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Bar and Service Counter
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Leon Kim walked up to the counter to order a drink. He had just applied for a job at the Ministry of Magic and was a little anxious, which was unusual for him. He tried to forget about it by focusing on the menu. “Vampire Venom…?” He muttered to himself, wondering what that could be. |
She's really not that mean! :) Quote:
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Leon looked around when he heard a groan from behind the bar. He was surprised when a case of Butterbeer landed on the counter before him but hid his emotion as he listened to whom he thought must be the proprietor of the Leaky Cauldron. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'll have a Vampire Venom," he answered and gave a small smile back. He was surprised again by her urging him to order, but found it understandable because she did look very busy. |
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"Make that two Vampire Venoms." A voice called out. "Back when I fancied myself a young bard, the lads and I would bet on who could down their glass without making a face." The wizard that approached was not a bard, despite still being able to carry a tune. Damian Pendragon was many things, an unspeakable, a Ministry vampire hunter, and the first of the Atlantis twelve who still smelled faintly of seawater. What he was today, was thirsty. |
After placing his order, Leon took a seat at the bar. He watched for a while as the bottles made his drink, then returned his attention to the proprietor. "For work. Just applied for a job at the Ministry of Magic," he replied. Talking about it helped him feel less nervous about hearing back from what was hopefully his new workplace. What he overheard from the older wizard, a new customer, surprised the former Gryffindor. Was it so difficult to down the Vampire Venom without making a face? "Was that because of the Firewhisky's burning sensation? Or something about the taste?" he asked curiously when the wizard approached. |
Text Cut: Damian and Leon Why was she smelling seaweed? Or was it fish? Riley’s nose wrinkled just a little as another man approached the bar. She gave him an appraising eye, but not for as long or as thoroughly as the other, younger man. No, Pendragon wasn’t new to her pub, even if she might not have waited on him before. Riley wasn’t usually the bartender and barback. She usually left that up to her employees choosing to spend most of her time with the bookkeeping and other - responsibilities of being a Diagon Alley proprietor. She gave her wand another wave and a second glass floated over to join the first. The shaker finished with the first drink and set about making a second after draining its reddish liquid into the first glass. She picked up the full glass and placed it in front of Leon. ”And have you heard back about it yet? What sort of work?” The second shakerful of vampire venom finished pouring itself and Riley handed it to Damian. The action brought her close enough for her to realize the fishy-oceany smell was coming from him. Did he know he smelt like a dockworker back from a long day of hauling in nets? ”Spent time near a harbor have you?” She had thought he was a Ministry worker too. Maybe her mind was going. She wasn’t a young duck anymore after all. |
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The unspeakable placed a galleon and four sickles on the counter to cover the two drinks and a tip before taking a sip from his cup. "Me? I sadly have to admit I'm into my sipping years. Now, down the hatch, boyo. May your adventures at the Ministry of Magic be tales worth telling over a drink!" His eyes that were as blue as the sea he smelled of blinked at Riley. "I recently returned from an extended vacation in Atlantis with eleven of my coworkers. Perhaps it was in the papers. They don't have papers down there, so I haven't been privy to the news, or whether I was news." Damian spoke rather casually of his imprisonment, but there was a depth to the look in his eyes. |
Leon picked up the glass of red liquid placed before him and looked at it curiously. "Thanks. I haven't heard back yet, but I'm hoping for something less dangerous and more influential than my former job. I worked as a Curse-Breaker," he explained before taking a sip of the Vampire Venom. It seared his throat at first, but when the burning sensation passed he enjoyed the taste that the other ingredients added. He licked his lips and nodded in understanding when the older man spoke of the exuberance of youth. Leon thanked him for covering the price of both of their drinks and for the good wishes at the Ministry. He thought about the mention of Atlantis and his mouth opened in surprise. "I do remember reading about it in the papers," he said cautiously. He did not remember the details of the news though, so did not say anything else for the time being. |
Damian nodded sagely. Perhaps this young man was wise beyond his years. "You do not meet many old curse breakers." Taking another sip, he shifted slightly. Leon seemed a little young to be losing his taste for danger. "Some of us can't get out of bed without the black dog nipping at their heels. There is plenty of room for careful wizards at the Ministry of Magic. There is also a capacity for danger, if you ever get that old itch." Damian laughed and gave Leon a small nudge. "Keep your head down, and you won't end up in the papers like me." He figured he was the only one of the twelve that was willingly taken. The unspeakable made a distraction of himself so that his chamber partner. and his department head could escape the gala. |
Ariana and Kinsay (WWR Round 1) Perhaps it had been a longer lunch break than proper, but Astraea had let her boss know that she’d planned on getting the tattoo, and today had been the first appointment she’d been able to make. The former Gryffindor may have neglected to tell them that it was a bit more of a complicated image than she imagined they’d assumed, but either way, it was done. The bandage covering the depiction of the goddess Astraea on the left side of her ribcage was covered by her top, of course, but it was done. And now she was celebrating with a glass of elderflower wine, seated at the bar because it just seemed more appropriate. She’d have to go back to LakeStar soon enough. Probably before they sent a Patronus to look for her. She wouldn’t but it past Sky to do something like that, or even better, the big bosses. |
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Her visit today would consist of drinks with N & C, a stop at WHiM, and a family visit to wrap the day up. And yet, even with the jam-packed day, she was feeling some sort of way she couldn't explain. It was like this gray cloud overhead, something she couldn't wish away. Having arrived at the Leaky a little early, Kins allowed herself to pout as she made her way to the bar. She'd put on a face later, but seeing as no one she knew was-- .... "Astraea? Heey," she said, putting on a brave face. She should've known she'd bump into someone she knew. |
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Maybe next time she ought to look for possible artists they could bring in. Pretend she was actually working when she wasn’t really. It wasn’t like it wasn’t unheard of that upcoming musical artists might be wandering around the Alley, after all. The footsteps that had approached from behind had her thinking the Daniaus had sent an actual person to collect her, but the voice was decidedly not one of her fellow employees. “Kinsay?”, she responded, swiveling on the stool to look at the blonde more fully. “Everything going okay with you?” It seemed like an appropriate question. Maybe. |
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Smiling (though it was a tiny forced), she replied to the question with rehearsed ease. "Yeah, totally." It wasn't exactly a lie. Most things were going okay. She had the most beautiful flat in the best part of the city. Her internship was a dream. She was at the top of her class. She had a boyfriend who constantly showered her in designer clothes. From the outside looking in, her life was perfect. So yeah. Yeah things were going okay with her. Even though there was that weird feeling. It would pass. Hopefully. To help it get there, she ordered herself a drink. A STRONG one. And then turned back to Astraea knowing it would be rude to drop the conversation there. "How about you? Are things going well for you?" |
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Weird feelings happened. She felt them often enough herself, and in fact her idle concern that her bosses were about to track her down to make her get back to work nearly counted as a similar thing. She’d asked for a refill of her wine as Kinsay had ordered a drink of her own, before turning back to the blonde. “Well enough. Kind of taking a bit of an extended lunch break in order to get a tattoo, if that counts as things going well”, she replied with a bit of a laugh. Honesty wasn’t always a bad thing, after all. |
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"Oh?" she tilted her head, questions already forming in her mind. "What tattoo are you thinking to get?" Kinsay had several of her own and already had plans to get more. She just couldn't decide which ones she wanted to get next. It was a whooooole thing, really. |
Open Tommy didn't miss school. He didn't miss the lessons, the But having a job? And having a job that wasn't glass collecting at his - at Corbin's club was a whole other matter. Luckily his shifts didn't call for him to work early hours, so he didn't struggle too much with the whole waking up and getting there on time. But he knew that he had to be presentable. He knew that he had to be polite, and bite his tongue when customers were idiots (which was often), and he knew that this mattered. He needed to pay Noah some rent, some compensation for letting him crash there, and he also needed to save up so he could potentially afford some place of his own. Of course, as Lori and Adam liked to remind him, there was a bedroom with his name on the door at their place. But as much as Tommy's relationship with Lori - with his Nana had improved (and then got worse, and then got better again), he still wasn't ready for that. The feeling that he owed them for everything they'd done since he'd ended up at Stemp House more than twelve years ago was very much present, and he was struggling to get over it. So here he was, pouring drinks and forcing smiles and pretending that he loved working here a whole lot. |
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Well, and the vague anticipation of being tracked down by her employers. So far there hadn’t been any sign, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t coming. “Mhm”, she responded, taking another sip from her drink before reaching for her side. “It’s an artistic interpretation of the goddess Astraea, actually”, she continued, revealing part of the bandage as she lifted the hem of her shirt. “I didn’t want it to be anything usual, like a star or something like that, but I wanted it to represent me. Y’know?” Symbolism and all that. |
SPOILER!!: Tommy Ashley Fox was working. Working meant finding a table somewhere, then writing or painting and continually ordering herself more snacks and drinks. She looked a little strange- each limb covered in purple and grey and blue tattoos, alternating between intense periods of work and intense periods of staring at the wall or doodling on the napkins- but at least she was happy. It wasn't hard to tell that she wasn't always in a good mood like this. But today she was very happy, and very productive. She was lost in a world of her own that nobody else could see. She wandered to the counter again. "Hm. I've met you before," she noted absent mindedly to the guy working there. She may have been referring to ordering fish and chips fifteen minutes ago, or to when she gave him money from her brother at the Hogwarts station, or to when they were arguing over access to the music room piano. Her tone didn't make it clear. She might not even know herself. She paused, trying to remember her train of thought, then smiled delightedly when it came back to her. "Oh! Right. May I have another latte, please?" It was not the first latte of the day and probably would not be the last. But she paid and left a big tip, so... pretty please? She definitely needed a latte in order to keep writing. It was inspirational, and also it tasted amazing. |
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Dragging his gaze from the ring he was twisting, he looked up and blinked almost sleepily at her. "Huh?" he asked, registering her statement after he'd spoken. "I work here, so if you've been in here before...." he trailed off, wondering what she wanted. Eyes flicking briefly to the clock (counting down the hours, minutes, seconds until his shift was over was second nature), Tommy was about to prompt her when she spoke again. "A latte. Sure." He repeated her order before turning to the machines behind him, grabbing a mug and getting to work. |
Ashley took notice of everyone, though it was more an aesthetic interest than her being observant. She didn't remember when or why she saw people as well as she remembered their face and whether she had or had not painted it, and what exact shade she thought their hair was, and also if their eyes were or were not happy, and what colors they were wearing. Especially if they were wearing purple. Or grey. Or blue. Those were the colors she wore the most. Ash thought she'd seen this man about a million times before, and maybe even knew his name, or had at some point. (After all, she'd been hanging out here for hours and ordered several times.) It all sort of blended together when she was so focused on doing something else. It was all under the surface. "I think I was here earlier. Twenty minutes ago. Or maybe an hour. I forget which." She clearly found this to be an incredibly interesting fact, and she had probably also stated it the last time she'd ordered from him. Her attention drifted to a clean napkin and she forgot how interesting it was that she'd saw the same server multiple times in the same day. She drew some very beautiful flowers on it while she waited, then signed it "Ashley Fox", then went back to make the flowers even better! Maybe Amabel would like this as a present. As she waited for her latte, she quietly hummed a song that popped into her head- where was it from? It was her favorite-song-on-the-expensive-tape-her-brother-had-song, she remembered. It reminded her of the coffee man here. She didn't remember why but it seemed relevant all of a sudden. Wasn't that interesting? Ash thought it was. |
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That's when he noticed her humming. Tommy paused, tensing on his side of the counter, and then leaning forward ever so slightly to hear her properly. Because he recognised that song, and no one else should know it. Somehow, the kid he'd sold the recording to (for an extortionate fee that he was still shocked had been paid) didn't count as anyone else, because he figured he'd never see him again now he'd left school. "Where'd you here that song?" he asked after a pause, voice as stiff as his shoulders. |
Ash had buried her attention into her drawings (again), completely losing any train of thought she had about the possible identity of the server. She was busy tying her hair into a messy bun when he passed over her drink- hesitating for a few seconds, she decided to finish tying her hair back, then pocket her drawings, then grab the latte. In that order. Hopefully. "Thanks very much," she said with a grin, paying and tipping. She was turning to leave when he spoke again, and she turned back towards him. She raised a curious eyebrow. "Hm? Oh, I don't know what it is. It just popped into my head, I suppose." She scrunched her forehead, thinking. It was obvious that she really wasn't sure, and had no idea why he was asking. "Oh! I know where I heard it. My brother listens to it all the time. I don't mind it." She went off on a little tiny tangent about her favorite sequence of notes and then returned to sipping her latte. "Why?" Ash was not aware that she was currently speaking to the musician behind the song- not consciously, at least. Somewhere in her mind, she might have remembered giving her brother the money to buy it, and connected the seller's face to the server's face, and honestly it was quite likely since she always remembered people's faces. Her conscious mind, however, simply thought it was humming a good song. |
Katie <3 Angus hadn’t been back long in the UK and the opportunity to visit Diagon Alley hadn’t arisen too often so with Archie’s kids shipped off with their mum and his partner being given the rare day off from his law firm, it seemed the perfect opportunity to relive some of the good old days when they were teens causing some shenanigan in their summer holidays. Except they were now ‘teens’ with complicated history, a few age lines and the odd presence of a gray hair. Teens that were now in their thirties, post break-up, post children (on Archie’s behalf anyway), post reconciliation and with almost a decade of catch up to do. “Firewhiskey?” he asked, entering the Leaky Cauldron and heading straight over to the bar. “Or are we onto something less strong nowadays?” |
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