a little wicked...

that's what they call me, cause that's what i am, that's what i am

[zaraivancva]

vanja-novak​:

Vanja wasn’t an expert in grave robbing, but that was exactly what it appeared to be as they stood in the shadows observing two bodies hovering over one grave in particular. If someone where to be hosting a seance or fucking around in a graveyard for fun, they wouldn’t all be focused on one spot in particular. And no, this didn’t appear to be some tearful moment of mourning. Most people did that privately, and not in the midst of the night where it was pitch black. It was obvious that whoever these people were, they did not want to be seen.  

Of course, the other alternative to grave robbing was far worse and far more dangerous. Inferi weren’t supposed to be easy to make, but the war had already proven that false, a few months ago. It wouldn’t surprise Vanja in the slightest if someone was attempting to create more, though it didn’t appear to be the case thankfully as only a small object was being levitated from underground rather than a corpse. As Vanja glanced over at Zara, her interest seemed to be piqued. He wasn’t a fool, he knew what his cousin did for a living. Sparks were going off, and it became clear that she had intentions of investigating this further. 

“So long as it doesn’t kill us? Why not,” he shrugged. Vanja would always have her back, and this was not something that they should take chances on alone. If she intended to gain possession of whatever that object was, she would need back up. Not that Vanja didn’t think she could handle a few wizards, but there was a very high chance that the object in question was dangerous. “What’s your plan?”

A smile broke on Zara’s face. She hadn’t expected Vanja to put a damper on things, but it was still nice to get the confirmation that he was game for the interesting turn of events.

“Well...” She was going to say that she didn’t think it’d be smart to attack them out in the open, that they should wait until the men left and corner them somewhere along the way while still maintaining the element of surprise. However, in the time she and Vanja had been talking, the men had apparently been able to pack up their belonging and they were now leaving the graveyard.

“I think we should quietly follow them before we lose them.”

Following the men wasn’t difficult, but unfortunately there was no opportunity to jump them along the way. Their end destination, as Vanja and Zara discovered, was a Victorian style home on an otherwise lifeless street. All of the curtains were drawn and no noise could be heard, but lights were on in nearly every room in the house. The men walked up the porch stairs and knocked on the front door. It opened a sliver, paused, and then opened just enough that they could squeeze inside.

Speaking in the same soft, anticipatory manner she had in the graveyard, Zara suggested to Vanja that they check around back to see if there could find an easier way in. Once again, Vanja went along with his cousin’s plan, and the two crept along the side of the house and until they could peer into the back garden. There they saw two other attendees, though unlike their grave-robbing brethren, these ones were in formal clothes and masks.

[zaraivancva]

trisxrojas​:

Oh, no, another Novak. It was the first thought that went through his mind, but Tristan didn’t really mean it. He’d since decided that Vanja wasn’t the absolute worst person that Xiomara could be around even if he did have a gift for getting under Tristan’s skin, and he’d always gotten along with Valerija, so there wasn’t any proof that Zara wasn’t a nice person to talk to. After all, what did he know but that she went to Durmstrang and liked sports?

In fact, she seemed quite devoted to sports since her attention went back to the match the moment coverage resumed and Tristan resumed drinking, thinking that if that was the extent of their conversation, then he didn’t mind Zara at all. She didn’t seem to be as chatty as Vanja and that was fine since Tristan was a grump that didn’t do a lot of talking at times.

“Vanja is a friend of my sister, he brought a cat he found to me and we share Sage.” Tristan said, assuming that Vanja’s cousin would know about the little black kitten that tended to travel back and forth between its parents. Tipping as head, Tristan soon realized he wasn’t exactly sure how Valerija came into the picture. “I do not remember meeting Valerija. In a grocery store, maybe? We talked about cocoa for her girlfriend. And she helps with my English.”

Sage! In her over excitable state, a huge smile appeared on Zara’s face at the mention of the cat. She hadn’t met the cute little baby often, but it didn’t take a lot of time to become fond of such a lovable creature. Maybe it was the thing’s sweet nature, the fact that it supported her dark aesthetic, or a combination of both, but Zara liked Sage more than other animals she’d met. “You’re so lucky. Sage is soo cute.”

Zara nodded at the mention of Valerija. Helping people sounded exactly like her younger cousin. “She would do that. Helping you, I mean. She’s a good person like that.”

Zara took another drink of her beer. “I can’t help you with English - at least not right now,” Zara used her eyes to gesture to her pint. “But, if you want, I can tell you anything about Quidditch, international, Eastern European, or British league.” Growing up Zara faithfully followed the Eastern European league, but since moving to England, she’d taken up interest in the British league as well.

[zaraivancva]

valentinanottt​:

“Mhmm. I’ve known a few.” She once knew a cursebreaker quite well, in fact, but not so well that she was familiar with the various people in that circle. Still, the older something was, the more likely it was to be cursed and the deadlier that curse tended to be, as well as the more difficult to break. Valentina in particular had a great respect for the Egyptian curses that people kept unleashing on themselves, and no particular urge to mess with them herself.

Surprised by the answer, Valentina gave a sort laugh and them for herself surprised that she’d had such an open reaction to it since she normally kept a far better handle on her own emotions than that. “And how many of these items have you handled yourself?” She asked, wondering just how often the woman broke a curse on something and then found it again on the shelves of a shop. She also wondered just how much Borgin and Burkes had gouged the price and if the woman ever felt cheated by her pay, but that was her own fault if that happened.

Zara mirrored the woman and smiled back. She did a quick look around, but in truth she already knew the answer to the other woman’s question. “Not many at the moment. I don’t actually sell to Borgin and Burke’s too often anymore. Clients backing out of a deal was more common at the start of my career, before I had cultivated a regular client base.”

Zara’s career might’ve only been a few years, but she’d learned a lot in that short time. With how hard she pushed herself, she’d learned more in just three years than some learned over ten.

“What is it that you do?” If she was going to share her job, the other might as well share hers too. Not that Zara was guaranteed to get a straight answer in Borgin and Burke’s, but it was worth a shot. “Do you also get to handle cursed objects on a regular basis?” There weren’t many other jobs that did, so the question was asked in jest more than anything else.

[zaraivancva]

valerijanovak​:

..

She nodded slowly.  Valerija wasn’t an especially emotional person, which is why she sometimes felt like Zara was willing to show even this slight bit of vulnerability in front of her.  She wasn’t going to commiserate with her, nor was she going to try to hug her.  Vanja was a better choice if she were looking for all of that.  She cared, but she didn’t care too much – honestly, if she were hurt she would probably go to Zara first too.  They understood each other.

Without saying anything she got up and went to the cabinet, pulling down a few jars.  There was dittany, there was also a few disinfecting potions.  It was better to be safe than sorry – although, she wasn’t sure if Zara was vulnerable to the same infections.  But again, better safe than sorry. 

Once the potions did their job she leaned back to study the job.  “I think that’s good?  Do you want some ice cream?  Edith will be out for awhile longer – we could turn on the television.  I think I’ve finally mastered all the buttons on the remote, and we could see what we find?”

Edith. Zara remembered when they first met. It had started off rocky, but Zara thought it had ended on good terms. Still, she didn’t think they were going to become close anytime soon.

“Ice cream sounds great, as long as it’s not from one of the new Bertie Bott’s flavours.” Bertie Bott’s had recently expanded their horizons and ventured into making ice creams. While some flavours were safe, others held the same fun surprises that their Every Flavour Beans held and Zara wasn’t in the mood for that kind of uncertainty.

“Sure. Let’s put you muggle skills to the test.” Zara laughed to try to lighten the mood, but immediately regretted it. Even though most of the damage was on her arms, she felt a small shot of pain echo through her whole body the second she moved. It didn’t show much on her face, thanks to a conscious effort on Zara’s part to hide it, but Valerija still might have noticed. Family had a way of picking up on even the smallest shifts.

[zaraivancva]

edith-clearwater​:

It was a confusing situation. Did Zara not know that she and Valerija lived together? Vanja had, although in his defense he had just shown up one day like Zara had and figured it out. But still, she would think that after this long people would have known. “Clearly,” she nodded, still a bit uncomfortable after the awkward introduction. 

Raising a brow, she was unsure of how to answer that. Her girlfriend was in jail, they were in the middle of a war, and a stranger had just appeared in her home and started yelling at her. How was she supposed to be? “Fine, I suppose… You?” Normally Edith was great at small talk, but today wasn’t her day. 

“I’m good.” The truth was a lot more complicated and good wasn’t really the most accurate word to choose, but even Zara knew this was not the time to be brash about her job and the stresses that came with it.

As awkard silence fell over the apartment, it dawned on Zara that she had no idea what information Valerija had shared with Edith about her. Zara assumed that as soon as she revealed who she was, Edith became fully caught up to speed, but that perhaps that wasn’t the case. After all, Valerija had failed to mention to Zara that the cute blonde had moved in with her. If Zara didn’t know that, information that certainly would’ve been helpful to know in the fun situation they now found themselves in, Edith could be missing lots of context as well.

“By the way, I didn’t know that you two had moved in together.” Shit, that made it seem like Valerija hadn’t told her on purpose. “Val probably just forgot to mention it, or more likely she mentioned it and I forgot.” Zara smiled to try to break the tension, but breaking the tension with sincerity wasn’t her strong suit. “Probably the second one with how much stress I’m under from work.” God, now she was rambling.

Though she was aware she still hadn’t given Edith the potentially missing piece of information that she was a freelance cursebreaker, Zara consciously chose to stop talking. Being known wasn’t her forte, and it was showing.

[zaraivancva]

hey-juliette​:

Juliette had been watching the woman from afar, admiringly as she seemed to spare no mercy on the young child going up against her in the carnival game. Normally, Juliette would have discouraged being mean to children, but considering the woman hadn’t really done anything wrong, there wasn’t much to be mad about. She had won, though Jules wasn’t sure she would exactly call it a fair competition. Still… seeing the looks on the faces of nearby strangers all seemed to agree that the woman was in the wrong. Figures. 

She walked closer, intrigued by the whole ordeal as everyone slowly started to fizzle out. Her lips quirked upward into a smirk at the gesture she gave them, even letting out a small chuckle. “I’m a neutral party,” she explained, raising her shoulder. No need to involve herself in choosing sides over something like this. Then again… Juliette hardly ever chose one side over another in most life decisions. 

“Though, if I could offer some advice….” she continued, slowing her speech and leaning in a bit more. “I would not discourage a ten year old in front of a crowd. Doesn’t paint yourself in a good light. Perhaps in private, next time.”

Her head tipped to the side, eyes focusing on the dragon she was holding. “What type?” she asked, not realizing that it had been in French, absentmindedly. It looked like a Welsh Green, by the coloration, though it could just as easily have been a  Romanian Longhorn. “The dragon… what kind?”

Zara smiled as the woman claimed to be a neutral party. It wasn’t what Zara expected, but apparently it was possible.

“Yeah, the crowd of disappointed onlookers didn’t help. No one was in my corner there. Though I was technically encouraging her to do better next time,” Zara mused. “Just not in the nicest tone.”

From there, Zara couldn’t help but devolve into laughter. Even though her shot was spot on, in the aftermath she really had missed the mark.

Zara understood what the woman had said the first time, but didn’t mind the English to reaffirm that she had correctly understood the French. “Uh, I think Welsh Green,” Zara said, turning the dragon to face her so that she could examine its features. “Or at least their attempt at a Welsh Green. You can’t exactly capture the true likeness of a dragon in a stuffed animal.”

“So, what were you doing before watching me destroy a ten year-old at a carnival game?” Zara got the feeling that it was something more dignified than what the woman had caught her doing. She had set the bar pretty low.

[zaraivancva]

The fair lights and noises faded into the background as Zara lined up her shot. It was as if it were a movie and the rest of the world blurred as the camera focused on a close up of her face. She was the star, and she was about to knock out her opponent.

First her hips turned, then her shoulders, and then finally her arm vaulted forward, slingshotting the bludger-sized ball towards the Butterbeer bottles. As soon as the metal ball made contact, the whole tower crumbled, glass clattering as the bottles hit the ground and backboard. A victorious smile erupted on Zara’s face as the game operator grabbed her prize for her.

Beside her stood a small girl, at most ten years old. As the operator handed the small, animated stuffed dragon to Zara, tears streamed down the girl’s face. If it weren’t for the crowd, a small whimper could’ve been heard.

“Oh don’t do that,” Zara scowled. “No one died, you just lost at a fair game. If you want this little guy,” Zara held up the dragon, “Then do better next time.”

The game operator, one other player, and the passing by patrons all fell silent, unsure of how to react to the brash twenty something. The young girls parents hurled a few curse words in Zara’s direction before scurrying their daughter away. Zara simply rolled her eyes and gave them the finger as she walked in the other direction. That’s when she noticed she’d caught someone’s eye.

“So are you a fan or do you think I’m an asshole? I feel like anyone who just watched that now feels some sort of way about me,” Zara laughed. It had only been a minute, but she had already realized she might’ve been a bit harsh in the moment. Not that she was going to apologize. She would’ve had to have seriously fucked up in order for an apology to be squeezed out of her.

@hey-juliette​

[zaraivancva]

valerijanovak​:

There had been a time when Zara and Vanja were the only two people she ever truly allowed to see her real self.  And, while that wasn’t necessarily the case any longer, there was still a special bond between the three of them.  And Zara was family – she knew that she didn’t necessarily owe her anything, but there still wasn’t very much, if anything, she wouldn’t do to help her.  Patching up a few cuts?  It was absolutely nothing.

Valerija nodded, not bothering to lead Zara in that direction.  She knew where the bathroom was.  “The white towels are fresh and clean.  Feel free to use whatever you can find in there.  The pink shampoo is particularly nice.”  It had a nice floral scent she couldn’t quite place, but she thought her cousin might like it.

While she heard the water running Valerija walked through the apartment, gathering the things she might need.  A small bottle of dittany.  Some bandages.  Water.  Snacks.  It wasn’t hard to heal minor injuries, especially not after she had worked with Ms. Vance before she joined her girlfriend abroad.  She waved away Zara’s thanks and carefully took her arm.  “Can I use the dittany?  Or do you just want me to bandage them up?”

This is where Zara usually would’ve stunted. With most people, being vulnerable was a conscious choice for her. And even after she made the choice to open up, each step she took required additional effort. The only people where vulnerability came comfortably to her was her family.

“You can use dittany if you want, yeah.” Zara nodded.

As Valerija began to apply it, Zara sat still. It wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t the worst topical either. Unlike alcohol, it didn’t sting when applied, but the wounds were deep enough that there was still some pain to the process. Not that Zara showed it. She showed enough vulnerability coming to Valerija at all. To actually show pain - that would take what pride she had left and it would’ve killed her to give that up.

[zaraivancva]

odettcss​:

“Ah, lucky. I had quite an early shift. I don’t know what it is about the British, but they seem quite keen on drinking as soon as the sun rises.” Odette rolled her eyes. “Must’ve been a boring day, if Borgin and Burkes is your source of entertainment, although I have to admit, I’ve seen some weird things in here.”

“What is it that curse-breakers actually do?” Odette asked out of curiosity. She wasn’t usually so chatty, but if the other woman was opening up, even ever so slightly, Odette figured she could too. “I admire that. I wish I could tell my boss to shove it and do things whenever I felt like it.”

I feel like most of Europe begins drinking when the sun rises. From Zara’s experience, it didn’t matter what country you were in; near alcoholism was a part of being European.

It had been a boring day. But unless she wanted to start work, which she didn’t at the moment, or lay around her apartment - Borgin and Burke’s was a filler activity until her brain could think of something better.

“Depends on what the client wants, and on the object. Sometimes it’s just transporting cursed items that others don’t have the balls to retrieve. Other times it’s removing curses from objects.” The job never entailed cursing objects, that’d be quite antithetical, but Zara wouldn’t have minded if it did. Sometimes she put curses on random objects just for practice. Her apartment was a death trap at this point.

“And technically you could. It just might get you fired.”

[zaraivancva]

nathan-chastain​:

Nate was still slightly confused trying to put the pieces together in his head. His hand going to his hair as he tried to think of who that person’s wife might be. Hell, it would have made more sense if she was talking about a boyfriend, but he was pretty sure Cas didn’t have a significant other. Maybe he should have asked that. 

Nate focused on the other and he snapped back to attention. “Ah - I mean usually I know why people are slapping me I guess.” Still after a moment he seemed at least to calm down and snorted at the question. “I’m not embarrassed.”  Although to be fair, he probably was with the red on his face, he’d rather think of it of just the slap. He did however sit down and nod at the bartender to get to him once they were done. “I’m also not a school boy.” 

He could say he wasn’t a school boy, but Zara called them as she saw them. “What are you then?” If he didn’t like her assessment, he was free to correct her. She didn’t claim to be an expert in the area.

Zara shot back her whiskey as the bartender came over. She let the not-school boy order first; he had been the one to signal the bartender over. Then, Zara ordered herself another whiskey. If the last five minutes were any indication, the stranger had a tendency to make things interesting, and Zara figured another whiskey wouldn’t hurt if that were the case. Even if it weren’t the case, another whiskey never seemed to hurt.

[zaraivancva]

pippaxstrout​:

Pip wasn’t a stranger to the wrong side of a fight. Hell, most of her childhood was trying to fight people she’d never get the upper hand on. The thing was, no matter how many fights she lost she always learned something in it. That was one of the reasons she liked fighting Zara, she in a lot of ways was a bit better strategist then herself. Pip might use shear force of will, but well she wasn’t getting any younger and she didn’t want to just be a bag of broken bones when she was forty. 

That’s why when Pip had gotten her to stumble back she couldn’t help the little grin that formed on her face, glad she was reading the other better. As the clock rang out she felt a bit of wind leave herself as she went for her water bottle. 

“Thanks,” Pip said not wanting to fill her own ego to much but still having a small moment anyway. “Figured out what you meant last time about the footing. You were right I was going to much to the left. Are you hungry?” 

Of course she was right. Pip might’ve gotten the better of her this time, but Zara still knew what she was talking about.

“Yeah, I definitely need to eat something soon. Otherwise I might go a bit crazy.” After an intense work out like the one she’d just had, Zara craved something sanguine. However, she knew as long as Pippa was around there was almost no chance that an opportunity to feed would present itself. Zara could survive on regular food until she was home. She’d learned to mentally curb her hunger at Durmstrang.

“Did you want to grab something together?” If Pip did, Zara hoped she had a restaurant in mind. Though she could usually be the deciding factor in the tireless debate about where to go for dinner, that night, Zara’s mind drew a blank. She’d eaten food at several restaurants lately, but the names of all of them escape her right when she needed them. “Where were you thinking?”

[zaraivancva]

zahishafiq​:

Zahi raised an eyebrow. That was quite the exciting profession, wasn’t it? Zahi could appreciate that in many cases, cursebreaking was a kind of puzzle, but he wasn’t sure he could personally have the patience for some of the nonsense associated with the profession. Too much happening too quickly far too often, as far as he could tell. “You must live quite the exciting life,” he commented. “I can only imagine the kind of objects you must be asked to examine, but don’t worry. I understand the importance of discretion.” Several of his clients at the stop expected quiet as part of their purchases. While some plants were on Ministry watch lists and those lists were worth more than his quiet, Zahi otherwise did his best to keep it. “I’ll just use my imagination and assume you desperately deserve your drink over it all.”

Her life was exciting, but Zara hadn’t seen it that way for a while. When shady people and near misses became her day in and day out, Zara became numb to it all. She had to keep pushing herself further and further to feel anything at all, and it had almost killed her. If it weren’t for Valerija, she’d probably be ten feet under by now.

“Thank you, I definitely do,” Zara smiled. She had deserved the now several drinks she’d had that night. “And what is it that you do? Does your job also require discretion?” Zara found that those who understood the necessity of privacy in her work usually had some personal experience with keeping things hushed, either in their professional life or their private life.

[alannasroleplaymemes-moved]

Send a 🙌 and I’ll introduce you to an NPC related to my Muse.

This means any minor ‘background character’ in my Muse’s life, such as a relative, coworker, friend, rival, etc. that they interact with in their personal canon. 

[oldmemesandhelpandthings-gone]

Send Me Your Assumptions About My Muse

and I’ll respond with “Correct”, “Nope”, or “Kinda”.

[valentinanottt]

@zephyrbcll @trisxrojas @casruncorn @patrickfinnegans

[zaraivancva]

luka-petrov​:

Luka’s nodded slightly at her name and said, “Nice to meet you I’m going up,” He said before looking at the dumpster and seeing that the lid was closed. He figured that was enough of a warning, and because the others were still shocked he figured being quick was better than explaining what he was going to do. 

Without much thought he ended up on the top of the dumpster throwing out a binding spell, and ducking before the other could hit him. He didn’t know quite if it hit, but at the moment it wasn’t really necessary to know as he did see they were going forward into the alley way. Without another thought he jumped landing on one of them with a thunk and quickly snatched the wand from the other. 

“Petrificus Totalus” he said calmly and he felt the man stop moving, as he scrambled up. 

Zara nodded as Luka lept upward. It seemed as though he knew what he was doing, and Zara wasn’t going to question that. Unless he showed he couldn’t take care of himself, she wasn’t going to interfere. Instead, she focused on the targets in front of her. One of the men narrowed in on her, while the others angled themselves toward Luka. They underestimated her, but they wouldn’t for long.

Zara took several steps toward her opponent. Lifting her wand, she began slashing it in front of her, as if it were the handle of a whip. Several streaks of purple fire erupted from the space in front of her and bounded towards their target. As the tips of the flames reached him, they engulfed his body. From the way his body twisted as it fell the ground, it was clear he was trying to send a curse back at her, but had lost too much control of his body to do so.

More than taking out one of their opponents, the curse caught the attention of two of the other men. The two men turned to face her, and a small fire was lit inside of Zara’s chest. Here we go.

Zara sprinted towards the two men, deflecting the curses they fired at her. The one managed to hit her right leg, but the adrenaline kept her going despite the pain. As she reached them, Zara fired off another curse, slamming the two men into the ground. But then she heard a noise behind her that extinguished the fire inside of her as quickly as it had been lit.

Turning her head to see the source of the thud, Zara saw Luka paralyzing the man that had gone after him. Paralyzing? Zara’s hopes of fun were immediately dashed. She had planned to lunge onto the men she had just stunned and disintegrate them, leaving no trace they were ever there. If she were alone she would’ve ripped out their necks with her teeth and let their blood victoriously spill out of her mouth and down her chin; disintegration was already was her version of settling. However, if Luka had only paralyzed his opponent, Zara had the feeling he would turn on her and report her if she murdered the other men.

Begrudgingly, Zara paralyzed the two men before they had the chance to fight back. She walked over to her first potential victim, put out the fire, and paralyzed him too.

“So what do you want to do with them now?” Zara would have killed them all and hid the evidence, but she had a feelling that wasn’t what Luka was about to suggest.

[zaraivancva]

rowanmontague​:

“You robbed the grave robber,” Rowan summarised, blocking out the sun by covering his eyes with his hand again. He supposed he might have cared more at a different time, but it would be a shame to waste one of England’s rare nice days on someone else’s problems. “You realise that means you pissed off the sort of person who robs graves?”

“I’m sure I’ve pissed off far worse people over the years.” Zara knew she had, but it wasn’t something she wanted to confidently admit. Some people did recognize her and call her out on her wrongdoing when they saw her again, but she found most people who she pissed off had bigger fish to fry than a 5′5″ freelance cursebreaker. It was another positive of not being tied to an organization like a bank.

And with another flick of her wrist, she was done. “There we go,” she muttered to herself. Though it was theoretically safe to pick up the puzzle box, Zara knew better. She pulled out a piece of black cloth from her jacket pocket and used it to pick up the now curse-free puzzle box. With her free hand, she pulled out a small navy velvet drawstring bag. The puzzle box was bigger than the bag, but the bag was charmed to fit more than it appeared to. Zara dropped the puzzle box inside before returning both the bag and piece of cloth to their respective jacket pockets.

“Unless you have any other news to share, I’ll see you next time - whenever that is.” Zara never knew when their paths were going to cross, but she always enjoyed it when they did. She’d never admit it, but her job was isolating at times. Rowan added a bit of humanity back to it.

[zaraivancva]

valentinanottt​:

“Not cursed? I’m almost surprised.” Valentina remarked, a tendril of unease spreading through her in a way that had become common with lockets ever since Mirek found out about the horcruxes from Slughorn. While Valentina could count on one hand the number of people that knew she was a spy, Mirek was one of them and she liked to think that if he knew anything that would make their shared job easier, he would tell her. As far as Valentina knew, there weren’t anymore horcrux lockets around England, but they still left her uneasy.

“Are you a trader of sorts? I’ve met people before that like to snatch up bargain goods when they can and then sell them off to another buyer for a tidy sum.” Some people even hired others specifically to search out items that would fit in a private collection of theirs, Valentina happened to know several people of that sort and was even related to a few.  

“Not primarily.” She did engage in trading from time to time, but it was hardly a large percent of her income. “I’m a cursebreaker. Freelance.” Zara could leave it at cursebreaker and let people assume - she let people assume she was just a witch all the time - but she couldn’t stand the idea that people might think she worked for a bank. Zara wasn’t actively anti-establishment, but if she had to choose between organization and anarchy, anarchy fit her far better.

“That’s how I know it’s not cursed. Unless someone cursed it while it’s been sitting here in Borgin and Burke’s, I broke the curses that were on it before bringing it in here and selling it. Selling items to Borgin and Burke’s isn’t my first choice, but if the client changes their mind about paying...” Zara shrugged. “I have to find another buyer.” And Borgin and Burke’s was usually more than happy to buy what she was selling.