Greek God.

Berkley was just strolling through the streets looking for a cafe a patron from Spectrum had told her about. Apparently, it had this sandwich that was to die for and might literally be a heart attack on a plate with chips so crispy and favorable, it had to be magic. That at least was the explanation of the exuberant, freshly legal age lass who draped herself all over the bar and told her stories to anyone who would listen. She was pretty but didn’t hold her liquor well enough for Berkley to pursue her more than find her friends and make sure the least trashed one got her home.

When she came up to the outdoor tables of what might be that cafe, she spotted Ares and snuffed out her cigarette. “You know, I feel like after Hogwarts none of us actually planned on seeing each other, but somehow I find you people all over this damn city. Are you meeting someone or can I sit here?”

“Uh? No-- yeah, you can sit. I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone.” Ares had the same thoughts as Berkley. There were very few people he expected to see after graduation. Berkley MacBeth wasn’t one of them, especially since the Slytherin rarely spent any time with him when they were in school.

“…Ares?” Piper said with a tone of disbelief, her face immediately cracking into a wide grin when she confirmed it was him. “Hi!!! Oh my gosh, I—“ She made a motion as if to hug him but, after scanning her eyes over his face and taking in his body language, Piper held back. He looked tense—very tense. Piper frowned, and lowered her voice. “Erm…are you alright?”

Ares hadn’t heard her at first. He was too preoccupied with the sudden rush of relief he felt. For a moment, he thought it was just fluke. Any moment now that burning would come back and he’d be on fire again. Then came the panic ... had he projected it onto someone else to make it stop burning him? And the guilt ... Ares snapped his head up and unintentionally locked eyes with Piper. “Oh ... hi.”

Reyna watched Ares for a while over the bowl of cereal she was munching on from her seat across from him. She knew she wasn’t particularly covert in her staring but he was just sitting there after she’d invited him to her parent’s basement for cereal. “Alright mopey, I’m only telling you this bluntly because your skull is too thick to accept friendly advice,” She poked his gut with her toe. “You’re losing your beater physique.” Not really, but he just wasn’t as fierce as she remembered before games with a rousing speech to kick ass and not die. “Lucky for you, I have a gym membership. Transfigure your clothes. Come along.” She said as she grabbed the bowls and brought them back up the stairs to the sink.

Ares scoffed and knocked Reyna’s foot away. “Am not ... I may not have touched a broom in the last couple of months, but that doesn’t mean that I’m losing it. I reckon I could still take you. Just give me a second to go out ot my car and change. I’ll be right back.”

“Well it wouldn’t be out of the normal for us. I mean you’ve been living in a van without me knowing after all.” She didn’t mind but she just wanted to know. “An earl grey please,” she asked the waitress then turned her attention back to Ares. “So tell me everything.”

Ares groaned and rubbed his hands down his face slowly. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. What does it matter where I’ve been living?” When the waitress turned to him he sighed with a shrug and just said, “We’ll just take the whole pot.” When the waitress turned away to get them what they asked for, Ares turned back to Meredith. “I’ve been doing odd jobs around the muggle and wizarding worlds. I change the appearance of the van to match whatever I’m offering. It made sense to save whatever money I get to just stay in the van.”

“You’re wound a bit tight … What’s eating you?” Fiona asked, smirking slightly as she bit into her grilled sandwich. Ares didn’t come talk to her often, but it had been happening more recently. He never let on what was really bothering him– not that he had to, his thoughts were laid out in a chaotic fashion bouncing around both their minds.

He sighed, making a conscious effort to relax his shoulders. “Funny,” Ares huffed and took a quick bite of his food as he tried to organize his thoughts. He wondered if the only reason she’d offered to take him to lunch instead of just talking to him back at her job was so she could use that pun. “I’m just really fucking tired.”

Meredith had been driving around doing some shopping in the muggle world when she noticed a car stopped on the side of the road. She didn’t know much about cars but she figured maybe she could help a little. She parked her car behind the van and walked up to whoever was underneath. “Hello” she called out to the random person trying to fix their car. “I was wondering more if I can help you.” The voice sounded so familiar and she was trying to place the voice coming from under the van. “Wait a second… Ares?” She could be very wrong but it just sounded so much like him.

At the sound of his name, Ares drags himself out from under the van to see who addressed him. “Mer? What are you doing here?” Ares had purposely been parking in muggle neighborhoods as opposed to magical neighborhoods to avoid running into people from Hogwarts. That’s not to say he had been trying to avoid Meredith. Meredith just wasn’t aware of his current job(s) and living situation. Both were sore points after meeting Mer’s parents and seeing the kind of life that she lived. He was sure her parents wouldn’t be proud of their daughter dating a vagrant.

Quella bit her lip, she didn’t know who was under the van but she wanted to be helpful. She picked up one of the discarded tools as she approached. “Well no, but maybe I can help you?”

Ares hadn’t even bothered to pull himself out from under the van when he heard a woman’s voice offer their assistance. “Listen sweetheart, that’s real kind, but you’ll probably only slow me down and I have an hour until I have to make it to my gig otherwise I miss out on the one job this week that would have been worth all this bullshit.”

Niles lightly kicked the sole of Ares’ shoe. “Is it sad that I could tell it was your from your grunting and groaning down there? It is isn’t it, if only you’d remember a silencing spell.”

Ares dragged himself out from under the front of the van to smirk up at Niles. “What’s a silencing spell?” He asked with faux innocence and held out his hand. “Grab the wrench behind you, would ya?”

Ares was laying on his back under the front of the van. The hood of the van was open with smoke pouring out the engine. Every once in a while Ares would throw one of his tools at the curb either because it wasn’t helping or because it was satisfying to hear the loud clang of the metal tool against the curb. He was getting more and more frustrated, the longer it took to fix the damn van. At this point, he was going to be late and was about ready to call it quits and just apparate when he heard someone stop beside the curb. “Can I help you?”

“Oh without a doubt, but it’s not a lie. You’re here to pick up something for a friend?”

“Yeah, not really sure when I became ‘delivery boy’ but it pays the bills.”

[11:28] Who said I was talking about you? Harry Potter is quite the handsome chap, a shame he’s already married though ;) But I guess it’s true that a lion never sheds its mane.

[11:29] They happen to be out… So lonely in this house all by myself. My bed is so comfortable though I’m not sure I want to leave it.

ares-kane‌:

@meredith-halliwell

[ 11 : 23 ] hey babe 😘

[ 11 : 23 ] miss me?

[11:24] Maybe… I have been thinking an awful lot about this handsome ex-Gryffindor who I would love to have here right now. You miss me?

[ 11 : 26 ] ex gryffindor? babe, its not a phase im likely to outgrow.