The Peace is Not Real || On hiatus

She took a small sip of her drink, nodding and smiling at him. “I know he is. As long as something unexpected doesn’t happen to Sherlock or anyone else he really cares about, he will be.” She beamed at him, a bit excited to be able to get back into dueling. To be honest, it was one of her favorite things to do, the feeling even more extreme if it was actually potentially dangerous. She couldn’t help it, it just wasn’t that attractive to her if it didn’t involve at least a tiny bit of danger. “I can’t wait to start, then.” River couldn’t help but laugh. “A relief? I think you have it all wrong. I don’t hold back on anything I do, that includes duels. If anything, you’ll have to pay more attention when we dance in the ring.” She hummed in thought for a second before a mischievous grin graced her lips. “Why don’t we make this more interesting? When we actually duel, whoever “loses” has to buy the “winner” dinner. Sound fair enough? After all, I think you’ll have the advantage here with the more recent ability to practice. Unless you don’t think you have a chance.”

"Well, really not today. I don't think that we would be in our best after few drinks," he smiled crookedly. "Oh, River, you don't know what I call a relief and if what you promise is legit, then I can hardly wait for that," Fury couldn't and didn't want not to smile at her. "Ah, either way it's a dinner and it doesn't really matter to me, who pays for it," he replied. "We made the deal," he nodded and raised his glass.

"Extremely smart," she smiled and agreed. River released a light laugh and shook her head. "No, I understand, and I can’t ask you for that. I would rather him stay in as close to one piece as possible, though. If you can manage that."  River smiled and gave Nick a light thanks, sipping her drink once again. She looked up at him in a bit of surprise before thinking. "It’s been a few years since I did any sort of dueling. Well, maybe a bit more than that. Perhaps it would be a good idea to sharpen my skills a bit. It wouldn’t do me any good to be unprepared." She gave him a bright smile. "If you don’t mind me stopping by from time to time."

"Can't promise anything," he quietly laughed and took another sip from his glass. "I think he will be clever enough to keep himself from main fire." He waited for her response and it made him chuckle. "Oh, believe me, River, it would be a honour to be yours partner in training," he replied. "Besides, it would be a relief after training bunch of youngsters."

She bit her lip lightly and nodded. “Yes. It’s not that secretive really.” River smiled, sighing. “He has the same feeling as I do: he wants to be able to protect everyone he cares about so that none of us have to get hurt again. And, as much as I don’t want to admit it, your group is the best way for him to learn how. As much as I don’t like the idea of the war coming, it’s going to happen either way, and I’d rather have confidence that he knows how to protect himself than allowing my sentiments to harm him later. So, yes, he knows, but we both understand that this is good for him.”

“Well, he is very smart boy then. Smart and good. But I can’t promise you to keep him from harm. I can promise to try keep him from losing body parts,” he grinned and finished his drink. Then he saw a young waitress collecting empty glasses from table next to them. Nick asked her to bring whole bottle to them. Waitress nodded and left. It took only two moments to her to comeback with bottle of firewhisky and leave again. “By the way, if you feel a bit rusty, you can join us,” he added refilling River’s glass.

River watched him as he asked the question, looking down at her lap soon after, gripping her hands tightly together as memories of the time came rushing back to her. It was something that they all tried to forget about and move away from as much as possible. She didn’t want to tell him the details, it wasn’t her place nor did she want to think about it, but he deserved to know something. “It was before this whole war issue started, before it became a daily concern and before Sherlock ‘fell,’” she began quietly. “There was a boy who had a rather invested interest in Sherlock, and he used John as a means to show the extent of that interest. He… he tortured my son, both physically and mentally.” She shook her head quickly, trying to get rid of the images of Sherlock finding him bloody and broken, calling her and the two of them getting him to the infirmary as quickly as possible. The nine sleepless days they had sat by his bed, waiting for him to wake up and the slight relief they felt when he finally did. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. “And not long after that, the boy shot himself, Sherlock ‘fell,’ and John fell into a horrid state of depression. For a while there, I asked him to stay with me, frightened to death that he was going to something to end of all of it, and that I was going to lose my son. If not for Greg helping him like he did, I might have.” River sighed, looking up at him. “I guess you could say that’s why I was so hesitant about letting him join your group, though I know it’s better he does, for his own protection. I’m just scared to lose him again.” She smiled, laughing at herself. “I know it’s silly, but I can’t help it. The feeling was waning for a while, but with the threat of the war, it’s only increased again.”

River grinned. “I’m sure I can imagine.” She took another sip or so of her drink. It wasn’t the strongest thing she’d ever had, but it was still rather good. She had a bit of a hard time not smiling at the faces Nick made while drinking his. She raised an eyebrow at him curiously, unsure about what he would be asking about. “You can certainly ask, and then we’ll find out if I’m willing to answer or not. What is it?”

The he put his glass on the table and locked his fingers together. "I've heard that something happened in school while I was gone. Well, happened a lot, actually and I still try to catch up," he stated and leaned to her. "I've heard that something had happened to John. However, there isn't anyone close enough to him to tell me what had happened exactly."

"Oh, yes... Well, Ms Potts, you see. I have a problem and you know that problem personally," he hid his hands behind his back. "Mr. Stark is very hard to persuade. I need your help. Tony is one of the most talented students I have. I wouldn't say the best wizard of his age but not bad. And I think he looses really a lot not joining my duelling lessons," he sounded carelessly like Tony joining his class wasn't the top priority. "Don't try to push him too hard. I see that doesn't help at all. But telling him that it could be an useful experience, would work just fine," Nick grinned and nodded her before leaving. "But I think soon enough you should get a note, Ms. Potts." He added and went on his own ways.

River smiled and thanked him when she walked in, looking around for somewhere to sit. It was rather crowded, but then again, it was a Saturday, so it was to be expected. She gave him a light nod as she weaved her way through the crowd to the table, taking the available seat and smoothing out her dress as she waited, just people watching in the short time. She shook her head lightly in amusement when he returned, thanking him for the drink. “Showing off a bit, hmm?” she teased, before sipping at her drink. “I haven’t been here in a long time. It certainly hasn’t changed much since then. Funny how some things don’t seem to.” 

"Well, you should see what I can do with couple of hungry vampires," he chuckled and raised his glass before taking a sip. The firewhiskey was strong and you could see that from his facial expressions. "Well, you should see Madam Rosmerta. Hasn't changed a bit." Nick smiled. "Can I ask something? If you don't feel like answering, it's good, but I really would like to know some things from witnesses, not from rumours."

River nodded at his suggestion. “Something stronger than butterbeer, and far less students to run into. They come up with enough rumors on their own, don’t you think?” She smiled at him. No matter what, there were going to be rumors, there always were and they were usually incorrect. Giving them less ammunition would certainly be easier to deal with, at least until something developed. If something developed at all. And, somewhere like the Three Broomsticks would give them a better ability to talk, without students interrupting them as often as if they went somewhere else. “Shall we?”

When they had reached the Three Broomsticks, which wasn't really far from the place they'd met, Fury opened the door and let River to enter first. He looked around and it was crowed as usual, but the table in the corner was free. Only for one, though. "Go there, I will get two shots and a chair," he grinned and went to the bar request both things. After few moments he came back with chair in one hand and with a wand floating drinks in another. "Here you go," he landed glasses on the table and sat on the chair.

He wasn’t a prime candidate, he knew. That much was obvious. But he wouldn’t give up an opportunity that could save his life. “Yeah. I’ll join.”

At first he glanced at River, then nodded her head to her. "It's always nice to see you, Professor Song," he grinned and then turned his head to John. "I will see you on Monday in my class. Wait for further notice, Mr. Watson," he nodded to him and walked to the lake. It was going good so far and if odds will be in his flavour, soon enough he will have an army of extraordinary students.

"Oh. Hello, Professor Fury," she greeted him with a smile. "Of course; I’ve got a bit of time to spare. How are you?" She stood tall, holding her books to her person.

She smiled, looking back up at him and nodding toward the town. “So, what shall we do? I haven’t really been here in… well.. years, so I barely remember what’s here.  You can choose since you were “late”.” It had been far too long since she was last here, longer than she would have liked to admit, but he really didn’t need to know that. Besides, she was sure she would enjoy herself far more now than then, appreciate it more. River tilted her head curiously, watching him think about it.

Professor looked at the houses and tried to think of place that would be good enough for them to be and not be disturbed by students or others. Drawing that kind of attention would bring rumours and the last thing he wanted was students chattering about what their professor had done during weekend but not doing actual tasks. "The Three Broomsticks should be a good place to chat and drink something stronger than butterbeer," he grinned. Nick wanted her suggest his arm but he refused the idea because it could look a bit too much just for friendly trip to the pub. And, yes, of course, rumours he didn't want.

But, she had no real reason to be thinking too deeply into this. After all, they were just going out to relax, take their minds off of the war and the like. Maybe have a few drinks and learn more about one another while they were at it. If a relationship grew out of it, great, but River knew not to get her hopes up too high, just in case. She waited by the station for Nick to arrive, relaxing and watching the various students walk by in pairs or groups, entertaining herself by imagining what each were up to, just to pass the time.

If River was early, then Nick was late. He was writing a letter to Debby, asking photos of their daughter and when he finally eyes got on a clock. Bloody late, actually. He cursed himself, changed his drapes and left Hogwarts on his broom, thinking, that he would reach their meeting place quicker. He landed near the location they were going to meet and before walking to her, he bought tulips from old witch. "My apologies. It doesn't happen often but when it happens I'm really late," he smiled and showed her flowers.

"I want to learn." he said finally. "But there are probably more qualified candidates than me. You should probably know that."

"I am not gonna lie. There are. But in this club is place for anyone that knows and understands that it will be useful. And, well, some of my favourites. I left you to decide on which side you are," he nodded with grin on his face and patted John's shoulder.

He narrowed his eyes at the question. He was sure he could protect himself, but he wouldn’t answer this. Instead, with his his eyes on Fury, he said firmly, ”We are not soldiers.” The most recent war had been only almost seventeen years ago, and although that had been the exact time since the first war had ended - he wasn’t going to partake in any war planning Fury or the other teachers had. He wasn’t a soldier; none of them were.

She rolled her eyes lightly at the two. Of course they wanted their team to win, any house would. And, since Jo had been captain, the team had been doing very well. Still, to her it seemed a bit of a silly thing to be something even close to serious about. River gave John a reassuring smile. “And it’s completely your choice of whether or not you want to be a part of it. You can say no at any time.”

"Right. And what is this club, exactly?"

Nick glanced at River who sounded a bit over-protective but then he remembered that Debbie was always like this since her pregnancy start. The he looked at John. "Well, it's duelling club. I just had an idea that I could teach some students duelling because it could be useful if any of them decided to be the Auror. And it could improve your performance skills. Of course, just like Professor Song said, you can say no any time," Nick nodded at her. He didn't felt like referring to any of the professors in their first names in front of students which showed that he was old-fashioned man. "So, your thoughts on it?"