Closed; Personal Delivery to the Leaky

[finnagoon]

It had been a particularly busy today in the shop today but then again, Tuesdays usually were. There was always an influx of women coming in, stocking up for something that they called Wine Wednesdays and completely buying him out of the cheaper bottles and boxes of reds, blushes, and whites. The same groups came in like clock work every week,

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[scilicette]

He was just so bloody tall, his limbs longer than her own body it seemed. She titled her head back to look up at him, catching his eye as he gazed down at her, the way his eyes lit up when he smiled making Hannah feel just a little bit more nervous - as if that was even bloody possible.

"Just doing what I can-" she shrugged, her eyes sharing a spark of a gleam behind them as she studied his perfectly symmetrical features.

"Can I get you a drink?" she asked then, suddenly not quite sure she wanted this little visit over.

It wasn't every day someone like Seamus walked into the Leaky, as it was.

"On the house, of course-"

[finnagoon]

Seamus was not one to turn down a free drink, especially not from somebody quite so intriguing as Hannah Abbott. Everything about her was clouded in mystery, one moment she was shifting awkwardly in front of him and the next her face was lighting up, her shoulders more relaxed.

She certainly wasn't his usual type but here he was and he definitely wasn't ready to leave any time soon.

"How about we sample the golden whiskey?" he offered, "You can see what all the type is about."

[scilicette]

Hannah wasn't sure she'd ever describe herself as a mystery, feeling as if everything about her was just clinging to her skin, noticeable in every mannerism. She carried around her brokenness on her sleeve, she thought. She'd never think that others couldn't see it.

"Going right for the good stuff," she said, allowing herself a small, teasing smile to tug at the corners of her mouth.

She moved from where she stood, briefly relieved to be out of his personal space as she moved toward the door way, leading Seamus out into the main bar.

[finnagoon]

"As if I would waste my time on anything but?" he laughed, shaking his head as he followed her from the stock room and into a much bigger area, just as impressed with how clean everything looked.

When did he become such a neat freak? Seamus certainly didn't care about such things when he was younger, always leaving his bed in the Gryffindor dorm undone, most of his more casual clothes wrinkled, and half the essays he turned in crumpled. Owning a business had changed him, mostly for the better he thought. After all, it was much easier to be messy when you had house elves or your mam picking up after you.

Everything was vaguely familiar, though Seamus had never spent a lot of time at The Leaky himself, despite how close it was to his store and flat. The time he had spent in here over the years was just quick meeting spots when his parents stayed during their visits, as far and few between as those happened to be.

"What's your drink of choice?"

[scilicette]

The Leaky hadn't gone under too much of a change when it fell into Hannah's hands. She kept it clean, tidy and true to the original look. She thought it was best, that way. It wasn't a swanky metropolitan club but it wasn't a surly dive bar either.

She thought it straddled a perfect line.

It was quieter in the bar, that odd time when the dinner hour was all but over and the late night regulars still had a few hours before they wandered in.

"Mine? Typically nothing," she said, glancing back at him from over her shoulder. "I don't really drink all that much-"

Or at all.

But she could stomach a pint of ale, or two.

[finnagoon]

"Now that can't be right. Didn't we all become alcohols to some degree after the war?" he asked her, the idea of somebody not drinking just not completely registering for him.

It wasn't even for the sake of getting drunk, though that was a nice side effect after a long day at the shop. The right alcohol was calming, a fine whiskey going down smooth with just a hint of a rich burn as it hit your stomach.

But it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone that Seamus Finnigan, spirit shop owner, was passionate about top shelf alcohol.

"What do you do to unwind then?"

[scilicette]

She laughed slightly, the remark oddly fitting when she thought about most of her friends. Alcohol had become a comfort to them, especially when Hannah became the owner of the Leaky. But she spent so much time behind the bar, seeing the regular drunks come and go that she couldn't stomach it any longer.

She swung behind the bar, lifting the last remaining bottle of the golden firewhiskey from the shelf, twirling the bottle in her hands absentmindedly as she considered his question.

She pulled a fresh tumbler from underneath the counter.

"I have my greenhouse-" she said, then. "Right up here on the roof- if I get a break, I go up there-"

[finnagoon]

Seamus took up a seat at one of the bar stools, leaning forward and resting against his elbows, cracking his knuckles out of habit. It felt a little strange being on this side of the things, so rarely spending any time at bars considering he owned a liquid store. It was much easier, and less expensive, just to hold boys nights at his flat.

"Greenhouse? So that's how you relax," he teased, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at her.

"I mean, I always figured Herbology would come in handy one way or another."

[scilicette]

"Oh-"

She looked a little startled, almost confused at his comment before his insinuation became clear in her head. She covered her mouth with her hand, the slight catch of laughter in her throat passing through her fingers.

"You shouldn't assume anything, Seamus-" she said, keeping her voice low. "At least, not until you're out of earshot from the rest of the lot in here-"

She popped off the cap of the firewhiskey, pouring in the remaining few ounces and passing it off to Seamus.

[finnagoon]

At first Seamus had just been teasing her but there was no mistaking her reaction, or the fact that she hadn't exactly denied his assumption.

And just when he thought he was starting to figure her out-

"So that really is it," he laughed, leaning forward against the bar with his voice low.

"The Leaky Cauldron just became a lot more interesting. For more reasons than one-"

[scilicette]

A little sigh passed through her lips.

Hannah leaned against the bar, her elbows resting against the recently polished wood, tilting her head at Seamus in exasperation.

"That is on a need to know basis," she said, a knowing look following. "We've got enough hanger-ons here without knowing about the rooftop-"

She laughed.

"Literally only a handful of people have been in on that little secret, you know-"

[finnagoon]

It was hard to imagine Hannah up there on the rooftop of the Leaky, kicking back after a long day with smoke trailing from her lips. Though, now the image was sticking and he wanted to see it for himself.

"I'll keep my lips sealed, I promise," he assured her, pressing his finger to his mouth for a moment.

"Though, I didn't think you'd be the type-"

[scilicette]

That was far too distracting for Hannah, her eyes briefly settling on his long finger pressing to his perfect mouth. It was hardly something she shouldn't have been thinking about at all, but Merlin.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek, stifling a shrug.

"It certainly helps me unwind-" she said.

And kept her distracted. Rolling joints had become a sort of zoned out experience for her, Hannah able to pay attention to the one single thing and phase out everything out.

"I could show you-" she offered, then. "I mean- the greenhouse, of course-"

[finnagoon]

This personal delivery had definitely become worth the walk over, closing up shop early for a chance to see what Hannah had been up to these last few years. He never would have imagined that quiet, sweet, Hufflepuff Hannah was actually Huffle-puffing.

"That's not some sort of innuendo is it, Abbott?" he asked her, bringing his glass of whiskey to his lips. Even as he sipped the warm, dark liquid Seamus watched her.

"Normally, I'm not that sort of girl but you know, I think I'll make an exception for your greenhouse-"

[scilicette]

"You're still a prat-" she said, shaking her head with a wistful sigh.

She wiped her hands on the rag hanging beneath the bar, nodding at the other bartender on duty and gesturing toward the stairs, letting her know that Hannah would be upstairs if anything happened.

"Come on-" she told him, then, turning back to him with a still slightly embarrassed smile.

[finnagoon]

Seamus pressed his hand over his chest, right where his heart was thumping, his head falling back as he sighed, pretending that her little insult actually had some greater effect on him. Well, a great effect than the fact that he could feel his heart beat a little bit faster now, more than ready to see her relax a little bit.

"So demanding. I'm coming," he laughed, pushing himself off his stool with the whiskey glass still in his hand .

There was no way that he was going to let this stuff to go waste.