He asked knowing she would like say it was fine but still feeling the need to be as polite as possible. Manners were somewhat important to him. Just because he became a beast due to his furry little secret didn’t mean he had to act like one all the time.

He stood from the table but didn’t head to the bar right away. He smiled at once more. The war was wearing on them all and it was comforting to get a small moment like this. “It’s really good to see you again Mary.” He said softly then turned to get a drink.

Taking another reluctant swig of her drink, Mary tried her best to remain calm. She really couldn’t afford to mess up something as simple as a casual meeting between two friends; if she did, she doubted she would ever plan to leave her home again. Silently scolding herself, the blonde tried her best to get control over herself, taking a few deep breaths when Remus’ back was turned in an attempt to better get a control over her emotions.

“It’s good to see you too, Remus.” Smiling much more warmly at her old friend, Mary felt herself slowly begin to unravel at those words alone. Simply knowing that Remus wanted her there was enough to make the blonde feel ever so slightly calmer; suddenly she felt less like a burden, and more like  friend.

When Remus came back with two cups of tea alongside his own bottle of whiskey, Mary’s grin only grew. Gratefully, she tugged one of the mugs towards, wrapping her hands around the cup, her whiskey already forgotten. “Thank you; it wasn’t too forward at all.” To back up her point, Mary was quick to take a small sip of the tea, her smile now threatening to become a permanent fixture on her face; a rare feat by any means.

“I always look forward to it and also dread it.” The grin she offers Mary speaks of the dichotomous nature that amuses her to no end. “Students such as you were make my profession a great joy but even if James Potter and friends have left the castle, other energetic ruffians will always take their place and challenge my patience.”

Minerva doesn’t add that the burgeoning darkness of war adds a new layer of dread to her usually mild reservations about greeting students and embracing the tedium of being a Hogwarts professor. It goes without saying and there’s no need to sully their time together by touching on such a delicate and painful subject. Instead, Minerva takes her own teacup in hand, dripping a spoonful of honey into it before giving it a careful sip. Her green gaze gentle on Mary.

“I’m happy to hear that you are learning in your chosen career, but no doubt it comes with its own challenges. And not just from testy patients being uncooperative.” As she sets the cup down, she adds, “Don’t forget to make time for yourself, Mary. Being a healer comes with so many demands and it can easily wear you down. A new kitten to share your home with is a good start but don’t close yourself off in pursuit of your profession, dear.”

The description of the two types of students Minerva expects to have to deal with only makes the young blonde giggle, as she makes her way over to the sofa and curls up at one end, staring at Minerva over the back of the seat with a large grin settling on her lips. “Mini James Potters; oh the horror.”

A soft chuckle rolls effortlessly from her lips, but then Mary is growing quiet, the sudden realisation that she will not be returning home to Hogwarts an idea that both terrifies and relieves her. Hogwarts had once bee the blonde’s ultimate safe place, but that had all gone downhill in the aftermath of her brutal attack. Having said that, Hogwarts was still a damn sight safer than anywhere else in the Wizarding world at the minute, and so Mary couldn’t decide whether she was better or worse off now that she was left to face the world on her own.

Shaking her head a little in an attempt to rid herself of the thoughts that had entered, Mary took another small sip of her drink before resting the mug against the small coffee table in front of her sofa, her gaze once more moving to land on Minerva when she had done. “I know, but I am afraid it is easier said than done. I am often not the best company when I have finished off at work; the problem with working at a hospital as well-known as St Mungo’s is that everyone goes there for cures to their ailments; blood-traitors and blood-supremacists alike.” There is an edge of unease to Mary’s voice as she reveals this, her mind flickering back to her most recent encounter with Orion. “Then again, I suppose I knew that when I signed up for the position.”

He headed straight for the table not wanting to be any more rude than he already had been. When she asked to meet he had been a little surprised. Though with the state of things and the war one never knew if they would be alive much longer. So Remus had agreed grateful at the time that she allowed him to choose the location. Now he wondered if somewhere else might have been better. He chosen the Hog’s Head because it was somewhere he felt comfortable but seeing Mary it was clear she stood out a good bit.

At the sight of Remus, however, Mary was quick to smile, forcing herself to relax at least a little bit as her old friend approached her. “Don’t be daft, Remus; I haven’t been waiting that long, there’s no need to apologise.” Reassuring her friend with a gentle laugh, Mary was soon forcing herself to take a small swig of her drink, not wanting it to seem as though she didn’t want to be there.

Scarred souls will always recognize one another. Will feel the magnetic pull of understanding, seeing beneath the veneer of normalcy to the chaos beneath. Mary could hide all she wanted, but Sirius saw how fractured and fragmented she had become. The shadows that lingered in her eyes were mirrored in his own; they were survivors and yet they had not escaped from their separate horrors unscathed. One thing he admired about her was the ability to handle all inquiries with such a quiet dignity. Unlike him, she embraced what had happened and moved on with her life, whereas he spent far too much time hiding behind joviality to heal. But then, quite unexpectedly, she had begun to unravel. It was as though invisible fingers plucked at the loose thread, tugging until the once composed and dignified young woman was reduced to little more than a shadow of the bright and bubbly soul she had once been. In the business of scheming, Sirius had come up with an adequate distraction enough for them both. James’ fixation with Lily Evans, far from being the passing fancy he had hoped, was instead blossoming into stalker territory. Yet, for whatever reason, it appeared as if she was starting to soften on him. Still, Potter had yet to close the deal and watching the constant back and forth was enough to give even the most patient person a migraine.   So he resolved to do something about it. Help give both of the berks the little push they needed to realize they were two smitten kittens and end the torture that was their awkward pseudo courtship. The only issue was finding a partner in crime. Someone who he could trust to carry out his plan with very little objection, actually serving as an asset to the whole affair. His initial instinct had been to go to Marlene McKinnon, his usual accomplice for such affairs, but as she had recently begun a fledgling romance of her own she was currently out of commission. Amelia Bones was too honest and might just give the game away which left only one girl for the job.

Mary MacDonald.

The feasts in the evenings she could no longer stomach, much preferring to grab a few leftovers from the few friends she had made down in the kitchen when the corridors of Hogwarts had grown quiet again. Breakfast something she was most mornings able to go without, and lunch something she tended to grab when the great hall had all but emptied out entirely, no more than the scraps of food left.

It had been a good month now, and Mary had the art of not existing perfected to the finest detail, hence why the letter from Sirius had come as such a shock to the petite blonde. Why, after all, would Sirius want to see her? Why would he want to bother, when she had tried so hard to make sure that nobody did? 

Mary didn’t understand it, and wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about the idea of someone making the effort with her when she had forced herself to believe that she didn’t want anyone to. It was too late now, however, to be dwelling on why something was happening. The point was that it was, and all Mary could do was suck it up and deal with it, and simply pray that her meeting with Sirius would end quickly.

The sound of his voice, it caused the blonde to jump, her heart thrumming loud and fast as for a moment, she forgot to breathe. Squeezing her eyes shut, Mary took a few deep breaths before forcing herself to look up at Sirus, her cheeks flushing pink as she realised that within mere seconds of her old friend arriving, Mary had already shown herself to be far weaker than she would have cared to admit.

“I have been rather restless, truth be told,” she answers as she lets her shawl slip free from her shoulders. “I always feel rather caught between two worlds in the weeks leading up to the beginning of a new school term but that’s neither here nor there. I’ve adjusted over the years.”

Minerva gives Mary a small nod as she adds, “Tea would be lovely, dear.”

Knowing the layout of the former Gryffindor’s home, Minerva does not hesitate to enter the small kitchen and draw out her preferred tea cup from the cupboard, along with the one Mary so often drank from when she was over for a visit. It’s nearly rote for them now; Minerva setting out the teabags and the fixings while Mary puts the kettle on. Dividing the work in a rather muggle fashion without any awkward atmosphere or questions about why one wouldn’t just summon the necessary items with a flick of the wand. Then the older woman settles herself into a chair and waits patiently for the water to reach a boil. “Are you enjoying your work, though?”

Moving to join Minerva, Mary is quick to turn on the kettle, her gaze seeking out her newest addition as she does so. Finally, she finds her little bundle of fur, curled up on one of the kitchen chairs, and Mary is quick to scoop him up, greatly appreciating the comfort that comes with holding her kitten. “It seems odd to me, that I shall not be getting on the train this September.” Chuckling, Mary ruffles Tobias under his collar, before placing the kitten back down as the kettle comes to the boil.

“Work? Work is fine; a few more difficult patients have appeared recently, but I’m learning more by the day so who can complain, really?” Forcing a smile, Mary moved to pour the kettle, filling each mug before grabbing a spoon from the drawer and giving each drink a quick stir. “Are you looking forward to going back?”

“Thank you. Mary.” He breathed a small sigh, letting his hands drop once more to his sides (why could he never quite figure out what to do with his hands?).

With that, he turned towards the door to his father’s room, fingers grasping for the cold, silver knob, pausing before turning it completely. His father’s presence loomed behind it, a burden for Regulus as much as it must have been for Mary.

“I-I know my father isn’t… easy.” Cautious eyes wafted towards Mary’s face. “He’s always been opinionated, but with his illness… he just doesn’t…” Have patience? Have a filter? The words seemed to fall away from him, no single explanation doing justice to either the man or the situation.

“No need to thank me, Mr Black; I promise, what you are feeling is completely natural.” Offering up another warm smile, Mary tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, her shoulders sagging slightly as Regulus moved back towards the door, clearly intending to rejoin his father. There was nothing wrong with Regulus, nothing at all, it was just that every interaction with Orion and his family tended to knock it out of Mary, and so she couldn’t help but look forward to the end of each meeting.

“You don’t have to explain.” Once more, Mary was quick to stop Regulus, not wanting him to apologise on behalf of his father. She couldn’t help but wonder if he knew the extent of his father’s reactions to her, or if he did know, did he agree with them? Orion Black despised the fact that lowly muggleborn was helping to care for his well-being - something he voiced daily. Did Regulus agree? Was he just playing nice with her to keep the peace? Mary wasn’t sure she’d ever know, and frankly she didn’t care to find out.

“If ye intend ta just stand there ye may as well ‘ave stayed where’er it was ye were,” he said. If she was going to be useless she could have just let him bleed out in silence. With none but the damned House Elf desperate to contact Minerva but not wanting to leave him alone.

“What happened, Mr Moody?” Another step was taken towards him, her teeth digging lightly into her lower lip.With Alastor, Mary was never quite sure how to act - whether they be in a room full of people, or just the two of them. She never quite felt comfortable enough to be informal with him, to laugh and joke as though they were anything more than distant colleagues, if that. 

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What would you do if you found $50 on the ground? [[Admin note: by an extremely rough estimate, $50 is equivalent to ~7 galleons.]]

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Even from where she stood in the kitchen, Mary could see the blood that was coating Alastor’s side, and it was worrying for the girl. After ll, she was still in training, and had only started the job a few months previous; was she really prepared for something that looked as serious as Alastor’s injury did? Taking a deep breath, Mary stepped out into the courtyard, not entirely sure how best to approach the situation and so simply staying by the kitchen doors, her voice soft as she called out to him.

“The drink was a part of the cheering up,” she protested again, well aware of the fact that they were both being utterly ridiculous. It was good to see Mary acting silly, though, it meant that whatever had gotten her so upset before wasn’t an issue in this particular moment. “Don’t even give her a total! Come on now, I’m a loyal customer, you should be on my side!”

“The drink will cheer me up much more if I know that I have brought them both.” Chuckling to herself, Mary all but turned her back on Daisy, now completely focussed on the rather confused looking woman that stood behind the till, clearly unsure as to which customer she should listen to. Still grinning, Mary cocked her head to the side, held one hand up towards Daisy in the implication that she should keep quiet, and attempted to pay for the drinks once more. “I will be paying for these, no matter what she says, okay? Just pretend she’s not there.”

A rather dangerous looking owl, with an unfortunately intimidating wingspan swooped through the open window at St. Mungo’s. It cared little for the group of Healers and Mediwitches that caused all sorts of chaos getting out of the way as it circled the room and dropped down sharply to drop a piece of parchment before Mary MacDonald. The bird, Lugus as he was known, continued on to perch at the end of the table, watching the girl with eyes that seemed determined to bore right into her.

The parchment rolled out to reveal the perfunctory scrawl of the Head of the Auror Department. Each word was printed in what could only be called chicken scratchings, and that was high praise. The fact that anyone could read it at all was beyond the comprehension of even the brightest minds of the Scripting Authority of Greater Wizarding Britain. In Muggle terms, he had the handwriting of a Doctor in the late stages of Parkinson’s.

The note, as it was, stated simply;

Ye’re needed urgently.

The terrace house where the last meeting was held.

Come alone and bring yer kit.

Placing her mug back down on the table, Mary picked up the piece of parchment and allowed her eyes to scan over the letter, her fear of the creepy looking owl second to the fear that came with her second boss. Mary wasn’t sure what was wrong with Alastor, though as he tended to downplay everything the blonde knew that it was likely to be a lot worse than his rather laid-back letter suggested. And so, despite preferring to travel like  muggle, Mary sighed before collecting up her things, stepping out of the Hospital, and apparating from the alley that ran along the back of the charmed building, pausing outside Alastor’s house as she took a moment to collect herself.

“You’re not paying!” she protested after Mary made her order, turning to the girl behind the counter and repeating, “She’s not paying. I am. Don’t even look at her money.” Daisy moved in front of Mary as she fished in her pocket for some coins, trying to block her from the counter. She was trying to make Mary feel better by taking her out for a quick drink, not the other way around. “I thought I was very clear in the instructions, how did you miss the fact that I’m paying?”

“Why ever not? You cheered me up, consider the drinks my thank you.” Chuckling at the carefree silliness of it all, Mary tugged her own purse out of her back pocket, her free hand going to give Daisy an entirely friendly push so that Mary could step in front and claim the attention of the cashier. “How much?” 

“Hello, Mary. It’s good to see you.” The older woman’s gaze, while kind, moves over the blonde’s appearance. No matter the glamour or painted face for a day of work, the exhaustion bleeds through. Not unsurprising as a healer in training. Minerva has no doubt that the hint of exhaustion behind Mary’s eyes will only grow deeper as her career progresses. What always worries Minerva is what lies beneath that physical exhaustion and what the girl’s career may bring to bear on her. Still, she appears well and that’s most important.

Stepping aside to allow Mary the path to open her own front door, Minerva tucks stray tendrils of the young woman’s blonde hair behind her ear before allowing her hand to move down and rub down her back. “A long day for you, dear?” she offers. Though Minerva rarely considers herself a motherly figure, with Mary, it often borders near to such a dynamic. It’s a rather nice feeling, if the professor is perfectly honest.

The touch of Minerva’s hand to Mary’s back, it causes the younger girl to sag, her eyes fluttering every so slightly and a smile of sheer contentment curving at her lips. “Long enough, but I’m home now. How have you been?” Each time there is an urge for Mary to call her Professor McGonagall, and each time the blonde has to hesitate so as to not let herself refer to Minerva as such.

Once inside, Mary is quick to shut the door, slamming the deadbolt across, re-locking the three muggle locks, before adding two charms to her door for extra measures. Only then does she feel comfortable enough to actually step properly into her own home, her smile returning as she once more lays eyes on her old teacher. “Tea?”

After receiving confirmation from Mary that she is comfortable with a visit, Minerva quickly dons a pair of sensible shoes and a warm shawl to keep the nearing chill of autumn at bay before departing from Alastor’s flat. She apparates to her destination and when she reappears a block away from the young woman’s home, Minerva takes her time walking the short distance to arrive at the doorstep.

No doubt as a training healer, Mary may be a bit late and the professor is just a tad bit early besides. The woman settles herself down onto the front stoop and patiently waits for Mary’s arrival.

It was with this meeting in mind that Mary had all but bounded home, pushing through the door to her block of flats at precisely 6.13pm, and climbing up the stairs two at a time. Turning the corner and being faced with Minerva sat on her doorstep was something that caused the petite blonde to beam, and before too long she was standing right in front of her old teacher, her delight clear at the sight of the elder woman no matter how much she tried to play it down.

“Hello, Minerva.”

Daisy grinned at Mary, giving the hand on her arm a quick squeeze. “Not to fret, Mare, we’re good here. And the regular hot cocoa is a solid choice.” 

When they made it to the counter to order, Daisy took the lead again, ordering her own beverage before adding that she’d also be getting whatever it was that Mary wanted. 

Daisy’s attempt to reassure Mary was something that warmed the blonde down to the very core, the fact that the younger girl had even picked up on Mary's unease something that both surprised and comforted the ex-Gryffindor. Suddenly, Mary felt rather silly for ever feeling tense in somewhere as normal as a coffee shop, and so it was with the slightest shake of her head that she took a step closer to the till, her brows furring at Daisy’s offer to buy her drink. “I’ll have a hot chocolate, please; marshmallows, no whipped cream. And I shall be paying for both, ignore her.”