(Untitled)

[evercleverest]

Hermione sits at the bar tonight with a mug of butterbeer and a book (Hogwarts, a History, the revised edition). It's been open to the same page for almost half an hour now, and her drink has likely gone woefully flat.

All of it had been meant to work as something of a distraction from ... well, everything else happening in her life

Comments

[whatsshakinpox]

How much it was a good idea to come here is equal to the amount of weirdness one can take. So, for those of you who live in a world of magic, let's see how you handle a being of science fiction.

There is a sort of grayish undertall...well, we'll call him a person, kind of...strolling into the bar, humming to himself. Upon reaching the counter, he orders a large mug containing beer, vodka, spiced rum, and vanilla along with a bottle of 'Evermore Plasma Rifle Polish'. The bottle is picked up, the mug is levitated by a barely-perceivable force, and he walks past Hermione until something catches his eye.

"Hog...whats?"

It's amazing how much he sounds like Jack Nicholson. There's now a four-foot alien giving the book in Hermione's hands a confused stare.

[evercleverest]

"Hogwarts," she says, before she glances up.

And blinks.

A lot.

[whatsshakinpox]

Yyyup, still alien no matter how much you blink.

"Okay, I'll bite. What's a Hogwarts?"

The mug thumps onto the table without spilling.

[evercleverest]

Hermione forces herself to 1) stop staring and 2) answer his question.

Really.

She's muggle-born. It's not like she's never seen aliens before.

Well.

In movies.

This is really entirely different.

"Um. Hogwarts is the name of the school I go to," she says.

Or - well. Went to would be more accurate; only it's a bit of a complicated story.

[missginnytonic]

There is a purple puff on the bar making purring sounds at her elbow.

[evercleverest]

Hermione gives the purple puff a bit of a ... well, confused look, really.

[missginnytonic]

He bounces to her and rubs against her hand.

[evercleverest]

She feels like she's seen these things before, though she can't quite recall where.

In any case, Hermione's not entirely sure she wants to be rubbed against by a puffy purple ... puff.

She withdraws her hand.

[makesthings]

Sam's been working a lot and is hungry when he comes in with soot clinging to him.

It takes him a moment to notice her and then frowns as he remembers her painful entrance,

"Hello, Hermione, wasn't it?"

[evercleverest]

She blinks at the sound of her name.

His face is familiar, and she even remembers him a little from that fateful night when the Bar brought her, Ron and Harry in.

But his name ...

"Oh." She shakes her head. "Yes. Hello.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I can't remember your name."

[makesthings]

"Sameth and you weren't really up for meeting anyone when we did meet. Are you okay?"

She looks worried and he feels like he should try and help.

[evercleverest]

"Sameth," she repeats, committing his name to memory.

She smiles, closing her book and offering him the empty stool to join her if he wanted to.

"I didn't get the chance to thank you for helping my friends and I out that night."

[lilium_evansiae]

[OOC: Is it okay to tag for slowtime? I'm crazy busy this weekend, but these two need to meet.]

Lily recognizes the book.

Recognizes the drink in the mug, too.

"Hogwarts student?" she asks, cheerfully.

"There do seem to be a lot of us here."

[evercleverest]

[ooc: Yes! I was so hoping they would. :D ]

"Yes, I -"

Hermione glances up.

She's never actually seen very many pictures of Lily Potter before, and certainly not for longer than a few short moments.

But there's something quite unmistakable about her eyes.

They're like staring into Harry's.

"- am."

She swallows.

"Um. Hi."

[lilium_evansiae]

[OOC: *beams* Thanks.]

It's funny, isn't it, how in Milliways people notice that Lily has Harry's eyes, and not the other way around?

Her eyes have been recognized a lot, at this point.

"I'm Lily Evans," she says, though she half-suspects the other girl may already know that.

"Gryffindor, though I'm sure the uniform gives that away, and it's 1976."

[evercleverest]

Hermione nods, trying her best not to act foolish in front of Harry's mum (so this is the Lily Harry had met) as she mentally does the math.

She's from 21 years ago, four years before Harry was born.

Oh.

"Hermione Granger," she replies, offering the other girl a hand. "Gryffindor, too. Though ... I'm not wearing my uniform at the moment."

Well, she hadn't been wearing it for a number of months now ... but that's a rather complicated and unnecessary story to tell Lily.

"... I'm also a friend of Harry's."

[mechanicalswans]

Distractions can be hard to come by, even here.

Oh, sure, you can find something to take up a few minutes, but to really take your mind off something? Just not going to happen.

Along similar attempts at self-distraction, Weyland is taking a break from his obsessive drawing of aircraft, and gives Hermione a polite nod as he leans against the bar to order a late dinner.

[evercleverest]

Hermione is starting to find that much is definitely true.

No amount of reading or - well - drinking butterbeer is going to make her forget the pain in Harry's voice, or the wild hope in his eyes when he thought - really thought - he could save his mum.

She gives Weyland a small smile in return.

[mechanicalswans]

Drinking never seems to help. The most it ever does for him is to make him say things he regrets--and if Atlantean can't help, nothing else in a bottle could.

Which is why, in a sure sign of mental health, Weyland is seeking his own escape by passing himself off as someone else.

"Evening, Miss," he says quietly, and orders himself some pheasant, potatoes and wine.

[evercleverest]

Hermione isn't much of a drinker. And honestly, butterbeer isn't much of a drink for getting the sort of effects a drinker might want.

So, there's a lost cause if there ever was one.

"Good evening," she says. "All right, then?"