It's been a while...

[percival_weasley]

Who: Percy Weasley and Open
What: A nice drink and some paperwork - what else could he ask for?
Where: The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmead. It's a lovely establishment!
When: Thursday evening
Rating: PG for now..?
Status: In progress

Percy was excited. It was Thursday. Thursday was pub night. Thursday is always pub night.

On every Thursday evening, Percy would pack up any files that he could see on his desk that he might have been working on. Usually they consisted of his weekly progress reports from a few various departments, work that he found invigorating, nonetheless, but he would pack them up and bring it with him along to Hogsmead, where he usually enjoyed a few pints and a meal for himself while he sat and did his work. He was usually alone, but that was the way he liked it; he was a creature of habit and he rarely broke it.

With all of his papers neatly tucked away in his briefcase he glanced down at his desk, straightened the edge of his desk calendar and turned his crooked feathered quill back to the 90 degree angle that he usually kept it at (the night cleaners usually liked to turn it around on him, which he found greatly un-amusing). He checked for the third time to make sure that his ink pot was nicely topped up before he shut his light off and magically sealed his office door. As always, Percy was among some of the last people to leave the Ministry that evening. He saw no point in fighting amongst the thick crowds of people all wanting to apparate home when, if they only waited an hour, it was completely clear of people, which made getting out of there a cinch. He was often told to leave his office early, but his supervisor's had long passed the point of caring. Percy apparated to The Three Broomsticks (his usual haunt) and immediately claimed his table in the corner of the pub, the one that was closest to the fireplace.

"The same tonight, Percy?"

The tips of his ears turned red as he heard Rosmerta's voice speaking to him. He blushed, but gave her a slight, nervous nod and a quickly mumbled 'thanks' before he turned to his work. "Right, let's see how unproductive you've been THIS week, Oddgekin."

Comments

[mandy_brocklehurst]

Mandy was tired and rightfully so. Over night, some drunk fool had decided that it would be a 'good idea' to take all of his expired potions reagents, dump them in a cauldron, and use a stirring spell on the conglomeration. It would be redundant to say that the cauldron exploded. And the wand in the Wizard's hand. Now he was in her ward, covered in burns and, hiccuping fire. They couldn't deal with the flames until the burns were treated and the dressings and bed kept catching fire as well. She was treating the fucking Human Torch, for Chrissakes! Her robes were singed, her left hand had sustained a burn and was bandaged, and her hair reeked of smoke. Needless to say, a stiff drink was allowed.

"Slow Screw on the Potions Bench please Madam R." She mumbled to the familiar barmaid. Looking at her, Rosmerta nodded knowingly and headed off to prepare the beverage. While she waited, Mandy looked at the crowd and stopped with she caught sight of a familiar red head bent over papers on a table.

"Hello." She said tentatively, acutely aware of his card still in her wallet. She'd contemplated calling him, but given his line of work and dedication to it, she felt that it wouldn't be fair to him.

[percival_weasley]

And in conclusion, Percy had scratched furiously on top of his parchment when his quill was suddenly forced to pause and he turned his eyes up to stare at the girl. His expression was blank and he looked as if he hadn't recognized who she was, but there was something that was giving them away. At the back of his neck, a bright, red colour slowly began to creep up from under his collar, not stopping until it had touched against the tips of his ears; Mandy Brocklehurst. The girl that thought he had absolutely no social life or knew how to have fun. Well. He would certainly show her. Percy sat up in his chair, but he froze when he saw his work papers under his hands... Damn... He hastily began to shove them away, clearing his throat as he tried to make himself look dignified and distinguished.

"Hello, Mandy!" he replied formally to her, "It certainly has been a while, how are you?"

[mandy_brocklehurst]

Mandy peeled of her burnt robes and sat down, too exhausted to care whether or not he thought her rude at the moment. "Looking forward to a Saturday off. It's been a long day, that's for sure." She told him honestly, looking at his work.

"They're paying you over-time for that right?" She asked with a slight smile waving a hand at the pile of official looking papers on the table.

"Here you go Darling. One Slow Screw on the Potions Bench and a plate of chips with Gorgonzola dressing on the side." Madam Rosmerta broke in placing a martini glass filled with an acid green liquid in front of her and a large plate. "And by the look of you, you could use it. It's more screw than bench, so don't toss it back too fast." Mandy nodded, taking a sip and gasping at the amount of spirit in the beverage.

"Thanks Madam." She grabbed a chip. "Would you like some Percy? How have you been?"

[percival_weasley]

Percy blinked at the girl when she sat down across from him and he stared at her; she certainly was bold, he had to give her that, at least. "Overtime?" he asked her, looking politely confused, "No, I'm not at work right now, I just like doing this while I sit and have a drink is all..." He muttered as he took a sip from the glass that was next to his hand.

He had just been about to offer to buy her a drink when Rosemerta came back with the drink that Mandy had ordered. A drink with a name that made Percy raise his eyebrows well past his hairline. "You... what was the name of that drink that you just got?" He asked her incredulously, "What... Whatever happened to a good old fashioned beer?"

He glanced at the chips that she had in front of her and he picked one up to eat. He wasn't quite sure what to do with the change in his usual Thursday routine. "Er... I've been fine, thank you for asking, Mandy. Busy with work... But then again, that's usually quite busy for me!" He added with a broad smile, "How have you been?"

[mandy_brocklehurst]

She arched an eyebrow. Maybe she didn't understand people who took their work home with them because she couldn't. Her Dad used to bring case files home on occasion too, but she always baulked at it as a girl as well.

"Slow Screw on the Potions Bench." Mandy told him with a wicked grin as she took another sip. "A beer's nice when I'm watching Footie or listening to Quidditch, but given the day I've had, I decided for something a bit stronger. "It's vodka, ginger, and mint, with a dash of seltzer to give it some fizz. It's actually got quite a nice kick to it."

Busy with work... So faking a magical emergency and turning to him for assistance would have been a bad idea after all. She smiled as the toaster oven she'd been contemplating blowing up appeared in her mind's eye.

"All things considering, I've been very well, thank you. Things are going steadily at the hospital, but they're definitely a little slower with Hogwarts back in session. No more little titches trying out their new wands and causing random accidents to themselves or their parents. They're all Madam Pomfrey's charge now." She popped a chip in her mouth and mentally thanked Madam Rosmerta for remembering her favourite appetiser.

[percival_weasley]

Percy stared at the acid green drink with increasing interest... It was nothing like he had ever seen before. Actually, now that he thought about it, it was starting to remind him of a potion that he had once done in Potions class when he was back in school. He was quite sure that it had something to do with hair growth or... something similar to that.

Feeling adventurous, the next time Rosmerta walked by Percy ordered one for himself. He gave Mandy a soft smile, "Let's see your taste in drinks then, shall we? I'm not opposed to more feminine drinks and I do like the occasional glass of Vodka." he said, still smiling as he set his work aside. ...He had time to get to it later, right?

He had to laugh a little when she mentioned everyone being back at school... He could remember his brothers being guilty of using their wands pre-maturely and their mother scolding them all for it every time; it was always worse than the actual accident itself. "That doesn't surprise me in the least bit." He agreed with her, "If you've met any of my brothers, you'll have an idea of what they might have been like to live with. Some days in the summer, all I would hear were explosions from Fred and George's rooms..."

Thinking of his brother was no longer a painful subject for him. It had been for a very long time after Fred had died, but after all this time, he could talk about him and even laugh about his memories of trying to raise the two boys together. He looked up at Mandy as he drummed his fingers against the table top; he looked very nervous. "Would you like something to eat? Apart from the appetizer...? I know they can hardly be filling. I was thinking about ordering something for myself, which is why I asked..."

[mandy_brocklehurst]

Mandy smiled as Percy ordered himself a drink too. At his comment about feminine drinks, she made a wry face. “Now don’t make me have to drink you under the table just to prove that my taste in drinks are in no way dainty.” She threatened mockingly. He moved his work aside she took that as a sign that maybe she wasn’t disrupting him after all.

The Twins... Wow, she’d felt that they’d been a handful, and she hadn’t had much contact with them. “Of course I’ve met your brothers. I was in Ron’s class for six years and played Quidditch against him a few times. The Twins I’d had much less contact with based on age and them getting unfairly banned from Quidditch my fifth year.” She grinned, remembering their exit and the massive swamp that had plagued Umbridge until Professor Flitwick made it look like child’s play to get rid of. “It doesn’t surprise me in the least that they blew things up. They made quite the impression. When they left in my fifth year, it was inspired. And hilarious.”

She beamed at the suggestion of getting some real food. “That is a wonderful idea. I’m having one of those too-lazy-to-cook-for-myself days, so I figured dinner here would be just right.” She placed her chin on top of her hands and levelled Percy with a searching look. “So what are you up to aside from finishing some work tonight? I’m not keeping you from anything or anyone am I?”

[percival_weasley]

Percy smiled at her when she started to speak about Fred and George's grand exit from the school. Of course, they never did anything low key. He smiled a little fondly at the memory... He had been in his office while working for Fudge... The minister was outraged but Percy, on the other hand, had secretly laughed to himself about the situation once they had cleared out from his office. Of course, at that point, he wasn't speaking to his family, and he never did have the chance to speak to his brothers and get the full story regarding THAT incident. "Yes," he smiled at her, "My brothers were certainly a handful. That was beyond my years, but I was told that it was certainly quite the site." he agreed with her as he picked up one of the menu's that were resting by his hand.

He flipped it open to the centre of the book and he started to go through the list of items that they served; there wasn't much at this place, but it wasn't so bad. "Don't be ridiculous, you're not keeping me from a thing. What do you think of pizza?" he asked her as he pointed down to the menu. This was what people did, right? Shared food? He looked up at Rosmerta when she brought his drink over and he gave her a soft smile. The drink was a vivid shade of green. Oh dear God, Percy, what have you got yourself into. He was staring at it apprehensively and he put off the moment that he had to actually SAMPLE the drink and he turned to look at her, while they still had Rosmerta there. "What would you like?"

[mandy_brocklehurst]

Mandy looked at the menu. An autumn chill was creeping into the air, but not to the point where it had her craving soup and a burger would require two hands and her left still throbbed dully. “I adore pizza. What do you have on yours?”

He hadn’t touched his drink yet. With a smug look, she took another sip from her own glass. “It won’t bite. It may kick, but it won’t bite. Besides, surely Madam Rosmerta didn’t make it too strong; I’m just a special case.”