Melody walked though the food stands, her hands filled with bags. She had picked out presents for her family and even her two pets. They weren't the easiest people to buy for but she thought that they were going to appreciate what they got this Christmas. All the shopping had made her hungry and her nose had lead her to the food stand.

Careful not drop anything she brought a hot chocolate. The warmth of the drink spread though her as she sipped at it. She looked walked towards a different stand nearly spilling her drink on someone as she did so. She hadn't noticed them.

"Sorry, nearly walked right into you," she said. Thankfully both her drink and hopefully the person were alright.

Aaron walked confidently through the food stands, just trying to do a little bit of reconciliation... See what kind of food items people bought to establish into his restaurant to make it more popular, although there was nothing he could do about it's location being known as a place of dark magic. It would take serious strategizing to make the Spiny Serpent popular since there wasn't an abundance of dark wizards and witches to inhabit it. However, let it be known, Aaron was a man who enjoyed challenges.

As he walked about the food stands he felt stinging disappointment noting that it was mostly hot beverages being sold, and there was no way the Spiny Serpent could sell such a thing since it wasn't exactly the most open. Dropping a few galleons to pay for himself, he sipped on his drink. In the midst of considering adding something sweet to the menu like a funnel cake or something, he felt a small body collide into his. Glancing down, he noticed the woman was so small she hadn't even shook his drink.

"No harm done, ma'am," he said smiling politely before glancing at her bags, he frowned, "you're carrying quite an abundance, would you like help?" The chill surrounding him cancelled out his normal flirtatious attitude, yeah frost nipping at his nose didn't make him want to warm it against another person's. He opted to be a gentleman instead, a rarity, but an occurrence nonetheless when he chose for it.

"Oh, that's a relief. I should have watched where I was going." She looked down at her bags. Maybe she should have tried levitating them but she had been afraid of losing track of her bags or the bags hitting someone as they levitated around her. She could try it now but she wasn't sure if she could reach her wand.

Melody laughed nervously. "Yeah, that would be great." She wondered how she would actually hand him any of the bags. Maybe she if she carefully put down her hot chocolate she could hand him a few bags.

Aaron bit back the obvious want to snap at the young woman that she probably should have. He was just acting like a gentleman after all, it was in poor very un-pureblood for him to switch his emotions. He reached out with his free hand towards her hands, looking down to meet her eyes. He was shocked a bit by perhaps the blueness of them, biting his lower lip he sighed, figuring it was in poor taste to flirt with someone who was probably freezing.

"Would you mind if I took one?" He asked, his hand hovering over one of her bagged hands, "I'll walk about with you since I've not much to do today anyway."

"If its not too much trouble," Melody said. "Err hold on." She set down her hot chocolate and handed him a bags before picking her hot chocolate up again.

It was easier to hold the cup now. She sipped her drink and wondered what stand they should go to. They probably shouldn't stay here for too long, they were blocking the way. "Oh, I never introduced myself." She figured she should now since he was carrying one of her bags for her. "I'm Melody. Who are you?"

She kept drinking as she waited for him to answer. It did a good job of keeping her warm.

Aaron took the bags with ease, not really affecting him too much. He easily fit a good amount of the bags within his hand. His wand was burning a hole through his pocket almost demanding to be used, but he pushed the need bag deciding that it wouldn't be necessary. He used his other hand to sip his chocolate

"Melody huh?" For a brief moment, he thought about his secret power, wondering if he even still had it, and if his dirty little secret power of verbal compulsion would work. He decided against it. "I'm Aaron, I'm a shopkeeper, I own the Spiny Serpent."

"If you have any free time, I'd suggest stopping by, it's a great place." He teased, as they walked along the strip of food vendors.

Melody smiled at him. She hadn't heard of it and wasn't sure what type of place the Spiny was but she appreciated the offer even if he was teasing her.

Melody looked around at the stalls not sure which one to go to as they walked by. She kept drinking her hot chocolate glad to be warm as her breath chilled in the air.

"Where is your shop?" Melody asked. "I don't expect an exact location, I'm just wondering if its in Avalon." She hadn't seen it so far but then she hadn't been everywhere in Avalon.

Aaron bit his lower lip in thought, his mind still playing with the idea of commanding Melody to do something; knowing she couldn't resist by the magic in his voice. She looked to be enjoying the hot chocolate, how terribly bad would it be of him to ask her to dump it on the floor.

He'd have to do it to find out, hoping his verbal compulsion still worked.

"It's in the lesser known part of the Wizarding World, I'm afraid, Knockturn Alley," He winced at that. As they continued walking in his vision he saw a trashcan to their right. If his power still worked, which he was sure it still did for the most part, she would be compelled to do what he wanted before doing it.

"Melody," he begun, his voice soft, "throw your hot chocolate away in the trashcan."

"Hmm, never go there myself," she replied. "I hear so much about it being dangerous. If you have a business there I assume you know your way around it though." She hoped that he wasn't offended. She hadn't meant to be mean, it just wasn't in a place she would usually go and Knockturn Alley wasn't exactly the ideal place to get lost in.

"Melody," he begun, his voice soft, "throw your hot chocolate away in the trashcan."

Melody resisted the command or at least she resisted it well enough to throw her still warm hot chocolate right into his face instead of the trash can. Maybe it was her occlumency training or maybe Melody wasn't even her real name. Maybe her real parents had named her something after all but then no one ever told her that.

Her instincts were all high alert now. Even though she didn't quite realize the name connection she had a bad feeling that he had tried to mind control her. And then she realized that she may have hurt him. Maybe the hot chocolate wasn't hot enough to burn him though.

Aah, Aaron thought, irritation filling him as he did so at the young witch's words. Little girl can't take a little darkness, his brain jaunted to which he smirked at his own thoughts. Wouldn't she like to know what they did before you took it over?. Naturally she'd say so, his brain rationed a moment after, since it is in Knockturn Alley. You knew that when you bought it, his brain added, it's only a matter of time before she eats her words.

When she resisted his command several things happened at once.

1) He realized that either his power had faded (which makes no sense since it didn't come from a muscle that inspired other bodies to do it's biding) or she had lied to him (paranoid chit, his brain snarled).

2) He had no reason to play nice with this little, blonde menace.

3) Aaron was covered in the warm liquid of hot chocolate.

He gasped for a moment, taken off guard, before narrowing his eyes at her. Sense would have told him to explain the situation, but the fiery anger burning inside of him told him to do otherwise. Withdrawing his wand, he didn't wait to see her response to him doing so, he muttered a quick cleaning charm, and then dropped the bags he was carrying on the ground. Giving them a swift kick, rather than setting them aflame with a simple Incendio like his pride was begging him to do, he narrowed his eyes at her for a fraction. In his eyes there burned the clear emotions of a hatred, annoyance, and exasperation.

"Do enjoy the rest of the Carnival, little boy," he sneered before stalking off back towards whence he came to completely forget this little excursion. That's what he gets for being nice, he thought to himself.