"I don't want to be the type of person who makes assumptions." Jude started, eyeing the other slightly. "But have you or have you not been going a whole lot of people tonight and feeding them terrible pick up lines. I think I must have overheard around seven and not necessarily from your mouth, but from people you've clearly hit on and are talking about you to their friends."

@romcnrodriguez

"I've come to make amends." Jude greeted the other, placing down what was practically a goblet, containing a shimmering purple liquid that the bartender had said tasted pretty great when asked for a recommendation once he had spotted the other woman. "No more accusations of you following me or me being incredible suspicious. Just hopefully a new start for a new year- maybe even potential friendship? Or at least acquaintances?"

@alessandramacnair

Jude Matthews + New Year's Eve Ball

"I understand that it's Christmas and therefore places are going to be playing Christmas music, but... Can there at least be some sort of variation in there." Jude groaned, very close to hitting his head off the surface in front of him multiple times. "I have heard the same song in different variations at least five times now and I've been here just a little over half an hour."

@evelynmoon

"I wasn't going to accuse you." Jude told the other, sounding more of less defeated, his guard coming down quicker then he would like, but in all honesty he was just so tired of it all. Tired of not knowing what happened to him, tired of being on edge around everyone and expecting them to be the worst, just tired of it all. "And no-... I have no answers, no leads, nothing. I don't think people understand how frustrating it is to just loose the majority of the life you had before a certain point. I had shadows of memories, people... my old life maybe, but I have no idea if they're real or just something my mind has created to try and make me feel less lost."

"It's not like I'm losing sleep over it or anything, but I appreciate the apology all the same," Alessandra said after a moment of consideration. She looked at him, wondering what went on in his mind and how confused he must really be if he couldn't remember a thing. "Are you any closer to getting answers for yourself?" she asked with a genuine curiosity. "And before you accuse– I'm not asking to snoop, even if it may seem that way."

Jude listened to the other and let out a long sigh, nodding his head and holding his hands up in defence. "Sorry, you're right." He told her, before his eyes widened ever so slightly, "Not about you not having a life, that's-... that's not what I meant. I meant you having better things to do than follow me around. I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm accusing you of something, I realise that's probably how it's came across most of the time." He continued, offering her a small smile.

"With all due respect, I'm wearing massive fuck off wings right now. I couldn't creep up on you if I tried," Alessandra pointed out. "You clearly had to be deep in thought to miss me," she mentioned, deciding not to include the fact that heels on the stone floors were also a dead giveaway. He seemed to be set on her stalking him all of the time when this was not the case. "I have better things to do tonight than follow you around. You really think I've got no life outside of you or something?" she huffed, perhaps coming off harsher than intended but it was starting to get under her skin a little.

"Sorry, I'm not very well versed when it comes to pop culture, Muggle or not." He shrugged, though even if he could remember consuming some of the entertainment he did way back when, given the title of the show, he was pretty certain he wouldn't have seen it. "You feel sorry for me? Why?"

It was the staring that had caused Lucas to start speaking. Honestly, after a minute or two the silence had gotten pretty uncomfortable. "It's actually Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants but I guess that not everyone would have seen it." And it wasn't like it was a cutesy cartoon like take on it either. "Really? Damn... Now I feel sorry for you."

Jude knew he was staring at the other and had been doing so for an amount of time that would be considered rude had it not been for Halloween, but he couldn't not look. The other outfit was so odd and he was pretty sure he would not be able to distinguish the person wearing it if he saw them out and about after this. "Well I'm going to say it's certainly unique, especially since I have no idea what you're dressed as. Though, that's not all that difficult when it comes to me." He chuckled, smiling at the others compliment before shaking his head. "No- no Evelyn. Just me as Rick, solo."

"You know, at the time this seemed like a smart choice of costume and you know... something that no one else would think of to do but now I'm beginning to realise, there's probably a reason why no one else did it." Lucas admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yours is cool though. You gotta Evelyn running around here somewhere?"

@judcmatthcws

"I guess I never really thought about the fact that's probably going to be the case for many of you, I imagine it's all bringing some sort of sense of nostalgia." He commented, he himself had just been spending his time looking at any and everything, having never set foot inside the school until today. And he had to say, it was a lot different compared to Ilvermorny. "I have been told that Hogwarts does feel like a safe haven to most."

"It seems so weird drinking here after so many years of doing so underaged," Jack said, picking up her drink and taking a sip, "It does feel a lot safer here though. than out in Hogsmeade."

@judcmatthcws

Jude was pretty sure he had spent the majority of the time spent at the party out of the party space, it was the first time he was seeing Hogwarts, or the first time he believed he was seeing the school and he wanted to take it all in. He had been standing in one of the hallways, glancing up at one of the many portraits when he sensed someone come up behind him causing him to jump. "Merlin, you need to stop creeping up on me, it's going to start taking years off my life and I feel like I've already had too many taken off." He spoke, realising that only he would have been clued in to that piece of information. Unless the other claimed to know more then she admitted.

@alessandramacnair

"I have to say that your dedication to the evening doesn't go unnoticed, it especially fits in with being a little bit on the scary side." Jude told the other, taking in her whole ensemble, not for the first time that night and feeling a small shudder go down his spine. "Have you ever encountered an opossum first hand before? Not as bad as racoons but still pretty terrifying to encounter when you're not expecting them to be rustling round a bush at night."

@isabcllcdurant

JUDE MATTHEWS // HALLOWEEN 2027

as Rick O'Connell (The Mummy)

"I don't know, is it?" Jude teased the other, hoping that his tone and vague answers were still enough to convince the other that he knew exactly who it was he was talking too. "And I'm sure you're not bias by saying that at all." He scoffed, shaking his head in what he hoped was a fond manner. "So you basically want people to know what they're getting with you straight off the bat?"

"And what, my presence here isn't worthy of celebrating?" Roman raised an eyebrow and grinned at the male despite his words. "Because I think that's a pretty good reason to party." Mainly because he tended to be the one creating it but people never seemed to mind being dragged along. "Something like that." He agreed, giving a shrug of his shoulders, not about to think too much on it tonight. He was too busy just enjoying himself. "Maybe I just don't have longer term goals with things like that when the short term works perfectly well for me."

"I don't think I'm putting myself on a pedestal, I just think if someone came in and told me that they had been murdered and were in fact dead up until the last half hour then I wouldn't believe them. Necromancy really isn't something that happens very often, or at all. Not even the resurrection stone can bring people back for good." Jude commented, tugging at his hair a little. "In fact the last person I can think of who was dead and then came back to life was Lord Voldemort and we all see how that turned out." He stressed, feeling himself grow more anxious as he spoke, his voice growing louder which made him stop. Take a deep breath. And calm down. "There's also the fact that clearly I've been somewhere during the time I thought I was dead, doing something. The place I woke up in was far from ideal, I've got someone else's wand-... I want my own answers for what the hell happened before I go talking to strangers who have the authority to arrest me. Or worse." He sighed. "Also, given where I woke up, there is probably a pretty big chance that certain people are either looking for me or watching me and I'd like to stay off the radar as much as I can." Jude told the other, "Wait- you're not a journalist, right? This isn't going to go in the Daily Prophet tomorrow morning or something?" He added, the thought just occurring to him causing him slight alarm. "Nothing." He confirmed. "I get snippets, along with pretty bad migraines. There are some things I can remember, my name, where I grew up, that I was an Auror, how I died. Small things, but even then they were foggy for a while, everything else is just a big blur of uncertainty."

“Nope,” she shook her head. When he spoke about how he didn’t think that anyone at the Ministry would believe him she simply shot him an unimpressed expression. “Those people deal with terrorist attacks and deadly criminals literally every day. You think they won’t believe you? You’re kind of putting yourself up on quite the pedestal if you think you’re the most unique thing they’ve come across,” Andromeda wasn’t shy about saying things exactly how she saw them. “As for not being able to trust them well that’s a whole other story,” she then shrugged, knowing that was just personal opinion and she wasn’t going to tell him whether or not he could. That was a decision everyone made on their own. “Nothing at all?” she was surprised to hear just how the man had been found. “How the hell have you not reported yourself to some sort of authorities– how do you even know if the name you remember is your actual name?” Andie seemed shocked he had done nothing at all to get more answers so far apart from speculate on his own.

At the others admission he could feel his body tense, yet another person knowing who he was and him being unfamiliar with who they were. The clap to his back brought him out of his thoughts, putting a smile on his face as though he was welcoming back an old friend, he was starting to learn that admitting to everyone he met that he had no fucking clue as to what was going on most of the time and that he couldn't remember those from his past was not the best idea. So, he was trying to refine his acting skills. "Oh I don't know about that, I think it depended on the celebration." He chuckled, hoping that the smile he had on his face was convincing enough. "Yeah, it's been some time right. What? Over three years now?" He asked, trying to pull some information from the other. "Ah, but where is the mystery if you're putting all your cards on the table straight away?"

“I have to say it’s an interesting way of celebrating, can’t say I’ve seen this sort of ritual before.” Jude commented, looking at the other with an amused expression on his face as he took in the whole scene. “And a treat? Is that true or something you need to advertise because you give off a different kind of energy upon first meetings?” He couldn’t help but ask. “If I join will I also be pulled into this chaotic craziness, cause if so, I think I might just be a spectator to it all.”

"You never really were good at celebrating." He teased lightly giving a smile when he saw the man. "Jude. Long time no see." He stated, clapping him on the back. "No, I just don't see the point in being modest about the obvious. Might as well save them time pondering over it."

Jude knew he could approach this matter one of two ways, the first being that he remained truthful about not remembering anything that had happened in the time frame of when he had died up until now and even then the before was pretty spotty. The second being that he played the role of someone who did know what was going on, but wanting to pull the information out of the other for his own gain, or something along those lines. It was clear that the other knew him, knew something, but what that was he wasn't sure of and the not knowing was driving him a little bit crazy whenever he came across her. "But you still know something." Jude pointed out. "So I don't think I'd consider that a disappointment, I think I'd call it you having an advantage over me and I'm not sure I like that."

judcmatthcws​:

The look on Jude’s face fell at her words, he was pretty sure that he had never disclosed anything about his memory. Sure there had been conversations with her about him not recognising her and then of course he had bumped into her during the attack, but their conversation during that time had been a little fuzzy to him given the situation that they were in. “It’s still all unclear.” He spoke, brows furrowing as he took a seat opposite her, not bothering to ask for permission. “Why am I starting to think you know more about what’s going on with me then I do?”

Alessandra didn't know whether to be relieved or concerned by his response. She still wasn't convinced that this wasn't all some act– how could he not remember all of his involvement? She didn't know the extent of how the more superior Death Eaters were using him but she had a hard time believing that he'd managed to escape without knowing he'd done that. The Death Eaters also weren't the type of people to just let someone go, even if his memory had been wiped. "I don't know as much you probably think I do," she pursed her lips in response. "Sorry to disappoint."

"Alright. I mean, I have a lot of other stuff to worry myself over so I'm sure I can let this one slide." He couldn't help but tease, trying to lighten the moment but given the words that came out of his mouth, he wasn't sure he achieved that. "The people who have seemed to see me either don't know who I am, which is expected given I never came to the UK once. Or are people who do know me, which is even more complicated." He sighed. "They either know me from the time that I don't recall, or they knew me when I was living in the States and therefore probably heard I had.... you know.... died." He spoke, the last word a whisper out of his mouth as he leaned in. "I don't doubt that and I promise I will do my best to try and have fun and not think about all of things that are currently occupying my mind."

judcmatthcws​:

“I think it’s safe to say it could be either of those options, I wasn’t really up to date with No-Maj pop culture from what I can recall about myself. It actually took me an embarrassingly long time to get to grips of using a cell phone.” He chuckled, though he was glad that he seemed to be better at it now, guessing it must be some sort of muscle memory. “Those are quite the compliments, makes me feel like you have high expectations of me, so no pressure then, huh?” He teased, feeling a little awkward under the others kind words about himself. Not sure he completely believed her when she claimed he was a good man, he had no idea if that was the case and had no idea what he had done in the years in which he fought he was no longer living. “I don’t know about that, looking through some of this stuff it seems like Zombies have gotten a little more high tech these days.” Jude let out a sigh before giving the other a small smile and a nod, “You know what, that sounds like fun. And you’re right, maybe I should take a little break from all of this. Let my head retain what I’ve read instead of it going in one ear and out the other.”

“It’s not about having high expectations of you so please don’t think this is something you have to attain or worry yourself over.” Because Isabelle had seen in close contact just how pressure could impact a person in a negative manner, even when one did so with the best of intentions. “Just don’t think that people see you the way you seem to see yourself.” Isabelle finished softly before finally giving a sigh and deciding it was probably best not to focus on it any more. “Good, I’m glad I can pull you away from your research for a little while. I promise I’ll try to make it as fun as possible.”