CLOSED :: Busted [Zeke]

[summer]

Summer Cresswell could feel her palms sweating slightly. She knew what she was about to do was very very wrong, but she couldn’t stop herself. Her instinctive curiosity always seemed to get the best of her, especially when she was about to get the biggest scoop that The Underground had ever seen. Someone had tipped her off a couple of nights ago that Archer Grayson was in secret correspondence with his mother Savannah, a wanted Death Eater on the run from the ministry. That certain someone had also disclosed that he was keeping the correspondence letters in his Quidditch Locker which meant that for tonight? Summer was infiltrating the Slytherin Locker rooms and getting that information.

She slipped into the pitch undetected, after all, it was well past midnight and no one in their right mind ventured out this late anyway. She pressed her back against the wall, already feeling her heart thundering in her chest. She didn’t know why she was so nervous. She had done things like this before...plenty of times. But she supposed that it had something to do with the fact that Archer was her cousin...Which made Savannah her aunt. It was an awkward situation to say the least. But it was something that she had to do. Aunt or not, Savannah Grayson was trouble. She was a Death Eater that needed to be brought to justice, just like the rest of them. She wasn’t going to let her get away with what she had done just because she was family.

She slunk around the corner and pressed her hand to the door to the Slytherin Locker room. It was always left unlocked as her informant had already told her it would be. She walked inside and then brought her fingers to her lips.

For being someone so interested in reporting the news about Quidditch, she had never once been inside an actual locker room. The Hufflepuffs wouldn’t let her anywhere near the team meetings because she liked to write about what kind of strategy they were developing and then post it on the message board near the front of Hogwarts. Her fingertips touched the outside wall of the room as she examined the lockers that were before her. So many lockers to chose from. So little time. The best way to get things done was to just start from the middle and work your way out, right?

”Lumos.”

[/b] She breathed and the tip of her wand illuminated the entire room before her, giving her a much better idea of what she was doing. She crossed the room and threw open the first locker door that she saw. It was then that it hit her like a wall of toxin, ”Merlin’s beard!”[/b] She said, gagging as she drew back. The locker smelled like dirty feet. Or rotten eggs. Or spoil milk. She couldn’t really pinpoint which one it was, but she knew that it smelled awful. Just as soon as she had opened it, she slammed it shut again, unable to stand the stench that had been radiating from the locker. That was definitely not Archer’s. There was no way that her cousin would let his reputation be spoilt by smelly clothing on the pitch.

She slowly opened the next locker, taken aback by how clean and well-kept it seemed to be. Someone very oragnized owned this locker. Someone who's name was probably written on something in here. Was it Grayson's? Had she finally found it? She saw a pack in the bottom and grabbed it, opening it very slowly so that she could take a look inside. It was then that she saw it...on the edge of the bag was an identification tag, written in scribbled handwriting. She moved her wand up a little higher so that she could read it, ”Zeke-”[/b] She paused and then felt herself getting a little more nervous, ”Maxwell-”[/b] Nope. Definitely not Archer's stuff. The door to the locker room could be heard opening and Summer was in full panic mode. She couldn’t even make herself move; frozen in a immobilizing panic attack. All she could do was stare at the opening door, hoping that whoever it was was friend and not foe.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[ZEKE ANTHONY MAXWELL]

Zeke laid awake in his bed tossing and turning, he just couldn’t find a way to get himself to fall asleep. “Merlin’s beard.” he muttered to himself, annoyed at his inability to fall asleep. Zeke finally kicked his blankets off and got out of bed, he quietly threw on a pair of sweatpants and a black long-sleeved under armour shirt. He quickly tossed on his trainers, grabbed his broom and headed out of the common room. Zeke had mild and inconsistent insomnia, so this wasn’t the first time he was unable to sleep; no matter though, he typically would just go out and practice a little bit of quidditch until he was physically exhausted and then go back to bed.

Zeke got to the edge of the grounds and looked at the pitch, it was about a 100 meters away and Zeke knew he’d have to sprint it to ensure that Filch didn’t see him; even if he was wearing all black, he wanted to make sure he was exposed as little as possible. He took a deep breath and then broke off into a steady run, making sure to set a good pace for himself, one that wasn’t too fast where he would wear himself out, but also wasn’t too slow where Filch would be able to spot him. Zeke did break into a sprint during the last 10 meters just to help wear himself out a little faster, he sucked in a couple deep breaths as he sauntered towards the Slytherin locker room, he needed to stop there and grab the practice quaffle they had stolen from Madam Hooch a couple of years back.

Zeke noticed that the door to the Slytherin locker room was just slightly ajar and that there was a light glowing under the door frame, he gritted his teeth and pulled out his own wand. He knew that the Gryffindorks were desperate to try and find a way to beat the Slytherins this year but this was too far. Zeke quickly opened the door and pointed his wand straight out expecting to see a couple of Gryffindorks trying to hex the Slytherin quidditch equipment. “Drop it Gryffindork!” Zeke yelled as he held out his wand, his eyes slowly adjusting the low glow off the intruders wand.

It wasn’t a gryffindork, it was that nosey hufflepuff, the one that wrote the school newspaper, what was her name? Zeke struggled to remember before it dawned on him, Summer! Zeke eyed her cautiously, she was standing in front of his locker after all, but he had met her once or twice before, and she was fairly harmless; well, at least harmless with her wand, her quill on the other hand could probably destroy Zeke in a heartbeat. “May I help you Summer?” Zeke asked rather shortly, “Or are you just trying to gather more gossip for the rag you call a newspaper? Planning a feature on my jock strap?” Zeke raised a condescending eyebrow at her as he slowly lowered his wand, he’d still be able to disarm her quickly if she suddenly got the idea to try something.

[/font]

[summer]

“Drop it Gryffindork.”

[/i]

Summer’s wand lit up his face and she was surprised to see that it was the very man whose bag she seemed to be handling. Zeke Maxwell stood before her with his own wand pointed in her direction. Her heart immediately started beating faster, the classic fight-or-fight reaction beginning to kick it. But she still felt like she was paralyzed, so she didn’t move, ”Fight it is-”[/b] She muttered quietly to herself, not loud enough so that Maxwell could understand what she was saying. She bit down on her lip, knowing that she probably couldn't outrun him. Zeke was on the Slytherin team, which meant he spent a good deal of his time training with the other Slytherins. She wouldn’t stand a chance if it came down to it. All she could do was stand there, staring at him, her moth still slightly open in surprise.

She didn’t even bother calling him out on the fact that he had pinned her as the wrong house. He wasn’t worth her time. He was the kind of person that wouldn’t look twice at a Hufflepuff because they wore yellow and black proudly. Stupid stuck-up Slytherfreaks, she thought with a low growl.

She leaned back onto the lockers, folding her arms neatly over her chest and keeping her head held high. She wasn’t going to let this one intimidate her...not tonight. He was a peaceful little bugger, believing that everything could be solved through diplomatic words. Which she respected...at least, she would have respected if she didn’t have a growing suspicion that he had been on the wrong side of the war, ”Nope, you can’t help me.”[/b] She said as she turned her back to him, her fingertips traveling over the lockers that were before her. He could do whatever he wanted, but she was pretty sure that he wouldn’t. He had a reputation to protect around Hogwarts. She touched the edge of one of the upper lockers and then looked at the center of the door. Sure enough there was a large ‘C’ emblem, one that could only mean captain. She couldn’t believe that she had missed that before. She was about to touch the handle to the locker when Zeke’s word’s interrupted her again.

”Newspaper?”[/b] She felt her blood run cold for a moment. No one was supposed to know that she was the one writing The Underground. Sure, everyone had their suspicions, but Zeke had seemed so...sure that it was her. She turned slowly back around, her heart pounding in her chest. She wasn’t sure if she was frightened, or nervous, or just plain angry that he had figured it out. Leave it to the snarky diplomat to blow her cover. He was probably going to go off spouting to everyone that would lend him their ear about how Summer Cresswell was the one who was spreading the rumors about the Slytherin Death Eater families. Then she would be really SOL.

She watched him raise his eyebrow at her and was tempted to punch him. A guy like that deserved to be knocked off his high little horse for a little while...brought back down to Earth with the rest of Hogwarts. She threw his bag toward him, rather forcefully and then narrowed her eyes, ”Maxwell-”[/b] She said as craned her neck so that she could see Archer’s locker. Her fingertips grazed the edge of the handle and then she looked back at the Slytherin, fearing that he might try and hex her out of the blue, ”You jock strap-”[/b] She looked downwards and then grinned to herself, ”Nor the small package that it hides, wouldn’t make front page news if your life depended on it.”[/b] There. She had been snarky right back.

She finally turned all the way around and threw open Archer’s locker. Surprised to see that it was completely and utterly empty, ”What-”[/b] She was stunned speechless and slammed her fist against the metal frame. This had been a faulty lead and now it had cost her revealing to Maxwell that she was the one that wrote the exploitive Hogwarts paper? Bleh.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[ZEKE ANTHONY MAXWELL]

Zeke caught his bag effortlessly, she wasn’t exactly throwing a bludger at him, nor was she really in the same athletic condition that most quidditch players were. He rolled his eyes at her package comment, it had been the only obvious comeback, and Zeke didn’t even feel like dignifying it with a response. “Lumos” Zeke flicked his wand and illuminated the room to a normal light level so he could properly see Summer. She was much prettier than he had remember, of course he had not actually talked with her since they had charms and potions together in 4th year, but that was beside the point, she had made a critical error. “So… you admit that you are the writer of the Underground?” Zeke raised an eyebrow at her as he looked at her. He hadn’t actually known that she was the writer of the underground; he simply had a suspicion which had now been verified by her own admission. He laughed aloud as she opened Archer’s locker only to find it empty. “Archie isn’t one to leave his stuff around for prying eyes. He takes his personal life very seriously, and keeps it VERY private.” Zeke casually walked over to his locker, closing the distance between him and Summer, putting his bag back into his locker; he frowned slightly, feeling as if something had been disturbed. Zeke was borderline OCD and the thought of someone disturbing how his locker was setup upset him terribly, he went about fidgeting absent mindedly with the differently things in his locker, making sure everything was exactly where it belonged. “You really shouldn’t go through other people’s stuff, it’s incredibly rude. Do they not teach you beavers manners in your house?”

Zeke turned abruptly towards Summer and gave her a smile, “So Ms. Creswell, I believe we are at an impasse are we not? I have a duty to inform my teammates, my head of house, and Madam Hooch about you breaking into the Slytherin locker room. After all, you might have been trying to sabotage our equipment, or steal our game plans. Then, you would be forced to admit to everyone that you were writing an article for your underground newspaper, and everyone would know who the true writer is…” Zeke tilted his head, “Unless there is some reason why I shouldn’t?” Zeke smirked devilishly. “As you know Summer, I am wanting to pursue a career in politics, and having some positive publicity wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for me. Maybe we could work something out? You could write an article or two about how I’m a shining example of the new-aged Slytherin and how…REFORMED we are.” Zeke smirked at his wording, “In exchange, I will keep your dirty little secret. Do we have a deal?” Zeke smiled coolly, he knew he was in complete control of this situation right now.

[/font]

[summer]

Busted:

Summer rolled her eyes when he called her out on being the writer. She knew that there was nothing she could say now to throw Maxwell off her scent. He was relentless when he wanted to know something. Summer shielded her eyes when his wand lit up, her gaze not adjusting to the extra light in the room. When she felt like she was able, she let her hand down, surveying Zeke's face. He looked so smug, but that didn't really surprise her. But there was something else there, some sort of intrigue that reminded her of the crush that she had harbored for him in her fourth year. Of course, that had gone no where, ”You're ridiculous.”

[/b] She muttered, realizing that she had been staring at him in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time.

But he was right about Archer not leaving his things lying around. She should have known better than to follow the lead of someone so unreliable. But Summer supposed that’s what happened when you got your leads from the drunken fool in the corner of the Hogs Head.

”Badgers-”[/b] Summer corrected immediately, feeling her face growing hot with anger. Zeke was such an ass sometimes. She wondered how he got away with everything that he said. She also wondered why every Slytherin girl was throwing themselves at him. He wasn't anything special...just a snob of a diplomat like the rest of the house of snake, ”We're the house of badger. Not of beavers.”[/b] She grabbed the door to his locker and looked inside, staring at everything that was neatly organized. It was sick, really, how OCD he seemed to be. Summer could never understand people who focused so heavily on keeping everything obsessively clean. She was more of a tamed disarray kind of girl. Just to be contrary, she reached in and shoved his bag toward the back of the locker, then shot him a lock of mock-innocence, ”Although, I imagine that all you’ve seen of the Hufflepuffs is-”[/b] She shook her head, knowing that she didn’t want to stoop to his level. She could have gone off on a rant about how he was a womanizer and only cared to see - well, the point was, she would have normally been all over him in terms of insults, but since he held the seat of power in this conversation, she decided it better not to push her luck.

As Zeke turned to face her, she realized just how close they had gotten. She immediately took a few steps back and blushed profusely. She hoped that the dim light of the room wouldn't betray her though, she would much rather keep her embarrassment and red cheeks to herself, ”And impasse indeed.”[/b] She said, her voice wary and somehow maintaining strength. She knew that this could be the end of her career as a journalist and the end of sleeping all together because as soon as the Slytherins figured it out, she was going to have a ransom on her head.

”How about I agree not to tell the world that your package leaves something to be desired and we’ll call it even?”[/b] She suggested and then rocked back on her toes, knowing that she should have been pushing his buttons. There was a very real possibility that after tonight her life would be ruined and she was still playing games? Very Summer of her. She bit down on her lip, seeing the dangerous smile that he was flashing her. That could mean many things with Zeke...anything from I’m going to hex you in your sleep, to come and get me, Hufflepuff. She wasn’t sure, but she wasn’t going to chance either one of those options.

She didn’t want to tell the world how reformed Maxwell was...he still felt like the same guy that he was before the war...desperately seeking out power wherever he could find it, ”Mr. Maxwell-”[/b] She was searching for a way out of the situation that she had gotten herself into, but she found that she couldn’t think of any. He had the upper hand and she cursed his politically apt mind for that. He knew just how to play his cards right to get to her. Summer stepped forward, drawing her face up to meet his gaze. Her hand instinctively shot to his wand arm, and she gripped his wrist. A strange burning sensation seemed to travel down her arm as she did so, ”You drive a hard bargain. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to refuse.”[/b] Then she flashed him a grin and let go of his wrist, ”Like you said...I could have been doing any number of things down here.”[/b] She raised one eyebrow, ”No one has to know it was for The Underground.”[/b] Check and mate.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[ZEKE ANTHONY MAXWELL]

Zeke flashed a smile at her as she corrected him, “Close enough. Although I must say…Beavers might make a little more sense…” Zeke flashed a smile, “Especially when describing your quidditch team.” Zeke knew that she was fighting the urge to make a couple of insults about him being a womanizer, but that didn’t bug Zeke in the slightest, if anything he was proud of his track record when it came to women. “What’s the matter, Jealous that you weren’t one of those hufflepuffs?” Zeke flashed a cocky grin, “Because, you know; we can always change that.”

Zeke sighed loudly, “I have way too many girls that will say otherwise and all of your newspaper’s credibility will be gone.” he shrugged, “But, feel free to do as you see fit. All publicity is good publicity, and you would discredit your paper more than you would discredit me.” He was in complete control and they both knew it, her feeble attempts at insults were here last desperate wishes to try to stay afloat, very similar to the way someone who is drowning thrashes wildly, even though they know that it will do them more harm than good.

Zeke’s eyes snapped down to his wrist as she grabbed it, his natural reaction was to rip it out of her grasp but there was something interesting about her touch, he couldn’t quite find a way to tear his hand away from her. He moved his eyes to focus in on hers giving her an admiring smirk, “So what exactly are you trying to propose my dear?” Zeke gave her a devilish grin in response to her raising an eyebrow. He had to admit he was a little impressed by what he assumed she was trying to propose to him. “If you are trying to imply what I think you’re trying to imply; then we just might be able to work something out, but so you know… I have standards.” Zeke took another step forward as he softly brushed her hair back behind her ear.

[summer]

Summer managed to roll her eyes. As if she was even considering sleeping with him. He was crude and obnoxious, not to mention, everything that she hated in life. He was the reason that she couldn’t pull this war to a close in her newspaper. Because there were still people like him trying to use the war to spin themselves a new positive publicity stunt so that they could climb to the top of the ladder once again. Zeke Maxwell was bad news, Summer could feel it down to her bones, ”I’d rather not be another page in the Zeke Maxwell fan-club book, thanks for the offer though.”

[/b] She said as politely as she could manage, her fingertips grazing another one of the lockers. Well, if he wasn’t going to stop her, she might as well take a look around anyways.

She slipped her finger underneath the handle and then let the locker fall open, surprised to see that clothing and bottles had fallen out, ”Oops.”[/b] She muttered and then raised both of her eyebrows. She bent down and started sifting through what had fallen out, observing everything that she picked up, looking for something that would give her a clue into the Slytherin’s plans for this school year. But there was nothing, save for a few bottles of firewhiskey. But that wasn’t enough to get the Quidditch Captain expelled, now was it.

Her ears perked up at the mention of discrediting her newspaper with her tall-tales, ”Are you threatening me?”[/b] She asked, narrowing her eyes as she rose to her feet. The pair of them were close to the same height, he had about three inches on her, but it wasn’t enough to where he could intimidate. The only thing that he had going for him was his aptitude with words...and she could combat that. After all, she wrote a bloody newspaper that had been sweeping the school by storm, ”Listen Maxwell, I don’t know how you think this is going to work-”[/b] She gestured in-between the pair of them so that she was being perfectly clear about the whole thing, ”But you don’t get to blackmail me.”[/b] Actually, she knew that he did...especially since he had caught her red handed. But she wasn’t about to give in so easily. All was not lost yet.

He didn’t pull away. That was what freaked Summer out the most. For a brief moment, they both stood there, her hand on his wrist, locked in a physical impasse to compliment the linguistic standstill they already had going. She immediately regretted what she had been trying to suggest. It was a stupid idea, one that would never work. She couldn’t imagine having to do that for...all for discretion. She bit down on her lip and stayed quiet for a moment, trying to compose a rational sentence. She thought she had it, ”You think that I don’t have standards too?”[/b] Her voice went a little too high at the end as he pushed some of her hair behind her ear. She couldn’t tell if she was confused, creeped out, or strangely interested in the entire situation.

Then she snapped out of it, realizing what she was doing, ”There has to be another way.”[/b] She mumbled, taking a step back so that she would be just out of grasp. There had to be something else that she could do to get him to drop his Underground fix. She didn’t want him to touch her again. She realized that she was slightly afraid of him..she was afraid of the power that he held against her at this moment. [/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[ZEKE ANTHONY MAXWELL]

Zeke laughed as she rolled her eyes and threw out another insult to him. She was a fighter he had to give her that, she wasn’t going down without a fight; but Zeke knew how powerless she was in the current situation. After all, that’s what made the difference between good politician and a great politician; the ability to recognize who has the power in a situation and who doesn’t. “You should feel lucky that you even got the offer to join the fan club; there are several girls who are still trying to get their membership.” Zeke taunted her slightly, he figured he might as well enjoy the situation while it lasted.

Zeke sighed loudly as she opened another locker and sent stuff spilling across the locker room floor, “Can you please stop going through our stuff? You’re making a mess, and you aren’t going to find anything in here to incriminate Archer.” Zeke shook his head slightly, “I mean seriously, did you think he was just going to leave letters from his aunt laying around for anyone to come snoop by and read them? You’re not the best investigative reporter apparently. If you want major dirt like that on someone you have to have someone on the inside, someone that’s willing to feed you information and tell you everything. Now in order for you to get that, you have to have something that person wants and be willing to give it to them.” Zeke knew that Summer was a bright girl and would pick up on his implications. The truth was that Zeke would rat out Archer for free; Zeke couldn’t stand the quidditch captain, it was the simple-minded oafs like him that cost them the war. They should have taken a diplomatic approach as opposed to trying to trying to force the wizarding community into their beliefs.

Zeke laughed, “No Summer, I’m not threatening you.” He shook his head, maybe this wasn’t the right time for humor, “You tried to threaten me by saying you would write a negative article about my…erm… equipment. I merely stated that I had more than enough girls that would state otherwise and that you would be hurting yourself more than me.” Zeke smiled at her wondering if she realized yet, “It was merely a joke. Not a threat.” As she got more and more stand-offish his smile grew more and more. “Blackmail is such a harsh word. I’m merely trying to come to a mutual agreement; But if you wish to choose the word blackmail then, explain to me Ms. Creswell, why I don’t? I have enough information on you to ruin your newspaper and even potentially get you ex-spelled. Breaking in to the Slytherin locker room and trying to frame the quidditch captain is a serious offense, one that I do not think the Headmistress would take lightly… So, I believe that in all actuality… I do actually get to blackmail you Ms. Creswell.” Zeke gave her a very matter-of-fact smile, letting her know that he had her exactly where he wanted her.

He smiled slightly as her voice cracked at the end of her sentence. She was nervous, really nervous; he wondered if Summer had ever actually done this before. “Well, I can assure you I would be able to meet your expectations.” Zeke gave her a devilish and arrogant grin. Zeke studied her face, she was nervous but he could sense that there was part of her that was semi-excited about the thought.

She took a sudden step back and Zeke hadn’t seen that coming, he was slightly surprised and then just studied her face as she talked to him. It had been her idea in the first place, Zeke had just found it interesting… “Well, I offered you my way… and then you offered me your idea. I accepted your proposal; But if you want to amend your proposal feel free…” Zeke smiled, “Otherwise… Come back here.” Zeke’s tone had changed slightly, he wasn’t asking her this time, it was an instruction. He was slowly but surely growing tired of her games, he wanted to make sure she understood who actually had the power in this situation.

[summer]

”What lucky girls.”

[/b] Summer threw back, trying to give her voice as much of a tone of boredom as she could. Perhaps if she could give him not the smallest notion that he was intimidating her, then it would be easier for her to sweet talk her way out of the situation, ”Who wouldn’t want to be solicited by the likes of you?”[/b] She rolled her eyes and then pressed her fingers to her lips as she waited for him to respond. He was so...trite. That was the word that she was looking for to describe Zeke Maxwell. Just as full of himself as the rest of the Slytherin clan. They were all little carbon copies of one another...perhaps one had longer hair or a bit of a charm when they spoke, but they were generally the exact same person...unbearably self-centered. She wondered how a man, so convinced that he wanted to be a politician, could be so... clichéd.

Summer felt her fists clench as she looked up at him, eyes darting away from the pile of Slytherin trash that had been in the locker. She felt the muscles in her neck beginning to tighten with anger, ”I’m not looking for letters from his aunt.”[/b] He was such a prick...pretending that he knew everything about her and everything about Archer. It was pathetic really. He should have at least checked his facts before her trampled around pretending to be king of the world, ”My Aunt, actually.”[/b] She corrected and then picked up a pair of athletic pants that she knew had to belong to Greengrass. No one else in the right mind would wear such tiny pants during Quidditch Practice. She wrinkled her nose and then threw them over her shoulder, continuing to look for anything. She wondered if Zeke knew about the familial relationships that were between the Grayson family and Summer’s. How close the pair had been before things had started to change when he got sorted into Slytherin. And look at them now: never looking at each other in public, secretly bashing the other whenever possible. It was sick and dangerous territory.

She furrowed her brows, ”So you’re saying that you want to be a nark?”[/b] She was confused, her hands dropping the equipment that she was holding so that she could get all the way to her feet. Her eyes locked on his, trying to get a read on him, but she had to admit that his poker face was infallible, ”A nark with a price.”[/b] She narrowed her eyes, trying to keep herself on top of the situation, but she could quickly sense that he was taking even more control and leaving her with not many options, ”I need information. And you need-?”[/b] She questioned, her eyes shifting away from his as she got slightly nervous about the whole situation.

Summer watched his smile grow, her confusing growing along with it. What was he trying to pull here? And then she realized that he was toying with her. Her lips pursed in a thin line, she stared him down. Zeke Maxwell had balls. She would give him that. As much as she didn’t respect him, she could say with utmost certainty that he knew how to play the game. She was trapped and he held the keys. She was out of luck at this point, ”Right-”[/b] That was all that she could say. All that she could do not to fall to her knees and beg him not to turn her in. She couldn’t lose the newspaper or her credibility...it would be the most detrimental thing that could have ever happened to her.

”Come back here.”[/i]

The demand took her by surprise, causing her to take another involuntary step backwards. There was no way that she was getting any closer to Maxwell, not when he had that glint in his eyes. He wanted something from her that she wasn’t going to give him what he wanted. She couldn’t, ”I propose that we both just walk away?”[/b] She said with a shrug, knowing that it was a shot in the dark, but a shot just the same, ”I’ll write your stupid articles.”[/b] She muttered under her breath, half hoping that he wouldn’t hear her.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

OOC: Not my best work. Don't judge.

[ZEKE ANTHONY MAXWELL]

Zeke rolled his eyes again, she was trying her best to put up a defense against him, but Zeke could tell she was terrified, she was afraid of what Zeke had over her right now and she knew that if she didn’t play her cards right that Zeke would ruin her. “That’s a very good question, I still haven’t found the answer however. I don’t believe any girl has ever turned me down honestly…” Zeke smiled playfully at Summer, he knew that his snappy comebacks would wear her down eventually and he just had to wait it out before she would eventually give up. Zeke knew that he could be charming, but he wasn’t quite sure he really needed to be in this situation, he held the power.

Zeke cocked his head at Summer, he hadn’t expected her to be so aggressive about it being her family that were the known death eaters and not Archers. “You know, if I had members of my family that were still Death Eaters and loyal to you-know-who… I wouldn’t be around yelling about it. That’s something you should try to keep quiet, not for fear of persecution from the Ministry, but because if you go broadcasting it, your aunt and her friends might come looking for you.” Zeke’s voice was not threatening, it had sincerity behind it, he was genuinely cautioning her to be careful. “They’re dwindling in numbers, and getting desperate and are trying to make as many statements as they can so they look like their numbers are still strong.” Summer wasn’t the only one with Family members who had been loyal to the Dark Lord. Zeke’s grandfather had declared loyalty but hadn’t actually received the mark and was now being heavily pestered and harassed by those that had and were still on the loose. Zeke had agreed with the Dark Lord, but he had never agreed with his methods, he was too much of a militant; he should have been more diplomatic.

He smirked at her comment, “I don’t NEED anything, I’m pretty resourceful and well liked. Most Generally speaking, I can get whatever I need, and typically I get what I want.” Zeke flashed an arrogant and cocky smile, “However, you do have something that I want.” Zeke eyed Summer, just to watch her get uncomfortable, “And no… it’s not that.” Zeke flashed her a quick smile, it was a warm reassuring smile, but it was gone almost as soon as it had appeared. “You have your newspaper and you have built up quite the little fan base. People respect your newspaper and they find you to be factual; If you were to let’s say, print something about Archer with proof, people would believe you and his reputation here would be ruined… Other people might be able to benefit from ‘Ole Archie being taken down a peg or two.” Zeke flashed her a knowing grin, “But… I would need positive press as well. Obviously I can’t get credit for being your source, but I want you to put something positive about me in your paper, I need people to think that I’m not just your typical cliché Slytherin womanizer.”

Zeke rolled his eyes as she took a step backwards, “You do realize that there is only one door to this locker room and you are actually backing yourself further away from it? No to mention you’re putting yourself in the corner.” Zeke gave her an annoyed look as he continued, “Besides, I’m not going to hurt you Summer.” Zeke took a step towards her with both of his hands up in a defenseless position. “Just relax… I’m really not a bad guy, ok?” Zeke gave Summer a charming smile and locked his eyes on hers. His smile was soft and warm, not the type of smile you would expect to get from a Slytherin, his was friendly, it was inviting.

He gave a slight chuckle as she proposed that they all just walk away, “Sorry Dear, but I can’t just let you walk away.” Zeke kept his hands up and took another step towards Summer, they were now within normal conversational distance, “You don’t have to lie… just give me an interview? That’s all I ask.” Zeke once again flashed his warm and sincere smile, he kept his hands up as if she was holding him at wand-point, “You can even pick the questions… is that fair?”

[/font]

[summer]

Summer did not like the way that he was staring at her. It was like a hawk hunting his prey....and it was really beginning to freak her out. It was like he was staring directly into her soul, picking up on every hint of fear that her body was betraying. She sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm her head and her growing fears, but she found that it did nothing for her poor nerves. She was still in absolute shambles in front of him...not that she would ever admit it, ”Well then-”

[/b] She paused, her voice a little too shaky for her taste. Another deep breath and she felt a slight equilibrium, ”I guess you can count me as the first, Mr. Maxwell.”[/b] She said, her tone strained but conversational. There, that would have to do for now until she could get her bearings completely straight, ”How does it feel to be rejected so ardently?”[/b] The snark was back, Summer could feel it searing through her veins like fire. She was back on top of her game. But she supposed that’s what happened when she asked prying questions; it was the natural reporter in her.

She wrinkled her nose again almost immediately after she heard his tone of voice. Zeke sounded like an old man lecturing a small child on which spoon to use for the first course. She supposed that it came from the pompous upbringing that most Slytherins had. But there was a hint of sincerity buried within his words, something that surprised her. She chewed on her bottom lip as she listened to his opinion, suddenly grateful that there was someone on the Other Side that she could talk to about all of this, ”They’re bloody idiots if they try anything here.”[/b] Her voice wasn’t as confident as she wanted it to be, it held all the fear that she harbored about someone finding out that she was giving leads on where Death Eaters were hiding out, ”McGonegall would stop them well before they got inside the castle walls,”[/b] She rocked backwards on her feet, releasing her lip from her teeth so that she could speak, ”You seem to know a lot about that, Maxwell.”[/b] She said, narrowing her eyes. She knew that Zeke hadn’t pledged, but it wouldn’t have surprised her if his entire family had. The Maxwells were a notable pureblood family, meaning that they had probably been solicited by the likes of the Dark Lord.

He was undeniably the cockiest person that she had ever met, that was for sure. She wasn’t sure if she hated his guts, or was in awe of the fact that he was so bloody full of himself. Summer shifted on her feet, her heart pounding. She wasn’t sure what Zeke wanted, but from the way that he was looking at her, she was afraid to make assumptions. She didn’t want to do that. She tucked a tendril of blonde hair behind her ear and avoided his gaze at all costs.

’Oh thank Merlin,’ She thought as he went a completely different direction with what he wanted, ”So you hate Archer Grayson,”[/b] She mused aloud, her eyebrows raising gently. This was certainly an interesting change of events. She hadn’t expected Zeke to be so against Grayson. She neatly folded her arms across her chest, listening to his little proposal. She snorted at his apt description of what he was not, ”You realize that that’s exactly what you are, right?”[/b] Neatly passing judgement on Maxwell was easier than trying to actually get to know him. If she thought what she wanted about the Slytherins, she wouldn’t have to risk the idea that some of them might actually be reformed.

She cursed herself for backing the wrong way, but then again, when someone like Zeke Maxwell is coming toward you with a nasty glint in their eye, you’re not exactly thinking about how to back up. She knew that if she wanted to, she might be able to run, but then he took another step closer and she knew that he would be able to easily grab her wrist or trip her before she took two steps. He raised his hands in surrender and she felt her heart leap into her throat. ‘Not going to hurt me,’ She repeated in her head, her mind going a million miles a minute. And then that smile. She felt most of her anxiety melt away. Summer knew exactly what he was doing - turning on the charm like she was a prize to be won - but she found that she couldn’t look away. The smile was radiant...

”An interview.”[/b] Her voice was dry and she tried to keep it that way, as if she wasn’t freaked out. But it was strangely true: his smile had put her relatively at ease. That was something that she knew. She knew it well. Alright, if he wanted to play this little game, then she would play. After all, it was better than the alternative, she thought grimly. The smile came again and Summer went a little weak in the knees, ”It’s fair.”[/b] She said, reaching down and picking up her bag off the floor. Her eyes never left his, for fear that he would turn on her in an instant. She drew out her notebook and a quill and then stared at him, ”First question,”[/b] Her mind was already rapid firing in her head, ”Why didn’t you join rank?”[/b][/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[ZEKE ANTHONY MAXWELL]

Zeke laughed aloud at Summer, “First off m’dear, you can’t reject me because I haven’t even tried to sleep with you…yet.” Zeke flashed a smile as he threw in that last bit; “So, in response to your question, I still do now know what it actually feels like to be rejected” Zeke gave her a look, he didn’t appreciate her snarky comeback, he didn’t appreciate how she had tried to claim that she was able to reject him. He knew that if he had actually tried to seduce her that she would be putty in his fingers in a matter of moments.

He gave her a surprised look as she wrinkled her nose at him, he had been trying to help her and she was giving him dirty looks? Zeke felt an annoyed anger, he wasn’t typically the type to go out of his way to help people, but he also didn’t want to see something bad happen to Summer Creswell, he had known her for years and the thought of her picture ending up on the front page of the prophet seemed overly-tragic to Zeke. “You’re right, they are bloody idiots, but we already knew that Creswell. But they’re desperate, and they wouldn’t make their move here inside the walls, they’d wait for you in Hogsmeade, or send you a package with a baby acromantula in it.” Again, she snapped by with a snarky comment, but this time she hit a nerve and Zeke snapped back, losing his typically calm and relaxed demeanor “I’m trying to help you here. Maybe you should drop your stereotypical newspaper reporter judgments and learn to figure out when someone is being genuine! Just because we wear Emerald doesn’t mean we were exempt from the war, it didn’t mean that our parents weren’t and aren’t harassed. My Grandfather refused to accept the mark during the war, saying that he wouldn’t be branded like a piece of cattle. He has an Auror living next door to him now because these rogue death eaters have tried to kill him twice. They already put my Grandmother into a state of dementia because she’s so terrified she won’t even leave the kitchen. So it’s about time this school realizes that we’re going through the same shit as everyone else.” Zeke let out an angry and frustrated sigh, “But you know what, if you know everything already, and you’ve got everything so figured out then fine. Handle this mess yourself, but don’t blame me when you or someone you care about ends up on the front page of the prophet as the latest Death Eater victim because you wanted to be loud and talk about how your aunt is a death eater, and how Archer Grayson is still loyal. People are going to figure out who writes the Underground and then they’re going to be coming for that person; they’re going to look to make an example out of the little twit that exposed them to all of Hogwarts. So you need to be a little more careful Creswell, before you get yourself killed. Or before you get someone else killed.” Zeke gave her a glare, he’d had about enough of the whole school thinking that every Slytherin had been and still was a death eater.

Zeke nodded, “You could say that Archer and I are less than cordial. Yes.” Zeke rolled his eyes, he was nearing his breaking point when it came to her snarky little comments and constant digs at him, “You know what? Maybe I should just say forget helping you, go tell Archer what I saw and who the writer of the underground is, and then go to headmistress McGonegal and tell her about you breaking into the Slytherin locker room. That is after all what I should be doing, especially if I’m just a typical cliché Slytherin.” Zeke’s voice was harsh and blunt as he stared at her, she was an unappreciative twit that had worn through his patience with comment after comment about him.

“Yes… an interview.” Zeke raised an eyebrow at her as she kept her stare on him as she reached for her bag. ”Right here? This isn’t very comfortable… hang on one moment.” Zeke walked over to a bench that the Slytherins used to get ready for the matches, he pulled his wand back out and with a quick flick the bench transfigured into a nice plush leather couch. Zeke sat down and once again gave Summer his warm and tender smile as he motioned for her to sit down with him. “I wasn’t sure which side was right for me. While I agreed with certain aspects of he-who-must-not-be-named I most certainly did not agree with them all. I do not feel as if we should be hunting muggles or squibs; but I found myself hard pressed to say that we should remind hiding in the shadows. We ARE superior to the muggles are we not? And was it not the muggles that burned witches and wizards at the stake, driving us into hiding? I don’t condone the shedding of innocent blood, but I feel that our days of hiding in the shadows of secrecy should be over. We should not fear the muggles anymore, we should find a way to live in harmony with them.” Zeke kept his eyes locked on Summer’s, his warm smile beaming brightly back at her. “War and Violence are not the answer. War does nothing but bring death and pain; the only answer to this problem is for us to be diplomatic with the muggles, for our leadership to talk to their leadership and find an agreeable means of co-habitation.”