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

[scilicette]

"Yeah?"

Hannah hadn't expected the invitation but she couldn't help think about how nice it could be, out in an open field, cows in the distance. At least, that was how she imagined it would be like. Farms could only look one or two ways, right?

"That's sweet," she told him. "Do you get to go back often?"

[finnagoon]

"No, not too much anymore," he told her, passing back the joint .

He could already feel that relaxed and foggy feeling fill his head, his entire body less tense than it had been for the last few weeks.

"Well, I'm going back this weekend."

[scilicette]

Hannah took the joint from him, her lips wrapping around it as she sucked in the burning smoke. She sighed as she leaned back, bringing her legs up to her chest as she watched him.

"Any particular reason?" she asked.

[finnagoon]

This had been the first time that Seamus had been this relaxed in a very long time which was probably why his tongue felt so much looser than usual.

He'd regret this later.

Probably.

"Yeah, I'm um- you know," Seamus started, coughing slightly from the dryness in his throat.

"It's the full moon and I'm sort of a werewolf now."

[scilicette]

Hannah was just about to pass the joint off but her hand paused mid-way there. Had she heard him correctly? Was he being serious?

"I'm sorry, did you just say-"

She shook her head.

"Seamus, are you just taking the mickey out of me?"

[finnagoon]

"Yeah, no-" he told her, laughing lamely now as he rubbed at the back of his neck.

There was a heat there and he wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or the high or this disease inside of him.

"I got bit or whatever. I woke up the next morning in St. Mungo's-"

[scilicette]

"Wow."

It was a stupid thing to say. It was actually, probably, the last thing she should have said. Wow. What a bugger. She licked at her lips, tapping the edge of the joint with her finger as her brow furrowed.

"Well. Fuck," she said, holding the joint out for him properly now. "Smoke up."

That probably wasn't better.

[finnagoon]

It actually felt better to get off of his chest than he thought, feeling much lighter now that he'd said it.

Well, that definitely could have been the joint doing what it was meant to do but he was mostly positive that it was actually the confession.

Yeah, definitely the confession.

"Brill-" he grinned, taking it back from her again.

"It sucks, man. Well, I don't know that yet. But I hear it sucks."

[scilicette]

"I hear it sucks, too."

She shrugged her shoulders as she wrinkled her nose. This explained everything, didn't it? The way he seemed to change so suddenly in between the times she saw him. She frowned, reaching to grab at his free hand and squeeze it gently.

"Well, you are free to come up here anytime, you know," she said. "Even when I'm not here, if you just wanna get away from everything-"

Not like she knew or really understand what that everything was.

[finnagoon]

"Nah, this is your space," he told her, shaking his head as he handed back the blunt to Hannah.

Though, it was clear that he appreciated the offer.

"But I wouldn't mind hanging out with you here, you know. You're pretty chill, Abbott."

[scilicette]

She wrinkled her nose as she laughed.

"This is the exact opposite of what I am, Seamus," she told him, sitting up now properly, her body facing the side of his with her legs crossed. "Which is why I'm so heavily invested in this-"

She waved the joint around with a sheepish shrug before taking another hit.

"It helps with my overwhelming anxiety-"

She hadn't meant to say that out loud but she found strangely comfortable when Seamus was around.

"But anytime you want to see me, I'm here-" she said. "Which makes me sound insanely available, doesn't it?"

[finnagoon]

"Normal, yes but you get a pass for actually living where you work," he told her, laughing as he leaned back against his arms.

That was something else they had in common, overworking themselves just to crawl back upstairs to their flats. It was extremely convenient but it could definitely be annoying at times.

It was like you just couldn't get away.

"You could come find me once in a while too, you know. I wouldn't mind."

[scilicette]

Hannah felt a wide smile tugging at her lips. She had been thinking about Seamus randomly over the course of the past few weeks, his face popping into her thoughts when she least expected it to. She thought he was charming and interesting and she hadn't been able to shake just how nice it was to kiss him that last night.

She had wondered if he felt the same way.

"I could-" she said, nodding her head. "Yeah, I could definitely do that-"

She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment.

"Are you scared, Seamus?" she asked him quietly. "About what's coming?"

[finnagoon]

Her question definitely caught him off guard, even if his reaction time was a little bit delayed.

Seamus's smile faltered as his mouth dropped open.

Not that he had actually told many people, not even his mam who was going to have to deal with his transformation in just a few days, but nobody ever asked him if he was scared. It was sort of implied, wasn't it?

But now he actually had to answer.

"I'm a Gryffindor, we never get scared," he told her, though it was clear in his voice that he was being sarcastic. "You know, heart of a lion and all that."

[scilicette]

"I'd be scared."

Hell, she'd be petrified. She had a hard enough time waking up in the morning most days- she'd never be able to comprehend just what kind of strength it would take to suffer even just one night as a werewolf.

She was a bit in awe that he seemed so calm, even with the added help of the drug.

"Can I see it?" she asked. "Your um- your scar?"