her like usual. It was a habit one obtained when being a little sister. Even though Lily was sometimes an incredibly patient person, her curiousity made waiting impossible during other times. Still, she had no idea what Elijah had planned and he seemed like one of those people that made on the spot rash actions. It was exciting but a tad scary.

"I am actually also really excited. I got onto the Gryffindor Qudditch team. My constant pestering paid off." Lily exclaimed remembering what had been the other major thing on her mind lately. She was really looking forward to playing in an offical team, even if the though made her very nervous.

“I plan on spoiling you so get used to it.” He smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist. He led her off down the path into Hogsmeade and wondered whether he should have stopped in the flower shop and bought her some. He realised that he could get an equally pretty bouquet in Paris and planned on doing so once they arrived there. Elijah swallowed and took the small, neat, folded square of paper he’d put into the pocket of his blazer. He pressed it into Lily’s hand and smiled at her. “The first of many I hope,” was all he said.

“Ah, well that is a secret I plan on revealing when we get there, love.” He chuckled. He couldn’t wait to be back in Paris and sharing the experience with Lily would be even better. The Hogs Head was nearing now and the anticipation was beginning to bubble in Elijah’s stomach. If he wasn’t trying to be the perfect gentleman then he would have bounced down the road like a maniac although he hoped Lily wouldn’t have minded that. Although, if he had his way he’d stumble back up the road, drunk, later on.

“Congratulations.” He said enthusiastically. He was proud of her. “You’re going to be the best on the team.” He opened the door of the Hogs Head and pulled her inside with a mischievous smile on his face. He walked backwards towards the fireplace and stepped inside. He gently tugged her into the hearth and wrapped his arms around her. He took a handful of Floo power and whispered the address before dropping it into the fire. The flames engulfed them and Elijah felt the movement. He wrapped his arms tighter around Lily and landed semi-gracefully on his feet in the fireplace in his studio. He cracked an eye open and looked out. He lifted Lily out and put her on the wooden panels. Everything was a little dusty but it still looked the same – nothing had changed. “Wow.” He breathed.

He had expected some change but it was all like one of his paintings; still and unmoving. It was beautiful. Elijah only just managed to resist the urge to stay and convince Lily that spending the weekend painting her was the best idea he’d ever had. Well, he’d try that on for size later. Elijah jogged over to his wine rag and pulled the door open. He still had a nice stock of wines. He definitely felt like thanking the heavens. His mother must have stocked it, there were newer as well as vintage ones there. He walked over to where he stored his paintings and flipped the canvases along a bit until he found a picture of the Eiffel tower. It was basically a painting in the style of a photograph and he liked it a lot.

He walked back over to Lily and held it behind his back. “Welcome, amour, to Paris.” He flipped the canvas around and showed her the picture with a smile. “Now we have two options. We go and explore the town and come back later completely out of trees with our boots filled with wine and do option two or ... an edit version of option two, we stay here, I order food, and you can pander to me and let me paint you in every way possible.” He grinned. He put the canvas down and held his arms out as if weighing up each one. “Think about it sweetheart.....I am thinking, we could possibly have the whole weekend here and if I can wing it, Monday too.” He smiled. “How does that sound?”

(Sorry for Godmodding ... quite a bit.... but I think they needed ferrying along a bit)

A variation of the drawing
The Painting

Lily couldn't help but exclaim in shock as they ended up flooing somewhere that looked like well, not Hogsmeade anyway. She gazed around, shock evident in her eyes as she took in the scene before her as she fingered the parchment that Elijah had dropped in her pocket smiling. She was beginning to suspect where they were but it wasn't until Eljiah said it did Lily fully realize. She was in Paris. She nearly squealed in excitement right there, Paris had been one of the places she had always wanted to go, after hearing Victoire's and her Aunt Fleur's stories about it.

Lily gazed at Elijah with wide eyes, "This is...just amazing....I've always wanted to come to Paris." She said excitement evident in her tone. "My Aunty is French and she'd always tell me the most wonderful stories about France and how beautiful it is. It's the city of love...just amazing." Lily said trailing off with a blush as she pondered what they should do next. Both chocies were sounding very appealing at that moment.

"I'm happy to stay here if you are." Lily decided after a moment. knowing that she didn't care as of that moment where they were, but who she was with. She felt as though she had died and gone ot heaven. "You're right, you are spoiling me. This is just amazing Elijah." Lily said with small smile on her face.

(That's fine, godmoding doesn't faze me.)

Elijah smiled with a fond look in his eyes. Her reaction was expected but he couldn’t have said accurately what she would have said and done and he was glad he hadn’t; the surprise was better. He put the photograph back and walked over to her. Her eyes were shining with excitement. It was as if she was a child who had been accidently locked in a toy shop for the night. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to the side of her mouth. He smiled at her with hooded eyes and pressed another kiss in the same place but to the other side of her mouth. “You are worth spoiling.” He murmured. He kissed her cheek and gently began to trail them along her jaw. He smirked a little to himself and looked at her. “Vous êtes belle.” He murmured in French before putting his finger under her chin. He pushed her chin up slightly and leaned down to capture her lips with his own. He pulled back momentarily and smiled down at her with a lustful but loving look in his eyes. “Belle, Belle dame.” He murmured again. He hadn’t pulled too far away. His neck was still bent to reach her properly but there was enough room for her to deny him. It was her call. If she wanted to she could easily initiate another kiss.
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French:
Vous êtes belle - You are Beautiful.
Belle, Belle dame - Beautiful, Beautiful woman.

Two things to make Lily Potter feel as though she had died and gone to heaven? Snogging and talking in french. This was pretty much every teenage girls daydream and she was living it. She didn't really know what made her want Elijah more than any other guy, maybe this was her type. She liked the guys who her family would hate. Either way she couldn't care less in that moment what anyone would say upon seeing this scene, she was in Paris for Merlin's sake!

"Merlin, that French must really score you the ladies." Lily said with a small giggle as Elijah pulled back and she could feel herself blushing like crazy. She had no idea what to say or do, there really wasn't a class on snogging and she hadn't had an older sister around to give her any such advice so she did what anyone would do, wing it. Lily leaned forward and kissed Elijah softly before murmuring, "I'm sorry, I'm not to excellent at this stuff."

Elijah smiled. She was so innocent, so naive. It was incredibly cute and he successfully managed not to fawn over her. She obviously found the French either arousing or incredibly intoxication. Elijah hoped both although it would be nothing new to him. Women were so easy to persuade if it was in a beautiful language. Eli was being sincere for once though. There were no ulterior motives. He truly wanted to make her feel like a Queen. Well, she was his favourite little redhead after all and as such he was going to treat her the way he treated his favourites. Although that sounded very arrogant it was just the way he was. He just wanted to see her happy. To see a smile on her face no matter what it cost him. He wasn’t buying any islands though; unless he really wanted to annoy her family. The Potters were never really into cash like Krum family were.

“Maybe not the French ones.” He smirked. “They’re used to it. So I speak Italian around them.” He chuckled and kissed her neck, gently nibbling on the soft skin there. He lifted his head again and held her gaze. She seemed awfully unsure of herself but he didn’t care; he’d guide her either way. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head, amour.” He murmured, dropping his head back to her neck to tease and kiss her skin. “I’ve got it covered.” He blew cool air over her neck and smiled before pressing a kiss to her pulse point. That would probably get a response.

"I don't want to know how you know that." Lily said with a small giggle as she ran a hand through Elijah's hair, fully understanding why romance was one the best selling advertising techniques in both the Muggle and Wizarding world. It was such an innocent yet daring and edgy emotion that made one feel as though for a moment nothing else mattered. 'There you have it folks, the meaning of life, you heard it from a fourteen year old redhead. Nifty eh?' Her mind commentated in a oddly Lysander sounding manner. That creeped Lily out slightly, she definitely did not want to be thinking about her best friend right now.

"If I knew you weren't correct in that statement, I'd have called that egotistical." Lily added softly as she gasped from Eljiah's lips on the pressure point of her neck. 'Yikes, he really does know what he's doing.' Lily thought, her mind growing more cloudy as she concerntrated on what was happening.