A little tete-a-tete, followed by erranding

[sightlesswolf]

Date: Thursday, November 23, 2000
Time: Noon
Location: The Leaky Cauldron, then Alecto's Animal Emporium
Characters Involved: Nymphadora Tonks & June Connors, Parvati Patil, Aurin and/or Toviel Helm, OPEN at both locations
Rated: PG, in case there's still some annoyance about the whole collar thing

Comments

[thinktanktonks]

Tonks was sitting in the far corner of the Leaky at a table which, on it's three shabby looking legs, wasn't the sturdiest of things but was situated only a few foot away from one of the pubs many roaring fires. It was a cosy corner and she had arrived earlier than she was expecting June, only to take one of the rare moments she had to herself to catch up on her reading.

Apart from having read the headlines from the Prophet the past couple of days and the one artice of Luna's from Witch Weekly after having had it pointed out by a collegue at the Ministry, she hadn't read a thing besides her journal and that thing was growing more frustrating to read as the days went by.

It was only when Tonks heard an old wizard on her left mutter something to the witch at his side that she looked up from her paper, over to the man and then towards the fire he was looking towards.

"June!" She leapt up from her chair, perhaps a little too quickly, her butterbeer falling onto its side with the jerk of the table and forming a sticky pool beside her Prophet. She ignored it though, instead continuing to make her way over to her friend. "Hey," Tonks beamed. "here." She laid a hand on June's elbow and lead her over to the table she had saved them both.

[safinnigan]

It was a Gryffindor ballet. Seamus saw the green glow of the Floo and leaned far over the bar to see who was coming into The Leaky Cauldron. As soon as he saw it was June his eyes lept towards Tonks, who was over in one corner with her Prophet and a Butterbeer. He watched as the world seemed to begin flowing in slow motion. Tonks rising to meet June, June moving out of the Floo, Tonks’ Butterbeer a sad victim of his friend’s clumsiness sudden movements. His own actions were equally predictable, reaching underneath the bar for a stack of fresh bar towels, grabbing a replacement Butterbeer for the lass and sprinting off towards the table at the same time as Tonks was headed off towards June.

By the time June and Tonks reached her table, Seamus had the ill-fated Butterbeer cleaned up and a fresh one sitting on a fresh Leaky beer mat in its place and the world resumed its usual pace.

“Cheers June, Tonks,” he said in his usual cheerful welcome. “Well now, Tonks lass, got your Butterbeer all back to rights now then, but there’s no hope for this Prophet.” He gave Tonks a congenial laugh and a wink, holding the sopping paper on top of the Butterbeer soaked towels. “Right, I’ll fetch you one from the bar if you’ve a mind for another, luv.” Then he turned to June, wondering a bit at the bandages across her eyes.

“What’s your pleasure then, June, lass, and I’ll be after fetching it right quick now.”

[sightlesswolf]

Oh, thank goodness. June permitted herself a relieved smile when she heard Tonks call her; she'd perfectly well been able to hear the growing whispers of the other patrons, and she'd started to wonder if she shouldn't have checked her journal before leaving - what if Tonks hadn't been able to make it after all? But her friend was here, and at her side, her cheery voice a warning a moment before the hand touched her elbow.

"Tonks, hello!" she replied, giving her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before allowing herself to be guided to the table. The ever-efficient Seamus had beaten them to it, with a cryptic (and yet, considering the Auror in question, not too difficult to decipher) comment about Tonks's drink. She felt his curious eyes on her and smiled.

"Just pumpkin juice, if you would, Seamus. I've still got classes to teach this afternoon, and it won't do to set a bad example!" Though the thought of Severus's reaction should she return to Hogwarts sloshed was enough to widen her smile into a grin, she wasn't actually about to do it.

[safinnigan]

“Aye, lass, be back ‘afore you’re settled in then, luv,” Seamus said as he headed back to the bar to get June her pumpkin juice and another Prophet that was abandoned on the bar for Tonks. He returned directly with a couple of dishes of pretzels and bar nuts, as well as a menu in case the ladies wanted some lunch. He didn’t have a lot of time since it was during the lunch rush, but he hoped to have a word or two with the ladies before going back to the bar.

“Aye then, June lass, here’s your pumpkin juice.” He set it just to the right of her right hand, barely grazing her hand with the glaze so she would know where it was.

“You’ve got a class then, lass? ‘Tis a shame I’ve not seen ye at Hogwarts then, luv, been spending my mornings there ‘round ‘bouts the library.” He didn’t often run into anyone he knew at Hogwarts. They were probably all in classes when he was there, so he was not surprised by it. “What’re you teaching then, luv?”

[sightlesswolf]

"Thanks, Seamus." She offered him a smile. The news he'd been about Hogwarts every day was a surprise, but it was no wonder she hadn't seen him. She hadn't even set foot in the library since she'd been there; why should she have?

"You haven't seen me because I've been sequestered in the dungeons," she informed him wryly. "I'm assisting Severus Snape with the potions classes. And I've had little enough reason to be in the library, as you can probably imagine. What've you been doing spending so much time up there?"

[safinnigan]

Seamus was quite surprised. He didn’t know June well, but he’d had no idea that she was good at potions. He was having quite a difficult time imagining any Gryffindor lass being good enough at Potions to work for the Potions Master himself. On the other hand, she must be very good indeed if Snape had hired her as his assistant.

“You’re working for Professor Snape?” He inflected the man’s name with incredulity before he chortled a bit, and then shifted into his spot-on mimicry of the man, honed by long years in the Gryffindor common room. “Miss Connors, I do believe your cauldron is sputtering. Do try to pay some attention to the task at hand. Ten points from Gryffindor.” Then he laughed out loud, quite amused by the idea. “Right, that Professor Snape?”

[sightlesswolf]

Funny, because had Seamus asked, June would have confessed that she'd never considered herself particularly good at Potions at all. Oh, she'd been decent enough to pass her NEWT with Snape, which was certainly saying something. But it wasn't as though she'd been some sort of prodigy.

But so far she seemed able to manage the duties he gave her to his satisfaction. He wasn't the type to keep her on if she wasn't performing up to standard, no matter what his motivations in giving her a job in the first place. She took some pride in that, really.

His imitation started her laughing. It might have been cruel if it weren't so perfectly accurate - and she suspected Severus himself wouldn't have been offended by it, since he went to such lengths to encourage that reputation of his.

"That'd be the one!" she agreed, grinning. "Though at least he can't take points for my sputtering cauldrons anymore. Dock my pay, maybe, but overall it's good to be an assistant in his classes instead of a student. What about you; what've you been doing spending so much time in the library? Courting Madam Pince?"

[safinnigan]

When June taunted him about courting Madame Pince, he burst out into a gale of laughter, highly entertained by the idea.

“Aye, lass,” he didn’t even try to hide the laughter in his voice, “as you’ll not have this Seamus, there’s naught for this barman but to try his luck elsewhere.” He laughed again, enjoying bantering with the Gryffindor lass to the fullest. “Well then, she’ll not have me either, luv, no matter how carefully this Seamus returns all her books to their right proper places! ‘Tis coincidence, I’m sure then, that you’re now so frequent at Hogwarts. Right, you’ve not been speaking to her against me now lass, have ye now? ‘Twood be cruel beyond measure!”

[sightlesswolf]

"Oh, you've caught me!" June snapped her fingers in feigned defeat. "The truth is, Seamus, I couldn't bear the thought of letting her have you. It would've broken my heart to see the two of you together, so I just had to do something about it!"

By now she was barely holding back the giggles, but that was all right. She liked Seamus, found his company very pleasant, but so far as she knew he'd never looked twice in her direction that way. Nor had she ever really considered him in that light. Considering that when she'd left Hogwarts, he'd been an ickle second year, it was hardly surprising.

[safinnigan]

His laugh rang out over the barroom as he shook his head at the coquettish Miss Conners and her admissions of guilt.

“Aye, lass, you’re a right proper mistress for the most tortured soul of this Irish boyo then, luv; a lass who’ll not have me herself but let no one else have me then neither! ‘Tis nothing for it then, luv. This Seamus’ll live free on the Irish countryside, doing penance for failing to please ye and thought to be wild-eyed and mad by the townsfolk.” Then he laughed again, exceptionally pleased with himself and the lass. “Though for tonight, Miss, I’ll be content then to do penance as service to ye lass. Consider this Seamus your personal servant then, luv, leastwise ‘til Tom calls me slacker and forces me back to the bar then.”

It pleased him to see and hear June in such a good mood - especially considering she worked with Professor Snape. How could anyone be in a good mood whilst working for the sourest man alive?