Closed; Changes Are Coming

[finnagoon]

Seamus had been feeling strange all week. Well, actually, he'd been feeling strange all month, not quite himself since waking up in St. Mungo's with a fresh set of scars on his shoulder as a constant reminder for what was waiting for him during every full moon. But he'd gone from incredibly angry to actually dying and the last few days he just

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[scilicette]

With the solar flare turning everything on its head, Diagon Alley had been under an incredible amount of pressure to get itself back to its best. Which, of course, brought an amazing amount of traffic through the Leaky Cauldron. Business was busy, construction workers were taking over the fourth floor, and Hannah was down a bartender on their busiest night of the week. She was trying to rope Marjorie to come in, convincing her that she'd pay her time and a half if she made the shift. Hannah would do it but she'd already worked the entire day shift and if she kept it up, she was going to pass out from exhaustion.

She barely heard the bell over the door ring when it opened, the juke box playing a medley of Wizard Sister hits, an annoying playlist picked by a regular.

She was laughing at something that wasn't funny from an older man buying a round for his co-workers, expertly pouring the six shots when she caught sight of Seamus walking up to the bar.

"Seamus- hey-" she said, wiping her hands on her apron, her hair falling over her shoulder as she looked up at him, a wide smile on her face.

It had been a little while since she'd last seen him. It was impossible not to remember the hazy sort of kisses that accompanied that last time. She licked at her bottom lip, trying not to over-think why he might be here. It was only the most popular wizarding bar in the city. This wasn't about her. He just wanted a drink.

"What can I get for you?"

[finnagoon]

There was something strangely comforting about The Leaky Cauldron and he had always thought so, remembering how he had stayed here when he was eleven right after getting his letter when his mam wanted to give him a full and proper tour of Diagon Alley. It had been thrilling and overwhelming all at once, back when magic was special and easy and a good thing in his life.

He hadn't actually spent a lot of time here since, always returning back to Ireland rather than letting his parents come here. It was difficult, mostly just time consuming, since his da was muggle.

But now it seemed like he had a reason to come back in, at least from time to time.

"Surprise me, yeah?" he said, leaning against the bar. "I was sort of hoping you'd be free to hang out-"

[scilicette]

Oh.

He was here for her.

She blinked, letting the shock wash over her for a moment before smiling. She tilted her head as she considered him. There was that uneasy look again, the same one she saw the night of karaoke. She didn't like seeing him that way.

"Sure, of course-" she said, reaching for a clean tumbler glass and a top shelf bottle of whiskey, pouring him a double on the rocks before sliding it across the bar and removing her apron.

"Come on- we'll go upstairs."

[finnagoon]

Seamus took the glass with a grin, realizing that she already knew his tastes. There was never a time when he wasn't in the mood for a whiskey. A double was all the better.

"Brilliant," he told her, just before taking a nice long sip of his drink.

"How are you, by the way? Busy?"

[scilicette]

She could pick up on a person's drink pretty quickly. It came with the territory of running a bar. Everyone's favorites said a little something about them. Seamus' whiskey let her know that this jittery thing he had going on, despite that charming grin, was very uncharacteristic.

"A bit-" she said, shrugging her shoulders.

She stepped from behind the bar, thankful to finally see a frazzled Marjorie making her way inside the pub. She nodded at the blond before she nudged Seamus' shoulder gently as she reached him, glancing up at him with a smile.

"But definitely time for a break," she told him. "You alright?"

She didn't want to outright ask but then, why else would he be here? She wasn't exactly anyone's idea of a good time.

[finnagoon]

While there were times that Seamus could be downright daft, so much inside his own head he didn't even notice what was going on around him, he could see that there was a genuine concern in Hannah's eyes.

It was refreshing actually, which took him by surprise.

It wasn't like he was going around looking for pity, mostly locking himself away in his own flat the last month as he drank alone.

"No-" he said, simply and easily. There wasn't much point in lying about it.

"But you know, it's fine. I just needed a friendly face-"

[scilicette]

She tried not to let her face change when he replied in the negative. She didn't think Seamus was the type to fish around for sympathy, even if she did feel a little tug in her chest when he spoke. She gestured toward the back staircase, her hand grabbing for his subconsciously to weave him through the packed bar. It was more getting him across the room than anything else but it was hard to ignore how big his hand was compared to her own.

"Well, then you came to the right place-" she said, smiling at him still before pushing the button to the lift. "I think Susan is with Gabe tonight so the greenhouse is nice and quiet-"

Not like anyone really ventured there without her but Hannah wasn't sure Seamus was up for more company.

[finnagoon]

That actually was a bit of a relief, knowing that there wouldn't be anyone that he didn't trust up there to see him like this.

Wait, when did he actually start to trust Hannah?

Either way, he found himself a little bit more relaxed at the notion.

"Brilliant. I bet it looks nice this time of day, yeah?"

[scilicette]

The doors to the lift pulled open and Hannah stepped inside, waiting for Seamus to follow as an odd smile tugged at her lips. It was impossible not to think back to that first time with Astoria, her stomach tightening as she pressed the button for the roof and leaned back against the gilded gold walls of the lift.

"The sunset is amazing-" she said, looking up at him. "Best view in all of London-"

And she meant it, too.

The bell rang and the doors opened, Hannah stepping through them just as the sky started to pink.

"Come on-"

[finnagoon]

Maybe one of the reasons that he liked coming here so much was the secret greenhouse that Hannah had built up on the top floor. There wasn't anything else like it in the city, so quiet and fresh and green.

It wasn't anything like the farm but it was close enough without traveling all the way back to Ireland.

Besides, he liked seeing Hannah so comfortable and proud of the place.

"Have you planted anything new?" he asked her, stepping out and already looking around at the space.

[scilicette]

"Nothing magical," she told him, looking back at him as she moved ahead, her hands pushing her hair to one side of her neck. "Just a few herbs for the spring- I like to keep the kitchen as organic as possible-"

She shrugged her shoulders, moving toward the expansive table in the center, filled to the brim with potted plants. She dug around in a small wooden box, pulling out a perfectly rolled joint.

If there was anything that could give Seamus a bit of ease, it was this.

"Though, I'm having a bit of trouble with the rosemary-" she said, brow furrowing for a moment before another smile came. "Go on, you first-" she said, after lighting the joint for him, holding it out with two fingers.

[finnagoon]

Seamus took the joint carefully, offering her a thankful smile just before bringing it to his lips, pulling enough for the smoke to fill his lungs. It was sharp and earthy but delicious.

He handed the joint back to her, holding it in as long as he could before it started to burn.

"Are you using fresh soil? Maybe theres not enough vitamins in what you're using," he offered.

[scilicette]

Her fingers grazed his as she took it back, bringing it to her lips and holding it there as she moved toward the hammock toward the back of the greenhouse. She needed to sit or lay down or something. It had been a long day and her feet were killing her.

She kicked off her flats, bringing her bare feet underneath her as she settled into the thick, woven rope.

She finally inhaled, her fingers curling around the joint as she nodded.

"I am-" she told him, the smoke billowing from her lips. "You know something about gardening?"

[finnagoon]

He follow her lead, kicking off his trainers before dropping down next to her. It felt good actually, to just sit there finally after pacing his own shop all day like a loon.

"Sort of," he told her, running his fingers through his messy blond hair with a shrug.

"I know a lot about farming. You know, growing up on one and all-"

[scilicette]

She and Seamus had such an odd relationship, she realized. It was nice and relaxing and sometimes ended up in hazy kissing and light petting. She figured normal twenty-somethings had a lot of relationships like this, though, and that maybe, Hannah wasn't Seamus' only casual affectionate friend.

She glanced up at him with a smile as she handed back the joint.

"Oh, that's right-" she said.

"I'm so envious of that-" she admitted honestly. "I grew up here in London- my mum wanted to be close to the Ministry if anything- well, having an interest in herbology and not having a backyard was always kind of annoying-"

[finnagoon]

Seamus didn't have very many casually affectionate friends actually, though he did have a small list of women that he was extremely affectionate with even if he didn't consider them friends.

Hannah was something else entirely and he wasn't quite sure what yet.

"You could come visit if you wanted," he told her in between deep puffs.

"It's much quieter than any other place I've ever been."